Satyr Play 04 Pt. 02

Roy patted Henry's shoulder. "You let me deal with them. Come on, I'll drive you to work."

"Thanks, but I'll take a door," he said and hugged Mary.

They headed outside, and Henry turned to Talia.

She stepped forward and kissed him hard. Surprised by the intensity, he smiled at her when she pulled back.

"It is good to have you fully back," she said, then went upstairs to check on the kids. Her cheeks were quite pink.

Meixiu took the opportunity to rush over and get another hug and kiss as well.

"We missed you, and when you came back, you were so broken it was difficult for everyone," she said gently.

"How many people did you text?" he asked.

Her eyes flicked up to his as she slipped an innocent smile on her lips. "A few."

He was going to be busy today.

After he spent some time kissing and cuddling his babies.

Were they still babies?

Post-Epilogue

Minkah Kamilah Nassor Meskhenet sat atop the largest dune she could find and faced the sun as it slowly dropped toward the horizon. She'd completed her cleansing ceremony. Arrayed before her were her favorite blades, cleansed as well. Her black robes allowed the desert winds to pass through to ruffle the fur on her Bastet body. The fur below her eyes showed the darkened stain of her tears, a permanent sign of her bereavement. She was marked and would leave this world that way.

Before she went, she'd ensured she'd completed her final mission for Henry. Hunting the elusive Harkland LoKennishen had taken her from the Shetland Islands to Oslo, Norway, then Stockholm, Sweden. She chased him to Tallinn, Estonia, and tracked him through Riga, Latvia, to finally confront him in Minsk, Belarus. He'd hired a team of mercenaries that exhausted the last of his wealth, so after she'd painted the walls of his safe house with their blood, there was nowhere for him to go. The crafty bastard still had some nasty magic at his disposal, and she lost an eye in the final fight.

Harkland lost his skin in tiny strips over the course of two days before she eventually allowed him to expire, screaming.

When she returned to her home in Egypt and reported the successful completion of her mission to Roy, she learned that Henry had sacrificed himself to stop a threat that would have consumed all life within their dimension.

Her chosen mate was gone.

She settled her affairs, then went on a cleanse in the heat of the desert. She had much to resolve in her mind before it would be time for her to move from this plane of existence.

Minkah was finally ready, and tonight was the night.

She held her palms out over her blades and pulled a final breath of the dry desert into her lungs.

Her remaining eye flew open.

There was a scent that wasn't supposed to be here.

Her hackles rose, and she took the scent again to confirm. It was upwind! Further along the ridge of the dune and making no effort to hide.

A Nekomata? Here? Now?

Minkah snatched up two of her blades and charged along the sand until she saw the petite form of the Nekomata standing still on the sand with a smug smile on her face. Minkah pounced, but still, the Nekomata smiled.

When she collided with the force bubble surrounding her mortal enemy, she bounced up into the sky and lost her grip on her blades. Stunned, she landed in the sand inelegantly and rolled to a stop to glare back at her.

She froze when Henry climbed into view from the other side of the dune.

"Thank you for finding her for me, Roku. Say hello to Greg for me," Henry said with a smile for the Nekomata, who grinned and lifted a middle finger to Minkah before responding to him.

"That was the most satisfying thing I have ever done in my life... next to sex with Greg. Sex with love is first," Roku said bluntly, and Henry nodded with a grin as he opened a tear to VRL's lobby. She stepped through and stuck her tongue out at Minkah before the tear snapped shut.

Minkah sat in the sand as the impossible walked toward her.

"I've gone mad!" she yelped as she lurched back from him.

Henry stopped and gave her a sad look. "No, you're fine. I'm told I went mad, which wasn't pleasant for anyone involved. I don't recommend it."

She frowned. "Roy told me you sacrificed yourself, that you were gone!"

Henry frowned. "And if you hadn't disappeared into the desert without a means for us to contact you, you would have received the call saying Baba brought me back."

"She healed you?" Minkah gasped.

Henry shook his head. "She tried and did her best, but no, I healed myself after she brought me home." He looked into her working eye once more. "If I could have called you, you would have learned I was back, and I wouldn't have had to ask Roku to search for you. For some reason, I can't use my location spell to find you."

"Why is that Nekomata still alive?" she snapped as she was confused, unsettled, and tired of being scolded.

"She's not really a full Nekomata anymore. She has no rage and minimal hate. She's also in love so that's a beautiful thing to see," Henry said with a smile, then scowled at her. "But you, you're being a bad kitty!"

Minkah had enough and leapt at Henry with her claws out. He instantly switched to his Satyr form and caught her wrists as they tumbled in the sand. She was more flexible, but Henry somehow managed to overpower her.

"What were you doing with your knives in the dune?" he asked as he pinned her down.

Her eyes widened in shock as she didn't want to admit that to him.

"I thought so," he said with a grim look.

She roared in his face, but he held her down. Her eyes were wild. "You were gone! We are mated! I am no longer able to be a hunter. I had nothing to live for!"

He held her eye, lowered his forehead to hers, and felt her calming.

"I have returned. We are mated. I can fix your eye. You know I can. You have everything to live for. The world is becoming more interesting every day, and I want you to be part of it," he said calmly.

Her lips sought out his, and he kissed her. She whimpered into his mouth, and he released her wrists so they could pull each other's clothing free. Then Henry drove himself into her hot and wet depths as she pulled at his body.

Minkah's need was desperate and intense, so Henry gave her what she needed. They howled their pleasure into the last rays of the sun as the sun dipped below the horizon.

As they shared their body heat on the side of the dune and admired the vast expanse of stars above, Minkah rested her face tucked in against Henry's neck and smiled at the steady pulse there. He had a strong heart.

"How did you defeat an enemy so terrible that looking upon them led to madness?" she asked quietly.

He smiled. "I have no idea."

She pulled back and looked at him in shock. "What?"

"I lost all my memories from the time I launched my effort to push the evil energy back into their realm until I woke at home," he admitted.

Her mouth moved, but she made no sounds until her brain caught up again. "What happens if you are faced with battling them again?"

Henry was quiet for a moment as he contemplated such an event. "While I sincerely hope it never happens again, if it does, I guess I'll do what I always do. I'll rely on the love from my friends to give me the strength to continue."

As they settled back to enjoy the light show above, Henry wondered how the monsters in the dark would appreciate a little love.