Satyr Play 03 Pt. 02

"Just a New York City beat cop, who now works for VRL!" Mary said with a wide grin, still riding a high from the energy she'd absorbed. She realized she was perfectly adapted to fighting the huge brutes.

Roy approached the General. "We've already been through this, General. We don't have time. You don't have time. The Ogres were a feint, a ploy to distract us while she went after her target. The only one who can potentially keep her from killing everyone! We need to help Henry stop Mab. Now."

"No, no one leaves—"

"General Baines, may I have a word?" Hugh said as he strolled up to the man who looked at him in annoyance. They took a few steps to the side, where they spoke quietly. The General looked at the taller man in surprise and received a nod.

"Colonel Crane. I'm putting you in charge of this operation. I'm needed back in Washington. I'll be bringing my squad with me. Gunny is staying with you."

"Understood, General," Crane answered in surprise.

"I'll go back with you, General," the Director of Homeland Security quickly added and got a nod from the distracted man.

With a final worried glance at Hugh, the General rushed off and began issuing orders. Dawes followed. Gunny went back into VRL and returned with the remaining Human troops from the lobby. Troop carriers arrived, as did the General's car. The marine rejoined Crane's squad.

Soon, Colonel Crane was the senior officer on site. He looked to Roy. "Where is this office tower with the castle on top?"

Roy smiled in relief at him and looked to Hugh. "Thank you."

The tall man nodded. "I've played my part. It's time for me to leave, as well."

"You're one of them, aren't you," Crane blurted, his eyes fixed on Hugh's face.

Huehuecoyotyl's face burst into an amused smile as he relaxed his disguise, just a little, to show a hint of his true self. He nodded in satisfaction when the Colonel didn't stumble back in fear. "I was right about you." He faded and disappeared.

Gordon looked over to Roy. "Do you ever get used to that?"

Roy snorted. "I'll let you know when it happens. Let's go do our part!" Eight more black SUVs showed up at the curb, and Roy's team began climbing inside.

Camila turned to Siobhan. "Please take Nuru, her attendants, and Investigator Keshellion to the second-floor lounge."

"Wait a minute! I'm not going to stand on the sidelines while the world's ending!" Nuru exclaimed.

"The same goes for me!" Siobhan insisted.

Camila threw her hands in the air and jumped into Mahati's SUV. Everyone ran for one of the trucks and piled in.

Roy was in the lead vehicle and got them going. There was very little traffic on the main avenue, and the cars that were there quickly pulled over to let their speeding procession pass by, especially with the Silver Soldiers running alongside.

It took a few minutes to arrive at the road leading to the old office building, nestled between the taller, modern towers. The problem was, the road was blocked by a row of police cruisers with their lights flashing.

Roy got out and held up his hand to indicate the others should remain in the vehicles. He walked over to one of the officers who watched him approach with suspicion as his eyes took in the silver escorts who were watching.

"What's the situation, Officer?" Roy asked firmly.

The cop focused on Roy once more. "Road's closed. Something big down there, roasting people alive!"

Roy frowned as he looked towards the shadows between the buildings. The streetlights were all out, and something appeared to be blocking the light from the next avenue. Colonel Crane joined him.

"We need a little reconnaissance. A quick in, get some pictures, and out," Roy said to the Colonel, who nodded as he gestured for one of his soldiers. He spoke to the man who smiled and raced away, leaping over the police car to disappear down the street like a silver streak. There was a distant flash of the camera, taking a flash shot, then the soldier returned to stop in front of Crane.

"It's big! Terrifying!" the soldier said with wide eyes. He held up the cell and brought up the picture. They peered at the screen, but all it showed was blackness with sparkles here and there. Roy's expression showed his annoyance. He touched his mic. "Please have Siobhan join us."

Moments later, the lovely brunette rushed up to look at Roy curiously.

"They're saying something large and dangerous is down the road but take a look at the photo, then look down the road and tell me what you see," Roy asked, emphasizing the last word.

She caught his request, so she looked at the picture and opened her magic sight as she looked into the darkness.

"Oh! It's not big at all! It's very small but so many!" she exclaimed softly.

Roy nodded grimly. "Thank you, Siobhan. Please wait in the vehicle."

She looked to him, and he was glowing softly from the Wild Magic radiating from inside, so she pulled back on her sight until it was a minimal translucent overlay. She nodded and headed back to her SUV.

Roy leaned closer to the Colonel. "It's Sprites. Nasty little buggers. They project illusions and mess with your mind and emotions. They've been known to kill with fear."

"Shit. How do we fight that?" Gordon growled.

Roy looked over at the Silver Soldiers, and a slow smile came to his lips. "I know just the thing."

-=-

Mick held hands with six volunteers as they jogged down the road towards the super creepy shadows.

"So, there really is no big fire breathing monster down here?" Yablonski asked nervously.

"That's right. There are many little fuckers projecting the experience of seeing, hearing, smelling, and feeling a big monster. They're floating in a swarm in the air in front of the target. They have no offensive capabilities outside of projecting illusions: really good illusions but fake experiences. We need to disable this threat so the others can reach the building," Mick explained.

Their perceptions were racing ahead, so when the growl came out of the shadows, it was low and drawn out, robbing it of some of its power. Baleful glowing eyes slowly opened two stories up, and a huge maw began to open. An orange glow showed behind large pointy teeth, smoke curling out from the jaws.

Mick felt Yablonski's nerve begin to slip as she felt the fingers of fear slowly sinking into her own mind. She began to laugh, obnoxiously loud and silly.

The other soldiers looked at her, and she smiled at them. "We're gonna fuck them up so good!"

Yablonski chuckled, then realized that felt good. He barked a laugh in relief, and this triggered the others. Soon they were all laughing boldly, and the fear was pushed back.

Mick saw they were in front of the target's entrance. Stonework, glass shards, and other debris from the broken rooftop littered the street around the building.

"Showtime, my bastards!" she called out.

Yablonski grinned as they formed a wide circle facing inwards and began to windmill their arms faster and faster, hands cupped to push the air down into the center of their group. Quickly, their arms became a loud humming blur, and little glowing lights began to get sucked down in the massive vortex they were creating in the street. More and more of the lights were dragged out of the sky to smash against the pavement or splat against the spinning arms. It didn't take long to dissipate the false shadows clinging to the air in the dark street, and then there were no more sparkling lights. Mick was the first to stop, and the other quickly followed suit.

They looked at the carnage on the ground before them. The sprites looked like insects and badly mangled ones at that.

"Fuck! Anyone got a shovel or a power washer?" Yablonski asked.

"Go tell the Colonel, it's all clear," Mick told him, and he nodded before he raced away.

Mick looked up at the building and sighed as she hated running up stairwells. Somewhere up there was the Satyr. She hoped he wasn't facing anything bigger than the sprites.

Chapter 40

Henry slowly walked down the hallway on the fourth floor of Mab's castle, just one staircase away from Mab's private chamber. He'd searched for her on each floor, but he knew eventually he'd have to face her in the room where her greatest crime took place. He'd discovered an Ogre waiting for him with a mace in its big fist on the second floor.

Taking on one of these big warriors in hand-to-hand combat wasn't on Henry's to-do list, but he was given no choice when the creature bellowed its war cry and charged him. He barely snapped up his spear in time to drive its point into the chest of the onrushing attacker. The butt of the shaft hit the wall behind Henry, driving the spear point deep into the Ogre's heart. He watched the life quickly leave the being's eyes as it dropped to its knees and keeled over.

He'd been unable to free the spear, so he'd picked up the mace.

The third floor had two Ogres patrolling, which he tried to avoid, but he made a noise while hiding. They came charging back, and he was forced to swing the deadly weapon just as the first charged into the room. Henry's Satyr strength, combined with the heavy spiked weight, crushed the Ogre's head in a spray of blood and gore. As Henry watched the body fall in horror, the second Ogre rushed into the room and swung his own weapon. If the creature's aim hadn't been fouled by his slipping on the bloody floor, Henry's head would have been crushed as well. Instead, the club glanced off his forehead, hard enough to rock him back and break through his paralysis. He sloppily swung the mace again and caught the fallen Ogre's temple as it struggled to stand. It fell and went still. Dead.

His mace was covered in blood and brain matter, so he dropped it and picked up the club to continue up to the fourth floor.

As he topped the stairs, the building shuddered and tilted another degree. Henry's feet actually left the ground for a moment, then he was bracing himself against the stone wall. He heard the stone building's dying moans. He snatched his hand back as he stared at the stone closer. Thin veins of black rot were creeping upward. He recalled the blackening of the rock where the office tower's iron skeleton had pierced it. Was the castle dying?

He reached out and placed his hand against the stone once more. He opened his perceptions and heard more than one voice crying out in pain and taking its last gasp. He pulled his hand away. What had Mab done to bind these people to the building? Mab was mad and surrounded herself with madness, so why was he surprised that the very stones of her castle shared in that?

He shook his head and knew he had to get out of here as quickly as he could, but not without Marisa.

So, here he was, just one level to go, plodding heavily down the beautifully paneled hall keeping his eyes on the staircase at the end.

He couldn't hear his footsteps.

Something about that triggered a memory of his first visit.

The bedroom he'd been assigned. The room with the sound deadening floors. Silence to not disturb neighboring guests. Silence to hide Mab's approaching footsteps.

He suddenly swung the heavy club in an arc around himself and felt its impact against at least three bodies. They squealed in pain as their invisibility dropped. Hairless, wrinkled skin the color of ashes, furless goat legs, upwards pointed ears, small dark eyes, and wide mouths of sharp teeth. Goblins!

As the illusion of invisibility dropped, he found himself surrounded by the smaller creatures. His memory of their vicious cruelty flashed through his mind, and he swung the club again and again. Some managed to nick him with their blades, but his club always answered by breaking their bones and crushing their skulls. He lost his grip on the club, and the remaining Goblins cheered until he waded into their midst with his fists and hooves, his rage building. The final three tried to flee, but Henry took them down against the base of the last staircase, crushing them under his hooves.

Mab unleashed another scream of rage from the floor above when he'd extinguished the life of her last Goblin thug. He glanced up in exhaustion, but she didn't appear on the landing. He looked back down the hallway, and there had to be at least two dozen of the grey bastards. All dead. He looked at his hands and saw the green blood on them. His body was streaked with it as well.

While he'd avoided any delays, he needed to recharge himself. He reached inside to the tear to the realm of Wild Magic and found Mab there desperately trying to seal it. He tried to seize her mind, but she fled with a shriek at being discovered. He was stunned that he'd almost missed her infiltration. It had to have happened while he was distracted by fighting the Goblins. As he pondered how it might have turned out, he tapped into the energy streaming through the opening. It proved to be exceptionally difficult to direct the energy towards his own needs, but he did feel a little better.

He turned back to the stairs and began to climb. He smiled grimly. If this was a video game, he'd have reached the big boss level. Unfortunately, he had no experience with video games either. Whether that proved to be a benefit or led to his doom, he was about to discover.

-=-

Looking through the front doors of the old office tower, they could see the feet of the night security man sticking out from behind his desk. He wasn't likely to be sleeping, so he was probably dead, a victim of the Sprites. The doors were thick and secure with ornate brass plated scrollwork over the tough glass.

Colonel Crane contemplated what it might take to cut the door and realized they probably didn't have the time. He looked to Roy. "Explosives?"

The big redhead shook his head and gestured to a pretty, young Asian woman in a white gown. Roy addressed her. "Meixiu, can you get the keys from the man behind the desk and unlock this door?

She nodded and suddenly turned to smoke, slipping through a gap in the door to reform into her original shape inside the lobby. Gordon stared at her as she rushed over to the security desk. "What is she again?"

"Vampire," Roy said absentmindedly as he watched Meixiu dip behind the desk and rush back with a ring of keys. It took some trial and error, but she found the key for the lock on the front door. They went inside, and Eleanor moved forward to check on the security guard, but it was too late for the older man.

"Sergeant, do a quick inspection of the top floor and let us know if there's a way to the roof. Be careful," Crane said, holding the woman's eyes. She smiled and nodded before pointing to five of her team and heading into the stairwell.

"Can we use the elevators?" Nuru asked, stepping forward.

Roy shook his head. "The elevator room would have been crushed by the castle.

A few minutes later, Mick returned on her own and reported to the Colonel. "It's a mess up there, sir. The castle has collapsed part of the building's structure. The tower also seems to have damaged the castle. Stonework has fallen into the floor below. There are gaps in the castle wall. There was... a being made of stone. I think she might have fallen out of the broken room into the floor below. She was crying and standing before the broken windows."

A massive boom rocked the building, and windows shattered at street level.

The stairwell burst open, and Specialist Green stopped in the doorway, taking in everyone laying on the floor.

"What the fuck was that?" Roy barked as he pushed himself back to his feet. "Is the castle collapsing?"

"The rock lady jumped!" Green called out. "I tried getting downstairs in time to warn everyone, but..." He gave an embarrassed shrug.

Those closest to the door rushed outside. The sidewalk was even more littered with debris, thrown there from the impact crater a few yards east of the building's front door. Roy and Sigrid rushed to the edge while Nate and Siobhan stopped further back as others joined them.

A figure stirred and began to climb from the pit. It was shaped like a woman, but that was their only clue.

"Are ya all right?" Roy asked cautiously.

The stone woman glanced up at him, and they could see tears in her eyes. She watched them timidly.

"You didn't expect to survive," Sigrid guessed, and the woman looked to her, then shook her head sadly. Sigrid held out her hand. "You're amongst friends. This is Roy, and I'm Sigrid. What's your name?"

"Ver-Veronica."

Her voice was rough and quiet, but Nate froze as he recognized it immediately. "Ronnie?" he gasped almost silently through a tight throat. His feet began to move him backward through the gathered people. Siobhan watched him leave with a puzzled expression.

He knew the woman getting to her feet before Sigrid, but back then, they'd both just been human, or at least she'd been, and he thought he was.

Veronica Henderson. Nate grew up across the street from the cute brunette. They were friends from a young age and sought each other out when hormones were busy turning them into adults. His parents had ensured he kept things innocent as her parents were religious fundamentalists, and things would get very bad for the girl if they weren't careful. Then came the day when Ronnie was fed up with her parents' restrictions and no longer wanted to play it safe. She'd tugged down his zipper and got more than a little playful. He'd never experienced anything so wonderful and wasn't prepared for his orgasm.

The Wild Magic she'd ingested had an immediate and frightening effect on her physiology. He'd thought it was an allergy at the time, but he never got to ask as her parents took her and moved away.

Nate dropped his glamor and leapt into the sky, beating his black wings to gain elevation, to get distance between himself and his sin. The woman whose life he'd fucked up so badly she'd just tried to kill herself.

Sigrid watched Nate flying up and spotted a shadow circling the rooftop. "Shit! Demons." She looked to Roy. "I have to go after Nate." Roy nodded, so Sigrid stepped back then leapt upwards, her wings and armor flashing into view, lighting up the street like daylight, as she chased Nate's inky blackness into the dark sky.

The stone woman was watching the flying people with undisguised shock and awe. Then she realized she was the focus of a lot of attention.

Camila moved up beside Roy and read the stone woman's body language. She was shrinking from all the eyes aimed her way. This gave her an idea. "I'm Camila. We need to rescue our friend at the top of this building, but we can take you to a place the locals call Eden once that's done. It's a world without Humans. It's very peaceful, I understand."

Veronica's eyes looked into Camila's. "Who-who lives there?"

Camila smiled. "Currently, only some Glass People and some Silver People," she gestured back towards the soldiers behind her. "But civilian Silver People," she corrected with a gentle smile.

The stone woman nodded. "That would be good."

"Good. You can get into any of our trucks and make yourself comfortable. We'll be back," the CEO suggested as she pointed a short distance up the street where their rides waited. She got a nod from the woman, so she turned to touch Roy's arm. They faced the others to gesture for everyone to go back into the building.

They had rescuing to do.

-=-

Sigrid was cursing under her breath as she raced closer to Nate, who was tiring in his efforts to reach the roof. She'd definitely caught sight of at least two demons flying around the castle. Nate didn't seem to be aware of them.

"Wait!" she finally called out, and he lurched to the side as he turned his head to look back at her.

The demon diving at him missed and shot by, slamming into Sigrid's shield with a sickening crack. It continued on its way to the ground, broken and spiraling to its doom.