Satyr Play 03 Pt. 02

"This doesn't drain you?" she asked as she pulled back from the hug.

"Uh, no. This energy is just passing through me. It doesn't come from me. I do use a little of mine to direct the stream from the breach inside me to you," he explained quietly.

"It's good, but I prefer the more traditional method, too," Sigrid said equally quiet, and Henry's face warmed up again.

"Are we done with the warm and fuzzy shit?" General Baines barked then listened to another of his soldiers who'd just entered to give a report. He turned to face Roy, and his expression was sour. "They're almost here."

"Let's go kill some enemies, General," Roy said.

Sigrid and Minkah joined Roy, and Mary moved to go with them. The General made to protest, but Roy spoke before he could. "Mary can hold her own against an Ogre."

The General's eyebrows rose as she smiled at him confidently. He snorted and gestured for Crane to join them, then he looked to Dawes and Hugh. "These soldiers will remain with you."

"My people are coming with us as they have direct experience fighting these Ogres," Crane said, and Baines looked like he wanted to argue, but he just nodded.

Gordon allowed himself to relax a little as they followed the big redhead and his group out of the office and down the hall to the elevator lobby. All of the doors opened, and they split up to ride down to the main floor. After they stepped out, they moved to the atrium.

The Colonel got his first glimpse of a Werewolf as three entered the lobby from a stairwell door. The large beasts were carrying rifles, with modified trigger guards for their bigger hands. They nodded to their leader and rushed out the front door as the Human soldiers just watched.

Mick joined him. "None of the Werewolves in New Jersey were carrying weapons like these. They weren't very disciplined, either."

Roy overheard the last comment as he strode by. He paused to address them. "They were led by a miserable piece of shit who knew nothing about team building and who didn't care if they lived or died. None of them were given any training. Are they dead?"

"No. We sent them home," Mick replied.

Roy smiled and nodded at them. "Good. Thank you." He looked towards the boom of the big guns firing. "Time to earn my keep." He trotted to the front door, and once outside, he dropped his glamor. In his place was a huge, vicious-looking beast, larger than the other Weres. Mary was right next to him. He picked her up in his big paw and moved out of view to the right while Sigrid and Minkah turned left to flank the enemy.

Mick led the team out the door and sent half after the two women as she led the rest towards the oncoming attackers.

The four mid-western Silver People walked up to the Colonel with smiles on their faces. He nodded to them.

"We're not fighters, so we're gonna head home instead. Your team knows where that is and can reach us when the dust settles."

"I'm not sure I should be thanking you for changing my squad into Silver People, but I can't deny they're happy and enjoying their new state. So, I will thank you for how you supported them through the process."

Jake leaned forward. "Something I need to mention. That strike zone in the Washington Mall. It was supercharged by the lightning strike, and plants were growing like crazy in it."

"Right, Mick mentioned that," Gordon said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, well, the same kind of lightning strikes the fields back home a lot, and where it does, the crops grow really tall and healthy afterward," Jake continued, and Crane nodded. "Those plants seem to hold the Wild Magic charge, and we pick up energy running through it. Maybe, just maybe, people are getting charged up too when they eat food made from those crops."

The Colonel was caught by the concept and wondered if other food plants, like rice grown worldwide, were similarly affected. Without a means to detect the energy in these crops, there was no way to know if it was present in the final products made from it. He would have to send some people to grocery stores to collect samples for testing and have his soldiers be the energy detectors. Lost in the potential complexities of these new thoughts, he barely registered and responded to Sam and the others smiling, waving, and zipping away.

Corporal Delane appeared at Crane's elbow. "What now, sir?"

He jolted from his thoughts and snorted. "As we're the only humans left in the squad, our job is to stay out of their way and stay alive."

"I like that plan, sir."

"Me too."

-=-

Nate was flying over the fields of red prairie grasses as he tried to shake the residue of his latest nightmare. The sun hadn't come up yet, but he had no problems seeing as the moon was casting its reflected pale orange light over the land below.

While he loved the tranquility of this world and the gentle nature of its new inhabitants and thanked Henry in his mind every day for sending him here, he wasn't sleeping well at all. What that bitch—

He closed his eyes and beat his wings hard to rise higher in the sky. The effort soon had him panting, so he spread his wings and allowed himself to glide as he enjoyed the view.

While he'd been warned to avoid the flying-ribbons-with-teeth, he'd discovered they all fled from him when they heard him coming. Perhaps there was another predator that sounded like he did? The Glass People hadn't reported seeing anything dangerous other than the ribbons.

He could see the lava fields' glow and the occasional silver flash as the Silver People ran here and there in the distance. They never seemed to sleep, and recently, he was envious of that.

He banked left and flew closer to the lava fields. The rising thermals would get him extra altitude with less effort.

Nate was really getting the hang of flying, and Eden was perfect for it as he didn't need to worry about being seen by a human or a camera. He loved the freedom of soaring through the skies!

Additionally, his wings were quickly becoming stronger as the world seemed to keep him topped up with energy.

As he got closer to the lava's glow, he began to hear something—a whispering voice with unintelligible words. Its volume was so low, he almost dismissed it as wind noise or sounds from the flow. The closer he got to the lava field, the more insistent the whispering became. He began to feel anxious and increased his speed.

He caught sight of something burning on the edge of the lava flow, maybe three feet from the flowing molten rock. It likely ignited just from being so close to the radiant heat.

Nate set down a good twenty feet back and folded his wings to protect them from the heat. He was finally able to see what was burning, and his stomach turned. It was a body. Broken and burned badly. It's left arm was outstretched, pointing away from the lava.

He slowly walked closer, testing the ground as he went, but it was just dried up dirt. Grass wouldn't grow this close to the flow, but the soil looked dark and rich. If the lava ever stopped and cooled, this land would immediately burst with plant life.

He stopped to examine the body from a tolerable distance away, and his eye caught sight of something in the hand pointing towards him that he'd never expected to see again.

Mab's dagger.

The one she'd used on him.

When the shock faded, he discovered he was trembling and a few feet farther away. He glanced around, but Mab was nowhere to be seen. He looked again at the hand clinging to the weapon. Even in death, the corpse was refusing to release the cursed weapon.

How had it gotten here?

He thought of how Henry had dropped him into the world. What if... what if the body was someone else Henry dropped here, but this time from a great height?

His eyes were drawn once more to the dagger. Mab had told him of her rise to power and how this blade had assisted her efforts. Then she made him feel its bite, and he experienced it drinking... him. He realized the weapon probably still had his essence stored in it as Mab said it only released the energy to the wielder once the victim was dead.

Nate rushed forward and knelt down next to the burning body, doing his best to keep it between him and the lava to reduce his exposure to the radiant heat. Still, it was almost unbearable. He grabbed the hand at the wrist, but it still wouldn't let go of the dagger. Finally, he yanked hard, and the wrist separated from the forearm with a wet pop. He scrambled away from the lava, clinging to his gory prize. When he reached the cool red grasses, he dropped himself down onto his back and stared up at the stars as he caught his breath. Shudders ran down his spine as he could feel the grisly object in his grip. He sat up and stared at it in disgust. Why did he do that?

He bent the fingers back one at a time until he could extract the weapon from the grip. He dropped the hand and wrapped his own fingers around the handle.

He sucked in a sharp breath as he felt his energy and confidence soak back into his body. What he'd lost to Mab's cruel games, he now had back! He felt more like himself than he had in months!

Looking down, he knelt to pick up the hand. This was going into the molten river along with the rest of the body. Henry had to have dropped it here, and Nate owed him for his freedom and now for getting the dagger to him. He smiled as he recalled a meme covering this situation.

A good friend helps dispose of the body. A best friend doesn't ask why there is a body.

When he returned to assess the task, he soon realized it wouldn't be easy as he couldn't get very close. How he'd managed it the first time was a mystery. Finally, he flew to the nearest grove of trees and returned with a long straight branch he cut for himself. Then he got as close as he could on his belly and used the branch to push the body over the edge into the lava. He threw the hand and the long branch into the molten river as well when he was done.

As he flew back to the Glass People's village, he knew what he had to do next. He was going back to New York, and he would help Henry, in any way he could, to defeat Mab.

He needed a little payback for what she'd done to him, as well. He took a deep breath as he was able to think of his revenge without immediately falling apart.

He glanced to the horizon and saw the beginnings of dawn. The sun would be up soon. He'd speak with Xiong about opening a tear for him to go home. He smiled as that idea made him feel so much better.

What he wanted most at this moment was to get back to Marisa. He knew everything would be better once he was in her arms again.

-=-

Stephen Dawes was glaring at Henry. "So, is the firewall you created all smoke and mirrors, too?" he asked sharply as he sat forward on his chair in Camila's office.

Henry shook his head. "No! That's genuine science and technology at work. I'm proud of that."

"Henry's ability to get the most out of hardware is almost supernatural, and he can detect faulty components far quicker and more accurately than anyone I've met, but that's the extent of his magic with computers," Marisa stated categorically.

Henry smiled at her.

"Enough!" Nuru pushed the cowl back on her cloak and watched the two men look her way. She ignored the smirk on Huehuecoyotl's face and the repressed lust on the Human's. She looked to Camila. "You have preserved your glamor even though you were exposed to the Wild Magic. How will we get our glamors back?"

Camila smiled and nodded. "I was exposed to smaller doses. The... light-fall is saturated with Wild Magic." She looked at Keshellion. "You have the knowledge of how to implant glamors."

"But my abilities are being suppressed by the cursed Wild Magic!" the old Fae snapped.

"Camila, there's a chance glamors aren't going to be sufficient after tonight," Henry suggested, and expressions became grim.

"On that happy note, the pregnant lady needs to use the little girl's room," Marisa said as she made her way to the door. The soldier positioned there looked to Dawes for permission and got it. When he opened the office door, he froze in shock. Instead of seeing the small outer office, he faced a vast dark chamber. A young woman stood there with a wicked grin on her face, lit by candlelight.

She flicked her wrist, and the soldier flew backward to crash into his three squadmates, taking them all down. She made a second gesture, and Marisa squeaked as she was lifted off her feet and pulled through the doorway.

Henry was already on his feet, charging the door when Mab began to laugh. He arrived just as it slammed shut. He frantically yanked it open, but the other side just showed the reception area once more.

He didn't stop to explain or ask permission. He simply opened a tear and jumped through into the red grasses of Eden as it snapped shut behind him. Beautiful morning sunshine lit the hillside he stood on and gleamed off the sides of the Glass People collected a short distance further uphill. He saw Xiong and the others turning to face him as he dropped his glamor. Connecting his mind to theirs through the magic, he sent them a quick flash of what was happening before he opened another tear and leapt through.

Henry's hooves landed in the white gravel on the office tower's roof deck as he looked up at Mab's castle. It was tilting at least ten degrees and under it were the crushed remains of the antenna arrays that originally resided on the rooftop. Unlike the mirror castle from her party, her real one couldn't share the space. One side of the stone building had smashed through the roof's structure, and the iron beams were piercing the wall of the castle. He moved closer and saw the damaged area was blackened, and the stain was slowly spreading outwards like a bruise, discoloring the stone.

He walked around to the front doors. They were double wide with huge ornate stained glass flankers. Each window was a priceless work of art. The entrance was shut, but he knew the doors would open to his touch. Mab wanted him to come inside. That didn't mean he was going to make it easy for her.

As he walked up to the door, he lifted one big hoof and slammed it against the stained glass. While there was a protection spell on the window, it was no match for an enraged Satyr's fury and will. It exploded into a rainbow of small shards of glass. A few more kicks were all it took to make the rest fall away. He carefully stepped through the opening and looked around.

"You MONSTER!!!" Mab's voice shrieked from all around. "That panel was created by a master artist millennia ago!"

"You are the very definition of a monster," Henry growled as he pulled a spear-tipped halberd from the grip of a set of medieval armor in the entranceway and used the metal-capped butt of the shaft to smash out the second panel of stained glass. He then proceeded to slash every painting on his way down the hallway towards the stairs. Mab's screams of incoherent rage were music to his ears. He knew he had to keep her concentrated on him. It might make her forget Marisa.

He had no idea what he was going to do when he actually reached her. He was a complete novice when it came to magic while she was the reigning heavyweight champion.

The foolishness of his headlong rush after Mab was becoming abundantly clear to him, but no matter what happened to him tonight, he was going to end her.

-=-

Nate looked at Xiong in confusion as he rested his human hand on the shoulder of the Glass Being. He could barely pick up Xiong's thoughts but what he saw was that Henry had appeared moments ago, gave them a message, then jumped back to Earth. It was the message that Nate was having trouble deciphering.

"Can you slow it down?" he asked.

The memory suddenly replayed, but this time he clearly saw Marisa being pulled through the doorway, he clearly heard Mab's sick laughter, and he caught the flash of the castle atop the office tower in Manhattan.

Nate yanked his hand back and fell on his ass as he stumbled away from Xiong in fright. Mab's laughter echoed in his ears.

"She-she has Marisa! I've got to—" he began, then his tongue locked up. He was too terrified to complete the sentence. He knew what he had to do, but his mind was shying away from the idea.

"Fuck!" he snapped at himself. He'd been so sure of himself this morning after he found the dagger. Then just seeing a memory of Mab sent his nerve racing away. He knew Henry wasn't hesitating. How could he do less! It was Marisa at risk, for fuck's sake!

He pushed himself to his feet and dusted off the clothes he'd made for his glamor. The dagger was safely tucked into an inner pocket of his jacket. He reached inside and gripped the handle. His resolve firmed up once more. He could do this!

"I need to get back to Manhattan. Can you open the way for me?" he asked as he placed his hand on Xiong's shoulder once more.

He saw an image of Henry approaching an office tower. Likely a memory they had from Henry. Maybe it was the building Henry was running to!

"Yes, there!" he exclaimed.

He picked up from Xiong that he'd have to jump through as opening a gate was draining. He nodded and stepped back as Xiong and another of his group stood a short distance apart and faced one another. A tear snapped open, and the moment the opening was large enough, Nate leapt through into a green ground fog. He immediately picked up the tingle of Wild Magic swirling around him. Gentle music was coming from it.

Hands grabbed his arms to pin him in place, and he gaped in surprise at the two Silver People in tattered US military uniforms.

"Nate?"

He turned his head to look over his shoulder and saw Roy and Mary approaching, the latter covered in blood and gore while Roy's glamor was clean. "What-what happened?" he asked as the Silver Soldiers released his arms, allowing him to turn and face the group. His eyes widened further to see more of the soldiers.

"Mab sent a squad of Ogres at us. Tough bastards!" Roy growled.

"Not so tough," Mary scoffed and got a grin from Roy.

Roy turned to Nate. "Weren't you on Eden?"

"Yeah, Henry sent me to Eden. Listen, he just shot through on his way to attack Mab at her castle," Nate said anxiously. He was still shaky about it.

"What?!?" Roy roared. He reached for his cell but saw Camila and the others rushing out of VRL's front door.

"Mab opened her magic door in my office. She has Marisa, and Henry went after her!" Camila cried out.

"That bloody fool!" Roy snapped.

"What's happened?" Sigrid asked anxiously as she and Minkah rushed up to join them. Again, Sigrid was spotless, but Minkah had a few blood streaks on her, though she had no visible injuries, so the blood wasn't likely hers.

"Mab grabbed Marisa, and Henry went after her on his own!" Meixiu exclaimed. "We must help him!"

A black SUV pulled up to the entrance, and the back window rolled down. Mahati looked out at the gathered people nervously. "Camila? Can I speak with you?"

Camila rushed over to the car. "Mahati! What are you doing here? You can't be out in this!"

"I'm afraid it's a little too late for that. I went down to our building's lobby to check for mail, and I saw Lorelei standing outside the building. I opened the door for her, and she let me know what was happening. We called for a car. I had to walk through the light to get to the car. I-I've lost my glamor. Where's Henry?" she asked, looking around nervously.

"He's gone after Mab. She took Marisa," Camila said with a shaky voice.

"Let's go get them!" Mahati insisted.

"No one is going anywhere!" a Human military officer barked as he approached the car. "This night has gone from strange to freak show! I mean, what the fuck were those things we just killed?" He pointed down the street. Then he spun to point that finger at Mary. "No one can survive getting beaten so brutally, and they certainly don't get back up and tear their way through their opponents barehanded! What the fuck are you?"