Satyr Play 02 Pt. 01

"You will show me the proper respect, or I will make you understand the severity of your mistake," she hissed at the three before her.

Threatening his friends was a splash of reality to clear Henry's dazed brain. He frowned and stood, switching into his Satyr form in a blink.

Glowing eyes twitched to him, and he saw them widen.

"It's true..." Mahati murmured as she scanned his body top to bott—Her eyes stopped at his very obvious nudity.

"Damn it, Henry! Can't you wear pants, underwear, even a fucking apron to hide that thing?" Roy growled in annoyance.

He looked down and groaned. "Oh, sorry. I forgot to put my kilt on this morning before I switched."

He looked up to see Mahati muttering something as her four hands made odd and intricate gestures. The small hairs on his neck began to stand on end as he felt the energies building. He found himself stepping forward to reach out and grab her hands just as she brought her lefts and rights together.

"NO!" Camila screamed, but it was too late.

The spell Mahati had primed collapsed as Henry's tight grip broke her control over it. The resulting blast wave of energy exploded outwards, tossing Henry and Mahati away from each other.

Sigrid snapped her shield in place just as she pulled Camila to her side. The wave deflected around them, but Roy was blown back against the wall and fell to the floor unconscious.

The moment it passed, Camila's claws were out, and she was striding towards Mahati with murderous intent. Sigrid's cooler mind prevailed, and she stopped her friend from gutting the great-great-granddaughter of someone important. They stared down at the Nāga and saw she was breathing but out cold.

They moved to Roy and saw he was coming around. He appeared uninjured, aside from a nasty bump on the head. His rapid healing response would take care of that, so he waved them off as he got to his feet, holding his head.

Henry had tumbled head over hooves to stop against the room's far wall. Camila and Sigrid knelt on either side of him, gently easing his heavy body away from the wall, and laid him out on the soft carpet.

"How are his hands?" Sigrid asked. She was worried he would have deep burns.

Camila gently turned his palm upwards, but there wasn't a mark on him. Sigrid found the same thing on his other hand.

"How does he do that?" The tall blond said as she looked across his body to her friend.

"It's the second time I've heard of him blocking magic. The first time was with Yuko—"

"YUKO!" Henry yelped as he suddenly sat up, causing Camila and Sigrid to fall back onto their butts. He hissed and shook his hands as they tingled badly like hundreds of tiny needles were pricking them.

He glanced over to look at the two ladies staring back at him in surprise. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Sigrid climbed to her feet and moved to help Camila up. She looked back at Henry, who remained sitting on the floor. He was rubbing his hands on his legs and grimacing. "We're fine. What's wrong with you?"

"Feels like my hands fell asleep. They're all prickly! What happened?" he asked as they helped him stand.

"You don't remember grabbing Mahati's hands as she prepared to launch a spell?" Camila said, then swatted his shoulder in frustration. "You have to stop doing that!"

Henry blinked at her and rubbed his shoulder. "I-I don't remember... doing that."

Sigrid shared a worried glance with Camila and led them back to stand next to Mahati, who was beginning to show signs of waking.

"Owww..." the prone Nāga moaned. She lifted her hands, all four of them, and they looked badly sunburned.

"What spell were you trying to cast on Henry?" Camila asked calmly.

Mahati suddenly sat up and looked around wildly. Her eyes stopped when they found Henry standing before her with a concerned expression. He showed no signs of damage, yet her hands felt like they were on fire! She winced and shrank back from him. With her hands in this condition, she couldn't use her magic. "What are you?!?" she whimpered.

He glanced at Sigrid in confusion, then back at the Nāga. "Uh, I'm a Satyr. The only one."

Sigrid stepped a little closer and glared at her. "You see now? He's immune to your magic, so no more stupid stunts like that one. Got it?" she barked, and Mahati nodded pitifully.

"Are you going to be okay?" Henry asked gently, and she looked into his eyes momentarily before nodding.

"You are... not what I expected," she said quietly. "My sister said you were... kind. I did not believe her."

Henry's eyebrows went up. He'd met her sister?

Camila frowned and nodded. "Yet you seemed ready for a fight the moment you arrived. Care to explain why?"

Mahati collected her thoughts and coiled her tail underneath herself. This raised her head slightly above the others, making her feel better.

"The Hidden Races Council came to my family to ask my mother to take the position of VRL's external legal counsel. She refused as was her right, being the family matriarch and far too important to work for a company as insignificant as VRL." Camila bristled but held her tongue. "Instead, I was appointed in her place." Mahati took a deep breath and continued. "I-I've never worked outside of the family practice. I'm an expert in corporate and civil law, both Human and Hidden Races, but... I've never worked directly with a client before. I read the dossier and familiarized myself with the case and... I thought I understood the threat Mr. Gable represented for the stability of our society—"

"So you thought you'd just take him out quick with a lethal spell and solve everyone's troubles, especially your own," Sigrid growled and saw from the lawyer's widening eyes that she'd gotten it right. The Valkyrie's armor snapped into place, flooding the room with light. The spear looked especially intimidating in her fist.

"Sigrid! Please! Put your weapons away. There's been enough violence today, and it's not even lunchtime yet!" Henry pleaded. "She made a mistake. She paid for it. Let's put it behind us and move forward." He turned his eyes to Mahati. "Please don't try to kill me anymore. I'm not a bad guy. I only want to live my life in peace. There was also some stuff missing in that file, like if you kill me, the Fae race might also perish."

Her eyes flew wide, and he realized he was right about the file.

"What? How?" the lawyer gasped.

Henry looked uncomfortable as Camila and Sigrid were scowling at him. He was speaking on things he was not allowed to discuss. "Sorry, I've said more than the Council allows. Just believe me when I say there would be unexpected ramifications. As Sigrid said, it wouldn't have worked anyway, so... moot point."

Mahati looked like a light breeze might knock her over. She looked between them and sighed. "I've made such a mess of this so far. Mother is going to be most upset with me."

"We're not going to say anything," Henry said and looked into the eyes of Camila, Sigrid, and Mr. Duncan, who was frowning but nodded to show he agreed.

"There is still the matter of my burns. I can't hide these," Mahati moaned.

"That's something you'll need to deal with on your own. You could go to the Fae as they have excellent healers. Just don't tell them what you were trying to do when you got hurt," Camila suggested.

She nodded, and once more, a flash of light preceded her switch back to her disguise. Everyone followed suit until only humanity was represented in the room. "I'll have to postpone my meeting with Mr. De Hann," she said, lifting her hands.

"I'll let him know," Camila said and received a nod.

Mahati began to turn, then looked back. "Should either Baba Yaga or Queen Mab attempt to contact you, you must contact me immediately as your legal representative. This is mandatory as a condition of Mr. Gable's ongoing freedom."

"What?" Sigrid growled. "There can be no conditions on his freedom!"

"This condition has been invoked by order of the Hidden Races Council. If you'd like to protest, you may bring your concerns to the attention of the senior members," the lawyer stated. She looked into Henry's eyes again, nodded to him, and walked away with as much dignity as possible. She had to deactivate the lock with her elbow, then she was gone.

Once the door closed, Henry looked at the unhappy faces of the others.

"I knew they were acting too supportive. I should have known there'd be a cost," Camila said quietly.

"It doesn't seem too daunting a request," Henry offered.

"It's not a request! It's a condition. Just the first of many until you have no freedom left at all," Roy grumbled. "If we don't find a way to get them to back off, and I mean completely, they won't stop until you are locked away in a dark pit somewhere, drugged and paralyzed."

Henry looked at the big man in dismay. "Damn, that's pretty grim."

"Sorry, but it's a possible outcome," the security man said.

"So my new allies are worse than the Fae?" Henry said with a scowl.

Camila sighed and shared a look with her chief of security. "That's one outcome and a dark one at that, but that's what makes Roy so good at his job. He sees potentialities that others block from their perceptions. That doesn't mean he's right in this instance. That may be a long way down the line, but I agree that we must take steps to show conditions are unacceptable now."

Henry looked at the others in dismay. "Can't I just go back to being a CIO and keep my head down?"

Sigrid looked at him fondly and nodded. "Why don't you head back upstairs and return to that."

He gave her a grateful smile, nodded to Camila and Roy, grabbed his laptop, and hustled away.

He left before they could change their minds.

Once the door closed again, Camila turned to Sigrid. "Would Henry have been immune to the Nāga's spell?"

Sigrid shook her head doubtfully. "The energy she was channeling would have blown a hole through the back wall after incinerating him if she'd managed to focus it. I don't know how Henry did it, but he was damn lucky to defocus her spell when he did." She gave them a grim look. "But she now thinks he's immune, so she won't try again."

Camila frowned as she looked at her two friends. "I feel like we messed up in protecting Henry, but how could we have known the legal representative the Council appointed would try to assassinate him?"

"Ay, we couldn't. Sometimes, luck plays a greater part than strategy. And luck, good and bad, circle the lad like vultures." Roy said with a scowl and took deep breaths to settle his nerves.

Camila nodded. "Okay, put some thought into how we can get the Hidden Race Council to back off on their conditions. We will meet again at the end of the day to brainstorm."

Roy and Sigrid nodded, and the three headed upstairs to begin their regular duties.

It was just a regular business day, after all.

Chapter 4

"Who's fucking with the satellite imagery? I swear to God, if the guilty party doesn't step forward and confess to creating these creative little masterpieces, I will hunt you down and grind your balls under my sharp, pointy heels!"

The room went silent. Nervous eyes looked over monitors at Janice Whetstone, Director of the Climate Research Division of the EPA, as she fumed from the doorway. Half of the technicians in the room were female, and even they were worried about that threat.

"Nobody? No modern-day Rembrandts want to confess to doctoring satellite images from the last run?" Janice asked with a sweet tone that fooled no one. She noted evident shock in the eyes of several of the techs as they heard the crime. She frowned when she felt the light touch on her arm. She turned to see a messenger in the hall. He handed her a folded piece of paper and made his escape. Janice read the paper, and her frown deepened.

When she turned her attention back to the team, they hid a little farther behind their monitors.

"I was just informed that some older images as far back as three weeks ago show the same doctoring. All images are now being reviewed to determine the true scope of this little sabotage!" the Director raged.

"Director Whetstone! Please join me in my office," a voice said from behind her.

She turned to see Rick Mondeyo, the department manager, standing behind her. He was a big man and very dark-skinned. Handsome in a swarthy, ethnic way. The man was in jeans, a T-shirt, and sandals. Not office attire but then she recalled he was off this week.

"Aren't you on vacation?" she said tersely, trying to ignore his dark eyes, sexy mouth, and how tight those jeans were!

He nodded and gestured for her to precede him down the hall. He leaned in the doorway and saw many grateful smiles.

"Debs, join us, please."

The tech in question gave him a deer-in-the-headlights look as all eyes turned to her. He shook his head reassuringly and gestured for her to join him. She popped up from her chair and rushed after him and the Director, who was almost at his door already.

Rick let them inside, flipped on the light, and moved around his desk to turn on his computer. He gestured for Janice to take a seat and indicated to the tech to stand by. He logged in to his PC and got it into the Archive application. Then he turned his attention back to the Director.

"I have access to the raw files that immediately go into the archive. They are undoctored files. The files you and the other directors receive have been processed but never doctored." He held up his hand to forestall her protest. "Please give me the file ID so I can find the source file."

She read the ID, and he ran a cross-check to find its source. He then pulled a copy of the raw file to his local desktop. He also copied the digital version of the file she had in her hand.

"Could you get the light, Debs?" he asked as he turned on his ceiling-mounted projector, which lit up one of his walls. His desktop projected on the wall. He opened the raw image file in his editor and then the processed one. Next, he gestured for Debs to sit at his desk before the PC.

He looked to the woman seated across the desk from him. "Which quadrant of the image had the anomalous artifacts?"

Janice snorted at his dancing around the issue, but she looked at the photo and read out the numbers.

"This is the source digital file, which was used to produce the photo you hold," he said, then turned to his tech. Receiving a nod from Rick, Debs pulled up the area of the photo and made a noise of surprise. In the sky above southern Missouri, a strangely crooked rainbow was giving birth to a bright white cloud. To the west of the rainbow, open skies. To the east, several big fluffy white clouds spread out in a triangular formation.

"Magnify this quadrant to look for artifacts," Rick told the tech.

"Artifacts?" Janice asked.

"All tools used for manipulating digital images leave some form of evidence behind—"

The tech was shaking her head. "I don't see any artifacts, but someone could have pixel-painted these, sir. That doesn't leave artifacts."

Rick looked at his worker doubtfully.

"Well?" Janice asked belligerently, hearing a possibility of sabotage.

"Debs, how many pixels in the affected area of this image?" he asked.

She zoomed out and selected the area containing the anomaly. "Oh."

"What does Oh mean?" Janice said testily.

Debs looked up at her boss. "Too many pixels to have done it manually."

"Exactly. There would be no way someone could have used that method to alter the images in the time between the satellite image capture and its archiving. These are unaltered files. The anomaly is there, and the image you have is a faithful copy of what was happening in the sky over Missouri. No one doctored the images you reviewed. I can't explain what's happening in Missouri, but... it is what it is!"

Debs snorted at her boss' weak joke, then wiped the smile from her face, seeing the hostile frown on the Director's face.

Janice huffed. She'd wanted to get to the bottom of this and return to her superiors with a simple answer. She also really wanted to dish out some punishment. Frustrated, she turned her attention to the hunk of manliness next to her. She didn't have to leave empty-handed. She opened her mouth to invite him to dinner.

"If that's everything, I must return to my niece's birthday party. My boyfriend was so upset that I left it to come here," Rick sighed.

Janice's mouth snapped shut as her expression soured. With a brief nod, she quickly walked from his office to head back to hers.

Debs was looking up at her boss in surprise. "I didn't know you had a boyfriend!"

Rick leaned over to shut down his PC, gestured for the woman to proceed him out of his office, and locked the door. Then he turned to face her.

"I don't. Janice isn't worthy of this," Rick said, gesturing to his body with a coy smile and headed home. Debs aimed her enormous grin at his back.

She turned and sprinted back to her team. She just had to share.

-=-

Sigrid was worn out after a long day. The encounter with Ms. Chandra at the exec meeting had been stressful but trying to work out a solution to get the Council to back off on putting conditions on Henry's freedom had been worse. They hadn't made any progress in their brainstorming session in Camila's office, so they decided to call it a day.

She smiled to herself as she climbed the stairs to her home. It was no longer a big empty home.

She opened the door with her key and smiled at the young woman standing in the entryway.

"Good evening, Meixiu."

"Good evening, Sigrid," the petite Chinese woman said with a smile and a bow. "How was your day?"

Sigrid locked the door and smiled at the seemingly young woman before her wearing her new favorite garb, an oversized t-shirt and yoga pants. Meixiu had the outward appearance of someone in her early twenties, but she'd been alive since sometime in the late eighteen hundreds. As a vampire, she was gifted with an extraordinarily long life.

Walter Zhao, VRL's previous legal representative, had been a Dragon, another long-lived race. He'd accepted Meixiu as a gift from her parents when she was a young girl. He proceeded to bring her to America, enslaved her in his mansion, and trained her to be his servant. When she reached her twenties, he'd arranged to have her infected with a vampire virus to lock her biologically at his preferred age. That process was horrifying and excruciatingly painful, but Walter wanted it, so it was done.

The virus was the last vestige of an extinct Hidden Race. While only Humans could be infected, the virus linked the host to the realm of magic and gave them abilities and long lives. The moment Walter was sure the infection had taken hold, he'd placed a curse upon her to take away her sight. She'd spent the next century in the dark.

Some of the...tasks Walter had given her during that time horrified Sigrid when she'd heard of them. Each time she recalled them, she replaced the thoughts with the satisfying memory of driving her spear through Walter's brain and watching the life fade from his eyes.

For all the horrors she'd been through, Meixiu was a kind and gentle soul. She'd never let Walter change her core values, and as long as she was obedient, he didn't care what she did or was.

Sigrid was introducing her to present-day life and guiding her with how to function in it. She hoped Meixiu might learn to be independent.

"My day was tiring," she said with a smile as she walked into her living room and dropped onto the couch. Meixiu followed her in and sat a short distance away. "We met VRL's new external legal representative. Mahati Chandra. She's a Nāga, a wielder, and a strong one at that. She was directed by the Council to contain Henry. Instead, she decided that immediately eliminating him would serve the greater good.