Satyr Play 04 Pt. 01

Author's Notes:

'Satyr Play Part 4, Part 1' picks up from the end of Satyr Play 3, Part 2 as there is still much to do in Henry's tale.

No effort is made in this tale to explain the backstory, so it is highly recommended you read the stories in the following order:

• Satyr Play
• A Dark Heart (Short Story -- for context)
• Satyr Play 2, Part 1
• Song for a Still River (Short Story -- for insight into the upcoming Satyr Play 3)
• Satyr Play 2, Part 2
• Satyr Play 3, Part 1
• Satyr Play 3, Part 2
• Satyr Play 4, Part 1 (This one!)
• Satyr Play 4, Part 2 (Stay Tuned)

All characters engaging in sexual relationships or activities are 18 years old or older. Most aren't even human... or real. Or are they? Dun dun DAH!

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Satyr Play 4, Part 1

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Chapter 1

If you could have one wish come true for Christmas, what would it be?

This wasn't a question Henry Gable would have spent any time thinking about during the years he spent growing up in Baba Yaga's cottage in the swamp. They didn't waste any time on such frivolous, nonsensical things like wishes and Christmas. That's what she'd taught him, at least.

He was aware of wishing and the December holiday as he heard the other kids talk about both at school. However, at an early age, he learned Baba's strict position on such trivialities.

That didn't mean he hadn't thought about them at the time. He just had no one to talk to about such things as he grew up, so he put them aside.

When he spent his first Christmas in his new condo with Sandy living with him, she'd put up a few decorations, but her work schedule was so busy, and he was learning how to live with someone, so they let the seasonal celebration slip by without much attention.

He'd attended a few Christmas Parties with friends and even a VRL office Christmas party, but they were just excuses to get together with his new friends. That was what he liked best.

Camila had caught him off guard with the wish question as he was leaving the office on Friday. She'd given him a seriously hot kiss that threatened to ignite the tips of his ears and put permanent steel into his erection. Then she pulled back to smile at him and hit him with the query.

That was a dramatic way of making him reconsider the significance of wishes and Christmas. He had to admit, Camila was exceptionally persuasive at that.

He'd only just returned from his six-month convalescence on Eden a week ago. It had taken him half a year to heal from the damage his body suffered from falling twenty stories to the road surface below.

He'd learned from Roy that his injuries would have been much worse had it not been for Nate's heroic efforts to save him. He'd managed to slow their descent for a time, but when the strain proved too great for his wings, and they failed, Nate sacrificed his life to protect Henry's head from striking the ground.

Henry grieved his friend's loss and understood that some of the man's effort was likely driven by his guilt over his role in Henry's daughter's death. He knew Nate wasn't at fault for that, but he never got a chance to tell him.

It was one more reason he was glad he'd killed Mab and destroyed her cursed dagger, too.

He took some deep breaths as his chest was beginning to hurt again.

Pulling his mind back from that darkness, he forced himself to think of something happy! He recalled the previous weekend with a smile. He'd never received so many hugs and kisses in his life! It was certainly going down as one of his best weekends ever!

He'd acclimatized the twin Succubi to his friends and taught them to be protective of his group as well. They seemed particularly fond of Camila, much to her surprise. She'd then surprised the rest of them when she named the twins Aadya and Maliha and claimed them as children of House Villamor.

Sigrid obviously knew the significance of that as she gasped at her friend. Camila claimed this act should protect them from being terminated as she'd taken responsibility for them.

While they'd bonded to him and preferred to remain by his side at all times, there were times when that wasn't possible. He discovered he was able to leave them in his condo with minimal supervision. Mab must have trained them to be comfortable with only each other for company for extended periods. He found they adored nature shows, David Attenborough's voice almost put them into a trance, so he set them up with a nature channel, and they were content until he returned. He needed to speak with Camila about them.

Spending the weekend at Meixiu's mansion in a winter wonderland of snow and evergreens made everyone extra festive. It was decided that everyone was invited back to celebrate the Christmas break at the estate. With Henry's ability to create Magic Doors between any two locations, travel logistics were no longer a factor.

He'd tried to reach out to Yuko to find out how she was doing, but her cell number was no longer in service, nor was Jun's. He went to their apartment but discovered they'd moved out with no forwarding address. Camila attempted to connect with Yuko's mother but let Henry know the woman refused to return her call. He wondered if he'd become persona non-grata once more.

They were such a volatile family!

Siobhan informed him that his inner rift to the Wild Magic dimension was allowing a greater volume of energy through than before. The new levels presented a danger to post-Skyfall Event Humans.

While they still looked Human, their bodies were actually in a volatile state. Their transformation into one of the Hidden Races would be triggered once they absorbed a sufficient amount of Wild Magic. How much was enough? There was no way to tell, as they couldn't measure how much had already been absorbed. When it would happen and what they would become continued to be a mystery.

Normally, Wild Magic trickled in from ingested food and from the ambient energy in the environment. Hotspots like lightning strike zones from the Pseudo-Clouds gave off heightened levels.

Henry's inner rift was like one of these strike zones, except it moved with him. The night of his return, as he slept in his bed for the first time in over six months, the Wild Magic flowing from him saturated his condo, seeping through the walls and floors. His neighbors downstairs on the eighth floor in units 809, 808, and 807 all transformed while they slept due to this overflow from him. They were taken to the hospital in the morning and were found to be healthy.

The couple living in unit 807 became Incubus and Succubus. As their relationship had already been on shaky ground, this new state wasn't likely to resolve their differences, once the initial thrill of the sex wore off, at least. Camila assured Henry they would find their own way, and he wasn't responsible for their lives.

Another surprise, the seven occupants of 809 (a couple with twin girls) and 808 (a couple with a single son) had all woken to find they'd become a variant of the Fae race not seen in millennia. Much like the High Elves of fantasy lore, they were tall and slim, with elegant features and long pointy ears. This group transformation's consistency was far enough outside the normal curve that it generated more interest than was comfortable for Henry. That day, he resolved to stay at Meixiu's mansion.

Marisa began training him to mentally reach inside himself to control the volume of Wild Magic flowing from his inner rift. As she was an expert in managing the senses, she worked with him to devise a means to control the aperture. She found he needed a science-based analogy to allow his will to envision the controls. As the rift manifested itself as a vertical tear in the center of his being, they settled on the concept of a zipper to keep it simple. Henry constructed a spell in his mind to build and integrate the mechanical closure device along the edges of the rift. He would close it with his will to manage the flow.

Wild Magic wasn't keen on being controlled, so it quickly eroded the first dozen or so attempts until Henry thought to incorporate the Wild Magic into the device's construction itself. This slowed the erosion, but he realized he'd have to set up a maintenance schedule to replace this inner zipper periodically to ensure he could control the flow. He couldn't entirely block it, but Siobhan assured him that his most constricted setting was only twice the level of normal background levels... for now. Marisa, Siobhan, and he would have to keep an eye on it.

It took the weekend of practice to comfortably say he could limit the output. They discussed it as a group and determined that, for safety's sake, remaining at the mansion, even working from it, was a good idea until he'd perfected his method for controlling the flow.

On the following Monday, he opened a door to VRL's new boardroom to join Roy, Mahati, and Mary on their trip back to Washington, DC. The drive to the airport was delayed. There were complications with the flight tickets and airport security issues. When they finally arrived at their destination, Henry insisted they'd be using a Magic Door to return home and for all future visits. He got no arguments from his traveling companions.

The congresspeople were surprised to see Henry in his Human disguise.

It took three days of testimony before the congresspeople finally agreed they had enough information to work with. They indicated that they might call him back for additional questions. He said he could make himself available, but to keep in mind that he was a working stiff with responsibilities to his company and now a bunch of US Security Agencies. That earned him some chuckles.

He'd successfully constrained the rift and had social outings without issues, so he decided to move back to his condo. He promised that if he felt he was having problems, he would return to the mansion.

He went to work on Thursday, ready to get back to some normality, and wasn't disappointed. There were dozens of requests for reports from multiple departments at VRL, and he gleefully worked on them all afternoon and the next day as well. As he prepared to leave the office Friday night, he was excited about getting back to work on Monday.

Then Camila hit him with the question. It was only ten days to Christmas, and she left him thinking about wishes with a boner hard enough to drive nails into hickory.

Wicked woman!

Chapter 2

Tish smiled from her comfy spot on the couch where she was nursing their daughter, Celeste, as she heard Henry return from work through the closet door.

"Honey! I'm home!" he called out like some old-timey sitcom husband.

The twins leapt up from their spot before the TV to charge out of the living room and into the hall. Tish slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh as she heard Henry's grunt of surprise as two sexy Succubi jumped him in their highly excited state.

The nature channel was showing a special on the mating habits of large wild cats. Henry was in for a surprise.

He briefly appeared at the end of the hall, being tugged by the two females towards the bedroom. He cast her a look of bewilderment then he was gone.

Tish returned her attention to her child, who was almost finished with her dinner. She knew Henry would be late getting home this week as he'd been away so long.

Twenty minutes later, Henry walked into the living room in only his jammie bottoms. He smelled fresh from the shower, and she sighed happily as he cuddled in next to her. He kissed her with minty fresh breath, and she gave him a suspicious look. "Did you eat dinner?"

He nodded. "Yup, I finished the second half of the sub sandwich Marisa picked up for me at lunch.

"Hmmm... and that was enough?" she pushed.

He smiled. "I'll have a big breakfast." He fixed his eye on her. "Now, what the hell were Aadya and Maliha watching before I got home?"

"Lions mating."

He gaped at her. "You can't let Succubi watch sexy movies!"

She shrugged with a grin. "I didn't find it sexy."

He snorted in annoyance.

Tish decided to change the topic. "Listen, did Mahati speak to you about Kali?"

Henry shook his head slightly with a grin. "No, and now that you mention it, where is that troublemaker?" Tish couldn't suppress the wince, and Henry's smile dropped away. "What? What happened? Where is she?"

Tish put her hand on Henry's and squeezed it gently. "We don't know. She went missing the night of the Skyfall."

Henry was immediately on his feet. "Why didn't she tell me?" He thought back to all the time they'd spent together in Washington this past week when she might have told him but didn't. "I need to speak with Mahati."

Tish released his hand. "She said Kali had been preoccupied for a bit, and she often disappeared for periods of time. Not typically this long."

Henry switched to his t-shirt and jeans glamor and pointed towards the front door.

Tish nodded. "Be really careful!"

He kissed her tenderly and smiled before leaving the condo to walk down to Mahati's door. He knew she was a bit of a night owl, so she'd be awake. He knocked.

Moments later, she pulled the door open, and her smile slipped as she saw the look of concern on his face. "Henry. What—"

"Why didn't you tell me Kali was missing?" he asked as he reached forward to take her hand in his.

She saw his concern for her plainly on his face as the warmth of his hand gave her butterflies in her tummy. She pulled him inside so she could close the door.

She led him to the sofa in her living room, and they sat.

"You had enough on your plate, and I have Roy looking into it for me," the lawyer said gently.

Henry gave her a stern look. "When my friends are in need, I don't care how much is on my plate. I need to help!"

Mahati's eyes were locked on his, and once more, he was mesmerized by how lovely they were. He needed to change directions.

"Baba left my head full of her magic. Multiple lifetimes worth of it. Some I can't and won't look at as it would corrupt my mind beyond redemption. But some is very useful. There are tracking, and location spells available to me."

Mahati looked at him in surprise, and a little hope appeared in her eyes.

Henry found a location spell in Baba's memories that seemed promising. "I need something personal of Kali's. The more connected she was to it, the better." As Mahati rushed off to Kali's bedroom to find the item, he examined the spell closer and felt its intent and purpose. Baba's most recent use was also hinted at; an image of a diary belonging to a married politician's young lover flashed in his mind. He suddenly felt a little squeamish having that knowledge as it seemed she wasn't above blackmail and extortion to make people do what she wanted.

When Mahati returned from the bedroom, he lifted his hands, and she dropped something into them. It didn't feel like a book. It was cold and metallic. He looked down into his palms and saw it was a gold chain. He frowned as his memories tickled his brain.

"She wore this every day. It was her favorite adornment," Mahati said as her lips trembled.

One end had a piercing for an ear or nostril, but the other end's piercing was more ornate, and he suddenly realized Kali wore this through her nipple. "Oh! Yes, this will work."

He held Mahati's eyes. "The spell first identifies if Kali is—" He stopped as Baba's callous nature was tainting the magic. "Sorry. It seems I'll have to be more careful in how I speak when using Baba's spells."

Mahati's eyes widened. "Her mannerisms are bound to the magic?"

Henry nodded as his face warmed up while his mind scanned over his knowledge of her spells. "I hadn't noticed before, but some of her... frequently used spells have her imprint on them."

Mahati frowned in concern. "If using the magic puts you in any danger, maybe it's not a good idea."

He shook his head. "Vigilance is the price of freedom. I can't turn my back on something that might help a friend. I just need to be cautious of her influence." He rolled his neck to loosen the muscles. "As I was about to say, the initial level of the spell forms a link between the object and the owner but only if the owner is... capable. I won't do this unless you want to know."

She bit her lip and nodded. Henry could tell she was frightened, but she pushed through it. He smiled at her and nodded. He moved back from her on the couch a little and concentrated on the chain in his hands. He opened his mind to the sensations coming from the jewelry and linked himself to the old magic in the bones of his right ring finger. This spell only worked with the old magic.

He suddenly felt the tug of the piercing on his nipple and the tingles that sent through her body. Their perceptions were blending! These... were Kali's sensations, not his, but he felt them. She gasped, and he felt the air in his lungs, the excruciating pain in her body, the cold steel of the handcuffs and the fire in his wrists, and finally, her sudden awareness of his mind in hers. He felt her desperate hope surge.

"I'm coming," he whispered to her. He knew where she was.

Henry released the spell and opened his eyes. Mahati was watching him with a mix of hope and dread on her face.

"She's alive," he said, and Mahati burst into relieved tears.

"Give me a minute," he said stiffly as he stood and walked into Kali's bedroom, stopping in the door to look back at Mahati. "Don't come in here until I say it's safe." He saw her confusion at first, then she nodded. He closed the door.

Kali was in danger. She was being tortured, and she desperately wanted to go home, but she was in restraints. He reached for another spell from Baba's memory. It was like the Magic Door, but it moved the caster. He looked at Kali's closet door and memorized it and its location. Then he dropped his glamor.

Wrapping his left hand around his right ring finger, he recalled how he used this gesture to communicate with his daughter. A stab of pain went through his chest at the memory of Baba's betrayal and his loss. It would take time to fully heal.

He took some deep breaths, then cleared his mind and called up the translocation spell. His finger ached from the demand he was making on the magic within it, but he pushed through. He pulled up Kali's location and launched the spell. His stomach twisted then a sharp pain struck across his shoulders as he heard a high-pitched scream.

He was standing in a dimly lit concrete block room. It was damp and cold and stank of shit, piss, sweat, blood, and fear. His shoulders were on fire from the sharp blow he'd taken, but he hadn't been the intended recipient of the bullwhip strike, so he'd been inside its reach, diminishing the power. Before him, Kali was chained to the wall with two pairs of handcuffs linking her arms to rings bolted to the concrete walls. Her arms were spread wide, and she was struggling to support herself on the coiled muscle of her tail.

Her glamor was gone.

In a glance, he took in countless scars on her body, and the bruising on her upper body, teeth marks on her breasts. He felt the whip coming at his back again, so he spun and grabbed the braided leather out of the air and yanked.

The man who'd held the other end stumbled forward and fell onto his stomach. He was large and thick-bodied, but he was currently covered in black studded leather from head to foot. Not an inch of skin was exposed. The leather hood, jacket, pants, and boots were crisscrossed with straps and buckles. Henry found they made excellent grips as he lifted the man by the straps on his back and slammed him down against the concrete floor repeatedly until he heard whimpers.