Satyr Play

"Wow! You are a terrible liar," Stanley exclaimed. "Now, who are the Fae Council and why should I be concerned," he insisted.

Camila looked guiltily at Sigrid who frowned then nodded. Camila turned back to Stanley. "Paloma lost her glamor when she overdosed on your energies. We had to call in a Fae to create a new glamor for her. It almost didn't work because of her oversaturation. The Fae wanted to know where the energy came from. She informed us that she was going to report her findings to the Fae Council who would investigate. So far no one has shown up. This isn't like them at all."

"Maybe it was just an idle threat? Maybe no one is coming," Stanley suggested.

"The Fae don't make idle threats," Camila said with a frown.

Stanley looked at the two women who were both lost in their concern. He knew nothing about the Fae Council and had no idea what it meant that they hadn't acted. He could provide nothing positive to this worry session so he headed for the door. "I don't have the time or energy to waste on a bunch of what if's so I'm going back to work. My software installs need me. I'd suggest you two put the worry aside for now as well but you know better, right? Camila, please don't wait so long between feedings next time." With a wave he opened the door and stepped out, closing it behind him.

Sigrid snorted with a wide grin on her face. "Cheeky little shit, isn't he!"

Camila struggled to keep her own grin hidden then gave up and smiled. "Indeed, he is. He's also right, about a couple of things. We have other things to do that are more productive than waiting and worrying. Marisa is ready to return to work tomorrow. We are going to have to somehow inform Stanley that Marisa used to be Paloma but he can't ever address her as such. We don't know if Satyrs are long lived." Camila went silent for a moment.

"What's the other thing he was right about?" Sigrid asked, looking at her pensive friend.

"Huh? Oh, that I shouldn't wait so long next time before I feed. That sounded like an offer to me and I will definitely take him up on it. His energy is wonderful!" she said with a satisfied smile. Her eyes widened as she caught Sigrid's expression try to remain impassive.

"You are a terrible liar! You've had sex with him too!" Camila exclaimed.

"Just once! A moment of weakness! He's so damn sweet! He unintentionally wooed me!" Sigrid scrambled to deflect Camila's accusation.

"Wait a minute! Valkyrie's aren't going to bed anyone they consider too frail. Have you seen Stanley?" Camila chirped.

Sigrid squirmed. "Human Stanley? Not a chance. Satyr Stanley? Much... much... stronger," she admitted.

Camila smiled and looked at her friend. "Well, well, well. I know intimately what his energy does for a Succubus. What does it do for a Valkyrie?

The blond looked at the drawn blinds and smiled. "You might want to cover your eyes at first."

Marisa paced her living room going out of her mind. She was so incredibly bored. She knew her mother- aunt was arranging for her to begin tomorrow but she couldn't understand why it couldn't have been today. Stanley needed her. She was useless here!

The doorbell rang and she froze. The protection rune was sending her the vibe of a stranger and security hadn't called so this was likely the Fae council. Her mother wanted to be here when they arrived and had spent most of the week with her, training her on her new identity but also waiting for their arrival.

The doorbell rang once more. It was too late to do anything about it now. She walked to the door. "Who is it?"

"Inspector Ghammen."

Male voice. Definitely Fae. She opened the door. In the hall stood a very good looking, slim man dressed elegantly in a tan raincoat over black slacks and shiny leather shoes. It must be a uniform. "Come in Inspector."

He stepped inside and they moved into the living room. As he looked around, Marisa saw his lips moving. She felt the Fae magic scanning the room. She triggered her shield just as he turned his attention to her. His magic probe slid off and around her and his eyes widened ever so slightly.

"I'm following up on the last call Inspector Heriahn made. She'd been called out to rebuild a glamor," he said with a doubtful tone.

It was time to use the cover story she and her mother had worked out. It might serve as a good counter for Heriahn's statement.

"Yes, that's right. She did mine. We think it was damaged during that terrorist attack years ago. It started unraveling."

"May I see the glamor transition?" he asked carefully. It was a rude question but he was a Fae inspector so she'd expected it. Still, it earned him a glare. She dropped the glamor and snapped it back in place. She'd felt his attempt to probe her when the glamor came down but her shield was still in place.

"That's not a standard transition for non-Fae," he said, his frustration at being unable to get past her shield starting to show in his tone.

It was time to launch their second defensive move. "Yes, Inspector Heriahn did not appear to be well and had significant difficulty in binding the new glamor to me. It was a very painful experience! I was surprised to see the transition was different but she left before I could ask about it. She also left using one of my cloaks."

Ghammen froze when she mentioned Heriahn had appeared to be ill. No Fae would allow a weakness to be visible. To mention she used a cloak indicated the Fae was in distress. Considering how their people had found the inspector this made sense. The appearance of the body indicated the long term disease had been the cause of her death but she should have had years left. Performing this binding may have been too much for Heriahn and it drained her past the point where she could suppress the disease.

Still, he was frustrated by that shield. He wanted a look inside this woman's head to get the truth. This went against very strict cross species Hidden Races policies and was a forbidden practice but the Fae played by their own rules when it came to investigating the death of one of their own. One last attempt then.

Marisa used her sight on the Fae to see if he was also suffering from the disease. Instead she saw a rapid build-up of dark energies.

When Ghammen launched his mental probe, it didn't plunge into the mind of a helpless, unaware female as he'd expected but was effortlessly deflected by a fully enraged Succubus in attack mode. Her glamor was gone and her claws were fully extended. The razor-sharp tips carried her impenetrable shield spell around them and ripped through his glamor to score deeply across his actual cheek. Worse still, the damaged spell he'd launched clung to him, embedded in his own wounds marking him as a rapist. He attempted to flee but she spun and struck him in the temple with her heel. As he crumpled to the floor it never occurred to him how she'd seen the attack coming or how to hit his actual face through his glamor which was a good foot lower than his glamor indicated.

Marisa took deep breaths as she struggled to regain control of her rage. She could easily kill the Fae at her feet and desperately wanted to but his guilt was plain to see for anyone with even the minimal amount of sight. Instead she bound his real arms and legs using her sight and called the authorities.

Not the New York Police Department but inspectors from the Hidden Races Council. She filed her complaint and asked for at least five representatives including a Fae. This was her right as one species filing a complaint against another was a high-level charge.

Within the hour, a group of five arrived and found the Fae struggling against his bonds on her living room floor. He screeched something at the Fae Representative who said a few words and he shut up immediately. The other four frowned at the Fae Representative as she'd spoken out of turn. Marisa sat in the living room with them and went through the events of the encounter and explained the circumstances of the first visit from Inspector Heriahn as she had for the Fae tied on the floor wearing the rapist's mark.

There was one major drawback for Marisa that came with filing the complaint. She had to divulge her ability as an unregistered, untrained seer to explain how she saw his imminent attack. This would go on record and her mother would learn of it and know she'd been kept in the dark all these years. She regretted that but not enough to let this rapist go free. She would also likely be called upon to serve on some committee or other administrative body using her ability for the good of the people. Ugh.

Each of the representatives asked questions and reviewed the information they had. The four glared at the Fae Representative for preventing the prisoner from speaking in his defense. Again, she'd broken protocol and there would be ramifications amongst the Council.

Finally, they thanked Marisa for her cooperation and let her know they would be in touch.

"Before you go I would like to ask one question." They nodded, even the Fae, though reluctantly. "I'm a little confused about why Inspector Ghammen was here at all. I answered his questions but he still tried to rape my mind. What was he here for?"

The four turned to the Fae Representative who looked like she'd just stepped in something offensive. Sighing she looked at Marisa. "He is investigating the death of Inspector Heriahn."

"She's dead?" Marisa's shock was clear and honest.

"Yes, seemingly from this disease you claim to have seen," the Fae snarled.

Marisa's eyes flared and she looked at the female. It was there, too. And it was advanced. Her knowledge and surprise must have shown on her face.

The Fae's eyes flashed with shock and humiliation as she rushed out of the condo. The others realized what had happened and gave her concerned looks. A representative of the Japanese Spirits Combine leaned in towards her. "Get training in your abilities soon. Learn when to use them and, more importantly, when not to."

She nodded in regret and he returned it with satisfaction. Two others hoisted the bound Fae between them and covered him with a blanket. Suddenly he wasn't there. They left the condo as well. She locked up and went back to the living room to drop into a chair.

So Heriahn was dead. Before she could make her report about the wild magic she found. Killed by the same disease the Fae Representative had. Something had accelerated the disease's timeline.

Or someone.

Looking into the shadows of the room she kept that last thought to herself.

Chapter 7

Stanley woke with the distinct impression that someone was watching him. It had to be his new housekeeper as no one else had keys to his condo and he could smell something good cooking in the kitchen. He opened his eyes and looked at the end of his bed. Long black hair. Very pretty. Petite in stature, a few inches shorter than he was and slim. Her most striking feature though were the five colored fox tails moving behind her back. Red, pink, green, blue, and violet. He had no idea what to make of this. The tails twitched, became the more familiar red, black and white of a fox's tail then vanished behind her.

"Good morning," she said.

He blinked. This was the first time she'd spoken to him. "Good morning."

"I am Yuko."

"Stanley."

"You are a puzzle."

"I am?" he asked.

"A game is being played and you are a key piece. Maybe the key piece," she said with a tilt of her head. "We do not know what the goal of this game is. Is it good or bad? We do not know what will happen if the game is allowed to complete."

"Allowed to complete. That sounds ominous," he said nervously to the small woman who had been watching him sleep, defenseless. Maybe he should ask for her key back.

She smiled at him. "I think you are good but good pieces can be used to do bad things."

"Good things too though, right? I want to do good! That should count for something," he urged.

"It should?" She looked truly puzzled by this concept.

"Of course!" He glanced at the clock. Five minutes until his alarm went off. Good enough. He turned it off and caught a flash of blue hair as she left the room with a glance and a smile back at him.

He really should ask for her key or better, get the lock changed.

He got up and switched back to his human state before he took a shower. He'd discovered that being fresh and clean as a human translated directly into being fresh and clean as a Satyr but it took much less time to dry off without all the fur.

After getting dressed he went out into the kitchen. He took a deep breath. He wasn't good with confrontation. Yuko was once more headed for the door.

"Yuko, wait."

She paused and looked back.

"I need your key please."

"My key? Why? Have I not served well?" she asked as the smile slipped from her face.

"You have done an awesome job and I am very happy with your work." Her smile returned and she turned to the door again. "However, you said some things this morning that's left me feeling like my life may be in danger from you if you continue to work for me. I'm sorry but I'm going to have to let you go."

She spun back to face him desperately. "No! Please! I take back what I said! Let me stay!"

Stanley paused seeing her dismay. "I- I wish I could. I really liked having you work for me but you can't take back what you said. I no longer feel safe with you. Please give me the key."

Large dark eyes looked up at him and filled with tears. "Please..."

Stanley's heart was breaking but he had to remain strong. "I'm so sorry..."

"Mother will learn of my mistake and will tell my father to cut off my allowance and send for me."

"What?" he said in surprise.

"The Japanese Spirits Combine will learn of my mistake and they will send me away. I do not wish to go away. All my friends are here in New York City! It is so fun here and so dull at home!" Tears were beginning to roll down her cheeks.

"So, don't leave," he suggested.

"You do not understand! I cannot be disobedient to my parents. They pay for everything! When they learn of my failure they will cut off my funds and I will be forced to go back to Japan and leave my friends. My life will be ruined!"

He blinked at her. She'd put him in a bad place. He no longer felt safe with her but he didn't want to 'ruin her life'. He glanced at the clock. He had to get to work soon. His stomach was in no mood to eat now. He sighed.

"Listen, I won't fire you now but I want to speak with you tonight when I get home. You have until then to come up with a really good reason why I should continue to trust you and not fear for my life. If you can't, you'll give me the key and leave. Understood?"

She nodded as tears continued to roll down her cheeks. On impulse he reached out his hands to gently tilt her face up and wiped her tears away with his thumbs. "No more tears, please."

She dipped her head in a nod and did her best to hide a shy smile.

His thumbs tingled oddly and he shook them out as he grabbed his keys and laptop case. "I'll see you tonight."

She nodded and smiled at him, her tears already drying. He felt better about that.

His new commute was definitely shorter than his old one and he rather enjoyed moving with the throng of people to get to work. He was feeling particularly charged this morning. The server builds were moving along really well. The power protection system was going in today, more electricians, and if all went well the backup system and the storage solutions he ordered would be arriving. The new servers hummed happily and smoothly under his hands and he'd spotted the one bad network interface card early on and replaced it. That would have set him back a week if he'd missed it.

Camila also promised him an executive assistant with Paloma's talent was arriving today. He really enjoyed working with Siobhan but she didn't really understand technology or anticipate his needs like Paloma had. He tried not to get too discouraged but he doubted he'd ever find someone as gifted as Paloma.

As he walked the final block to the office he got the prickly back of the neck sensation and glanced over his shoulder. He spotted the same car once more tailing him and frowned. He turned back and saw Mr. Duncan stepping from the front door of VRL walking towards him. He heard the engine rev behind him and the car sped off past them down the road. Mr. Duncan looked at Stanley with a concerned frown on his face.

"Good morning, Mr. Duncan. Glorious morning to be stalked, isn't it?" Stanley said with a grin on his face.

"Aye. I'll have another word with the CEO about this," he grumbled.

"Thank you. That would be appreciated. Have a good day!" Stanley said as he entered the building. He took the elevator up to the top floor and walked down the hall to his office. Siobhan was packing up her things at her desk.

"Good morning, Mr. Garin!" she said with her cheeky smile.

"Good morning, Ms. Whelan," he returned.

"Oh! Who's the saucy one now?" she said with a grin.

"Just giving as good as I get," he grinned in return. "I'll miss the verbal sparring. You have been an excellent executive assistant as well."

"As I will miss your energetic but largely futile attempts to teach me the ways of the giggety flippety flops," she sighed theatrically causing him to laugh. "Before you get too comfortable, Ms. Villamor asked me to send you directly to her office when you arrive. I understand your new executive assistant has arrived. She's a real looker. Half the fellas in the mailroom are sticking pins in their CIO voodoo dolls as we speak. The other half are still crying that Paloma has left."

He nodded and put his bag in his office. He took a quick look at the servers on the test bench he'd set up, saw they were still happy, and locked up behind himself. With a nod to Siobhan he headed to Camila's office. Felix gestured for him to go in so he knocked and stepped inside closing the door behind himself.

He turned and got three steps into the office noticing Camila behind the desk, Sigrid sitting across from her and another blond woman sitting in the chair next to Sigrid. This woman stood and turned to face him. She smiled. Stanley stumbled to a stop.

The woman was more than a 'looker' as Siobhan had mentioned. She was stunning! Stanley felt like a moth drawn to her brilliance. His eyes widened and he couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his lips. He felt his posture straightening and his chest puffing out. These were automatic corrections and they seemed ridiculous considering how intensely beautiful she was and how plain and small he was.

That's when it hit him. He'd felt it but he hadn't recognized it. The pull he'd felt earlier. It wasn't just her beauty. He- he knew her. He could feel a familiarity in every cell of his body. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open.

"Paloma?" he whispered.

Her smile softened. "Not any more Stanley. My name is Marisa now. You have to let my old identity go just as I had to."

He blinked in confusion. "What? Why?"

"The change I went through the night we had sex. All that energy, it permanently altered my anatomy and how I look. I'm several inches taller. Longer legs, longer torso and longer arms. Several inches wider around my chest. It also burned away my old glamor. I had to get a new one but you can see I don't look like Paloma at all. It's impossible to explain these changes, so for the Humans I had to take on a new persona. I'm Marisa now."

"I- I'm so sorry! I had no idea-"

"It's ok Stanley. I've had a few days to take it all in. I'm good with it," she smiled. "Are you ready to have me work with you as your executive assistant?"

Stanley's face split into a wide grin. "Yes!"

Camila got his attention. "Stanley, for the first few days at least you'll have to act like Marisa is a stranger. She's going to be meeting everyone for the first time again," Camila cautioned him and he thought about that and nodded.