Satyr Play 02 Pt. 01

Finally, only three were left on this side of the tear, which was beginning to collapse. These stopped beside Henry. He felt their gratitude, but they all pointed away from the rip and slightly to the right. He listened. He felt a single mind crying out to them. It felt them leaving, and didn't want to be left behind. He sent his assurance to the three, and they rushed through the opening to join the others. Henry watched them moving away down the hillside, and the feeling of the contentment which filled them bled through to him.

As he released his grip on the gap, something huge and black rushed through the tear into the dark gym before the opening collapsed completely. Frightened, Henry's mind fled the chamber and flew away into the night, drawn toward the solitary mind. The enormous distance flashed by in an instant.

Henry found himself floating on the mountaintop plateau next to the last glass being. He was weary beyond measure, but he'd promised. He felt the loneliness in this one and sent assurances, feeling its hope in return. He reached out with his will again, envisioning the hillside, and a smaller tear flashed into existence. The effort to widen it enough for the being to step through drained him severely.

The Glass Man could see the others down the hill, and his happiness surged through their link. This gave Henry a little strength. As it walked toward the opening, Henry heard angry screaming and turned to see a group of soldiers running toward the Glass Man to prevent his escape. The soldier in the lead seemed to be the one in charge as he was screaming most violently and pointing his gun at the rift.

Henry desperately tried to block the soldiers, and a second tear appeared before them. This one showed only a yellow sky. Keeping it open was impossible for Henry in his weakened state, and it collapsed shortly after the squad leader tumbled through. His scream of rage turned to terror, then silence as the small rift snapped shut.

The squad of soldiers slammed to a stop, frozen in shock. They watched the Glass Man step through the first opening and walk away into the red field. Through this opening, in the far distance, they saw their leader plummet from the sky into a river of lava before the rift snapped closed. Henry watched the men share nervous glances, then turn and walk away.

Weary beyond measure, Henry turned to face home, but he didn't have the strength to make the journey. Instead, he let his mind drift upwards into the sky to join with the Fae spell and hoped it would guide him the long way home.

-=-

Siobhan woke to the sound of her cell ringing. She blinked blearily at it and fumbled it before she managed to hit the answer button.

"Hello?" she mumbled.

"Siobhan? I'm so sorry to call you, but Henry was grabbed at the dance club, and I don't know how to reach anyone else at VRL!" a voice frantically babbled.

Siobhan was immediately awake when she heard Henry was in danger. She sat up. The voice—"Sandy?"

"Yes!"

"Take a breath and tell me what happened. Who grabbed Henry?"

"We don't know! There was another gas attack like the one on the subway, and everyone was tearing their clothes off to have sex or trying to escape the dance club! Henry carried me outside, but a fight broke out, and he got pulled into it. Roger thinks he saw someone pulling Henry away. Once the police cleared the fight, there was no sign of him."

Siobhan was stunned. She didn't know who would have kidnapped Henry. "Is Roger with you?"

"Yes."

"Put him on, please."

She heard the phone being passed, then Roger's voice. "Hello?"

"Can you describe the person who took Henry?" Siobhan asked.

"It looked like the guy who came to Stanley's condo after the kidnapping. Hey! His family has the shittiest luck when it comes to being grabbed! OWW! Fuck! Stop it! I'm sorry!"

Siobhan heard female voices raised in anger and Roger taking slaps.

"What did he look like?" Siobhan called out.

"Shit! Stop! She's asking me a question! Fuck... uh, look like? Uh... like an aristocratic snob. Smaller than Henry, but he dragged him away." Roger said with a pained voice.

"So Henry didn't go willingly," Siobhan asked to clarify.

"No, but... he took a few punches from the crowd, and... he might have been a little drunk," Roger said reluctantly.

Siobhan heard Sandy arguing with Roger. She heard something about only one drink. Roger then admitted to spiking his drink to help him relax. More screams of outrage and the sound of slaps. There was a loud clunk noise and a shriek followed by fumbling sounds.

"Siobhan, are you there?" Sandy asked in a panic, having picked up the dropped phone.

"Yes. I'm going to call Marisa. She has keys to Henry's place," she said.

"You think he took Henry there?"

Siobhan heard the other women at Sandy's elbow. "Where? Took him where?" they asked in annoyance.

"Shhh! I can't hear! She said home! Go ahead," Sandy said.

Despite her worry, Siobhan smiled as she knew these women liked Henry very much. "I'm not one hundred percent sure, but it's the first place to look. Marisa will also let the others know."

"We'll meet her there! Thanks, Siobhan! You're the best!" The line went dead.

Siobhan blinked at her cell in surprise. Sighing, she looked at the clock and was glad it was Sunday, as she wasn't getting back to sleep any time soon.

She'd sleep later. She made the call.

-=-

Marisa, Sigrid, and Meixiu stepped off the elevator at Henry's building into an argument in the hallway before his unit.

"You will all leave. Last chance!" A small, wide, and hairy man in a dressing gown growled at three ladies in party dresses.

"Not until we hear Henry's okay! Oh, thank god! Marisa!" Sandy gushed in relief as she saw them coming.

The small man turned and locked eyes with Sigrid, who fought back a snarl as she picked up the scent of a demon.

"Is there a problem here?" she asked.

"Noisy bitches are knocking on the door!" the man growled, his eyes never leaving Sigrid's.

"All's quiet now. I'd say it's time to move on," Sigrid said between her teeth, sounding a little like a female Clint Eastwood.

The demon panicked as it leapt for the stairwell door, slammed through, and ran down the stairs.

All eyes turned to Sigrid in silence as she struggled not to give chase.

Marisa recovered first. "You knocked on Henry's door?"

Sandy jumped and looked at the gorgeous blond. She smiled and nodded then her smile dropped away. "He's not answering!"

Marisa moved to the door with her keys, then looked back at the nervous expressions. "I'll be going in. Alone. I don't know what state Henry will be in if he's home, so this is to preserve his dignity. No arguments, or you'll deal with Sigrid." She finished with a smile to take the sting out of her words, but they glanced at the intimidating woman nonetheless.

Tish, Dayshia, and Sandy stood back as Marisa let herself in and locked the door again.

"Which unit did the unpleasant one live in?" Sigrid asked to draw their attention away. Dayshia pointed to the first door past the stairwell. Sigrid saw it was across from Michelle Beaumont's condo. She moved to stand before the door. She reached out to almost touch its surface, then pulled her hand back as she'd felt the sickening evidence of its inhabitation. No one else would likely notice, but Valkyries were particularly sensitive to their spoor. She pulled out her phone and emailed a clean-up team to visit the unit. She CC'd Johann Bruger, the property manager.

The original tenant whose shape the demon had stolen would be dead, likely smeared over the walls inside. She needed to start hunting the demon soon while the trail was fresh. Before it took another host. It wouldn't be back.

She noticed the three ladies looking curiously at her and Meixiu. "Oh! I'm sorry. I'm Sigrid Gunderan, Head of Human Resources at VRL. This is Meixiu, my friend and roommate."

"I'm Sandy Marlow. This is Tish Evans and Dayshia Morrison." She glanced at the door nervously. "Shouldn't she—"

The door opened, and Marisa stepped back out into the hall. She smiled at the nervous and eager expressions. "Henry is inside, asleep. He has a few bruises on his head and face. He also stinks of rum. A lot of it." She scowled. "He can't drink! He's such a lightweight when it comes to alcohol."

"I could kill Roger!" Tish hissed.

"Can we see him?" Sandy pleaded.

Marisa shook her head. "He's in no shape for a visit. In the afternoon, maybe? I'll let him know you were here checking on him," she said with a sympathetic smile.

Sandy smiled at her. "You're as protective of Henry as you were for Stanley."

Marisa nodded with a smile, then saw Sigrid gesturing and turned her attention to her.

"Do you need me for a bit? I'm curious about that creep who ran away earlier," she asked.

Marisa nodded. Sigrid stepped into the stairwell and was gone.

Dayshia looked at the others with wide eyes and a grin. "Damn! She's my new definition of badass!"

Marisa and Meixiu chuckled and nodded while the others grinned.

Sandy moved forward and hugged Marisa. "Thank you for taking such good care of Henry. I'm so sorry we lost track of him at the club."

"Not your fault. Just keep him away from alcohol and keep an eye on that fellow, Roger," Marisa said with a frown.

"Oh, we'll deal with Roger," Tish promised.

"Give me your number, and I'll give you mine," Marisa said to Sandy as she pulled out her cell.

That done, Dayshia and Tish waved, pulled Sandy to the elevator, and left.

The moment the elevator door closed, Marisa's smile slipped away, and she pulled Meixiu into the condo and locked the door.

"What's wrong?" Meixiu asked nervously as they moved to the bedroom.

Marisa dropped to her knees next to Henry and put her ear to his mouth. Then she looked at the other woman. "He's breathing, but it's very shallow, and he's not waking up!"

Meixiu touched Marisa's hand. "I've seen this before. He did this when he was injured and healing in Sigrid's guest room!"

"How did you bring him back?" Marisa asked.

"I leaned close, and I said, Henry? You need to wake up! Where are you?" she said as she demonstrated. They held their breath as they watched him.

"Do it again," Marisa said.

"Henry! Wake up! Where are you?" she said louder.

Marisa's cell rang, and she glanced at it and frowned. Sandy? She held up her hand for Meixiu to be quiet.

"Sandy? What's up?"

"The Northern Lights are back!" she exclaimed. "So bright this time!"

"Hang on." Marisa and Meixiu rushed out of the bedroom and went to the balcony to look up. Sure enough, the sky above the building was showing a green glow. It was across the section of the sky above, but from their perspective, it was much brighter directly above this building. Marisa covered the phone and turned to Meixiu with wide eyes. "Keep calling him back." The woman rushed inside.

"It's very beautiful!" Marisa said as she listened for Meixiu.

"I... I just wanted to share that with you," Sandy said, drawing a smile to Marisa's lips.

"Thank you for this. It's lovely!" Marisa replied.

She heard a sudden sharp and loud intake of breath from inside the condo. Loud enough that Sandy heard it, too.

"Was that Henry?" she gasped.

"Just a nightmare. I have to go. Good night, Sandy. I'll speak to you later, okay?"

"Sure. Bye."

Marisa looked up, and the green was quickly fading. It was a little frightening to think Henry had a link to that. She moved into the bedroom and knelt down again.

Henry's eyes were slightly open but rolling.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Sick... gonna be... sick..." he moaned.

Marisa and Meixiu managed to get him up and into the washroom, where he lost his stomach contents in the toilet. The women shared sad looks while Henry heaved and moaned.

When he began to shiver and shake, they got him up, rinsed his mouth out, and got him back in bed. Marisa crawled under the blanket with him to warm him up. He began to drowse.

There was a knock at the door, so Meixiu went to answer it. It was Sigrid, so she let her in.

"Did you see the Northern Lights?" she asked, and Meixiu nodded.

"It was Henry. He was lost out there, and we called him back."

"WHAT?!?" Sigrid gasped and rushed to the bedroom door.

Marisa was easing herself out from the sheets as Henry had fallen asleep. She gestured for Sigrid to be quiet and left the room, closing the door.

They moved to the living room. "It looked like Henry was having another out-of-body experience. The stupid spell he's linked to must be drawing him out when he's drunk or otherwise incapacitated," Marisa said with a scowl.

"Henry was very sick when he came back," Meixiu offered, and Marisa nodded.

"He lost what was left in his stomach and then got the chills," Marisa said sadly, then leaned back from Sigrid. "You might want to take a shower. I take it you dealt with the man who fled?"

"Demon," Sigrid confirmed with a nod and a smile, then sniffed herself and grimaced. She made her way into Henry's bathroom.

Marisa and Meixiu dropped themselves onto the couch.

"It is very dangerous for Henry to do this," Meixiu said. "What if we hadn't called him back?"

Marisa sighed as she agreed but didn't know how to protect him from it.

They dozed on the couch until they heard a noise and saw Sigrid exit the washroom wrapped in a towel. She glanced at them, then momentarily dipped into Henry's room and returned with some clothes. She returned to the washroom, and when she came out, she was wearing one of Henry's T-shirts and track pants.

Marisa grinned at her.

"Shut up. The demon ruined my clothes. Their blood doesn't come out." She pouted then a little smile appeared on her lips. "These smell like Henry."

"Why does Henry not have a TV?" Meixiu asked with a frown.

Sigrid snorted. The vampire hadn't experienced television during her entire long life. Not long ago, she considered it inferior to radio, and now she thought it was an essential service? "He doesn't consider it important."

"We were just discussing how we could protect Henry from future out-of-body episodes," Marisa said.

Sigrid raised an eyebrow. "And your idea was?"

Marisa and Meixiu just shook their heads sadly.

"As long as he's linked to the spell, he'll be endangered by it," Sigrid sighed. "Queen Mab is in town, and she'll be aware of tonight's event. You said it was his man that brought Henry home?"

"That's what Siobhan said—dammit! I forgot to call her." Marisa popped to her feet to go into the kitchen to make the call.

"Is it not strange that they interrupted your date to warn him from using the spell, then saved him from a fight and brought him home?" Meixiu asked.

"They need him healthy," Sigrid said.

"I do not trust their motives," Meixiu said with a scowl, and Sigrid could only nod.

Marisa settled back on the couch. "Okay, Siobhan can go back to sleep."

Sigrid gave her a look. "Are you staying here?"

Marisa nodded. "I'll keep an eye on him today and go home tonight. Thanks for coming over with me."

Sigrid's smile was a little bloodthirsty as she thought of the demon. "I'm glad I did." They all stood, and Marisa walked them to the door, where they hugged. Meixiu loved this ritual most of all. With a good night, they left, and Marisa locked up. She headed back to the couch. She was lucky it was very comfy.

She glanced at the bedroom door and considered joining Henry, but that was a bad idea. Just warming his body had felt too good.

So the couch it was.

As she made herself comfy, she recalled the firmness of Henry's body. She squirmed a little and sighed.

She hoped Henry felt better in the morning.

-=- End of Part 1 -=-