Author's Notes:

'Satyr Play Part 4, Part 2' picks up from the end of Satyr Play 4, Part 1. 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
• Satyr Play 2, Part 2
• Song for a Still River (Short Story - for context)
• Bride in Black (Short Story - for context)
• Satyr Play 3, Part 1
• Satyr Play 3, Part 2
• Satyr Play 4, Part 1
• Satyr Play 4, Part 2

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 2

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Chapter 14

Quolliss was eternal... as long as its Masters willed it to be. It lived for its Masters, remaining still, hidden, and protected, listening for their voices.

Those moments were the rarest treats. Almost silent but filled with significance and madness, Quolliss would absorb these messages delivered to its subconscious in the long dark nights.

Sometimes they came with energy. Enough to fulfill the wishes of the Masters with a little left over to sustain Quolliss itself.

The Masters had a plan. They hadn't shared all of it with Quolliss, but it knew it was perfect and promised nothing less than the bliss of bringing the Masters to this realm.

Nothing would be allowed to interfere with the plan. Patience in this time-aware realm was a key requirement for its success.

Quolliss was patient, as time is nothing.

It couldn't be seen, heard, tasted, smelled, or touched.

However, its passage could be observed and obsessed over.

The Masters lived in a realm with no concept of time, and to Quolliss, to live there would have been bliss.

The inhabitants of this realm fought against time. They wailed and beat their chests in futile defiance of its uncaring passage.

Quolliss despised them as much as one could a mote of dust or flake of dead skin.

Time had much less meaning for Quolliss than it did for the ephemeral ones, but it, too, was aware of its passing. A great deal of it had slipped by during their extensive existence, far more than most of the residents of this world would ever experience.

There had been one the Masters gifted with eternity, but she betrayed them, and Quollis could no longer sense her.

Thinking of her resurfaced the jealousy and rage that tormented Quolliss' mind when it discovered that she'd been first. The witch, whom the Masters gifted with so much power only to see her refuse to do their bidding, was the Masters' first choice.

Quolliss was a failsafe, a contingency, a Plan B. The Masters created it to fulfill their desires. It would not fail them or refuse anything they asked. However, it once more thought of how much energy the Masters gifted to the ungrateful witch and how little it had received in comparison. It screamed a tortured sound into the darkness.

Its greed flared as it knew that this excessive share of the Masters' energy still existed. It was now contained within a new being who was proving more difficult to track than the witch!

The new being had a terrifying ability to make the energy disappear from Quolliss' perception. Most often for short intervals, but it recently vanished for so long that Quolliss' already fractured mind splintered further.

The Masters whispered to Quolliss as it slept in this tortured state until their patience was rewarded as Quolliss once more detected the energy, and a semblance of stability returned.

In the latest message from the Masters, they laid out the next phase of the plan.

Quolliss was awed by the intricate dance this would lead its unwitting participants to perform. The Masters' will would not be denied.

Soon, Quolliss would bask in their presence.

-=-

When Henry awoke, he saw the storm had finally passed, and the light through his window indicated he'd likely missed breakfast. The room needed a clock.

He noticed Camila had already gotten up to start her day. He couldn't blame her for that.

He stretched and yawned loudly and heard nervous giggles from outside the door. Then came a gentle knocking.

"Come in!" he called out, looking down at himself to ensure the covers hid his morning wood.

The door opened, and a head peeked around it. It was Steph.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she teased.

He looked for his kilt as it had his cell in the pouch, but Camila had likely picked it up and placed it on the chair across the room. "What time is it?" he asked.

She moved to sit on the side of the bed and smiled at him. "It's almost eleven. Everyone is downstairs. We had breakfast in the cavern because the dining room table was still there. The Valkyries were trying to work out a way to carry it up without getting you to open the Magic door to the dining room, but the consensus was that it couldn't be done. The cave was very bright with those enormous windows and the lights above. It felt strange to be so far underground yet feel like it was ground level." She was speaking a little rapidly.

He smiled as he watched her fidget and play with the blankets.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" she suddenly blurted, and he heard the damage her idiot husband had done.

"I think you're very beautiful!"

She smiled in relief, but her expression broke again. "But I talk too much, right?"

He tilted his head at her as he looked at her curiously. "No. I like hearing your voice. It's so full of life and joy. Listening to you and Tish laugh and talk makes me very happy."

She bit her lip as her eyes traveled over his chest. "So long..." she sighed wistfully to herself.

"Excuse me?" he asked carefully.

Her face suddenly went crimson as she realized she'd said that out loud. "I-I-I'm sorry! It's n-nothing!"

He sat up, the blankets dropping to expose the hard muscles of his stomach as he took her hand in his. Steph was frozen. The blankets were so close to revealing what she wanted to see more than anything.

"Speak to me, Steph."

Her jaw moved, but she had no words.

Henry lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. She made an odd sound, then climbed onto the bed, yanking the blankets down in the process.

"Oh my god!" she gasped as she exposed his semi-erect cock. Then Henry slid his hands into her hair and pulled her onto his lap to kiss her deeply. He moved his hands down and undid her kilt, tossing it aside. She moaned into the kiss and grabbed his head as she chased his tongue with hers while dragging her wetness across the underside of his now very hard cock. She was trembling, then frantically trying to get him inside her. He assisted a little then he gasped as she began to accept him.

"I... I have to... warn you. We won't last... long, as it feels too good!" He struggled to speak as she dropped over his cock, gasping, cooing, and moaning as they fit together so well.

He was proven correct as once they were fully connected, Steph cried out and clung to him as her first release in a long time rocked through her. This triggered Henry, and she gasped as she felt his heat filling her deep inside. Then the Wild Magic surged through her body, filling her with another kind of warmth and tingling.

They clung together, catching their breath, and finally pulled back to grin at each other.

"It is... an absolute truth... beyond any question... that David... was a blind idiot... for not realizing... how fucking lucky he was!" Henry panted.

Steph's eyes welled up, and she kissed Henry fiercely. He returned the kiss, and soon they were panting once more.

"Again?" she asked and bit her lip.

"Oh, yes!" he agreed enthusiastically, and she burst into joyful giggles.

She had catching up to do.

-=-

Lunchtime arrived as Henry, fresh from a shower, rejoined the world in a new kilt, hunting a little sustenance to fill his empty stomach.

Tish met him in the kitchen with a large plate of leftovers from dinner. He gave her a grateful kiss and sat with her at the small table in the kitchen.

She watched him immediately devour half the contents of the plate and smiled at him when he sat back to take a breath.

"She wore you out that much?" she said with a grin.

Henry just looked at Tish with a raised eyebrow, and she raised her hands in surrender. He sighed and relaxed in his chair as his eyes looked towards the back windows at the brilliant blue skies outside.

"I can't understand why anyone would do what David did to her. She's so much like you... but with giggles," Henry said as he shook his head.

Tish grinned as she nodded and took his hand in hers to kiss his palm. He raised his eyebrows at her, then pulled her hand to his lips until she began to squirm and tugged her hand free. "Wicked boy," she whispered to him with a smile, then headed for the stairs to check on her sister.

Henry smiled to himself, finished the meal before him, then tidied up. He went looking for Sigrid and spotted her in the formal living room with her mother and roughly a dozen Valkyries who stuck around after the party. He sent her a quick questioning look and saw her shake her head, indicating it wasn't a good time, so he nodded and slipped away before Hilda could scowl at him.

He'd noticed that Talia wasn't present, nor were her twin enforcers Tove and Tore. The brutish Revna and her rude sidekick Kari were also missing. Off on Valkyrie business, no doubt.

The kids were split into two groups, the ones inside playing in the front sitting room and the ones outside playing in the snow.

He was headed for the back door when he met Meixiu returning from the basement. "Henry! Good morning!" she said, tilting her face up to him for a kiss.

He caressed her lips with his, then grinned at her. "It's no longer morning. Sorry for missing breakfast."

"Did you get some food?" Meixiu asked, gesturing to the kitchen.

"Yes, Tish made me a plate. It was delicious!" he said, and she nodded.

"Could you open a Magic Door between the cave and the dining room so the Valkyries can move the table back to where it belongs?" She drew him into the dining room to face the French Doors again.

He looked at the glass panes and hesitated. Being aware that these vast alien minds were turning their attention toward him made him less than eager to see them. "Uh, are the doors to the cave open or closed at the moment?" he asked, thinking to delay the process just a little.

"Oh! I will close them!" Meixiu exclaimed and rushed away. She returned in seconds, and he suppressed the sigh as he'd forgotten how quick she was.

He touched the door and linked it to the ones in the cave. Once more, the glass panes flashed black, and for less than a moment, hardly enough time for it to register, something looked back. Then the glass showed Sandy and Dayshia walking towards them, and Henry jumped from the tension.

The two ladies in the corridor squeaked in fright, and Henry pulled the doors open. "Sorry about that."

Dayshia put her hands on her hips. "You should be! Scaring us half to death like that! I'm of a mind not to kiss you!"

Sandy snorted. "Right." She skipped forward and pressed her lips to Henry's before Dayshia could respond.

The dark beauty approached Henry and threw Sandy a scowl. "You could play along with my teasing once in a while."

"And miss out on a kiss from Henry? Dream on," Sandy scoffed.

Dayshia raised an eyebrow at Henry. He smiled at her, and she rolled her eyes, gesturing for him to bring his face down to hers. They kissed tenderly, and he felt her melt a little. When he pulled back, her eyes fluttered open, a gesture that looked far more dramatic due to her long, feathered lashes.

"Okay, that was worth it," she sighed.

Sandy chuckled as she hooked an arm through her bestie's and pulled her away, the two now heading for the door to the vestibule.

Meixiu kissed his cheek in thanks and skipped away to let the Valkyrie know they were up.

The first thing he needed to do was add a control mechanism to the rift inside him.

He'd discovered the previous night that the flow of magic from it was almost negligible on Eden, the source of the magic. He should have better luck adding a control mechanism to the rift while there, with no internal pressure.

Henry entered the cavern and walked to the hidden passage for the doors to Eden. He removed the forcefield and activated the portal before stepping through to the other world.

The weather was perfect, and he found a nice rock to sit on by the entrance as he prepared to work.

As he'd mentioned to Marisa, he was thinking of a closing mechanism like a hydraulic door to a vault. He closed his eyes and envisioned how it might be constructed. After a few minutes of reviewing the design, he discarded it as it was too complex and bulky.

Another idea came to his mind. A camera lens aperture! Two rings, one stationary and one that spins, with interlaced blades sandwiched between them. The wide end of the blades would be fixed to the stationary ring and pivot there, controlled by pins in the blades that ran along channels in the moving ring. This turning ring would open and close the blades as the pins followed the channels. The aperture wouldn't close completely, as some pressure should be allowed to flow. He estimated it would be roughly ten percent of the maximum pressure. Opening the aperture fully would release all the pressure and allow the energy to flow freely.

He fussed with the design, making prototypes to test how many blades he needed to give more granular control. Testing took place by stepping through the doors into the hall in the cave.

Too few blades opened the aperture too quickly and gave him less control. Too many blades made them too weak to hold back the pressure, and they broke. Everything was made from Wild Magic, but even this energy seemed to have engineering limitations. He settled on eight blades and finalized his design, recording it in his memory. He built a new one and affixed it inside himself over the rift. He was ready for a production test. He stood up from the rock again to go back through the doors.

A slight air pressure change was his only warning before the Ribbon creature slammed into him, pinning him to the rock face next to the open doors.

Henry was only winded and dazed as the monster didn't have a tremendous amount of mass, but when he saw the creature's jaws snap open to take a bite out of him, without thinking, he did the craziest thing.

He stepped into its mouth and grabbed its two largest fangs in his hands.

Now, he was preventing the beast from biting down, but its jaws were its most powerful muscles. It took everything Henry had to hang on as it twisted and thrashed, trying to shake him free.

Before he was bashed against the cliffside again, Henry pushed upwards with his arms and down with his legs in a sudden effort. The bottom jaw broke with a series of rapid, sharp cracks.

The creature renewed its efforts to free itself from Henry's grip, but now its lower jaw was dangling free. He was able to step back out of its mouth and pull its head down, shoving its upper jaw into the soft ground. He threw his weight onto its head and released his death grip on the fangs.

"FUCK!"

Henry hissed in agony as his hands were badly cut by the sharp edges of its teeth. He struggled to remain on top of the beast's head while the rest of its body slammed into the ground, the cliff face, and against Henry to pry itself free.

Henry put his bloody fists together and slammed them down on top of the monster's head with all his Satyr strength as he roared. It took three mighty blows to crack its skull, and the fourth drove the bones into its brain.

The shock sent it into death spasms, and Henry was thrown clear, but he rolled to his hooves and faced it as its shaking pulled its teeth from the ground. He prepared himself to attack it, but its tremors quickly diminished, and it stopped moving.

Henry leaned back against the door jamb and caught his breath. He twitched as someone stepped through and stopped. It was Hilda. She was staring at the dead monster and glanced skyward.

He walked over to the massive head resting on its side now.

"There won't be another one in the neighborhood for at least two hours. Killing a big one sends a message to the others to piss off for a bit." He took a closer look at the corpse. "This is definitely one of the biggest I've seen."

"Were you hunting?" Hilda asked him incredulously.

"What? No! I was... working on something, and I got distracted. I forgot to ask the twins to clear the area first. It caught me by surprise." He frowned as he realized it might have just bitten his head off if it had any real intelligence. He'd been extremely lucky. He looked at his slashed hands and launched his healing spell on them. He swayed slightly as the pain was intense but took a deep breath when they were whole once more.

She scowled at him, but her expression was troubled.

"What? Why are you so angry with me?" he barked in frustration.

Hilda moved into his personal space, and he had to stop himself from triggering his shield to knock her back.

"You are my daughter's mate, you gave her a beautiful and strong daughter, but you are a terrible fighter! I just watched you step into its mouth! Never do that! You carry no weapons, but you'd probably hurt yourself with them if you did! I expected to see you die, but then you killed it... with your bare hands!"

"You saw me in trouble and didn't try to help me?" Henry yelled angrily.

She looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "Valkyries don't steal battles from other Valkyries or their mates! It's the way of Valkyries!" she yelled back.

"God dammit, I'm getting sick of hearing that same excuse!" he shouted in her face.

She was red-faced and breathing hard, but so was he. He tried to pull his mind back from the urge to beat some sense into her as he knew she would welcome the rematch.

"You were angry with me last night. What was that about?" he snapped as his adrenaline surged.

"You had no gift for the child—children!" she corrected as she saw him preparing to explode over her repeatedly denying his son.

He stared at her in confusion, then sighed. "A Valkyrie thing, no doubt," he muttered. "Nobody tells me anything!" he complained as he turned to the dead ribbon creature. He grabbed the largest fang and yanked it from the skull with a loud, wet pop. Then he rolled the beast over and repeated the actions with the other fang. He handed them to Hilda on his bloody palms as she stared at the deep cuts on his fingers. The teeth were deadly sharp.

"For my children, to be made into weapons they may use to defend themselves against whatever they face in the future. Is this a worthy gift?" he asked.

Hilda nodded as she watched him heal his hands once more. She caught the tightening of his eye muscles as he rode out the pain. She carefully lifted the heavy blades by their roots. "I-I will have a master artisan make them suitable weapons from these. These have tremendous value... in my culture."

He nodded stiffly then a thought came to him. "What did you come down here to say?"

"It doesn't matter, now," she responded as her eyes admired the deadly blades she carried.

Henry turned back to the corpse. "I'd better dispose of this. I don't want others to come to feed on it so close to the door."

He made Hilda step back away from it, then opened a tear above a lava field, and it rolled through to fall into the magma. He closed the tear, catching the tail end of Hilda's frown.

"Shit! What now?" he groaned.

"Magic is not the way of Valkyries."

He pointed to his face. "Not a Valkyrie, but I don't like magic either." When she looked at him doubtfully, he smiled. "I'd much rather just work on computers and programming."

Her frown was back. "So, you're a technology nerd. This explains much."

Henry's smile fell. He pointed to the doorway, so Hilda left Eden to return to the mansion. He followed and closed the doors, restoring the spell to its dormant mode.

Turning back to the hall, he saw Hilda was no longer there. He sighed in relief. He wasn't sure if they were ever going to get along.

He looked inward at his new rift control and spun the ring, slowly closing the aperture. When he was done, a trickle of energy flowed out, probably more than the typical background levels, but the control felt stable.

He climbed back up the stairs and paused at the top as he heard the Valkyries in the living room talking excitedly. He didn't feel up to seeing what was charging them up. No doubt it was Hilda showing off again. Ooo! Look at the nasty weapon I'm going to make for my granddaughter—oh yeah, and my grandson.

Henry had some thinking to do, so he headed outside to sit in his favorite spot in the gazebo.

He spent the first few minutes just soaking in the sunlight. He hadn't seen blue skies in a little while.

The bright sunlight flashed off the surfaces of some Silver People coming in for a recharge. He wondered what activities kept them in the neighborhood now that the storm had passed.

Henry closed his eyes and listened to the distant sound of children laughing and playing. There was something relaxing about that. It was so easy to remain here and let the warmth of the sun and the joyful voices protect him from thinking about what he needed to do.

He knew he was procrastinating. It just felt so good to pretend for a moment that he was just another member of the blissfully unaware populace, just moving through life one day at a time, ignorant of the malignant forces from an incomprehensible and sanity-tearing dimension trying to get their claws on their world. Their entry point had been Baba and her spells. The same spells she'd shed in her attempt to free herself of the deal she'd made with those ancient beings.

The spells that now resided in his brain.

Though Baba had released them from her mind and no longer had a body, she was somehow still resisting his efforts to shed them as well. He thought about that. It seemed likely that the resistance might be coming from the dark being's influence on her.

He had another epiphany, and this one stung with a bitterness that brought tears to his eyes once more.

Baba's splitting of Henry from Stanley might not have been a change of heart after all. It was likely the only way those alien monsters could keep the dark magics bound to someone still part of this world.

It also shed new light on his months of agony climbing out of that dark pit. Hazy memories sharpened, and he recalled their promises of relief if he'd just surrender to their will. Never said with words, just impressions. They needed him alive to keep their link to Earth and its people. He'd rejected them but lived because he wanted it for himself. They didn't get their new slave then, but their vile magic was still in his mind, and Baba was working against him, and her own desires, by preventing him from shedding them.

And the ageless alien minds were patient.

His eyes snapped open as he gasped for air. He hadn't realized he'd stopped breathing.

"Henry? Are you okay?"

He turned his head and saw Lorelei climbing the steps of the gazebo, a look of concern on her lovely face.

He sucked in another breath as his emotions rocked his foundations once more.

Then Lorelei's arms were around him, and he gave in to his grief.

His heart refused to give up hope that Baba would recognize and return his love. Each time he was slapped with the reality of her manipulations and the alien minds' influence on her, that hope dimmed a little more.

He took slow, deep breaths to get his stability back. Lorelei's grip on him was helping a great deal. It was like a grounding, a founda—

His eyes snapped open once more.

Henry looked into Lorelei's eyes as he struggled with what he wanted to ask her.

"What is it?" she asked, then her expression changed to fear. "Henry, breathe!" she exclaimed.

He sucked in a deep breath and felt the pressure easing. He realized it was coming from the dark magic in his mind.

They were aware of his train of thought and didn't approve. This just told him he was on the right track.

He gently eased himself from Lorelei's grip and pushed himself to his hooves. He had to purge the alien-touched spells from his memory. He tried to eliminate just one, but Baba was there, blocking him, clinging to the magic and his mind.

"GGGGGRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!" Henry roared in rage and frustration until he dropped to his hands and knees. His muscles shook with tension.

He heard shouts and felt the soothing touch of Lorelei's hand on his back and another in his hair. Slowly he opened his eyes and saw Valkyrie surrounding the gazebo, all armed to the teeth and aimed outwards to defend him.

He sat back and rubbed his face with his hands to remove some of the emotional fog. He pushed himself to his hooves, then turned to Lorelei. Henry took her hands in his and kissed her palms.

"Thank you for helping me regain control."

Her concerned look strengthened. "Who were you fighting against?"

He shook his head and snorted. "Beings way above my weight class."

Henry left the gazebo and faced the gathering warriors as the danger seemed to have passed. He held out a hand for Lorelei.

"What's happening, Henry?" Sigrid asked.

"I need to fill everyone in on... a situation we face." Seeing some kids in the mix, he added, "Just the adults, please."

"The tables and chairs are still in the main cavern," Roy suggested, and Henry nodded.

Layla, Felicia, and a few other kids complained, but the parents put their hooves down, and that was that.

Everyone filed back inside and made their way into the dining room, where the table was now back in place. Henry was very grateful for that. "I'm no longer going to make Magic Doors when there's this much glass," he muttered to Roy, who looked at him in question, then nodded.

Once the last adult passed through the doors into the corridor, Henry stepped through and closed the doors behind himself, releasing the spell. Then he locked the double doors from the inside to keep the curious kids out. He saw the handles wiggle and smiled.

Henry walked down into the large cavern and faced the group. It seemed the Valkyries wanted to meet this new threat on their feet. His friends had taken seats facing where they had the buffet table the night before, so he stood there to be visible to all.

He cast his eyes over the gathering. "Okay, getting right to it. Baba Yaga physically died the night of Skyfall, but her essence didn't move on. It was her plan to perish with the rest of Humanity, but she needed to cut loose her magic for that to happen. Instead of casting it away, and maybe that was impossible, she implanted it all inside my mind. Some of this magic is strongly tainted by the dark energies lent to her by the beings who bound her to a deal for her powers. These beings are ancient, inconceivably alien, and intensely malignant. They're from a dimension far beyond ours or Eden's.

"Have you faced them?" one of the Valkyrie's shouted.

Henry held her eyes to speak to her directly, but his voice carried to all ears.

"Facing these entities directly would strip you of your sanity. There's no way for a rational mind to grasp their scope, physical nature, or powers. Because of the vast separation between our dimensions, they cannot directly interact with ours. Only their energy can make the journey, and thankfully, only in small amounts."

He took a deep breath. "The energy that has made that journey is currently quarantined inside my head." There was some shuffling of feet and uneasy murmurs as the gathered people came to terms with that.

"The problem is, I cannot deal with these spells in any meaningful way until Baba releases her control over them. She put them in my head but also left parts of herself bound to them. She has no faith in anyone but herself, probably a by-product of working so long with the dark entities. If I can complete the conditions of her deal, her spirit will be free to go where it needs to go. She'll have no need to continue blocking me from dealing with the magic. Then I can defang the monster."

"Henry, energy can't be destroyed, so how will you deal with it?" Roy asked.

Henry sighed. "I'd love to send it back to where it came from, but the danger's too great."

"You won't open a gate from here to there!" Hilda bellowed, and other Valkyrie voices chimed in.

Henry held his hands up for calm. "Listen, I couldn't even if I wanted to, and I definitely don't! I was speaking of bleeding the energy back into the void where the entities live, much like how the Wild Magic bleeds into Earth's dimension. The risk would be to my mind, which would be open to the entities' dimension. So, I'm not doing it."

Hilda still seemed angry. "So, Master Wizard, how will you deal with the spells?"

Henry looked at his girlfriend's mother and wondered where the hostility was coming from now. He sighed again as it seemed like another unsolvable dilemma.

"All I can do is drain the energy from the spells so they can be unwoven into their harmless base components. I'll have to contain the collected energy inside something when I'm done, then lock it away."

Roy's expression showed his concern. "You're talking about creating a reliquary of considerable power. Are you sure this isn't exactly what these beings are after?"

"No, Roy, I can't be sure of anything involving their intent! That's my point! Their minds don't track at all like ours do, so I can only do my best to find a solution that keeps the most people alive," Henry snapped. He took a deep breath and continued with more control. "My alternative is to leave the spells as they are, pushed down in the back of my mind where the corrupt energy slowly and surely warps my values and personality until I become a slave of the entities like Baba. They're willing to wait. They're extremely patient."

"If you create this artifact, the Demons will hunt for it. It will resonate with them. I've always said their powers don't come from this realm," Hilda said.

"The Demons are already working together," Roy said, and the gathered Valkyrie made angry noises of disbelief. Roy looked to Sigrid, who nodded.

She moved to stand next to him. "Roy speaks the truth! When Henry returned from Eden, he hunted for our missing friend Kali and found she was being held captive in a sex and torture club which was part of a global network of clubs, all run by Demons. We discovered three levels of Demons within the one club alone. When they were defeated, the Senior Demon fled and destroyed the club with explosives."

That forced the warriors into silence as they contemplated a more intelligent and organized foe. Demons were already difficult to kill. If they got organized and began using smart strategies, the Valkyries could be in trouble.

"We need to be powered by the Wild Magic, like Sigrid," Hilda insisted.

Daughter looked at mother in surprise, so Hilda explained. "You're faster and stronger, and your endurance is greater because you contain much more potent energy."

The other Valkyries liked the sound of that and made approving noises. One turned to Sigrid. "How did you become linked to the realm of Wild Magic?"

She opened her mouth as her eyes went to Henry, but he was already shaking his head. "We'll... have to find an alternate way."

Hilda smiled as she guessed how Sigrid had done it and her eyes locked on Henry. He looked back at her, wondering if she was more than a little bit unbalanced. A short while ago, she'd been shooting daggers at him with her eyes. Now she was ready to eat him up with a spoon?

Henry pushed that from his mind. He knew what needed to be done and who he had to speak with directly. He wouldn't put them on the spot, so he'd wrap this up and pull them aside to ask for their help.

"The next step involves dealing with Baba to make her release the magic, so the Valkyrie are off the hook. After that, nothing should need immediate attention, but I'll ask Roy for options for containing and hiding the energy. If Roy believes the Demons will become a threat, he can contact the Valkyries." He cast his eyes over the group and saw troubled expressions, but he had no words to relieve that yet.

"That's all I wanted to say. Thanks for your attention."

He left the front of the room and walked to Lorelei, who was sitting with Siobhan. "Could I speak with you two in private?" he asked softly.

Their eyes widened in surprise, but they nodded and followed him up the ramp into the vestibule. He headed for the door to his condo, and their looks of concern became stronger. Once they were in the unit, he led them to the living room, sat them side by side on a couch, and sat across from them.

"You're not gushing Wild Magic!" Siobhan said in surprise

Henry smiled. "Yes. I've come up with a new control mechanism. It seems to be working... right?"

Siobhan smiled and nodded. "It's still coming through but at much lower levels than before."

"Good!" Henry took a deep breath. "Now, the part I couldn't say in front of the warriors as their solution might be violent. I want to do this without harming a hair on anyone's head, so I need smarts, not brawn," he began.

"You need our help dealing with Baba Yaga? That's going to take brawn of the magic variety, and we're not in her class!" Siobhan asserted.

"No, I need your help with General Crane. I need to separate him from the dark aura," Henry explained.

Lorelei blinked at him in surprise. "And you expect me to do that? Will it come off if I sing to him?"

"Uh, no. But you have a strong friend that I believe might be able to pull it from him. I think you call him Hudson?" he said hopefully.

"Oh! Oh, you need me to communicate with the river and enlist its help?" she asked cautiously.

"These beings are invaders, destroyers, and corrupters. They are targeting Earth. A good man is being used by them and needs to be freed. We must do whatever we can to block any claw hold they can get here. I'm hoping the river will want to help," he explained. "Earth has magic that these beings cannot comprehend or defend against. You're our secret weapon!"

Lorelei snorted but smiled at him. "I don't speak to the river. It's more a sharing of impressions and visualized concepts. If they're too complex or difficult to share, it won't understand," Lorelei suggested. "I have no idea if it will perceive this aura you need it to pull from the General. If it doesn't understand, it might kill him."

Henry nodded grimly but looked at his other guest.

"What do I do?" Siobhan asked in surprise.

"I can't see the aura. I need you to share what you see with Lorelei and me," he explained.

Lorelei looked at Siobhan. "If I can see this other magic in terms of flow or how it impacts the flow, I might be able to share this with the Hudson to help it perceive the threat."

"If we can remove the aura or even expose some skin I can touch, I can alter Crane with Wild Magic, and he won't be a Human any longer. That completes Baba's deal with them, and she'll be released. The dark magic will no longer have a purpose for the General and might fade away. Then I can begin to deal directly with the dark magic spells," Henry said with hope in his voice.

"When do you want to do this?" Lorelei asked.

"As soon as possible. Now, if you're available," Henry suggested.

"Oh! Now?" Lorelei glanced at Siobhan, who was looking equally surprised. She looked at Henry's hopeful expression and nodded. "I suppose there isn't any reason to put it off."

"Is the General on board with this?" Siobhan asked.

Henry's expression became concerned. "He's in a hospital and injured, so that adds complications. I'll call the Sergeant to enlist her help."

The two ladies nodded, so he pulled out his cell and dialed. It rang twice.

"Henry! What's up?" Mick said as she answered.

"Hi. Are you with the General? How is he?"

"Most of the squad is at the Mall, trickle feeding from proximity to the strike zone. David and I are in the hall outside the General's room. He woke up this morning. He seems fine though he's pretty bruised," she explained.

"I'd like to speak to him as soon as possible. Is he able to get out of bed?" Henry asked.

Mick snorted. "Yeah, he can walk as far as the bathroom. He bangs a metal cup on the rail of his bed to get us to come into the room to help him. He was asking why we won't stay in the room. He wanted to talk to you about that. I'd also like answers about this non-imminent danger you mentioned."

"If I open a door to my condo, can you bring the General here?" Henry asked.

"Hang on."

Henry heard a muffled conversation then Mick was back on the line. "Yes. The bathroom door again?"

"Yes, please," Henry responded as he got up and walked back to his hallway. He linked his guest bathroom door to the General's bathroom door and knocked. Mick opened the door and grinned as she saw him. David Feinberg came into view, assisting Gordon Crane, who was wearing a dressing gown over his hospital gown. "Please come in," Henry said, standing aside.

The two Silver Soldiers came through the door with the General between them. Henry released the door once they were in. They walked slowly into the living room and took seats on the sofa across from Lorelei and Siobhan.

Henry made the introductions and sat next to Siobhan.

"What's this non-imminent danger I'm in?" Crane asserted immediately.

Henry smiled at the man's no-nonsense approach. He went through the story with them, explaining Baba's contract with the entities from another dimension, their corrupt energies, their hold over Baba and now General Crane. He explained that Siobhan had used her sight to see the aura of the dark energies surrounding him. The General frowned in concern.

"Can Ms. Whelan—"

"Siobhan," the woman insisted.

Gordon smiled at her with a nod. "Can Siobhan show me what she sees?"

Henry smiled at the General's increasing ease with accepting the possibilities of magic.

"It's not a good idea for her to do this as her mind is sensitive to the presence of the entities, and I don't want them to get their claws into her mind," Henry explained. "Mick and David can try, though. We need to see if Siobhan can share with Lorelei and me."

The soldiers immediately stood and walked behind Henry, placing a hand on his shoulders. He smiled as he shared the rift's energy with them. They sighed contentedly.

"Enough with the charging, and pay attention!" Gordon growled. They immediately snapped their eyes to their commander.

Henry didn't miss this new tension between them and assumed this was likely due to the influence of the corrupting energy.

Siobhan put her hand on Henry's arm, and he closed his eyes to accept the connection she was making. He could see the General and the yellow-white energy flowing around him in the condo. Henry knew this energy came from him, but none of this flow touched Crane as it was repelled by a dark field around him. For the first time, Henry could see corrupt energies. It slowly flowed over Crane's entire body like a thin film of black oil.

He felt the presence of the two Silver Soldiers as well.

"This is dizzying!" Mick said.

"Close your own eyes and see with Siobhan's alone," Henry instructed.

"Oh! That's better—SHIT! What's that?" Mick exclaimed.

"What are you seeing, Sergeant?" Gordon asked.

"Uh, it's like you're covered in black goo... or mist. It seems to change its nature as well as its density constantly. Freaky!"

"That's probably what that rock-like material in the vest was. It compressed some of itself into a solid to protect him and showed up in our perceptions. When it did its job, it faded back into its invisible state," Henry muttered. "Lorelei?"

"Nothing happens when I try to connect to Siobhan through you. "I'm going to try a direct connection with Siobhan," she replied. "Oh! It works!" She sighed and was silent for a moment. "The golden light is beautiful! The black mist around the General is not! It makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up."

Henry breathed a sigh of relief. Now that she could see it, she might be able to share her impression of it with the river. "Get a good look at it."

Henry noted his vision was dimming considerably when Lorelei was connected. The brightness and color were diminishing as if Lorelei was using up all of Siobhan's bandwidth.

Mick noted it as well. "I'm having trouble seeing. It's getting dimmer."

"Lorelei is hogging the feed!" Henry teased.

"Hey!" Lorelei exclaimed.

"The yellow-white waves are coming from Henry, and yes, your connection is much stronger than his," Siobhan said with a smile.

"It's our affinity of being creatures of the water," Lorelei said, then felt Siobhan's embarrassment. She pulled her hand back from the woman and looked at her. "I'm so sorry for oversharing!"

"It's okay. Henry forgets what I'd rather keep to myself all the time," Siobhan said stiffly.

He froze. "Oh my god! You're right! I'm so sorry, Siobhan!"

"If I didn't like you so much, I'd be really angry!" she huffed.

"Justifiably so. I'm such an idiot!" he said with a remorseful expression.

Siobhan sighed deeply and rolled her eyes. "So, it works? You can both see what you need to see?"

"Yes," Henry said with a nod. Lorelei did as well.

Henry looked to the General. "The next challenge is that we're not strong enough to pull the aura from you. We'll need help from something much stronger than us."

The man's eyebrows went up. "Some thing?"

"Yes. The dark aura is corrupt energy from vast beings inhabiting an alien realm. We need the strength of an elemental force to counteract that strength. We don't necessarily need to pull it completely free from you. If we can expose some of your skin, I can transfer Wild Magic into you to trigger your transformation. This ends the deal Baba made and eliminates the purpose of the spell on you. That should negate it," Henry explained.

The General held up his hands. "Hang on a second. Let me get this clear in my head. I'm completely encased in evil, corrupt energy which comes from enormous evil entities from another dimension. They're so strong we need to assistance of an elemental force here on earth to pry the energy away from me so you can trigger my change into some random race of mythical being."

Henry nodded. "If I can maintain the connection long enough, I can ensure you become a Satyr. It's too difficult to involve anyone else."

Crane held Henry's eye as he thought about that.

"I suppose that's better than becoming... what was it? Oh yeah, a centaur. It's still an if, though, isn't it? You might not be able to maintain contact."

"Yes, that's right, sir," Henry said honestly.

Crane frowned. "And what happens if we just leave everything as it is?"

Henry nodded. "The corrupt energy around you will warp your personality and not in good ways. You'll eventually become its slave, willing to do whatever it wants because that's what you'll want, too. Those near you will be similarly afflicted but to a lesser extent. Another impact is that Baba won't pass on. She'll continue to defy my efforts to eliminate the dark magic spells she contained in my head. These will warp my personality until I pull them from quarantine and begin to use them. They're powered by the same corrupt energies, and the potential damage they can inflict would be devastating. The spells bind the energy to them, so the energy is contained for now."

"That doesn't seem like much of an option," Gordon sighed.

"No, sir."

"Okay, who is this elemental force?" Crane asked.

"It's more of a what than a who. We're going to ask the Hudson River."

Henry thought the General's expression was priceless and wished he'd thought to have his cell's camera ready.

Click!

Henry turned to see Mick putting her cell away. She had a grin on her face.

"The Hudson. That river out there? You're going to ask a river to pull an invisible evil force field from me?"

Henry looked to Lorelei as she might be the best one to explain. She looked at him, widened her eyes, and then rolled them at him. She cleared her throat.

"I'm a Naiad. I'm connected to and can communicate with rivers. They don't have minds per se, but they do have a life force and consciousness. They respond to me, and if I share my intent with them clearly enough, I can get them to help me," Lorelei explained.

Crane digested that, then asked the next obvious question. "Will we need to be in the Hudson for the river to assist?" Lorelei nodded. "Shit. You know it's January, right?" the General grumbled.

"Yes, it's very cold. You won't be able to stay in there for long," Lorelei agreed.

"Shit!" Crane scowled and looked at Henry. "Couldn't you open a door to some tropical island, and we could soak in the water there?"

Henry shook his head with a regretful smile.

"I can communicate with rivers, but I've never received a response from an ocean," Lorelei confessed.

The General sighed and looked at the gathered people for a moment. "Fuck it. Let's give it a try, but no more than ten minutes."

Lorelei nodded to him. "I'll go in first and see if the river will do it. If it agrees, I'll ask you, Siobhan, and Henry to join me."

They stood, and Henry pulled a warm winter coat from the closet for the General. "Sorry, I don't have any boots." He switched to his default glamor of a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. "Wait, give me a second!"

Henry went to his bureau in the bedroom and returned with a pair of boxer shorts, a fleece sweatsuit, and thick socks. "This is better than the hospital gown."

Crane took the items gratefully and quickly got changed in the washroom.

The group took the elevator to the lobby and marched outside. The cold wind off the river immediately brought a scowl of discomfort to Crane's face, but Feinberg scooped him up into his arms then they walked to the edge of the water. Lorelei continued on into the water and was soon out of sight.

"She didn't even flinch!" Gordon said in surprise.

Henry smiled as he nodded. "She wouldn't be a very successful Naiad if cold water affected her."

The General paused to consider that. He finally nodded, then shivered.

"Henry, the aura is beginning to change," Siobhan said.

"It's probably attempting to protect him from the cold," Henry suggested.

A few minutes later, Lorelei came into view, standing on the water's surface. The water under her feet seemed to be solid as it carried her to the shore. Henry grinned at her, impressed, and she smiled back at him shyly. She faced the General.

"The river is willing to help. I'll take you out to the middle where it's strongest." She looked at Henry and Siobhan. "It couldn't understand the need to bring you two as well, so you'll have to get out there on your own."

Siobhan looked at Henry. "It's not a problem for me, but how good a swimmer are you?"

"I-I assumed we'd be able to do it here, near the shore. I don't know how to swim," Henry admitted.

"Okay, everyone back to the condo. I'm going to go get assistance from the Coast Guard," the Sergeant said.

"I'll wait for you in the river by the point," Lorelei said and moved back out into the water and sank below its surface.

The General watched her slip under the waves. "I suppose she wouldn't be very successful if she couldn't breathe underwater too." Henry grinned at him.

They hustled back to the building, and Mick raced away the second they were inside. Henry brought them back up to the condo, and Feinberg indicated he'd be contacted by cell when they were ready.

Henry began preparing hot beverages for the General and Siobhan as he turned off his internal heater spell again. They took seats on the comfy sofas to rest and prepare themselves.

"Henry, how did this evil aura get attached to me?" Gordon asked.

Eyes turned to the man in the kitchen, who was frowning. "I-I don't know. When the green light fell from the sky, how did you manage to avoid being exposed to the Wild Magic?"

The General frowned. "Dulane and I did our best to keep it from touching our skin. Remember, we were the only humans left on the team. Someone had to represent humanity."

Henry carried their mugs to them as he recalled seeing Mick kneeling next to Dulane's empty uniform in Mab's castle as it collapsed. "It worked for Dulane, so it must have worked for you as well. He remained on Earth, and you fell through to Eden. I'm sorry I missed him when I opened the portals."

The General just waved off the apology. "The place was falling apart, and you were in the middle of a battle. That you were able to save any of us was a miracle. You're not to blame for his disappearance." He frowned. "There's still the mystery of how these entities got to me."

Henry knew the other-dimensional horrors couldn't interact with anyone else on Earth other than him as he was carrying the tainted magic... he froze.

"What is it?" Crane asked when he saw the shock on Henry's face.

Looking into the General's eyes, Henry spoke. "The night you found me dead on the street, did you come into contact with my body?"

Crane frowned as his mind went back to the terrible event. "Uh, yes. Almost everyone who returned from Eden touched you. They... we were in shock."

"But you were the only Human on the planet, and the green light was back in the sky, so there was no Wild Magic to come into contact with. The tainted magic in my body might have detected your unique state and allowed some of that evil to transfer to you to become a shield, blocking Wild Magic, to keep you Human and maintain the contract with Baba."

The General was quiet and sipped at his drink as he rolled that idea around in his head. While he had no idea how magic worked, Henry's theory seemed... viable.

Feinberg's cell rang, and he spoke with the Sergeant before handing off the cell to the General. He spoke quietly to someone and finally hung up. He looked to the others as he handed the cell back to the Specialist. "We're to meet them at Paulus Hook Pier in fifteen minutes."

Back downstairs they went, and the Corporal picked the General up in his arms again and ran towards the pier. Henry dropped his glamor, picked up Siobhan, and ran after them. When they got to the waterfront walkway, they looked out over the water and spotted Lorelei's head above the water. Henry set Siobhan down and waved his arms to get Lorelei's attention. She moved towards them, so he pointed to the pier, and she began moving there instead. Henry picked up Siobhan once more and ran to the dock. He set her down and switched back to his glamor. They met the General and the Specialist just as a forty-five-foot Coast Guard response boat pulled into the pier and tied up. Mick joined them on the dock just as the crew welcomed the General on board.

Henry looked to the Sergeant. "Why didn't you go with them?"

She gave him an uncomfortable look. "I'm not too keen on going on or into the water. Silver People don't float, and the river bottom is too soft to run on. We'll stay on dry land, thank you very much."

It was Henry's turn, so he followed Siobhan onto the boat. He was handed a lifejacket which he immediately put on and moved back from the crewman to put some distance between them as a precaution.

"What are we doing, General?" said the sharp-eyed young man.

Crane looked uncomfortable, then pointed to Lorelei, who was watching them from the water.

"Lieutenant Jeffreys, she needs us to move to the middle of the river. She'll meet us there," he said. He waved to Lorelei, and she nodded before dipping under the surface again. "Once we're in the center of the river, I'll be going into the water with these two and the woman already there. You'll need to maintain your position so you can extract us after no more than ten minutes. For now, you should remain in the cabin to maintain your physical distance from his man. If you haven't transformed yet, that is."

The Lieutenant looked at Henry and quickly backed away.

"Thanks," Henry said to the General.

"I feel foolish trying to describe any of this to the unaware," Crane sighed.

Henry nodded as the boat pulled back from the pier where the two Silver Soldiers waited.

It didn't take long to reach the middle, and Lorelei rose out of the water like she had a personal elevator. He saw she wasn't even wet! She had fascinating powers!

"The river is ready. It will only pull on the aura, but I have to be the one to see it. It will take its instructions from my sight. Siobhan, I'll need to see what you see, so I can guide the river."

Siobhan slipped out of her life jacket and transformed into her seal shape before tumbling over the side of the boat into the water.

One of the Coast Guard personnel rushed from the cabin to stare at the seal bobbing in the waters. "A SELKIE! That's a possible transformation?" she cried excitedly.

General Crane looked at the name on their uniform. "Ensign Bailey? Please return to the cabin. We'll discuss this after, okay? Ten minutes in the water, then we'll be done."

"Right, sorry, General."

"It's quite understandable. Thanks!" he said gently, and she went back inside.

Henry moved closer to Crane. "As I need bare skin to transfer the Wild Magic to you, could I ask that you remove your top before you go into the water?" he asked apologetically.

"Shit, why not. I'll keep these dry for when I get out." He shucked off the life jacket, the winter coat, and the tracksuit until he was just in the boxers and the thick socks. After a moment, he tugged the socks off too. These items were stuffed into a locker to keep them dry.

He stepped to the side of the boat and accepted Lorelei's hand as he stepped onto the water platform she was now standing on. It moved them about twenty feet away from the vessel, then began to lower them into the water.

Henry saw Siobhan waiting for him. He would have preferred switching to his Satyr form, but the life jacket wouldn't fit. Taking a deep breath, he stepped off the side of the boat and plunged into the frigid water. He resurfaced, and the seal bobbed in the water next to him. He gave her a thumbs up. She swam behind him and began pushing him away from the boat toward Lorelei and the General.

When they were three feet away, Siobhan stopped pushing and swam between Henry and Lorelei. They both reached out a hand and pressed them against her slick fur. Instantly, Siobhan was sharing her perception of the aura.

It had settled into a uniform density around Crane, clinging tight. Henry saw no opportunity to reach the man with the Wild Magic. As he discovered how little control he had in maintaining his position next to the General, he began to have doubts this plan would work.

"Is the river not able to get a grip on the aura?" he called out to Lorelei as he saw nothing happening.

"It's almost ready to start pulling!" she called back.

Henry began pooling Wild Magic into his hands so he could lunge forward and slap a hand against the man's chest or back if it became exposed. He'd push the energy into the man as quickly as he could.

Crane suddenly bobbed upwards, almost leaving the water, except the river followed him up to keep him immersed. They splashed back down, pushing Henry further from the man.

"The aura is fighting back!" Lorelei called to them. "The Hudson has a grip, so I don't need to see it anymore." She moved away from Siobhan and frowned as she listened, then she looked at Henry nervously. "Second attempt."

Once more, Henry was knocked back by the upwelling as the General was lifted to the surface, but the river pulled him back down as he was still in the grip of the water.

Henry came back to the surface, sputtering and coughing. He wiped at his face and looked around until he spotted Crane.

"General! Are you okay?" Henry called out.

The man gasped and looked for Henry, spotting him over his shoulder. "I feel like the rope... in a game of... tug o' war!"

Henry realized with the way the river was fighting with the dark energy shield, Henry was getting pushed away from Crane. He needed to be right next to the man, and he needed to be touching Siobhan so he could see the dark magic field.

"Try number three!" Lorelei yelled as Siobhan began pushing Henry closer.

The Hudson heaved under Henry, and the General yelled in pain as the elemental made an all-out effort to rip the aura from the man. The dark energies whipped the water's surface explosively as it lost its grip on its host in a few locations.

Siobhan grabbed Henry's ankle and pulled him away from the frothing water, saving him from being beaten senseless. She ducked under the waves, as did Lorelei.

Then he saw it. The General's back, between his shoulder blades, was free of the dark shield. Something huge was surfacing below him, but he put everything from his mind except that small strip of bare skin.

Time slowed as he opened a small tear to Eden directly before him and a second tear directly above Crane's back. He slapped his hand through the two to strike cold, wet skin. As his fingers touched the target, he released the stored charge of Wild Magic in a massive pulse and hoped he didn't kill the man with the volume of magic he'd dosed him with.

The instant passed, and Henry realized Siobhan was no longer gripping his leg; he was upside down and rushing toward the river's surface. He just had time to yank his hand back, release the two tears, and throw a shield around himself before hitting the water's surface.

There was a deafening boom as the dark magic spell failed with a concussive blast and its shockwave shot out in all directions from the epicenter of the General's unconscious body. Only Henry was above the surface when the blast wave sent him skipping across the river like a thrown stone until he slammed into the side of the Coast Guard response boat.

Everything went black.

-=-

"Boy."

Henry's mind floated in the darkness. Was someone speaking?

"Boy."

He recognized the voice but not the tone. It was the sound of defeat. "Baba? What's wrong?"

"They cheated."

He knew who she was talking about. "Yes... but it's okay, Baba. I took care of it."

He felt her attention focus on him fully. "What did you say?" He heard surprise in her voice.

Henry wanted her to acknowledge what he'd done for her, but he realized it wasn't important. She wasn't his parent. She didn't save him from the genocide of his people because of anything so frivolous as compassion... or love.

"The last condition on your deal has been completed. Now, there are no more true humans."

Baba's voice continued to hold disbelief and shock. "You did this?"

The urge to scream at her rocked him, but he struggled to remain calm. It didn't matter.

"Yes, Baba. I dosed the last Human with Wild Magic. It broke the Dark Entities' magic surrounding him, keeping him Human. It's done. The bargain is over. You're free."

Silence surrounded him in the darkness, and he wondered if that was it. Was she gone?

"You did this for me?" Baba's voice asked, trembling.

He wanted to laugh in her face. To punish her with the same indifference she'd displayed for his well-being. He wanted to crush that tiny ember of humanity that was finally surfacing in her after all these years.

But he couldn't.

It would be a lie, and he wouldn't lie to his Baba.

No matter how much she'd hurt him, a tiny part of him refused to stop loving her and never gave up hope she might one day feel the same for him.

But it didn't matter.

"Yes, Baba. I did it for you."

"Why?" her voice was so quiet now.

He resisted the urge to shout at her once more and felt a weight settling on his heart.

"Because I love you, Baba," he confessed.

Silence.

It was too much to expect a response for that, so he moved on before the pain became too much.

He thought about his new ease with magic. "I guess I should thank you for your efforts to help me learn so quickly about how to use magic. It's getting easier and easier. Thank you."

"It's not me."

Henry frowned. What did she mean by that? Was she just being mean?

There was something in the tone of her voice he hadn't heard before. Surprise and... hope?

He was confused as he hadn't heard that from her before.

So... she was just being mean, right?

A weight pounded against his chest, and lips pressed against his mouth as they blew hair into his lungs.

Henry's eyes flew open, and he was looking up at a stranger's face. Was he wearing a uniform? Coast Guard!

"Move back!" Henry squeaked and pushed weakly at him. The man lurched away, and Henry sat up.

He was sitting on the boat's rear deck, and a terrible noise came over the water. He turned his head and saw something flailing in the water, roaring in panic. Siobhan launched herself out of the water and faced Henry.

"The General! He'd changed, but I can't tell what he is! Something's wrong! He's fighting the river!" she cried.

"Where's Lorelei?" Henry asked as he tried to determine what the General had become, but the water splashed too much to make out any detail.

"She'd under the surface, trying to calm the river. The explosion seems to have confused it," Siobhan said, looking back as well.

"The dark magic's gone. We need to get the General back on the boat. Can you get me closer?" Henry asked.

She looked at him like he was mad. "You get anywhere near that, and you'll be broken into pieces."

Henry switched into his Satyr form. He looked back to the shocked Coast Guard officers. "Can I get a bunch of life jackets?

Moments later, Henry leapt off the back of the boat. He had three jackets buckled haphazardly together and wrapped around his chest. It was barely enough to keep his head above the surface. Siobhan pulled him closer to the exploding water but outside the range of the flailing limbs. Henry still couldn't make out what the General had become. He looked at Siobhan. "Can you ask Siobhan to get the Hudson to lift the General up so I can see what he is?"

Siobhan nodded and ducked under the waves.

Henry bobbed up and down in the tormented waters as he did his best to keep facing the panicked being in the waves.

Suddenly they were lifted above the surface as the Hudson bulged upwards. Enormous wings unfurled, and a sinuous neck lifted the Dragon's head from the water.

Deep blue iridescent scales caught the sunlight and flared red at their edges.

Henry caught his breath at how beautiful he was. He looked... regal! Far more impressive than Walter Zhao had been. Then he snapped back to focus on the wild eyes of the Dragon.

"General! KNOCK IT OFF!" he bellowed, and the massive head swung to face him.

Henry found himself grabbed and pulled from the waters in a powerful grip, the hooked claws poking his back painfully.

"Switch back to your Human form!" Henry called out.

A huge, plate-sized eye peered at him. Henry could still see fear there. "HHHHoooowwww!"

They were slowly dropping back toward the surface, so Henry had to act quickly. "Remember what you looked like as a human. Hold that in your mind. Then push with your mind. Use your will to change to—"

They hit the surface as the Hudson released them. This time however, Henry was still in the Dragon's grip, so he was forced down deep under the surface. It wasn't letting go, either. He saw Siobhan and Lorelei rushing closer, but he waved them back. Henry placed his hands on the big paw and forced more Wild Magic into the huge beast.

He willed calm into the large Dragon as he struggled to hold his breath in the tight squeeze. He finally felt it respond, and it went still and loosened its grip. Henry maintained contact and pictured the General in his boxers standing on the boat. He felt a brush of indignation then reality suddenly folded around them.

Henry popped up to the surface, gasping and coughing. Siobhan was immediately next to him. Lorelei rose from the water with the general next to her. They found themselves resting on a firm surface that moved toward the Coast Guard vessel. Henry switched back to his human form before they reached the boat. The two Coast Guard officers reached down, pulled the General from the water, and wrapped a blanket around him as they moved him into the cabin.

Henry was helped aboard by Lorelei and Siobhan, both of whom were dry once more. The latter brought the General his borrowed clothes as Henry leaned back against the side of the boat, which was rushing back to the pier.

Normally, Henry wouldn't feel the cold, but he was soaking wet from the frigid water in January. That strained his usual resistance to the freezing temperature. He activated his heating spell and felt it slowly push back the chill.

Lorelei knelt before him. "May I assume it worked?"

Henry grinned and nodded wearily. "Yes, the spell broke. Thank you so much for your assistance, and thank the Hudson for me too."

She smiled at him. "The river doesn't really have a consciousness, but I'll accept the thanks in its stead."

He reached out to take her hand. "No, I sincerely mean this. Without you, there would have been no way to save the General and me. We have a chance now to eliminate the presence of the dark ones from Earth. Maybe permanently. That's what you did."

Lorelei's eyes were becoming glassy, and she couldn't stop smiling. She leaned forward, and their lips met. He kissed her tenderly until the boat thumped against the dock. They pulled back and shared a smile.

Henry pushed himself to his feet and turned to see two anxious silver faces. Mick and Feinberg were standing on the pier looking for the General. They looked at him.

"It worked. He's free of the evil aura," Henry said and snorted at how stupid he felt saying that. He, Siobhan, and Lorelei were assisted off the boat by the two Silver Soldiers then Mick looked into Henry's eyes.

"Did—did we see a Dragon?" Mick asked.

"Yes," Crane grumbled as the Coast Guard led him to the boat's edge. He was dressed once more in the sweatsuit. He handed the blanket back to Lieutenant Jeffreys. "Thank you for your assistance. You might want to keep what you witnessed to yourselves. The world is undergoing tremendous changes, and many aren't too keen on getting reminders of how bizarre it's becoming."

"Yes, sir," the Lieutenant said but looked confused. "What—what exactly were we involved with out there?" The sailor pointed to one of the reinforced windows on their boat, severely cracked from the shockwave.

Henry turned to face the Lieutenant. "Nothing short of protecting the Earth from forces hostile to it and all life upon it. Thank you for helping us successfully complete this part of the mission."

The man's eyes went wide, then wider still as the General saluted the boat crew. All of them snapped to attention and returned the General's salute. Ensign Bailey pushed forward. "Sir, the Selkie?"

When General Crane looked uncomfortably toward Siobhan, she turned to face the eager young woman.

"You want to become a Selkie?" she asked the ensign.

"More than anything! I've heard tales about them from my granny my whole life!" she gushed.

Siobhan looked at Henry beseechingly.

"Perhaps when there's less attention on us?" Henry suggested gesturing to the crowd gathering at the end of the pier. Several more Silver Soldiers had arrived to block access to the dock. The Sergeant must have called for them.

"Give me your cell," Siobhan told the Ensign. The young woman immediately pulled it from a pocket and unlocked it for her. Siobhan quickly punched in her number. "It's in your contacts under Siobhan. Call me tonight. We'll talk."

"We have to go, General. Too many people are arriving," the Sergeant warned.

"Back to Henry's but not directly," Crane suggested.

"I need an unlocked door—with no glass!" Henry said.

Feinberg nodded and raced away. Moments later, he was back. "There's a door on a nearby building that is open. It's metal with no window."

"Perfect. Let's go," Henry said, and they waved to the Coast Guard once more before heading toward the crowd.

Henry reached into his head for a spell to make people look the other way and immediately discarded ninety-five percent of them as they led to the death of the observers. As they walked closer, he found one that wasn't so dire. He flexed a little magic muscle to make the spell include his group and the Silver Soldiers. Then he launched it.

An invisible wave pulsed outward around him.

"What was that?" the General asked.

"Just a go-away spell. To help clear the crowd. It was the least harmful spell Baba had," Henry answered.

The outer boundary of the wave reached the crowd on the sidewalk, and they suddenly turned and began to push at the people behind them, then they turned as well. Pretty soon, the observers were scattering in all directions. The soldiers guarding the entrance to the pier watched them go, then turned to face the General as their party approached.

"Lead on, Feinberg," Crane said, and the other soldiers formed a guard around their group.

"Feeling better, General?" Yablonski asked.

Gordon gave the man a weary look. "Yes."

Soon they were standing before the utility door of a nearby commercial building. Henry canceled the go-away spell because they no longer had anyone following them.

The door before them opened, and a man wearing a coverall with the building's logo exited and froze as he faced the Silver Soldiers.

"We need to borrow the door for a moment," General Crane said.

The man frowned and shook his head. "No unauthorized personnel allowed inside."

"We won't be entering the building," Crane assured him, and the maintenance man gave him an odd look. Two nearby soldiers gently pulled the man aside. Henry stepped forward and closed the door. Then he reopened it, and inside was no longer the generator room.

"What the fuck! Where's the generator?" the building worker cried.

Henry smiled. "Don't worry. It's still there." He stepped inside, and Lorelei and Siobhan followed, with the General and the soldiers at her heels. The Sergeant was last through and smiled at the maintenance man as she closed the door. When the worker yanked it open again, he looked into the generator room again, and all was humming along as he'd left it.

While he was seriously impressed, he had work to do.

Henry guided the others into his living room once more. They took seats, and the soldiers sighed happily as they trickle-fed from being close to Henry.

Gordon leaned forward on the sofa to look at Henry. "What the hell did I become?"

Henry leaned back a little from the sharp words. "Sorry for how much energy I pushed into you, but I only had a window of seconds to do it. What you became was random chance, but I think you lucked out. Dragons are rare and very powerful! I've never created a wielder before, but Dragons can use magic, so you'll be able to do it too. You detected the spell I used to dispel the crowd." He looked to Siobhan. "Did you have a chance to see anything in the General post-change that should be addressed?"

She shook her head. "No, the evil aura is gone, and he just has this enormous Dragon-sized aura now. Lots of power there."

"What should I know about being a Dragon? Aside from how to switch back and forth," Gordon asked with a calmer voice.

"I'm afraid I have no clue. The secrets of each race are only known to the races themselves." Henry looked to Lorelei as he recalled something. He looked back to Crane. "That said, there's a Dragon who Lorelei and I met. She's coming to see me at my office. Her name is Alice Shaw, and she's originally from England. I'll ask her to speak with you. From what I understand, there aren't many Dragons. They're also collectors. Meaning they collect things. You may feel a compulsion to do so. One wanted to collect me! He was dissuaded." The General frowned.

"Switching between Human and Dragon will become second nature, but you should practice someplace safe. Make sure you have enough space around you for your Dragon form." Henry recalled just how big the man was in Dragon form. "Something else I should mention is the method you use for transforming is controlled by a ring of bone inside you. Its magic is different than a glamor. Your Human form isn't an illusion. While you're Human, you physically become one, with all their vulnerabilities. That's because Dragon magic warps reality. It twists and bends reality around you. You never want to do this with someone standing close to you as this warping will kill them or at least badly injure them. I've had to use this to kill, and it's horrifying."

Gordon gave him a grim nod.

"If the General is fully human in this state, can you give him one of your force field spells to keep him safe?" Mick asked Henry.

"That would probably be a good idea," Henry agreed, then he recalled how these magic add-ons didn't remain after changing. "Actually, anything I add will be lost the next time you switch as you get a whole new Human body each time you engage the Dragon glamor spell. I'll add one to you now, but you should try to see if you can study it to make your own."

Another caveat rose in his mind. "Alice Shaw is linked to the old realm of magic. She may be able to teach you spells, but they may not work with Wild Magic. Old realm magic works by commanding the energy to follow the instructions of the spell. The Wild Magic is stronger and needs to be invited to participate. Sometimes the spells just don't translate between the two types of magic. If Alice isn't keen on training, you may need to learn how to create spells on your own by converting the spells to work."

Gordon looked uncomfortable with that idea, so Henry explained.

"I wasn't taught. Baba just jammed all her spells into my mind. I also have access to old realm magic, so I can use the spells that only work with that magic. I also taught myself how to interact with the Wild Magic, how to use my will to define what I expected to happen and invite the magic to participate. I use my background in programming to make sense of the spells in my mind and get them to work for me in that way."

The General nodded and leaned forward as Henry reached out to him and bound his personal force field spell to the bone at his temple. "Just touch there and will the shield to be active. You can will it off in the same way." He demonstrated by activating his own and felt Crane enable his. He nodded with a smile.

Henry looked closer at the General as he was no longer showing any sign of his previous injury. "You seem to be completely healed from your injuries."

Gordon's face showed his surprise, as he hadn't been aware of it. Now, he realized he felt fine. In fact, he felt better than he ever had. "I... feel really good."

"I'm going to assume that's likely due to the magic you now contain," Henry suggested. "You can ask Alice about this too."

Gordon frowned as he suddenly felt like he was returning to school.

Henry recalled something else. "Oh, one thing I did hear. Dragons are extremely long-lived, avoiding mishaps. Alice is over eight hundred years old. Walter Zhao may have been thousands of years old." He saw Crane's shocked expression and suddenly felt bad. "Sorry for dropping that on you. Do you want to return to the hospital so they can discharge you?"

"Uh, yes. I suppose that makes sense," the General said with a subdued tone.

Henry stood and reset the closet door to the bathroom door in the General's hospital room and opened the door. He faced a man in a dark suit.

The first three shots left the man's gun in a blink of an eye. If Henry hadn't left his shield up, he'd have been killed. Instead, the flattened bullets just dropped to the floor. Henry knew he was facing a Demon as no Human could draw a weapon and fire it that quickly. Henry dropped his Human glamor and stepped into the hospital room as the Demon hissed at him.

Henry felt the Silver Soldiers at his back as he surged forward. He saw the Demon swing his arm outward to shoot through the Oxygen line in the wall. Before it could squeeze the trigger, Henry threw a shield around the Demon. The gun fired, but once more, the bullets flattened and fell, this time inside the field.

The Demon looked around and reached out a finger to feel the invisible wall around it. Yablonski dashed around Henry and bounced off the Demon's force field to crash into a chair.

The Demon grinned at Henry. "We're at an impasse, it seems. Not the outcome I'd planned, but I'm still alive, so I'm pleased."

"You came here for the General?" Henry asked.

"Where is he? We will have him," the Demon said confidently.

Henry looked into the eyes of the Demon and immediately saw it was just a shell controlled from afar. "If you were looking to collect the Dark Energy from the General, I'm afraid you're too late. The spell broke, and the energy is gone, converted into a bloody loud bang. The General's clean."

The Demon screamed in explosive rage and threw itself against the inside of the force field, but Henry kept it firmly locked in place. Instead, it slipped on the curved inner surface and tumbled to the bottom, where it thrashed ineffectively.

General Crane entered the room to stand beside Henry. "What's that?"

"I believe it's a low-level Demon, but it's being controlled like a puppet by a higher-level Demon who's watching from behind its eyes," Henry suggested, and the Demon stopped the thrashing. Cold eyes examined the General; disappointment flashed across its features, then it froze. "You are Henry Gable?"

Henry nodded.

After a second, the presence behind the eyes faded, and the drone took over. "You have no hope of stopping us from bringing the Masters into this world," it spat.

"Thanks for confirming your mission. That clarifies what we'll need to do to fuck up your plans. What a chump," Henry snorted as he looked at Gordon.

This enraged the Demon, and it attacked the inner surface of the force field with frenzied rage.

"We're not going to get anything more from it," Henry said.

Gordon frowned but nodded. "What do we do with it?"

Henry lifted a big hand and closed his fist slowly. The force field bubble began to shrink around the thrashing Demon. It renewed its efforts to escape, but the collapsing accelerated, and the sound of crushed bones and screams rose in pitch. The bubble snapped down to a concentrated point, no larger than a pearl, a black one.

"Can you get me that metal cup?" Henry asked as he concentrated on the compressed Demon. He held out his hand, and Mick gave him the cup. Henry placed it under the pearl and let the force field fill the cup. He handed the cup to Mick. "Please make sure this gets incinerated," he said. She grunted in surprise at the weight, then rushed out the door into the hospital hallway holding the cup of evil before her.

"Why not drop it into lava? I heard you do that, don't you?" Yablonski asked.

"Opening a tear takes a lot of energy, and I've used too much today already. I need to go lie down." He turned back to face the bathroom door, wobbled slightly, and saw Lorelei watching him with wide, concerned eyes.

He looked to the General. "Thank you so much for your help with this, General. You have my number."

Crane nodded.

Henry walked back through the bathroom door to his hallway. The last few Silver Soldiers went through to the hospital. Then it was only Siobhan, Lorelei, and Henry. He closed the closet door and reset it back to Meixiu's mansion. He opened the door again and stepped through.

With that, Henry depleted the last of his reserves and collapsed, unconscious before he hit the floor.

Chapter 15

Camila stood in front of the large living room fireplace in Meixiu's mansion. The vampire was sitting on a large cushion nearby, looking into the flames with a content smile.

Just to her left sat Roy and Mary on a loveseat.

Standing next to them was Sigrid holding her son, Stanley, while Hilda was next to her, cradling Ylva in her arms. The other Valkyrie had left to return to their duties elsewhere. They'd all promised to join the fight should the Demons come out of hiding and attack directly.

On a sofa was the bestie group of Sandy, Kesini coiled up in her lap, Dayshia, and Tish, who was holding Celeste in her arms. Tish's and Dayshia's families had all gone home for the night.

Marisa was relaxing on a lounge chair with Natalia stretched out over her body, asleep.

Mahati and Kali rested back on their tails by the large picture windows, which showed it was snowing lightly once more.

Lorelei sat perched on the edge of her chair as she fretted while Siobhan was in a chair next to her holding her hand. They'd been the last ones with Henry before he passed out from exhaustion. Eleanor King made this diagnosis after Roy had carried the unconscious man upstairs to put him to bed. Once she'd finished her examination, the doctor and her husband went home.

"Henry is taking on too much too quickly," Camila said and saw nods from most of those gathered in the room. Hilda was the exception. She just frowned and glanced at the others.

"You disagree?" Marisa asked her bluntly.

"How is he going to get stronger if he's coddled? His challenge has been clearly laid out before him. He must defeat the extra-dimensional monsters of unfathomable power. I will be the first to admit he's a useless warrior... yet he wins. How? By pushing himself beyond anything a normal person could endure. I witnessed him step into the mouth of a huge Ribbon Beast and grab its razor teeth in his hands, badly slashing them. He broke its jaw and crushed its skull with his bare hands, then healed himself. It was the sloppiest fighting I've ever witnessed, yet he won." She looked at the incredulous expressions on the faces of the others. "He will find a way, even if it brings him absolute agony and a glorious death."

"You watched Henry fight a Ribbon creature, and you didn't help him?" Camila raged.

Hilda frowned as she saw everyone scowling at her. She looked at her daughter. "Why can't people understand this is the way of the Valkyrie?"

Sigrid was pissed at her mother as well, but mostly because of her unbendable notion that the world must follow her values and beliefs. "Because they aren't Valkyrie?" she replied, then looked at Camila.

"Henry mentioned these beings were patient. He said the tainted magic in him would eventually affect him. Has anyone asked him why he's in such a hurry? Couldn't he take the time to pace himself through the effort to maximize his strength?"

Lorelei spoke up. "After he addressed everyone downstairs, he spoke with Siobhan and me and indicated he had to help the General. I think he felt guilty or somehow responsible for getting the man involved. He also seemed driven to get Baba to let go of the spells. He didn't tell us why there was an urgency, but he achieved the first task. The General is no longer Human. Henry made him a Dragon."

Camila blinked in surprise and looked at Roy. "A Dragon! The strongest type of wielder!" Her eyes widened further as another fact arose. "A Dragon linked to the Wild Magic!"

Roy nodded. "Thank goodness the man's as level-headed as they come. This also means there are no more Humans. The evil fucker's deal with Baba is done. Henry should be able to begin disabling those spells."

Siobhan spoke up. "About that. Henry encountered another Demon. We were in the next room, but we could hear very clearly. This one was in the General's empty hospital room. It tried to kill Henry and capture the General for the tainted energy, but Henry captured it instead. He told the General it was being controlled remotely by a Master Demon. He told the Demon the General was clean, and it went into a rage. It said Henry couldn't stop them from bringing their Masters to the world, then Henry killed it. I don't know how the Master Demon knew about the energy surrounding the General. It might know the remaining energy is in Henry. I don't know where it's getting its information."

"Henry had a very busy day. Let's see if we can't convince him to take the rest of the week off," Camila said, and heads nodded, except Hilda's, but they ignored her.

Sigrid glanced at her mother before she spoke. "We've spoken with the Valkyries, and if we are to be effective against a better organized and supported Demons, we will have to act on mother's suggestion. All the Valkyrie will have to be upgraded to being linked to the Wild Magic."

Roy snorted. "Are you suggesting Henry beds all of them? I don't think the lad's too keen on that idea, considering how some Valkyries have treated him." He fixed a stern look at Hilda, who turned her face away.

Sigrid nodded to him. "I thought maybe Henry could put his new abilities with magic to work on finding an alternate method."

"We'll ask him when he wakes up," Camila said. She looked at the gathered people and saw some unhappy expressions. "The next thing I'd like to do is ask everyone how they're coping? We've been so focused on Henry as he's been at the center of some world-shaking events that we forget to think about ourselves. The world has changed and is still changing in tremendous ways. The Hidden Races are no longer hidden, and Sigrid's work with the Council's Global Transformation Support Program is capable of handling the fluctuating rate of post-Human changes."

There was applause for Sigrid from the group then Camila continued.

"Also, a huge thanks to the efforts of Lorelei, Raymond, and Siobhan, as we no longer have to worry about being hunted."

Camila started the applause, and everyone else quickly joined in. Lorelei and Siobhan smiled bashfully and nodded to the others.

Once the applause died down, Siobhan stood to face the room. "Lorelei and Raymond created a series of new files, which the distribution page I set up will release over the next month. We felt it prudent to ensure a surplus in case we find ourselves too busy to prepare new ones for a time." Heads nodded.

"Do you believe this effort will need to continue indefinitely?" Roy asked.

Lorelei shared a look with Siobhan and shook her head. Siobhan answered for them. "We don't know. We're hoping once the majority of people have changed to their final state, it won't be necessary any longer, but it's not a burden to do as it's fun. Who else can claim to have this many singles in the number one spot week after week, globally?"

Chuckles erupted across the group, and Camila could see people relaxing. This was good. She looked to Mahati, whose expression wasn't as cheery as the others. "Something concerning you, Mahati?"

The woman glanced at Camila in surprise. "No. It's nothing." When she saw Camila was still focused on her, she sighed and shook her head. "I must visit my mother. This societal upheaval may have destabilized certain interests the family is dependent upon."

"Do you need a security detail with you for protection?" Roy asked.

"What? Oh! No, thank you, Roy. There's no need to be concerned for my safety. Mother wouldn't dare try something so foolish now," Mahati said with a smile. Kali didn't look so convinced, but she held her tongue.

"We're going back to business as usual this week. Meixiu has graciously offered to keep the magic doors in place for anyone who wishes to keep access to the mansion open. All are welcome."

Meixiu smiled and accepted the thanks from the others.

"I'm going to need access to the closet we're currently using to get here," Lorelei said. "Can we turn it off and on as needed?"

Camila smiled but shook her head. "I don't think magic doors work like that."

Siobhan had an idea. "What if we bought a door and frame and mounted it to an empty wall in our home, like Henry's doors to Eden in the cave? Then Henry could use that door. We could paint the door and frame like a piece of art for our home. Henry said he could make the doors only work for us. It would make the mansion more secure if all the doors were set that way."

This generated more smiles and nods from the friends.

"I know my family will love this idea, and the kids will especially love decorating them," Tish gushed.

"One important consideration. The doors can't have any windows in them. Henry said he won't make magic doors with them," Roy said firmly.

Camila looked at him curiously. "Did he say why?"

Roy shook his head. "He didn't, but I got the impression that something frightened him about doing it."

Sandy perked up. "We all got a fright earlier today when he reset the door to bring the table back upstairs. He jumped and scared us when the glass switched."

Roy frowned. "D'ya think he might be seeing the big evil?"

Siobhan shook her head. "It couldn't be. I caught the briefest impression, and it terrified me so badly that I couldn't speak or stop crying for several minutes. He said looking directly at them would drive you mad. Maybe it's just a hint of them? You'd have to ask him."

"Whatever he's seeing, the new doors can have no windows or glass of any kind in or on them," Roy insisted. He looked at the others and saw they were all nodding. He held Tish's eye. "Please make sure your family knows." She agreed.

"Okay, we have our project for the week. If everyone is available, I'd like us to get together this coming weekend," Camila suggested, and once more, everyone nodded in agreement.

"Henry's going to have to work from the mansion until he fixes the rift inside him," Roy stated.

"He did," Siobhan said with a smile. "It's only leaking a little more than normal background levels currently."

"When did he get a chance to do that?" Roy asked.

Siobhan shook her head. "He told us this morning, and I saw it working."

Camila smirked. "As I said earlier, Henry had a busy day."

Roy fixed an eye on Camila. "Like you said, he has to take it slower for a bit." He thought about that. "It's a short work week. Only three days. Let's ask Henry to hold all magic-related issues until the weekend."

Sigrid smiled and nodded. "I'm sure he'd be delighted to concentrate on his computer-related tasks instead."

Roy nodded, and Camila brought their meeting to an end.

"Have a great week, everyone!"

Hugs were exchanged as people made their way down to the doors back to their homes.

Camila sat on a footstool next to the chaise lounge where her daughter and granddaughter were still relaxing. Soon they were the only ones in the room.

Marisa looked at her mother with a curious expression.

"What?" Camila asked when she noticed.

"There's something different about you," the gorgeous blonde said pensively as she tried to determine what it was.

Camila gave her daughter an innocent smile. "Really? I don't know what it could be."

"There's a calmness about you. You seem... content? Happy? A mix of the two and something else," Marisa puzzled.

"Is it wrong to feel happy? Content?" Camila asked.

"You were obviously with Henry. Last night?"

The brunette beauty nodded but maintained her innocent expression.

Marisa gave her mother a confused and exasperated look. "What is it?"

Camila shrugged with a euphoric smile. "It's love."

Marisa's jaw dropped. "Love?" she whispered. "That's... not supposed to be possible for us. Are you sure?"

Camila nodded. "I spent a lot of time trying to understand these unfamiliar feelings and sensations. I've never felt this way about any of the mates I've taken in the past. There's always been a distinct boundary between them and me, with very little shared over a wall I'm always conscious of. My sense of self is defined by this individuality. With Henry, that separation is gone and in its place is a duality. I'm me, but I'm also us."

Marisa's eyes widened as she was very familiar with her own emotional boundaries. Nate's death made her very aware that she'd kept him on the other side of the line, regardless of how often he professed his love like his Human parents had done for each other. She'd never lied to him. He knew that Succubi emotions didn't work like Human emotions, but he always held onto his hope.

Now her mother was telling her it was possible. This shook her foundations.

Camila continued, oblivious to her daughter's shock. "The strength of this emotional bond takes my breath away, and the feeling of connection and vulnerability is both thrilling and frightening."

She finally noticed the stricken expression on Marisa's face. "What's wrong?"

"Nate said he loved me. He believed in love, and I didn't think it could happen. Now you tell me it not only can, but it happened for you! Does that mean I could have loved him in return if I tried harder?"

Camila took Marisa's hands in hers and looked into her eyes. "I don't believe it works that way. These feelings I have for Henry weren't something I tried to create. They just grew over time. You didn't have that much time with Nate. His behavior was based on his desire to emulate his Human parents. We can't even be sure if his emotions were love or just a longing to be in love. You shouldn't feel bad about something that didn't have time to grow, and you couldn't have known if it even would."

Marisa nodded shakily as that made sense to her. She knew she was a little sensitive about the seemingly one-sided love affair Nate had with her. She knew her feelings for Henry were stronger than how she'd felt about Nate. From what her mother said, that might have been due to how long they'd known each other. Maybe it would lead to her experiencing what Camila had. Time would tell. Her skin tingled at the idea that she might one day experience love.

Another thought occurred to her. She recalled the stories her mother told her about past mates she'd lost, and Marisa had always dreaded this experience for herself. She'd always held back a little bit of herself because of that fear. What if... what if all she needed was to not hold back?

Camila scooped up Natalia and nuzzled her while Marisa stood. They walked together in silence back to the vestibule, where the magic doors would take them to their separate homes.

"Are you going to be okay?" Camila asked her daughter, sensing her internal conflict.

Marisa nodded as she took her daughter back into her arms. She kissed her mother's cheek. "I'll be fine. You just caught me by surprise with that confession."

Camila gave her a sympathetic look. "If you need anything or want to talk, please call me."

"I will. Goodnight!" Marisa said and stepped through her door.

The lovely brunette stood before her door and contemplated going upstairs to see Henry. She smiled and shook her head.

He needed his sleep, and tomorrow was soon enough to see him.

She'd have him in her dreams tonight.

Just not literally.

Chapter 16

Henry sighed happily as he sat at his keyboard in his office, reviewing the status reports from each of his servers. All the hardware was functioning as expected, and there were no maintenance issues to deal with this week. The patch schedule was up to date. The most recent fixes he'd added to the dashboard application were well received by the staff.

On the security side, his firewalls had reported an uptick in intrusion attempts, but there'd been no penetration, and the methods being used were all known methods, so there was nothing for him to adjust.

His tracking software managed to identify thirty percent of the hackers, tracing them back to their home addresses. These weren't real threats, just amateurs fucking around. No need to worry about them as they never made it past the top levels of the firewall.

Two attempts had come from online accounts Henry identified as notorious hackers from the dark web. He flagged them in case they needed to have their wings clipped. Henry wasn't above using his new magic to assist with locating these perpetrators. Dropping some of Roy's security operatives on the hacker's doorstep late at night might set them straight.

Reading through the tech support mailbox, he discovered a few more pleas from the NSA scientists. They were asking him to reconsider their request to set up an array of quantum tunneling servers for them to track personal data for weeding out terrorists, malcontents, and people who objected to the unrestricted use of personal data.

He'd already had Mahati deal with their last entreaty, so he once more redirected these messages to her for escalation.

His own quantum tunneling array was humming happily in the server room racks, collecting user behavior data minus all personal identification data so they could identify more helpful financial package features. Camila was looking forward to seeing the results of these computations. He told her it would take a couple more months to get truly useful statistics.

His phone chirped, and he picked it up, promptly disconnecting the call when he hit the wrong button. He frowned at the phone.

His phone chirped again, and this time he pressed the flashing button. "Yes?"

"You hit the wrong button again." It was Marisa, and she didn't sound happy.

Henry winced. "Sorry. I thought I had to open a line first."

He heard her sighing. "When I'm back in the office, I'll give you another lesson on the phone."

"Come on. It doesn't happen that often," he said in his defense.

"Ms. Villamor wants you to join her in her office." The call ended with a click, and Henry winced again.

He sighed and locked his PC before walking down the hall to Camila's office. Felix directed him to enter, and he went inside, closing the door behind himself. He looked toward Camila and saw she had two guests sitting before her desk.

As he approached, they stood and turned to face him. It was a Japanese man and woman, and Henry immediately noticed the disparity between the two.

The man must have been in his sixties, but he was maybe five-nine and solidly built with a vitality in his gaze that hinted at his sharp intelligence. He was dressed in a perfectly tailored three-piece suit. His cufflinks flashed with some precious stones, as did the rings on his hands which gave the impression of great wealth.

His skin was very pale, but his hands gave away his age, as did his steely grey hair.

His female companion was petite, much shorter at five foot even. She was dressed in a smart, crisp business suit with a skirt instead of slacks.

The anomalous element in her outfit was the sheer bright red stockings she wore over her slim, shapely legs.

Her heart-shaped face was partially hidden behind her long silky black hair, the ends becoming red as well, matching her lips and growing nails.

A sharp word from the older man made her dip her eyes from Henry's, and her hair was black once more. Her lips and nails were a faint pink, and her fingers no longer had claws.

Henry raised an eyebrow at the man whose face showed discomfort at his companion's loss of control. The man forced his expression back to a smile and dipped his head slightly to Henry. "Apologies for my servant's poor manners."

Henry tipped his head in acceptance, but his curiosity demanded he ask.

"Do we have privacy?" Henry said, and Camila nodded. He looked back to the woman. "I don't think I've provoked such a response before. I'd be interested to know what happened."

The woman glanced nervously at the older man, who nodded stiffly.

"You are a Bastet, or you've been marked by one!" she said.

Henry blinked in surprise. "I'm not one. What do you mean marked?"

She looked at him more closely and inhaled gently. "Her scent is upon you!" she snarled, then quickly controlled herself and went silent as she saw the older man's annoyance.

Henry looked to Camila, whose sense of smell was so much keener than his. "Can you smell this mark?" he asked.

She smiled. "No, I detected nothing."

"Only those of our kind are able to," the petite female said.

"Thank you for letting me know," Henry said to her, and she blinked in surprise at him but remained silent.

Henry turned to the man. "Obviously, this wasn't what you called for me to discuss. Thank you for your indulgence." Henry dipped his head toward the man again, putting a smile back on the senior's face.

"You are not what I expected," the man confessed. "I am Katsu Sasaki, Leader of the Japanese Spirits Combine of North America. Today, I am here on behalf of certain interests in the financial community."

"Mr. Sasaki's specialty is banking like Walter Zhao's interests was law," Camila said. This was a heads-up for Henry, who nodded to the woman as his eyes returned to Katsu.

So, the older man was a Dragon. Henry glanced at the petite woman and thought of Meixiu. Mr. Sasaki called her servant, but he might have meant slave.

He nodded to the man. "I'm Henry Gable. CIO for VRL."

"It has come to our attention that you have created a firewall technology that defeats all currently known cyberattack methods. The financial institutions I represent are interested in obtaining this level of protection," Sasaki said.

Henry nodded and glanced at Camila before looking back into the man's eyes. "Ms. Villamor negotiates the contracts for this."

"Yes, but we would also be interested in obtaining your exclusive services," the man said with a smile. "As you can imagine, the financial rewards for working for my interests would be substantial." The man's expression could not have been more smug.

Now Henry understood the tiny smile on Camila's lips.

"Thank you, but no. I'm not interested."

Katsu's confidence wasn't shaken in the slightest. "Perhaps you haven't grasped the significance of the salary I'm suggesting."

Henry smiled. "Perhaps you haven't grasped the scale of my disinterest in your offer. I'm not financially motivated."

This caused Sasaki to lose a little of his bravado. He frowned. "Everyone is financially motivated when the numbers are as large as I'm suggesting—"

"Five hundred trillion dollars a year?" Henry asked with exaggerated surprise.

"What? No! Don't be absurd!" the man snapped.

Henry's expression quickly faded back to boredom. "Meh. Anything less is too little to move me from my family here at VRL."

The senior executive stared at Henry in shock and frustration.

"If you are interested in licensing the firewall technology, that option is still open," Camila suggested.

"We require control over the infrastructure of our security systems. This includes the personnel who administer it for us. They are paid very well to ensure their loyalty. We normally develop our applications in-house to ensure there is no external exposure that might lead to a breach," the man explained stiffly.

Henry nodded. "Our other firewall subscribers also offered me excessive financial incentives if I'd come work for them, but I turned them down too. Their systems are safe and secure, and even I couldn't breach them had I any interest in doing so. There are no back doors in my code. Perhaps the concept of controlling the brain trust who writes your applications isn't as necessary as you think," he offered.

"That's not acceptable," Mr. Sasaki insisted. He looked back at Camila. "As VRL is a private company, would you consider selling it to us?"

She smiled and shook her head. "We're not entertaining offers for acquisition. VRL's investment services are offered to our clients as an alternative to those offered by the banks. Being acquired by the same financial institutions these clients are avoiding would breach their trust in us. That's something we cannot do."

Henry noticed the petite woman was becoming agitated once more. He turned his face to her. "Are you okay?" he asked as he touched his temple.

"You are being disrespectful! You should not refuse his offer!" the woman growled.

Henry glanced at Mr. Sasaki to see if he'd scold his servant for speaking out of line, but it seemed the man wanted to see if bullying worked.

Sighing, Henry turned to face her. "What is your name?"

The question caught the woman off guard, and her eyes flicked to her master and back to Henry.

"Roku."

"Okay, Roku. That's a nice name, by the way—" Henry began.

"It means six," she responded bluntly.

"Ah, well, it has a nice sound," Henry said as he looked into her eyes. He didn't know what she was, but if she was the Dragon's security detail, she had to be dangerous. He'd play this cautiously.

"I'm not trying to be rude, but when I gave your boss my final answer, his ignoring it was rude to me," Henry explained.

"Refusing his offer would be bad for you," Roku promised.

Henry frowned and glanced at the evaluative expression on Sasaki's face. He'd seen a similar expression on Walter's face, like he was watching the outcome of two beetles battling. Time to remind the Dragon that beetles can sting too.

"If you're going to threaten me, I'll have to ask you both to leave," Henry said firmly with a scowl.

Almost faster than he could track, Roku leapt at him. She hit his personal shield and bounced off. Henry caught the stunned woman inside a new forcefield, leaving her suspended midair.

As he did this, he stepped close to Mr. Sasaki, placed his hand over the man's rings, and gripped tight, looking deep into his startled eyes. He could feel the potential of the old magic stored in the gemstones.

One of Baba's spells slid front and center in his mind, and he saw it would drain the energy from the gems. Before he activated it, he realized one of these might be supporting the Dragon's health. He didn't want to kill the arrogant, rude man.

"Let's take this down a notch before you get hurt. Trust me, nothing you've got stored away in these gems is getting through my protection, and the backlash won't be pretty. Also, I know how to ride out a Dragon glamor change, so that would be unwise as well," Henry said calmly.

The man was frozen with indecision. His eyes looked to his stunned bodyguard floating in an invisible bubble back to Henry's calm and very close presence. Then he looked to Camila, who just smiled at him.

Finally, he looked back at Henry. "What are you?"

"I'm Baba Yaga's adopted son, and she taught me everything she knew. I've just learned to use her magic... my way." He frowned. "By the way, are any of these rings related to keeping you physically healthy?"

Sasaki nodded nervously.

Henry smiled. "Then it's a good thing I didn't use the spell to drain their energy."

The man nodded again.

Henry released his hand and stood back to look at him. "This didn't need to become a confrontation. I said no. The proper response would have been to accept Camila's original offer to license the software. It's still open."

A loud enraged yowl and hiss erupted behind them. Roku had switched to her natural feline form and was trying to claw her way free from the forcefield. Her large eyes were wild with fury, and her fur was standing on end as she ineffectively clawed at the impervious energy shield.

"A Nekomata?" Camila exclaimed in surprise.

Mr. Sasaki frowned in disappointment. "Yes, and now it's ruined."

Henry looked at Camila. "What's a Nekomata?"

"They're Japanese spirits with cat-like forms, but they can transform into Human shapes. They're notoriously difficult to deal with as they're sociopaths by nature. How you managed to have one serve you is beyond me."

The senior exec waved a hand as the matter was meaningless to him, and he wasn't about to discuss it.

"I must leave, but now I no longer have any personal protection," he grumbled uncomfortably.

"Take Roku," Henry suggested, but the man just scowled at him.

"I just finished telling you she is ruined. Her rage will continue until she is exhausted and passes out. When she awakes, her rage will fire anew. Controlling it was not something easily taught. She is dead to me. Do with her as you will."

He walked to the office door and stormed through it. Henry looked at Camila in shock as Roku continued to yowl and thrash.

"If you let her out of that bubble, she will attempt to kill us. She's lost to her rage," Camila said to him.

Henry looked into the Nekomata's eyes; all he could see was the rabid beast she'd become. Behind those eyes, there was no sign of a civilized being, just rage. He looked back at Camila. "Shit! I don't want her death on my hands!"

Camila nodded. "Another slight aimed at you from the Japanese Spirit Combine. Their first one was sending Yuko after you."

Henry blinked at Camila. "What?"

"Roy investigated how you ended up with Yuko when Sigrid arranged for a service to take care of your household needs when you first moved into your old condo. The Combine canceled the order and had Yuko take their place."

"Huh. Tricky buggers," Henry grumbled, then glanced at the panting beast hovering in the air. He pondered the being. "Do Nekomatas have any redeeming values?" he asked quietly.

Camila gave him a sad look. "I'm sorry to say, I've never heard of a Nekomata with any capacity for empathy. You should know they aren't natural creations. Someone or something really nasty created them a very long time ago and made them despise everyone. The standing order for the Hidden Races Council is to terminate them when they're encountered. They have a terrible reputation for killing Humans, too."

"Shit."

Camila nodded. "I could ask Roy to come upstairs to take care of it—"

"Her," Henry said softly. He shook his head and glanced at Camila. "No, I'll do it. It's just another reason for me not to like the manipulative leaders of the Japanese Spirit Combine."

He scanned his memories for a spell that caused a painless death and found... nothing. Baba's spells really sucked.

Then one slipped to the front of his mind, and he paused. It had a terrible payload, but... it might be better than killing her.

He glanced at Camila. Could he... should he explain what he was about to do to Roku?

No, this had to be his decision alone. He'd bear the responsibility for this.

He examined the spell and made some adjustments, saving his modified copy in his mind. Then he looked deep into his captive's eyes, and she suddenly stiffened. He launched the spell and felt it leap from his eyes to hers. She made a choking sound, reverted to her human shape, then slumped inside the force field he contained her in.

Henry moved forward and held out his arms to collect the unconscious Nekomata as he canceled the force field.

"She's not dead?" Camila asked cautiously as she saw the female breathing.

He watched the innocent expression on Roku's face as she rested in his arms. "No," he said quietly. "There was... another option. One of Baba's spells. It completely erases a person's personality—" Camila gasped, and Henry hurried to finish. "I didn't use the spell as-is. I made my own version. It removed her rage and greatly reduced her hate."

He was afraid to look into Camila's eyes. Would she be disgusted by what could be seen as unethical meddling with another person's mind? It made him uncomfortable to think about what he'd just done, but if it meant he didn't have to kill her, maybe it was okay.

When he finally got the nerve to look at Camila, he only saw compassion, and his breath caught in his throat as his love for her surged.

"We'll see what that means for her personality. Any other changes?" the Succubus asked softly.

"No. Everything else about Roku is exactly as it was. If this doesn't work, I won't make any further adjustments. I'm not a psychologist. This is her second and last chance," Henry admitted.

"Until she wakes, I'll ask Roy to put her someplace safe where she cannot hurt anyone or herself," Camila suggested, and Henry nodded. She moved to her desk and spoke quietly into her phone.

Roy was at her door in seconds, and they stared at him curiously as he eyed the sleeping female cautiously. "I saw the old gentleman leaving without his bodyguard, so I came up immediately," he admitted. He pointed to her. "What happened?"

"Mr. Sasaki let his bodyguard loose on Henry when he couldn't convince him to come work for him. Roku is a Nekomata."

Roy's eyes widened. "Why's she not dead?" he growled.

Henry sighed. "The old Dragon left her behind because I ruined her. She'd gone full rage. He said she wouldn't return from that state. Camila explained Nekomatas aren't salvageable, but I... made an adjustment. Her rage is gone, and most of her hate."

Roy stared at Henry incredulously. "Ya canna be mucking aboot in ah mind!" he gasped.

"I didn't want any more blood on my hands! Instead, I made a lighter version of one of Baba's spells. Maybe this will help her! She's free of her master and shouldn't be able to become feral any longer. With the reduction of hate, maybe she'll be able to learn how to function in society," Henry insisted.

"And what if she can't? What then," Roy returned.

Henry sighed as he looked at Roku. "I know it might not work, but I wanted to give her a chance. This is all I can do. If it doesn't work and she's still a threat to people, I'll do what needs to be done."

Roy huffed, but he nodded.

"Can you put our guest someplace safe until she wakes? We'll do an assessment then," Camila asked.

"When is she going to wake?" Roy asked as he collected the female from Henry's arms.

"I'm not sure. I've never used this kind of magic before," Henry admitted.

Roy huffed again, gave Camila a pointed look, then left the office carrying Roku.

Henry looked at Camila. "Are we going to have more issues with Mr. Sasaki?"

"He arrived believing he was the apex predator in the building and expected to leave with exactly what he wanted. Instead, he left with his tail between his legs, minus his bodyguard. Dragons don't like being humbled, but you handled him well. Polite but firm. It was very sexy." She finished with a grin, and Henry felt the power of that below his belt.

Her phone chirped, and she gave it an annoyed glance. She pressed the button. "Yes?"

Felix's voice came through. "There's an Alice Shaw in the lobby asking to meet with Henry."

"Oh! Yes! I invited her to come speak with me. Can you have her escorted to my office?" Henry answered.

"Will do," Felix said and hung up. Camila gave him a curious look.

"This lady is a Dragon who tried to capture Lorelei and me. Her treasure hoard was lost when she had to flee from London after her home was torched. I gave her a little slap for the bad decision, then told her I might be able to help her get her treasure back. I also want her to speak with General Crane about being a Dragon." He grinned at Camila, then left her office to hustle down the hall to his before his guest arrived.

He waited in the outer office until Alice was led inside by one of the Security Team. "Thanks, Ramone! I'll escort her out." Henry said to Roy's man, who nodded and left them alone.

"Welcome to VRL," Henry said.

"Thank you. Are you still willing to help me collect my treasures?" Alice asked eagerly.

"If the vestibule to the cave is intact, yes. My question is, do you have a new place prepared to bring the items?"

"I do!" she said with a grin.

Henry fixed his gaze on her. "How many of your treasures are people? You recall what I said about that."

"None! I've never taken a living creature as a treasure! The night we met, I was gutted about my lost hoard. Spotting a being like your friend was such a shock I acted without thinking. I'm so sorry," she lamented.

"That's fine. So, what are we going to find?" Henry asked with interest as he moved toward his office door. When Alice didn't respond, he looked back. She was watching him suspiciously.

He smiled. "I have no intention of taking your treasure. I'm not interested in wealth. I'm... content with my life. Well... it could use a little less drama, but I have so many friends now, I feel rich beyond my wildest dreams!"

Alice blinked at him in surprise. "Oh! You collect friends!"

He grinned back at her. "Huh. That's a nice way of thinking about it. Except, I don't keep them locked away in a cave. They're free to come and go as they please, but they're always there when I need them."

Alice smiled at Henry. "That is the best kind of fortune." He nodded.

They stood before his door, and Alice gave him a puzzled look as he wasn't opening it. He looked her in the eye. "We're going to open a magic door between this one and the one in your vestibule. If it's closed but intact, I should be able to link them. I need you to picture in your mind the door leading into your cave as if you were standing before it. Close your eyes and hold the image of that door in your mind as you reach out and touch this one. I'll feed the required magic through your arm to create the link."

Henry recalled opening the General's hospital room door and the surprise within. He activated his shield spell first. Her eyes went to him. "Just a little precaution," he said.

Alice closed her eyes, and Henry prepared the spell as he touched her arm. She reached out and placed her fingertips against the surface. He sent the magic through, then frowned as he felt a vibration through the surface.

"Something's wrong," he said quietly.

Alice looked at him nervously. "It didn't work?"

"No, it did, but it feels like the door is shaking." Henry opened the door, and they immediately put their hands over their ears from the noise. Someone was using a jackhammer on the rock above the vestibule behind the door. Henry adjusted his forcefield to filter out the sound vibrations and sighed in relief. Then he added a forcefield around Alice. She gave him a thankful smile, then anxiously looked at the ceiling above.

"They burned my house down, and now they're after my treasure?" she scowled.

"How much time will you need to move it to the new location?" Henry asked in concern.

She led him down a sloping hall, which Henry recognized from Walter's cave under Meixiu's mansion.

As they reached the main chamber, Alice made a gesture, and fairy lights lit up a vast cavern. She made a little cry of joy and rushed forward to inspect her items. There was a huge pile of loose gold against the far wall. Coins, bars, artifacts, and miscellaneous items made of gold. It was a mess. Against the wall to their left were sculptures, and to the right were stacked flat crates. He looked at Alice curiously and pointed to the boxes.

"Paintings. The ones I didn't have hanging on my home's walls. I lost some masterpieces in the fire. I saved some, but then I had to escape as the home above me was firebombed," she lamented.

Henry looked around and saw a small tunnel leading off the chamber to the left. He pointed to it.

Alice nodded. "My escape route. It takes you to the sewer system. Not a pleasant trip, but it worked."

Henry examined the amount of stuff in the cave. "Shit. This will take more time than you'll have to move it, and I have no idea how you plan to do it," Henry moaned. He looked back toward the tunnel to the door. "We're going to need to stop them."

"These are likely the same Humans who drove me out of my home! We can't kill them, can we?" Alice asked.

Henry frowned at her. "Of course, we can't! Besides, they're not fully Human any... more." Henry's frown slowly became a smile, then a wicked grin. Alice couldn't stop a smile of her own from appearing.

"Don't leave me in suspense with you looking so mysteriously delighted!" she insisted.

"I have the perfect way to drive off the bigots and give them a taste of their own medicine," Henry said and chuckled. He looked toward the tunnel leading to the sewer and frowned. "I'd rather not take a trip through the stinky tunnel. Can you think of another unlocked door nearby that's rarely used? Up to a block away would be fine. Preferably without glass in it," he added.

"My neighbor has a garden shed with a wooden door which he doesn't lock," she said pensively.

"That would be perfect! Let's go reset my door, so I can get rid of these nuisances," Henry said, heading up the tunnel once more, Alice at his heels. They stepped through into Henry's outer office, he released the magic door, released the force fields, and he turned to his guest. "I need the address for your house."

She blinked at him. "We were just there!"

He smiled. "Yes, I know, but I must arrange for many ambulances to rush to that neighborhood very soon."

Alice's eyes widened. "I thought you weren't going to hurt anyone!"

He held up his hands. "I'm not! Trust me. This will ensure people stay away for enough time for you to transfer your treasures."

She wrote it down on a pad on Marisa's desk then Henry called Sigrid.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hi! It's Henry. I'm going to need you to send a bunch of ambulances to the following addresses as there's going to be an outbreak of transformations in that location." He read off the address.

"Henry, what are you doing?" Sigrid gasped.

"Protecting someone's property after she was firebombed out of her home. Gotta go. They're using jackhammers to dig through the rubble into her cave." He hung up and turned to Alice, whose eyes were wide with surprise.

"Now, think about that garden shed and touch the door," Henry said as he placed his hand on Alice's forearm. She closed her eyes and reached out to the door. He felt the spell engage, and the link was made. He opened the door and saw some gardening equipment. They stepped inside, closed the door, and Henry dropped the connection. He eased the shed door open a crack and noticed it was dark outside. He could hear the noise from the jackhammer. He looked back at Alice. "It's night there! Why isn't someone complaining about the noise?"

Alice frowned sadly. "Most of my neighbors were run off by the same people who came after me."

Henry frowned, then gestured for her to get closer. "Where are we, and are there any motion-activated lights we should avoid?"

Alice looked through the crack in the door and toward the dark home to the right. Finally, she looked straight ahead at the hedges between her property and her neighbor's. She eased the door closed again. "My home was on the other side of the hedges. I never saw any lights in my neighbor's backyard, but I didn't pay too much attention to that."

Henry nodded. "Let me go first." He eased himself through the door and peered into the darkness of the empty yard. There were no lights at all showing from the house. Alice stepped out, and Henry relinked the shed door to his office door leading into his waiting room.

That done, he quickly crossed the yard and breathed a sigh of relief when it remained dark. Alice joined him next to the hedges, which were badly damaged from the fire. They eased themselves through but stayed just inside the foliage when they reached the other side.

Ahead, he saw the scorched remains of a large home. Lights surrounded a depression which was likely a basement. In the middle of this was a man operating a jackhammer, chipping away at the cement and stone.

Around this man was a group of others, also in workman's coveralls, hardhats, and work boots. There had to be at least ten in total.

"Do you recognize anyone?" Henry whispered.

Alice looked closer, and her jaw clenched, "Yes. Those three to the side were with the crowd throwing the firebombs before I ran downstairs. I think they may have been leading the mob."

Henry examined the depression they were all in and realized they were just where he needed them to be.

"It's going to get a little crazy, so stay quiet. If it looks like someone spotted us, get back to the garden shed and go through," Henry said. She nodded.

Henry positioned himself against the hedges, then reached inside and slowly turned the aperture over his internal rift until it was fully open. He wished he had Siobhan's ability to see the magic. He could feel the flow, but seeing it would be really helpful at the moment. It felt like the energy was gushing when the aperture was fully open. He imagined it pouring into the basement to flood over and around the men. Now, to get them to expose their skin to the energy.

He looked to the available spells for something that would make them feel hot and disrobe.

One popped forward, and he frowned as its payload was the sensation of being bitten by bullet ants, not overheating. He examined the spell and felt no tinge of the evil energy, but it was nasty. Still, it would get the job done. He concentrated and focused the magic on the area over the burnt-out home.

The moment it struck, the men began crying out and screaming, tearing at their coveralls.

The fellow on the jackhammer pushed it aside and tore his clothes off.

Henry closed the aperture over his rift when the first man underwent the transformation. If there were any Humans amongst the incoming rescue workers, he didn't want to put them at risk if he could help it.

The others began dropping unconscious as the Wild Magic soaked into their skin. One transformed dramatically before their eyes into a centaur. This caused the rest who hadn't succumbed yet to scream in terror. Suddenly their priority was fleeing, but only a couple made it past the home's foundation before they collapsed and underwent their own transformation.

"Oh my god!" Alice gasped.

One man wasn't affected by the Wild Magic. He wasn't tearing his coverall off, either. At Alice's exclamation, his head turned to glare in their direction, and he ran toward the hedge. His eyes began to glow red.

"Get to the shed, now!" Henry said urgently and felt Alice spin and race away. He stepped back until he was out in the open grass of the neighbor's backyard just as the Demon burst through the hedge.

Henry dropped his glamor and activated his shield. The Demon hesitated for just a second before leaping at him, claws aiming for his neck. Alice hadn't made it to safety yet, so Henry just stood his ground and slammed his fist into the Demon's cheek as they met. The razor-sharp claws found no purchase against his shielded body, but his punch didn't take the Demon out as he'd expected. This one was far stronger than the one he'd met in the torture club.

When it slammed its clasped fists against Henry's face, it actually managed to knock him down! He wasn't hurt, but the surprise made him hesitate, and it leapt on him, pinning him to the ground. It was enormously strong!

He looked into the glowing eyes and saw intelligence there. This one wasn't a puppet.

"A Satyr interfering with my work. Can't have that, now can I."

Its voice, complete with a thick, coarse British accent, made Henry snort in amusement. This brought a scowl to the creature's face. "Do I FECK'N AMUSE YA?" it screamed.

The Demon began pounding its fists against Henry's face. While his shield protected him from direct damage from the impacts, he discovered he was getting one hell of a shaking, which was scrambling his brain.

He managed a few solid hits of his own against the ribs of his opponent and felt the bones snap, but it didn't stop hitting him.

Henry was in trouble, and from the Demon's delighted smile, it knew it.

A brilliant white streak shot over his head, taking the demon with it.

Henry struggled to concentrate, but his brain was still dazed from being so badly jostled. He blinked in the direction of the hissing and fighting sounds and shielded his eyes from the intense glow from Sigrid's wings.

When his eyes could finally focus, he managed to catch Sigrid's coup de grâce. She shot forward in a microburst of intense speed, slamming her shield into the Demon, causing it to stagger back, stunned. Sigrid spun lightning fast, her sword following an arc that passed through its neck.

For the first two seconds, the Demon was unaware that it was already dead. It tried to respond to her attack, but its body was collapsing. Shock appeared on its face as it suddenly realized its fate.

Henry felt a pull internally as evil magic surged before him, tugging at the spells in his head. He dropped a forcefield between the Demon and Sigrid just as the corpse exploded violently, releasing the magic as a massive shockwave. The fire-scorched hedges were blasted back across the site of the torched home.

Sigrid looked back at Henry in surprise. "What was that? I've never seen one explode before!"

Henry sagged back to the ground to rest on his elbows. "This one was pumped up with dark energy. The same energy that backs the bad spells in my head."

Sigrid put her wings away, and Henry blinked in the sudden darkness. Alice was immediately by his side.

"What was he?" she asked breathlessly.

"A Demon," Sigrid answered as she pulled Henry to his hooves and looked him over. "But not like any I've met so far." She sighed as she looked into Henry's eyes. "We have to talk about upgrading the other Valkyries soon."

He balked as he knew what she was talking about. "You seemed to handle this one well enough."

"It was favoring its ribs, which decreased its speed and strength. I could tell it was stronger than the ones I've fought before. The explosion was a surprise as well and would have hurt. You put a shield up, didn't you." Henry nodded as she held his eyes until he looked away.

"I'd like to try just exposing a Valkyrie to high levels of Wild Magic before we try the more... intimate method," Henry said, but he knew she didn't believe that was a viable plan.

He looked over the site as they heard sirens approaching. He saw one of the transformed men begin to move. Shit. "Sigrid?" he said, pointing to the waking one.

He was directly responsible for creating this one, and it was a harsh reminder that he shouldn't be fucking around like this. Earlier, he'd avoided killing Roku as he didn't want her blood on his hands, but this? This was on him.

He paused as he realized he should have remembered the potential for forcing the change. Was this evidence of the evil magic changing him, or had he just been a dumb ass for forgetting? This random chance shit was a menace. He'd have to be more vigilant.

Sigrid nodded as she watched the man who began exhibiting signs of being a dTesh, a red-eyed night hunter. "Get back to the office. I'll join you in a second."

Henry put an arm around Alice and hustled her across the yard and through the door back into his outer office.

He'd have to work on his shield spell to ensure it absorbed all kinetic energy to prevent what he'd just gone through. Fuck, that demon had been strong!

The moment Sigrid stepped through, Henry moved closer and released the link between the doors.

"The team will collect the newly transformed, and more ambulances are on the way. The area is still charged with energy, so I dragged the unconscious beings clear and texted a warning to the incoming rescue workers to limit their time at the site," Sigrid explained.

"Thank you, Sigrid. I'm so sorry I didn't think my actions through. I-I can't be sure why I didn't," Henry confessed, and the beautiful Valkyrie watched him with concern. He shrugged self-consciously and continued. "This is Alice Shaw. The burned home belonged to her. I need to get Alice back to the cavern under the home so she can transfer her treasure to her new location."

"Ah," Sigrid said as she suddenly realized what this was all about. "Those people were attempting to dig their way into your hoard."

"And the Demon was probably controlling them. Alice identified him as one of the people controlling the mob who firebombed her home. He told me I was interfering with his work," Henry added.

Sigrid called Roy and asked him to join them. She looked back at Henry. "Before you head off to help Alice, we need to bring Roy up to speed on this new development with the Demons."

"What's this? New Demon behavior?" Roy said as he overheard Sigrid's comment.

Henry introduced Alice to Roy, then explained what he'd just done and what happened after he did it.

Roy was watching him with the same concerned look Sigrid gave him. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"I think so. It was likely just a brain fart," Henry said, but his voice wasn't filled with confidence even in his ears.

"So, the Demons are looking for funds to pay for their activities. We shut down their sex and torture clubs worldwide, so now they are going after Dragon hoards. That's a bold move," Roy said and looked at Alice.

She shook her head. "As much as it pains me to say it, I am the easiest target out of the remaining Dragons. White Dragons are the least combative of our kind."

Roy tilted his head in acknowledgment of her comment. "Still, thank you for letting me know."

"Is your new location secure?" Henry asked.

Alice nodded. "Completely."

"How are you going to move all that stuff?" Henry asked her.

She gave him an uncomfortable glance. "I do have some magic at my disposal. I'll manage it as quickly as I can."

Henry nodded to her, then looked at Roy. "Could we have VRL's artificial men assist her? I've seen how effective a group of them can be in finishing a large task quickly."

Roy frowned. "We lost a lot of them after Skyfall. The Fae haven't seen fit to make an appointment with us to replenish them."

Henry blinked at Roy. "I wasn't aware of that. Do we still have the raw materials from the ones that failed?" Roy gave him a cautious nod. "Maybe I could reanimate some with one of Baba's spells?" Henry offered.

"D'ya think she'd have something that wasn't nasty?" Roy snorted.

Henry looked into Baba's spells and found one that made Golems.

Ah.

These Golems were killing machines. He gave Roy a nod. "Baba's Golems are grim and deadly monsters, all right." Roy returned the nod as he'd expected no less.

"However, if I replaced their behavior rules with those from an existing artificial man, we'd have a very strong worker. It wouldn't pass for Human like the artificial men, but it would be much stronger. Like comparing a passenger car to a construction bulldozer."

"And how do you intend to do that?" Roy asked.

"Can I take a look at one of ours? Maybe I can make some workers capable of quickly completing the transfer for Alice," Henry suggested.

Alice was growing concerned. "What do you want in return for this?" she asked, point blank.

Henry smiled at her. "Very little. I have a friend I'd like you to speak with. He recently underwent the transformation process himself, but he became a Dragon."

Alice froze for a moment then her eyes lit up. "Really? A new Dragon? There hasn't been a new one in centuries! I was one of the last!"

"Yes, but there's one major difference. He's not linked to the old realm of magic. He draws power from a new realm of Wild Magic, which is much stronger. He was a Human with no knowledge of magic, and now he's a wielder with great power but no spells of his own other than a strong shield spell which I taught him. Would you meet with him to give him some background on what it means to be a Dragon? I don't know how else to help him with this."

Alice looked a little uncomfortable. "It isn't something we would speak about to anyone other than a Dragon, and even then, we don't seek out each other's company. However, I would be very interested in speaking with the first new Dragon." She eyed Henry with a shrewd expression. "I would also like to learn how to use this Wild Magic very much."

Henry gave her a sad look. "From what I've been told, Wild Magic is toxic to wielders of the old realm magic, the exception being the Nāga. I don't know if Dragons are also an exception, as I know very little about them. I'm just learning as I go too."

One of VRL's artificial men appeared in the doorway, and Roy gestured for it to approach. Henry turned to it and suppressed a shudder as he gave it a close look. For him, this was an uncanny valley reaction to something that looked so Human but was completely alien inside, just magic driving its actions without any Human presence.

Henry closed his eyes and looked to Baba's spells to see if there was anything that resembled a spell reader. One surfaced, and he determined Baba used it for removing curses. Of course, she probably used it for adding them, too.

He placed his hands on either side of its head and looked at the spell required. His eyes opened when he detected minimal old realm magic there. He gave Roy an embarrassed look. "The head is empty, which I suppose makes sense."

He moved his hands down to its torso. Closing his eyes again, in its core, he found a series of light spheres nested within each other, each containing instructions for the spell that animated the simulacrum. He copied the code in its entirety and stepped back from the artificial man as he opened his eyes. "Got it."

"You think you can make more?" Sigrid asked.

He looked at her. "Not ones that look like this one. That spell wasn't in Baba's repository. It's a Fae specialty, I guess. But I have the animation spell, which I can use within the Golem spell... with modifications. Can we go see the failed artificial men?"

"While you play with clay, I have to get back to work," Sigrid said to Henry and slipped up to kiss him.

He smiled when she pulled back as tingles danced along his nerves. "Thank you for coming to my rescue again."

She snorted, nodded to Alice, and patted Roy's arm as she left to return to her office.

"Come on," Roy said, leading Henry and Alice back to the elevators. They took one to the lowest basement level and walked to the end of a long corridor to a locked door. Roy brought them inside, and the lights came on to show a large, mostly empty room. Stacked against one corner were the remains of the failed artificial men. The sagging clay seemed to give them expressions of sorrow and pain, and Henry visibly shuddered.

"Fuck, Roy! These are gruesome!" he gasped.

Roy glanced at him and smiled. "It's just clay."

Henry took another look, but he was still disturbed. "I'm just not used to them having an expression."

"How old are you?" Alice asked as she stared at Henry. Roy looked away to hide his smirk, but Henry spotted it and scowled at him.

"Why are you asking?" he huffed at Alice.

"No disrespect meant! It's just... you have all this power at your fingertips, and I've seen you do things only master-level wielders can do, yet you get squeamish about some bits of clay. That seems to indicate a... youthful level of maturity," Alice said as gently as she could.

Roy's shoulders were shaking from his suppressed laughter.

"I'm old enough," Henry grumbled and moved closer to the inanimate clay. As he looked at the mass before him, he reviewed the spell for the Golems and saw he had roughly enough raw material to make five of the larger simulacrum.

He made a copy of Baba's killer Golem spell and stripped it down to its base elements. Some would have to remain as it controlled the movements of the large creatures. The purpose and intent behind them could be removed, so it was. These would not be monsters. They would not kill. They would be helpers like the artificial men.

The spell needed upgrading to be driven by the Wild Magic, so he made new code to support that and feed the energy through the existing pathways.

Next, he reviewed the Fae's spell for managing the artificial men. All the layers for controlling the physical movements were discarded and replaced with the Golem code. The Fae's animation code was truly elegant. How it brought life to the inanimate clay was brilliant, and there was no reason to change that. The Golem instantiation ritual was brutal and required blood, pain, and sacrifice. That had to go.

Henry thought about that for a moment. It was no surprise to him that the Golems were creatures of violence when the main ingredient for the magic that forced them into existence was the occurrence of horrific death. He examined the spell further and saw it was keyed to find those responsible for causing the death and acting out vengeance upon them.

That was all replaced by the Fae activation code. The Wild Magic would supply the energy required to power the larger Golems.

He merged all these instructions layers into a new architecture and made his final revisions. Running a simulation, he saw no broken logic streams and instantiated a virtual Golem in his mind. He smiled and added a few tweaks to make them more flexible for the tasks they might be requested to do. He also adjusted their faces to smooth out the distinctively grim expressions Golems had. He didn't give them smiles, but they'd be less menacing. As he was working on the cosmetics to reduce the scare factor, he also finished the tweaks to their forms.

These final changes looked good as well.

Henry hit a bit of a snag when he looked at the start-up instructions the Golems would be expecting once they were created. Integral to the Golem spell was the concept of a Master, a single being to who the new creations would be loyal and take their instructions. Obviously, the danger of having one of these turn against them was the reason the Master concept was woven into every layer of the spell. He couldn't remove or change it without recreating the spell from scratch.

The Fae's artificial men had a much less rigid structure since they couldn't do harm from the start. While the Golems would be given the Fae's behavior rules, their underlying nature was based on absolute control.

Henry turned to look at Roy. "Should I make you the Master for the Golems?"

"What?" he exclaimed in surprise. "No! I don't want the monstrous things following me around!"

Henry gestured to Roy for calm. "That's not what I meant. Someone has to be the Master. That's just how the spell works. I can't change that at the moment. Besides, it's just temporary. We can recycle the clay when we're done."

"You're making them. You can be their bloody Master!" Roy insisted.

Henry frowned, but he didn't want to waste more time on this. These were prototypes anyway, so he supposed he could be the Master for these. As he'd said, he'd retire them once this work was done. He reviewed the new spell again and recompiled the code with the latest changes, including his identity as Master.

He opened the aperture over his rift to pass the Wild Magic over the mass of clay, then launched the spell.

The partially melted artificial men sagged completely and merged into one large blob of clay. This spread out and up, forming a wall of clay eight feet tall, one foot deep, and twenty feet wide.

Gaps began forming in the clay wall as the mass tightened into five distinct shapes. The Golems absorbed the clay between them evenly until there was no longer any excess material. Their eyes were primitive bars of glowing yellow light powered by the Wild Magic Henry was pumping into them. He closed the aperture, and the Golem absorbed the last excess energy pooling in the room.

They were eight-foot-tall naked males, minus genitalia, with blemish-free, reddish-brown, completely hairless skin. They looked a little like the Oscar statues from the Academy Awards in Hollywood.

"They certainly don't look like our artificial men," Roy said cautiously. "They don't look like any Golem I've ever heard about either."

Henry smiled. "They're a friendlier version too." He faced his creations which were focusing their glowing eyes on him. The expressions he'd designed gave them the appearance of calm confidence too. Their unbreakable focus on him was a little unnerving, but he pushed ahead.

"Welcome. I have a task that requires your assistance. Alice Shaw," he gestured to the lovely white-haired woman next to him, "is a friend of mine who needs help moving the contents of her cavern to a new location. You will move her items from where they are now to where she wants them. She will let you know where to put the items you collect from the cavern for her. Is this understood?" he asked.

They all nodded.

"You will note that you have the ability to reshape your hands and feet to any configuration that you require to complete the task with greater efficiency while protecting the integrity of the items you move. Is that understood?" he asked again, and they looked at their hands, which they passed through various shapes before reverting them to their regular state. Heads nodded.

Henry looked at Alice. "This should allow them to carry more each trip between the two locations."

The woman just stared at Henry in shock. When she found her voice, she spoke. "Here you go again, showing off master-level spell crafting! I can't get a handle on you!"

Roy snorted. "Aye, the lad keeps us on our toes as well." Henry sent him an annoyed expression, so Roy continued. "I think you'd better get to it. If the site draws too much attention because of your little stunt, the cavern below it may be discovered sooner than you'd like."

Alice looked very nervous, so Henry nodded. "Can we use this door for a moment? Just to get us to the cavern." He pointed to the door to the room.

Roy nodded. "Let me leave first. I have things to do today as well."

"Thanks, Roy!" Henry agreed as Roy nodded to Alice and stepped through the door. Henry gestured for Alice to touch the door. "Think of the vestibule door."

Henry activated the spell, and they opened the door to the tunnel leading into the cave. This time there was silence. He looked back at the Golems. "Come with us."

Henry tossed some Will-o'-the-Wisp lights at the tunnel ceiling, and they had light. He caught Alice's expression of shock. "Don't worry, they've been defanged as well. These are just pretty and useful. They'll fade to nothing in about a day."

She just shook her head in wonder.

Henry released the door spell. "Now, I need you to link this door to the destination."

Alice looked uncomfortable. Obviously, she wanted to keep her stash's new location a secret. "I promise I won't tell anyone or go there without your explicit permission. There's just no other way to help you get your stuff there."

She took a deep breath and nodded. She reached out, and he touched her arm to send the spell to the door. When she opened it again, all he could see was darkness. She made a gesture, and fairy lights suddenly glowed to life, illuminating the interior of a vast, steel-walled chamber. There were no windows, just tall, reinforced metal walls. A bank vault? An enormous one if that was the case.

Henry smiled at Alice. "That looks like it will suffice, space-wise. My job here is done, and I have to get back to work too. I'll let you and the boys get to it."

Her tense expression dissolved into relief. "What do I do with them when they are done?"

"Ah, yes." He faced the gang of Golems, who waited patiently. "When you've completed the task of moving her items into the new chamber, return to this cavern, Alice will call me, and I'll retrieve you. Do you understand?" They nodded.

Henry touched the open door and fed instructions into the spell. Then he looked at Alice. "After they're done and back in the cavern, close the door and knock on it firmly three times." He pantomimed the motion. "This will disable the link between the doors. Then call me to let me know. I'll give you the number of my friend then."

Alice's smile was wide and happy then she looked at him curiously. "How will you get home if the only door is linked between chambers." She gasped as she thought of the sewers. "You aren't—"

"No! I'm not going through the stinky tunnel," he exclaimed. "I have other means of traveling." He gave her a cheeky smile, bouncing his eyebrows, and pulled up his translocation spell. He targeted Sandy, who was off work today. He thought he'd impress her by just popping in to say hello. Then he'd use her door to return to work. He triggered the spell.

He disappeared from the cave tunnel, causing a gust of wind from the vacuum left behind, and missed Alice's squeak of surprise.

He flashed into place in a... small room? Towels blew off the rack.

"HENRY!" Sandy yelled at him from her sudsy bathtub, bubbles scattering in the burst of displaced air.

"Oops!"

Kesini was delighted by Henry's sudden arrival and quickly pulled him into the tub with them.

Clothes and all.

So much for impressing Sandy.

Chapter 17

Marisa surged up from her pillow with a startled gasp. For a few seconds, her room flickered with multiple overlapping potentials, but all were very similar, so there was nothing in them to cause her to gasp for breath as she was.

She closed her eyes and ran through her breathing exercises which calmed her and allowed her to force her abilities back into their dormant state, a subtle, mostly translucent background overlay, which was where she preferred to keep them.

Marisa frowned as this was the first time her seer sight activated while sleeping. She tried to recall what she'd been dreaming before she jolted awake, but the memories were like mist and disappeared as quickly as she looked for them. All she was left with was an odd sensation of... elation? Almost a tingle of anticipation... but for what?

She glanced at the clock and saw she had hours before her alarm would wake her. With a sigh, she relaxed back against her pillow.

Her mother's words popped uninvited into her head. "It's love."

Such a simple sentence to have such a profound effect on her life.

She remembered her time with Nate. She was very fond of him and missed him terribly. She wished he could have met Natalia. What he'd gone through at the hands of Mab must have been intensely traumatizing for him to behave as he did. Still, his final act showed the true strength of his character as he sacrificed himself for Henry. She would share her stories with Natalia when she was old enough to understand.

Marisa discovered something inside herself since her mother uttered those words.

She wanted love.

The idea of losing it still terrified her, and remembering her mother's melancholy after her father passed was always in the back of her mind. But she was coming to realize it was like she was living without seeing the true colors of life. This filtering would continue until she could get past her fear and completely open herself to the possibility of love.

Her mind immediately went to Henry as she had a strong emotional bond with him, but... she'd witnessed the potentials surrounding his life, and Baba Yaga had given her advance notice.

"Be kind to my boy... Life won't be."

Baba's words continued to echo in her head and haunt her.

Marisa witnessed its cruelty and did her utmost to never look at his potentials again. The briefest glimpses she'd had in recent days were difficult to ignore.

So, while her heart pulled her in one direction, her fear pushed in the other.

She pulled the covers over her head. She wasn't going to resolve this dilemma now but getting back to sleep seemed an equally difficult task.

Her mind returned to the elation as that was something positive to occupy her mind.

If only she could remember.

-=-

Majestic, towering clouds floated across the pale blue sky, their tops an almost blinding white while their bottoms were dark grey with the threat of imminent rain. Unlike the mysterious living clouds, which caused so much mischief they earned time on news channels, these were just normal clouds that moved where the winds directed them. Today they were crossing above Scotland's Shetland Islands in a steady and awe-inspiring progression.

For three of the four beings settled into plush leather chairs before the large picture window overlooking the bay, this grand parade might as well have been invisible. They were all lost in their thoughts, recalling the days when they were important, forces to be reckoned with, and best of all, respected.

In the first chair sat Fenris Hoek, cousin to Lise-Anne Hoek, the former Hidden Races Security Minister who died performing her duties on Skyfall. That's all he'd been told by her former superiors.

As Fenris was a Pixie and he'd lost his glamor with so many others, he was presently cross-legged on the chair in his five-foot form. The tallest he could manage without a glamor. His youthful appearance hid the fact of his advanced age, but that was the way of Pixies.

He hadn't cared much for his cousin as she'd stolen the position of Security Minister from him. He'd had grand ambitions to use that position to ensure Pixies were first and foremost amongst the wielders, not the Fae. Lise-Anne proved to be more vicious and cunning than him and put him out of commission during the elections. He hated her for that, but she was family, and vengeance for her death would be his.

Then he would take the position of Security Minister from Roy Duncan, who wasn't even a wielder!

Next to Fenris was Gren von Deussel, the older brother of Rand von Deussel, Investigator for the Hidden Races Council. He shared the same red coloring of hair and beard as his little brother, but his had begun to turn grey, and his body was more heavily muscled since he was a weaponsmith by trade.

Gren knew Rand died in battle on Skyfall, as he knew Rand had been using Zult and Zort, twin battle axes containing the souls of their ancestors. When the weapons were destroyed, had there been any other living von Deussel males, they would have felt the terrible ripping sensation followed by a great emptiness as Gren had. The blood bond, or curse of the von Deussels, had been broken. There was no way Rand would have allowed that, so he must be dead, though there was no body to perform the passage rituals on.

No one from the Hidden Races Council would give any details about Rand's final mission or who fought and murdered his little brother. The only other member who might know, Lise-Anne Hoek, was also dead.

The loss of these precious weapons was too much for Gren to bear. They should have been his to carry into battle, but he lost his left thumb in a stupid bar wager in his youth, preventing him from accepting the honor when their father died and joined the other souls in the blades. That bitter failure ran deep as he still recalled the disappointment in his father's eyes.

In the third chair was the host for this meeting, Harkland LoKennishen, a long-standing member of Queen Mab's court and an advisor of sorts. He'd been a young and eager court attendant when Mab took control of the Fae, and he'd supported her over the millennia. Tall, fair-haired, and slim, he'd mastered the art of blending into the background while keeping his eyes and ears open for bits of gossip and information that found their way to Mab through him. Harkland was an unofficial intelligence service for Mab, and as such, he found himself completely isolated from the Fae community when Mab was ousted. Memories of his informant activities went back generations and meant none of the other Fae families wanted anything to do with him now.

Harkland was surprised at how lonely this new isolation made him. While Mab was in charge, no one could refuse his participation in any function he chose to include himself in. He was a very social person and enjoyed his lofty position in Mab's court, even though it was unofficial. He never took advantage of his Queen's favor, understanding all too well her fickle whims. While attractive, he did his best not to present himself as a suitor and remained on the edges of her perception.

Now he had nothing, and that was Henry Gable's fault. He'd seen the video of Henry killing Mab, and while he understood Mab's chaotic nature had finally reached the point where even he wasn't safe, he resented the Satyr as a symbol of change.

Nothing was the same since Skyfall. The Hidden Races were no longer hidden, but instead of being hunted down by the Humans, a strange acceptance had settled over the world, caused by magic songs that eased the mind and opened one's heart. Personally, they made him shudder in revulsion!

Then he discovered these Humans were transforming into the Hidden Races! This disturbed Harkland most of all!

Humans who became Fae were an abomination, but worse, he'd been informed that they had access to magic stronger than true Fae! Not that they understood magic or had any knowledge of how to use it. It still sickened him.

He hated this feeling of being insignificant and powerless. Something needed to be done.

Harkland looked to the occupant of the fourth and final chair. This man said he had answers to their common troubles and promised they could achieve their dreams with his assistance.

The man wore a finely tailored midnight black suit with an equally dark dress shirt and slim silk tie. This emphasized his muscular build. He wore his black hair shaved on the sides and swept back over the top. Pale blue eyes watched them with a slight smile on his thin lips. He wasn't particularly handsome, but his sharp features and the intensity of his eyes gave the impression of raw power barely contained.

"Thank you for inviting me to speak with you," he began. His voice was deep and trembled with hidden power. This made his audience of three sit a little straighter in their chairs and focus more closely on him. "You may call me M. The world is changing rapidly, and if you don't stake your claim on this new future, you will be swept aside and forgotten."

The three frowned as they didn't enjoy being reminded of their powerless states.

"It wasn't your fault that circumstances brought you to your current positions, but you must act if you are to salvage anything," the pale man continued.

"And exactly what role will you play in assisting us to achieve our claim on this new future?" Gren asked stiffly.

M smiled at them, and they felt the impact as his eyes locked onto theirs and then moved on.

"Focus. Most will waste what little energy they have on the wrong target. They'll flail ineffectively at nothing. You must strike hard and fast, but more importantly, accurately. Do you take out the highly inefficient Hidden Races Council for their failure to take the required steps to maintain the integrity of your way of life? Waste!" he barked the last word sharply, and the three males jumped slightly as they'd been about to agree.

"The Hidden Race Council is a dying vestige of the old world. Just let it die and focus on the source of the change!" M looked into the Fae's eyes, and the answer flashed into his mind.

"Henry Gable!" Harkland gasped, and M gave him a little nod in approval.

"Who?" Gren grunted with a scowl.

M focused his attention on the Dwarf and the Pixie. "At the critical moment of social transition, there is a collision of forces: the established order and the new direction. At the leading edge of this collision, you will find individuals whose actions play the largest role in the outcome. If the ones guiding the existing power structure are strong and sufficiently decisive, they will prevail, and the upstart will be crushed by their will. However, if the challengers guiding the effort to change have sufficient force and momentum, they will drive over the resistance and prevail. We are currently in the transitional period after the collision, and the new direction has prevailed. Now is the only opportunity you'll have to strike against the individuals who are establishing their place as leaders for this new age."

Fenris frowned. "And Henry Gable is that person?"

M nodded slowly. "You're aware he was the one who killed Queen Mab?"

Fenris snorted. "We've watched the Tennison Clip." Gren scowled at Fenris for speaking for him, as he had no idea what that was. The Pixie caught that and looked back at the Dwarf in surprise. "How—how could you not have seen it! It was on every form of media for weeks!" he exclaimed.

"Maybe I had better things to do than sit on my ass before the idiot tube!" Gren snapped.

M held his hands up for calm. "The answer is yes. Henry Gable was the focal point for the effort to overthrow the original order. He was a tool for Baba Yaga and performed his function surprisingly well, catching his challengers flatfooted. I suggest to you that his success was largely due to luck and the rigid thinking patterns of his adversaries. I can also say Baba Yaga is no longer in the picture."

All three beings looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean by that?" Harkland asked.

M smiled wickedly. "The witch is dead."

"What proof do you have of that?" Harkland asked.

M spread his hands. "I can give you no physical proof as she disappeared with three billion other Humans on that fateful night."

Gren scowled. "That's no proof at all! Baba was no Human!"

"That's demonstrating rigid thought patterns. Baba was Human. She just made a deal to gain her powers. That deal ended on Skyfall," M said calmly and held Gren's gaze. The Dwarf huffed uncomfortably and looked away.

"How do you know these things?" Fenris asked carefully.

M turned his attention to the Pixie. "It's simple, really. I'm linked to the same deal. I could sense her presence through our shared bond. Now, she's gone."

Harkland perked up. "You're as powerful as Baba?" he asked excitedly, longing to be associated with someone of power.

The pale man gave Harkland a wistful smile. "Alas, no. Baba was given the lion's share while my allowance was... leaner. Still sufficient to know she's no longer bound as I am."

Gren was back to eying M with a critical eye. "If you shared this bond with Baba, why aren't you dealing with this Henry Gable fellow yourself?"

M smiled at Gren, but the Dwarf didn't look away this time. "I've carefully engaged with the Satyr several times to gauge his strengths and weaknesses, learning what I can of his capabilities. He is a formidable opponent. Fortunately, he's also young and foolish. He has weaknesses that can be exploited."

"And you haven't done so yet because...." Fenris asked.

Cold eyes swung over to the Pixie. "The appropriate strategy to combat his defenses and exploit his greatest weakness requires a multi-discipline, multiple-front attack. This is the purpose of our meeting today. To see if you have the will to be the leaders of the new era, to live up to the legacy stolen from you by Henry Gable."

Gren twitched as that struck too close to home. He leaned back slightly. "Are you saying Gable is responsible for the death of my brother, Rand?"

"And my cousin Lise-Anne?" Fenris added.

M held their focus for a moment. "I'm saying they perished in battle during Skyfall, the very night Baba and Henry Gable acted out their victory over Mab and destroyed the largest secret ever kept. A secret the Hidden Races Council fought so hard to protect for so very long. If Gable didn't perform the actions Baba strategized for him, I don't know who else could have."

"So, we kill Henry Gable," Gren growled.

M focused all his attention on the Dwarf. "You don't destroy the fulcrum which change pivots upon. You take control of it and make it work for you. Make it create a future you have control over. Then take from it everything it stole from you but keep it alive to suffer its failure."

"He took my kin!" Gren raged.

"And mine!" Fenris joined in.

"Then it's fortunate for you that he has so many around him he considers kin. You will get to make him feel your pain twice over. It's my understanding there is nothing more painful than losing a child. If you truly want him to feel this pain, that is," M said smoothly.

The Dwarf and Pixie eyed M, but they were thinking about that. The idea of harming a child didn't sit too well, but if it would create the most pain for their target... that appealed to them both.

Harkland cleared his throat. "What must we do to assist in taking control of the fulcrum?" he asked and was rewarded with a smile from M.

"Information is vital to our plan of attack. We must gather intel on the forces which surround our target. Identify who to capture to cause him the most distress to shatter his ability to think strategically. While I've focused mostly on Henry Gable, we need a measure of the strength of his defenses. Do nothing yourselves but hire others through intermediaries and set them on a collision course with the groups Henry Gable keeps around himself, then gauge the results. Coordinate your attacks at random intervals to confuse, and we will meet back here in three weeks to formulate the final battle plan to take control."

"What will you contribute to this effort in the three weeks?" Gren asked belligerently.

"My forces will bear the full brunt of the final attack, so we'll increase our strength and numbers in the interim. Many of us are traveling from the far corners of the globe to participate. This is an all-in endeavor for us. Henry Gable will be removed from his position as the focal point for guiding our society. That is what we are contributing. Those working with us will join in setting the new direction," M said with conviction. "What it's become now is an abomination to the natural order."

Harkland felt these words resonate with his personal beliefs and couldn't contain his revulsion. "Humans becoming Fae! Disgusting!" he exploded. Casting an embarrassed look at the others. "And Dwarves and Pixies, as well!" he added.

"Exactly. These inferior beings have no right to take the place of the true Hidden Races," M nodded thoughtfully.

Gren and Fenris frowned. "What do you mean, take the place?" the Pixie asked.

M looked at him as if surprised. "You understand they outnumber the original Hidden Races by an order of magnitude. Even if the Humans randomly switch into one of the wide variety of available races, they will overwhelm the existing races by their sheer numbers. The original Hidden Races will either become extinct or become second-class variants. They may not be hunting you down, but they are making you redundant."

Now Gren and Fenris were scowling as they hadn't connected those dots.

M stood to leave. "Thoughts for you to consider as you plan your strikes upon Gable's support base. Until we meet again."

He bowed slightly to the three and left.

When they felt the privacy spell reactivate once the front door closed, they shared an uneasy look.

Gren sighed as he was more comfortable with speaking bluntly.

"I'll say it. We're actually contemplating working with a Demon?" he asked.

Harkland was quick to defend their new friend. "M didn't indicate he was a Demon, he didn't have the scent of one, and he was far more articulate than any I've ever heard of."

Fenris gave the Fae a weary look. "He was a Demon. I know he hid the spoor and spoke well, but it was more what he was saying that intrigued me. He spoke the truth. That was a rare thing to hear from the lips of a Demon."

Gren nodded, his estimation of Fenris growing. "Agreed. The Hidden Races Council is dead and should be allowed to fade away. They've shown absolutely no desire to support us with the simplest question. Who killed our kin? I agree with the Demon that there is a high probability it was this Henry Gable if he was working with Baba Yaga—"

"Do you believe she's dead?" Fenris asked nervously.

Harkland nodded. "M seemed very confident of this."

Gren shared a look with Fenris, then nodded as well. "That felt like truth to me." Then his scowl reappeared. "The Council could shed light on this but won't!"

Harkland didn't want the meeting to spiral down into profitless arguments. "We need to plan our attacks."

Fenris looked to the Fae. "That's your vote toward working with Demons."

Harkland frowned at the Pixie. "Yes!"

Fenris looked to Gren, who nodded. "As long as our goals follow parallel tracks. The moment he shows any sign of betraying us, he's dead," the Dwarf growled.

The Pixie nodded with a thoughtful expression. "We'll have to remain vigilant."

Harkland heard they were all in, so he moved forward with planning. "Henry Gable works for VRL Investment house in Manhattan. He lives in New Jersey. Two targets for testing his support base. I recommend we set up discreet surveillance in both locations. Look for people who interact with Henry, and we meet again in a week to set a plan of attack.

"Does it have to be in this dismal place?" Fenris asked. "There's a hotel in Manhattan I have a permanent reservation for. We could meet there."

"That would be preferable," Gren said.

"Fine, but we meet with M here in three weeks," Harkland insisted.

The others nodded begrudgingly as they knew the Demon was expecting them here anyway.

Fenris shared the hotel name, address, and room number, and they set a date for their first meeting.

Harkland focused on the Pixie. "There is likely to be greater security at the investment house, so I suggest this is a location where your stealth capabilities would be more suitable.

Fenris scowled at Harkland's automatic assumption he was in charge but had to agree with him in this instance. "Fine."

The Fae eyed Gren critically as the Dwarf wasn't behind a glamor. "Does your glamor disguise how much you look like your brother?"

"I don't have a bloody glamor! I lost it on Skyfall, like Fenris, I assume. Can you make us new glamors or use your contacts to get us some?" Gren snapped.

Harkland leaned back from the verbal outburst, then he frowned. "That field of magic was not my forte, and none of my contacts has access to anyone who used to make glamors."

"Used to?" Fenris asked as he picked up the subtle difference.

The Fae looked away in distaste as he didn't like discussing internal matters with outsiders. Still, he had to work with them now. "Yes. There's been a moratorium on doing glamors as they are more difficult to do since Skyfall, and we lost some of our most experienced artisans. It was determined that the new state of the world makes them... redundant."

Gren wanted to return to Harkland's first point. "Why does it bloody matter that I look like Rand?"

Harkland sighed wearily as he rolled his eyes. "I'm suggesting you'd have difficulty doing surveillance if the target or his defenders recognizes you. One of them may have killed your brother. They would be very familiar with him. Perhaps there is a better use of your skills," the Fae said pensively as he contemplated alternatives.

The Dwarf began to growl then Fenris spoke to head off the imminent explosion. "What if you captured and interrogated targets we identify for you? You can get more intel on Gable from them, then dispose of them. We won't go after the principal actors initially, so they won't be alerted right away."

Gren felt his anger slide back to simmering as he considered the idea. He didn't hate it, so he nodded to Fenris.

"Fine," Harkland said, trying to re-establish his control over the meeting. It was his home, after all. "I'll do the surveillance on his home. Let's share our numbers so we can maintain contact."

Once they'd done this, Fenris stood. "I need to get back. I'll contact you both when I've identified someone you should pick up for questioning," he said, looking to Gren, who nodded.

The Dwarf stood as well. "I'll be leaving too."

Harkland frowned as the other two weren't acknowledging his right to lead as their superior. Getting into an argument now would be counterproductive, so he just nodded and followed them to the door. He'd have to make his way back to New York too, but unlike his two underlings, he had access to Mab's magic tunnels, which were still in place. He'd be back in his cozy apartment hours before they even reached Heathrow for their flight home.

That thought brought a satisfied smile to his lips. It was a small compensation for their lack of respect.

When they'd taken control away from Henry Gable and delivered it to their new Demon friend, Harkland would be back in the position of treasured informant and be able to ask for a few favors to punish those who forced him into this horrible isolation.

Mephistopheles would owe him that much.

Mr. M never said that was his name, but Harkland's romantic side connected the dots and allowed himself to use the Faust reference when alone.

After all, what could it hurt?

-=-

Roy got to work early to check on their guest and stopped by Security. Digby and Danno were manning the console. One of the screens showed the guest suite's interior on the basement level. The Nekomata was resting on the bed.

"Good morning! Any change?" Roy asked.

"She woke about three minutes ago, but she's pretending to be asleep," Digby said as his eyes passed over the monitors, assessing the movements of the other early arrivals.

"Ah, good. I'll go have a word with her," Roy said, then headed back to the elevators.

He went to the basement, let himself into the secured area, and walked to their guest's locked door. He knocked, then let himself inside, pulling the door closed behind him. The lock wouldn't open for anyone else.

The room's bed was behind a privacy screen.

"Good morning. We can tell you're awake. You likely have questions. I can answer them for you," Roy called out and leaned against the wall next to the door.

Seconds passed then Roy heard movement. The petite, dark-haired female looked at him from the far side of the screen.

"Where am I?" she asked bluntly.

Roy smiled. "You're in a guest suite at VRL. It's a locked room we use to keep track of potential risks."

"Where is Mr. Sasaki?"

"He left you here yesterday when you succumbed to your rage. I'm told he said you were dead to him and told Henry to do with you as he wanted. I assume he expected us to kill you," Roy explained.

Nervous eyes peered at him from behind her hair. "I'm alive. So I killed my target."

"Not even close. You didn't stand a chance of achieving that," Roy said confidently, and her eyes narrowed.

"Nekomata do not exit from their rage until the target is dead," she said stiffly.

Roy frowned. "That's why your species has a kill-upon-discovery order. Lucky for you, Henry has a soft heart filled with compassion, even for those without the capacity to appreciate it. Instead of killing you, he gave you a second, and final, chance."

The small female watched him suspiciously, so he continued. "As Nekomata are unsalvageable when their rage takes over, Henry used his magic to remove your uncontrolled rage and some of your hate. Since your master discarded you, Henry is giving you your freedom in the hopes you can become a functional member of society."

"What right did he have to—"

"Would you prefer death?" Roy asked calmly, silencing her protest. He continued when she didn't respond. "Your master cast you aside. He left you with Henry for him to deal with. The boy doesn't need any more blood on his hands. He was informed of how dangerous Nekomata are, how they care for no one other than themselves, and how the Hidden Races Council have a kill-upon-discovery order for them. You should know I'm the interim head of security for the Hidden Races Council, so I have the authority to carry out its mandates."

Now, the Nekomata looked truly frightened.

"It wasn't Henry enforcing ownership over you when he altered you. He was looking for a means to help you become worthy of keeping alive, to save your life. I know how unworthy Nekomata are for such an effort, but Henry changed you, so you're unique. You may now have the potential to be a functional member of society. The question is, how will you use this second chance?"

Roku was trembling. She glanced around the room as if looking for an answer to the question. "What... what do you want me to do?" she said timidly.

"I just need you to tell me how you will live up to that potential," Roy said calmly.

She began to fidget. "I don't know what you want me to say."

Roy looked at her with a frown. "If I open this door and let you leave the building as the free woman you now are, what will you do with your life?"

She froze as she contemplated the idea. Her expression flashed to excitement, then confusion, and settled on despair. Roy wasn't sure what to make of that.

"When—As his slave, I used to imagine what it might be like to be free. How I would turn my rage upon my enemies, beginning with Sasaki." She was quiet for a moment as she struggled with something. "It's gone! I can no longer call upon it to give me vengeance."

Roy nodded. "That isn't the only way to get vengeance. He wanted you dead as you no longer served his purposes. Living to fulfill the potential of your new life is the best revenge."

She frowned. "What is this potential you keep speaking of?"

Roy spread his hands. "The freedom to do something positive with your life. Learn some new skills. Become an artist like a painter or a sculptor. Go on stage or before the camera and become an actor. Maybe you'll discover you like to sing, write music, or play an instrument. Or maybe just get a job so you can work with others. What skills do you currently have?"

She looked at Roy nervously. "Mr. Sasaki just used me to intimidate people. Sometimes he would have me kill them."

Roy shook his head. "That's not a very useful skill for a new life. Maybe you should start by learning some new ones."

Roku frowned at Roy. "How? My new freedom won't be free. I have nothing. My master didn't pay me, but he did provide a place to sleep and food."

"Henry didn't save you just to toss you aside like Sasaki did. He took responsibility for you. As his friends, we'll help him by finding you a place to live and ensuring you have food. We expect you to find a path for your new life where you can manage to support yourself like everyone else does. I imagine you're pretty hungry now. What would you like to eat?"

She swallowed as her mouth instantly salivated at the mention of food. "Sasaki fed me rice and insects."

Roy grimaced. "No, you won't have to eat like that any longer. You like meat? Not too spicy?"

A little bead of drool appeared on the corner of her mouth, and her eyes widened. "Yes."

Roy looked to the ceiling. "Danno? Please pick up an order of noodles with beef, medium spice, from Mrs. Han's. Also, some of her dumpling soup. Thanks!" He looked at Roku. "The restaurant is always open, and Mrs. Han is an amazing cook. As careers go, maybe you'd enjoy working as a cook. Preparing food can be quite fulfilling."

Roku blinked at him as the idea of making food hadn't crossed her mind.

"I'll have Sigrid come speak to you about making living arrangements for you. In the interim, make yourself comfortable and consider what you might like to do. She'll help you with that as well."

When she remained silent, he locked eyes with her. "One thing you'll want to learn is manners. A smile and a thank you goes a long way toward establishing positive relationships."

"Thank you!" Roku said quickly.

"We will try our best to help you because Henry wanted you to have a second chance. But it's up to you to prove you're worthy of it," Roy said, holding her gaze with his.

"I-I will," she said quietly.

Roy nodded. "Your breakfast will be here shortly."

"Thank you," she replied, and Roy smiled.

He let himself out of the room and headed back to his office to call Sigrid.

He wasn't convinced yet that this Nekomata experiment would work, but he'd give her some time to try.

Chapter 18

Mahati Chandra felt a little shiver run down her spine as Kali drove their rental car through the gate in the outer wall of her family's estate compound. They continued up the treed lane as the gate shut behind them.

A forty-minute drive north of VRL in Manhattan on the edge of the quaint village of Tarrytown, tall stone walls contained a veritable fortress of a mansion and several other structures for offices, security, storage barns, and utility sheds.

Few knew this as the entire property was protected by powerful spells preventing unwelcome attention. From ground level in the surrounding properties and overhead, the estate looked like a large, forested plot of land that matched the actual trees that ran around the edge of the grounds just inside the wall.

As Kali brought the car through the trees into the expansive gravel driveway leading to the mansion's front door, Mahati gazed up at the window for the room which had once been hers. The small bedroom on the second floor had been her sanctuary until she realized it was just part of her prison when she discovered her mother had no intention of allowing her to leave. Her eidetic memory for the laws and legal precedent she'd studied served her mother's needs too well.

The car pulled around the circle before the home and stopped a short distance from the door. Mahati turned to look at Kali and saw her knuckles were white from her tight grip on the steering wheel.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Kali unclenched her hands and flexed them to get the blood back into her fingers. "I cannot say I'm not feeling a little apprehension about visiting Mother."

Mahati reached over and took her sister's hand. "We aren't the same people we were then. Mother doesn't have control over us any longer. We're just here to share some information. Roy also asked me to speak to mother to see if she knows how to create a powerful reliquary for Henry."

Kali smiled and seemed to take strength from hearing his name. Mahati knew her sister had a... different kind of relationship with Henry than she did, but it worked for Kali, so who was she to question it. Giving her a nod, she left the car and walked toward the front door with Kali a step behind and beside her. She would have preferred to have her sister at her side, but this position made Kali more comfortable.

The door opened before they reached it, and Mahati saw their father's hopeful, smiling face.

"Bapu!" Mahati said and rushed forward into his embrace. She hadn't realized just how much she'd missed him.

He gathered Kali against him as well and kissed their cheeks.

When they recovered from the burst of emotion, they pulled back to smile at their father. Standing an inch shorter than Kali's diminutive five-foot-three glamor, he wasn't tall. Mahati had six inches on his height. His build was also slim with a wiry strength.

He looked past them to confirm the door was closed. "Please, you're home now. Let's drop these disguises," he said earnestly.

Mahati smiled at him as she knew he didn't like being reminded he was smaller than his daughters, which his glamor made very clear. She switched into her true form, as did Kali. He changed a second later and forced himself up on his coils to bring his eyes to her level. She allowed herself to drop a bit to ease his effort.

"The house is so quiet without you two chasing each other back and forth through the corridors," Bapu sighed sadly.

Mahati snorted cutely. "It has been many, many years since we did that. We are not children any longer."

He nodded and smiled sadly. "Yes, but it is a fond memory of mine."

"Those chases always ended the same way. With mother scolding us for not acting like proper young women," Kali reminded him.

The father shrugged. "All I have are my memories now that you two have left."

Mahati grinned at his dramatic expression of despair. "Oh, please, Bapu. You are surrounded by your other children who work and live here. We are the only two who don't."

The man quickly glanced around to ensure the others weren't present when he leaned in close to the two ladies in his arms. "Can I help it if you two are my favorites?"

It was Kali's turn to snort though it sounded more like a squeak from her. "How could we be your favorites?" she finally managed.

He spoke even softer. "Because you two got away to make lives of your own."

Mahati watched his eyes and saw he was speaking the truth. She gave him another hug. "We never ran from you, Bapu," she said with love in her eyes.

He smiled as his eyes became a little glassy. "Go now before you make me cry with your sweet words. Your mother is waiting. She's in her office—"

"As she always is," Mahati finished for him. She'd heard this phrase too often in her life. They gave him another kiss on the cheek, then went down the long hall to the back of the manor where they'd find her.

Indrani Chandra was a titan in the courtroom and the leader of the Chandra family. Her husband, Lemda Chandra, was the Bapu, father for all her children, but that's where his authority began and ended. Indrani made all the important decisions regarding the household and its inhabitants.

Except for Mahati and Kali.

While Mahati had openly defied her mother when she decided to leave their home, Kali had always flown under her mother's radar as she had no control over magic. This made her useless to Indrani. She could come and go without the slightest concern from her mother.

Mahati smiled at Kali when they reached the door. Kali gave her a nervous smile, then a nod.

The older sister knocked firmly.

"Come."

They heard their mother call out from inside, and Mahati opened the door and stepped inside, with Kali following close behind.

The chamber beyond the door was large and filled with riches in the form of antique furniture, ancient and rare books lining bookcases that spanned one entire wall, and priceless pieces of art and sculpture. There were also display cases containing artifacts from multiple eras on Earth that would make any museum curator froth at the mouth with envy. The net value of the contents of the room was incalculable.

Mahati knew her mother used the room for shock and awe tactics when meeting other family heads. It was impossible not to be unbalanced by the magnificence of the displayed items.

Resting on her large, muscular coils behind her desk, Indrani might have been the most eye-catching element of the room. Her iridescent scales flashed deep blue and violet in the artfully directed spotlights. Also done for effect.

She was a strikingly beautiful female, if a little severe in her expression. Raven black hair, tightly pulled back into a tight braid running down her back to disappear in her coils. Her intensely blue eyes seemed to look deep into your soul as she examined your presence within her sphere of attention. She wore a multitude of glittering gold bangles on all four wrists, which sang sweetly as she made minimal gestures with her hands. Her generous bosom was contained within black silk with sparkling diamond accents. These also caught the light beautifully.

Being aware of her tactics reduced their impact on Mahati but didn't eliminate them. She took a deep breath as she approached the desk. She knew that Kali was following but was attempting to stay in her shadow.

She noticed a scent in the room and wondered if her mother was trying a new perfume. She inhaled again and smiled to herself. It was rather... nice.

"Daughter, it is good to see you again," Indrani said with a smile. Then she tilted her head to the side as she noticed Kali. Her smile slipped a little. "Kali, I didn't know you'd be coming too."

"I invited her," Mahati said, and Indrani nodded without a second glance at Kali. She focused on Mahati as Kali's presence truly was inconsequential to her.

Mahati frowned at her mother's attitude, then sighed as she wasn't here to start a fight and letting this go now felt better.

"I believe you mentioned something about reliquaries?" Indrani said, getting to the purpose of the visit as she was a busy woman.

Mahati nodded. "Yes. I'm interested in any information you might have on how they are constructed, how to safely fill them, and how they isolate their contents from this plain of reality."

Indrani blinked in surprise. "What do you plan to contain within it?"

Mahati smiled calmly. "I'm not at liberty to give too many details at this time. I can tell you it's energy and has no physical properties."

The matriarch nodded slowly. "It is helpful to know the content is not physical in nature as that defines the reliquary's physical properties. What will be the purpose of the reliquary?"

Mahati was enjoying another deep breath of the intriguing perfume. She focused on her mother once more. "Containment and isolation," she said.

Once more, Indrani paused as the answer was unexpected. "Usually, there is some means to interact or at least see the contents. This allows the holder to access a trickle of the contained power."

"That will not be required in this instance." Mahati took another deep breath and smiled. "The energy must not be accessible to anyone. Contained and isolated." She really was enjoying the scent, and she felt so relaxed.

Then she noticed the spotlights shining on her mother were pulsing ever so faintly. It made her mother look that much more impressive. She wished she could look like her. She was so... beautiful!

"This energy... is dangerous?" Indrani asked.

"Extremely," Mahati answered immediately and felt thrilled when she saw her mother's satisfied smile.

-=-

Kali was deeply uncomfortable being in her mother's presence again. The senior female had no use for her and made no effort to hide this fact. Mahati was her champion, but she began to notice her sister's body language was changing. She wasn't standing tall on her coils as she had when she first entered. Now she was visibly demonstrating a submissive posture to her mother. When she let slip how dangerous the energy was, something she'd insisted her mother did not need to know, Kali was sure Mahati was somehow being controlled by her mother.

She moved forward and took Mahati's hand in hers. "Sister?"

"Kali, leave us," Indrani snapped coldly, but Kali ignored her as she could see Mahati's eyes were strangely locked on her mother. Something was definitely wrong!

"I SAID LEAVE!"

Kali barely managed to get her shield spell in place but failed to anchor it, so the blast from her mother sent her flying back into a display case, shattering its glass and knocking the rare book out onto the floor.

She was a little dazed but otherwise uninjured, as her shield was a present from Mahati, who learned it from Henry. It was powered by Wild Magic and easily withstood her mother's attack. She stood tall on her coils and held her mother's surprised gaze.

"What have you done to Mahati?" Kali growled.

"That is none of your concern. Leave at once and do not return, or I will not be so gentle next time!" Indrani threatened.

Kali laughed as she let Henry's Wild Magic seep into her limbs as she prepared for battle. She felt so much more powerful than she ever had standing before her mother. She'd always slipped away, out of her mother's attention, as quickly as she could. Today she wasn't going to run.

Her sister needed her.

She moved up next to Mahati once again and saw her inhaling deeply. There was a scent. When she looked up at her mother again, she could see her incredulity and rage at Kali's disobedience and frustration at being unable to move from behind her desk. Then Kali noticed the lights flickering on Indrani's scales.

It was a spell. Pulsing light combined with the drugged scent and her mother's power. She was brainwashing Mahati to bring her back under control.

Once more, Indrani launched an attack against Kali, but now her shield was fixed to the floor.

Kali split the bolt of energy to the sides and blew out windows on opposite sides of Indrani's office. Then she cast a spell of her own, and a sudden wind gushed in one window and out the other side. This freshened the air quickly, and Mahati's eyelids began to flutter.

"NO!" Indrani screamed and surged around her desk with four deadly curved scimitars suddenly clenched in her strong hands. She went straight for Kali.

The smaller female moved to stand between her sister and mother but raised no weapons of her own. Instead, she lunged forward at the last minute and backhanded her mother with Henry's shield wrapped around her fist at full power. The blades bounced off Kali's protection, but the slap sent Indrani sailing back over her desk to crash through two more display cases behind it, destroying the artifacts within.

Kali moved forward slowly to stand over her mother's prone body. Her voice was quiet, but it vibrated from the intense power she was holding at bay. "Reverse what you've done to Mahati, or I will demonstrate just how well you named me."

Indrani stared at this stranger looking down at her with such loathing in her eyes that it took her breath away.

"NOW!" Kali's voice boomed, and more glass cases shattered.

"The spell wasn't complete! The air has cleared, and the lights are off. She will come out of it momentarily!" Indrani found herself babbling.

"Mahati?" Kali called out without looking away from her mother.

She heard her sister moan and then words. "My head hurts. What—" She stopped to look around, seeing the destruction. Then she saw her sister standing over her mother, who was on the floor looking up at Kali in fear. This reversal made no sense!

Mahati moved cautiously to stand next to her little sister, crackling with barely contained energy. "What happened, Kali?"

"She tried to take control of your mind with a scent and light-based spell. It almost worked. Then she made the mistake of underestimating me... FOR THE LAST TIME!" she roared, and Indrani tried to hide behind her arms, but she discovered she was pinned to the floor helplessly by... something.

Mahati touched Kali's arm and felt her trembling with rage.

"Don't stain your soul with this. You deserve better," Mahati said to her quietly.

Kali's eyes flicked to her sister then she nodded slightly as she took slow, deep breaths. A low, deep pulsing sound, almost too soft to register, slowed and faded. Indrani discovered she could move again.

The younger sister fixed her eyes on her mother once more. "I shouldn't have to tell you this, but... we are not objects that you own and place in glass cases. We are independent beings. You will never interfere with Mahati or me again. You will treat us respectfully and show us the kindness a real mother should have for her daughters. Or you will never see us again." She glared at her mother. "Do you understand?"

Indrani slowly pushed herself upright, never looking away from Kali. "Yes, I do, and I... apologize." She looked around herself at the destroyed cases and artifacts. She looked back at Kali, in shock. "How?"

"It does not matter how. Just accept it," Mahati said firmly. Her expression twisted with disgust. It was Kali's turn to touch her arm to offer her support. Mahati shuddered, then nodded to her. "What... what you just attempted to do to me is... so disgusting and repulsive, it's all I can do to stay in the same room with you. But we came here today in good faith to obtain information that is critical for the safety of everyone. You will not bargain for this information. You will give it to us willingly because doing so serves your own interests—DON'T... don't ask me for more details," she snapped as she saw her mother about to speak.

Indrani was not used to being spoken to in this manner, especially by her daughters. But they were treating her far better than she would have had their situations been reversed, and this made her feel... inferior. That was not a good feeling. She controlled her expression and nodded gently.

"You need information on constructing a reliquary to contain and isolate energy. I will gather everything I have on this and send it to you," she said contritely.

Mahati nodded briefly, then quickly turned and made to leave.

"Will you return?" Indrani called out with a shaky voice, surprising herself with the display of emotion.

Mahati paused and looked back. "Who are you addressing?"

Indrani felt the sting of that scornful response and realized she was being slapped for ignoring Kali for so many years. She turned her gaze to the younger sister. "Both of you. I-I have much to apologize and atone for."

It was Kali's turn. "If we see you are able to be as sincere as your words sound, there is hope for that. Just... not right now."

Mahati nodded stiffly and continued out of the room. The information she had planned to share with her mother to protect some financial interests would not be delivered today after all.

Kali turned and followed, showing her back to her mother for the first time in a decade.

That felt good.

Their Bapu was standing in the hall with a frightened expression. His eyes widened, but he sagged with relief. This brought smiles to the sisters.

"I heard such awful sounds! I was so worried for you!" he gasped.

"Mother tried..." Mahati couldn't speak of it as her anger flared up.

"You didn't hurt her, did you?" their father asked her timidly.

Mahati shook her head and gestured to her sister. "Kali saved me. Mother may have aches and bruises, but at least Kali didn't kill her."

The younger sister flashed a grateful smile at Mahati as their father stared at her in wonder.

"Living on your own has made you strong! I am so proud of you!" he told Kali and hugged her. Then he kissed their cheeks and leaned in so he could whisper. "But don't tell your mother I said that."

They smiled at him, then headed for the front door.

Activating their glamors, they stepped outside and walked to the rental.

"Thank you again, Kali. You really did save me," Mahati said with a lump in her throat.

"You'd do the same for me," Kali returned.

Mahati wiped a tear away and gave her a smile. "Yes, I would." Then a thought occurred to her. "Let's keep what happened with Mother to ourselves. I don't want to think about what Henry might do if he knew."

Kali thought about that and wore a smile on her face all the way back to the city.

-=-

Henry was immersed in code when his desk phone began chirping at him. He had only two and a half days of workdays this week and was already on day two. He wanted to get this program out for the new year, so he was trying to ignore all distractions.

It took several rings before he finally gave in and answered. His finger stopped above the button he'd incorrectly pressed before, so he eased back and lifted the handset to his ear. "Hello?"

"Very good, Henry!"

He grinned. It was Marisa. "Yes, I stopped myself this time," he said.

"I'm very proud of you, and I have Alice Shaw on the line," she said with a smile in her voice.

"Ah, please put her through," he said and heard a click on the line. "Henry speaking."

"Henry! You brilliant man! Your workers performed miracles!" The woman's lovely British accent made Henry smile.

He nodded. "They didn't break anything, did they?"

"Not at all. They were gentle, yet they worked so quickly! It took us about six hours to move everything, but that was mostly due to the time I needed to organize it in its new home. Your fellows were extremely helpful. And they have delightful singing voices!"

Henry froze. "What?"

"Yes! One heard me singing to myself as I played with the acoustics of the vault, and it harmonized with me. Gave me quite a fright at first as I wasn't expecting it, but once I calmed down, I tried again, and it sang along. Then the others joined in as they returned from the cavern. They have perfect pitch! We had a little concert in my vault after we finished moving everything," she said with delight.

"Uh, I had no idea they would do that. As far as I know, they have no vocal cords... or throats and lungs for that matter," Henry acknowledged.

Alice giggled. "But you gave them the ability to alter their bodies to improve their ability to do their tasks. They must have made a few more changes."

"Huh. I guess they're back in the cavern now?" Henry asked.

"Yes, as promised. Thank you again for their help," Alice said. "Now, you said something about your friend... the Dragon?"

Henry smiled. "That's just a very recent change. Not long ago, he was a Human with no knowledge of anything magical." Henry paused. "Brigadier General Gordon Crane is a truly decent man. He takes care of his people, and they love him for it. He commands the US Army's only squad of Silver Soldiers.

"Ooo! I like a man in uniform," Alice teased.

"Please be gentle with my friend. He's had a rough time recently, and his life has been turned upside down. That's my fault," Henry said softly

Alice paused. "All right, Henry. Give me his number, and I'll arrange to meet with the fellow. I promise to go slow."

"Thanks!" Henry said and gave her the number Crane provided for this.

"Don't be a stranger!" Alice said and hung up.

Henry walked to his door and stepped into the outer office. Marisa's desk was still waiting for her return. She was working from home, but he was thinking about swinging by her place to say hello and cuddle Natalia. She was such a sweetie.

He closed his office door, then pictured the cave door in Alice's cave. He realized he'd seen it from the wrong side, so his door would open into the vestibule, not the hall. He sighed as he'd just have to go through, close it, drop the magic door, and open it into the cave from the vestibule side. He engaged his shield spell just in case, then set the magic door. When he tried to open the door, it hit something. There must have been a cave-in on the vestibule side. Shit.

Henry squeezed through the door and gently closed it as he stood in absolute darkness. He quickly activated a Wisp light orb. Now he could see the door. There was very little space left on this side of it. If the cave collapsed fully, he'd be trapped.

With that not-so-pleasant thought running in his mind, he released the spell on the door and opened it again into his office. He had to squeeze through the opening once more. Back in his waiting room, he reset the door one more time and finally made it into the cave. He shuddered as he stretched his back to eliminate the sensation of crushing weight from it. He closed the door and immediately set it back to his office. He lit one of his wisp lights and jumped when he saw he was surrounded by his Golems. They opened their eyes which glowed dimly. Henry realized they'd been conserving their energy as they were almost depleted. He looked inside and opened his aperture to let the Wild Magic flow. He watched the glow in their eyes slowly come back up to full power then he closed the portal again.

"Hi, fellas. Come with me."

Henry opened the door to his office and led the large Golems through. Once the five were in his waiting room, he released the magic door and turned to face them. "So, you can sing?" he asked, and all five nodded. "Do you enjoy it?"

They paused for a moment as if considering the question. Then they nodded. Henry smiled at them. "That's so very cool." A warmth filled him.

He stood considering them for a moment as they waited patiently for his next command, and suddenly, that felt wrong. His original intent was to take them back to the room in the basement and release the spell to return the clay to its original inert state. That definitely felt like a miserable decision.

Instead, a smile returned to his face. "Let's get you someplace where you won't run out of energy."

He linked his office door to one of the doors in the vestibule in the cave under Meixiu's mansion, then brought them through and led them to the gate to Eden.

He powered up the portal and brought the five giants through. As they stood in the red grasses looking around at their soon-to-be new home, Henry spotted a glint of sunlight reflecting off the chrome surface of a runner in the distance. He watched it change course, and within seconds one of the Silver People came to a stop before him. He reached out a hand to clasp the reflective one before him and let it know his new friends would be staying. He asked the silver being to inform Xiong and Dave of their new neighbors. He also let them know the Golems liked to sing.

The being smiled at Henry and rushed away, so he turned to his recent creations. "Are you getting energy from the environment?"

They paused again, then nodded.

Henry considered the large clay men before him again. With Alice's revelation that they sang and their admission they achieved joy from it, he didn't have it in him to let them expire.

He'd hoped bringing them to Eden would keep them energized. That much seemed to have worked.

Now he wanted to nourish their minds as it seemed they had more complexity than he knew.

"My friends, the Glass People and the Silver People, live here on Eden. My next and final task for you is to be their friends. Work with them. Help them any way you can if they ask for it. I don't believe they have many demands, so enjoy your singing when you aren't occupied. Let it bring you happiness."

The Silent Giants looked at one another as if surprised by his words. Then, as one, they bowed to Henry. This made him feel a little weird, but they were his creations, so he also felt a little humbled by their response.

"Could you sing something for me?" he asked.

They faced each other and began softly. He was surprised by the richness of the tones they were producing from their bodies then he saw they were inhaling from what looked like gills on their stomachs. Their abdomens were rippling, which likely pumped the air in and passed it across... something within their bodies to produce a most wondrous sound. Each chose a different note, but they blended their voices beautifully, and Henry couldn't stop himself from grinning like a kid in a candy store. It was amazing, and he'd never heard anything like it before!

As they let the notes fade, Henry applauded them. "That was wonderful!"

He spotted more Silver People approaching, likely drawn to the music, so he faced the Golems again. "I have to go now, but I'll check in on you from time to time to ensure you're doing well... and to enjoy your music. Thank you for that!"

They were soon surrounded by the Silver People, and Henry touched a few to let them know what he'd said to the Golems and to ask them to guide the five back to the Glass People's village.

He got smiles and nods.

One of the Golems moved closer and reached out a massive paw toward Henry as it had seen him doing with the others.

Henry smiled and placed his hand within it. The grip was surprisingly gentle.

"Thank. You."

The voice was clear and held a tone of sincerity that caught Henry by surprise. He nodded as his emotions swelled in his chest. He stepped forward and hugged the giant. The others moved closer, and he hugged them as well. He was becoming a little overwhelmed, so he pulled back and walked away without looking back.

Once he passed through the gate, he deactivated it and leaned against the wall as he tried to get his emotions under control.

He'd just been trying to make a more robust and helpful worker. He hadn't expected them to exceed those parameters.

Henry had no idea he'd be creating... what he did. He wasn't even sure what he should call them.

Once more, he was reminded that he had way too much power at his fingertips.

That might backfire on him one day if he didn't learn something from it now.

He needed to get a handle on all the crazy shit he'd been up to this week and try to see if any patterns might hint at outside interference. He hadn't encountered Baba since they freed the General, but that didn't mean she was gone.

He still wanted to know what Baba meant by it's not me. His aptitude for magic was progressing exponentially, and he was only a self-taught wielder. Yes, he had the structure of his programming skills to help him, but that didn't feel like the answer. He'd been positive Baba had a silent but supportive hand in this, but she denied it. It made no sense... unless she was fucking with him. Not like she hadn't done it in the past.

With a sigh, he realized he wasn't returning to work today. The program would have to wait.

He went upstairs and went outside to the gazebo, where he took a seat and activated his heating spell. He quickly texted Tish to let her know he'd be a little late.

Then he settled in for a good think.

-=-

Sigrid smiled down at Ylva's sleepy face as the infant finished feeding from her breast. She looked over at Stanley, sleeping peacefully in her mother's arms. The most profound sense of fulfillment swept through her, and she couldn't keep the smile from her face. She gently rubbed Ylva's back and got a quiet burp.

Placing her daughter in her crib, she collected Stanley and lowered him into his. Gazing at her children's faces, she marveled at how content she felt at this moment. She never imagined she would ever experience this.

She'd dated and had lovers over the years, but none had been worthy of being her mate. She and Roy had tried being a couple for a time, but they realized they were better off as friends.

When Henry was Stanley, he'd wooed her with his gentle nature, worshipful gazes, and Satyr strength, which surprised and thrilled her. Henry had continued that courting until she'd finally accepted how much she wanted him.

He'd given her beautiful and strong children and the first male Valkyrie. What that would mean for her race was unknown, but she was in no hurry to look too far ahead. She would enjoy the now.

"Did you speak to Henry about enhancing the Valkyries?" Hilda interrupted her thoughts bluntly.

Sigrid sighed. Of course, her mother wouldn't give her a few moments to enjoy this domestic bliss.

"I tried to speak to him about it earlier today, but he was occupied with a Dragon," she responded.

"When is he going to do it?" Hilda pressed.

Sigrid scowled at her mother. "You do understand you are asking him to have sex with people who treated him like he was some kind of trained animal. He doesn't like very many of them. Some he has a distinct reason to dislike." She looked into her mother's eyes as she made the last statement.

"He needs to put his hurt feelings aside for the greater good!" Hilda insisted.

"Do you actually hear yourself?" Sigrid asked in wonder. "Can my mother actually be this self-centered? Have you no empathy at all?"

Hilda scowled. "Okay! I know I've been tough on him, but he's the mate of my daughter and the father to her children. I had to ensure he was worthy and wouldn't interfere with the children's upbringing. This is the way of the Valkyrie!"

Sigrid rolled her eyes and then got angry. "I'm siding with Henry on this. You rely on that statement far too often. Being a Valkyrie does not excuse a shitty attitude! You should learn from Henry's behavior. He's shown you far more tolerance than you've deserved."

Hilda frowned. "We're going to war with an unforgiving and vicious enemy. We don't have the luxury of niceties. We can apologize after we've won."

"Our enemy is learning, adapting, and changing. You are reciting rules from a bygone era. You need to be more flexible, or they will chew you up and spit you out. There are new strategies to be incorporated into our battle playbook. If you cannot keep pace with their changes, you will die, regardless of how strong you are. The one I fought today was unlike any I have encountered before. Yes, he was stronger and faster but also more intelligent. I could see it in his eyes. He also exploded with tremendous force when I killed him. If it weren't for Henry, who protected me with a forcefield, I might have been badly hurt," Sigrid explained.

Hilda's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Exploded? It was wearing a bomb vest?"

Sigrid shook her head. "Henry said the Demon had been overcharged with the dark realm's energy. This made it much stronger, but the energy was released as a blast wave when it died."

Hilda's frown returned. "That makes it even more critical for Henry to upgrade their strongest weapons against the Demons! The Valkyrie!"

"Henry's already agreed to connect us to the Wild Magic. He just wants to find an alternate method to do it," Sigrid insisted.

"Why? He already knows how to do it. Fucking. It's what Satyrs do best, yes?" Hilda snapped.

Sigrid's eyes flared with anger. "This is exactly why he doesn't want to do it that way! You don't DESERVE IT!"

Hilda flinched back from the righteous fury in Sigrid's eyes and voice, and she became confused. "Deserve it?"

"Yes! Henry doesn't fuck like some machine. He's attentive, emotionally involved, and it's the best sex I've ever experienced." She gave her mother a scornful look. "You don't respect him. You don't even like him. So, you don't deserve him."

"I-I don't have to like him for him to help me protect you and your children!" Hilda insisted with a scowl.

"I would never ask him to have sex with someone who treats him like you do! Henry will be with them if the others can demonstrate a better attitude towards him. But not you. No upgrade for you until you break free of this hostile and arrogant attitude."

Sigrid left the room as she was worried her next step would be beating sense into her mother.

Once, such thoughts would have made her snort in disbelief.

Her mother had been her shining example of what it meant to be a Valkyrie. Strong, disciplined, bold, and, yes, cocky.

Then she'd been injured battling the Archdemon in that small mountaintop village in Italy. It might have been similar in level to the one Sigrid had just defeated in London.

Sigrid was aware that Hilda's knees and hands had been seriously damaged in the battle, but she eventually healed. She expected Hilda to return, but instead, she remained in isolation. The Archdemon had broken something else, her self-confidence. Sigrid tried to bring her out of it but had no success until she showed up on her mother's doorstep pregnant.

Now, she was wondering if she should have left her there to wallow in self-pity.

She took a deep breath and thought about Henry. Her mother wasn't wrong about Henry needing to do something about linking the Valkyrie to the Wild Magic. They had to at least discuss it.

She went to her office and shut the door as she didn't want her mother to overhear.

She pulled out her cell and dialed Henry. She knew he would be cramming to finish his work in the shorter workweek. She hoped she wouldn't catch him at a bad moment.

-=-

Revna and Kari strolled side by side along the beach at the water's edge in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro. The night was hot, and they weren't the only souls outside letting the surf wash over their toes.

Their way was lit by a full moon, which was enough to help them guide their steps.

Each was wearing their skimpiest bikini to get relief from the heat, but no one would be enjoying the sight in this dim lighting.

"We should have brought along more warriors," Kari said once more.

Revna flashed her a quick smile. "Are you getting too feeble to do your own reconnaissance? We don't know the actual number of Demons they saw. We need more information. I'd feel embarrassed if we called in more Valkyries to deal with a gathering of less than ten of the bastards."

Kari shot Revna a dirty look for implying she was in less than peak condition. Still, she couldn't shake the bad feeling she'd had since they got word of Demons gathering in Rio. Apparently, some had come from Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, as well as other regions of Brazil. What this meant, they didn't know.

Kari would have preferred to speak to the others first, but Revna was so damned bullheaded and prideful. She didn't want anyone to think she couldn't handle trouble in her own neighborhood. So here they were, walking stealthily toward the end of the beach they'd been informed was a launching point for the Demons. One of the ships moored off the coast quietly collected the incoming Demons. Where they'd go from there was anyone's guess.

"Even if we see someone taking passengers out to a ship, we need to detect if they're Demons without them detecting us. We'll still have no idea how many Demons are already on the ship. Before you ask, there is no way I'm flying out to investigate a ship with an undisclosed number of enemies on it. That's suicide." Kari said firmly.

Revna just smiled and nodded, looking as if she was simply enjoying the walk.

After a moment, she spoke. "What's interesting is that they're not flying themselves out to the ship as they easily could. I know they're sneaky bastards, but what is their master plan?"

Kari stopped walking, causing Revna to stop and look back.

"You aren't the master strategist you think you are! You're damn good in a fight, but please don't drag me into one and call it reconnaissance," Kari stated bluntly.

Revna scowled, and Kari suddenly understood she'd discovered her partner's plan. "You're being incredibly stupid at this moment, and I will not participate in a double suicide." She turned and began walking back the way she came. Revna hustled to catch up and suddenly spotted some dark shapes on the sand ahead.

Kari hissed quietly. "I see them too." She glanced back in the direction they'd originally been going, and now dark shapes were closing in from there too. "We've walked into a trap."

Revna saw the numbers they were facing, and her expression stiffened with dread. "I'm sorry, Kari. I underestimated this situation completely." She glanced toward the roadway and the building beyond. "The only open route is away from the water and into the neighborhoods, but they'll have the advantage in the tight spaces."

"We won't survive a frontal attack out here on the beach with these numbers. I've never seen so many in one place. We need to inform Hilda and Sigrid. This is our priority. If we get separated, don't turn back. Get to a safe place and call them," Kari insisted.

Revna cursed under her breath for being so stupid, then nodded. "Fly dark until you get to the road." They suddenly switched to their armor and spread their wings as they suppressed their glow.

They flew hard, but they could tell their pursuers were catching up quickly. They might not even make it to the road.

"Go faster, you great ox!" Kari snapped at Revna, who was struggling to keep from flaring as she beat her wings with all her might.

Revna snarled and pushed harder as the edges of her wings began the show smudges of white.

Just before the horde of Demons caught up to them, they shot across the roadway and released their hold on the glow. The dual burst of white stunned many of the close-by lesser Demons who struck power lines and poles, cars on the road, and each other. Kari shot forward, up a lane between the apartment buildings with Revna in hot pursuit.

"Split up!" Kari shouted. "Get word to the Valkyries!"

They hooked left around the next corner, and Revna was still there. "Dammit! Go! I'm faster, but you can make the call!" Kari cursed her.

At the next intersection, Kari flared her brightness and surged ahead as Revna went dark and shot straight up, suppressing her glow as she went into a parabolic arc over the apartment building. She hid her wings and used her dark skin to hide in the black skies.

This move should have broken her free from pursuit, but fortune wasn't smiling at her tonight as she slammed into three smaller Demons who were equally invisible and hadn't seen her.

Revna was slightly stunned by the impact, but as the Demons scrambled to get their weapons ready, she pulled her sword and swung it in a lightning-fast arc, bisecting each of them. As quickly as she used the weapon, she put it away.

Unfortunately, the brief flash of white was enough to give her location away, and she spotted a group of Demons break off from the back of the main group chasing Kari to target her. There were eight of them, and she knew she couldn't outrun them, so she opened her darkened wings again, beat them hard to drive herself toward them, then tucked her wings to dive at them. She was almost invisible as she fell, so they couldn't prepare for her. She pulled out her sword and shield at the last possible instant as she passed through their midst. Two had their bones shattered from being struck by her shield, and she slashed completely through a third with her sword. One scored a lucky blow against her left calf, its spear cutting deep into the muscle.

Gritting her teeth to hold in her scream, she snapped open her wings and changed her dive into forward momentum a mere five feet from the road's surface as she shot up a side lane.

She heard her remaining chasers screaming their rage a short distance behind her, so she knew she had to deal with them before she could get away to make the call. She was terrified for Kari.

She should have listened to her from the start.

UP! Beating her wings hard, she changed direction at the last second to fly up the side of an eight-story condo building. One of her pursuers didn't make the vector change and crashed through the plate glass window of the ground floor lobby.

Just before she passed the seventh floor, she put her wings away to sail over the building's top edge and landed on her feet on the rooftop. Her left leg gave out, but she stopped her fall with her sword.

Then it was swinging in a blur to slash through the first Demon to reach her on the roof. She beheaded that one but had to hop backward to get room to focus on the next. It was a decent fighter and pushed her farther back until it left her an opening. Her sword carved a deep path through its chest. She was forced back to the roof's edge as the final two rushed at her.

Something explosively punched through the bodies of the two demons, then bit deep into Revna's abdomen. It felt like being hit by a truck.

She looked down and saw a spear sticking out of her gut. She pulled it out, dropping it to the roof at her feet, but the damage was done.

Her limbs were turning to jelly as her muscles lost their tone. Revna couldn't grasp how the weapon had been thrown so hard it went through the Demons to hit her.

Before she fell back off the edge, she spotted the silhouette of a very large demon facing her two blocks away! It hit her from there? Then she dropped out of view.

As she fell past the floors, she reached out and grabbed the edge of a balcony to swing into the one below, crashing onto the floor. Stars filled her vision, and she almost passed out, but she fought for consciousness. There was a stack of old blankets, and she pulled them over her.

Before she passed out from blood loss, she got her cell out and made a call. The Valkyrie needed to know.

She'd promised Kari.

-=-

Hilda was fuming in the living room. Her daughter's words were spinning around in her head. She hated that she couldn't refute everything Sigrid said, and falling back on the Valkyrie Way wasn't winning any battles with her daughter.

They'd had a contentious relationship since she reached her teen years and began to see the world through her own perspective. Sigrid was more enlightened than her old-school mother and chafed at being told how to act around lesser beings. Sigrid enjoyed their company!

When she'd arrived pregnant on Hilda's doorstep, she felt like she'd been given another chance to connect with her daughter, but they began to clash once more. Hilda knew she wouldn't push her away as she needed to be part of Ylva's life. To show her the true glory and ways of growing up a Valkyrie.

The male Valkyrie, Stanley, completely put her off her game. This was her... grandson. An impossibility, but she could not deny his physical reality. He had all the traits of a Valkyrie except for one critical point. He was not a she.

And he was getting into her heart.

Stanley's eyes looked deep into her soul, and she could feel herself connecting with the child just as strongly as she did with Ylva.

It confused her terribly.

Her phone rang and jolted her from her thoughts. She begrudgingly answered it. "Hello?"

"Hilda... it's Revna. I'm in Ipanema. I'm dying, so... just listen. Kari and I... investigated a story of a ship... carrying Demons from all over South America. Walked into... a trap." She coughed softly, suppressing the noise. "Close to seventy, I think. One big motherfucker hit me with a spear... from two blocks away! I-I think they got Kari. Heard her scream... it was terrible."

Hilda was on her feet, running up the stairs, and barged into Sigrid's room without knocking.

Sigrid was on her cell and looked at her mother with an angry expression which quickly cleared when she saw the dread on her mother's face.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Revna! She's dying! Kari may be dead."

Seconds later, there was a burst of rushing air as Henry dropped out of midair to land on Sigrid's bed.

"What the fuck!" Hilda yelled as she was knocked back by the gust.

"Where is she?" Henry asked urgently.

Hilda blinked at him. "Ipanema. Rio de Janeiro... Brazil."

Henry frowned. "I need something of hers. Something personal!"

"What are you talking about?" Hilda snapped.

"I can get her if you have something of hers! Think!" Henry snapped back.

"She's fighting Demons!" Sigrid said.

Hilda watched Henry with wide eyes, then snatched a beaded bracelet from her wrist. "Revna gave me this at the mansion."

Henry grabbed the bracelet and dropped his glamor. "Clear the bed!" he yelled, then closed his eyes.

Sigrid reached for his arm. "Henry! Wait!"

Her fingers closed on nothing as he was gone with another gust of displaced air.

Hilda locked eyes with Sigrid then they were pulling the quilt and pillows from the bed. Sigrid grabbed Hilda's cell and put it on speaker.

"Henry! Can you hear me?"

All that came back was the sound of Demons screaming.

-=-

When Henry reached out with Baba's spell to lock onto Revna, he could feel her slowly slipping away. He didn't think twice but locked onto her location and jumped.

Blankets scattered everywhere, and several blew off the balcony, where he found himself standing over the unconscious body of the large warrior.

"THERE!" a deep voice called out, and Henry felt the dark magic in him being tugged upon. He glanced up and gaped at the sight of a dozen Demons flying between the building he was in and the one across the street. Amongst them was one very large specimen with enormous black wings.

He immediately threw a forcefield up to cover the gap between the railing and the floor above.

He was just in time as three smaller Demons crashed into it and bounced off, screaming in rage.

"YOU! HOW?"

It was the big one again, and Henry could sense the dark energy it had been pumped full of, tugging at the matching power inside his mind.

The smaller Demons couldn't get a grip on the forcefield, but they stabbed their spear tips into the metal of the balcony railing and began to pry it open.

"We're coming for you and her," the large one said with a grin. "These Valkyries are delicious! Her companion was particularly sweet!"

"Fuck," Henry muttered and looked down at Revna, who he saw was about to get skewered by a spear if he didn't do something. He slammed another forcefield in place from the cement ceiling above to the floor he was standing on. This sheared off the tips of the spears poking through. Then he heard the sound of the cement being chipped away as the balconies above, below, and to the sides were swarmed by the bastards who were trying to dig their way through to him.

The largest one swooped in and gripped the balcony railing above to hang down. It peered through the forcefield at Henry with a wide grin. Slowly scraping the claws of its free hand across the protective bubble's surface, it evaluated its chances of getting through. It nodded with an impressed look, then locked eyes with Henry. "You've nowhere to go."

Henry was surprised to feel a tug on his will as the Demon tried to get him to drop the field, but he just looked away from the monster. He stuffed Revna's cell into his pocket, stretched out beside her body, and concentrated hard. He tore open a gate to Eden under Revna and himself, and down they went into soft red grasses. Henry saw the outraged surprise on the face of the large Demon as he released the tear. The echo of its frustrated roar snuffed out. Revna moaned as the landing jarred her injuries.

She needed immediate medical attention, so he opened another rift below them to drop them onto Sigrid's bed.

He misjudged their positions. He hit the edge of the mattress and bounced sideways to collide with Hilda knocking them both to the floor.

"HENRY!" Sigrid screamed.

He untangled himself from Hilda, who rushed to the bed to check on Revna.

Sigrid came around the bed and examined Henry.

"I'm okay," he said. "OWW!" he barked as Sigrid slapped his shoulder.

"What were you thinking? We heard the Demons, then you hung up on us! Why didn't you listen to me?" she yelled.

Henry took her face between his hands. "You can yell at me later. Revna needs medical attention."

"She's fading," Hilda said desperately. "You need to heal her!" she said, tearing a sheet to make a quick bandage for the slash on her leg. She was eyeing the deep wound on the Valkyrie's abdomen with worry.

Henry shook his head. "I doubt she'd survive the process as she's too badly hurt. We need a surgeon." He turned to Sigrid. "Call Eleanor King and ask her to come here through the magic doors. I'll see what I can do to stabilize Revna until she gets here but ask her to hurry."

Sigrid was dialing as Henry moved to Revna's side. He was examining his healing spell and knew it would finish her off if he ran it on her now. Instead, he'd just try to get her to try harder.

He leaned close and spoke into her ear. "Revna, you need to wake up. You need to tell us about the Demons."

Hilda watched him but looked sad when Revna didn't respond.

Henry got mad. "Hey! There's a Satyr here who wants to fuck you with his enormous dick."

Eyelids fluttered, and as she finally opened them, her eyes rolled once, then weakly peered up at Henry.

Hilda barked a surprised and relieved laugh. "That's what wakes you up?"

Something changed in Revna's eyes, and she closed them again. "I don't deserve... failed Kari...."

Henry saw where this was leading. "Shit. I didn't know Valkyries were such weak pussies," he said scornfully. He shot a look at Hilda when she began to protest, and she froze.

Revna's brow creased as she didn't like what she'd heard, so Henry continued.

"I guess Kari sacrificed herself for this poor excuse of a warrior for nothing," he said condescendingly. "That just shows how stupid she was too."

Revna's eyes opened wide, and she looked like she wanted to kill him, so he moved closer to bark in her face. "Are you going to give up like some weak little kitten when the Valkyries need you most, or will you give everything you have to get through this so you can avenge your friend!"

The injured woman gritted her teeth as she stared into Henry's eyes, seeing the challenge there. After a second or two, she nodded shakily. "You better... follow through with that promise."

Hilda's face split with a relieved smile.

"You'll walk funny for days," Henry promised, and Revna's eyes flared with hunger as Hilda burst into laughter.

Sigrid burst into the room with Eleanor behind her. Raymond entered as well. Sigrid smiled with relief when she saw Revna was awake.

Raymond stood against the wall to keep out of the way as Eleanor quickly moved to her patient to examine the wounds. She gave Henry a worried look. "We need to do this now! She also needs blood."

"I'm a match," Hilda said.

Eleanor looked at Henry. "Can the light be used as tubing for a blood transfusion?"

Henry nodded. "Whatever your will needs it to be, it will be."

"Let's set the transfusion up first," Eleanor insisted. She gestured for Hilda to stretch out on the bed next to Revna.

Henry closed his eyes and reached for the Fae's healing spell. The Wild Magic circling the globe in the sky above was drawn down to him, tugging the healing magic with it. Sigrid's bedroom was filling with green light. The spell was still the old realm healing magic in its core but was powered by Wild Magic and was much stronger for it.

Once, Henry's only link to the globe-spanning magic was the curse applied to the Dragon bone ring he wore. That item went into the lava on Eden with the rest of Mab's body after he killed her.

Now his link to the global healing spell was the intense flow of Wild Magic circling the world above the clouds.

When Henry had assisted Eleanor with healing Kali, he discovered that he could still reach the Global Healing Spell and pull it to himself without fear of a second Skyfall event since it was no longer overloaded. His link to it was the Wild Magic. Now, he was the oversaturated source, and the magic above was drawn to him.

Eleanor was smiling excitedly at Henry as she waited for him to give her control over that powerful magic. He put his hand on her shoulder, and she sighed as the potential flooded into her being. Raymond chuckled quietly at his wife's enthusiasm.

She nodded and got to work.

Henry watched her lovely hands moving with precision and skill as she fought to keep Revna alive. For his part, he kept the flow of healing magic flowing through his hand into Eleanor for her to work her miracles with.

"I love working with light!" she said quietly as she confirmed Hilda's blood was flowing into her patient.

She immediately turned to the injury in Revna's abdomen. Henry placed his other hand on Revna's shoulder and gauged her strength. She was weakening, so he rerouted her pain/pleasure signals and watched her eyes open wide as a surge of endorphins flooded through her.

"Thought you could use a little relief from the pain," Henry said to her quietly.

"This doesn't replace the promise you made me," she said back.

Henry snorted, then watched Revna's eyes rolling back. He saw Eleanor was working her light scalpel deep in the wound, so he let the pain return to bring Revna back from the bliss.

She stared at Henry with a snarl on her lips.

"What? You telling me a Valkyrie can't handle a little pain? I came back from breaking every bone in my body, and I'm no Valkyrie," Henry scolded her gently.

Revna ground her teeth, then grinned at him. "You'd better be an incredible fuck."

Henry glanced at Sigrid wearily, and Revna's eyes followed.

Sigrid grinned at her and nodded enthusiastically, almost causing Revna to laugh.

"STOP MOVING!" Eleanor snapped.

Revna closed her eyes with a smile and did her best to ride out the pain and pleasure pendulum Henry was putting her through.

He was pleased she no longer seemed on the brink of slipping away. He could tell she was no longer conscious, but her strength seemed to be coming back.

Eleanor was ready to seal up her belly wound. "Leave the scars," Henry said.

The surgeon frowned at him. "With these tools, I can put her back to a pristine state!"

"A Valkyrie's story is written in the scars of her experience, good and bad. Revna has an epic to tell with this one, so we shouldn't erase it," Henry explained quietly. Eleanor looked into Henry's eyes, and he could see her comprehension push back her desire to complete the healing. She turned around and sealed the outer layer, leaving an angry-looking scar from the violent, jagged puncture on her abdomen.

Henry glanced over Revna into Hilda's eyes and saw surprise and what might even be respect in her gaze. She nodded to him, and he returned the gesture.

Eleanor leaned back with a sigh. "I need to turn her over to work on her leg."

Henry concentrated on the blood transfusion tubing and took over maintaining it with his will. He then pulled his hand back from Eleanor's shoulder, and she caught herself leaning toward him, unwilling to lose that sensation of power. She smiled at him self-consciously.

"Raymond, Sigrid, could you assist, please?" Henry asked.

He used his full Satyr strength, and the three gently rolled Revna over onto her chest while keeping her on the mattress. The light tubing stretched without issue, keeping the blood flowing. Sigrid and Raymond stood back again.

"Oh! How am I keeping that going if I'm not linked to the magic?" Eleanor asked in surprise.

Henry smiled. "You're not. I took over before I let go of you. I couldn't make it, but I can keep your creation going."

"Ah! Good. I'll work on her leg now," she said and looked at him eagerly. He smiled and touched her shoulder to channel the magic into her. Her grin came back twice as wide this time. She got to work.

Henry looked at the blood stains on the mattress and winced as he turned to Sigrid. "Sorry about your bed."

She shook her head with a slight smile. "Don't worry. The mattress is protected. The sheets are a write-off, though." Henry nodded then Sigrid's expression became serious. "What did you see when you got there?"

Henry glanced at Revna and confirmed she was hanging on. "She was on a balcony floor in an apartment complex, under some blankets. The air between the building and the one across the street was filled with flying Demons. Mostly smaller ones, but one was huge. Bigger than the one in London. It was loaded with dark energy. If it were killed, the blast might have leveled the surrounding buildings. I protected us with forcefields, but they were digging through the concrete all around us. The big one tried to push at my mind to make me drop the fields. That was a first. I've never faced off against a Demon with psychic powers! It was seriously pissed when I escaped through a tear to Eden."

He glanced at Hilda, who was getting a little droopy-eyed. "I think both patients will need to rest tonight."

"Things to do...." Hilda muttered, but she had little strength in her voice.

"I think our blood source has given enough," Henry suggested, watching Eleanor close the leg wound, leaving the scar in place.

The surgeon nodded and removed the transfusion device from their arms. She also sealed the punctures with the light tools. She looked at Henry and nodded. She was done.

Henry pulled his hand back from her shoulder. "If only we could use this in all operating rooms," she said wistfully.

"Thank you for saving Revna," Sigrid said to the surgeon.

The woman nodded with a smile, then looked at Henry. "We should head home."

"Have you two eaten yet?" he asked, holding out a wrist. They glanced at each other and smiled crookedly.

"That never ceases to feel strange, but we certainly appreciate it. Thank you!" Raymond said as he moved closer.

He took a few sips, and Eleanor did as well.

Both wobbled on their feet afterward.

The surgeon did her best to focus on Henry's face. "H-Has your magic gotten stronger?"

He looked at them in concern. "Are you two okay?"

"Tipsy. Really tipsy," Raymond confessed as he ran his fingers through his hair, blinking the fog from his eyes. Eleanor was also blinking slowly as if dazed.

"I'll make sure they get home," Sigrid said, taking their hands to lead them out.

When Henry was alone with Revna and Hilda, he touched Revna's shoulder and felt the strength of her presence. He was sure she would be fine with a day or two of rest.

He moved to Hilda's side, and her eyes opened.

"I've been unreasonably critical of you," she said.

Henry nodded. "That's true."

"Sigrid told me that I don't deserve you," she confessed.

Henry nodded. "That's also true."

Hilda's face fell then she firmed up her expression and nodded. "I understand that. But... the others. Valkyries are the best weapons against Demons. Please, find a way to link them to the Wild Magic as soon as possible. I understand if you won't with me but the others."

Henry sighed. He knew she was right, but the idea of having sex with these muscle-bound bullies was so unappealing. "How did asking that make you feel?"

Hilda frowned and tried to guess where this was going. "It... was unpleasant and uncomfortable. Difficult."

He nodded as he considered her words. "It made you deeply uncomfortable?"

"Yes—ah," the lights came on behind her eyes as she figured it out.

"Yes. I'll feel the same way if I have to be intimate with people who treat me as you did. Except I'm expected to do it how many times?" he asked.

Hilda watched his expression. "Twenty... six times?" She was struggling with the simple math in her exhaustion.

Henry flashed back to Christmas when the Valkyries descended upon Meixiu's mansion to celebrate the birth of a new Valkyrie. He pictured the faces of the warriors who gathered there and recalled their expressions as they looked at him. Some were friendly enough, but many shared Hilda's superior attitude since her arrival. They'd looked at him with amusement, distrust, and disgust in the more extreme cases. Having sex with the latter group was not possible for them and him.

He returned to the moment and saw the despair on Hilda's face. He sighed.

"I'm going to try. I promised Sigrid, but for some, it's just not going to happen. Not from me, at least," he said.

Hilda struggled to clear her expression. "If not you, who?"

Henry paused to consider that idea. It would have to be someone already linked to the new realm. Someone supercharged with Wild Magic who could pass that charge to their partner during sex.

He blinked as he thought of Roy. His glamor had no extra properties, so it wouldn't prevent the transfer of the magic as his could. Henry would still have to supercharge Roy before he was with each partner, but theoretically, it might work.

He needed to speak to Roy.

Hilda must have caught something in his expression as hope was in her eyes again. Henry held up his hands. "Give me some time to confirm it's possible."

She reached out a hand, and he took it in his. "Thank you. I'm sorry I've been so hard on you," she said.

Henry nodded. "Get some rest. It's been one hell of a night, and we can talk in the morning."

Hilda watched him for a moment longer, then closed her eyes.

Henry checked on Revna again, then eased himself out of the bedroom. Sigrid hadn't returned yet, so he went to the kitchen and raided her fridge. He was so fucking hungry!

As he carried the ingredients for a sandwich to the counter, he heard her walking into the room behind him.

"Are they okay?" she asked as she pushed him aside to make the food for him.

"They're good," he said, then frowned. "You know, I'm not completely helpless. I can make a sandwich," he complained quietly.

She snorted softly. "I know, but I want to do it."

He sagged back against the counter as he watched her. "Your mom apologized to me." Sigrid glanced at him with a raised eyebrow, so he continued. "She told me what you said about her not deserving me."

"Ah."

Henry smiled. "I told her I agreed with you. She wasn't happy but pleaded for me to help the others." Henry paused with a small smile. "I think I finally got through to her about how that would feel for me."

"I'm glad," Sigrid said, but she looked troubled.

"I'll do it... for some, but your mother asked me a question which made me think of a possible alternative."

Sigrid gave him a curious look, then handed him the sandwich. He immediately took a big bite and sighed with delight as he chewed. "So good!"

She waited patiently as he powered through the sandwich and licked his fingers afterward.

Then Henry washed his hands in the sink as he glanced over at her.

"If this is too personal, just tell me, but I got the impression that you and Roy might have... history," Henry said gently.

Sigrid's eyes widened, and she nodded as a small smile appeared on her lips.

"Valkyries need a strong mate. Roy was... suitable?" Henry asked as his face heated up.

Sigrid was openly grinning at him now. "This is really making you uncomfortable, isn't it! That's so sweet!"

Henry rolled his eyes and gave her an exasperated expression. "Yes! Talking about Roy's sex life feels like asking about my dad's frisky business. It feels really awkward!"

Sigrid pulled him into a hug and kissed his cheek. Then she gave in and answered what he was waiting for. "Yes, we tried a relationship, and yes, Roy was able to be with a Valkyrie—"

Her eyes widened. "You want Roy to boost the Valkyrie? He doesn't have an overabundance of Wild Magic—"

"I could supercharge him before he's with each Valkyrie," Henry suggested. "I still need to ask him if he'd even be willing to do it. I wanted to confirm with you that he could... you know, be with a Valkyrie. We'd need to do a test if he's... okay with it. Hilda might be a willing test subject."

Sigrid burst into laughter. She hugged Henry tight as she released the joyful sound.

"You are wonderful, Henry!" she grinned. Then she looked at him sweetly. "Could you stay with me tonight?"

He smiled and kissed her. "Yes, but I'll have to go home early tomorrow to get dressed. You only gave me half a day to work!"

She grinned and pushed him toward the stairs up to the guest bedroom. Since her bed was occupied, they'd get Hilda's room.

Henry sent a quick text to Tish, letting her know he'd be at Sigrid's and tell her in the morning about the Demons ambushing the Valkyries when he came home to get changed.

She sent him a cute GIF of a kitten pouting, and he grinned as he put his cell away. She'd just have to wait for the details.

He had a Valkyrie to put at ease tonight.

He knew Sigrid was still a little unnerved by his leaping before looking. He was glad he did in this case, but he acknowledged it could have gone completely wrong.

Perhaps they would be reassuring each other tonight.

They stopped to check on the sleeping babies, and Henry was stunned to see how much they'd grown in such a short time. He understood Valkyrie children had to get through the dependant stage faster than other children but seeing it was something else.

Once they'd kissed their children's foreheads, Sigrid took Henry's hand and pulled him into the guest room. He felt the urgency in her touch and knew what she needed to bring her a tranquil spirit again.

He only hoped the bed would survive their efforts.

Chapter 19

Gordon tried his best not to fidget while waiting for his date in the Capitol Grille restaurant just off the Mall in Washington, DC. When Alice Shaw called him, she told him she'd come to Washington to meet him, but he was springing for dinner, and she expected something nice.

He smiled as he recalled her cheeky giggle on the phone when she'd insisted. That accent tickled his ears as well.

She was fifteen minutes late, and he was beginning to wonder if he'd been stood up when he spotted Sergeant Tennison entering the restaurant looking for him. His smile dropped away as he got to his feet. When Mick spotted him, she waved, then pointed him out for the gorgeous platinum blonde at her side.

Gordon was confused but saw the grin on Mick's lips as she turned to leave the restaurant. He'd have words with her later as he'd specifically not included the squad in his plans tonight.

Then his eyes locked with Alice's from across the room, and he felt... something. A tug, gravity, or a mild earthquake. Maybe it was just a subway train passing by under the restaurant, but he felt it and couldn't look away from the beauty walking up to his table.

"Gordon?" she asked with a coy smile.

"Yes. Alice?"

She nodded, and he finally managed to look away to pull her chair out for her. She sat, and he took his own chair. He was conscious of what Henry said about sensing magic and wondered if Alice was using some spell to draw his eyes to her. He opened his senses to magic but felt nothing. As he was a novice, that didn't really mean anything.

"Are you going to say something or just look at me all night?" she asked.

Gordon's face warmed up. "My apologies. I'm a little rusty with socializing, and you are... truly lovely."

It was Alice's turn to blush, and her smile was delighted. "You're doing quite well so far."

He settled himself more comfortably in his chair as the waiter appeared and handed them some menus.

When they were alone again, he felt the urge to further explain his behavior when she'd arrived. "I wasn't expecting to see any of my team tonight."

"Ah! The delightful Silver Soldiers!" Alice said with a grin. "They are quite an energetic group! They met me at the National Gallery of Art, where I landed from my flight. When I explained who I was and who I was meeting, your Sergeant was quite pleased to escort me to the restaurant."

Gordon stared at Alice. "Landed from your flight... you flew?"

Alice's smile was wide and joyful. "Yes! It was wonderful to be able to fly freely in the skies at long last!"

He gaped. "There are still nutjobs with guns out there! Not to mention planes with flightpaths!"

She chuckled. "Dragons are tougher than you think. Bullets aren't going to do anything to our scales, and even one of those rocket thingies won't leave more than a bruise. As for aircraft, you haven't flown yet, have you?"

Gordon shifted uncomfortably as it felt awkwardly like they were discussing his virginity. He took a deep breath and released it. "No, I haven't tried flying yet."

"When you do, you will immediately understand. We feel it when machines share the skies around us. Not insects, birds, or even other Dragons, but planes, helicopters, or any gizmos the Humans invented, disturb the air in very detectable ways. Drones are particularly annoying, but like all mechanical devices, avoiding them is not difficult," she explained.

They ordered their meals as the waiter returned, and Alice suggested they skip the wine if they intended to do a little flight after dinner. Gordon hadn't thought of that but immediately liked the idea of flying with her. Having someone along who understood the process and could give advice was a little comforting.

"So, have you determined what your collection compulsion is?" Alice teased.

He shook his head and smiled. "I'm a little nervous about that. Henry mentioned it was something he learned about Dragons when one wanted to collect him."

Alice froze. "That was a mistake. I wasn't myself that night—"

Gordon raised an eyebrow. "He was speaking of another Dragon, I believe."

Alice looked embarrassed. "Ah. Well, yes. Full disclosure. The night I met young Henry, I was in a terrible state. I'd been forced out of my home where I'd protected my treasures, and I was not in the right frame of mind. In a compulsively irrational moment, I attempted to collect Henry and a lovely Naiad, the first and only beings I have ever tried to collect. He was more than merciful when he escaped and punished me for trying. He even assisted me with recapturing my collection so I could move it to my new home. I'm so grateful to him!"

Gordon smiled faintly as he thought of how Henry had helped him, leading him to this very moment. "He's the reason for our meeting. He's the one who made me... this, and then he told me he couldn't tell me anything about what to expect."

Alice tilted her head as she looked at him with a smile. "Well, it wasn't so long ago that we had to remain hidden from Humanity. Information about us was obscured with tales of fancy to ensure no one believed we might be a reality." Gordon nodded, so she continued. "Those of us with the ability to fly could only do so under very poor conditions to ensure we weren't seen. It is such a relief that time is over."

Gordon nodded again then his expression became slightly pained. "Henry also let slip that my life expectancy may have significantly lengthened."

Alice held his eyes. "This is true for Dragons and many other Hidden Races. While Humans had shorter lives and higher birthrates, we have longer lives but far fewer offspring. We balance with nature while Humans did not."

He nodded as that made sense. "It will be one of those difficult adjustments we will all have to make as more of the post-Human population changes into their final forms. How we relate to each other based on our lifespans will be another hurdle."

She smiled gently. "Everyone will be gifted with more time. Just fewer children."

Gordon paused to think about that and nodded as it seemed a fair trade, to him at least.

"Do you know what kind of Dragon you are?" Alice asked him.

"Kind? No. Not a clue. I wasn't even aware there were kinds. I'm big with bluish scales, I think," he said.

"Blue?" Alice said in surprise. "I've never heard of that coloration."

Their dinners arrived, and they turned their attention to their meals. "Do you ever eat in your other form? If so, what?" Gordon asked.

She smiled as she swallowed a piece of her steak. "It's rare that we would as it draws too much attention. There are also much fewer deer than there used to be. Sheep and cattle were an option a very long time ago, but that had to stop as it drew the ire of Humans. It's just easier to eat in this form."

They ate their meals as Gordon's mind spun with questions. "Where would be a good place to do this? I'd rather not expose my new state to the general populace at this time. Maybe when I have more skill at it."

"We'd need a lot of open space for switching and for you to practice flying," she suggested.

Gordon frowned. "Hang on a minute. I have an idea."

He pulled his cell out and dialed.

"General?" Mick answered.

"Sergeant, I need a spot with open space and privacy to practice... being a Dragon. Preferably with clear airspace," he asked.

"I have just the spot for you," she answered with a smile in her voice.

"Thanks. I'll contact you when we're done here," Crane said.

"Yes, sir," came the reply.

Gordon smiled at Alice. "Dessert?"

She shook her head slightly as she gave him an assessing look. "These... Silver Soldiers, they belong to the Army—"

"They're mine!" Gordon asserted boldly, then froze. Confused by his behavior, he looked at the satisfied smile on Alice's face.

"I think we're getting hints of your collection compulsion," she said gently.

Gordon leaned back. "I'm not going to enslave them!"

Alice raised her palms to calm him. "No. It's like what I recently told Henry. He also has a collection. Friends. He takes good care of them. He said they're always there when he needs them."

Gordon immediately felt better as he considered his feelings toward his team. They were important to him, and he did feel responsible for them. He knew he had to protect them from the avaricious elements amongst the military and government leaders. He wouldn't allow them to become pawns in someone's power play within the ranks of either establishment. He was already doing this.

He took a deep breath to settle his nerves and nodded to the lovely blonde smiling at him across the table.

"Check, please!"

-=-

General Crane looked around the grounds of West Potomac Park. It was a wide expanse of grass that his soldiers kept empty of civilians by setting up a perimeter around the vast space. While it was very dark, he could make out the gleam of nearby lights reflecting off the skin of the Silver Soldiers. He frowned as he did a quick head count of the silver beings. Something was... off. There were too many to be just his team.

"Sergeant," he called out, and Mick rushed up to him from her position at the west side of the field. Two others filled in the space she once patrolled.

"Yes, sir?" she asked with a smile.

He glanced once more at the increasing number of silver patrollers around the park's circumference. "What's going on? Where are these other Silver People coming from?"

Mick's grin widened. "It's our families, sir. We let them know we needed assistance keeping this field clear for a bit. They were glad to help."

Gordon gaped as the number of reflective people around them kept increasing. So many!

"Families..." he muttered. Of course, they saved their families! Why hadn't he thought of that? He felt terrible for not asking.

"You have an amazing collection of friends, Gordon," Alice said with a cheeky smile.

He felt the strangest sensation of satisfaction surge through him as he gazed out over the largest gathering of Silver People he'd seen to date. He felt a sudden warmth bloom in his chest.

"Sir?"

This pulled his attention back to Mick, who was staring at him in surprise. "Yes, Mick?"

"You... you're giving off energy! Like Henry but not as intense," she said in wonder.

Gordon looked at the sergeant in surprise. "But I'm not even in my Dragon form!"

Mick gave a quick chuckle as she grinned at him. "Magic is crazy shit, sir!"

He shook his head with an exasperated expression. "Okay, you'd better step back. Henry said I need room to change." He paused. "Sergeant." She looked at him nervously, so he continued. "I'm ashamed to say I didn't think of your families during this time of crisis. I-I don't know where my head was—"

"Sir! You had so much on your plate, trying to keep all this together!" She gestured to the city and world around them. We don't expect you to deal with everything! We took steps to protect them some time ago. We, uh, assumed you'd be cool with it. I'm glad we were right. Sorry for keeping it a secret," Mick gushed in relief.

Alice smiled at them, then moved back, guiding Mick to a safe distance though she was in no danger herself. She was tingling with excitement to finally see what kind of Dragon he was.

Nodding to her, Gordon looked internally, recalled the sensation of being a Dragon, and pushed with his will.

Reality warped, and his feet gently thumped to the ground as he came out the other side of the spell.

Opening his eyes, he was stunned by how clear and sharp everything was at night. The darkness made no difference at all! He could see the Silver People gleam as they rushed back and forth, keeping the curious at bay. With the lack of visible light, other people showed in various colors as their untriggered states were a blend of reds, blues, and yellow. Fascinating!

He turned his head and stopped as he caught sight of Alice. She was glowing as a white mist around her Human body, tall and sinuous with broad wings. Mick was gleaming next to her. He realized what he was seeing! Looking at the trees in the distance, he could also see their glow of life.

"Oh my god! I'm seeing auras!" Gordon muttered.

"You're beautiful!" Alice gasped.

He blinked in surprise at her exclamation and focused on Alice. The aura vision faded to the visible light spectrum, but his Dragon vision was still superior to the Human sense. She was gazing at him in wonder.

"I-I have no frame of reference for Dragons. I'm sorry," he said awkwardly. His voice in this form was deep and a little boomy, so he did his best to speak softly.

Alice took a step away from the Sergeant then light twisted around her. Suddenly, a White Dragon was standing where the woman once was. Lovely, pale blue eyes watched him as he drank in her curves, the reach of her wings, the sheen of her white scales and claws.

"I take it back. I know what beauty means for Dragons," he said in awe. Something was moving in his chest, and he felt an almost magnetic pull. He could see in her eyes that she felt the same way about him.

"You have a tongue as silver as your friends," she chuckled, but she didn't stop admiring him as well.

"Smooth, sir," Mick said with a grin, pulling him back from his fantasies.

Then he felt a buzzing on his hip. He glanced at the spot with a puzzled expression, but nothing was there.

"What's wrong?" Alice asked.

"My hip is buzzing."

She grinned. "Your cell phone in your pocket?"

His huge hand touched the spot, but the buzzing continued.

"You'll need to change back," she said with a smile.

He gave her an embarrassed look, then willed himself back into his Human form. Sure enough, his cell was buzzing. He glanced up at the twenty-foot-tall White Dragon. "You need to show me how that works." She nodded.

"General Crane," he answered.

"Thank god! This is Colonel Bartlett. I'm assigned to the Pentagon's Special Project Division. General, we have a crisis on our hands," the man said rapidly.

"Special Project Division? I'm not familiar with this branch," Crane said cautiously.

"Yes, I'm probably going to be demoted to Private for this breach of security protocols, but that doesn't matter right now. One of my teams was in the field attempting to neutralize a Gamma Class A.C.E., Alien Cloud Entity. I understand you referred to them as pseudo-clouds. This term is no longer in use as it's inaccurate. This one gathered mass with unprecedented speed over the US prairies. I sent a team out with our latest radar-guided missiles to knock it out of the sky. The A.C.E. behaved differently from any others we've seen. It seemed to understand the threat of the launcher, took out the missiles with some carefully aimed bolts of lightning, then chased after the team. Four Silver People showed up and managed to get most of the unit to safety, but I lost the crew of the vehicle carrying the missiles."

"I'm sorry for the loss of your team. What's the situation with the Cloud Entity now?" Gordon asked.

"That's what the crisis is. It seems to have set a course for the East Coast. If it maintains its current vector, it will end up over New York City. The damage it could do there is incalculable!" the Colonel responded.

"Shit! I have to ask, what made you think to contact me outside your chain of command?" Crane said.

"Your team was the first to be assigned the mission of dealing with the A.C.E. I understand this responsibility was removed from your team when they all became Silver People, but your team has more experience with this than anyone. We're all out of ideas on this," Bartlett admitted.

Crane signed. "Okay. Send me the tracking details of the A.C.E., and we'll do an assessment and get back to you!"

"Thank you, General! Sending the data now." The line went dead.

Alice switched back to her Human form and pouted at the apologetic look on Crane's face.

"I'm so sorry to cut our da—get together short, but duty calls." His face warmed up as he'd almost called it a date. She gave him a sly smile indicating she hadn't missed his slip.

His cell beeped, and he immediately sent the data pack to Mick.

"Sergeant, find out where this threat currently is and where it will be when we get to New York," he said.

"Yes, sir," she said and rushed away.

They were alone at last, and Gordon smiled awkwardly at Alice. "I-I'd really like to see you again. I enjoyed our evening. And I still have so much to learn."

She flashed him a happy smile. "I had a good time, too. You have my number," she replied.

The Sergeant was suddenly back, and Specialist Rewan was beside her with a tablet PC in his hands. He turned the screen to face the General. It showed the path and current position of the A.C.E., but it was much further along than Gordon expected.

"Sir, this entity is moving faster than any we've recorded. We'll be able to get to it before it reaches New York, but you won't, even if you leave now for the airport. There isn't much we can do to the cloud from the ground, and there just aren't enough of us to protect everyone it flies above in New York City."

"Fly."

Gordon looked at Alice, and she smiled at him. "This is the perfect opportunity to see just how fast you can fly!"

"I-I couldn't keep up with the squad!" Gordon exclaimed.

"I live roughly two hundred kilometers away. It took me twenty minutes to fly here. I'm not even powered by the same magic as you. Henry said yours was supercharged. You don't know how fast you can fly."

"How do you flap your wings that fast?" he gasped, and she burst into giggles.

"We don't use our wings for propulsion! They just assist in maneuvering! We're so big and heavy. Only magic makes it possible for us to fly!" she explained.

She stepped back once more, and suddenly she was a Dragon. She spread her wings and left the ground without a single flap.

"We do flap our wings as it's much like swimming in water. We can direct our body with much more agility using our wings." She demonstrated by scooping air in her wings as she shot upwards and curved in a sinuous figure eight before settling down gently next to them.

She suddenly spat upwards to their right. They heard a crash sound followed by a metallic squeal as a drone fell from the sky to crash onto the field.

"No one likes a peeping tom," she huffed.

Yablonski rushed over with the drone in his hands. "It says property of TMZ on this label," the corporal noted as he popped the memory card from it.

"Find the TMZ truck in the vicinity and return the drone to them, Corporal," Gordon sighed.

"Yes, sir!" And he was gone in a flash.

Crane ensured it was safe to do so and switched back to Dragon. He noted he was about four feet taller than Alice, but once more, he was struck by her beauty. "What kind of Dragon are you?"

She nodded to him. "White Dragons are Ice Dragons. We can spit ice and blast nearby targets with icy breath to freeze them."

"Ah! Okay. What kind of Dragon am I?" he asked.

Her eyes widened, as did her smile. "I have no idea! You're coloring is unique, and I've never seen it before." She shook her head. "We can talk about this later. You need to fly! Open your wings and use your will to command yourself off the ground. Slowly at first."

Gordon spread his wings and sent the command to rise. Nothing happened, then he remembered that Henry said he had to invite Wild Magic, not command it. He relaxed and reached out to the magic to ask it to help him fly. He immediately lifted off the ground and beat his wings to stabilize himself. That just sent him higher.

"Easy, easy. You have it. Relax." Alice called out to him as she paced him.

He stopped beating his wings and found he could hover as long as his wings were out.

"Good. Now, feel the air around you on your scales. You can sense other things in the air with you. Not living things but things that don't belong," Alice coaxed.

Gordon let himself relax and did as he was told. He suddenly felt a slow crawl across his back and arched his long neck to look behind himself. In the distance, he spotted a plane taking off from Reagan International Airport. His shoulder tingled with a flutter, and he looked above to see a helicopter passing by. More sensations passed over his body, and every time he looked for the cause, it was some form of aircraft. The skies over the city were surprisingly full.

He looked at Alice, and she was smiling widely at him. He was surprised to note that seeing all those sharp teeth did not in the slightest diminish her beauty, in his opinion.

"You're a fast learner. Now, to fly out of this city without getting in anyone's way, you'll need to follow me to learn the best path. Once we're outside the city, listen to your body to avoid colliding with things that shouldn't share the skies with us," she insisted.

He locked eyes with her. "Not everyone knows how to fly. I wouldn't deny them the opportunity to join us in the skies even if they're sealed inside planes."

Alice huffed. "The skies once belonged to Dragons. Now that we are able to fly in them openly again, the urge to claim them is strong."

"Fight that urge. Dragons aren't the only ones sharing this world. Nor are we the apex predator. There's always a bigger fish," Gordon said firmly, and she stared at him in surprise.

He sighed. "There is no need to rule the skies as long as we get to be in them. Coexist is the new mantra. There are a lot of new races to accommodate. We need to work together."

Concentrating, he floated downward and settled back to the ground next to Mick. "Where are we going?" he asked.

Specialist Rewan showed him the map on the tablet, and he memorized it.

"Keep an eye on us until Alice guides us out of the city. Then we'll try to follow you. I'll yell if I start falling back. I think you'll hear me." The Sergeant chuckled as his voice was so powerful as a Dragon.

"Yes, sir!"

She spoke into her microphone, and all the Silver People rushed closer and suddenly gathered around him. He felt that tug in his chest he'd felt in the restaurant when he'd spoken to Alice about the Silver People. They were his. He would protect them.

"Thank you for your assistance with this," he said as she looked at them with a smile.

"We can feel you radiating Wild Magic, sir! Not like Henry, but still pretty good!" Yablonski called out.

Gordon shared a look with Mick, then rose back into the sky with a few flaps to turn him to face where they needed to go.

"Are you ready?" Alice asked, and he nodded. She turned and glanced over her shoulder. "Follow me."

She shot forward, and he reacted quickly to keep her in sight. She was flying pretty low but wasn't in danger of hitting any buildings. He spared a quick glanced down and spotted his silver brigade following along.

It wasn't long before they were outside the city boundaries. Alice slowed and flew beside him.

"Now I'll follow you. If you go faster than I can fly, I'll drop back and go home," she said.

Gordon shook his large head. "I still don't know of I can keep up with them. I'll try. See if you can keep inside my slipstream."

"Are you enjoying it?" she asked.

His jaws opened as he grinned at her. "It's amazing!"

"Oh! They're off!" Alice said, glancing down to see the Silver People race away.

As it was so dark without the streetlights reflecting off the silver skin, Gordon activated his aura vision, making them appear as a silver glow. This could be seen from a distance. Then he poured on the speed, reaching for the magic to power his acceleration. It came to his call, and he found himself beginning to catch up.

Something crashed into his shoulder and exploded in a cloud of feathers. He activated his shield, then extended it back to encompass Alice as well. She'd probably flown straight through that cloud of bird debris.

The Silver Soldiers accelerated again. He pushed himself to go faster, and the air outside his shield began to show flickering vapor cones as the tip of his protection created a shock wave. He was feeling the strain of keeping up, so it was an immense relief to see his squad pull off the paved two-lane road to gather in a field with the other silver people. Gordon settled down with his wings spread wide to slow his weary descent.

When his feet touched the ground, he slumped as the drain on his magic caught up to him.

He switched back to his Human form and dropped onto his ass as Mick and Yablonski were instantly there to brace him.

"Are you mad!" Alice scolded him as she switched to her Human form and knelt before him.

He blinked at her, letting his vision swing back to the visible light spectrum.

"You're first time flying, and you go faster than any Dragon has ever flown while tugging me along behind you in some kind of bubble? How will you help anyone if you kill yourself getting here!" Alice continued.

The soldiers glanced at each other in worry.

"I'm not dying, dammit. I just overdid the speed a little. The magic was there. I didn't realize how drained I was until I stopped." He looked up into Alice's eyes. "I also didn't realize I was dragging you. I just put the shield around me after crashing into a bird. I extended it around you, just in case. I'm sorry I worried you."

She gave him an exasperated look. "If you weren't so bloody cute, I would be very cross with you!"

Mick suppressed her laughter and quickly looked away. Yablonski just grinned at him stupidly.

Gordon struggled to get to his feet, and the ground remained stable under him. He was very tired but could feel the Wild Magic seeping back into his body from the rift inside him. This was the first time he'd spent any time examining his link to magic. He'd been trying to ignore it as to admit it would be admitting he'd changed in irrevocable ways.

He saw now that he was just being willfully blind.

Henry started him off with the shield spell, and he saw that as a military advantage, so he'd accepted it. He'd examined it and learned how to make his own.

Tonight was only the second time he'd allowed himself to switch to his new form. He glanced at Alice. "I'm sorry. Magic is new to me, and I've been... resistant to try it. I'm still coming to terms with my recent change."

"Apology accepted," she said with a little smile, then turned to the Sergeant. "Where are we exactly?"

"We're in the direct path of the A.C.E which will be appearing over that ridgeline in approximately ten minutes if its course and speed hold true," Mick said, gesturing to the hillside to their southwest.

Gordon cast his eyes over the large group of silver people and suddenly realized how much of a target they were clustered together like this. They needed to spread out.

"Sergeant, get our people separated by at least twenty feet and set up a watch along the ridgeline. We're here to observe the cloud and determine why it is behaving abnormally. We don't have the means to take it down, but it could do serious harm to us. I don't want any casualties tonight! You're fast, but you can't outrun lightning!" he asserted firmly.

"Yes, General! I'll pass the word. May I recommend the Squad remain linked to increase our perception speed exponentially to gather more intel rapidly?" Mick asked.

He considered that and approved. "Fine, but you disengage before the cloud gets in range to release a bolt.

"Are there any habitations or communities nearby?" Gordon asked.

Specialist Rewan showed him a map on the tablet. "To our northeast, about a mile away, is a small collection of homes around a gas station and a general store. The village of Willowby. Population of sixty-three, according to the last census. They're slightly north of the A.C.E.'s current trajectory."

Crane's expression was grim. He looked around for something his people could use as weapons and spotted along rock wall running along the roadway a short distance away. Potential projectiles, but he didn't know if they'd have any effect against a cloud or if the Silver People could throw them hard enough to reach the A.C.E. "Okay. If the cloud senses it's being attacked, it'll unleash its lightning. It also turns away from attacks, so if we must intervene, an assault on its north side flank might turn it south." He looked to Rewan. "Any populations to the south?"

The Specialist shook his head. "Nothing closer than ten miles."

Gordon nodded. He looked at Mick. "How high can you throw one of those rocks?"

Comprehension appeared on the Sergeant's face. "Ah! Pretty high. If the cloud is low enough, we could probably poke it in the side."

Gordon nodded. "I'm not expecting you to cause any damage, but if it can feel something, we may be able to redirect it."

Mick raced away and returned with a softball-sized rock, though it was more potato-shaped. She frowned at it, then held it in her palm as she chopped it with her other, faster than Crane's eyes could track. It seemed like a light tap but the rock split. "This size is easier to throw," she said to him.

She pointed to the tallest tree branch on top of the next ridge. "That's a fair distance. Let's see if I can hit it."

She moved a few steps away and wound up like a baseball pitcher before she launched the stone missile, again, faster than Gordon could see. Moments later, the top branch seemed to hop upwards before dropping into the foliage below.

"Geezus! You got a career in baseball, Sergeant!" Yablonski crowed.

Soon every Silver Soldier and Citizen was collecting throwable rocks. Gordon watched this with concern. "Sergeant, make sure the non-military people understand they need to follow your orders. If the cloud doesn't respond or responds counter to expectations, we may need to change our strategy fast."

Mick nodded to him and rushed down the hill to speak to the others. They all huddled together, touching, and seconds later, they dispersed to rush off to the ridgelines to the north.

The Sergeant returned. "They will wait for your command and know to avoid clustering."

Gordon nodded, then found a spot to sit on a fallen log. He could feel his energy coming back, but he was still weary. He had a few minutes to think, so that's what he'd do.

"Colonel Bartlett described the A.C.E. as having intelligence. All others have been driven by instinct. That's a distinct difference. We need to determine if we are dealing with a new form of A.C.E. or what might be causing this behavior change," he said to the Sergeant.

"We could fly up to observe it from all sides," Alice suggested.

Gordon looked at her. "That's my intent, for me. You're a civilian—" The moment the words left his lips, he knew he'd lost the battle.

"And these Silver People are all conscripted into your little army?" she snapped.

He held up his palms in surrender. "Sorry. You're right, but I'd like you to hold back. They move considerably faster than we can, and we don't know what we're facing."

"Which is exactly why you need another set of eyes in the sky. Don't argue when you know you've lost the point," she huffed.

He stared at her. "Fine, but when I say retreat, you retreat!"

She nodded to him, and that was the best he would get from her.

Gordon closed his eyes and concentrated on his rift. He couldn't get the energy to flow any faster, so he just absorbed it as he rested.

Roughly seven minutes later, the Sergeant touched his shoulder. "General, we have visual confirmation of the A.C.E. on the horizon. It's moving faster than I've seen them fly, and it seems larger than most. Darker too.

Crane looked at Alice. "We're up."

He gestured for everyone to give them space, then he changed. It felt good to be in his natural form, and he snapped his wings open to their full span, knocking Yablonski off the hillside. He turned his neck to face the soldier, who was slowly climbing back to his feet. "What the hell, Corporal?" he snapped, and the grasses on the hillside leaned away from his bellow.

"Sorry, sir! You're just giving off this warm buzz, and I thought I'd get closer," Yablonski said.

"How did you survive childhood with so little sense in that head of yours?" Gordon scolded.

"It was touch and go, sir," the corporal admitted.

The General huffed. "That much I can believe." He looked at the Sergeant, and she grabbed Yablonski's hand to pull him over to the rest of the squad, who quickly joined hands and turned their faces to the approaching target.

Gordon let himself drift upwards while facing the A.C.E. and realized it was almost skimming the treetops. "Why so low?" he asked aloud.

Alice joined him and looked at him curiously. "This is also atypical behavior?"

He nodded. "They usually move with the other cloud cover. This one almost seems to be avoiding radar." He paused as he took in how large it was and realized the Sergeant was right. It was darker too. Dense, like it was carrying one hell of a lot of wat—"Sergeant!" he yelled as he looked down.

Mick separated from her team and looked up.

"It's loaded with magic-charged water. That could cause a significant number of transformations!" he called out.

"It's too dark, sir! The other clouds weren't so dark! Something's off." She yelled back. Then she rejoined her team.

Alice pointed upward, so they rose to get a look at the cloud's top. They froze when they saw a host of flying beings that could only be—

"Demons!" Alice cried in surprise. There had to be at least fifteen of them, but they weren't very large, so... teenage demons?

Gordon knew his team had battled Demons before, but they'd been assisted by Sigrid Gunderan, a Valkyrie. He needed to speak to Henry about this.

"I need to make a call!" he said to Alice, and she nodded.

Crane dropped himself to the ground as quickly as he could without crashing and transitioned back to Human the moment his feet touched the earth. He grabbed his cell and dialed. He barely had a signal out here, but the call went through.

"Hnnn, wha... General Crane? What's wrong?" Henry asked, his voice fuzzy with sleep.

"Investigating a pseudo-cloud behaving oddly. It's huge, very dark, and seems to have multiple small Demons guiding it. We're near Willowsby, West Virginia," Gordon said quickly.

"SHIT!" Henry snapped.

"What's wrong?" Sigrid's voice asked in the background.

"Demons are using the pseudo-clouds for their own purposes," Henry summed up.

There was a pause. "They're probably making Demons and using the cloud to charge them with Wild Magic!" Sigrid gasped. "We need to get the Valkyries to the General's location before they unleash that dark rain on people!"

"I'm guessing their intent is to dump it over New York City as that's directly in line with their current trajectory," Gordon offered. "They've passed over several smaller cities on their way with no change."

Henry was silent for a moment.

Sigrid's voice broke that silence. "Talia, Tora, and Tove are in Parkersburg, West Virginia, according to our network. They may still be in the area. I'll contact them."

"Two minutes out, General," Mick called out.

"General, you need to pull back. Don't try to go head-to-head with that many Demons. They'll potentially have the same magic powering them. They're faster and stronger than regular Demons, which are already fast and strong," Henry cautioned.

"Talia and the twins are chasing the cloud, General!" Sigrid's voice cut in. "They felt it pass over Parkersburg and are in pursuit."

"Three more bogies inbound, General! They're glowing!" Mick called out.

"Those are Valkyrie! Do not engage with them. Support only if safe to do so!" Crane called back. Feinberg rushed off to share this information with the other Silver People.

"Seriously, General. You need to get your people out of there! Now!" Henry barked.

"GORDON!"

He looked up and saw Alice was in trouble. She was fighting off four dark-winged bastards who must have snuck up on her. She blasted one with ice breath, and it screamed before dropping from the sky. Two others rushed in to take its place.

He dropped his cell and leapt upwards, transforming into a Dragon instantly, beating his wings hard until he slammed into one of the Demons, breaking its bones. He reached out and grabbed the injured Demon's head and popped it like a grape in his huge fist. It dropped to the ground as the fourth beat a hasty retreat toward the rest flying above the cloud.

Gordon saw the back of that group was suddenly scrambling to avoid the three gleaming Valkyries flowing through them, swords slashing and shields bashing the smaller beings into giblets. Five of the Demons on the front of the pack surged ahead toward Gordon and Alice, picking up the retreating Demon as they passed it.

The closest Demon screamed its rage and shook a spear as it closed in.

POC!

A bloody rock, trailing blood and brain matter, fell back to the earth after traversing the skull of the Demon, which followed the rock down. Mick waved to the General.

Alice wasted no time blasting the next closest Demon with her ice breath, then knocked its frozen head from its body with a slash of her tail.

Gordon opened his jaws, but nothing happened. He had no clue what he was capable of, so he didn't know where to start. He added a shield around him, then rammed into two others, breaking their bones and sending them to the ground to be stoned to death by his team.

Six more demons surged upwards out of the mass of the cloud to join the others confronting the Valkyrie. The winged goddesses now seemed to be struggling with the sheer numbers of their attackers who moved so quickly. Gordon could see the savage grins on the faces of the females whose swords were moving equally quick to dispatch their attackers.

A huge beam of lightning and plasma struck the ground beneath the cloud, and Gordon felt that in his chest. Some of his people were hurt!

As he was distracted, Gordon missed seeing a larger Demon rise halfway from the cloud. He did see it throw an enormous spear at the Valkyrie. It went through five of the smaller Demons before piercing deep into the side of one of the blonde Valkyries as she pushed the other blonde from its path. Crane saw the huge Demon pull on the chain its spear was connected to, yanking the injured Valkyrie back into its outstretched claws.

Then it bit her head off.

"NOOOO!" Gordon bellowed, and the big Demon turned to face him. Chewing with a grin, it tossed the dead Valkyrie aside, then flung the spear at him.

He had no time to move, but his shield deflected the missile, causing its shaft to glance off Alice's side as she flew beside him. She gave a choked cry as her ribs broke and her lung was punctured. She fell, and Gordon rushed downward to catch her. They landed gently, and he set her down.

"Stop... the... Demon...." Alice managed before she passed out. Her body reverted to Human, but her injuries remained.

Gordon saw some of the smaller Demons had descended to fight their rock-throwing adversaries. Then he saw silver bodies amongst the dead Demons. His rage tipped over the edge. He felt the Cloud charging up for another blast, and something in his throat responded in kind.

The Demons would take no more of his people!

He opened his jaws wide, and a thick beam of pure blue-white plasma shot out, cleaving the massive cloud in two. His beam struck its core, and something exploded with an enormous concussive blast. The cloud instantly flashed from dark grey to brilliant white as if purified. It illuminated the countryside in all directions for several seconds as the force wave ripped the cloud apart, its payload of magic rain, glittering mesh, and sheets of silver foil falling to the earth below.

Gordon saw the large Demon trying to fly away though its legs were a shredded mess. The remaining blonde Valkyrie was being dragged from the sky by a mass of Demons, and the red-haired Valkyrie was chasing the injured Demon, but Gordon could tell she was injured as well. With a final glance at Alice, he leapt into the sky and flew toward the monster as fast as possible.

He wasn't sure of his terminal speed when he slammed his shield into the middle of its back, but he broke its spine and exhausted his protection.

As they tumbled through the air, the huge Demon grinned wickedly, clawing at Gordon's scales, so he blasted the bastard in the face with his plasma.

The hand of God slapped Gordon from the sky.

Chapter 20

Henry walked amongst the carnage of the battle, his hooves crunching on the rocky soil as he ground his teeth at the senseless violence. Five of the Silver People had been killed. All were family members of the Silver Soldiers who were silently mourning their lost loved ones.

After the battle, Mick discovered the General's cell phone on the ground, still connected to Henry's. Mick filled him in then he'd used his magic to jump to her location. They hung up, and Sigrid immediately called him to chew him out for leaving without taking her. He'd had to explain that his spell didn't allow passengers.

After they found General Crane, Yablonski and Feinberg scoured the local area and discovered an abandoned home. They rushed back with a door and frame so Henry could use it to bring help to the scene of the battle. Sigrid and Hilda were first through, Meixiu holding the fort back home to guard the children. The two Valkyries immediately went to Talia, who'd been badly injured. They were relieved to see it wasn't life-threatening. Hilda left to collect the remains of Tove and Tore.

Henry called Eleanor and pulled her from her warm bed to perform emergency surgery in the field once more. She was willing to lose a little sleep as she got to use the magic light instruments.

Her patients were Alice Shaw, Talia, and General Crane, who'd been tangled in the branches of some trees a mile away.

His injuries were relatively light, though he did have a concussion.

Henry assisted the surgeon as she worked her miracles: rebuilding shattered bones, repairing torn ligaments and tissues, and reconnecting severed nerve fibers. It was the longest series of operations Henry had assisted with, and Eleanor was wobbling on her feet when she walked back through the door to go back to bed.

Alice was breathing normally but sore from the extensive bruising on her side. She let Henry send her back to her stash as she was still uncomfortable telling him where she lived. He knew it was a Dragon thing, so he didn't push. He didn't inform her that he could jump to her location if he needed to.

Talia couldn't stop touching the side of her mouth. Eleanor had repaired the severed nerves there, and her lip no longer drooped or felt numb. The surgeon had also fixed the spear wounds on her belly, arms, and legs but left her the scars.

The most significant repair was her left shoulder which had been destroyed by three smaller Demons. Fixing that required Henry to run his self-repair spell while he managed her pain/pleasure levels. While it left her exhausted, she would live to fight again. She was grateful to him for this, and he promised to prepare her better for the next battle. Her eyes flashed at that promise. Sigrid gave him a kiss goodnight as their date was officially over. Talia followed Sigrid and Hilda through the door as they carried the wrapped remains of the two lost Valkyrie.

Eleanor had repaired the multitude of cuts and abrasions on Crane and reset his dislocated hip. All damage was fixed except for a gash running up his left cheek, missing his eye, and finishing above his left eyebrow. He'd narrowly avoided losing his left eye. She'd stopped the bleeding, but it was safer to leave him with the scar. Maybe it would vanish with his next transformation to Dragon, or not.

If it didn't, she said she could remove the surrounding tissue, but that would be a longer operation, and Henry would have to assist in growing new tissue to replace the excised material.

After Henry recharged them, Feinberg and Specialist Barnes carried General Crane through the door to his condo and remained with him.

Then it was just the Silver People and Henry.

Mick joined him on the hillside overlooking a stack of Demon bodies. Cursing under his breath, Henry strained to open a tear to Eden and dumped the corpses into a lava flow. The opening snapped shut the moment the last one was through.

To the right of the stack was an enormous pond of magic rain, a large pile of golden mesh, and a large bundle of silver foil.

"What are your plans for that?" Henry said, gesturing to the items.

"We're going to stockpile it. There may be others who wish to join the Silver Soldier Squad. The scuttlebutt is that more armed forces teams have been keen on joining us."

Henry smiled. "Do their commanders agree?"

"Hell, no!" Mick said with a snort. "We're an undisciplined mob, according to them."

Henry shook his head. He realized the Silver People had done remarkably well in this battle, but it came down to training. The youngest and most innocent had fallen victim to the Demon's weapons.

"I told the General to pull his people out," Henry said softly, pain echoing in his voice.

"I know, but they were already on us. We told our families to run if it became hand-to-hand. All of the dead were killed from behind," Mick said sadly.

"That's the nature of these bastards. Pure evil. We have to eliminate them all!" Henry ground out. "You said there was a larger one?"

Mick just nodded.

"What happened to it?"

Mick smiled. "The General crashed into it like a supersonic missile, then blasted its head off with a plasma beam from his throat!" She was quite excited about her boss' new ability.

"Then what happened?" Henry asked, already knowing the answer.

Mick shook her head in wonder. "It blew up! No fire or smoke, just a massive concussion wave. Knocked the General right out of the sky!"

Henry nodded as this fit the pattern he was beginning to see. He looked at Mick, and she seemed tired. "Can I charge you guys up?"

Mick's face broke into a tired grin. "That would be most welcome." She whistled and waved, and the Silver People joined them. All looked tired, sad, and hopeful.

"I think a group hug charge will work best tonight," he said softly and held open his arms. He felt them move closer until he was at the center of a huge silver hug. He opened the aperture on his rift slowly, and smiles appeared. He opened it wider, and chuckles could be heard. He made it a little wider still until everyone was humming happily.

He dialed it shut again and heard a simultaneous sigh from the entire group. They chuckled about that and stepped back.

"I'm so very sorry for your loss. We will ensure this never happens again." He passed his eyes over the group. "We'll be having a party at Meixiu's mansion. Mick knows the way. You're all welcome to come hang out with us." He got some smiles for that. "For now, I'm going to go home to try and get some sleep. I'll talk to you later," he said, waving to the group. They all waved back with smiles on their faces, even if a few were still a little blue. He was glad that sadness also didn't stick to the Silver People.

As he stepped through the door to his condo, he tried to shake his own sorrow for the lost lives.

"Croo?"

Two curious faces peered at him around the corner from the bedroom. He smiled and walked up to Aadiya and Maliha, who came forward to get kisses.

Their lips were so soft, their need for him was so honest, and their bodies were so receptive he felt himself stiffen with need. After what he'd witnessed, he needed this intimacy, the confirmation of life continuing on.

The Succubi grinned and pulled him down the hall to the bedroom, where he dropped his kilt and joined them on the bed. Tish was sleeping on her stomach and stirred as she felt his fingers caressing her ass.

"Ooo, Henry, that feels good!" she purred.

Henry was on his back and lifted her hips over his face to bring her pussy to his mouth.

"AAAhhh! Oh Fuck!" she gasped as he stroked her pussy with his strong tongue before plunging it deep inside.

He could feel the twins enjoying his cock with their tongues. Then Aadiya mounted him, and slowly took his thickness deep inside her hot body. She crooned some more as she finally managed to accommodate all of it. He gasped, causing Tish to suck in a breath as well. He concentrated on her pleasure, sliding his hands up to squeeze her tits and gently tug on her nipples. Soon, she was grinding her pussy against his mouth as her muscles tightened in pulses against his tongue.

"OOOhhhh fuckfuckfuckfuck!" Tish's body was shaking with the strength of her release.

She was drained from the effort and sagged back to the bed. Henry heard her breathing slow, then deepen, and he knew she was out.

He eased her over onto her side of the bed, and she murmured in her sleep but didn't wake.

Mahali was immediately leaning over his face licking Tish's juices from his lips and chin. Once he was clean, she kissed him deeply while Aadiya's motions sped up. She was bouncing on his cock, squeezing her breasts, and tugging her nipples as she moaned constantly. Henry winked at Mahali, and she pulled back with a mischievous grin. She moved behind her sister and pushed her down over Henry's chest as he grabbed her ass cheeks, spreading them wide. Mahali wasted no time forcing her tongue deep inside Aadiya's ass as Henry began driving his cock into her pussy from below, grinding her clit against his body.

Aadiya's mouth dropped open in ecstasy as the dual orifice attack obliterated her control. She came explosively, her body rocking through the massive wave of bliss crashing through her.

When her throbbing slowed, Mahali tugged her sister from Henry's cock and dropped her roughly on the mattress. Before she could take her place on top, Henry sat up and pushed her down on her stomach. He forced her legs apart, then guided his heavy cock into her wet and ready pussy. She moaned as he pushed himself deep. Her wings were tucked in but trapped between their bodies as he ground himself against her ass. She whined with need, so he pulled back and slammed himself back into her, slapping her ass with his pelvis. Her mouth dropped open as she began to pant. He increased his pace, driving himself into her and pounding her into the mattress roughly. Her left hand slipped under herself to add more sensation to her clit, which was already rubbing against the sheets.

As he felt her begin to lock up, he scraped his teeth against the side of her throat and gently took hold of her shoulder with his teeth. Not hard enough to break the skin but a firm grip. She thrashed under him, so he slid his hand between them and pushed his thick thumb into her slick asshole as he ground against her. Mahali's thrashing went up a notch as her pussy squeezed his cock in strong spasms.

He released her shoulder and nuzzled her cheek as she whimpered sweetly. When he pulled his still-hard cock from her, Aadiya swooped in to suck her sister's juices from it then Mahali joined her, their long prehensile tongues wrapping around his hard cock, stroking it, loving it, and teasing it.

"I'm going to come," he sighed, and their eagerness increased. Their hands pumped his shaft, their lips pressed against his sensitive tip until he grunted with the first surge. They opened their mouths and caught his cum as they took turns kissing the head. He wondered how the large dose of Wild Magic energy they were getting affected them. They showed no outward indication of alteration, but they'd already undergone a fairly significant change, so maybe their changes were done.

Once he finished, they rushed away to the washroom, cleaned up, and returned with a facecloth to refresh him as well. Then they scrambled into the bed to cuddle next to him. He gave each a tender kiss and felt them sigh happily.

As they purred themselves to sleep, Henry relaxed in their soft embrace and realized he truly felt better than he did when he got home. They were a balm for his troubled mind. He closed his eyes before his mind could take him to some other troubling thoughts to disturb his rest.

Tonight, he was successful.

-=-

"You want me to do what?" Roy exclaimed in surprise.

He was sitting in Camila's office with Sigrid and Henry, who had just finished suggesting he assist with charging up the Valkyrie by sleeping with them.

"I wouldn't have asked, but there are so many Valkyrie. The Demons are accelerating their efforts, and you know how some of the Valkyrie feel about me," Henry explained.

Roy started again. "I'm not gushing Wild Magic like you are!" Camila snorted quietly when he said gush, but she tried to suppress it. "What are ya, thirteen?" he snapped. She held up her hand in apology.

Henry tried again. "I know, but you're already linked, and I can supercharge you before you're with a Valkyrie. We'd need to do a test to see if it will work. Even if you can saturate them most of the way, I might be able to trip their connection to the Wild Magic realm by topping them up without sex."

Roy's mouth worked, but he couldn't find the words.

Henry suddenly had a thought. "Oh! If you are in a monogamous relationship with Mary, I completely understand!"

"No! No, it's not that. Mary and I are comfortable with each other. She wouldn't have an issue with this, but...." Once more, words failed Roy.

Henry looked at the big man and waited for an answer. He shook his head as Roy's expression turned to frustration. "Bedding a Valkyrie is no light duty! They can be quite demanding and... energetic!"

Now it was Sigrid's turn to suppress her giggles, and he shot her a look, daring her to laugh.

"Oh, come on, Roy! You can't be having performance anxiety. I know from personal experience you can be very athletic in bed!" Camila sighed.

"It's not—it's not performance anxiety! Fuck, this is humiliating!" he griped.

Henry's expression dropped. "Roy, I'm so sorry I asked."

"Nay, lad. It's fine. I understand your reservations. Taking a tumble in the sheets should only be done with partners who, at minimum, like you. I saw a range of uncomfortable expressions on their faces at the Christmas party. I get it," Roy sighed.

Henry sat quietly as Roy considered the idea.

"Would you like to invite Mary up here to fill her in on the plan?" Camila asked.

Roy was about to deny this, then frowned. "Aye. She should be in the know."

Camila asked Felix to contact Mary to ask her to come up.

While they waited, Henry filled them in on what the Sergeant had told him the previous night.

"So, there are supercharged Demons, and they detonate when killed," Roy said, and Henry nodded.

"It's the nature of the dark magic. It can't exist in this dimension outside of the containment of a spell. When the supercharged Demons die, the energy is no longer bound to them, so it goes off with a bang," Henry explained. "It's like what happened when I broke the spell on the General. Boom!"

"My next question is, who is supercharging them?" Roy asked. "I thought the dark magic couldn't get through to our realm without the witch's involvement. You contain all the dark energy from the spells they fed her."

"This is true. Baba was only aware of one path for this magic. The Demons seem to know of another, but considering how much effort they're making to steal the magic from me, I must still contain the lion's share on Earth. It doesn't take much to make a really big concussive blast."

There was a knock on the door, and Mary stepped inside. She smiled at everyone and looked at the uncomfortable expression on Roy's face curiously.

"The boy is asking me to assist him with charging the Valkyrie with Wild Magic to link them to the realm... with sex," Roy explained delicately.

Mary's eyebrows rose. "You have that ability too?"

Roy frowned. "Not exactly. I'd need assistance from Henry for each Valkyrie I'm with."

Mary glanced over at Henry. "You'd be with them too?"

"No!" Roy exclaimed in distaste, and Mary cracked a smile.

"What? That would be kind of hot! You know, being in the middle of that sandwich!" she suggested and bounced her eyebrows at Camila, who was grinning excitedly as she also liked the idea.

Roy huffed. "Henry would simply supercharge me with Wild Magic before I was with a Valkyrie, then we'd confirm afterward if this was sufficient to bind them to the Wild Magic realm. If not, Henry could add the extra magic required through a simple touch, like he supercharges me."

"And you're telling me because of our relationship?" Mary asked, and Roy nodded, so she shrugged. "I'm on board with this plan if it means we'll have more powerful Valkyries. I am curious about the need. I was under the impression that Satyrs never run out of sexual steam. Was I wrong in this impression?"

It was Henry's turn to be uncomfortable. "I don't know if I'm insatiable. The issue is that many of the Valkyries wouldn't appreciate being with a Satyr. I'd find that very unpleasant. I don't want to have sex with anyone uncomfortable with me. We still have to run this test to see if it works."

Mary's expression showed her outrage. "Those stuck-up bitches! Maybe they don't deserve the upgrade!"

Henry sighed. "We need them at maximum strength for the coming battle."

She still seemed a little pissed, but she saw Sigrid nod, so she shook off her anger.

"Who's available?" Mary asked.

Sigrid spoke. "Revna, but she's insistent on being with Henry. Talia, but she has no issues with being with Henry, either. Then there's Hilda."

Mary grinned at Roy's frown. "She's a good-looking woman," Mary teased him.

"Why did we ask Mary to come up here again?" Roy asked, and she chuckled.

"One test should determine if this plan will work. I'm sorry to put this on you, Roy, but I don't know anyone with the stamina and strength required to be with a Valkyrie," Henry said sincerely.

Roy took a deep breath and let it out. "It's all right. When did you want to do this?"

"Any reason it couldn't be now?" Sigrid asked.

Roy stared at her. "Now? It's nine-thirty in the bloody morning!"

"There's no need for romance, Roy. Just wham, bam, thank you, ma'am! Or Mom, in this case," Sigrid said with a laugh.

They looked at Henry as he was frowning. "What?" Camila asked.

"I only have a half day to work today. I was hoping to get back to a program I'm working on, and I've already lost an hour to this meeting," Henry said.

Camila grinned but nodded to Henry. "Okay. How about we plan the test for this afternoon at Sigrid's home. I believe you have two Valkyrie there who are eager to be with you as well. It would be good to get a start on that too."

He held her eyes for a moment, then nodded. "May I be excused?"

"Go!" she said, and he rushed from the room as she chuckled.

Roy shook his head as he looked at the smiling ladies. "If I may be excused as well, I also have work to do before this afternoon's test."

"Meeting adjourned," Camila said with a smile.

As the room emptied, she allowed her mind to return to the idea of being between Roy and Henry in their true forms, their large cocks driving deep inside her pussy and ass.

Fuck! She was so horny!

Maybe she could catch Henry before they went to Sigrid's.

-=-

Roku sat on a bench in a park just a block away from VRL. It was cold and snowy, but she didn't mind.

She was... alone. It was a very odd sensation being alone. It made her mind consider her new state of being.

Free.

The tall and powerful blonde she'd spoken with at VRL gave her a temporary place to stay at a clean basic hotel and a card that she could use to purchase food. It had a daily limit, but the amount was certainly enough for the meals she needed to remain healthy.

Sigrid told her to take it slow as she learned how to be free. She said she would have a friend speak to her about her experiences. Meixiu had been a slave to a Dragon for a very long time, but now she was a free woman Like Roku.

When Roku asked Sigrid if she knew anyone who could help her learn how to be a functional member of society, as Roy requested, the blonde smiled and said they were all trying to do that, but a good place to start was to avoid breaking their society's laws. The rest was a learn-as-you-go thing.

So here she sat in the park, wondering what she might do with the life that had been handed to her. As a Nekomata, she had skills that were most useful for breaking those laws. Her skills were really good, so maybe some could be used to protect instead of destroy?

She opened her senses to her surroundings and immediately went on guard. Someone's breathing indicated they were slipping into a panic. She glanced around and spotted two people walking down the sidewalk toward a parked van. One of the beings was short but very broad. A member of the Dwarf race, if she wasn't mistaken. The other was Human, or rather post-Human, who had dark, curly hair and was the source of the panicked breathing. He was moving oddly at the side of the Dwarf, but she realized the smaller being was holding his arm behind his back in a cruel grip. There was something familiar about the post-Human, but she couldn't place it.

Should she intervene?

If the Dwarf was breaking one of society's laws, then she would be helping by stopping him. If the post-Human was a criminal, then assisting him would be harmful.

She needed more information.

-=-

Gren von Deussel had his first VRL employee to interrogate. Fenris had come through by identifying this sorry excuse as someone he saw speaking with Henry in the lobby of the building. How Fenris did this without being detected made Gren curious and a little envious, but he was pleased to get to do something other than wait.

He maintained a painful grip on the man's arm and marched him up the side street toward his van. Once he got him inside, he'd knock the man out and take him to the factory to extract some knowledge from him.

Gren frowned as a petite dark-haired woman stepped out from behind the van onto the sidewalk and looked up at them in surprise.

"Oh! Excuse me," she said politely, moving to the edge to let them pass. Gren went to move forward again, but her expression changed as she stared at the man in his grip. "Wait! Don't I know you from somewhere?" she asked with a smile.

"I-I-uhn!" the man grunted as Gren squeezed his arm painfully. Then the Human smiled at the woman and shook his head.

Recognition flared in the eyes of the female. "VRL!"

"Yes," the Human sighed, and Gren turned his head to tell him to shut up.

He didn't see the woman leap at his face as she moved faster than anyone should. She jumped up and sideways, kicking off the side of the van before her claws ripped into Gren's face. Her scream of rage shot fear through Gren's bowels as he recognized the sound of a Nekomata in attack mode. He'd hunted one once with his brother.

He released the Human and swung his fist to crush her against the van but ended up putting a deep dent in the side panel.

Blood was flowing into his eyes, so he flailed his fists around to catch the raging beast, but he realized he could no longer hear her. That made no sense! Once they went into a rage, they continued attacking until they killed or died.

The only sound he picked up was feet running away. Two pairs.

Shit! He scooped some snow from the park and quickly scrubbed his face. That hurt, but he could see again. His quarry and the Nekomata ducked around the side of a building and were gone.

He got into the van and quickly drove away. He had to hold a dirty towel over his forehead to keep the blood from running into his eyes.

His first capture was foiled by what? A Fake Nekomata?

His cover was blown, so they'd have to change their strategy. He needed to speak with Fenris.

-=-

Roku ran all the way back to VRL, tugging on the arm of the post-Human as he struggled to keep up. They pushed through the doors into the lobby and met Roy and two of his team who must have seen them coming on the cameras.

Roy frowned. "What happened?"

Roku was breathing hard, but she tried to get it under control. It was the first time she'd released her rage, and it hadn't come. She'd still managed to act, but the surprise almost derailed her. She'd maintained her intellect where the rage would have taken over everything. She'd never just escaped before.

"She... saved... me!" the man gasped.

"Come with me," Roy said, guiding the two into the Security department and an interview room. He got them sitting, and his men brought them cups of water. Roy sat down across the table from them.

"Take some deep, slow breaths and tell me what happened. Let's start with you, Mr. Wilson," Roy said calmly.

"Please, call me... Greg. Hoo! That was terrifying!" he said and saw Roy was waiting. "Okay. I was returning from a coffee run when this man grabbed my arm and made me drop the entire tray. Then he bent it up behind my back, and the pain was excruciating! I could barely talk, and even breathing was a struggle. He forced me to walk beside him as he gripped my arm—he was so strong!" He blinked his eyes as they began to roll up. "I feel funny...."

Roku leapt from her chair to press herself against the wall as the man suddenly shrank but widened and fell off the chair. When Roy came around the table to check on him, Roku followed and peered over Roy's shoulder as he examined the unconscious man. He still had dark curly hair, but it was much longer, and he was sporting a thick black beard. His body was short but thick, and his arms were huge with muscle and hairy as well.

"He's transformed. Perhaps the shock, maybe he hit a pocket of Wild Magic, who knows." Roy called HR and asked them to contact the hospital to pick up the new Dwarf.

Then Roy faced Roku. "While we wait, tell me what you saw."

She nodded with wide eyes. She looked at Greg and thought the beard suited him. He was very cute! She blinked and gave her head a shake.

"I was sitting on a bench in a park a block away when I saw this man being forced down the sidewalk. I didn't recognize him at first as he wasn't smiling. I wasn't sure what to do as who was bad and who was good. I moved closer to determine this. Then he saw me, and when he smiled, I knew I'd seen him in the VRL lobby. He distracted the Dwarf, so I attacked the kidnapper and pulled Mr. Wilson to safety. We didn't stop running until we got here."

"Did you see where he went or get the license plate number?" Roy asked.

"No, but the cell phone Sigrid gave me is on and jammed under the driver's side rear wheel well."

Roy grinned. "Smart girl! I'll get the details from Sigrid and see if we can trace him." He smiled at her again. "Very well done! Thank you!"

When Roy rushed from the room, his two team members also smiled at her in admiration. The compliments made her feel funny, but it was a good funny.

She guessed she liked it.

Roku admired Greg Wilson's new body and felt a tingle she didn't recognize. He was her height now but so powerful looking! She recalled his smile, and that made her feel good.

She guessed she liked that too.

-=-

Henry was almost finished with the new program when Roy burst through his door excitedly. Sigrid was right behind him.

"What? I still have forty-five minutes!" he complained.

Roy got right to the point. "We need you to hack into the cell network to locate a cell phone!

"Now?" he asked.

"Naw, tomorrow is fine—Yes, now!" Roy snapped. "Someone tried to snatch Greg Wilson, and your Nekomata rescued him and tagged the getaway van with her cellphone!"

Sigrid slapped a piece of paper down with the cell's details.

Henry growled as he saved his work and shut it down. Then he launched his network tracking application and linked himself to the telecom operator's network. He scanned the local towers for the cell's ID and followed its trail. "It's still moving." He read the ID from the tower. "It's heading out to an industrial park."

"Address!" Roy called out.

Henry read off the closest intersection. "It stopped moving."

"Get me a screencap of that!" Roy said.

Henry sent it to his email. "Check your email."

Roy looked at Sigrid. "I'm going to need ninety minutes." He rushed out of Henry's office without waiting for an answer from Sigrid.

"Does this mean I get an extension on my workday?" Henry asked with a smile.

Camila showed up in Henry's doorway. She looked at him hungrily as she bit her lip and rubbed her thighs together.

Henry sighed as he closed the lid on his laptop, and Sigrid covered her mouth to hide her grin.

"See you in ninety," she said as she left his office. Camila slipped inside and shut his door.

"It was Mary's suggestion, wasn't it," Henry said, and she nodded.

Henry tucked his computer into his bag, tossed his cell into it, then walked around his desk to meet Camila.

"There's only me, so I'm just going to have to go twice as hard," he said with a smile.

"Oh, fuck yes!" she sighed as she dropped her glamor as he dropped his.

Henry pulled his kilt off, and Camila immediately dropped to her knees to press her face against his thick shaft. She moaned with need. He sunk his fingers into her hair and guided her mouth to the head as he rubbed it across her lips. Her tongue flicked out to wet the end, then her lips wrapped around the head, and her tongue made its way down the shaft to his balls.

He moaned softly as this felt so good, but he wanted more. He pulled Camila's head closer as his cock slid deeper into her mouth. He worked his shaft in and out of her mouth, fucking her mouth so slowly.

Camila was watching Henry as her eyelids fluttered. Her mouth was hot, wet, and soft as she worshipped his cock. He decided to let her do this for a while, as it felt so damn good.

He finally pulled back, and she looked up at him in surprise. He bent down and lifted her, hooking her legs over his arms to spread her wide open. His cock found her pussy, and he bounced her gently on the tip.

"Oh FUCK! Such a teas—YYYYEEESSSS!" she screamed as he drove his cock into her in one firm thrust.

He knew he wouldn't hurt her with such a sudden move as Succubi were built for it. Besides, he could tell this was what she truly wanted.

Henry pressed her against the wall and began thrusting hard and fast, slapping his body against hers, each impact pulling a cry of joy from Camila as her clit became increasingly sensitive. He eased her back from the edge, then began again, each time bringing her to the very edge of her release before easing her back to earth.

Finally, he accelerated and brutally pounded her against the wall before grinding his body against hers as she screamed through her release. She clung to him as her pussy squeezed and milked the cum from his cock as surge after surge jetted into her depths.

"So hot, Henry. I feel it! You're filling me so well!" she gasped as the energy flooded through her body. He kissed her lush lips tenderly, and a tear rolled down her cheek. He wiped it away and looked into her eyes.

"Happy. So happy," she said, and he kissed the Succubus' glossy black cheek where the tear had passed.

"I love you, beautiful temptress," he whispered in her ear.

He felt a tremble run through her body, and she clung tighter. Her lips found his neck, then she tucked her face close to whisper in her ear.

"I don't want you to put yourself at risk. I can't bear the thought of losing you! Being in love is terrifying," she said softly.

He stepped back from the wall as he carried her to his chair. He'd removed the arms for this specific reason. He sat with Camila still impaled on his cock, which hadn't softened much. She gasped and wiggled a little, then he took her head between his big hands and looked into her worried eyes.

"Being in love can be frightening, but it's exponentially better than not being in love. I wouldn't trade this feeling for anything. Every moment is a treasure. None of us know how many moments we'll get, but love has deeply enriched my life. I'm so grateful." He brushed his lips across hers, and she gasped gently as her eyes flared. "I can't make any promises for the future. No one can. But I think I've proven I'm more resilient than most. I will always make a maximum effort to return to the ones I love."

Sliding his hands under her ass, he lifted Camila straight up until the wet head of his cock slipped free of her pussy. She sighed then gasped as he lowered her again, this time pressing the thick head into her ass, lowering her down the shaft, and stretching her ass to accommodate him. He moved much slower than he'd taken her pussy.

Her jaw dropped open as the raw sensations of his hot flesh in her ass sent sparks throughout her body.

"I did promise to go twice as hard."

Her eyes opened to look at him in surprise as he began to bounce her on his lap, and she lost the ability to make coherent thoughts. He kept one hand supporting her ass as the other slipped between them to massage and gently tease her clit.

"FUH! Henry! Oh my god!" she gasped. Then she kissed him, thrusting her tongue into his mouth as best she could as he maintained his strokes into her ass.

Camila threw her head back as he picked up the pace. He returned to edging her, repeatedly bringing her to the knife's edge until he could feel her body preparing for another orgasm, and he wasn't far behind.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! I'm there, Henry! It's—"

Henry's cum surged into her ass, and her eyes rolled back as a second huge dose of Wild Magic flooded through her cells. Henry watched in shock as the gold sparks in her eyes filled the irises until they gleamed. Her slim horns thickened and curved upwards as her body stretched vertically as well, giving her an extra few inches of height. He felt her breasts pressing more firmly against him as they went up a size or three.

But what frightened Henry the most was the sudden growth pushing out of her back. He had to slide them back in his chair to give her new wings room to grow and spread out. Fully open, the black leather wings hit the walls of his office before they folded into their tuck-in position behind her back.

Her glowing eyes closed as a sensuous smile appeared on her lips. "so good..." she whispered and faded.

Henry gently lifted her from his shrinking cock, and she cooed in her sleep.

He held her in his arms and tried to think. His mind flashed back to something Eleanor and Raymond said the last time he'd fed them. His magic saturation had increased. They were almost knocked unconscious from tiny sips of his blood.

Then he stupidly gave Camila two huge doses! What an IDIOT he was!

He needed to let her sleep this off. He stood and felt something sliding up his leg. It was wrapped around his calf. He glanced down, and his eyes widened as he tried to comprehend what he saw.

A snake? It was moving on its own, but it was also the same slick and shiny black and red of Camila's skin. His eyes followed it up from his calf and saw it thickened and terminated at Camila's tailbone.

A tail.

He'd given her a tail.

FUCK!

He sat once more with her cradled against his body, then gently took hold of it near the base, and Camila sighed in her sleep. He tugged it, and it uncoiled from his calf. That's when he saw the wicked-looking barb at its tip. The edge looked sharp enough to use as a weapon. He ran his fingers down the length of her new appendage until he held the end before the tip. He rubbed his thumb along the barb's surface, and shivers rushed along her skin. He stopped when he saw the edge was as sharp as he thought. Pleasure and pain could be delivered with this new feature.

Shit.

Once more, he stood cradling her in his arms and moved to his door. He linked it to her bedroom door in her condo and stepped through. He brought her to her bed and pulled the sheets down before laying her on the mattress.

God, she was breathtaking! While she'd been a knockout before, now there was... something regal about her.

Shit!

Nuru Onwudiwe, leader of the Succubi! This was going to piss her off! He would also have to boost her to keep her from becoming jealous.

He leaned down and kissed Camila's lips tenderly. She smiled and sighed in her sleep.

He pulled the sheets up to hide her entirely too distracting body. He used her bathroom to freshen up. He dried off, then slipped back into his office to put his kilt back on. He then switched back to his glamor though he wouldn't be getting any more work done today.

When he released the magic door. He heard someone thumping on it. When he opened it, Sigrid was frowning at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I've been knocking for two minutes! What took—" She suddenly noticed Camila wasn't there. Then she saw the guilty expression on Henry's face.

"What happened? Where's Camila?" she asked.

He winced. "I-I might have given her too much Wild Magic. She's sleeping it off at home."

"What happened?" Sigrid asked in shock.

Henry sighed. "She has larger horns. She's bigger... and has wings now... and a tail."

"SHIT!" Sigrid gasped. Her eyes widened. "A TAIL?"

"I'm so sorry! I forgot I'm extra saturated now. I hope I haven't burned out her glamor," he moaned.

Sigrid watched his miserable expression. "Camila's glamor was already working with Wild Magic, so hopefully, it won't be affected—oh shit! Onwudiwe!"

"Yeah, I know! I know! I'll have to boost her to keep her from freaking out over Camila's change." He looked at Sigrid. "Camila really does look like the Queen of the Succubi."

Sigrid blinked at Henry then grinned. "Lucky girl!"

Henry frowned with worry. "Let's hope she agrees when she wakes up." He glanced at Sigrid. "Why were you knocking?"

Sigrid smiled self-consciously. "It's time."

Henry's eyes widened. Ninety minutes had passed? "I... lost track of the time. Is Roy back?"

She shook her head. "I expect he'll meet us at my home. Let's go."

"Magic door?" he asked.

She grinned. "Right! Sure."

He linked his office door to her front entrance, and they stepped into her home. He released the magic.

Meixiu came skipping up to Henry with a broad smile, so he pulled her into his arms and gave her a sweet kiss. "Hi, beautiful!"

She sighed, and she held him. "We are having another party at my mansion this weekend. To celebrate the New Year!"

He chuckled. "Sounds like fun!"

Meixiu moved to Sigrid for a hug then she disappeared through the closet door they used as the passage to her mansion.

Talia approached them with Stanley in her arms and an expression of wonder on her face. Her smile was no longer crooked due to her repaired nerves.

"I cannot stop looking at this little one in my arms. This miracle takes my breath away. He's so strong!" she said in amazement. "I look forward to seeing him fly."

Henry looked at Sigrid curiously. "That won't be for months," she sighed.

He looked at her in surprise. "Months?"

She nodded. "He has to learn how to walk and run first. Then how to fight back. Flying comes next, which will require an entirely different set of fighting techniques."

"He's not interfering with the training, is he?"

Heads turned to see Hilda approaching with a frown, carrying Ylva.

Henry scowled at her. "No! I was just surprised by how soon all of this begins for Valkyries. I have no intention of interfering. These are skills they will need to survive. I will be there for them if they need hugs and cuddles," he said and leaned down to kiss Stanley's forehead.

"Da!" the baby exclaimed, holding his little arms out toward Henry.

Everyone froze.

Hilda looked at Sigrid. "Have you been teaching him?"

"I just showed him some pictures of Henry on my cell and told him that was his dad," she admitted.

Henry accepted the baby from Talia's arms and nuzzled his face, kissing his cheeks. "He's going to be so smart!" Henry sighed, then grunted in pain as little fingers found his hair and pulled. "And strong!" he squeaked out in pain.

Sigrid eased the hair from little fingers, then collected the boy who was giggling at his dad's funny expressions.

"Where is Roy?" Henry asked.

"He isn't here. Is he expected?" Hilda asked.

Henry looked at Sigrid, who was looking... elsewhere. "You didn't tell her?"

Sigrid finally looked back at Henry with a frustrated expression. "No. I was mad at her, so I didn't tell her."

Henry moved closer and kissed her cheek. "I'm sure you were completely justified in your anger, but she needs to know."

"Know what?" Hilda asked bluntly. That just earned her another scowl from Sigrid.

Henry turned to the grandmother with a sigh. "We may have an alternate method of binding the Valkyrie to the realm of Wild Magic."

"That doesn't get you out of your promise to fuck me!"

They looked to the stairs, and Revna was descending with a frown.

"I'll keep my promise as you kept yours," Henry growled back, bringing a toothy smile to the big Valkyrie's face.

"What's this alternative method?" Hilda pushed.

"Roy. He'll deliver the Wild Magic during sex for Valkyrie who'd prefer not to be with me. We need to run a test, and it has to be someone capable of having sex with a Valkyrie. As I only know Roy, he's agreed to try."

Hilda looked at Revna and Talia, and both shook their head, so she looked at Sigrid with a surprised expression. "Me?"

"Yes, you!" Sigrid snapped. "Though you may be the least deserving."

Hilda's face went red with embarrassment as her eyes flicked to the other Valkyrie, who watched the interplay closely.

"Roy said he would try... but he has to be here," Henry said.

-=-

Roy raced through the lower levels of the abandoned factory with his pack at his heels as their quarry disappeared down yet another rabbit hole. He was pretty sure they were in the lowest basement level, so the only thing below was—

He slammed to a halt above the drain cover and pulled his nose back. They wouldn't be tracking the Dwarf in the sewers. This one smelled particularly foul. He looked at his pack, and they all grinned in relief as he wasn't asking them to keep going.

"The Dwarf must have been pretty desperate to have resorted to jumping in the city's toilet," Rick Santos, the squad's leader, said with a grin.

"Give me a detonation pack. The little turd isn't going to exit the sewer this way," Roy growled.

His team chuckled, and Digby passed him the explosive device.

Roy set the charge, then they hustled a safe distance away and triggered the blast. The opening was soon covered in concrete, rebar, and bent pipes.

"Let's go," Roy growled. He would have preferred burying the fucker who tried to grab one of VRL's people, but this would have to do.

They retraced their steps and met Mary waiting by the vehicles. She nodded to the teams and picked up from their expressions they'd been unsuccessful.

She'd been the one to spot the Dwarf ducking into the factory as they pulled up.

"I went through the van, but he spent some time wiping it down. The Nekomata's cell was where she said it would be," Mary said as she handed the device to Roy. "Did you get a good look at him?"

Roy shook his head disappointedly. "He was running for his life, so all I saw was black leather and red hair. Never got a look at his face. He glanced at his team, but they all shook their heads.

He smiled as he looked at the device in his hand. "Did you know she's never had one of these before, but she knew to plant it on the van as a tracker?" Roy said. He was impressed with her quick thinking. He frowned as he stared at the phone. He tapped on the Photo Gallery app, and a grid of images appeared. His grin widened. "Good girl!"

Mary looked at the satisfied expression on Roy's face. "What?"

He held up the phone with the screen facing her and the team. On it was a photo of Greg Wilson being forced to walk down the sidewalk by the Dwarf. Roy had zoomed the image in, but the picture was still clear enough to make out the features of the Dwarf.

Rick frowned. "He looks a lot like Rand von Deussel."

Roy nodded. "I somehow doubt that's a coincidence. We need to confirm who he is, then look into his current activities to see if he's a lone wolf or if there is something bigger involved. Roy's cell rang. He glanced at it and then frowned.

Mary smirked. "Is that a reminder of your date?"

"Ha, yer a million laughs," Roy grumbled, but he nodded too. He answered. "Hello. Yes, I'm on my way."

He looked at Mary, who still had a grin on her face. "Drop me off at Sigrid's on your way back to the office."

"Will I see you tonight, or will you be too tired?" Mary asked.

"Hush, you."

Mary chuckled and got behind the wheel of the SUV as Roy jumped in the passenger seat.

He had a date to get to.

-=-

Roku followed the paramedics who picked up Greg Wilson as the security men, Dale and Nick, led them out of the department. She was feeling strangely drawn to the new Dwarf, and she wasn't sure why.

She remembered his smile on the sidewalk. It had been hopeful, and now she understood why. He needed her help, and she saved him. She remembered when she saw him for the first time. He was in the VRL lobby talking to some other workers and laughing. He had a good laugh and a nice smile. It... it made her happy?

As they passed through the lobby, something blue flickered in the corner of her eye, catching her attention. It was in the planter next to the guest seating. She shot forward, but it leapt out of the foliage and tried to fly away.

Roku sprang forward, pushed off the lip of the planter, ran two steps up the wall, then kicked off to arch upwards to snatch the tiny blue-winged creature from the air with her extended claws. She stuffed it into her mouth and bit down, cutting off its scream.

She twisted midair and landed on all fours on the polished marble, tiny blue wings and legs poking out of her mouth.

No one moved in the lobby as all eyes were on her. The receptionist's phone was ringing, but she couldn't look away either.

Finally, Dale walked over to her and held out his hand, palm up, under her chin.

"Please," was all he said, so she spat the Pixie out onto his palm. Then she stood up as the security officer examined the tiny being. The tiny dead being.

"How did you see it?" he asked first.

"Invisibility spells don't work against Nekomata's eyes," she responded.

"It was spying on us?" Dale asked.

Roku tilted her head curiously. "Does VRL have any Pixie employees who hide in the lobby planters?" she asked. Nick shook his head as he walked up while reviewing something on a tablet. "We haven't had any staff become Pixies, and all employees are accounted for."

"Maybe you could leave it alive next time so we could question it?" Dale asked.

"Live Pixies are deadly Pixies," Roku explained and spotted the paramedics heading out the door with the gurney. "Wait!" she exclaimed and hustled after them.

Dale and Nick just watched her prance away.

The medics were loading Greg into the back when Roku attempted to follow them into the back.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Only family allowed," one said with a thick Bronx accent.

"I saved him. He is mine!" she insisted.

The two paramedics glanced at each other, then shrugged.

She got to ride in the back.

Chapter 21

Gren was seething with barely contained rage. He'd spent hours crawling through the most disgusting conditions to escape the factory after discovering the entrance had been destroyed. When he finally climbed up from the sewers, he reeked, and his clothes were ruined. He killed an old homeless man for his clothes and snuck across the city to his home but spotted someone watching his place.

With nowhere else to go, he went to the hotel room Fenris reserved and got cleaned up as best he could. He notified Fenris he was there, he needed a change of clothes, and they needed to talk.

He was resting on the couch wrapped in a towel when he heard the lock on the door trip, and Fenris entered. Unfortunately, that simp Harkland was with him, already curling his nose in distaste.

"What's that ungodly smell?" Harkland moaned.

Fenris wasn't looking happy either. He dropped a bundle of clothes for Gren on the couch as he entered the living room and dropped himself in the seat in the corner. The diminutive man wasn't looking at his partners.

Gren carried the package into the washroom and returned shortly feeling better in Dwarven clothes.

"My thanks for the clothing," he muttered to Fenris, who nodded.

Then the Pixie turned his attention on him fully. "Tell me you got something from the man my spy found for you." His tone was filled with pain and anger. Gren's temper flared at his tone, but he struggled not to aim it back at Fenris. "I caught the man and almost had him in my stolen van when I was attacked by a Nekomata, or what sounded and clawed like a Nekomata." He pulled back the bandage over his forehead to show them the grotesque tears.

Harkland's pale skin looked a little green as he struggled not to throw up. Fenris went still, so Gren continued. "What was weird was that she ran away rather than continue the attack. Nekomata's don't do that."

"The VRL Security team somehow tracked me back to the factory, and Roy Duncan and his team chased me through the building. I only escaped because I jumped into the sewers under the building. The bastards blew up the entrance, so I had to find another way out," Gren explained. They must have seen my face as my apartment is under surveillance.

"So, your cover is blown. You're out," Harkland insisted.

"FUCK YOU!" Gren shouted at the Fae.

"It was a Nekomata."

Gren and Harkland looked at Fenris, sitting on the chair's edge. He looked like he wanted to spit fire, to eject the hate and anger in him.

He looked into Gren's eyes. "She killed my son. He was my eyes inside VRL, and she killed him."

"You used your own son to spy on them?" Harkland gasped. "Were you not listening to M when he advised you to do nothing yourselves but hire others through intermediaries?" he scolded.

Fenris and Gren looked at him balefully.

"Had we the riches you sucked out of Mad Mab's court sycophants, perhaps we could afford such luxuries as intermediaries," Fenris snapped.

"I'm the last member of my family. There is no lofty estate or drab little cottage on a barren island for me," Gren added.

Harkland's mouth worked then he nodded. "Had you mentioned the financial strain, I might have been willing to arrange a loan for you at a reasonable rate."

Gren looked at Fenris. "Do you hear this? He wants us to be financially beholding to him."

The Pixie made a rude noise. "I think it's time we parted ways, Harkland. Our paths are diverging, and our goals no longer match. Feel free to piss off. Gren and I have revenge to discuss, and you and your Demon master are no longer relevant."

Harkland gaped at the two glaring at him. "This is a mistake. I warn you—"

Gren stepped up to Harkland's chest. "Finish that threat, and you'll leave this apartment in several small pieces packed in garbage bags."

Harkland froze as he saw the menace in the shorter man's eyes. He stepped backward until his back was against the door. He opened it and slipped through.

"I have this feeling I should have killed him," Gren said.

"Do you think we should be concerned about the Demon?" Fenris asked. "You know that suck-up Harkland will run crying to his master."

"The only thing that matters to me now is getting vengeance for my brother. The Demon was convinced Henry Gable was involved in the battle my brother and your cousin died in. We agreed that he was telling the truth when he spoke of this. That is where I will start. When I have killed Gable, I will work my way through the rest of his family."

"The Demon failed to mention who his family was. He said he had many he considered family, but who are they?" Fenris said.

"The plan to attack him from where he works was a bust. Security is far too tight there. Targeting his home may be better," Gren suggested.

Fenris was still dealing with the pain of losing his son and knew all too well how effective Roy's security team was. Having a Nekomata working for him—was a serious breach of Hidden Races Council policy for its interim Head of Security! He was abusing his position! Exposing Roy for this might lead to his removal! It would be tricky to file the grievance while distancing himself from his son's activities. He'd have to claim his son was acting recklessly out of his love for a favored aunt and without his father's knowledge. Considering he'd asked his son to be his spy, this felt like tossing him under the bus, but if it meant he'd oust Roy Duncan, it was worth it! To force the Chancellor to act, he'd have to embarrass him too.

He glanced over at Gren, who was frowning at him. "Apologies! I was thinking of how I might get revenge for my son."

Gren cleared his frown. "I'm sorry for your loss, but let's get back to our plan."

Fenris nodded and tried to look interested in what Gren had to say, but it was mostly reckless and fatalistic.

After all, the Dwarf had nothing left to lose.

-=-

When Roy finally returned from his mission, Sigrid and Hilda sat down with him, and Henry answered their questions regarding the charging process. Henry had a pretty good idea of what was required and explained how Roy would be able to assist. Hilda seemed both embarrassed and excited by the prospect of being upgraded.

It was late afternoon by the time Sigrid had completed some of the additional preparations for the test.

Roy looked at Henry uncomfortably. "You're sure this is the only way we can do this?"

The two men were only wearing boxers as they stood face to face, almost touching. Their torsos gleamed from the oil Sigrid had rubbed over them. Standing a short distance away, four Valkyries enjoyed the show very much, as their hungry looks indicated.

Henry's face was pink from embarrassment, but he was doing his best to maintain a serious expression.

"I have to direct a large quantity of Wild Magic energy into you until your body is saturated. Too little, and it won't be enough to trigger the Valkyrie to bind to the new realm. Too much...."

Roy frowned. "Care to finish that sentence?"

Henry fidgeted, then sighed. "Too much, and I may force another evolution."

Roy took a step back. "What?" he exclaimed.

"The magic I'm saturated with is becoming more potent. When I fed Raymond and Eleanor, they felt dizzy after just a few sips of blood, but they may just be more sensitive to it as well. No changes occurred when I had sex with Aadiya and Mahali or Sigrid, so I wasn't concerned when I had sex with Camila. Except, we did it twice, and that was too much. She... evolved into an Uber-Succubus. Her horns grew. She's also taller and... bigger." He gestured with his hands, and Roy's eyes widened. "And she has wings and... a tail."

Roy gaped at him. "Fer fucks sake, lad! Ye canna be changing us into new shapes!" he shouted.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Henry exclaimed. "It's the fucking magic!"

Sigrid piped in. "Roy, Camila isn't hurt! She's just been upgraded. We'll see how her glamor works after she wakes up."

Roy's mouth was working, but he wasn't shouting anymore, at least. He focused on Henry. "I don't wanna be a bigger, badder wolf!"

"Fuck, this is so hot! Ask them to wrestle!" Revna purred.

Sigrid shushed her as Roy tossed her a frown.

"Roy, it's very likely you're already at the apex," Sigrid said reasonably. "This will allow Henry to better gauge how saturated your body has become."

Henry shared a look with Roy. "The oil was her idea."

Roy huffed and gave his muscles a shake. "Fine. Let's do this." He stepped closer to Henry and did his best to relax.

"How is your energy level now?" Henry asked.

Roy paused. "Not very high. I used a fair amount chasing a Dwarf through a factory."

Henry smiled. "Catch him?"

Roy frowned. "Nah, he dropped himself into a sewer."

Henry nodded. He wouldn't chase anyone into a sewer, either. He took a deep breath and stepped forward until his chest pressed against Roy's.

Talia let a soft moan escape, and Revna snorted in amusement.

Henry glanced over at his audience and saw Revna was practically naked. She had the merest suggestion of a bra and a thong under a sheer babydoll. Her thick nipples were pressing against the thin fabric. Obviously, she had plans for Henry.

Talia wore a soft dressing gown that went to her knees, but she might have also been naked.

Only Sigrid and Hilda were dressed in casual clothes.

His face became hotter, so he closed his eyes. He pushed everything aside and concentrated on the Wild Magic he could sense in Roy. He was almost running on empty. He frowned with his eyes closed.

"Your level is really low. I'm going to have to work out how to build a charging station for you," he muttered as he reached inside and opened the aperture a little.

Roy sucked in a breath as he felt the trickle of energy suddenly become a flow. "I can feel that."

Henry nodded as he continued to monitor Roy's levels. He opened his aperture wider.

"Ah!" Roy gasped as the energy pouring into his body surged. "You weren't kidding about potent!"

His body was beginning to tingle from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. "Tingling! What does that mean?"

Henry could tell Roy was approaching his normal capacity, but they needed him to be overloaded so he could saturate a Valkyrie. "It means we are getting to the tricky stage. I need you to be silent."

Roy glanced over at the ladies, and they were beginning to fidget.

"Give me your hands," Henry said as he concentrated and dialed back the aperture to slow the flow.

Roy felt Henry's fingers intertwine with his, and he gasped as the magic flowed through Henry's palms into his, down his arms, and merged with the main flow in his core. The tingle was beginning to smooth out into a buzz, which felt... really good. He felt his body begin to react. Maybe it was too good.

"Uh, Henry?"

Henry struggled to manage the flow and balance the energy distribution evenly. He was tracking how much energy Roy could absorb without his body showing evidence it was about to trip over into a change. Roy had tremendous capacity!

The problem was that getting an accurate sense of his current level was difficult when Henry also picked up how good it felt for Roy, and his body responded in sympathy. Roy was beginning to stiffen in his boxers from the stimulation the energy flow was giving.

So was Henry.

"Oh my god! They're crossing swords!" Revna whispered in a highly excited state. Sigrid just licked her lips as Talia struggled to control her breathing. Hilda just stared at the small gap between their groins with wide eyes.

"Quiet. Almost there," Henry whispered against Roy's neck.

Shivers rushed through Roy's body as every touch nerve in his body vibrated with the Wild Magic.

Henry slowly closed the aperture as he felt Roy's body on the edge of something... big.

He suddenly released Roy's hands and stepped back. He quickly reached for Hilda's hand and roughly pulled her between them.

Roy stumbled forward, leaning toward the energy source, and collided with Hilda. He blinked as he locked eyes with her. Then he surged away up the stairs, pulling Hilda with him.

The remaining three ladies watched them go, then turned their eyes to stare at Henry. He dropped his glamor. "That was harder than I expected."

Three sets of eyes dropped to his tenting kilt.

His muscles were twitching from the excess magic he was carrying. "I-I don't think I'd be safe to be with right now," he said.

"Fuck safe!" Revna exclaimed and grabbed his hand to pull him toward the stairs.

Henry snarled, yanked her back off her feet, and put her over his shoulder. He carried her up the stairs as she struggled to get free. His muscles were pumped full of Wild Magic, so he just used it to power his strength and pinned her in place. He gave her bare ass a painful slap when she wiggled too much.

"Ho ho! You did not just spank my ass!" she chuckled breathlessly while gritting her teeth.

He got her inside the guest room and tossed her on the bed as he shut the door. He dropped his kilt and grabbed Revna's wrists as she lunged for him from the bed. He surprised her by flipping her in midair with a grunt to drop her on her stomach on the bed once more. He tore away her panties and grabbed her hips to keep her from rolling away. Then he pulled her hips up and pressed his tongue against her wet pussy.

"FUCK!" she cried as a jolt of pleasure shot through her. He didn't give her any time to recover as he began sucking and licking her lower lips until they were swollen, puffy, and gushing her juices. He rubbed the fingers of the hand he wasn't using to pin her down across her sensitive clit, then coated his cock with the slick fluids.

"Fuckfuckfuck! Sonuvabitch, let me go!"

He pulled his mouth away, then pressed the fat head of his cock against her pussy.

She hissed with the heat of it and went still for a moment which was all he needed to slam himself deep inside her.

"AAAAAHHHHH!!!! FFFFUUUCCCKK!!!" she screamed as she pushed back to meet his hips. He was still trembling with the magic overload, so he began to pound her pussy with brutal strokes. Slapping her ass again and again.

"Motherfucker! Give me that cock!" she yelled. He accelerated his strokes and pounded her against the mattress. The bed was making terrible creaking noises like its collapse was imminent.

"UHH!UHH!UHH!UHH!FUCK!FUCK!SHIT!DAMN!MOTHER—"

He reached under her, grabbed her tits in his big hands, and squeezed them cruelly, pinching her nipples. Her voice finally failed her as he felt her begin to convulse. He buried his cock deep, then pushed harder as he fired his cum into her body. The Wild Magic flooded through her, and her eyes rolled back.

His concern was that her extra body mass from her muscles was greedily soaking up the energy, but he didn't feel her saturating. He drew his cock from her, and she turned her head to grin at him.

"You're not done," he said, and her eyes widened.

He pressed the slick head against her ass, and she jumped. ''What? No! Not there, fucker!"

Henry gave her a frustrated look. Then he flipped her onto her back and straddled her torso. He pressed his wet cock between her tits and slowly stroked until he was like iron again. He moved back to push her legs back to her shoulders, lifting her pussy from the bed. He thrust his cock back into her, driving himself deep with each downward stroke.

"Oh! Fuck! That's good!" Revna moaned.

He could tell she was tingling with the energy as she was losing her ability to focus on fighting back. She accepted his handling of her body, and he needed to get this done. He began spanking her pussy with his body faster and faster. Her comments diminished into grunts, moans, and finally, coos which sounded oddly sweet from the larger woman. She finally gasped loudly as her body spasmed when her orgasm struck. He made it through three more strokes before he reached his limit and poured his cum into her receptive body. The energy flared within her, and she was out.

He felt himself begin to soften, so he pulled out, eased her legs back down to the mattress, and moved from the bed.

Revna was breathing slowly, and she had a peaceful expression. He could feel the Wild Magic flowing through her, so he believed it worked, but he couldn't be certain as the effort to get her there had been so fucking chaotic! Also, her wings hadn't flared open brilliantly as Sigrid's had. He'd get Sigrid to confirm with a scent test.

He slipped on his kilt, ducked into the hall washroom, then switched to his glamor to shower quickly.

When he dried off, he added a simple white t-shirt, blue jeans, and sandals. Walking downstairs, he saw Roy speaking with Sigrid and Talia.

They looked in his direction as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Sorry about that brutish behavior," Henry said, his eyes looking to Talia first.

She smiled and shook her head. "This was Revna. I'm surprised you didn't have to resort to knocking her out with a punch first."

He raised an eyebrow. "Shit! That was an option?"

She chuckled and smiled at him.

He looked at Roy. "It worked with Hilda?"

Roy nodded and glanced at Sigrid, who answered. "I confirmed she's linked to the new realm. I'll go check on Revna. Any problems?" She said with a smirk.

Henry's face gave nothing away. "Her extra body mass absorbed the energy, so she required a... second effort." Now his face warmed up.

Sigrid nodded and went upstairs.

Henry looked at Roy, who seemed uncomfortable. "What?" he asked the man.

"Are we going to have to do that each time you supercharge me?" he asked hesitantly.

"No. I know what to watch for now to gauge your maximum threshold. A regular hug will be sufficient," Henry said. Roy smiled in relief.

"Shame," Talia added with a smile. "Who doesn't love a good swordfight?"

Roy gave her a frustrated frown and then looked at Henry. "I'm going to use the magic doors to go home. When are we going to begin converting the rest?"

Sigrid was returning and smiled with a nod to indicate Revna was linked as well. She'd heard Roy, so she answered him. "We need to begin as soon as possible, so I'll set up a schedule, contact the candidates, and we'll start tomorrow."

Roy looked at Sigrid in surprise. "But we'll be at the mansion!"

"There are extra bedrooms in the mansion, and we can use the doors to return to our homes and use the extra rooms there."

Roy frowned. "There are twenty-six left—"

"Three. Twenty-three. We've lost Tove, Tore, and Kari," Sigrid reminded him.

Roy nodded with a grim expression. "Okay, twenty-three. How many per day are you expecting us to convert."

"As many as you can physically do. We don't have the luxury of time. You will be reserved for the Valkyries who can't get past their bias against being with a Satyr. They may also have a bias against Lycanthropes. These ones will have to choose or die in the coming battle. I guarantee you, none will choose to die." She looked at Henry. "What you did for Revna, you may need to repeat for others. Can you do this?"

He frowned. "I'm not going to rape anyone! If they don't want to be with me, they won't. That said, if they agree but need me to role-play to get them past their issues, I might be able to manage it. But if we start and they say stop or no, that's it. Done. No upgrade."

"There are going to be kids there. Some of them are nosy buggers. How are we supposed to explain these activities?" Roy asked.

"Ensure the doors are locked. Listen, leave the kids to their mothers. I'll be speaking with them tomorrow. If you get asked, just say Project Upgrade," Sigrid explained.

Roy and Henry exchanged looks. Roy nodded and headed for the closet door to the mansion. "See you tomorrow." With a wave, he was gone.

"How strong are you in your Human disguise, Henry?" Talia asked.

"Typically as strong as a Human who looked like this would be," he answered.

"But someone mentioned to me that the glamor matches the desires of the observer," she said

Henry paused. "Ah, yes."

"And they said it could alter other aspects, such as fertility and the presence of your magic," she continued.

He nodded. "This is true."

"So, if a Valkyrie were to lay with you in this form, you'd have to be strong enough for them to consider you compatible, and you could provide them with the Wild Magic," she reasoned.

He gestured to his body. "The Valkyrie I first met were very skeptical about the abilities of my glamor. As it matches the observer's expectations, it's up to you."

Talia smiled. "I would like to be with you now if you are willing. I will vouch for you with the others. That will sway many opinions, I believe," Talia offered.

He smiled at her and nodded. She raised an eyebrow in question. "Do you have someplace we might be together?"

He nodded again. "I do. The bedroom I use in Meixiu's mansion."

Talia nodded to Sigrid. "See you in the morning." Sigrid smiled and nodded to her. She got a kiss from Henry, then watched them walk through the closet door.

Henry guided Talia from the mansion's lower vestibule upstairs to his preferred room. He let them in and noted there was a lock to secure the room if required. He turned and froze as Talia had removed her robe and had been naked under it.

She caught his hesitation and looked into his eyes. "Am I displeasing to the eye?"

He smiled. "Not in the slightest. You just caught me by surprise, being naked so quickly. I think you're very beautiful!"

"I am scarred, and not all the Humans I've bedded appreciated that," she noted.

He shook his head as he smiled. "Again, not in the least bit put off by your stories."

She smiled and nodded, then gestured for him to undress. He just dropped the clothes from his glamor.

"Ah, you are nicely equipped!" she said as she admired his cock.

"Observer's preference, but thank you," he said modestly.

She sighed. "I don't have much experience as I rarely meet anyone compatible, and I've been told I can be... intimidating."

"It's your gorgeous eyes! They're so intense. They make you wonder if you're worthy of having them focused on you." As he said this, he caressed her jawline with a finger and saw her eyelashes flutter from the sensation.

She stepped forward and kissed him, hard. Henry went with it and slid his hands down her naked back as their tongues tangled. She wasn't holding back her strength, so Henry squeezed her ass in his powerful hands, and she moaned into his mouth. He could tell she was becoming excited as her body ground against his.

She pulled back from the kiss to turn his back to the bed and pushed him down onto the mattress.

He'd expected such a move, so he used the bounce to push himself a little further onto the bed so his legs weren't completely off the mattress. He knew, as a Valkyrie, she'd prefer to have the dominant position, but unlike Revna, he had no issues letting her have it.

Then she surprised him.

Talia took a grip on the base of his cock and plunged her mouth over it, taking him right to the entrance of her throat.

"Fffffffffuuuuckk!" he gasped. "That feels so good!"

She began to pump his hard flesh in and out of her mouth, and she was surprisingly good at it. Her grip at the bottom was a little too tight, and he realized she might be worried he'd be premature from the intense sensations she was giving him.

"You can ease up on the grip. I won't go early," he said as he looked down his body. He caught her eyes, and she relaxed her grip as he nodded to her. "So good!"

She seemed to be enjoying it as much as he was. "May I—Ah! Return the favor?" he asked, but she smiled and ran her tongue around the head as she shook her head.

Then she was climbing over his body. She seized his wrists and held them down as she leaned over him to kiss him deeply once more. When she finished the kiss, she pushed herself up and rubbed her pussy along the length of his cock, grinding against him. He went to move one of his arms, and she kept him trapped and raised an eyebrow in challenge. This is where Henry would see what she truly desired. He began to push with both arms against her superior position, and at first, he didn't budge. Then he took some deep breaths and pushed as hard as he could, and he saw her muscles rippling as she fought back.

He hooked his heels under the bedframe and added muscle group after muscle group to the effort to rise from the mattress. Her eyes flashed with the challenge as he lifted himself to a forty-five-degree angle. Making no sudden moves, he brought his arms down toward her thighs which were clinging to him with all their might. She finally had to release his wrists, or hers would break. He spread his fingers over her powerful thighs, stroked them, and leaned in for another kiss. She let him have it though she was breathing hard from their efforts. He eased himself back down to the mattress, and she wasted no more time lining herself up to take his cock inside.

She was so wet and hot, Henry closed his eyes and smiled as he moaned happily. He heard a similar sound from her.

She rode him hard and fast, her hands pressing and squeezing his chest and stomach muscles. Since her hands were wandering, he slid his hands up her thighs to reach her ass. Her expression changed when he caressed her there. Taking a grip, he sat up again, and she gasped as he pressed his body against her clit. He circled her tight waist with his hands and forced her down on her downstrokes, and grabbed her ass to lift her on the upstrokes.

The ass squeezing and the clit rubbing were pushing her beyond her endurance. She lost control when he began to bounce her against his groin, driving himself deeper and deeper. She threw her head back and cried out her bliss. He thanked heaven as he'd been holding back for too long. He came hard and gushed up into her hot depths. He held her tight against his body and ground her against himself, triggering a new series of spasms through her. He was still coming, and she suddenly went slack in his arms as the energy flood overwhelmed her. The Wild Magic coursed strongly through the warrior, and he smiled in relief as she'd truly worn him out.

As he eased her off into the soft sheets, he slipped off the bed and covered her to let her sleep it off. He couldn't stop himself from gently kissing her forehead, and she smiled in her sleep.

He wrapped his kilt around his waist and slipped next door to the bathroom. A gentle knock on the door just as it closed made him open it to see Meixiu's smiling face. He opened the door and let her in. "I was about to take a shower."

"I will watch," she said with a cheeky smile as she closed the door behind herself.

He grinned at her cute expression, then dropped his kilt on the counter before stepping into the shower. He got the hot water running to ease the tightness in his muscles and relaxed as it sprayed over him. His eyes closed as he ran his hands over the overused muscles and kneaded the tightness.

He did this for a few minutes, then discovered Meixiu in the shower, pressing her slim body against him. He opened his eyes and saw she was pouting at him. He smiled. "What's wrong?"

"I wanted to just watch, but you were touching yourself in such a sexy way, I could not help myself," she sighed.

He smiled and caressed her lips with his. She moaned and kissed him harder. He lifted her light frame against him and felt himself rising to the occasion once again. He kissed her sweetly, and she cooed as he lowered her over his cock.

"Mmmm, Henry! You feel very good!" she purred as she moved slowly up and down. He was grateful she was doing all the work and didn't require any athletic motions from him. The hot water was doing the job, and he could feel the knots easing in his muscles.

Her sinuous moves and the little lustful sounds she made were so fucking sexy. He was quickly reaching his next release. He slipped his fingers into her incredibly silky hair and her eyes closed to enjoy the sensual pleasure.

He moved a hand to her chest and caressed her breasts as she began to move faster.

Then she was making almost silent gasps as her orgasm struck. Henry allowed his to wash over him as well as he came. It was so close to his previous release he didn't flood her with energy. Still, she gasped and cried out sweetly as his cum charged her.

When they were done, he lifted her from his cock and held her close, kissing her cheek, enjoying the feel of her body against his.

Shutting the taps, he carried Meixiu out, wrapped her in a towel, and sat her on the toilet. He grabbed another towel and dried himself off. His body still had some residual aches, but he felt better.

He slipped back into his t-shirt-and-jeans glamor, then finished drying Meixiu's lovely hair.

She smiled up at him, so he squatted down before her and kissed her. "I should go home. We're all coming back tomorrow, I understand. Sigrid wants me to begin upgrading the other Valkyrie. I should rest up for that."

"It will be so much fun having everyone back in my home!" Meixiu said with a happy smile.

"It's a home filled with love, laughter, and life!" he agreed.

She dropped her towel, and her perfect nipples were just there, so Henry bent forward and kissed them.

"Ah! Henry! You are so naughty!" she scolded playfully.

He chuckled. "You bring it out in me." He gave her a quick kiss, then slipped out of the bathroom to let her finish dressing.

He went back to the vestibule and through the door back to his condo.

"Croo?"

He smiled as Aadiya and Mahali rushed around the corner from the living room. He could hear the TV, so they'd been watching their shows.

He hoped it wasn't another mating documentary.

He saw their wings and suddenly recalled he had something to ask them. He walked them back into the living room and sat between them on the couch.

"Something big happened today! Camila got wings!" he said

"Camila! Wings!" they said excitedly in unison.

"I'll need you two to teach her everything about flying. Okay?" he asked.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" they cheered. "Now?" Aadiya asked.

He shook his head. "We'll speak to her tomorrow at the party at Meixiu's."

The twin eyes lit up at the mention of the party. "Another party!"

He grinned at them. "Yup." He looked around, then recalled Tish was visiting her sister Steph with Celeste tonight. These visits were much easier with magic doors to eliminate travel headaches.

Then he realized he'd left his cell at work.

"Damn it!" he cursed.

"Damn it!" Aadiya repeated, and Mahali tried it too.

"No, don't... never mind. I forgot my cell phone at work. Give me a sec," he sighed as he pushed himself to his feet. He went back to the hall and glanced back at them. They were back to being completely captivated by David Attenborough's voice.

He smiled and used a free door to link to his office door. He stepped through and spotted his laptop case under his desk.

Henry paused to take a breath. It felt like he'd been running all afternoon. He plunked himself in his chair and just took a moment for himself.

The lights outside his window were soothing, but the best thing was the quiet.

Sighing, he opened his case and dug out his cell phone. He noticed there were no waiting messages. That was good. No one needed him at the moment.

No one would be telling him to go home.

He looked at his laptop.

He looked to the door.

He could hear the heavenly voice of Mr. Attenborough entrancing the twins, and Tish wouldn't be home for hours.

He eased the laptop from the case, plugged it into his docking station, and powered it on.

Rising from his seat, he went to his door, closed it, and released the spell.

Grinning to himself, Henry got to work.

After all, the program wasn't going to complete itself.

-=-

The ward in the hospital set aside for the Global Transformation Support Program was unusually busy tonight. There was a shortage of beds, so they were spilling over into the adjacent wards, making patients in the room a little nervous. When new arrivals were assigned to these extra beds, they were moved out the moment they recovered. They received a truncated version of the introduction, which alleviated tension for the yet-to-be-transformed.

Roku was sitting next to one of these beds, doing her best to ignore the stares of the unsettled patients. There were two beds in this ward currently occupied by transformed individuals. One was a tall and elegant-looking elf, and the other was Greg Wilson, the new Dwarf. It might have been the dramatic size disparity between the two new beings that was upsetting the other six elderly patients.

There was a beep on the machine connected to Greg's wrist, and shortly, his eyelids began to flutter.

A disheveled dwarf in a suit that looked like it had been slept in rushed into the room and over to Greg's bed. He was carrying a large brown paper bag and a clipboard. He glanced curiously at Roku. "And you are?" he asked bluntly.

"I am Roku. I saved Greg Wilson. He is mine." She stared the short but wide man in the eye, daring him to challenge her. He blinked first.

"Oh, so you're here to take care of him?" he asked, almost in relief.

She wasn't sure what he meant by taking care of Greg, as she was just beginning to learn how to take care of herself. But she thought it would be a good idea to say yes.

So, she did.

"Yes. He is mine."

"Good. Good. Here!" The man passed the paper bag to her, and she accepted it. "There are new clothes for him inside and a booklet for him to read to learn some important things about his new race. There are numbers he can call to get him in touch with others so he can get more information from them." He sighed. "Everything he needs to know will be made available to him free of charge. He just needs to call the numbers and ask for help. Are you okay with that?"

Roku wished someone had a similar bag for her, but she supposed no one wanted to help a Nekomata if there was a kill-upon-discovery order for them. She nodded to the man, and he smiled gratefully. "Once he wakes, he should get dressed. Take him to the front desk to check out of the hospital, then you can take him to his home."

A tall Elf rushed into the ward and halted when he saw the Dwarf. "It was mine," the rumpled suit man said wearily. The new arrival also looked tired, so he spun and left the ward.

"Why are you both so tired?" Roku asked.

The Dwarf blinked blearily at her. He glanced at the old men, then whispered to her. "Just another surge in transformations which is keeping us hopping. It happens from time to time." He sighed. "My shift is over, so I'm going home. He should wake in a few minutes. Thanks!" He gave her a grateful smile, and she felt that odd feeling in her chest again. She returned the smile and watched him leave. Roku settled back in her chair.

Sure enough, Greg's eyes opened two minutes later, and he looked around.

"Where am I?" he asked nervously.

"You are at the hospital," Roku answered.

Greg gazed at her, and his eyes widened. Then he found his voice. "I-I know you from somewhere."

She smiled at him, and he smiled in return. It was the same smile he had in the lobby of VRL, only cuter.

"I saved you in the street and got you back to VRL," she said.

"Yes! I remember!" he said.

"You are mine," she said, but she felt strangely embarrassed by the words this time. His expression showed his surprise, and she didn't know where to look.

"That sounds... nice," he managed, and she looked back to see if he was making fun of her, but his expression seemed pleased. His smile was back, and his delight was showing in his eyes.

"No one has ever claimed me before!" he said with a grin.

"I have never saved anyone before," she said haughtily, then paused as she realized it was true. No one had ever mattered before. She glanced back at Greg, and he was staring at his hands in shock.

"What—what happened to me?" he asked nervously.

"You went through your transformation," she said matter-of-factly.

Her tone seemed to calm him a little. "What am I?" he asked quietly.

"You are a Dwarf. There was a Dwarf here a moment ago. He was very tired, so he left me this bag for you. It has new clothes and information about being a Dwarf. Also, numbers you can call for more information. I will help you too."

He was watching her with this crazy smile on his face. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Roku," she said shyly.

"Is that your first or last name?" he said.

"It is my only name," she admitted.

Greg smiled. "It's lovely."

"It means six."

He blinked at her in surprise. "It means sex?"

She burst into giggles. "No! Six! The number."

Greg's face got very red. "Sorry about that. You sure you still want to claim me?"

Roku couldn't speak as she was feeling so many emotions she didn't recognize, so she just nodded with a grin. Her cheeks were beginning to hurt from all the smiling she was doing. These muscles hadn't been used very much before.

She needed to change the subject. "You are to get dressed. Then we sign out of the hospital, and I take you to your home."

He nodded. "That sounds like a good plan." He picked up the bag and slid out of bed. The drop caught him by surprise, but he remained on his feet. "That will take a little getting used to. Not that I was all that tall before." He glanced over at her. "Sorry, I'm babbling. Nervous."

"Get dressed," Roku suggested.

He hustled to the washroom, oblivious that she could see his butt through the gap in his hospital gown.

She turned her attention inwards to examine all these strange and new emotions that were rushing through her. They were all centered on him and how he made her feel. She'd never felt anything but contempt for others before. She'd never taken the time to speak to others unless she was ordered to intimidate them. This felt... so much better.

Roku was beginning to worry that Greg had relapsed in the washroom when he quickly exited and looked for her. The relief on his face made her smile, and he grinned at her.

She looked at his clothes and saw they were simple yet well-made. A vest, a flannel shirt, a pair of soft pants with suspenders, and soft boots. He wouldn't feel the cold, so this was enough. Dwarves were very tough, so he could walk barefoot in the snow, and it wouldn't affect him.

"You look very nice. Let's go," she suggested.

"Thank you," he said in surprise. "You are so very beautiful!" he blurted.

She felt her face heat up, and her heart was doing something odd in her chest. She didn't know how to respond, so she glanced at him, and he looked very upset.

"What is wrong?" she stopped and asked.

He shook his head. "I'm so sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. I am such an ass. You've been so nice to me, and I sound all creepy."

Roku reached out and touched his forearm. She marveled at the strength she felt there. "I am not upset, and you didn't sound creepy. No one has ever said nice things to me before. Well, other than Henry Gable." She recalled he said nice things before she attacked him.

He looked at her in surprise. "You know Henry?"

"I have met him," she said carefully.

"He's a nice guy," Greg said. "The ladies really like him."

She wondered at his strange wording. Greg seemed to be waiting for something.

Maybe he wanted her assessment of Henry? How did she feel about him?

He hadn't killed her. Instead, he gave her a new life. But he'd also changed who she was in deep and meaningful ways without her permission. No matter how much better her life might be now, she couldn't feel comfortable with the amount of power he had over her.

"I am not one of those ladies."

Greg stared at her in surprise, then his smile returned, and hope was in his eyes. "Oh! That's cool."

She looked him in the eye. "I like you."

Now his smile was threatening to split his face. "No one has ever said such nice things to me before. I love how boldly honest you are. You aren't afraid to express your feelings. That is wonderful! I like you, too."

Her chest felt funny again. "We need to check out of the hospital."

He nodded and followed her with his paper bag clutched to his chest.

After all, he was hers.

-=-

Greg wasn't sure what to expect when they got to his apartment. They hadn't spoken much on the ride, and she seemed comfortable sitting quietly with him.

"Would-would you like to come in?" he asked when they reached his door.

She looked at him strangely, like she didn't understand why he was asking, and for a moment, he wondered if he'd gone too far. Then she seemed to collect herself, and a sweet smile appeared on her lips. "Yes, please," she said.

He smiled in relief and opened the door for her.

She boldly entered and looked around as he turned on the lights. He watched her expression as she gazed at his furnishings and décor. He caught himself holding his breath.

She looked back at him and smiled. "You have a very nice home. You like plants, and you take good care of them."

Greg sagged with relief. "Yes! Thank you. I discovered how much I loved plants when they added the garden room at work." When she looked at him curiously, he explained. "It's a lovely, terraced meeting room for clients that looks like a lush mountainside garden." Her eyes widened with delight, and he was captured by her beauty.

"What do you do at VRL?" she asked.

"I'm an account manager. I take care of customer account portfolios. I'm primarily a first-contact guy. I'm one of the people they ask to onboard new customers. I'm good at making people feel comfortable and relaxed, which most aren't when discussing their personal finances. It makes my job easier that VRL really does have their best interests at heart," he said, then stumbled to a stop as she was smiling at him. God, she was so lovely. He looked down at himself. It suddenly came back to him. He was now a Dwarf. Why was she here... with him?

"That's me, but I don't know anything about you," he said, and she looked away, her expression closing up. "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?" he gasped.

She shook her head, but she was looking away, and her long silky black hair hid her face. He longed to reach out and brush it back so he could see her, but he was too nervous he'd upset her more.

"You won't like me."

He had to pause as he didn't understand her words. "N-not like you? I don't think that's possible!"

He fell back on his experience with dealing with his new clients.

"Why don't we sit down on the sofa and talk?" he said calmly, though he was shaking inside.

She allowed him to guide her to his comfortable sofa, and they sat side by side. She was still hiding her face.

"Let's begin with introductions, and I'll start. I'm Greg Wilson. I'm twenty-nine years old and live alone in this apartment with my plants. I wanted to buy a cat to keep me company, but the building doesn't allow pets." He stopped when she peeked at him around her hair.

"You like cats?" she asked very quietly.

"I love cats!" he gushed, then dialed it back and took a breath. "To continue, I've worked at VRL since graduating from college eight years ago. It's my first job, and I think I'm really good at it. I enjoy working with people. I consider myself lucky to have found a job that I enjoy and a company that really seems to care." He decided to take a chance. "But I'm lonely." He looked down at his body. "And now I'm a Dwarf without any idea what that means."

She was looking at him now, so he gave her an encouraging smile. Her expression began to close up again.

"I'm a really good listener, and I don't judge people. You can trust me," he said in a rush before she locked up.

Her eyes came back to his, and she seemed to come to a decision.

"M-my name is Roku. I am a Nekomata." She glanced at him, but he didn't react, so she continued. "Up until two days ago... I was a slave to Katsu Sasaki. He is a very rich man and a Dragon. I was his slave for thirty-two years... I think." She frowned as her time sense was poor because of the static nature of her prison. "He fed me rice and insects. He brought me to meetings when he needed me to intimidate people. Sometimes... sometimes he used me to kill for him. Until two days ago when he abandoned me."

Greg's mouth was dry. He couldn't believe what he was hearing because... Dragons? Slavery? She killed people? None of that matched the petite woman sitting next to him. She'd stopped talking, so he prompted her to continue.

"W-what happened two days ago?"

Her eyes flicked up to his, and he saw she was surprised by the question. She seemed to be looking for something else. Then she looked away again.

"Mr. Sasaki brought me to see Camila Villamor and Henry Gable. He wanted Henry to come work for him."

Greg stifled a sudden urge to chuckle, but he must have made a sound as she locked eyes with him. He felt the need to explain. "Word got around the office that several government agencies tried the same thing and offered him whatever he wanted. It's said he turned them down because VRL is his family." He smiled.

"Mr. Sasaki does not take no for an answer, so he set me on Henry, but I could not intimidate him." She went quiet for a moment. "Mr. Sasaki didn't stop me, so I attacked him."

Greg gasped quietly, and she looked at him again, but he just looked surprised. Encouraged, she continued.

"Henry stopped me. I cannot remember how. I was in my rage state. I don't come out unless I kill or am killed. Instead, I woke in a holding cell in VRL security. I was not dead. Henry was not dead. Mr. Duncan explained that Henry had taken my rage and hate from me. He told me I was permanently changed. I discovered it's true. I'm missing those parts of me." She shook her head as it still felt surreal to her. "He also told me I was now a free woman. Sigrid Gunderan arranged for me to stay in a hotel, gave me money for food and clothes, and told me I had someone to speak to about being a freed slave. But I have no purpose."

Greg watched her closing up again. He honestly wasn't sure what to make of her story. He thought Henry Gable was just their CIO. She said she was a Nekomata. That sounded Japanese for cat, so he took another chance.

"Nekomata. Does that have anything to do with cats?" he asked. "I love cats."

She suddenly turned to look into his eyes, and hers seemed to be pleading. "Nekomata are Japanese Spirits. We are based on cats but are shapeshifters. We have our hate of others to keep us separate and our rage to help us kill. Henry took those things from me, and now all these unfamiliar emotions are surfacing, and I'm so confused and terrified. I've never felt such fear before."

Acting on instinct, Greg scooped the petite female in his arms onto his lap and hugged her.

"Oh!" she gasped then her arms clung to him.

They sat like that for quite a while.

"D-do you feel better?" he finally asked.

"I'm feeling something I've never felt before. I don't know what to call it," she said softly.

He smiled hopefully. "What does it feel like?"

"Warm. Happy, but not like what happy felt like before. It's better. Wider... like it's boundless."

"That sounds like...." He stopped himself before saying love as he couldn't put his feelings over her definitions.

She pulled back to look into his eyes. He got lost in hers. "Tell me!" she insisted.

"For me, that feeling is love," he said hopefully.

She watched his face with an expression of shock. "I... I've never felt it before! Love... how do I know?"

He moved his face closer to hers as she watched him carefully. When he pressed his lips to hers, she moaned quietly and copied his moves. When he ended the kiss, he saw her eyes had a dreamy quality too. "That's how you know," Greg said.

"Love! It's good!" she sighed, and he grinned at her.

"It's the best!" he said with a nod.

She moved her lips back to his, and they kissed for a long time.

She pulled back and yawned, making him chuckle. She smiled back. "Is feeling love and tired at the same time not allowed?"

He shook his head. "No, it's perfectly fine. I'm exhausted too. Would you stay with me tonight?" he asked.

She looked at him in surprise. "Only tonight?"

He blinked at her. "No! For as long as you can! Forever would be great!"

She relaxed. "Good. Forever then."

He glanced toward his bedroom, suddenly pleased he had the forethought to buy himself a queen-size mattress. "I only have one bed."

"We can share," she said, suddenly bashful.

"I have no sleepwear for my new body," he admitted cautiously.

She smiled at him cheekily. "That's good. I wanted to see the rest of your body anyway. I got to see your backside at the hospital.

He laughed, and she realized it felt good she could make him do that.

He followed her into the bedroom. While he was tired tonight, he didn't have work tomorrow, and they had much to learn about each other.

Greg quickly undressed and stood next to the bed, completely naked. He looked down at himself and had another moment where his mind refused to believe what he was looking at was him. He touched his chest and felt dense muscles there. While he'd never been a weakling, he'd also never had slabs of muscle like this before. His stomach wasn't a rippling six-pack, but it was flat and hard, a dream he'd had since he was a teen with a soft belly. The little gut he'd grown through his college years and in his time at VRL was gone. His arms were thick with muscle, and his legs were too. Big hands and feet and a wide neck.

But he was like a fireplug. Short, wide, and super dense. He realized he was maybe an inch or two shorter than Roku, but again, she didn't seem to mind.

Then there was his hair and beard. He'd always worn his hair just a little long as it was curly. He'd once had a girlfriend, for a brief time, who told him he had nice hair. So, he kept the curls. He trimmed his beard short, but now it reached his collarbones and was thick, much like the hair on his arms and legs. He was surprised his chest was relatively bare.

The real surprise was hanging between his legs. He wasn't huge there but certainly bigger than he'd been as a human. He was not disappointed. He supposed it was just proportionally bigger to match the rest of his body.

He looked over at Roku, and she was admiring his body. Her smile and the gleam in her eyes told him she was not disappointed by what she saw either.

Greg raised an eyebrow, and she quickly and efficiently stripped her clothes off. There was no coy striptease from her, but he was still frozen by her petite perfection. She had some minimal scarring which supported her story of being abused and having to fight, but they didn't detract from her raw beauty.

"You're beautiful!" he sighed, and her answering smile was perfect.

He felt his fatigue washing over him once more but pushed it back. "Tonight, we should just get some sleep, as I don't want to spoil anything with a yawn."

She nodded then they slipped under the sheets. He let her come to him as he didn't want to spook her. Roku immediately cuddled against his side, and Greg sighed in delight as she felt so good, soft, and warm. When she began to purr, his eyes widened, but he couldn't hide his delight either.

"Goodnight, Roku," he said gently.

"Goodnight, Greg," she returned and rested her head against his chest, her soft hair caressing his skin.

This is what Heaven felt like for Greg.

It seemed Roku felt the same way.

Chapter 22

Marisa was floating amongst the clouds, but this time she wasn't being pulled at high speed through the skies above Earth with Henry.

Now, it was a leisurely and comfortable ebb and flow, and it felt so good.

She realized she couldn't actually see the clouds. It was more a series of impressions: massive, towering, powerful, soft, gentle, calm, patient. If she tried to focus more closely on any of these, her mind shied away, and she went back to bobbing along slowly.

In fact, the more she defocused her mind, the clearer her impressions became. Intentionally looking away let her mind see what her eyes could not.

While this was a little confusing, she wasn't afraid. She was very calm and so relaxed that her seer abilities activated. She began to react, to push them back, but she felt her cloud impressions insist she let it happen. That was something new, but she remained calm.

Her perceptions of this calm place faded as her seer sight flared and flashed images past her. None made sense, as thousands of potentials overlapped, ripping away, merging, and dividing. She only caught glimpses, but there was an overall perception of dark and evil approaching.

Suddenly an image solidified in her mind for a brief second before the layers resumed their cascade of chaos. The image left an impression. Her being felt a tug as she saw the most powerful and gorgeous Succubus she'd ever laid eyes on. The moment was a slice of frozen time, but she could see her black wings stretched out to catch the wind and slow the majestic being as she came in for a landing. In the distant background, two red Succubi led the charge against a cloud of black dots. They weren't clear. Behind the red dots were glowing white wings.

As soon as her mind recorded this, it tried to rip it away, but she clung to the memory and discovered herself awake, on her back in bed, her body covered in a cold sweat. She forced her seer vision back into dormancy.

A shudder tore through her, and she glanced around. She was home. The clouds were gone, but the image remained in her mind.

It was just before dawn, but she turned on a light and grabbed her tablet to write down as many details of the image in her mind as she could while they were still fresh.

The more she wrote, the clearer the picture became in her mind until she gasped. She knew who she was!

-=-

Harkland nervously paced in his cottage living room, glancing out the windows at the rough waters in the bay this morning. It was almost like the sea sensed the mood of the imminent meeting between Harkland and his prospective partner, M. He might be fooling himself by considering himself a partner to the mysterious being. Still, it sounded better than a slave, as Gren and Fenris implied.

He had to admit that it was his idea to bring those two into the cabal to overthrow Henry Gable's group. M informed him he needed to recruit others with skin in the game. These two fit perfectly until they failed to mention they couldn't afford to pay the participation dues. M told them to pay others to do the dirty work, but what do they do? They get their own hands dirty and immediately jeopardize the mission.

Idiots!

Now, he had to inform M that they may have become additional roadblocks to the plan.

He felt a pressure change indicating someone had arrived. He moved to stand by the picture window as the backdrop was quite distracting and drew the eye.

M wasted no time. "You requested an audience earlier than we agreed. Either you've exceeded my expectations or greatly failed to meet them. Please don't keep me in suspense," he said with a smile that didn't reach his blue eyes. Harkland thought the blue was particularly cool today.

He took a deep breath and spoke directly. "Fenris Hoek and Gren von Deussel have chosen to part ways with our cabal and are pursuing their vengeance against Henry Gable on their own."

M's eyes flared with anger. "They must not be allowed to interfere! You vouched for them!"

"They failed to mention their insolvency during our meeting, so instead of working through third parties, they directly involved themselves. They were spying on Gable's workplace and attempted to capture one of Gable's coworkers as the first attempt for interrogation. We didn't know that Roy Duncan had a Nekomata on his team. She rescued the coworker from Gren and killed Fenris' son, who was acting as his spy inside VRL," Harkland explained.

"Gren killed the Nekomata?" M surmised.

Harkland shook his head nervously. "No. The Nekomata merely savaged Gren's forehead and fled with the coworker."

M stared at Harkland for an uncomfortable moment. "Nekomata's don't hit and run. They kill or die."

"Yet this one did," Harkland said.

M went back to staring at him until a cold sweat broke out over his body. "Can you reign in these incompetents?" M asked with a carefully controlled voice.

Harkland swallowed against his dry throat. "I'm afraid Gren has shown he is much like a wild animal. Injured, he has become unpredictable and violent. With the loss of his only son, Fenris has also hardened his heart in his pursuit of vengeance. I believe they will attempt to kill Henry Gable, as you identified him as the key player in the deaths of their kin.

"Yes. Yes, I did mention it was highly likely Gable was involved. Had I known your recommendations would prove so abysmally incompetent, perhaps I would have kept that important bit of trivia to myself!" he snapped. "Did you achieve any success on your own?"

Harkland shivered as his news wasn't much better. "I was staking out Gable's residence, but I detected no sign of his coming or going—"

"HE USES MAGIC DOORS!" M yelled. "He can step through a door and appear almost anywhere! Do you think he'd continue to take public transit when he can simply travel from building to building instantly?"

Harkland's frustration flared. "Maybe you should have shared that important bit of trivia instead of his being the kin-killer?"

M bared his teeth in frustration and looked like he was seconds away from ripping Harkland's head off.

"What value are you going to bring to the battle ahead?" M asked after he calmed sufficiently.

Harkland knew he was being asked to prove he shouldn't be executed now.

"I'll bring you a child of Henry Gable as a hostage!" he said hurriedly.

M watched Harkland sweat, then a slow smile appeared on his face. "That would be of great value to me. When may I expect delivery?"

The Fae struggled to remain calm. "To study their patterns, define a plan of attack, hire the talent, create a distraction, disable the guardian, and flee successfully with the child, I'll need three—TWO, two weeks," he said hastily as he saw the twitch in M's eye.

"I'll give you two days."

Harkland froze with his mouth open in shock.

"Are you telling me you cannot fulfill this simple kidnapping of a child? Have you no contacts who are capable of doing this?" M asked with a controlled voice.

"I do! I have people!" Harkland gasped.

M smiled at him. "Excellent. Deliver the child no later, and you will have a significant role to play in the new world order," he promised.

Harkland smiled as he liked the sound of that.

"I will deal with the interference you've created," M continued, and Harkland lost his smile and nodded.

Without another word, M spun on his heel and left the cottage.

When the pressure change indicated he was alone in the home, Harkland walked back to his chair and dropped in it.

He'd just promised to achieve something more ruthless and ambitious than anything he'd ever done in his life. He was going to need to call in every favor he had. It was lucky he did know people in low places.

He frowned as he thought of his next steps. Calling the morally bankrupt mercenaries and wiring them their first installment was something he'd have to do immediately as the pressure was on! He'd have to liquidate a large portion of his estate to pay these individuals the prices they would demand for this rush job. He'd only get one chance at making it work.

This group once did wet work for Queen Mab, and he'd ingratiated himself with them by bringing them their orders, snacks, and praise from Mab. It didn't matter that Mab hadn't trusted them in her presence and used him as an interface. He could use this relationship for his benefit.

He'd make it work.

Otherwise, he was fucked.

As for Fenris and Gren, they were already fucked. He only wished he could watch their demise... from a distance.

-=-

Camila stretched luxuriously on her silk sheets as she slowly surfaced from what felt like the best night's sleep she'd ever had.

She realized she was tingling with an almost overabundance of energy. Wild Magic was humming in every cell of her body, which felt delicious! She noticed she wasn't using her glamor, but she was in her bedroom, so that was fine.

She glanced at the slight gap in her curtains and saw it was still early. Perhaps just after sunrise. The sliver of sky she could see was a pale blue.

She recalled being with Henry the day before and how incredible the sex had been. What made it exceptionally fulfilling was their emotional connection. Henry loved her. He called her his beautiful temptress, and she loved that! Her emotions rushed through her once more, making her feel like a giddy schoolgirl.

She did feel younger, stronger, and more in tune with her body than she had in years.

Smiling, she slipped off the bed to her feet and walked to the end of her bed to face the full-length mirror in the corner of her room.

She froze as a stranger stared back at her. Then recognition struck.

She was different, and that difference was significant!

Taller! Tall and curvy!

Her eyes were bright gold, and her cheekbones, which she'd always received compliments for, were a little higher and more pronounced. This made her face seem just a little slimmer and more sultry.

Her horns were at least twice as long as before and looked deadly sharp.

Her hair was fuller and longer. Her pointed ears rose just a little higher.

Her breasts were larger, and her curves were breathtaking!

Looking at her long, slim, and elegant fingers, she flexed her claws and six-inch obsidian blades extended from her fingertips. They looked and felt sharp enough to cut through steel! Her toes had shorter claws, but they seemed similarly deadly. She retracted her weapons, then looked closer at her reflection. What she'd taken for shadows behind her were—WINGS? They immediately stretched out and almost reached the walls of her large bedroom.

As if her uncomprehending mind hadn't had enough shocks, she realized the odd sensation from her ass was, in fact, a slim tail ending with a barb!

She began to shake. What on earth happened to her? Did she overdose? Henry said he was going to go twice as hard.

Then she realized she couldn't recall coming home. Henry must have carried her through a magic door when she passed out from becoming... this!

She had wings! That meant she could fly!

A shot of adrenaline went through her at the idea of sailing through the skies on her wings.

Then she recalled she couldn't be flying around her office, where she spent so much of her time. She needed to confirm her glamor still worked. She dreaded the idea of losing it.

She took some deep breaths, tucked her wings behind her again, then reached for her glamor.

Instantly she was back in her Human disguise... with changes.

Her eyes were still gold. She was still tall, busty, and elegantly regal. The glamor only hid her horns, pointed ears, wings, and tail. She looked like the Human variant of her new Uber-Succubus state.

She realized her cell was back in her office! Her purse and keys were there too.

Camila walked into the hall, adjusting to the new perspective her extra inches gave her. She picked up the handset of her condo phone, then stopped as she thought it might be too early to call anyone.

She stood there, considering her options. She could call VRL and get a driver to pick her up to take her to the office, but she realized her biometrics might have changed! The elevator and her door might not open for her.

Camila squeaked in surprise when the handset suddenly trilled with an incoming call. She almost dropped it but got it to her ear by the third ring.

"Mother?"

Her senses tingled with alertness as it was Marisa. "Yes, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Sorry to call so early, but I had a disturbing dream, and I couldn't shake the unease. When you didn't answer your cell phone, I started to really worry. You always have your cell with you," Marisa said with tension in her voice.

Camila smiled. "Everything is fine. My cell phone is in my purse, which is in my desk at work."

Marisa's confusion came through her voice. "Why did you leave your purse there? How did you get into your apartment—Henry! What happened?"

She smiled wider at her clever daughter's quick mind. "Nothing bad happened. Henry and I had the most delicious sex at work and then did it again. He's oversaturated, so I received more energy than I could handle."

"I know what that means. You've been altered," Marisa insisted.

"Yes, and it's wonderful! I highly recommend it. Oh! We could go flying together!" she gushed as the image suddenly appeared in her mind of them side by side in the skies.

There was a choked sound on the other end then Marisa's voice returned. "You have wings?"

Camila flexed them and purred at the sensation. "Yes! And a tail as well."

"Mother! Meet me at the mansion! I'm going to get Natalia ready, and I'll see you in twenty!" Marisa insisted.

Camila smiled. "Darling, please calm yourself. I'll be there, and you'll see everything is fine."

There was a click, and Camila looked at the handset in surprise. Silly girl.

She walked to the bedroom and took a quick shower. Once she dried off, she stood before the mirror and admired her new curves. She grinned as she thought how fun it would be to tease Henry.

She added clothes to her glamor and went to the closet door that led to Meixiu's. She knew most of Tish's family were creating new doors for Henry to link to Meixiu's vestibule, but as she didn't have anything important in this closet, she was comfortable just keeping her magic door as is.

Camila was looking forward to showing her friends her new look.

-=-

Meixiu began preparations for breakfast as the families would be arriving soon. The kitchen was warming up as she baked some biscuits in the oven, boiled water for tea, and started the coffee maker. She glanced out the window as she saw sunlight flash off the skin of some Silver People who were in the backyard, topping up their energy from Henry's charging station. More and more of them appeared, and her eyebrows rose in surprise.

One of them separated from the group and moved to the back door, where she knocked. Meixiu opened the door as she recognized the harness she was wearing. "Ms. Tennison, please come in."

The Sergeant smiled and entered so Meixiu could close the door.

Meixiu moved back to the stove. "I'm preparing breakfast for the others, but I can't help but notice so many Silver People have come to visit."

Mick smiled. "Did Henry not mention he invited us to hang out?"

Meixiu smiled back. "It must have slipped his mind. He is a busy man."

Mick nodded as she understood. "The General and Alice Shaw might join us as well. I believe they will be arriving by air later in the day."

Meixiu swapped the biscuits with muffins in the oven, then glanced over at the Sergeant. "I don't believe the dome will allow a helicopter to land through it.

"They'll be flying on their own, as Dragons. We didn't see the heart, arrow, or barrier art when we arrived at the driveway, so we weren't sure if the dome was still in place. We didn't feel like attempting to run at it to check."

The vampire smiled sweetly. "The art was erased, but the dome is automatically charged, so it is still up." She frowned. "I don't know if Henry adjusted the dome to allow Dragons to fly through it. They may have to be guided through by you on the driveway."

"Ah! Thanks for the head's up. I'll let the General know," Mick replied.

Meixiu held her eyes. "Is the General coming as the General or as a civilian guest?"

The Sergeant paused. "Oh! Definitely the latter. Just a personal visit."

Meixiu smiled and nodded as she turned back to her preparations. "What is Alice Shaw like?"

Mick picked up a little tension in the vampire's voice. "She seemed very nice, and the two of them are a cute couple."

Meixiu took a deep breath. "I'm sorry for all the questions, but I have not had good experiences with Dragons. One kept me as a slave in this mansion for a very long time. I have met General Crane, and I know he is a man of honor, but I do not know Alice Shaw. This mansion contains many treasures on the walls and shelves. This might prove to be too tempting for a Dragon. They are notorious and compulsive collectors."

The Sergeant watched the embarrassed blush on Meixiu's face and realized how difficult it must have been for her to say this. She moved forward to hold the woman's hand. "Please know we will ensure your visitors are on their best behavior. Henry wouldn't allow anyone to treat you poorly as well. General Crane will ensure Alice behaves as he's on your side." She smiled. "We think we've determined his collection is us, the Silver People. He's quite embarrassed about it, but we're delighted. He's a very honorable man and a powerful Dragon! Having him in our corner is a relief!"

Meixiu smiled sweetly at Mick, then moved back to continue her preparations. With a nod, the Sergeant returned to her team.

The sound of laughter came from the hallway, and Dayshia walked into the kitchen with Sandy and Michelle. They were carrying covered plates of food they'd prepared for the day.

"Good morning, Meixiu!" Sandy called out, and Kesini waved some free strands, the others carrying trays of Rice Krispy treats.

"Good morning, Meixiu!" Dayshia said, then glanced around. "Is Henry here yet?" she asked innocently.

Their host smiled as she knew Dayshia had yet to move past the friendship stage with Henry. Obviously, the woman wanted to, but something was holding her back.

"I have not seen him yet this morning. He was here last night for a short time," she replied.

Sigrid walked into the kitchen behind them, carrying Ylva in her arms. The baby was clinging to her shoulder and looking around with interest.

Everyone stopped and stared at how quickly the infant appeared to be growing. "Oh my god! She was just born a week ago, and she's already reached this stage?" Dayshia exclaimed.

Sigrid chuckled and kissed Ylva's temple, making her daughter giggle. "Valkyries grow faster in our initial years, then our growth rate slows to a crawl when we reach our peak. It's a survival trait. Everything is progressing as it should."

Hilda followed her daughter in with Stanley in her arms. He was giving her a kiss on the cheek, and she was talking to him sweetly. She suddenly saw she had an audience and tried to clear the doting grandmother's smile from her lips, but it was too late. Multiple knowing smiles were aimed at her.

"What? This one is a charmer!" she said in her defense.

Sandy and Kesini had already set their items down on the countertop, so they approached Hilda and Stanley. "With Henry as his father, could he be any other way?" Sandy teased and smiles spread across the room.

The baby boy saw Kesini approaching and reached out his hands toward her. The hair swept forward and collected Stanley from Hilda's arms.

"Careful, he's got a grip," Hilda said cautiously.

Sandy smiled as she could feel Stanley's little hands in Kesini. He wasn't squeezing the life out of her hair. He stroked it and let it slip through his little fingers as his eyes watched it move in fascination.

"He's being very gentle," she said.

Hilda's eyebrows rose in surprise as he'd tugged on her hair several times this morning when he was trying to get her to tip her face closer so he could kiss her cheek... as she'd kissed his. He was definitely making himself comfortable in her heart.

"He's a cuddler," Sigrid confirmed. "Definitely following his father's personality.

Lorelei walked into the kitchen with a shy smile. "Good morning!" The others greeted her in return then she gave them a curious look. "Who's becoming their father?"

Sandy turned to the new arrival, and Kesini presented Stanley as he sat amongst her locks. A huge smile bloomed on Lorelei's face as she saw the delighted expression on the infant's face. "A young prince on his throne of gold!" she said aloud, and delighted laughter erupted. Then it sank in who the child was, and her eyes widened. "How?"

Sandy took pity on her dazzled brain. "Valkyrie children grow fast! A survival trait."

Lorelei looked at Sigrid and saw her smiling with her daughter in her arms. "Impressive!"

"That word is often used for Valkyries."

Heads turned to see Revna grinning in the doorway. She looked... radiant.

Hilda's frown became a relieved smile. "Good morning, my friend!" She clasped Revna's hand in an arm wrestler's hold until their biceps bulged enormously as they tested each other's mettle. With a grunt, they released their hold and stepped back. "How do you feel?" she asked the new arrival.

Revna's smile became even wider. "I feel like I could take on all the Demons singlehandedly!" she exclaimed.

"That would be foolish and might have been the attitude that took Kali from us."

Revna spun to see Talia standing behind her with a scowl on her face, her intense green eyes locked on Revna's dark brown.

The dark beauty growled as she moved closer.

Kesini swept forward suddenly and held Stanley up between the faces of the two angry Valkyrie. Their expressions quickly changed from hate to surprise and embarrassment, then small smiles appeared as they watched the boy giggling from the ride Kesini was giving him.

"If we cannot put our differences aside and become a unified force before the upcoming battle, we don't deserve to call ourselves Valkyrie," Sigrid said calmly. Revna and Talia looked to her and nodded as that sank in.

Talia faced Revna and took a breath to calm herself. "My apologies for the harsh words." She held out her hand.

Revna nodded and dropped her gaze. "They were harsh, but as much as it pains me to say it, there was truth in them. Kali was the voice of reason I failed to listen to once too often. I will carry that pain for the rest of my days."

She took Talia's offered hand, then smiled as Stanley placed both of his small hands atop theirs.

Revna winced and gently pulled her hand back with a grin. "Goddess! He has a grip!"

Talia's answering smile as she rubbed her own abused finger was gentle. "He's a strong diplomat."

Chuckles spread through the kitchen.

"Why is there a traffic jam in the kitchen when we have hungry people inbound?" Steph said as she navigated through the crowded doorway with trays of food. Her sisters followed with their own offerings.

That got people moving, and Steph reached Meixiu, who took the trays and put them in a fridge. Hilda accepted Stanley back into her arms as Sandy left to set up the children's table with Dayshia and Lorelei.

The big family breakfast was about to begin and activity in a kitchen with so many cooks... was surprisingly smooth.

-=-

Roy stepped through his closet door into the mansion's lower vestibule with Mary a step behind. They shared a smile as they could hear the happy sound of children laughing and the enthusiastic voices of Tish's family chattering with each other. They really were a vocal bunch. They bypassed the stairs and used the door to the upstairs hallway, narrowly avoiding two young girls chasing each other.

"Kitchen?" Roy asked, and Mary nodded. This would be the central hub of activity, so they headed down the hall.

"Good morning, people!" Roy said with a smile as he stepped into the room with Mary.

The group called out their greetings, then returned to their tasks as Roy searched for a person he needed to speak to.

"He's not here?" Mary noted as she was looking as well.

Sandy passed by, and Roy reached out to tap her shoulder. She stopped to smile back at him. "Morning, Roy, Mary."

"Good morning. Have you seen Henry?" he asked.

Sandy shook her head. "Not yet. Maybe he's outside in the gazebo?"

Roy nodded his thanks and headed through the efficient chaos of the kitchen to the back door. He stepped outside and walked over to the structure but no Henry. Then he spotted the Silver People. Many, many Silver People. Three joined him and Mary, and he recognized Sergeant Tennison.

"Sergeant! Nice to see you and... so many others," Roy said.

Mick smiled. "These are my parents, Ron and Dixie Tennison." She looked to her folks. "This is Roy Duncan and Mary Carsten. They work with Henry."

Introductions made, and hands shook, Mick explained. "The squad is here, and the rest are family members. After the battle two nights ago, Henry invited us to join the party. We," she gestured to the entire group, "had a long talk, and we have something to ask Henry. Has he arrived yet?"

Roy sighed. "Actually, I came out here to see if he was in the gazebo. I think we'll have to check inside again."

"Henry didn't mention Meixiu was nervous about Dragons. She seems okay with the General, but Alice Shaw is an unknown to her. I called him to ask him to speak to Alice to make her aware," Mick explained.

Roy nodded with a serious expression. "The girl suffered tremendously from Walter Zhao's treatment of her. That she's so well-adjusted is a testament to her strength of character. She deserves all the happiness she can get for surviving. I appreciate you speaking to General Crane for her."

Ron and Dixie waved and went back to their friends as Mick followed Roy and Mary back inside. The latter two wiped the snow from their feet, but Mick just grinned as snow didn't stick to her.

The crowd in the kitchen was significantly reduced as people moved to the dining room to eat. Sigrid, Meixiu, Hilda, Revna, and Talia were still in the kitchen when Marisa rushed in from the opposite hall. She had Natalia in her arms, but she was looking for someone nervously.

Roy immediately became concerned. "What's wrong, Marisa?"

"Is mother here yet?" she asked.

Roy glanced at Sigrid, but she shook her head and moved closer to Marisa. "I was one of the first to arrive, and I haven't seen her."

"Seen who?"

Everyone turned to the hallway door and froze as Camila stood there with a wide smile.

"Oh my god, Camila!" Sigrid managed as she took in her friend's alterations.

Marisa was staring at her with her mouth open in shock. "It's you...."

Camila giggled at the funny comment. "Of course, it's me!"

"No, no, no, you're the one in the vision!" Marisa murmured as she shook her head slowly. "Change!" she gasped.

Camila wasn't smiling so widely anymore, but she did as her daughter asked and dropped her glamor. As children were present, she retained the glamor of a bikini, albeit a tiny one.

Then, she revealed her wings and tail.

"Your pull is quite a bit stronger," Roy noted.

"Thank you," Camila said, but she was watching her daughter. "What vision?"

Marisa sagged into a kitchen chair and rubbed her face wearily. Mary collected Natalia from her arms, and Marisa gave the woman a grateful smile.

"I've been woken twice recently by my seer sight activating on its own. The first time I didn't see anything. It was just active when I woke. Last night I saw... it was like one frame from a movie that may or may not happen. In that frame was you, like this, except you were in full battle mode."

"What else did you see?" Roy asked seriously.

Marisa cast an anxious look in his direction. "You can't gain any true insight from what I take from these moments. They're just that, moments, which may or may not come to be."

"You said it woke you. Does that happen often?" Camila asked gently.

Marisa shook her head. "No, it's only happened twice."

"I'd like to know what you saw nonetheless. You saw your mother in her new state before you physically saw her. That's significant. Other details may be import—"

"CAMILA! WINGS!" Aadiya and Mahali cried as they rushed into the kitchen to see their favorite Succubus. Their glossy red skin matched the red streaks in Camila's gleaming black.

Marisa looked at Roy. "Them. I saw them. Leading roughly two dozen sets of white wings into a battle against a hoard of Demons."

Tish joined them in the once more crowded kitchen, Celeste in her arms. "More Demons?" she asked nervously.

"In a vision Marisa had," Camila said.

Tish stared in shock at Camila for a second, then grinned. "Nicely done, Ms. V!"

Camila flashed her a joyful smile and nodded her thanks.

"Is Henry with you?" Roy asked.

"No, he wasn't there when we got home this morning." She looked to the others. "I'll probably only stay for a short time this morning as Steph kept me up all night talking. I'm exhausted."

Roy frowned. "We need to trace his steps. Who saw him last?"

"He fucked me really well, and I passed out," Revna commented bluntly but grinned as she recalled the sex.

"He was with me afterward," Talia said. "I don't have any memory of him leaving either."

Meixiu smiled shyly. "I was with him before he said he was going home to get some rest for today."

Camila grinned at Roy. "Henry had a full dance card last night, and I understand he'll be busier today?"

Roy frowned as he recalled he'd be busy as well. "So, he went home but wasn't there when you got home?" Tish nodded, then looked to the twins.

"Aadiya? Mahali? Did you see Henry last night?" Tish asked.

They were highly distracted by Camila's wings and tail, and their touches were sending delicious tingles through the tall, dark Succubus. She pulled in her wings and tugged her tail back to get their attention. "Where is Henry?"

"Henry!" Aadiya said. "Damn it!"

Mahali grinned at her sister. "Damn it! Henry forgot his cell phone at work."

Roy groaned. "Why didn't I just try calling him?"

"Because it was early, and you thought he'd be here," Mary said reasonably.

He nodded as he pulled his cell. He dialed Henry, and it went immediately to voicemail. He frowned. "Voicemail."

"Call his desk," Marisa suggested.

Roy put his cell on speaker and dialed the number. After a few rings, they heard a distinct click and buzz of being disconnected.

Marisa rolled her eyes, but she relaxed. "That's him. Give it a second and dial again."

Roy frowned at her, then did as she suggested.

"Hello?" Henry's sleepy voice answered.

"What are you doing in your office? You're needed at the mansion!" Roy growled.

Henry made some sleepy grunting sounds. "Oh! Sorry, I-I thought I'd just do a little bit of work. I must have fallen asleep."

Camila grinned. "You can finish it later!"

"Ah! Camila! How are you feeling?" Henry gasped as he struggled to wake.

"Come and find out!" Roy said and hung up.

"Roy! He's going to think I'm angry with him!" Camila scolded.

"It's going to be a busy day. He's got things to do!" Roy complained.

"Ahhhh," Camila and Sigrid said in unison as they realized what was upsetting Roy. Then they burst into giggles.

"Children," Roy grumbled.

-=-

Henry smiled at the new VRL dashboard interface he'd completed the night before. It was ready for deployment, but he'd ask Camila to arrange for a panel of staff from multiple departments to do some final user acceptance testing. It contained the features they'd asked for and more, but user interfaces were very sensitive things to change. People liked consistency. This was a departure from their old interface, but he hoped they'd find it more useful.

He shut down his computer and stood up. He realized he'd messed up when he fell asleep, but he'd pushed himself the day before, and today was going to be more.

Henry's stomach grumbled with hunger, but it also had butterflies because he'd be... with some Valkyries today. Strangers, really. That was making him procrastinate.

He gave himself a push and walked over to his door. He needed a shower, so he linked his office door to his favorite room in Meixiu's mansion and stepped through.

"Good morning, Master."

Henry paused as he released the spell and smiled at Kali.

"I overheard Mr. Duncan's call with you and assumed you might come here. May I scrub your back?" she asked with a hint of a smile on her lips.

Henry looked at Kali and noticed she was standing a bit taller today, and she wasn't hiding behind her hair quite as much. He nodded, and her smile grew wider.

He walked into the bathroom, and she followed him in. Henry dropped his glamor and stripped his kilt from his waist. Her eyes immediately went to his cock, and she licked her lips nervously.

"Your glamor," Henry said, and she immediately faced him as she switched to her Nāga form.

Henry smiled, and he moved closer to caress her jawline. "Beautiful," he sighed.

Her eyes glowed at his praise.

"Tell me what has happened to bring such confidence to my Kali," he said, and her smile grew.

"I confronted my mother. For the first time in my life, I stood up to her," Kali said, trembling with the memory.

Henry took her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly, making her suck in a breath and sway slightly as he pulled back. "I'm very proud of you! I hope you didn't leave her too shaken."

Kali actually began to giggle, but she choked it off. Henry enjoyed hearing the sound from her but let her rein herself in if she wasn't yet comfortable. She glanced at him with an embarrassed smile, but he just switched to his naked glamor and walked into the shower. With a little squeak from seeing his naked Human form, she slipped in behind him.

Henry got the water going, hot, so he could soak his muscles as they held a little residual soreness from his activities the day before. He felt Kali's hands start at his shoulders as she kneaded his muscles to release their tension. He sighed gratefully as she found the aches and rubbed them away.

"You have magic hands, Kali," he said.

"Thank you."

He washed his hair and body until she began to rub herself against his back. Her hands slipped around to his front and found his cock. A tremor went through her body, but her grip never became too tight or delicate. When he stiffened sufficiently, he turned to face Kali, and her eyes had taken on a desperate expression, so he pressed himself against her, pinning her to the wall.

"yes..." she breathed softly.

"Guide me inside you, Kali. I'm going to fuck you now." Henry instructed, and her hands quickly slipped between them to position his cock at her opening. He pushed, and she gasped aloud as he sunk slowly into her depths. She jolted, and all four of her arms clutched at him. He seized her hair and kissed her hard as she whimpered. When his pelvis rested against hers, she'd taken it all, and he felt her inner muscles begin their rippling motions, milking him. She made the cutest needful sounds as he pressed her against the wall.

Her inner motions sped up, and he wondered how long he would last. Her movements were becoming desperate.

"You feel so fucking good, Kali, stuffed full of my cock," Henry growled, and her eyes rolled back as she jolted through a colossal orgasm. It was enough to trigger his, and his cum jetted into her body.

"Ahhh! So hot! Good! Fuck me!" Kali gasped quietly to him.

Henry picked up Kali had a thing for dirty talk, so he moved his mouth to her ear.

"Take my hot cum, Kali. Feel it filling you," he said, then nibbled her earlobe, and her jaw dropped as her shaking became more severe. Her internal rippling was drawing more and more from him, and it was becoming uncomfortable. She was damn strong!

"Are you mine, Kali?" he asked, and her eyes snapped open to look into his.

"Yesssss! Fuck, yes! OH!" she gasped as her eyes rolled back.

Henry gently eased his cock from her, but she was too far gone to notice. A ripple went through her body from her head to the tip of her tail, and as it passed, her coloration deepened. Her lovely cinnamon skin was now more of a delicious chocolate brown. Her long black hair gleamed with a glossy sheen. Her scales darkened to blue-black and caught the light with their own glow. Her nails extended to four-inch obsidian blades, then retracted.

He'd evolved a Nāga. Damn. He was going to have to start wearing protection to prevent unwanted upgrading.

Henry was holding Kali up against his body, so he used an elbow to shut off the shower and eased her out of the stall. He wrapped a towel around her, then rested her on the mat as he dried himself quickly. He dropped his glamor, put his kilt on, and gently lifted Kali in his arms.

As he carried her out into the hall, he came face-to-face with Mahati. She was in her glamor but still dazzlingly lovely.

"Ah, uh, good morning Mahati! You look beautiful today," he said with an awkward smile. She gestured for him to follow her to his room, so he did and set the sleeping woman on the bed.

"Kali received a large dose of your Wild Magic?" she asked stiffly.

"Uh, it's far more saturated than it used to be. More potent," he said.

"Don't you think you should be saving that up for the Valkyrie?" she said in a huff.

Henry blinked at her and suddenly caught on. She was jealous of her sister! Silly girl!

He moved closer and took her hands in his. "Mahati, my goddess Mahati." He lifted her palms to his lips and kissed them sensually. Her breath caught as her eyes watched his mouth hungrily. He stroked his bottom lip against the sensitive skin of her inner wrist and felt her strong pulse there. There was a brief flash, then her mouth was on his as she clung to him with two arms while her other two pulled his kilt off. Her coiled tail wrapped around his legs, and they fell back onto the floor with a gentle thump, Mahati on top.

"Glamor?" she pulled back from his mouth to say, and he switched to Human. She immediately grabbed his cock with her hands, and her breath gushed as a tremor rushed through her. "So hot!"

Henry was surprised by Mahati's urgency, but he had no time to think about it as she suddenly took him inside. She forced him deeper until her body was pressed tightly against his.

He took her face in his hands and worshipped her mouth. Her lips were so incredibly soft, and her tongue slipped into his mouth to caress his. She sighed happily as she sensually ground her body against his while her internal rippling accelerated.

Henry was a little sensitive down there from Kali's aggressive milking, so his control wasn't as strong as it usually was.

He pulled back from their kiss to gasp. "Fuck, Mahati! You're going to make me come!"

She gasped as her internal muscles went into overdrive. It was too much for Henry, and he cried out as he began to surge inside her.

"Henry! So hot!" she gasped and kissed him again.

The intensity was becoming painful for Henry as he flooded Mahati with his magic-laden essence.

Finally, he managed to pull himself free. He glanced down and frowned in dismay at how angry and red his cock was. He turned his eyes to Mahati, but she was gone.

Her cinnamon coloring was deeper with a burnt red underlayer. He took a moment to admire how lovely she was and restrained himself from kissing her goddess lips while she slept.

Her coils were still wrapped around his legs, so he dropped his glamor and used his strength to ease himself from her grip. As he knelt next to her, panting from the effort, he realized her gleaming deep green, blue and gold-flecked scales were brighter, and the gold flecks had become streaks. It was a little dazzling if he was honest.

He gently lifted the older sister and carried her to the opposite side of the bed to let her rest next to Kali.

There was a knock on the door. "Henry?" It was Sigrid.

"One minute," he called out softly.

He took an inventory of his condition and felt a deep ache in his cock. This was not the way he should have started today. He was in no condition to deal with multiple Valkyrie now.

He slipped out the bedroom door but not before Sigrid caught sight of the two sleeping Nāga. "What?" she exclaimed in surprise

He held up his hands. "Not my intention to do anything that might jeopardize the schedule, but... I'm going to need some time to recover. Nāga are... strong, and I'm a little sore. I'm sorry. I'll check later this afternoon."

"Why did you upgrade them?" she hissed quietly.

He gave her a surprised look as he shook his head. "It's the freaking potency of the magic! It's getting stronger. It no longer takes two doses to make it happen."

She watched him with a sudden expression of worry, so he raised his hands. "I'm sure there's some reasonable answer for it. Nothing nefarious. Let's just get some breakfast and start our day. I'm sorry about the delay."

They walked arm in arm down the stairs to the main floor, and Henry smiled as he heard the kids laughing and talking in the front room. Sigrid must have caught his expression as she smiled and gave him a little push. "Don't be long," she said. He smiled back at her and walked into the room of kids.

"HENRY!" they cried as they hopped to their feet and rushed him. He knelt down and gave them hugs. So many little Satyrs. Danny and Tommy Nelson, Dayshia's nephews were there with all of Tish's nieces and nephews. Emily Nelson smiled shyly at Henry but gave him a warm hug as her large eyes sparkled with delight.

Layla and Felicia held back until the little ones had their turns before hugging Henry.

"So good to see you all again!" Henry said as the girls broke into wide grins. "Where are Aadiya and Mahali?" he asked.

Layla answered first. "They're with Camila. They're completely obsessed with her!"

Lights went on for Henry. He'd told them about Camila's wings the night before. "Ah! Right. Well, enjoy your breakfasts."

"FI BALL!" little three-year-old Larry Evans shouted excitedly from Henry's knee.

"Fi—oh! Fireball," Henry said then all the kids were yelling for one.

Henry closed one eye, then fixed his other on each of them, one at a time. "You finish your breakfasts and show me your empty plate, and I will give you an all-day tethered fireball." He stood up as the kids rushed back to their places. "I'm going to have my breakfast now. See you soon."

He waved and walked to the kitchen, where Meixiu rushed up to him and gave him a sweet kiss. Then he wrapped her in his arms and sighed happily.

She dashed to the counter when he released her and returned with a plate piled high with his favorites.

Henry began to salivate as he realized how hungry he was. He accepted the plate, then walked into the dining room.

"HENRY!" the adults called out, mimicking their kids. They burst into laughter at his surprised expression, then Steph popped up to her feet and tugged him to the top of the table. He noticed Mick was standing there.

"You're here! With the others?" he asked, glancing toward the back windows. He spotted the tell-tale flash of sunlight on silver.

She smiled and glanced at his plate. "Yes, we're all here, and the General will join us with Ms. Shaw before dinner. If you could spare a minute this morning, we'd like to speak to you about something."

"Oh! Sure!" He frowned as something came to mind. "How is the General getting here? I don't know if there's been more snow since last weekend."

"They're going to fly as Dragons." The Sergeant held up a hand to stop his next comment. "They'll land on the road, and we'll walk them in. They also know to be on their best behavior for our host." She gestured to Meixiu, who smiled and nodded gratefully.

"Oh! I should have spoken to you about them!" Henry said apologetically to her.

"Eat your breakfast before it gets cold!" Meixiu insisted.

He nodded to her obediently, then smiled at the Sergeant. "I'll come see you after I finish." Mick nodded and headed for the back door.

Henry scanned the table with his eyes and spotted Camila watching him with a happy smile. Sure enough, Aadiya and Mahali were sitting on either side of her, gazing at her in adoration.

He caught a glimpse of Marisa's back as she left the room and made a note to speak to her this morning if he could get a moment.

He smiled and nodded to the others, then his stomach said enough and drew his attention to his plate. The breakfast food was delicious and filling, and soon he had to push the plate back with just a solitary slice of bacon left on the plate.

"Aaaah! So close!" Tish's oldest brother, Brian, cried out in defeat.

"Yes!" Chris Nelson, Dayshia's brother-in-law, cheered.

There was a lot of friendly ribbing between the family members until Henry finally figured out that Chris and Brian had wagered on his ability to clear his plate.

"I told you it was too much!" Chris said with a smug grin.

"How could you do this to me?" Brian fake sobbed to Henry, who chuckled as he reached for the milk pitcher. The table froze as Henry poured himself a small glass, drank it, then popped the last piece of bacon into his mouth to chew with a satisfied grin as the table exploded with laughter. Chris threw his hands into the air in defeat. Then he fake-bowed to Henry for achieving the impossible.

He noticed Talia grinning at the display of family happiness. He smiled and nodded to her, then to Revna, who was grinning at him as she pictured him naked. At least, that's what her expression made him think she was imagining.

Hilda smiled at him, and he noticed she was holding Stanley on her lap. The child rested against the woman's bosom as he bent and unbent a metal spoon in his tiny hands.

A flash out the window reminded him he had to speak to the Silver People, but the kids began streaming into the room with their empty plates. A promise was a promise. He gave each child who gave him a plate a Will-o'-the-Wisp tethered to their heads as he'd done before. He counted the kids, and when they were done, he was sure there should be one more.

He got up and headed back to the front room and heard sniffles. Emily was sitting in front of her plate, which still had a slice of toast on it.

"What's wrong, kiddo?" he asked gently.

Glassy but beautiful big eyes looked up at him. "I'm full. I can't clear my plate so I don't get a fireball."

Henry immediately felt bad for pressuring her like that. He should have worded his challenge differently.

He knelt beside her and linked the spell to her crown as he pointed up. While her eyes locked onto the slow-moving flames and lit up with excitement, he palmed the slice of toast and quickly stuffed it into his mouth.

"I sphee ah emphty phplate," he mumbled as best he could around the slice of toast. She stared at her plate, then gawked at his silly face before bursting into giggles. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him before tearing away to join the others.

He grabbed a napkin and spat the toast out as he couldn't fit another crumb into his stomach. When he turned to leave, he saw Dayshia standing in the doorway, eyeing him like a big slice of chocolate cake.

"You are so sweet!" she purred, confirming his thoughts.

He gave her a sad look. "I shouldn't have made clearing their plates a requirement. I made Emily cry."

Dayshia took him in her arms and hugged him.

"Mmmm, this feels good," she sighed.

He was enjoying it, too, until a certain body part began to take notice of how plush she was and began to ache.

"I'm going to have to take a rain check on the yummy hugs for a bit as I seem to have overworked something down below," Henry sighed.

"Oh, my God! It isn't permanently damaged, is it?" she gasped.

"What's damaged?" Sandy asked as she joined Dayshia to start the clean-up.

Henry lifted his hands. "Hey, it's not damaged, just sore."

"What's sore?" Tish asked, and she entered the room with Celeste.

He threw his hands up in defeat. "I surrender! It's my dick, okay? It just needs a little rest."

"You could have just said so," Dayshia said with a straight face.

The trio burst into giggles as he gaped at them. That just seemed to make them laugh harder.

He pointed at his eyes, then theirs, as he left the room. They chuckled harder.

Brian and Chris walked down the hall toward the kid's breakfast room. "You left us something to clean up, didn't you?" Chris asked.

"They're all yours," he said as he went straight to the kitchen and out the door to join the Silver People.

Michelle and her squad quickly joined Henry, taking seats in the gazebo. While he didn't mind the cold, he engaged his heat spell to stay toasty warm.

"You wanted to speak with me?" he asked after seeing them trading glances.

Mick cleared her throat self-consciously, which was an odd sound coming from a Silver Being.

"The night the Mall was struck by lightning, you were the one we saw curled up on the ground in the strike zone, weren't you," she said.

Henry froze as the memory flashed through his mind. He had to clear his suddenly tight throat. "Why would you ask that?"

She glanced at the others. "It was reported you disappeared for a time, and they found you relatively unharmed, not too far from that spot." Henry nodded, so she continued. "When you fell through the tear, we saw a world with an orange sun and red grasses. Other Silver People were there. On Skyfall, you dropped some of us to safety on that world, including General Crane. It's called Eden. I've been there at night, but it felt good and energizing. The Silver People from Kuwait City are there." She paused, then looked into Henry's eyes. "When we fought those Demons the other night, we realized afterward that being a Silver Person wasn't enough to protect our families. We're getting the impression that there's a war coming with these Demons, and we were hoping it might be possible for some of our family members to wait out the battle on Eden. They're not soldiers. They have no training. We need them to be safe."

Henry felt his nerves settling as their request was perfectly reasonable. His fear that they would use their knowledge of his being the Lightning Man against him now felt wrong. He nodded and swallowed to relieve the tension in his throat. "Are they in agreement?"

Michelle smiled in relief as Henry didn't immediately turn her down. "Most are. My father is being stubborn. He's ex-military, but he'll listen to mom."

"I'm not going to force anyone to go there or accept anyone who feels coerced," Henry insisted, and the Sergeant raised her palm to assure him.

"Volunteers only," she said.

"They may not want to come back," Henry said as he held Mick's eyes.

Michelle smiled. "That's not necessarily a bad thing if they're happy."

Henry smiled. "Let's talk about this when General Crane gets here. I want to speak to him about the strike zone in the Mall anyway."

The Team leaned forward eagerly. "Are you going to fix it?" Yablonski blurted.

Henry looked at him. "I'd like to examine why the energy has remained so sharp. Something about that is wrong."

"It feels terrible! It charges us, but it's not a great experience. It's nothing like your charging station!" Yablonski continued, and the others nodded.

"If Crane can get me access, I'll see what I can do," Henry said.

Roy climbed up the steps and nodded to the team. "Sorry, Henry. We need to speak when you're finished here."

Henry looked at Mick, and she nodded with a smile. He turned his attention back to Roy. "Looks like we're done until General Crane arrives."

Roy held up a hand to keep the soldiers from leaving. "While you're here, I need to ask about the Demon attack with the pseudo-cloud—"

"A.C.E. Alien Cloud Entity," Mick offered. "That's their official name, as it's more accurate."

Roy nodded to her. "Okay, the A.C.E. you battled. From the report I received, it was being maneuvered by a Demon but was destroyed?"

"Yes, but you'd be better speaking to the General as he was the one who destroyed it," Mick added.

Roy looked at her in surprise, then nodded. "Right! He's a Dragon now. How did he stop it?"

"Godzilla Breath!" Yablonski cheered and got head slaps from the soldiers on either side of him.

Mick rolled her eyes but answered the question. "The General, in his Dragon form, can project a tightly focused and powerful beam of plasma from his mouth. He cut the cloud in two, and it exploded."

"If we have a weapon that can be used against the clouds, we should take out the pseudo—I mean A.C.E. Nursery. It's circling around the Pacific Ocean."

Henry recalled the enormous amount of magically charged rain the Silver People collected from the single cloud. He also remembered seeing the nursery cloud from the upper atmosphere. He had trouble imagining the magic energy stored in that.

"Uh, we can't kill it," Henry said.

Roy frowned at him, and Mick looked grateful, but then, she, her team, and their families all fed off the lightning from the clouds born from it.

Henry continued. "Think of the amount of magic stored in that cloud. If you dump that into the ocean all at once, I have no idea what impact it will have on the climate or the creatures in the waters, but you can bet it will be significant." The eyes of the soldiers widened as they imagined the scale of the magic-laced rain that would fall, not to mention the gold mesh and silver foil.

"The clouds born from the nursery are a hazard to the aviation industry, and the big one keeps pumping them out!" Roy insisted.

Henry shrugged. "Maybe there's a way to trim the nursery so it doesn't produce so many babies? I have no idea. They're not all bad. They clean our air of pollutants and feed the Silver People. But the General should definitely continue keeping the Demons from using them."

Roy nodded. "Okay, I'll speak with General Crane when he gets here." He glanced at the soldiers. "There is the... other topic we should discuss inside with Sigrid," he added awkwardly.

"Ah, yes," Henry said and stood up. He looked to Mick. "Let us know when the General arrives?"

"Will do, Henry. And thanks!" she said, and he nodded.

Roy led Henry inside, and when he saw they were alone, Roy turned to Henry. "Sigrid has set up a schedule for us—"

"Yeah, about that. "I'm going to have to postpone any intimacy for myself until this evening at the earliest," Henry said awkwardly.

Roy stared at him in frustration. "I'm expected to start this morning!"

"I can still supercharge you! I just have to give a part of my anatomy time to recover," he explained.

Roy frowned at him. "Can't you just heal yourself?"

Henry paused, then scowled at Roy. "The self-healing spells hurt! I'm not using one on my junk!"

There was a burst of high-pitched giggles as Layla and Felicia rushed past on their way to the back door to head outside.

Henry's face burned with embarrassment as he shared a look with Roy. They left the corridor and walked to the living room entrance, where they saw Sigrid sitting with Hilda, Revna, and Talia. Henry spotted three other Valkyrie he recognized. Sylvi, Ingrid, and Runa all turned to look back at them with mixed expressions. Sylvi and Ingrid watched Henry with interest, but Runa avoided his eye.

Sigrid saw they'd arrived, and Henry saw the anxiety on her face. Fuck. She was worried about the timeline.

Fuck. He took a deep breath and let it out.

He raised a finger and caught Roy's arm as the man made to step into the room. "Come with me."

The Valkyries watched in confusion as Henry left with Roy in tow. He remained silent as he led Roy to the cave below the mansion, right to the hidden corridor to Eden.

"Why are we going to Eden?" Roy finally asked.

Henry sighed as he sealed the corridor's end behind them. "We're not. I just need someplace private and soundproof to hide as I try to heal my junk."

Roy's brows rose. "You told me you were going to wait!"

Henry nodded. "Then I saw how much Sigrid is worried about getting the Valkyrie ready in time." He raised his hand as Roy began to protest. "It's fine. Just... if I pass out, make sure I don't crack my skull against the floor."

Henry prepared the self-heal and instructed it to restrict itself to his groin to alleviate the bruising. Taking another deep breath, he locked eyes with Roy and nodded. The man returned the gesture then it was too late as it felt like the players from a European football club were practicing their penalty kicks with Henry's balls, even the goalkeeper. He immediately dropped to his knees as Roy grabbed his arm to keep him from falling completely over.

It was just by the strength of his will that he kept his breakfast from leaving his body at speed.

He clung to Roy's arm as wave after wave of pain and nausea passed through his groin and stomach. Then it faded, and he felt his muscles shaking. His stomach complained that it was empty as he'd used all the energy of his first meal.

"Holy crap," he said weakly. "Thank god I was unconscious the last time I healed that area."

"She could have waited!" Roy insisted, upset to see Henry in such pain.

Henry got back on his hooves and leaned back against the wall as he took some deep breaths. He pointed a thumb at the doors leading to Eden.

"The Silver Soldiers have asked if it would be possible for their families to go to Eden to sit through the Demon war," he said.

Roy frowned. "You're going to show them you have a doorway to the other dimension? General Crane is a great guy, but he's still a General in the US Army, and he reports to the President! Do you know what this government, any government, would do to have access to the resources of another planet?"

"Yeah, I'm aware. I'm not giving them free access," Henry said. "Eden will remain the home of the Glass People and the Silver People. Humanity is in the process of changing into something completely new. We have the opportunity to help it become more in tune with nature. Balance needs to be restored. Maybe they can visit if they can prove they can be responsible."

"How do you plan to keep them out if they decide they want it?" Roy insisted.

Henry smiled and gestured to the doors. "Go ahead. Open them."

Roy frowned. "The spell's not active."

"Activate it."

Roy was silent as he stared at Henry. "I can't. And neither can they. I get that. But they have ways of applying pressure to get you to open them, and some of those ways would be very unpleasant for the people we care for. I still say secrecy is our best option."

Henry sighed as he imagined the escalating brinkmanship between him and the government. He didn't want to show his hand too quickly. It was better to be underestimated.

"Okay, but I need to get a lot of Silver People to Eden. Manually opening a rift is exhausting, so the doorway is the best option. The Silver People aren't going to tell anyone. Especially if you impress upon them the significance of the danger they put everyone in if they do. General Crane would also understand the importance of maintaining the secret."

Roy watched Henry's face as he considered the risk and weighed the odds. Finally, he nodded. "What about his girlfriend, Alice Shaw?" Roy asked.

"If the General is onboard, he will convince her," Henry suggested. "We'd better get back to Sigrid. Let me supercharge you before we go up."

Roy sighed. "Fine."

Henry gave Roy a one-armed hug and opened his rift, flooding Roy with energy quickly as he tracked his saturation by holding his hand. He dialed it down to a trickle, then stepped back just as Roy reached the same level he'd had for Hilda.

Roy's eyes were wide and startled. "I'm not a fuckin' party balloon! Take a little care!"

"Are you okay?" Henry asked cautiously.

"Well... I think so, but I feel like I may go off like a firework!" Roy said.

Henry smiled. "Save that for the Valkyrie."

"Aye, yer a million chuckles," Roy said wearily as Henry grinned.

He released the spell and opened the corridor end. Several kids on the other side of the vanished wall shrieked and rushed away, giggling.

Roy gave him a cautious look. "You said it was soundproof?"

"Yes, we had privacy. I didn't want anyone to hear in case I screamed," Henry muttered as he sealed the entrance behind him.

They returned to the living room, and two more Valkyrie had joined them. Henry didn't know their names, but both were tall and broad-shouldered with powerful muscles, long black hair tied in twin-tail braids poking out from just behind their ears. He thought it was an odd style choice for their otherwise tough-as-nails image. He recalled they'd spent the previous weekend in conversation with Talia and the blonde twins.

Sigrid smiled in relief when Henry gave her the thumbs up to indicate he was good to go. She gestured for him to come closer so she could introduce the new arrivals.

"Henry, this is Truda and Gerta. They spoke with Talia, and both would like to be upgraded to the Wild Magic."

Gerta stepped forward and shook Henry's hand, and he gave back as good as he got plus a little, putting a twinkle in her eye. Truda saw her friend's expression and grinned.

"Talia said you have a Human glamor?" Gerta asked as she flexed her fingers.

Henry activated it with his t-shirt, jeans, and sandals.

Both brunettes smiled widely.

He heard pleased sounds and looked over his shoulder to see Silvi and Ingrid eyeing him hungrily. He spotted Roy guiding Runa toward the stairs.

He faced the brunettes. "Who wants to be first?"

Gerta grinned. "We do everything together. Is that going to be a problem?"

Henry blinked at her in surprise. "Uh, no. I guess that's fine, but it begs the question, how many of your dates survive the evening?"

Truda had a loud and deep laugh as she slapped Henry on the back to show how much she appreciated his clever words.

Sigrid grinned at Henry. "Top floor, last room on the left," she said quietly, and he just nodded and headed for the stairs with the two friends following.

It was going to be a busy afternoon.

-=-

Marisa sat in her living room cursing the day she discovered she had abilities. This morning at breakfast, when Henry walked into the dining room with his overflowing plate, she'd looked at his gentle smile and recalled the same expression on the face of a much smaller man when he'd been Stanley.

She'd felt a warmth spreading through her chest and an unexpected urgency. She'd stood to approach him. She needed... to tell him.

Then her sight flared, and she saw an image of Henry being sucked into a vile substance her mind couldn't fully comprehend but made her want to shriek in terror.

Her legs changed her direction, and she left the room instead.

Now here she hid, Natalia resting comfortably on the cushions beside her, as her mind spun in circles. Should she tell him what she saw? She didn't understand it. It, like her vision of her mother, still felt unreal, as they were only potentials, not reality.

She knew she was also hiding from herself. Her fear was keeping her from admitting what she might be feeling. She was protecting herself.

Right now, that's the only one she felt capable of protecting.

-=-

Henry was relaxing in the front sitting room, sitting next to Lorelei, watching some of the younger kids play with a magic drawing wall he'd created for them. It was just a ten-foot wide, four-foot tall transparent forcefield he'd fixed in place and added some touch features to the surface. Using a finger, they could draw on it with light. Pressure sensitive, the light colors changed as more pressure was applied. Scrubbing the field with the side of your palm or forearm cleared the light like a brush on a chalkboard.

The kids chatted, laughing, and giggling as they let their imaginations run wild. The lovely artist beside him was grinning as she enjoyed the enthusiastic expression of their artistic sides. Her eyes twinkled with delight.

He was feeling pleasantly tired from his efforts of the afternoon.

The twin-tail ladies had been fun and quite a workout. Again, he couldn't see how any human could have survived their attentions or lasted long enough to satisfy both of them.

When he'd returned from his session with them, he'd recharged Roy (more carefully this time) and watched him head upstairs with Ingrid.

Sylvi was Henry's next partner, and he was surprised by how gentle she was. She preferred lovemaking over brute force gratification, which was a welcome surprise. Granted, strength and stamina were key to helping Sylvi reach her release once their passions reached their peaks.

They were running out of spare bedrooms, so for Henry's next two Valkyrie, a redhead named Freda and a blonde named Ang, they used bedrooms in Sigrid's home.

Having sex with strangers wasn't terribly comfortable, but Henry did his best to put them at ease, and they seemed pleased by this. They were very enthusiastic by the end, and each was humming with the Wild Magic coursing through them as they slept through their recovery.

Henry charged Roy once more before the redhead headed off with one of the shortest Valkyrie Henry had ever seen. There might have been some Dwarf blood there. She gave Henry an uncomfortable glance and then was off to rock Roy's world.

Sigrid then told Henry he had the evening to himself. He dropped his glamor and stretched his muscles to ease some of the knots. Sigrid watched this display with her lower lip in her teeth and snuck in for a kiss once he was done. She patted his chest and pushed him gently from the living room before she jumped him.

He went looking for Marisa, but Camila told him she'd slept poorly and went home to get some rest. He felt disappointed as he really wanted to speak to her, they hadn't spent any time together recently, and he missed her.

Then the kids rushed up to him as he walked into the front sitting room, which lifted his spirits. They were so excited about the new doors they'd helped decorate. They'd been told Henry would visit each of their homes the following day to link them to their vestibule door. They wanted to show him how they'd decorated the new door and frame their parents had mounted in their homes against a free wall.

When Lorelei joined him, Henry came up with the idea to give them a drawing board that worked with light which he wouldn't have to assist them with.

Now he was admiring their work, but they were so enthralled it was like he no longer existed. That put a grin on his face.

He spotted Siobhan poking her head in the door, looking for him. She had her shades on again. When she sat on Henry's other side, he raised a brow but wondered if she could see that as she likely had her eyes closed.

"Your making faces at me," she said.

"Oh! You can see!" he exclaimed quietly.

She nodded. "I see you very clearly, even with my eyes closed. You still glow like the sun, but I can see your features."

Henry frowned. "I thought the energy would be reduced when I added the aperture on my rift! Am I still gushing energy?"

She shook her head. "No, the flow has been dramatically reduced, but your body is still saturated."

"May I see?" Lorelei asked, and Siobhan put her arm along the back of the couch behind Henry touching her shoulder so Lorelei could link with her.

"Ooo! You're pretty!" Lorelei giggled.

Henry huffed. "The magic in me is becoming more potent. Too potent."

"It's probably because you're blocking the flow with something linked to you. Due to the pressure behind the flow, the aperture is absorbing the energy, and that's leaking into your cells," Lorelei suggested.

Henry stared at her with his mouth open. "I didn't even think of that!"

Lorelei blushed. "Not just a pretty face."

"No! A beautiful face with a brilliant mind behind it!" he insisted.

She grinned happily and gave him a quick kiss in thanks for the compliment.

Henry put his mind to the problem. "But how do I build an aperture over my rift without having it mounted to me?"

Siobhan patted his leg. "Henry, don't overthink this. You've achieved the primary goal of preventing the energy from splashing over everyone."

"Yes, but the oversaturation is leading to triggered evolutions. Camila was the first. Now the Valkyries only need one dose to be linked to the Wild Magic Realm... unless they're really big, like Revna," he said.

"Changing that now isn't a desirable outcome, right? You still have more Valkyrie to assist?" Siobhan said, and he nodded. Then her expression became hesitant. "I feel guilty saying that, as I've come to ask you to help me transform someone into a Selkie."

Henry looked at her curiously. There was something he recalled about that. "Coast Guard?"

Siobhan smiled in relief. "Yes. Ensign Bailey from the Coast Guard response boat that helped us with General Crane. I spent an afternoon at Heather's house, and she told me how her Grandmother was a firm believer in Selkie's and likely saw some when she was a girl in Ireland. They lived in the same region my family did, so it's possible. She wants to become a Selkie. Will you help me?"

Henry nodded. "Of course I will."

"It shouldn't take long. We'll be back before dinner," Siobhan promised.

Henry nodded, so Siobhan pulled out her cell and dialed.

After the third ring, Henry heard someone pick up. "Hello?"

"Heather? This is Siobhan. Are you ready?" she asked.

"Umm, yes," the nervous voice said.

Henry raised a brow. "If she's not sure..." he said quietly.

"Heather, is something wrong?" Siobhan asked.

There was a pause. "I just have some questions. When could you be here?"

"Now," she said, glancing at Henry.

"You're here?" she exclaimed, and they heard running noises and a door opening.

Henry walked out of the sitting room to stand before a closet door with Siobhan at his side.

"No. Close the door," Siobhan said.

"What?" Heather asked.

"Close the door and wait for a knock," Siobhan instructed. She nodded to Henry.

They heard the thump and click of it closing again, then Henry touched Siobhan's arm as she closed her eyes and touched the door. The spell took hold.

Siobhan opened her eyes and grinned at Henry before knocking.

When the door swept open once more, Henry recognized the ensign but not the older couple standing in the hallway behind her.

While Heather Bailey stared at them in shock, the older woman behind her moaned and fainted, forcing her husband to catch her. Several others moved into the hall to assist him with lifting the woman to bring her into the room to the left of the front entrance.

Heather was speechless, so Siobhan stepped inside her home. "Magic door," she explained to the ensign. "You remember Henry? He helped with the General...." Siobhan tapered off as she could see around the corner where quite a few people were gathered. "What's going on?

Heather got her voice back. "My mum discovered what I was going to do, and it kind of blew up into a family meeting. Everyone came over."

Henry moved to the living room entrance, and everyone got an eyeful of him.

"Oh my god! What are you?" a blonde woman gasped when she saw him. Henry roughly guessed she was in her late forties, but she was very pretty in a mom-next-door way.

Heather raised her hands to get their attention. "Everyone, please take a seat! This is my friend Siobhan."

There was a stirring as the group focused on the brunette before them. Obviously, they'd been told what she was. Henry saw a lot of eager anticipation in their eyes, and he took that as a good sign.

Then he saw the blonde was watching him, not Siobhan.

He had to start wearing a shirt. The bare-chested look was too distracting.

Heather continued. "You know what I intend to do, and Siobhan has graciously agreed to assist me. Mum? Are you with us again?"

"Yes, Heather. You just surprised me with the tall, horned man!" the mother said.

"He was a surprise to me, too," Heather agreed.

"Can we get to the part where you explain why so many people are in your living room for something that was supposed to be private and secret?" Siobhan said with an edge to her voice.

Heather gave her an anxious look. "I'm so sorry it got out of hand. I definitely want to proceed, but... my family may want to join me."

Henry frowned. "Under normal circumstances, the transformations are completely random. The vast majority of people worldwide will one day reach a point of magic saturation, and their bodies will just change into one of... I don't know how many different options. Questions will be asked if a group suddenly transforms into the same form. The ability to choose your form is not available to everyone. It has two very specific requirements: the presence of someone already transformed into the desired form and a concentrated dose of Wild Magic coming from that transformed being. In this instance, Siobhan is the transformed being, and I'm the one who will provide the Wild Magic she will share with you. I need you to understand that I cannot do this for everyone. It is physically impossible for me to help billions of people even if I wanted to. How will you explain to people this miracle of an entire family transforming into the same race?"

Everyone seemed to be thinking about that then the blonde spoke up. "I'm terrified by the random nature of the change. My husband, Leo, was one of the early changes. We don't know why or what he was exposed to, but he changed, and his new form wasn't good. He had the red-eyed condition and died in the hospital. I've heard that the percentage of these bad transformations is minimal, but it happened to him, and now I live in dread."

"Maybe we could ask Tish to speak to them?" Siobhan suggested.

Henry sighed in frustration. "Yeah... sure."

Siobhan rushed away. Heather looked upset.

"She'll be right back," Henry said.

Henry stood before the group, who were all staring at him. He began to feel awkward.

"Anyone want to see a magic trick?" he asked.

The youngest member of their group was a wide-eyed six-year-old boy. "Yes!" he called out.

Henry smiled and locked eyes with the blonde. "If I could have a lovely volunteer from the audience?" He held his hand out to her, and the family members on either side of her giggled and pushed her to her feet.

"Thank you, lovely volunteer! Your name, please?" Henry asked.

She gawked at the muscles on his chest, then up into his eyes. "Jillian."

"Okay, Jillian! Please turn and face the audience. Right. Now, hold your arms straight out from your sides with your palms up." Henry moved behind her. "Now, don't move."

Henry called up his Will-O'-the-Wisp spell to create softball-sized flames, but he made them invisible. He reached out his own arms and, using his index fingers, tapped from her palms to her head at five-inch intervals.

When he was done, he moved to her side and looked at the six-year-old. "Now we say the magic word. What is it?"

"PLEASE!" the boy shouted excitedly, and his family laughed. Henry launched the spell, and every invisible orb he'd anchored to her suddenly popped into sight, slowly rippling with a different color.

"AHHH!" Henry's audience gasped in shock, seeing so many flaming orbs hovering so close to the woman's body. He immediately ran his fingers through the balls to prove they wouldn't set her on fire.

Jillian stared in shock at the flame balls swaying gently above her arms. "What?"

"They're harmless but very pretty," he assured her.

He clapped his hands, and the orbs disappeared with a pop. "A big hand for my brave and pretty volunteer, Jillian."

The room erupted into clapping and whistles. Her face was very red, but she smiled as she returned to her seat.

Henry made a smaller flame appear and reached out to the small boy. He eagerly held out his hand, and Henry poked his palm to bind the spell to him. "Touch it while thinking of a color." Henry demonstrated, and the boy squealed excitedly as the flames turned green with yellow polka dots. He immediately began poking it to change it from color to color.

Siobhan returned with Tish, who was carrying Celeste in her arms.

"What are you up to?" Tish asked with a crooked smile.

"Siobhan left me with an audience, so I was forced to resort to magic tricks," Henry replied.

"A man of many talents," Tish said and bounced her eyebrows. That generated some giggles from the ladies.

"Tish, they'd like to force their transformation so the entire family follows one form. Perhaps you might address the issues that will create, and what can be done?" Henry asked.

Tish smiled and nodded. She spotted two ladies who were showing signs of being pregnant. "Firstly, I'd like to set some minds at ease. Based on my own experience and some of my family members, the transformation process does not negatively impact children in the womb. They transform with the mother and become whatever the mother does.

The pregnant ladies smiled with relief.

"Let me tell you about my experience on the night of Skyfall," Tish began.

Henry watched the faces of Bailey's family, and they were all paying close attention as Tish explained how her family all changed at once into Fauns and how they had to work to keep this fact secret from their friends and coworkers to avoid the negative backlash such a disclosure would cause.

When she finished, there were a lot of thoughtful expressions.

Henry stepped forward. "I'm not saying I won't help you, but I'm asking you to take this very seriously. Think it through and be prepared to protect the secret."

Siobhan picked up that point. "As Selkies have a Human disguise, you can keep the secret by not transforming in front of anyone. They don't need to know what you are. Secrecy is a Selkie tradition, and you must follow it with vigilance." She looked to see if that sank in.

"The first rule of being a Selkie?" she yelled out like a Drill Sergeant.

"You do NOT talk about Selkies!" Heather sounded off in response, and her family chuckled.

"This is a one-time deal. No take-backs. Be completely sure," Siobhan said, looking into each of their eyes, but she saw no hesitation. She looked to Tish. "Could you close the blinds?" She looked at the family members. "We should move the coffee table out with these extra chairs. We need space in the center of the room."

Everyone got busy moving furniture then they gathered in the room. Henry could see the excitement and tension on their faces. There was determination there too. They were taking steps to avoid falling victim to random chance, and they'd still have a Human disguise.

Siobhan moved to the middle of the group with Heather directly before her. "Group hug everybody. Squeeze tight like you mean it!" Henry watched with a smile as the family wrapped their arms around each other and hugged.

Once everyone was tightly clinging to each other, Henry reached over the group to rest his hand on Siobhan's head.

"I'm going to start feeding the energy into you. Concentrate your will on having it radiate outwards as you hug your Selkie family," Henry said softly.

He eased the aperture over his rift open and directed the energy through his arm into Siobhan.

"Ooo! That's a rush!" she sighed.

He felt her body absorbing the energy then it was pulsing outwards in waves. Siobhan had a peaceful and happy look on her face as Henry increased the flow. The pulses became stronger, and Henry felt Siobhan's will suddenly surround the people hugging her. It felt like she was boldly saying mine!

Sixteen slim bundles of luxurious brown fur gently tumbled to the carpet in a pile as Henry pulled his arm back and closed his rift once more. He looked over at the surprised expression on Tish's face. "Was it like that with your family?"

She smiled at him. "Probably. I don't recall the exact moment, but when I came to, I was still on my hooves in the middle of a bunch of sleeping Fauns." She looked for Siobhan, but where one furry body ended and another began was difficult to detect.

"It seems to have worked. Let's let them sleep it off," Henry suggested.

They went back through the front door into the mansion.

"There you are! It's dinner time!" Dayshia said as she met them in the hallway. "Where is Siobhan?"

"She's taking a nap," Tish said.

Henry put a lock spell on the closet door, keeping people from entering it, but Siobhan could pass through it. After she did, it would release the magic.

He followed Tish and Dayshia down into the cavern, where they heard the laughter and conversation traveling up the corridor. Dayshia looked over her shoulder at Henry.

"We've had several additional Valkyrie arrive. They're a noisy bunch, aren't they," she said with a coy smile.

Henry just nodded and didn't rise to the bait of her teasing. Tish gently slapped Dayshia's arm.

Tish glanced at Henry. "A couple of the older kids were caught in the hallways upstairs, listening to all the... yelling. One said they thought they heard fighting. We posted a guard on the stairs after that."

Henry rubbed his eyes as he sighed. "I knew it was a bad idea to do this here."

Dayshia stopped before they left the entrance to the cavern and wrapped her arms around Henry. He looked into her lovely eyes and saw her compassion there. "I didn't mean to upset you," she said contritely.

Henry slid his fingers into her hair as he kissed her sensuous mouth and felt her tighten her grip on him. He squeezed her as well, and she trembled in his arms. "Thank you, Dayshia," he said and kissed her temple.

When he pulled back, he could see Tish's knowing smile as she turned to enter the main chamber.

He looked down into Dayshia's large eyes, which were watching his face.

"Next week, you and I are going on a date. A real one," she insisted.

He smiled. "I'd like that."

She pulled back and straightened her clothes. With a last glance at Henry, Dayshia continued into the vast cavern filled with light, warmth, and happy conversations. There was a lull in the volume level, and he noted that the Valkyries clustered to the right had paused their talking to look in his direction.

Revna was watching him hungrily with a wide grin and licked her lips as she caught his eye. He did his best not to react to that.

Talia was just smiling and politely waved, so he returned the gesture with a smile of his own. Three Valkyries he didn't know were crowded around her and cast curious looks in his direction.

Henry was surprised to see Truda and Gerta standing with the others. They'd woken earlier than he expected, but they'd been the first of the day. They spotted him and rushed over to his side.

"How are you feeling?" he asked with a smile.

"We feel... younger!" Truda said with an almost incredulous smile.

Gerta couldn't keep the grin from her face as well. "It's like having the energy of a teen all over again. I didn't realize how much I'd lost!"

"Let me check something," Henry said, holding his hands out to them. "Talia!" he called, and she joined them as Truda and Gerta held his hands. "Let Talia join the circle. I'm going to try topping you up. A final check on your binding to the Wild Magic."

Talia stood between the two, holding their hands, then Henry spotted Revna running up to join the chain. She stepped between Talia and Gerta, and the link was complete. Henry saw he was drawing every eye in the vast chamber. "Okay, here goes."

He dialed open his aperture and directed the energy down both arms. Truda and Gerta gasped as they felt the energy flooding into their bodies, quickly followed by similar sounds from Revna and Talia.

They were all pretty close to full already, but this pushed them into a slightly oversaturated state before Henry stopped the flow.

Four sets of wings exploded into view, and the cavern filled with light.

"Put them away!" Henry yelled as he shut his eyes tightly.

The four Valkyrie were dazed from the flood of energy, but they pulled their wings in one after another, and the room returned to normal light levels.

Henry looked back at the people gathered in the chamber, who were all blinking the spots from their eyes.

"Sorry! Just checking!" he called out with an embarrassed smile.

"Are ya daft?" Roy growled as he stomped up to Henry.

The four charged ladies were being peppered with questions by the three newly arrived Valkyrie. He looked back at Roy. "I forgot they had a tendency to pop their wings open when fully charged."

Silvi and Runa walked down the hall into the chamber and smiled at the others. Talia immediately grabbed their hands and led her over to Henry. "Can you top them up as well?"

Runa gave her a surprised look and glanced uncomfortably at Henry.

"It's not with sex. Just holding hands," Henry said to ease her mind. "Let's get a bit of privacy."

"Why do we need privacy if there is no sex," Runa asked suspiciously.

"Runa! Don't be rude! Henry speaks the truth!" Talia snapped, and Runa looked at the other warrior's fierce expression before looking at Henry.

"My apologies," Runa mumbled to him.

"Your wings will likely open when you top up, and the brightness hurts our other guest's eyes," Henry explained, and Runa's eyes opened wide in surprise. Henry just took them back into the corridor to the vestibule, and when he saw no one in sight, they linked hands, and he brought their energy up. Sure enough, their wings flashed into being, and he quickly had them close them up again.

"I feel like I'm standing in a field of lightning," Runa sighed.

"My skin is tingling too!" Silvi grinned. He gestured for them to return to the others, and they joined in the enthusiastic chatter.

Hilda was standing next to Sigrid and cast a quick glance at him. He smiled and crooked a finger at her. She handed Ylva to Talia and walked quickly toward him without losing any dignity in her eagerness.

He charged her in the hall, and she surprised him with a kiss on the cheek before rushing back to the others with a wide grin.

Henry finally managed to make it all the way into the cavern, which had become the main dining hall when company was over. He spotted the windows mounted on the cavern's south wall showing the front drive. The Silver Soldiers were rushing by, heading to the road. General Crane and his date were probably arriving.

He hoped this visit went well.

-=-

Gordon glided in with his wings spread wide, almost giddy with the joy flying gave him. As he settled to land on the lane before the driveway, he reined in his emotions and looked over at Alice as she landed gently as well.

"Any reason we couldn't just land by the front door?" she asked as she looked at the long driveway ahead.

This was his first time at the mansion, which belonged to Henry's friend Meixiu. He'd heard reports from his team about it but seeing it in person was a completely different experience. He moved forward and reached out to place his large, clawed hand on the outer surface of the force field. The code for it, or its spell, was obscured, so Henry wasn't sharing this one.

Alice glanced at him and reached out her smaller hand. "Oh! There is something here! A force field?" she asked in surprise.

Gordon nodded. "Yes, one that would have given us quite a bump if we tried landing through it."

"Not very hospitable," Alice asserted.

He looked at her and raised a brow. "Someone already tried to drop bombs on the mansion, so I understand Henry's caution. The field thankfully disabled the missiles harmlessly." When he saw her next question about who would do that, he raised a hand. "It's classified, so that's all I can say."

Mick and Feinberg suddenly appeared at the end of the driveway.

Alice yelped, and the two soldiers raised their hands to calm her.

"It's just the invisibility feature of the shield," Mick said quickly to calm Alice, who settled back to the ground.

Gordon switched back to his Human form, grateful he'd prepared with warm clothes. Alice changed as well after she settled her nerves.

"I don't like the invisibility feature," she muttered.

Mick took Gordon's hand, and Feinberg held Alice's as they guided the new arrivals through the force field.

Alice was stunned to see the rest of the team standing on the driveway. Then came the sound of children laughing and playing ahead. He heard someone calling for them to come inside for dinner. Her eyes picked up the shapes of Satyrs all running for the front door as they shrieked and giggled.

Gordon was seriously impressed. All this activity and noise was hidden on the outside of the shield.

He looked at Alice and saw her surprise. He smiled as his expression was probably the same.

Mick explained. "The invisibility and soundproofing makes their parents feel comfortable letting the kids outside to play together. So many related Fauns proves the possibility of circumventing the random nature of the transformation. That fact can't be exposed because the key to it is Henry, and he can't do this for everyone."

Comprehension appeared on Alice's face. "Right! If the media got wind of this, they'd be hounded for the answer of how they did it!"

"Exactly," Gordon said. "Another secret to be kept." He looked into her eyes, and she nodded.

"There are a lot of secrets surrounding our Satyr friend," she responded.

Gordon sighed with a nod.

"Can we fly inside the field?" Alice asked.

Mick smiled. "Yes, just don't fly too high, or you're likely to pass through it, and you won't be able to get back in."

Alice immediately switched to her Dragon form and floated up, so Gordon followed her lead.

"Before you go in, may we show you Henry's charging station?" Mick asked.

"Lead on," Gordon said.

The soldiers smiled and rushed away, so he flew after them, with Alice following.

He admired the lovely mansion as he flew around it and saw it was quite large.

A short distance behind the building, just next to the woods, Gordon spotted the rest of his Silver People. He felt that warm tingle in his chest again as he spotted them. He'd have to speak to Alice about that.

They landed next to the group, switched back to Human, and Gordon greeted them with smiles and handshakes.

"You're giving off a bit of a charge," Ron Tennison said after he released his hand.

"Yes, I've been told I have a rift to the Wild Magic realm inside me as well. Not as strong as Henry's," he replied, and smiles popped up on all the nearby silver faces. That internal tingle returned. "Let's see the charging station," he said with a grin.

Ron and Mick led him through the woods a short distance to a small clearing. Seeing the charging station was anticlimactic as it was just one of those chrome reflecting orbs people put in their gardens. As he got closer, he could feel the spells. One for keeping the stand anchored to the ground and one for linking it to a power source deep underground. The second was of more interest. How could there be a source of Wild Magic underground when it came from another dimension? More mysteries.

He hovered his hand over the orb and felt it giving off a pleasant hum of energy. He smiled at Mick. "That's quite nice!"

"Yes, the energy replenishes us quickly without the jagged edges we feel from the Strike Zone in the Mall. Henry said he's going to ask you if he can get permission to examine it to see why it still feels like that," Mick explained.

Gordon considered that. The Pentagon's eggheads were currently keeping a tight grip on access, and he'd had to fight to get permission to let his people just stand near it to charge. He'd have to speak to some senior-level people to get access for Henry. He didn't have much in the way of leverage with them.

Then he recalled a pleading letter from a group of NSA scientists asking him to use his influence with Henry to obtain a Quantum Tunneling Server Array. He knew Henry knew how to make them, but he wasn't sure if the man would trade one for access to the strike zone. If he would, it might be a bargaining chip he could use for Henry.

He looked at Alice. "Let's go meet our hosts."

They switched to their Dragon forms and flew around the house to the front door, where they changed back. Mick and Feinberg joined them.

"You have become quite smooth at the transition between your forms," Alice said to him with a pleased smile.

"It's becoming almost second nature. Almost," he replied with a self-conscious smile.

As they approached the door, it opened, and Meixiu was standing in the opening. She was smiling at them, but Gordon could tell she was doing her best to hide her nervousness.

"Good evening, Meixiu. Thank you for your gracious invitation to visit," he said with a friendly smile. He glanced at Alice, who he'd prepared in advance.

Alice gave her a little bow. "Yes, thank you for inviting us. Please rest assured we will be on our best behavior and won't do anything to make you regret this hospitality."

Meixiu's smile widened as she allowed herself to relax. She nodded to them.

"Please come in. Dinner is about to be served in the cavern dining room," Meixiu said as she stepped back to let them inside.

When Alice stepped into the hall, she paused as she spotted a Renoir hanging on the wall.

Her eyes widened in appreciation then she spotted Meixiu watching her carefully. She gave the woman a self-conscious smile. "I understand you inherited Walter Zhao's collection. I had no idea he had such beautiful art! That's a wonderful Renoir! Good for you!"

"There are many pieces of lovely art, but some I am not so fond of. I am auctioning these off slowly so others may enjoy them," she said.

Alice's smile widened. "I would welcome the opportunity to place a bid on them. Please let me know if you've grown tired of some."

Gordon gave her a look, and Alice nodded to him as she took his arm. Meixiu led them to a door, and they found themselves in a long rectangular hall with colorfully painted doors along both sides of the room. The double doors at the end of the hall led into a downward-sloping tunnel carved from solid rock. Orbs of slowly burning fire lit their way. Ahead, they could hear laughter from adults and children and a murmur of conversations.

When they came into view of the chamber, Gordon and Alice slowed to a halt with the Silver Soldiers behind them as they all tried to absorb what they were seeing.

Numerous round tables were arranged around a vast cavern which was beautifully lit with large versions of the fireballs they'd seen in the tunnel. They seemed to be floating, but they caught the gleam of threads spanning the room beneath the orbs.

On either side of the space were large windows showing the view from the house's front and back of the house... but weren't they underground?

Bringing their eyes back to the other guests, they saw many large and fierce-looking female warriors, a large number of Fauns of all ages, and a few other races they didn't immediately recognize.

"Welcome to Meixiu's Mansion," Henry said as he walked down the hallway behind them. They moved out of the doorway as Henry's arms were full. He was carrying a large tray piled high with chicken wings. He grinned at them as he passed by to deliver the tray to a buffet table set up along the north wall before the windows.

Following Henry came a veritable parade of Fauns carrying more and more food. All of this was placed on the tables until there was no room left. Henry walked back to shake their hands.

"Glad you could join us. I've got you seated at table one." He glanced at Mick, who raised her hands.

"We don't need to sit. We're just here for the discussion after dinner. We'll be by the windows?" she said, pointing to the north-facing windows.

Hearing her curious tone, Henry grinned. "They're like magic doors, except they just transmit a copy of the light the real windows are exposed to."

A loud whistle cut through the noise, and everyone turned to face Sigrid, standing next to Meixiu as she waited to speak.

"Welcome to my home! Once more, you have filled the space with your warmth and happiness, and I am very grateful. I'd like to thank the wonderful ladies who prepared tonight's meal!" Everyone clapped, and Tish's family members bowed to their audience. Meixiu continued once the noise diminished. "There is a wide variety of dishes, so please take a plate and enjoy."

Henry spotted two new arrivals and excused himself. He gestured for Meixiu to join them, and Gordon looked at Mick's smile.

"They're Vampires. Henry's giving them a meal," Mick said quietly into his ear.

Sigrid joined them. "May I guide you to our table?"

Gordon nodded, and he followed her to see several familiar faces, and one distinctly changed one. Gordon felt a tug as he smiled at Camila, who acknowledged his surprise with a devastating smile.

"Good evening, General Crane. I went through a bit of an evolution recently, as did you," Camila said.

Gordon nodded and delayed the discussion of being a Dragon by making introductions. "Good evening! Please call me Gordon, as I'm not here in any official capacity tonight." He got smiles and nods for that.

"This is Alice Shaw. I believe some of you have already met her." He made the introductions for those who hadn't. Their table had the senior officers of VRL, Camila, Roy, Sigrid, and Mahati, and their host Meixiu. Mahati looked... different as well.

"I had an evolution this morning," she said shyly at his curious gaze.

Henry joined them but scanned the room with a slight frown.

"Where's Marisa?" he asked Camila.

"She sent me a text saying she would see us tomorrow," the mother replied. Henry's frown became concern, but she raised her hand. "Give her until then."

He nodded reluctantly and took his seat. He glanced at the line before the buffet table. "We're not joining that?"

Roy snorted gently. "We can wait for the crowds to thin out."

"But... but... chicken wings!" Henry whimpered.

"You'll get all the chicken wings you desire later. Let's get a quick update before the evening moves forward," Roy said firmly.

Henry leaned back in his chair. "Fine."

Roy smiled. "I'll start." He looked at the General. "We have word of mobilizations of Demons in several continents. Some of them are unlike any we've seen before. They're larger, stronger, and smarter. They also explode when killed, and we believe this is due to them being supercharged with dark energy, like what was surrounding you not too long ago.

Earlier this week, Sigrid took out one of these larger Demons in London. It was attempting to raid Ms. Shaw's home. You took out another, guiding a group of lesser demons toward New York City. Our agent in Egypt saw one of these larger Demons leading a group of smaller ones across the desert. She sniped the largest one, causing it to explode and injure a dozen of the small ones. As they tried to rally, she dispatched them."

"Minkah?" Henry asked with a smile. Roy nodded, then continued.

"Revna and Kari were ambushed in Brazil as they investigated a ship collecting Demons from Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil. Henry was able to rescue Revna after she was injured by the largest Demon. They couldn't identify the ship, so we have no idea how many Demons are on board. All we know is they are coming from Brazil, and it'll likely take them more than two weeks to get here.

"I'll contact our intelligence agencies to see if they can follow up on that," Gordon said.

"There is also significant movement in Europe which has been more difficult to track. Not sure how they plan on crossing the ocean unless they get another ship," Roy said.

"And their goal is?" Gordon asked.

"To bring their masters through to Earth," Henry said. "You remember the one we met in your hospital room?"

Gordon nodded but rephrased his question. "How does coming here get them closer to making that happen?"

"They were after you to get the dark energy you were once surrounded by," Henry said.

Roy frowned. "That didn't make sense to me. Weren't they working counter to the wishes of their master? We believe the dark magic was applied to the General to keep the deal with Baba active, as she prevented Henry from tampering with the dark energy he's quarantined. Why would they interfere?"

"They're drawn to the energy. As we've seen, it makes them larger, faster, and stronger. They may not be able to control their urge to obtain it," Sigrid suggested.

Henry shook his head as he reviewed his memory of the encounter in the hospital room. "It said it wanted the General. Only after I explained the energy was gone did it lose its cool."

They sat contemplating the enemy's potential plan until Gordon broke the silence.

"I thought there was some kind of central control, a leader overseeing and directing their actions," Gordon said with a frown.

Roy nodded. "We believe there is, but by their nature, Demons aren't team players."

"That's probably why the one in your hospital room was a puppet. The one controlling it needed boots on the ground to collect you without going after the energy. It wasn't willing to put itself at risk," Henry suggested.

Sigrid frowned. "Something changed since Skyfall, though. We've never seen these Demons with boosted intelligence or abilities like remote controlling others before. And how are they being charged with dark energy? We believed the only source of that was in the spells Henry quarantined, but now we know that's not the case. Where is this energy coming from?"

Henry shook his head. "From what I've picked up from Baba and reviewing the spells it powers, the dark energy trickled to her over her exceptionally long life. What if... what if a second being was receiving this energy during that interval."

Roy nodded. "Aye, someone as old as the witch but held in reserve, never using their power," he suggested.

"They stayed hidden and protected, but they created the Demons to be their eyes in the world," Sigrid said, and Roy nodded again as that backed his working theory.

"Back to my original question. Why are they coming here?" Gordon asked.

"To get the energy from Henry," Roy stated.

Everyone glanced at Henry but saw he had his eyes on the food line.

Camila laughed. "We're not going to keep Henry's attention until he's filled his belly. He needs to recharge from his afternoon endeavors," she said with a coy smile.

Henry sent her an embarrassed smile, but he was out of his seat in a flash when she gestured for him to join the line.

Mahati caught Roy's eye. "I have instructions for creating a reliquary to contain the dark energy."

"A reliquary? You're going to contain the energy in some kind of vessel?" Gordon asked.

Roy nodded. "Once Henry determines he can deconstruct the spells powered by the dark energy, his plan is to transfer it into the reliquary."

"Won't that just make it easier for all these incoming Demons to steal?" Gordon asked.

"Aye. There's no denying that possibility," Roy admitted. "We must think about what we can do with the blasted thing once it's loaded with the evil. Will there be any transference?"

Mahati shook her head. "I specifically requested my mother to provide instructions on constructing a containment device without any means to access the energy inside once it is sealed. This should mean there will be no transference at all." She frowned. "I don't believe anyone's ever tried to seal this kind of energy away before, so we'll have to test it."

Roy saw Henry was almost to the table. "Let's park this until we've had a chance to enjoy the meal."

-=-

Henry made his way down the table, loading his plate with all his favorites and a few dishes that looked new. His mouth was watering as he finished and turned to head back to the table. His way was blocked by the three Valkyrie who joined late.

"Henry, is it?" the middle one asked. She was maybe the same age as Hilda, and there was a distinct family resemblance between her and the other two. Mother and daughters? One of the daughters also appeared a few years older than the other.

All three had beautiful, long brown hair with braiding on the sides. The daughters appeared to be competing for who could show the most cleavage, but mom won out purely based on volume. She must be highly distracting in battle with such... frontal cushioning.

"Yes, I'm Henry," he said politely, glancing down at his plate to ensure nothing rolled off.

"I'm Gudrid, and these are my daughters, Randi and Liv." Henry nodded to them with a smile, so she continued. "We've seen what you've done for Talia, Revna, and the others. We would welcome joining with you to enhance ourselves as well for the coming battle."

Henry was surprised by the direct nature of their request. "Ah, okay. Have you made arrangements with Sigrid?" he asked.

"Arrangements?" Gudrid asked in surprise.

"Yes, we need an available room for the... joining, then for you to recover in. The first time usually requires a few hours of rest afterward."

The three ladies burst into laughter and gave him skeptical grins. His face warmed up as he realized they'd misunderstood. "It's not due to the joining, but the link to the new realm of Wild Magic. Your bodies need time to become accustomed to the stronger magic."

"Oh!" Gudrid exclaimed as she clued in and burst into laughter once more.

Randi recovered first. "Apologies for laughing. We've heard lovers boasting of their prowess in the past. We thought this was a new line as we've never heard someone claim we'd need hours to recuperate. That caught us by surprise!"

Revna, of course, took that moment to pass by. "Believe it! I'm still walking funny! Henry is a beast in bed!" She walked away chuckling, and he saw she was moving a little gingerly.

Henry closed his eyes wearily as three sets of eyes returned to look at him with interest. When he opened them and saw them staring, he shook his head. "That was just the one time and only because that's what she needed."

Their grins widened.

"Yeah... so, Sigrid is the one to speak to," he finished awkwardly.

"We will do so at the earliest opportunity! We look forward to walking funny ourselves," Randi said, pulling chuckles from her mom and sister.

Henry finally managed to get back to his table and took his seat. He immediately dug in and sighed happily, as the chicken wings were just as delicious as he recalled. He looked around and caught Steph's eye. He raised one of the drumsticks to salute her, and she burst into a lovely smile.

He powered through his meal as he was far hungrier than he thought. By the time he'd made it halfway, the others had begun returning to the table, and he was starting to feel like he was filling the endless pit that was his stomach.

Gordon had a nice variety of items on his plate. "I can't get over how much food there is! It all looks so good!"

"It is!" Henry sighed. He caught Mahati watching him and locked eyes with her. Her new coloration was very bold and attractive. It made her eyes much more dramatic. He caught himself staring in admiration and jolted when his forkful of lasagna dropped onto his plate, from where it stopped halfway to his mouth.

She flared her eyes at him to make him stop, so he nodded sheepishly. When he glanced back, she was looking away but rubbing her ear, which was a deep red.

"Where is Kali?" he asked.

Mahati glanced back at him. "She'll be here. She couldn't decide what to wear."

They settled down to enjoy their meals, and Henry slowed his pace as he'd taken the edge off his hunger.

Watching the smiling faces of the people around him, he realized how incredibly lucky he was to be surrounded by such great people—Revna was heading his way, and her expression showed she was upset or worried.

He turned in his chair to look up at her as she stopped next to him.

"Talia told me you will not have sex with me again!" Revna asserted.

Henry's eyebrows rose as his face warmed up.

"Maybe we could talk about this later?" Henry said.

Revna's expression turned to dismay. "It's true?"

"No! I never said that!" Henry said in a rush to block her next exclamation. "I don't know why Talia said that. I'm going to be busy for a while linking the other Valkyrie to the realm of the Wild Magic—"

"We will have sex again once this is done?" Revna insisted.

"Uh, yes, we'll make arrangements to see each other again—if you prove to me you're worthy by not fighting with the other Valkyrie! Save your fighting for the bloody Demons, not your teammates!" Henry snapped.

Revna watched Henry, looking for the lie in his words, but he held her eye until a smile finally returned to her lips.

"We will crush the Demons, then our sex will be epic!" Revna vowed with a grin, clapped him roughly on the shoulder, and marched back to her table. Henry watched as she flashed a smug smile at Talia, who was scowling at her.

Henry looked to Sigrid, who was suppressing her urge to beat Revna into submission herself. "Can you please speak to the Valkyrie to remind them this is a family-friendly environment and talking about sexual conquest isn't for this audience?"

Sigrid gave him a nod as she reined in her own anger.

Gordon was watching him. "Does that happen a lot? For Satyr's, I mean?"

Henry snorted in surprise. "No. Most have been much more discreet. Valkyries are... a passionate people."

Sigrid tried to hide her pleased smile, but Henry spotted it.

As they were nearing the end of their meals, Gordon broached another topic. "The Sergeant tells me you would like access to the strike zone in the Mall. To determine why its energy is so raw?"

Henry nodded. "Wild Magic doesn't have sharp edges. I don't know what's causing that."

The General nodded. "They tell me it's unpleasant to charge from as well. I should warn you that I had difficulty getting my people access to be near enough to charge there. The site is restricted to top clearance level scientists." He frowned. "Getting you access will be next to impossible unless I can give them something they want."

Henry watched the General as he wondered where this was going.

Gordon sighed. "I have a group of annoying NSA scientists asking me to convince you to build them a Quantum Tunneling Server Array."

Mahati frowned. "I've been dealing with them as well."

The lights came on for Henry. "Ah, you need a bargaining chip."

Gordon nodded. "Otherwise, I doubt they'll agree to grant a civilian access."

Henry paused, then looked over at Roy. "What do you think?"

Roy frowned as he ran the possibilities through his mind. "It all depends on how they use the device, doesn't it." He looked at the General. "It's highly likely they'll use it to build something that will give them the answers they want, not the answers they need."

Gordon thought about that, and he had to agree with the assessment. "That's a high probability."

Roy glanced at Henry then back to the General. "Tell them I'll work with them to define the parameters for meaningful risk assessment criteria. If they are willing to accept that, then Henry can build the server array for them. You can set up a meeting, and I'll give them the benefit of the most comprehensive study of risk parameters ever utilized. It spans centuries."

Gordon stared at Roy in confusion. "How can you have centuries of data when computers haven't been around for very long?"

"We've been tracking Human behavior for our very survival for a very long time. We have a successful means of identifying risks. We can share these parameters and adapt them," Roy claimed.

Gordon realized how valuable this could be. "Political bias?"

Roy smiled. "Political affiliation barely registers as a risk factor. The underlying Human behavior triggers which might suggest who they're more likely to follow are much more significant."

The General nodded with a smile. "I can suggest it. If they want it badly enough, they'll agree. I won't be able to get you access unless they do. The NSA has a tight grip on granting access to the strike zone."

Henry nodded, then glanced at Roy significantly. The big man saw the look and nodded with a sigh. He looked to the Sergeant and caught her eye. He gestured for her to approach. She and Feinberg joined them next to the table.

"Have you spoken to the General about your request for Henry?" Roy asked, and Michelle shook her head. Roy raised an eyebrow. "This would be a good time."

Gordon turned to face the Sergeant, and she smiled nervously. "We were talking after the battle with the Demons using the A.C.E. We've asked Henry if it would be possible to have our families on Eden before we face the Demons again. They're non-combatants and don't have the training we do."

The General paused as he felt a small lurch in his chest. He looked at Alice as she had a curious expression on her face. Of course, she had no idea that Eden was another world.

"They'll be safe there," Meixiu said, understanding his expression from her years with her Dragon master.

Gordon immediately realized what he was feeling and felt ashamed. They were people, not his treasures.

"Of course. That makes perfect sense," he said awkwardly. He looked at Henry. "Are you going to open one of those tears to let them through?"

Henry glanced at Roy again. "Not exactly. Doing it manually is too exhausting."

"Alice, do you mind if I borrow Gordon for a moment?" Roy asked and received a nod. "Henry, join us, please. You two as well," Roy said to Michelle and David.

They passed the dessert table, and Henry stopped to remind Aadiya and Mahali that Dotty's coconut squares weren't just for them. He grabbed one himself as they grabbed three each. He tugged them to follow as they munched on the sweet treats. They hustled to catch up to Roy and the others and stopped once they reached the false wall. Roy nodded to Henry, who dropped the force field disguised as a wall, and they stepped into the short hall to face the double doors. At Roy's nod, Henry put the wall back into place, giving them privacy. The twins moved to stand beside the doors as they finished off their dessert.

Gordon looked at the wall next to him and held a hand close to it but not touching it. "Did... was some kind of magic used here? Something bad?" he asked Henry.

Smiling at the General, Henry nodded. "You are getting really good at sensing magic!" He moved closer to frown at the wall. "It's true. You're feeling the residue of a failed experiment tried long ago by the previous owner of this cave. Nasty stuff."

Roy held the General's eye. "There are too many secrets surrounding Henry, and I'm about to disclose another. I'm asking you to keep this one as if it gets exposed... well, once you see it, you'll understand the scope of the risk it represents."

Gordon huffed quietly as he looked at the doors. "The powers-that-be are already terrified about the concept of magic doors."

"Hold that thought, General," Henry said. He moved closer to the doors and reached out to activate the spell. He felt the hum of the portal opening. He glanced back at the General, whose eyes widened as he felt the swell of power.

"This is below the charging station, isn't it," he said.

Henry nodded with a smile. He looked at the twins, who were smiling eagerly, their fangs giving them a wild and dangerous appeal. "Ready to do a little night hunting?"

They nodded, and he opened the doors. Aadiya and Mahali shot through and leapt skyward.

Henry smiled back and walked through the doors into Eden. He ensured the light orbs to either side of the doors lit up the area.

Gordon followed and stepped into the world he'd only visited once before when he fell through a dimensional tear Henry had created. He stood in the tall red grasses and looked back at Roy, who was behind Michelle and David. The soldiers spotted a silver gleam in the far distance and raced away.

"You've got a doorway to another world," Gordon finally managed to say.

Roy nodded. "Henry discovered the previous owner's spell and updated it to work without requiring people to die. Henry doesn't have to rip tears between dimensions now."

Henry moved to stand next to them. "This is much easier."

Gordon looked up to the sky but couldn't find any recognizable constellations.

"It's more dramatic during the day, with the orange sun and all," Henry said.

Gordon looked between the two. "Who are the inhabitants of this planet?"

Henry shrugged. "Currently, I believe the only thinking beings on this world are the Glass People and the Silver People, but there is so much more to explore. None of it has been mapped. The ribbon creatures appear to be mindless eating machines. Aadiya and Mahali will ensure none are in the vicinity. The air is fresh and clean. The gravity seems the same as Earth's, and the world is saturated with Wild Magic, so it feels good. The Glass and Silver People are automatically fed just by being here."

A soft song began in the distance, and four additional voices joined in until a beautiful harmony carried the ethereal notes across the field.

"What is that?" Roy asked as he listened.

"Oh, uh, that would be the Golem Quintuplets," Henry said awkwardly.

Roy stared at him. "They sing? Wait! I thought you were going to recycle them when they were done with their task."

Henry frowned. "They aren't objects! I mean, they were initially, but the tweaking I did to their creation spell gave them the ability to make music, and they feel joy from that. I couldn't let them just die off when I discovered they made art! I brought them here and set them free."

"Golems? The mythical clay monsters of vengeance?" Gordon asked.

Henry shook his head at the General. "These ones are friendly."

The General shook his head. "Getting back to the point. You have a doorway to an entirely unclaimed planet! The resources of the planet alone—"

"Now you see why this secret has to be kept," Roy said, interrupting Gordon's enthusiasm.

The man stared at Roy as his mouth worked silently, then his jaw set. "Yes. You'd have every government after you to get control. Every corporation beating on your door, pushing their governments to take the access from you so they can exploit the planet." He was silent for a moment. "Shit."

"Eden belongs to the Glass and Silver People as they can live in harmony here. You give people on Earth the idea they have a fresh planet to abuse, they'll do nothing to repair the one they're currently spoiling," Henry insisted.

Aadiya and Mahali landed and flicked the blood from their claws. They pranced over to Henry, and he gave them kisses.

"I need you to bring Camila here tomorrow to teach her how to fly," Henry said to them.

"Can we have tails?" Mahali suddenly asked, and Aadiya nodded enthusiastically. They rubbed themselves against Henry's chest as they looked into his eyes.

Henry glanced over at Roy in embarrassment as the big redhead hid a smirk behind his hand.

"If I don't get home too late tonight, we'll see how we're all feeling. Okay?" he asked, and they grinned at him and headed back through the door. Henry turned back to the General.

"Wall!" plaintive voices called through the doorway.

Henry smiled at their annoyance at being trapped and shook his head. "Give me a minute, please. We're almost done!" he called out. He looked out into the darkness. "Where are the Sergeant and Feinberg?"

"I think they went to speak with some of the Silver People. To let them know they'll have company," Gordon said.

"As we have the door open, we can let the family members come through now. Ah, here they come," Henry said as Mick and Feinberg rushed to a stop before them. They were smiling.

"Everything good?" Gordon asked her.

"Yes, they'll really enjoy it here. It also feels good!" Mick gushed.

"You want to start bringing them through?" Henry asked.

The two Silver Soldiers nodded emphatically.

"Bring them inside. I'll open the hall," Henry said as he walked back through the door and removed the barrier at the end of the short hall. Aadiya and Mahali rushed away, likely heading back to see if there were any coconut squares left. Mick and David rushed after them to get the loved ones who'd be staying on Eden for a while.

Henry was standing at the open end of the hall with Roy as Gordon remained on Eden, soaking in the unreal feeling of standing on the surface of an alien world.

"I think that went well," Henry said to Roy, who nodded. "Do you want to bring Alice?"

"Really?" Roy exclaimed as he stared at Henry in annoyance.

"What? Dumping a secret of this magnitude on the General when he's just entering a relationship is unfair. I think she'll recognize the importance of maintaining the secret. Especially if she gets to fly in the skies of Eden," Henry said.

Roy looked like he was going to argue, then walked away in a huff. Gordon joined Henry and looked back at the doorway and the darkness beyond.

"I can feel magic, and I'm starting to grasp some of the rules of managing it, but this... it makes my mind spin," he said quietly.

Henry reflected on how he once felt the same way. He also knew his own current proficiency may not be a natural occurrence.

"It's not me."

Baba's words echoed in his head.

If not Baba, who?

He pulled his mind back to the present. "I've asked Roy to bring Alice so you can take her for a flight on Eden. If you'd like, you can take some time to see the Silver People settle in, then come back tomorrow. The Glass People village is just over the rise to the left of the doors and against the woods. They wake at dawn. They also have the means to contact me," Henry suggested.

"I'd actually like that," Gordon said with a smile.

Roy returned with a skeptical expression, and Alice was at his side with a curious smile.

Gordon moved forward and took her hand, looping her arm through his as he guided her down the hall toward the doors. He spoke to her quietly as her eyes widened with the realization of what she was seeing.

Henry smiled at Roy, then grinned at the Silver People's happy and excited faces, led by Yablonski and Mick. Ron and Dixie Tennison were the first in line behind their daughter.

Dixie stopped briefly to smile at Henry. "The mansion is lovely, and the cavern decorations are amazing!" she gushed. He nodded to her with a smile as she moved past.

All the Silver Soldiers and their families walked past and through the doors. Henry followed them to the entrance. Mick was standing there.

"All present and accounted for," she said with a smile.

Henry nodded. "I told the General he and Alice could spend the night here, and I'll open the doors for him tomorrow. That will allow him to do some flying with Alice. The Glass People can contact me if you have any emergencies. They wake at dawn."

"Thank you, Henry. We really appreciate this!" she said.

He smiled back at her. "My pleasure. Enjoy. Just in case, I'll leave the door active until the party's over. Otherwise, it will be open by noon tomorrow at the latest."

"Sounds good! Thanks!" she said, then rushed off to join the others.

Henry stepped back and closed the doors, making a mental note to shut them down before he went to bed.

Roy was waiting for him. "I'm still not convinced telling Alice was a good idea."

"I trust the General will be able to convince her to keep their secret," Henry said with a little smile.

Roy's eyebrows rose. "Their... ah."

"I knew you were a romantic at heart," Henry grinned as he hid the corridor again. He set the field to allow people to leave the hall but not enter it.

When he stepped into the main chamber, he faced the two sister Valkyrie he'd met earlier. "We have a room," Randi said with a hungry grin. Liv mirrored her expression.

"Ah."

Roy leaned closer to his ear. "Romance is in the air," he whispered with a smirk.

Spotting their mother, Gudrun, watching Roy with an identical expression, Henry reached over and flooded the man with Wild Magic until he yelped.

"Yes, it is."

-=-

Much later, after Henry shut down the doors to Eden, he helped with the after-party cleanup until they told him he could go.

He finally spotted Kali. She was in a slinky dress made of a shimmery black fabric that looked like it was painted on her body. As he walked up to her, he saw she was fidgeting nervously, so he looked closer.

Then he noticed the black leather choker collar around her neck with a loop in front. Hanging from that loop was a shiny gold H.

His eyebrow went up as he stopped before her. She was trembling slightly, but her eyes never left his.

"I didn't see when you arrived." His eyes traveled over her body. "Your dress is amazing and very eye-catching. The collar, especially," he said with a calm voice.

"I arrived after the meal began. You were in deep conversation with the General, so I sat next to Revna. She seems quite taken with you," Kali said.

Henry wondered if Kali had played a role in the Valkyrie's disturbance earlier. "You wore the collar—"

"Only after the children left," she answered quickly.

"I thought we would keep the type of relationship we have private. Again, not ashamed, but it's not their business," Henry explained.

Her eyes dipped down and her trembling increased. "I-I need this."

Henry watched her and thought about the recent change in her life. "After confronting your mother?" Henry asked.

That had been a transformative moment in Kali's life. It marked when she stopped being the frightened child and became this powerful woman. Her identity changed instantly. Her behavior made sense to him now. She might need to express who she is more strongly. He was going to have to accept this for her sake.

A smile of relief flashed across her face, then switched back to nervousness. "Yes."

In the corner of his eye, he could see Meixiu, Sandy, Dayshia, Tish, and several of Tish's siblings and spouses still working on the cleanup. The ladies' movements seemed stuck in a loop as the surfaces they cleaned got many extra wipes. The guys made no pretense of working at all. All eyes were on them.

He reached out a finger and slid it across the smooth metal of the H, pressing it to her skin, and she quietly sucked in a breath as her eyes closed slightly, goosebumps rising on her skin.

He hooked the finger through the loop and pulled her willing body against his. He slid his right hand into the hair on the back of her head and took a grip as he firmly tipped her face back before he kissed her trembling lips. He used his left to pull her tight against his body as she clung to him and melted from the passionate kiss.

He slipped his left hand down and squeezed her ass hard, and she squealed into the kiss as her eyes rolled back momentarily.

When he pulled back from her mouth, he held her eyes with his, and he could see her joy at his acceptance. The very public display of her submission to him was exactly what she needed to announce her new identity.

"We'll make time in the new year to explore our new intimacy," he said firmly, and she nodded, her smile widening with excitement.

"Goodnight, my Kali."

"Goodnight, Master," she said loudly with a cheeky grin.

His eyes promised she'd pay for that, and she shivered in anticipation.

Henry headed for the exit and ran the gauntlet of the ladies, who all wanted hugs and kisses before he left. He got handshakes and pats on the shoulder from the men.

Henry felt more than a little weird.

As he headed up the ramp to the vestibule, he heard excited giggles from Steph and Tish, who were likely grilling Kali right now.

Finally, he stepped through the door back to his condo and faced two grinning Succubi twins.

"Tails?"

Henry smiled wearily but nodded to the two excited ladies. They grabbed his hands and pulled him down the hall.

It seemed he would have to prove that the incredible claims about Satyr virility weren't inflated after all.

Chapter 23

Roy had a well-deserved night's rest in his own bed with Mary and a soothing shower with the woman as well. He was getting dressed when his cell chirped with the special tone he'd set up for video calls with Chancellor Mugawee, the leader of the Hidden Races Congress. While there was much less need for secrecy these days, the congress was still active in resolving disputes between the races and managing the transformation of the remaining Human population. As interim Minister of Security, Roy had been doing an excellent job at maintaining the peace. He wasn't sure why Mugawee would be contacting him like this today, as he would have received the report Roy sent the previous night. Maybe he had questions?

He walked into the living room and opened the connection.

In seconds, he was looking at the grim expression of the Chancellor. That wasn't promising.

"Greetings Chancellor Mugawee. Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Yes, something is wrong! I've been informed of a most serious breach of policy! When I granted you the interim position of Minister of Security, I did so under protest by several other Department Ministers. Until last night, I thought my faith was justified!"

Roy looked at him in surprise as he couldn't think of anything in his report that might have offended the senior official. "If you could tell me what caused you this distress?"

"There is a very explicit rule for sanctioning Nekomata upon discovery! Yet I hear you have incorporated one into your Security team! You bend the rules to your benefit too far!" the chancellor snapped.

Roy frowned. News of the Nekomata got to Mugawee pretty damn quickly. He needed to do damage control.

"Roku doesn't work on my Security Team, and she might not qualify to be called a true Nekomata any longer," Roy said.

"I received a video clip of a young Pixie being murdered by what is clearly a Nekomata in the lobby of VRL, with your security men beside her. Do not lie to me!" the chancellor snapped.

"I assure you I'm not. I fully admit she was in our lobby with my team and killed a Pixie she discovered hiding in a planter. The fact that you have a video of it proves that the Pixie provided a video feed to an outside teammate. Earlier that day, one of our employees was almost abducted but was rescued by Roku." Roy saw Mugawee start to protest, so he raised a hand. "Please allow me to finish."

When the man settled, Roy continued. "When Roku came to VRL the day before, she was the security detail for Katsu Sasaki, who was at VRL for a meeting with Camila and Henry. He wanted the firewall technology Henry created for his bank and attempted to hire him away from VRL."

The chancellor's expression became thoughtful. "Sasaki. I know that name."

Roy nodded. "He's the President of Lotus Bank, a significant and powerful financial institution headquartered in Manhattan. He's also the leader of the Japanese Spirits Combine of North America."

The chancellor nodded as he recalled this second fact. "And you claim he was in possession of the Nekomata?" the chancellor asked.

"I can send you the video proof of him arriving with it. Regardless, when he could not get Henry to agree to join his company, he sicked his Nekomata on him. Again, the meeting was recorded if you need to see proof." Roy said, but the chancellor shook his head.

"Henry stopped the Nekomata and prevented Sasaki from making any moves himself. The man left VRL without the firewall, Henry, or his security detail. She was still alive, but he left her with Henry to dispose of." Roy sighed. "Camila warned Henry that Nekomata are irredeemable and face an automatic kill-on-discovery rule, but the boy has a soft heart. Instead of killing her, he removed her rage and most of her hate—"

"HE WHAT?" Mugawee exclaimed.

"He told me it was a spell from Baba Yaga that he modified to give her a chance to become a functional member of society. I questioned her the following day when she recovered. While I was skeptical, I have to admit she may be a little lost, but she's finding her way. On her second day of freedom, she rescued Greg Wilson, a VRL Account Manager, and protected us from a spy."

"She murdered him," Mugawee insisted.

"I read the report. I believe her words were, live Pixies are deadly Pixies. As he was a spy, discovered in the lobby filled with innocent bystanders, taking him out quickly was a prudent move and self-defense," Roy insisted.

Mugawee was giving Roy a stern expression. "Would you like to speak to her?" Roy offered.

The chancellor nodded. "I need to see for myself just how functional she has become in society."

"I'll make the arrangements and contact you," Roy said.

The chancellor fixed another angry expression on his face. "I didn't appreciate being scolded by the Ministers who opposed your appointment."

"The video wasn't just sent to you?" Roy asked and received a shake of the head. "Do you know who sent it?"

"The very distraught father of the young male Pixie, Fenris Hoek. He claims his son got involved with a rough element, and they sent him the video."

Roy was silent for a moment as his mind sorted that information out. "Hoek. Related to Lise-Anne?"

"Her cousin, I believe," Mugawee said.

"Huh," Roy said.

"What is it?" the chancellor asked.

"So Fenris' son is spying on VRL, and later that day, Gren von Deussel, older brother of Rand, attempts to abduct one of VRL's employees. Coincidences happen, but this seems too suspect. Gren is still at large, but I don't believe we've seen the last of him. It sounds to me like he may have been working with Fenris, who asked his son to do the infiltration work. This could be a revenge play."

"You have proof it was Gren who attempted the kidnapping?" Mugawee asked with a cautious tone.

"Yes, I have a picture of him leading Mr. Wilson down a side street to his van. Taken by Roku before she rescued him," Roy said.

"Send me the picture, please. What happened to Lise-Anne and Rand was sealed. No one should have targeted VRL for it," the chancellor said.

"Yet, here we are, facing attacks from members of their families. Not a coincidence, I think," Roy insisted. He sent the picture from his cell. "You'll get the picture shortly."

Mugawee looked uncomfortable. "Perhaps we should now address the fact that Mr. Gable is using magic that should not be used. The altering of a personality is a terrible act."

Roy nodded. "I must admit, when I first heard what he did, it revolted me, and I told him so. He didn't disagree but insisted he had no other viable option for saving her life. The very reasons Nekomata are targeted for death, the feral rage that makes them kill or be killed, and their hatred of others has been excised from Roku."

Mugawee looked at Roy in surprise. "You told him not to use magic this way, and he listened?"

Roy scowled at the chancellor. "You need to speak with him to understand. Henry isn't mad with power. Yes, he has the ability to do things far beyond the abilities of others, but he uses that to save lives and improve the conditions of life. He can kill. I've seen him do it, but it's his last resort, and he takes no joy in the act. It's not in him. He's still an innocent. In many ways, he's just a kid."

The chancellor looked more comfortable than he did earlier. "When you arrange to have the Nekomata available for me to speak to, I would very much like to speak with Mr. Gable too."

Roy nodded. "Yes, sir."

Mugawee finally smiled at Roy. "Thank you, Roy. My apologies for my harsh words earlier."

Roy nodded to the man then they disconnected.

Mary walked into the room and hugged Roy from behind. "We have new enemies?"

Roy sighed. "Seems like it," he said. "I'll let everyone know they need to be extra vigilant until we've rounded up the latest group. We know of two members, but there may be more."

"Not leaving it to the authorities?" Mary asked with a small smile.

Roy huffed. "We are the authorities."

-=-

Marisa was bathed in the comfort of the soft white clouds, and she realized she was naked as she drifted along.

Being naked was nothing to be concerned about for a Succubus. It was the most natural state of being.

Her issue was that she was incredibly turned on and ached for relief. When she tried to touch herself, her hands just passed through her body like she was made of the same cloud stuff.

Her mind showed her how she'd been avoiding Henry recently, and she picked up a sense of disapproval.

That was different from a dream.

She defocused her mind again, letting everything blur and soften.

On the edges of her mind, she picked up... intent. Allowing it to surface on its own, she slowly determined it was instructing her to do something.

The massive, patient cloud things were trying to guide her to....

Henry's image faded in quickly, and her body reacted with her desperate need. She wanted him badly, and the heat in his eyes told her he wanted her. His heavy, hard cock swung between his legs, and she squirmed, needing to feel it driving into her body.

He moved to her, and she cried out when his heat pressed against her most intimate place. Then he was plunging inside, and her mouth opened to scream silently as it was just what her body wanted. She felt her mind rising into the clouds as he drove into her harder and harder.

It was different this time as there was an emotional bond in his touch, and she felt his heart reaching out to hers. She wanted this too, but she was distracted by fear.

Marisa's mind was trying to warn her of something. A critical fact she needed to know. Something about... potency!

Camila's evolved form flashed into her mind, and she realized Henry was about to cum. If he did, she would be flooded with a massive dose of Wild Magic... and she would change.

This wasn't what frightened her. It was her seer abilities. They may become stronger.

As she tried to resist, she sensed that disappointment again.

Henry's eyes locked onto hers, and he seemed puzzled.

"What's wrong, Marisa?"

As he uttered her name, she was dumped from her dream and found herself sprawled across her bed, panting with lust and need.

What... what the hell was that? The dream felt like an old-school sleep seduction, but... Henry wasn't here. The sleeping partner had to be physically close for dream feeding to be possible.

She grabbed her tablet and quickly wrote down every detail from her memory of the dream, and she described the sensation of focused disappointment she'd felt from... something outside herself.

The intent she'd sensed. It wanted her to be with Henry. Maybe it wanted her seer abilities to get stronger?

That thought frightened her. She desperately wanted them to be quiet! The flash she'd had of Henry at breakfast the previous day resurfaced, and she hid her face under her pillow.

But she couldn't hide forever.

-=-

"What have you done to Aadiya and Mahali?" Tish said quietly as she gently untangled herself from the sleeping twins. This now required uncoiling their tails from her ankles.

Henry sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as his mind spun from the lusty dream he'd just had. It felt so... real! He was sporting some serious morning wood.

He realized Tish had said something to him. "Sorry, what?"

She frowned and gestured to the sleeping ladies in their bed. He gazed fondly at the crimson beauties. Like Camila, when they went through their apex evolution, they'd gained height, longer horns, slightly more pronounced curves, and, yes, tails.

He suddenly realized they would have wardrobe issues as they relied on actual clothes to hide their naughty bits. They had no glamor spells. "Uh, I should have thought about their clothing before I agreed to evolve them."

"Ya think?" Tish said with a raised eyebrow, and Henry gave her a sheepish smile.

"Maybe they can borrow some clothes from...." Henry struggled to think of one of his friends with measurements like their new ones.

Tish rolled her eyes and went to his bureau to pull out some clothes. "They can wear your T-shirts if I modify them and kilts for now, but they'll need a new wardrobe of their own."

"A project for the new year! I'm sure Camila will want to assist with that." Henry said.

Tish began working on two of his shirts and shooed him from the bedroom to go take his shower.

He considered his wood as he stood under the hot spray in his Human glamor, relaxing his tired muscles. He might have another busy day today, so he thought it might be best to just let it fade on its own.

His mind returned to the dream. It had been really hot, but better than that, he'd seen love in Marisa's eyes! He knew he shouldn't read anything from a dream as it was just subconscious wish fulfillment, but he seriously missed her. He wouldn't let today get past him without sitting down with her for a good talk... and maybe some hugs and kisses.

These thoughts weren't helping, so he turned down the hot and let the cool water send a shiver through him, bringing his erection back under control.

Getting out, he dried off and added his favorite t-shirt, jeans, and sandals to his glamor.

"My turn!" Tish said as she passed him in the hall. He reached out and wrapped an arm around her to pull her to his chest. She blinked up at him, then moaned softly as he kissed her sweetly.

After enjoying his lips for a moment, she pulled her face back. "Mmmm, that was nice, but we need to get moving. Celeste has been fed and dressed. The ladies are up. Make sure they're dressed appropriately."

Henry smiled and nodded as she patted his chest and pushed back. He let her slip away and moved to see if the twins were ready.

Aadiya and Mahali were preening before the closet door mirrors. Due to their wings and horns, his t-shirts had been sliced entirely up the back to tie halter-style behind their necks and left their backs bare. The shirt's hem was rolled, then tied under their wings. This stretched the fabric tight across their larger breasts, supporting them, and left their bellies bare. His kilts covered them down to two inches above their knees.

They looked... damn sexy. Not really the outfits for a family get-together with kids, but they could make anything look sexy. They were Succubi! Apex ones at that!

They suddenly froze and sniffed the air. Fangs and claws appeared as they raced past Henry, knocking him aside in their haste to get out of the bedroom.

He scrambled to follow and heard their shrieks of rage as they spotted a Goblin slipping up the hall toward Celeste's room.

"Don't kill it!" Henry yelled as they leapt for its throat, claws extended.

Henry ducked into Celeste's room and collided with a second Goblin moving toward the crib. Henry dropped his glamor and grabbed the Goblin by the throat. It pulled a blade and slashed at Henry's arm, so he threw the grey-skinned thug across the room and got a slash on his forearm for it. Baring his teeth at the pain, he launched his healing spell as he moved to stand between the Goblin and the crib. The wound closed, and Henry cast his shield spell.

His opponent's eyes widened at seeing the injury disappear, then grew larger still as it saw the red-skinned Succubi step into the doorway, its fangs and claws dripping with blood. It began to panic as there was nowhere for it to run.

Henry held up his hand to stop Aadiya, and she froze but didn't look away from their captive. He knew Goblins were just muscle for hire, so he wanted their client.

"Who sent you? I promise I won't kill you if you tell me, and neither will the Succubi. Lie to me, and I'll let her kill you slowly," Henry said. Aadiya grinned.

Goblins weren't very bright, had no honor, and were completely amoral. They did have a strong sense of self-preservation.

Deep-set, beady eyes peered desperately at Henry as it trembled. "No name. Spoke over the phone."

"I'll need something..." Henry said as he gestured to Aadiya. She took a step closer.

"Wait! He was Fae! One of Queen Mab's court. His voice, I heard him before. We did job for Inspector Leaharin. Master Interrogator called him bootlicker!" it gushed desperately as Henry frowned.

The name Leaharin sent a shock through Henry's body, but he kept his reaction from his face.

The description of the client barely narrowed it down for Henry. He recalled his time with Queen Mab and her court. He could remember several sycophants stepping on each other to curry her favor.

"A name!" he growled.

"I saw crest on his tunic!" the Goblin screeched back after Henry and Aadiya took a step closer. "A fancy bird with a huge tail of feathers. Goblet of wine with loaf of bread. Over lake by mountains." The Goblin was starting to spit as it spoke, its panic swelling.

"Your mission?" Henry asked.

"Collect child of Henry Gable and take to underground parking lot next to Rockefeller Center in Manhattan," the Goblin recited from memory.

Once more, Henry's memories flared as he recalled moving through the underground corridors with Mab to step through a magic door from Manhattan to her castle in Ireland. That castle no longer existed, but could the magic door still exist? Was someone using Mab's old escape routes? If this bootlicking Fae had Mab's favor, maybe she let him have access to the routes?

"What is that doing in Celeste's bedroom?" Trish said with tension in her voice.

This pulled Henry back to the moment. The Goblin was looking at Tish nervously.

Henry looked into her eyes and gave her the truth. "He was here to steal our child."

Tish's mouth dropped open, then she activated her shield and marched straight past Aadiya.

The Goblin swore and slashed with his blade, but it couldn't get past her protection. She grabbed the offending arm at his wrist and bent it back as her other fist plowed into the Goblin's face, flattening his crooked nose. His head rocked back from the blow, and she punched him again, this time knocking out his jagged teeth. The knife dropped from his fingers as she broke his wrist in her grip.

An enraged mother Faun is a very dangerous being.

Finally, Henry stepped forward to stop Tish when she struggled to hold him up for another punch, after beating his face into a pulp.

"It's okay. It's over," he said gently as he pried the unconscious Goblin from her grip.

She came back to herself as she looked at her hands. She was clean, as Goblin blood wouldn't stick to her energy shield. The floor and the area rug around her, not so much.

"Take Celeste to Meixiu's, and we'll be there shortly. If you see Roy, could you ask him to come here?" Henry asked, and she nodded and immediately rushed to the crib. Celeste looked up at her mother and smiled, so Tish scooped her up, and with a final look at Henry, she dashed out to the door to Meixiu's.

Henry knelt down to check on the Goblin. He was breathing raggedly through his split lips as his nose was destroyed, but he was alive. Henry had kept his word.

He looked to Aadiya. "Is the other one alive?"

She shook her head with a sad pout. Henry just nodded. They wouldn't have registered what he'd said in mid-leap.

"Keep an eye on this one. Don't kill him, but don't let him stand up," he said, and she nodded as she knelt next to the Goblin and began emptying his pockets.

Henry went out into the hall and saw Mahali standing next to the dead Goblin. She'd removed everything he was carrying in his pockets which wasn't much. There was no ID, cell phone, or evidence of their client. He would have to work with what the other one told him. Mahali handed him a small, ornate tube, and Henry could sense the old realm magic soaked into it. He frowned as he wasn't sure what it was.

"Henry?"

He turned and saw Roy walking down the hall toward him with Mary a step behind.

"Someone broke in this morning to kidnap Celeste," Henry said. He pointed to the corpse and gestured for Mahali to join him. Once she was clear, Henry cracked a tear open to Eden, and the body dropped through. It was a ten-foot drop to the lava, but he released the tear quickly as the heat rushed in.

Henry looked to Roy. "The twins got to that one before I could ask them to take him prisoner. There is another one in Celeste's room. I stopped him from getting her and managed to get some information from him before Tish beat on him.

They joined Aadiya and saw this Goblin had only a few items aside from a collection of five knives of differing sizes.

Roy frowned as he examined the weapons. "This one has been busy with these. Most are for torture."

"He said he was hired by Fae, who used to be part of Queen Mab's court. This Fae was called a bootlicker by Leaharin and wore a tunic with a crest containing what sounded like a peacock, a goblet of wine with a loaf of bread, over a scene of a small lake by mountains."

"That's a Fae coat of arms," Roy said and turned to Mary. "Can you knock on Michelle's door and ask her if she recognizes it?"

Mary nodded and left.

Henry handed Roy the ornate tube. "The other one was carrying this. It's a magic artifact of some kind."

Roy's brows rose. "It's a Fae lock breaker. How did they get in?" He gave it back.

Henry returned to the hall. "I didn't hear them come in the front door, so they may have used the balcony door." He walked to the glass door and wiggled the lock. It was destroyed. "Shit! They got in here. I was just down the hall. Brazen bastards!" The rage he was barely controlling threatened to break free.

Mary returned. "Michelle did recognize the crest as it's an old Fae family who were high in Queen Mab's court, the LoKennishens."

Roy nodded. "That's great! I'll get my team working on locating possible culprits." He gestured to the unconscious Goblin in the baby's room. "What are you going to do with this one?"

Henry looked at the vile turd who tried to kidnap his daughter. What he wanted to do was stomp him to paste. "I promised not to kill him if he told me about his client," he muttered.

"Ah," Roy said as he moved beside the Goblin, knelt down, and stuck all five knives into its body, the longest one driven into its heart. It gave a sigh and went still. "You can drop this one into the fire as well."

They moved back, and Henry quickly sent the body through, including the ruined area rug.

"Thanks, Roy," Henry said quietly.

"Anyone who would harm a child deserves no less," Roy said firmly.

"I-I better clean up here and get the twins clean clothes before we go to the mansion. I'll need to fix the door too and set an alarm spell on it and the front door," Henry said, controlling the tremble in his voice. He was beginning to feel the excess adrenaline shake his muscles. Tish at least got to work out her fear and outrage on the punk.

Roy noticed Henry's trembling but looked away to let him deal with it. Then he saw the change in the twins. "Ya still making changes to people?" he snapped.

Henry held up his hands. "Hey! It was their request, but I should have picked up new clothes for them first."

"Ya think?" Roy replied, causing Henry to snort in surprise. Roy's eyes widened.

Henry shook his head. "Sorry! Tish said exactly the same thing to me."

"She's the smart one," Roy muttered.

With a final nod, Roy and Mary headed back to the mansion. Henry guided the ladies back to the master bedroom and had them remove their dirty clothes. They grinned, hoping for a little play time, but he shook his head as they were getting late. He sent them for a shower as he examined how the t-shirts had been converted to halter tops. He pulled two more shirts from his dwindling supply and went at them with the scissors to make new tops. He also pulled out two more kilts. Then their first set went into the machines to be washed.

The twins pranced out of the bathroom, and he took a moment to admire how lovely they were. They grinned in delight, so he gave them sweet kisses and got them dressed before sending them on their way to Meixiu's for breakfast.

Then he tackled the task of cleaning up the blood in his hall and Celeste's room.

He didn't know who the Fae was who sent the Goblins after his daughter, but he was a dead man walking.

-=-

When the Goblins failed to exit from the top floor balcony where he'd witnessed them enter, Harkland quickly drove away in a random direction. The goons he'd managed to hire, the only ones who'd returned his call, had once done work for Mab's Master Interrogator, so Harkland thought they could be trusted to do the job right. He'd even provided them with a lock breaker! Dammit!

He had nothing to show for his efforts. Nothing to appease M's disappointment in him.

He needed to think. He did his best thinking at home.

Harkland returned to midtown Manhattan and left the car he'd stolen on a side street in a no-parking zone. He then walked two blocks to the building with the parking garage where Mab's secret passage was hidden.

He slipped inside and took the secret stairs to the lowest level, where he walked through the silent corridor to stand before Mab's magic doors. The passage continued to his left, which would take him to the sub-sub-basement levels of the Rockefeller Building. He'd never been there, but he knew Mab had conducted business with the Hidden Races Council in those meeting rooms.

He stood before the doors and rested his forehead against one as he tried to think what Mab would do in his position. A weak sigh leaked from him as he realized she'd never allowed things to get so out of control.

How could he have fallen so far? Once, he stood in the shadow of the mightiest ruler of the Fae. He'd basked in her reflected power and had the respect of the rest of the court. He attended the parties thrown by the movers and shakers, and none opposed him.

Now, he was always alone. None of his people would let him in their homes or even their places of business.

He scowled as he felt his anger building. He'd show them. He'd make them all suffer for how they treated him now. M was far more powerful than any of them.

Harkland just had to think of something he had that M would find valuable.

He leaned back with a sigh, then said the words of power to activate Mab's spell. The double doors hummed with magic, and he pulled them open to see the small thicket of woods that hid the Irish countryside entrance. This was also disguised by Fae keep-away spells so even the animal life avoided the scrub.

He stepped through and turned to face the doors, then froze. Would this be of value to M?

Not the words of power. He couldn't give those to M as he didn't have the skills required to teach them to another. He could open the way for him as needed. That might have some value to the Demon.

He said other words to change the destination from Manhattan to his home on the Scottish isle and stepped through into the work shed behind the house. Deactivating the spell, he peeked out the small window and saw the coast was clear. Before he left the shack, he thanked Mab for this incredible gift. Linking his home to the magic door near her cas—to where her castle once had been, proved her gratitude for his service.

He left the shed and crossed to his cottage. When he got inside, he went straight to his bar, poured himself a drink, and threw it back. He let out a breath once the burn subsided.

"I don't see a child."

"AAAHHH!" Harkland screamed and dropped his glass, which shattered on the floor. He spun and saw M sitting in a high-back chair, enjoying a glass of scotch.

"H-how did you get in?" Harkland gasped as he tried to catch his breath.

M tilted his head with a smile. "You invited me in."

Harkland looked at him in confusion, which made M grin wider. The Fae began to relax.

"Where's the FUCKING CHILD?" M said with venom.

The Fae broke out into a sweat. "The team I sent to collect it was caught—THEY NEVER SAW ME! A-and you said I had two days!" He cried out as M pushed himself to his feet to loom over Harkland, who cowered.

"Seriously, of what use are you to me? Your recruits have become a threat to the plan. You cannot achieve even the simplest goal of supplying a child we can use to control Henry. Is this how you will contribute to taking control of this world's future? I don't need that kind of help," M said, contempt dripping from his voice.

"I-I can contribute more!" Harkland gasped.

M shook his head.

"A Magic Door from Ireland to Manhattan! I can open the door!" Harkland asserted desperately.

M paused and watched the Fae's expression. "You can give me access?" M asked carefully.

Harkland's mouth worked silently as he froze momentarily, frightened to disappoint M again. Finally, he found his voice.

"I can open the doors. I can't teach the words of power as they were gifted to me by Queen Mab. I don't have the skills to teach them, but I will open the doors for you," Harkland insisted.

M stared at him silently for a long moment then he nodded. "This could prove to be useful."

Harkland gasped in relief.

The Demon moved his face closer. "But I'm concerned with your track record of dismal failures. To fuck this up would jeopardize the plan to the degree that might prove fatal to us both, but certainly for you. Do you understand?"

Harkland nodded quickly with wide eyes.

"Good. I will contact you when it's time." M looked Harkland in the eye. "There will be no more chances after this."

"I won't fail you!" Harkland said desperately.

"Actions. Not words," the Demon said, then left.

Harkland dropped into a chair with a thump and took some deep breaths to relax.

One last chance to be a part of the new regime. He would not fail!

-=-

M, or Emmanuel as his creator Quolliss named him, smiled as he rested back in his seat on his flight from the Shetland Islands to Glasgow. The pieces of Quolliss' plan were falling into place exactly as it said they would. Emmanuel once more marveled at the brilliance of that mind. While his creator gifted him with power and intelligence, it was just a fraction of what Quolliss had. How skillful it was at manipulating others to do its bidding!

Bringing together the Fae, the Pixie, and the Dwarf had been cleverly engineered, as all three had similar ambitions. The key member of that trio was Harkland, so losing the other two was not of much concern, and their loss accelerated the pressure M could apply to the Fae.

Emmanuel was concerned by how quickly the Dwarf and the Pixie threw away their chance to participate for simple revenge. Still, Quolliss assured him that neither of them was truly a danger to Henry Gable, and it was necessary.

He looked out the window at the water below as he recalled how quickly Harkland offered up the true goal Quolliss was after. With Queen Mab's magic door to Manhattan, Emmanuel could lead his gathered army for an overwhelming surprise attack on their target.

The decoy ship carrying the South American contingent of his strike force was still en route, and the Valkyries were aware of it. This was an integral part of his creator's plan.

The enemy needed to believe they were looking at a deadline of weeks. This would leave them ill-prepared for the actual attack.

The South American Demon Enforcer, Severiano, almost destroyed this by killing the Valkyrie witnesses. The plan required one of the winged barbarians to escape and spread word of the ship, but Severiano couldn't tolerate the idea of a female beating him at anything. He'd personally disemboweled one and speared the second, who should have been allowed to escape! Only Henry Gable's sudden appearance saved her and the creator's plan.

Once the Valkyrie was gone, Severiano went back to following the instructions. He collected the Demons from the ship and took them to the airport, where a special cargo jet waited for them for their flight to England. They were currently in hiding, waiting for the call to join the charge. Emmanuel wanted to gut the brute, but Quolliss said Severiano still had a part to play in the upcoming battle.

While Quolliss empowered Emmanuel to psychically connect to and control other Demons remotely like puppets, doing this with Enforcers was difficult. Additionally, he'd have to kill them afterward, as they'd turn on him the second he released his control.

Radu, their Demon Enforcer for Eastern Europe, would arrive in a day or so with all the Demons he could collect or make. He would also pick up the Western European Demons on his way through.

They'd lost Hammond, their Demon Enforcer for Western Europe, as he attempted to collect a Dragon's hoard to pay for some of their incurring expenses. Hammond foolishly took on Henry directly and died by the sword of a Valkyrie.

They'd also lost Owen, the Demon Enforcer for North America, to a new Dragon. Owen's unauthorized and premature attempt to take Henry with the assistance of one of the living clouds was actually an ingenious plan, but it ultimately failed. Very few of his Demon warriors survived too. Emmanuel was grateful one of the survivors was intelligent enough to give him a report on what had transpired.

Iniko, the African Demon Enforcer, called him a week ago to report he was on his way to the UK with the Demons he'd collected, but he never made it past the Egyptian desert. None of the Demons with Iniko escaped the sands either. Death had been waiting in those empty dunes.

It was infuriating to have lost so many troops before they even had a chance to join the main battle. Worse was the loss of the three Enforcers. Their precious dark energy, gifted to them by Quolliss at great expense to itself, had been wasted.

Emmanuel ground his teeth in frustration, then took slow even breaths to calm himself.

"Are you all right, son?"

He looked across the aisle toward a much older gentleman dressed in black, which made his pale skin seem to glow. He had a head of straight white hair, combed back and touching his shoulders. His eyebrows were completely wild and bushy above his pale grey eyes, which held concern in them. The man might have been in his seventies and was maybe five-foot-six, but he seemed fit.

Emmanuel caught the tell-tale flash of white on his collar identifying him as a priest.

A man of God was asking a Demon if he was well. The thought made him smile.

"Yes, Father. It's just been a trying week," he responded and received a nod. A question popped into his mind, and he couldn't stop himself. "Pardon my curiosity, but may I ask you a question?"

"Of course," the priest said with a smile.

"I'm not a religious man myself, but I wondered how those who worked for the church were coping with the current situation," Emmanuel said.

"And what situation would that be?" the older man asked with an open smile.

The Demon chuckled. "People are transforming into creatures which aren't mentioned in your good book. How is that not a contradiction to your faith?"

The priest smiled and nodded. "The book is a guide for navigating life in a world that does not care if you survive. It's there to give you strength and hope and teaches compassion. It was also written long ago and went through many translations by biased people, so I tell people not to live by its words but by its message. As for the transformations, how do you see that as problematic for my faith?"

Emmanuel looked closer at the old man in surprise. "That's not a response I'd expect from someone of your... generation." The priest simply smiled and shrugged lightly, so the Demon frowned. "People are becoming Succubi, Incubi, Fae, Vampires, Werewolves, and other creatures that belong to the occult, not the church."

The old man nodded. "That's true. The shapes and sizes are quite varied... but son, our mission has never been about what's on the outside. We're here to help guide and protect the souls of those struggling to find their place in the world. Our purpose wasn't changed by the... current situation."

Emmanuel was scowling now. "That's not the message I've heard from official church channels!"

The priest nodded, then shrugged once more with a self-conscious smile. "I can only speak for myself and for my like-minded brethren. We're working on the bureaucracy to take up this message, but organizations move slower than people, so we're having better luck at the grass-roots level for now."

Emmanuel leaned back in his chair and thought about the old man's message. He was surprised by how... flexible the priest's attitude was. From his look, he should be spouting messages of fire and brimstone, not love and compassion.

He remained quiet for the rest of the flight as the contradictions between the priest's appearance and his attitude bothered him... for reasons he couldn't put a finger on.

After they landed and began to disembark, Emmanuel found himself walking behind the old priest, who moved with a vitality that belied his visible age. This just added to his confusion.

As they entered the terminal, he saw six clergymen dressed like the old man waiting for their friend. Each was old, sporting the same white hair as the priest he'd spoken to but in different styles. None looked to be in poor health.

"Excuse me, Father. One last question," he suddenly blurted.

The man turned to look at him with a calm smile. "Certainly."

"You are refreshingly candid for one in your profession. I expect you might become a significant voice in the church one day. I'd like to learn your name so I can follow your ascent through the hierarchy," he said.

The priest chuckled self-consciously. "Oh, my! I have no such ambitions, and no one in the current organization would support me on that journey if I did." He smiled with an amused twinkle in his pale eyes. "I'm Father Slay. I sincerely hope you find the peace you seem to be searching for, Emmanuel."

With that, the old man walked away to join his friends, and they quickly disappeared into the crowded terminal.

Father Slay? What a bizarre surname for someone who joined the church.

Emmanuel suddenly froze. He quickly cast his eyes across the people moving through the terminal, but the cluster of black-garbed men was gone.

How did that Priest know his name?

Chapter 24

"HENRY!"

He grinned as he heard the kids calling out his name when he checked on them at Meixiu's place.

After he'd sanitized his condo and fixed the sliding door on the balcony, including adding alarm spells on the entrances, he'd taken another shower to clean himself of any remnants of the morning's activities. He felt safe again to let the kids run up for hugs.

"When are you coming to our place?" little Tommy Nelson gasped excitedly.

"Uh, today, I believe," Henry said with a smile.

Tommy rolled his eyes with a grin. "Yes, but when?"

"I don't know the schedule yet. I have to ask the adults," Henry admitted.

Danny, Tommy's big brother, thought that was an odd thing to say. "But you're an adult!"

Henry widened his eyes. "That's not what they tell me!"

"You're silly, Henry," Felicia said with a grin.

Henry smiled and nodded. "Which is probably why they think I'm still a kid." He turned his attention back to Tommy and Danny. "I'll go find out."

He waved to the kids and headed for the kitchen. He met Sigrid just inside the doorway, and her eyes scanned his face to see how he was coping with the attempted abduction.

He shook his head. "If I start thinking about it, I may do something I'll regret, so it's been dealt with as much as can be done at the moment. Roy is looking into it. That has to be good enough for now."

Sigrid nodded and hugged him.

"How's it looking for the upgrades?" he asked.

Sigrid smiled. "Not counting Hilda, Revna, and Talia, you and Roy made amazing progress. Eleven Valkyries were linked to the Wild Magic realm yesterday. There are only eleven more to go. It's easier to convince them now that the others are boasting about how much better they feel."

Revna chose that moment to step into the kitchen from the dining room, looking for Henry. She grinned when she spotted him and marched over.

"I need to be topped up again!" she said with a wide smile. "Shall we do it in a bedroom?"

Henry frowned at her. "How could you need a refresh so soon? What are you using the energy on?"

"I've been testing my new limits," she remarked happily.

"I'm fully booked today, so if you want a top-up, you'll have to use the charging station I set up for the Silver People behind the house. It's a reflecting orb just inside the woods," Henry said, gesturing toward the back of the house.

Revna pouted. "That's not as much fun."

Henry smiled as he kissed Meixiu, who'd brought him a plate piled high with his favorites. "Thank you." He looked to Revna. "Maybe so, but that's all you'll get today. Really busy schedule. If you want to recharge, that's where you'll need to do it."

He smiled at her and marched into the dining room. Roy waved him over to an empty seat, and he tucked into his heaping plate of food.

"He eats like this every day?" Chris Nelson said with raised eyebrows. Chuckles rippled down the table.

"Feel like placing another bet?" Brian asked with a raised eyebrow, but Chris held up his hands in surrender.

Henry was surprised by how ravenous he was and paid little attention to the conversations around him until he'd finished and pushed the empty plate back as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. He could feel the energy slowly seeping back into his body and sighed happily as he became aware of how quiet it was. He glanced around the table and saw everyone was frozen, watching him, or rather something over his shoulder. He turned his head and just caught the end of a wispy light fading away. "What?"

"Who the FUCK was that?" Brian asked. "Are ghosts a thing now?"

Henry quickly looked at Roy, who was holding himself stiffly. "Even as a spirit, the witch scares the piss from me."

"That was Baba?" Henry asked quickly.

"Aye. I believe so."

"What was she doing?" he asked.

"I only saw her from the side of my eye, and I couldn't turn to look," Roy admitted.

Tish's oldest sister, Kristen, answered. "It was an old woman in one of those old-time peasant dresses. She was watching you. She looked sad."

Henry frowned. Why wasn't Baba moving on?

He pushed that from his mind as he couldn't think about that now.

He looked up and saw everyone was looking at him. "Baba Yaga. The most powerful witch ever. Immortal, up until Skyfall, and one of the original Humans on the planet. She was my surrogate mother. She rescued me from the ancient past and raised me until I began to work for VRL." A lump was forming in Henry's throat, so he had to change the subject. "Anyway, we have magic doors to create today, right? Is everyone ready? I know the kids are."

That brought smiles back to their faces.

Roy held up a hand. "Before we get to that, there's the matter of the attempted abduction of Celeste." Smiles disappeared again.

Henry held Roy's eye. "I'm trying to keep my rage in control, but if you make me dwell on that...."

Roy nodded. "I just wanted to let you know we have a lead on the Fae who hired the Goblins. We'll get him."

"Thank you. Just... don't tell me who it was. I-I'm not sure... No. I know exactly what I'd do," Henry said fiercely.

Roy nodded.

Henry gave himself a shake, then looked apologetically to the others.

"Let's make some Magic Doors!"

-=-

Henry managed to put all other concerns from his mind as he visited each house with a door to Meixiu's mansion. He was delighted by the creativity of the decorations. These were family projects, and he could almost feel the love in each one. These doors would bring them together, and they needed this closeness. Having grown up a single child with only Baba for company, Henry was delighted to witness how much these people sought each other out for their energetic discussions and play. He liked to imagine this was how Satyr villages must have been like back when he'd been born so long ago.

Sigrid arranged for Henry to spend a few moments with some willing Valkyries between his visits to the houses. As Roy wasn't assisting with the magic doors, Henry charged him up when he returned to the mansion. Henry upgraded a brunette beauty named Zeiri before heading off to Brian and Dotty's place just before lunch.

When noon rolled around, Henry activated the portal and opened the doors. Aadiya and Mahali rushed through the door and leapt into the sky.

Minutes later, Henry saw the shapes of two Dragons leisurely flying toward his location with a Succubi escort. Before they arrived, the Sergeant and Private Yablonski rushed up to stop before him, the rest of the squad at their heels. They were all smiling.

"I take it you had a good night?" Henry said with a smile.

"Eden is awesome!" the private gushed.

Henry nodded. "Your families settling in okay?"

"They love it. It feels good as the place itself feeds us. Not to the same peak you do, but with a little rest, our energy levels never dip too low," Mick said happily.

"Good! They know they can ask the Glass people to contact me if they need to come back?" Henry asked and received nods.

Gordon and Alice swooped down and landed gently, immediately changing back into their glamors seamlessly as they approached.

Henry grinned at how smoothly they handled the transition. Gordon was smiling widely as he reached forward to shake Henry's hand.

"That was probably one of the most unique experiences of my life. Eden is absolutely beautiful, and I don't think I'll ever forget our first night here," Gordon said with wonder in his voice.

Henry smiled as he grinned at the couple.

The moment Gordon stepped back, Alice rushed forward to hug Henry.

When she pulled back, she held his hands and smiled at him. "That was truly lovely! Thank you so much for letting us enjoy your world!" she gushed.

Henry shook his head. "It's not my world. Eden belongs to the Glass People and the Silver People.

"And the rock woman?" Yablonski asked.

Henry looked at him in surprise. "Ah! You met Veronica?"

Mick nodded. "She wandered in from the dark last night while the big guys were singing. She didn't tell us her name or say much, but she sure loved listening to the Quintuplets."

Henry recalled the few moments he had with her before he returned home after recovering from his near-death experience. She'd seemed a little lonely. To hear she found some joy in the music brought a smile to his lips. He wondered if any rock people were amongst the newly transformed and if they might like to see Eden and meet a friend. He'd ask Sigrid later.

He looked to the General. "Ready to go home?"

He nodded and took Alice's arm as they went back through the doors. Henry met Camila, who was looking nervously at Eden.

"Is it time for your first flying lesson?" Henry asked, and the twins rushed to take her arms, pulling her after them as she looked back at Henry. "I'll leave the door open, and the end wall will only allow you three through.

Then they were running through the red grasses of Eden.

He closed the doors but left them active. Then he set the privacy wall on the end of the short tunnel to keep his other guests from wandering into Eden, but it would let Camila and the twins rejoin them when they were done.

As he stepped out into the main hall, he met Sigrid standing with two lovely blonde Valkyries he hadn't seen before, Brita and Hollis. They smiled shyly at him, and he realized he was meeting his lunch dates. He returned their smile, and Sigrid said he could use his room upstairs. It seemed the ladies were a team.

Henry had more magic doors to activate after his lunch date but managed to eat some lunch before heading out.

Sigrid slipped in one final Valkyrie for him late in the afternoon. Devish had flaming red hair and a dazzling smile. She was a tigress in bed as well, complete with claws. After she left, he had to use his healing spell to close up the deep scratches she'd left in his back.

During the day, he'd supercharged Roy three times to upgrade Valkyries named Oltas, Sherris, and Juna, though they were uniformly and vocally displeased by the requirement of having sex. Henry spoke to Sigrid in private as he realized he thoughtlessly hadn't considered some of the Valkyrie might prefer female company. Forcing them to have sex with a man would make this process especially repugnant to them, which he fully understood. She'd assured him these three were just being contrary.

Henry was grateful for Roy's intervention, as was Sigrid. It showed Roy's fortitude and strength of will that he could perform at all with such unpleasant partners.

After he finished the last magic door and returned to the mansion, Sigrid met with him, Roy, and Camila.

"There are only four Valkyrie left, and they've outright refused the upgrade," Sigrid began.

"Wilma is old, and it's questionable if she'd survive another battle even if she upgraded. Her thought patterns are calcified. Like my mother's," Sigrid admitted.

"Megani, on the other hand, is an excellent warrior, deadly in battle, and we need her strength with us. But she doesn't like sex."

"With men?" Roy asked.

"With anyone. She said she's not interested in sex, isn't sexually attracted to men or women, and finds physical intimacy uncomfortable."

"She's asexual?" Henry asked.

Sigrid nodded. "Not sure what we can do." She moved on. "Xera would also be a tremendous asset to the battle, but she's gay and isn't interested in having sex with a man."

"Right," Henry said with a nod, ready to move on, but Roy had other ideas.

He grinned at Henry. "Can your adaptable glamor make you look like a woman?"

Henry blinked at Roy. "You know I can't see what my partner sees, right? And she'd still be having sex with a man."

Roy raised his hands in surrender, but he was still smiling.

Sigrid aimed a scolding eye at Roy, then sighed. "Then we have Lira. Another good fighter, but she won't upgrade or say why."

"May I offer a suggestion?" Camila asked with a coy little smile.

Henry looked at her suspiciously, and Sigrid looked cautious as well. "What is it?"

Camila raised a hand. "It's nothing outrageous, just an alternate route to get the supercharged essence to where it needs to be." Now they were curious, so she continued. "We start with Xera. I could extract the essence from Henry, then have sex with Xera and give her his cum with one of my strap-on toys."

"Way to take one for the team," Roy said with a smirk.

"I won't deny it's a win-win for me, but it gets us one more Valkyrie on the battle line," Camila said.

Sigrid was nodding. "I'll suggest it. I think she'll agree."

Camila's smile was dazzling. "Next, we consider Megani. Again, I could extract Henry's cum, and she could drink it, mixed in with something she likes, perhaps. The point is getting the energy inside her to be absorbed."

Henry stared at Camila, who was unconsciously licking her lips in anticipation. That made him stiff under his kilt, which she noticed with a gleeful smile. He cleared his throat.

"For Wilma and Lira, I could give them strong shields. That would keep them safe for a time," Henry suggested. Sigrid nodded with a frown, as she obviously didn't like the idea of her warriors being unprepared for the battle ahead.

She locked eyes with Henry. "Could I ask you and Camila to wait for me upstairs in the master bedroom so we can deal with the last two?" When Henry nodded, she looked at Camila. "Can you get the... toy you need?"

Camila couldn't contain her excited giggle as she glanced at Sigrid and Henry before rushing away.

"Win-win," Roy snorted and patted Henry on the shoulder. "Good luck." He dodged Henry's reach to avoid a power-up and chuckled as he returned to the party.

-=-

Dinner was held in the Grand Cavern Dining Hall, as Meixiu had named it, and spirits were high. Aside from the Valkyrie, who'd been upgraded that day, everyone was in attendance... except Marisa.

Henry found Camila, who'd enjoyed her flying lesson and interludes with Xera and Megani. He gave her a hug and kiss. She smiled happily.

"Where is Marisa? Is she all right?" he asked.

Camila nodded though her expression showed some concern. "She promised she would come after dinner. She said she needed to speak to you but also needed some time."

When Henry looked like he might head for the magic doors, Camila took a firmer grip on his arm. "Please, Henry. Give her a little more time."

He looked into her eyes and let out a breath. "Okay. But I need to speak to her tonight." The gorgeous brunette nodded. He took another sweet kiss, then looked toward the corridor from the kitchen.

As the food was being brought down to the buffet table, Mahati and Kali arrived with a bundle carried between them. It looked awkward to move, so Henry quickly rushed over and assisted them with bringing it the rest of the way into the hall.

He stared at the lovely silk wrapping around what felt like a short torpedo. Henry looked at Mahati, who was smiling at him, as was Kali. They both looked proud and excited.

Kali was also wearing another choker collar, but this one was more subtle and didn't have the H tag. It still had a small loop on the front, though.

"What is it?" he asked with a smile, gesturing to the silk-wrapped secret.

Mahati shared a look with her sister, then faced Henry. "It's the reliquary. Kali and I studied the ancient texts for constructing one, picked up the elements required, and constructed it. We're both exhausted as we used up most of our Wild Magic to build this."

Henry pulled Mahati into a hug and dialed open the aperture on his rift. The energy flowed from him, and Mahati gasped from the quick charge. When he stepped back, Kali immediately rushed in to press her body against his, smiling at the sensation of the energy streaming into her body.

"Thank you, Henry!" Mahati sighed.

He closed the aperture and gave Kali a kiss before she released him. He leaned closer to Mahati, and she met him halfway for a kiss too.

"Thank you so much for creating this for me! We'll take a closer look at it after dinner. We have to work out where to do a test as well," he said, looking to Roy.

"Aye, I have an idea for that," he said. Henry looked at Roy curiously.

"There is a section of beachfront we do our training on. It's sheltered and private with no homes or businesses within seven miles," Roy explained.

"Seven? That seems rather specific," Henry said.

Roy frowned. "There's a bird sanctuary seven miles down the beach. Bird watchers go there." He shrugged dismissively. "It's just a small shack built next to a toxic waste processing plant decommissioned back in the sixties."

"Lovely," Henry said with a grin.

"VRL owns the section between the ecologically protected marsh to the north right down to the sanctuary, so no worries of a developer swooping in to build beachfront condos on it. Though we get approached for that every year," Roy said.

"Okay, sounds like the spot to go," Henry agreed.

"The next question is, when?" Roy asked.

"Tomorrow is Monday, but it's New Year's Day, so I'm not allowed to go to the office," Henry said. "That seems like as good a day as any if you're available."

Roy shook his head with a grin. "It's actually not. Mary and I have plans. You know, celebrating the new year? Ushering it in with a peaceful, contemplative nature walk? We can take a day off mid-week and do it then."

Henry grimaced in dismay at the idea of taking a day off, and Roy fell for it.

"Son, you need to learn that all work and no play makes Henry a dull boy. Grab some pleasure out of life—" He stopped when he realized he'd been had, as everyone was smirking at him.

"Henry's a Satyr. I think he's got the pleasure thing under control," Camila purred as she eased up next to Henry. Chuckles broke out from the gathered friends as Roy aimed an annoyed frown at Henry, who shrugged with a smile.

Camila moved her lips closer to his ear. "I love what you've done with the twins. If you don't mind, I've invited them over for a sleepover tonight. If you wanted to join us..." she whispered and nibbled on his earlobe as she pressed a breast against his arm, sending tingles through his body.

"Ahh, as much as that sounds wonderful, I really need to see Marisa." He saw something flicker in her expression, and his smile dropped away. "Where is she?"

Camila sighed as she couldn't put him off any longer and wasn't comfortable with making excuses for Marisa any longer. "She's been having visions. Her seer sight has been activating in her sleep. She's frightened by what she's seen."

Henry blinked at Camila as she was saying Marisa was suffering, and he'd been completely unaware of it. "Why didn't she tell me?"

Camila shook her head. "She didn't want to burden you—"

Henry reached for his location spell. He didn't need an article of clothing or jewelry from Marisa as she was in his heart. He determined she was home and didn't stop to consider she might not be alone or not want to see him. He jumped from the cavern to her condo, appearing in her living room in a burst of displaced air, knocking her pillows off the couch, a lamp from an end table, and the magazines from her coffee table.

"Henry!" she gasped in surprise from the couch.

He turned to face her, knelt on the floor before her, and took her hands in his. He immediately felt calmer. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"What? Why are you asking—Mother!" her expression closed up.

"Hey! Don't deflect! I've been trying to see you for days, and you keep slipping away. She told me that you're having visions in your sleep. This hasn't happened before?"

Marisa seemed frozen with indecision, then she gave in and looked down at his hands as she shook her head. "I-I don't know what they mean, but I never do."

"I'm in them," he said and felt her twitch. She tugged at her hands gently, but he wouldn't let go.

"I know you've seen some frightening things involving me, and I wish I could say you shouldn't worry as I'll be fine. I won't say that as I've already been through some awful things and dragged the people I care about through some with me. I don't know what the future holds. Your visions are only things that could happen. I do know that I love my life because of all the wonderful people in it. I'm with them in the now. I can't dwell on what comes next as I'd become paralyzed with fear. I think you are losing sight of the now because of your fear of what might come next. That's no way to live."

He pulled her hands to his face and kissed her palms. She gasped as her eyes teared up.

"Talk to me. What are these dreams you're having, and why do you think they are interfering with your sleep?" Henry asked gently.

She sucked in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "It-it's only been a few so far, but they aren't like any I've had before." She tried to put it into words. "It's almost like some external... intent is guiding me."

Henry's gut clenched. "A dark presence?" His mind immediately assumed it might be the evil entities.

Marisa shook her head. "No! Just the opposite. They seem... good. I can't see them. I can't hear them, and they slip away if I try to focus on them. But if I defocus my mind and let it drift, it's like I'm floating amongst fluffy white clouds that are calm, peaceful, and hopeful. I can sense their presence and intentions. I can almost communicate with them. They want me to—"

Henry waited as she bit her lip and shivered. "They frightened you?"

"No... what they want me to do is what I want as well, but... I'm too afraid." She pulled her hands free and covered her face as tears began to run down her cheeks.

He slipped up onto the sofa and pulled her into his arms. She squeaked, then clung to him with all her strength as she cried. He stroked her hair, made soothing sounds to calm her, and kissed the top of her head as she burrowed her face into his neck.

"Please don't be sad. You don't need to live in fear. Nothing is frightening right now. We're in your warm and safe home, and we're together. This is wonderful! Almost as good as a dream I had of you the other morning," Henry said with a smile.

Marisa suddenly pushed back to look into his eyes. "You had a dream of us... together?"

His smile widened. "Yes, you were so beautiful, and the dream was so sexy!" He chuckled. "It felt so real!"

She gasped. "I had that dream too!"

Henry smiled. "Really? That's amazing!"

"N-n-no, I think we were linked. It was identical to a Succubus technique called Sleep Seduction, but that only works if I'm physically nearby!" she insisted.

"Huh," he said, then smiled gently. "You're always in my heart. Does that count?"

Marisa's eyes welled with new tears, and he began apologizing.

"I LOVE YOU!" Marisa shouted in anguish.

Henry's eyebrow rose in surprise. His mouth opened, but he was too stunned to speak. He cleared his throat as his body began to tremble. "You... love me?"

She nodded and burst into tears again as she clung to him.

He held her close in his arms as his heart soared into the heavens. Marisa loved him!

But why was that making her so sad?

"I'm sorry you're not happy about that. My heart is doing loops around the moon! I think I've loved you since the first day we met at VRL," Henry confessed.

Marisa leaned her forehead against his chest as she struggled to get control of her tears. Her voice was soft at first. "I believed love was impossible for Succubi. It's what I was taught. I'd witnessed my mother's struggle after losing mates, and though she said she wasn't in love with them, she went through a period of depression after each. I learned to hold back a piece of my heart to protect it. I-I can't do that with you. What frightens me is how much it will hurt if something happens to you. It was easier when I was deluding myself that I couldn't love. When you died from falling from the building with Nate, that was a terrible time, but I had the baby to think of, and I was all confused about my feelings for Nate. I felt so guilty for not loving him as he said he loved me. Now, I know I love you, and there's no distance between us. I feel completely exposed and vulnerable!"

Henry nodded. "Camila felt the same way. I agree. Love is scary. But I am so thankful for it. It gives my life meaning and gives me strength in every minute of every day. I have to live in those moments as I know firsthand how precious they are. I don't know how many we have left, so I treasure them and the people I share them with."

"My seer abilities keep showing me how things will end—"

"Could end," he suggested. "Granted, they might be far more realistic than what my imagination conjures up each time I'm faced with a big decision. Your visions and my imagination live in the future with a zillion factors between now and then, which can alter their outcome in big or little ways. Your gift is difficult for you. You've said you have so little control. I have little control over my fearful thoughts, so I choose to ignore them as best I can. I suppose it's easier for me as I have no true ability to see the future."

Marisa was quiet for a moment. "The friendly cloud entities want me to upgrade my abilities. It feels... critical... to something." She shook her head. "I've always hated having this power. Making it stronger feels like the opposite of what I need."

"We don't have to—" he began.

"That's just it! I want it so badly. I can't begin to tell you how much I hunger for your touch, your kiss, and to have you inside me. It's what Succubi do, but now that I've accepted that I can love, I need to be with you," she said, looking into his eyes desperately.

Henry had no defense against Marisa's words and scooped her into his arms to kiss her. Their lips met, and she sighed as her wait was finally over.

He carried her into her bedroom, never breaking the kiss, and eased her down on the bed. Marisa pulled back slightly, then dropped her glamor to be naked before him. Her radiance took his breath away.

"Please, let me see you," she begged, so Henry dropped his glamor and tugged off his kilt, tossing it aside.

Compared to her beauty, Henry felt like the proverbial beast, an impression strengthened by his horns, fur, and hooves.

Meanwhile, Marisa's pearly white skin gleamed like wet latex, and her white hair spread across the pillow like a halo. Her beauty was so intense it captured his thoughts, and his need for her surged.

"Please, Henry, I need you," Marisa sighed, and he could no longer deny her. His body moved over hers, and she reached up to pull him down.

His heavy cock was caught between them, and Marisa's eyes flared with need as his heat pressed against her mound. He rocked his pelvis slowly, and she cooed from the sparks of bliss shooting through her.

"Inside!" she gasped, so he pulled his pelvis back, and she reached between them to guide the thick head of his cock to her wet lips. He thrust forward slowly and felt her opening for him.

"Yes! Yes, Henry! Deeper!" she cried. His girth stretched her wide so deliciously, the ridges and stiff barbs teasing and tickling her insides until she thought she'd lose her mind.

He eased back, then pushed forward again, repeating this until he rested his body against hers. She clung to him as he began a slow grind against her. Her breath gushed out, and she pulled his face to hers to kiss him deeply.

Marisa's tongue wrapped around Henry's as she made muffled squeaks of bliss.

Henry was overwhelmed by all the wonderful sensations, and his need grew quickly. Best of all, Marisa loved him! His heart was filled with joy, and he couldn't get enough of her. He pulled his pelvis back and slammed his cock into her depths, slapping her clit with his body. Her eyes flew wide as she reeled from the burst of pleasure. He needed more.

He began to long stroke Marisa, each thrust ending with a firm spank on her most sensitive bits.

She pulled back from the kiss to gasp. "That's it! Henry! That's what I need!"

It felt incredible for him as well, and he couldn't stop himself from accelerating his thrusts. Her cries of bliss grew louder, and her grip on his body tightened.

He was getting closer and knew he could come at any second. His mind warned him she didn't want him to come inside her this time.

"I'm close. I have to pull out—"

"NO! No! Don't! I need you! I love you!" Marisa suddenly cried as her legs wrapped around him, pulling him tighter.

Her words derailed Henry's ability to resist. He kissed her deeply as he ground his body into hers. She moaned into the kiss as her eyes rolled back. Her pussy clamped down on him, and Henry could no longer delay his release.

Streams of hot cum surged into her body, loaded with supercharged Wild Magic. He felt her suck in a sharp breath then everything went white.

Henry was floating along amongst the clouds. Marisa was at his side, cuddled against him. As he looked around, he noticed that wherever he looked, that spot went out of focus.

Something Marisa said came to him.

Defocus.

He let his eyes drift and pulled his attention inside. Marisa was there!

He couldn't speak to her as that required focusing, so he simply opened his perceptions to the environment to passively absorb whatever he might experience.

Marisa was rapidly trading impressions with someone else, but he couldn't perceive who or what they were sharing.

Then he felt delight, curiosity, and hope directed toward him. The latter swelled as he felt the sensation of falling.

The back of his head struck the floor with a thump causing a splash of stars to burst across his vision. They'd rolled off the bed, but Marisa was protected from the drop by landing on his broad, muscled chest.

Beautiful, white wings stretched out across the floor to stop their slide, then retracted to tuck behind Marisa's back. He saw something else moving behind her and assumed he'd find a tail like Camila now had.

The Wild Magic had evolved Marisa.

After he rested for a moment to let his vision settle, he struggled to grasp what he'd just seen before he fell from the bed. It was hazy now.

He gently eased Marisa off his body and then lifted her sleeping form back onto her bed. As he gazed down at her, he saw she'd evolved like her mother. She was still his beautiful Marisa, but like her mother, she now had a regal quality to her features.

What was most worrying was how this would affect her abilities.

Guilt surfaced to beat on his conscience. Should he have refused? Why didn't he stop?

Henry knelt on the floor next to the bed, suddenly feeling like a monster for potentially ruining the life of the woman he loved, who loved him in return.

He didn't know how long he'd been there, waiting for Marisa to wake, when he felt fingers brushing through his hair. He looked up to see compassion in Camila's eyes.

"I'm sorry—" he began, but she touched his lips with a finger.

"She needed this. She loves you, and she needed to be with you. What she sees terrifies her but holding back caused her worse pain. This was necessary," she said gently.

"What if her seer abilities are overpowering?" Henry said quietly in dread.

Camila looked at her daughter. "None of us are experts in how her powers work. We just have to wait and see. She might have lost them due to her upgrade. We won't know until she wakes." She stroked her fingers through his hair again. "If I'm any benchmark, she won't wake until tomorrow morning. Go get some supper. Your friends are waiting for you."

Henry's stomach felt empty, so he knew she was right. He stood up next to Camila. "I wanted to be here when she woke."

Camila smiled. "If her abilities have increased, it might be better to have someone she doesn't read. If you could ask Lorelei to sit with her when she's done at the party, that would be best."

Henry's eyebrows rose. "She can't read Lorelei?"

Camila shook her head. "Lorelei's link to Earth's Magic makes her a blindspot. She eases Marisa's mind."

Henry nodded as he understood. He kissed Camila, and she smiled happily. Then he left the bedroom and went through Marisa's magic door back to Meixiu's mansion.

The noise from the walkway to the cavern was filled with laughter and happy voices.

It was New Year's Eve.

The kids were excited, and their parents were happy.

The Valkyrie were feeling good and could fill a room with sound by themselves.

Something was keeping him from joining in. Tonight, he didn't feel worthy.

He felt a buzz in his kilt's pocket and dragged out his cell. He glanced at the screen and saw it was Eleanor. He answered. "Hi, Eleanor!"

"Henry! I need you!" she cried desperately.

He felt a sense of dread creep over him. "What's wrong?"

"One of the red-eyed monsters escaped from the protected wings and went on a killing rampage in the hospital. Security killed it, but I need your help! There are so many badly hurt! Some are only children!" she exclaimed.

"You want me to...?" he asked in confusion.

"I can fix the injuries, but the only way to treat so many is with the light tools! Please, Henry!" she begged.

He realized she'd always come to his assistance without question, so he could do no less. "Where are you?"

She quickly gave him the address of the hospital.

"No, where are you specifically? Are you in a room with space around you?" he asked.

"Uh, uh, yes! I'm in the administrator's office. What does that matter?" she said in frustration.

Henry's location spell could find the vampire who drank his blood with relative ease, so he launched it and appeared next to her in a pop of air that blew a stack of papers from a nearby desk.

Eleanor screamed in surprise, and he held up his hands to calm her.

She stared at his horns when she got her heart rate back to normal. "Glamor?"

He nodded and activated his glamor, tossing in a white lab coat like hers. He hung up and tucked his cell in his pocket. She did the same with hers, then grabbed his hand to run through the hospital halls to the operating room. They scrubbed and rushed into the theater.

"Doctor Hollings! Where the hell were you?" a grey-haired man in a surgical mask snapped at her. "And who the hell is this?"

"Doctor Jarvis, this man will be assisting me with the surgery, but he won't touch any of the patients. Please step back," Eleanor said, and Henry felt the push in her voice.

The older man did as she requested, but his eyes tried to peer behind Henry's cap and mask.

Eleanor looked to the staff watching by the door. "Make sure you have the most critical patients ready to come in. Get the next two operating rooms ready to complete the surgeries as I repair the most life-threatening injuries first." Half the team rushed out to get the other rooms prepped.

She nodded to Henry, and he reached for the healing magic. The light in the room began to turn green, and the remaining people with them looked up in confusion.

Henry moved to stand behind Eleanor and placed his hand on her shoulder to feed her the magic. A surgical tech prepared to hand her the instruments, but Eleanor immediately pulled light tools from the air before her and began working on the young man on the table. Henry did his best not to look at the savage wounds on the slim torso of the... shit, he looked like a boy.

The brilliant surgeon worked her light pen into his wounds and repaired the torn blood vessels quickly. She restricted herself to dealing with issues that would stabilize the patients so they could be worked on with less risk of bleeding out. She stood back the moment she'd finished with the boy on the table. She released the tools, which faded immediately as she called for the next patient. She looked across the boy to the other surgeon.

Doctor Jarvis stared at her in shock, so Eleanor gave him a little mental push. "Doctor, the patient won't bleed out now, but he still needs attention. Can you take him to the next theater and finish?"

"How...."

"Please, doctor. We'll talk later."

She directed the surgical tech to follow him with the sterile tools.

As the residents wheeled the boy to the next operating room, another gurney entered with a young girl on it. She couldn't have been more than six. She had a terrible slash from her face all the way down to her chest.

Eleanor leaned forward once more as her tools appeared in her hand. "Henry, she's going to need pain management. Can you...."

"I'm not supposed to touch the patients, right?" he whispered to her.

"Please!" she said.

Henry looked at the girl on the table. She was so young. He didn't think it would be a good idea to reroute her pain and pleasure senses. Instead, he copied that spell and adjusted the copy to route the pain to him. He touched her hand and cast the spell. He stifled a gasp and then nodded to Eleanor. He clenched his teeth as Eleanor repaired a nicked jugular, then moved on to the damage to the girl's face and chest.

When she dropped the light tools and stepped back, she bumped into Henry, who was flexing his hand and wincing from the pain. "Henry, what's wrong?" she asked, taking in his pale skin and sweat on his brow.

"I offloaded her pain into me," he grunted and did his best to shake off the echoes of her pain.

"OH MY GOD!" she gasped. "I didn't mean—"

"It's okay," he saw the next patient coming and felt relief that it wasn't a child. "I'm flying by the seat of my pants here. I'm not a doctor. Next patient." He gestured to the table.

"We-we can—"

"Next. Patient," he said firmly, and she nodded as she turned back to the table.

"Oh! Doctor Carmichael!" The patient was awake, so Henry touched her hand and launched his spell to redirect her pain to her pleasure centers. She sucked in a breath as she smiled.

"Fuck! That's good!" she gasped, and a bunch of med students watching from the side of the room chuckled nervously.

"Go, Eleanor," Henry said quietly as he adjusted the spell to balance the load.

The surgeon lifted her hands, and the light tools slipped into her fingers. Carmichael had a terrible gash in her side. Henry talked to her as a distraction while Eleanor rebuilt the torn arteries and reconnected the damaged nerve tissues.

"What technology is Eleanor using to operate?" Carmichael asked with a wince.

"It's light... and energy. Self-sterilizing tools," Henry said as the doctor's eyes widened.

After working her way from the deep damage to the surface, Eleanor leaned back with a sigh, releasing the light. "Circulation has been restored. You'll keep the leg. Doctor Jarvis will finish up."

Henry shut down the spell and released her hand as she tried to thank the surgeon, but she faded.

"Next! Come on, people!" Eleanor called out, and they jumped.

It was going to be a long night.

-=-

Henry dozed in a chair in the doctor's lounge as the sun began to peek over the horizon and poke through the blinds. Henry squinted as the beam caught him in the eye. He jolted awake as he saw he wasn't alone in the room. The medical students who'd watched them for hours in the operating theater sat quietly on couches and the floor watching him.

They chuckled nervously as they apologized for spooking him. There were three males and four females who all looked to be in their twenties. At first glance, all of them appeared to be pre-transformation, but Henry couldn't really tell.

Henry cleared his throat and gave them an uncomfortable once-over. "What are you doing?"

A pretty and petite brunette seemed to be the spokesperson for the group. She wore her hair short and tousled and sported dark-framed glasses perched on her slim nose. "Please accept our apology, but what we witnessed last night was nothing short of a miracle. We're all desperately curious to know how it was done! We want to learn how to work with light!" She pushed some stray locks of hair back on the left side of her head, and Henry spotted her ear. Most notably, the long-pointed tip of it. She was Fae.

"Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but I can't help but notice you've transformed," Henry said.

Her expression darkened. "That doesn't impact my desire to be a surgeon or my abilities—" she began angrily.

He raised his palms. "Please, I wasn't implying anything negative." He took a deep breath and rubbed his face to wake up. Then he looked into her dark eyes and tried to work past her defensive attitude. "Can I ask your name?" he began

"Sarah," she said.

"Thank you, Sarah. I'm Henry. The fact is, being a Fae, what your new race appears to be, might actually make it easier for you to use the surgical tools made of light."

She blinked in surprise, and Henry noticed envious and angry expressions pop up on the faces of the others. He bit his tongue as it looked like he was digging himself in deeper. Shit.

"How!" she asked excitedly.

"The Fae are wielders. They can manipulate the energy to make it do things. Like what Eleanor was doing last night." He looked around. "Where is she, by the way?"

One of the men, who looked frustrated, answered. "She's still in surgery but using regular instruments."

Henry looked back at him in shock. "Shit! How long has she been working?"

"Too long," one of the other ladies said in concern.

"Is Doctor Hollings a Fae, too?" the frustrated guy asked.

Henry looked at him. He wasn't going to out Eleanor, but he could shake his head.

"Then how is she able to use the light instruments?" the man insisted.

Henry sighed. He decided to give them a condensed lesson on the healing magic. "Do you remember the green light that filled the room?" They all nodded. "That's a spell currently encompassing the entire world way up in the upper atmosphere. Originally that spell was created by the Fae to cure them of a wasting disease. It did its job, and the Fae healed." He skipped the part about Wild Magic accelerating the timeline.

Frustrated-guy proved he wasn't one-dimensional by becoming incredulous-disbeliever-guy too. "Hang on, hang on. Spell? As in a magic spell?" Skepticism dripped from his words.

Henry gave him a weary look. "Don't get hung up on the labels, Doctor No." Chuckles burst from the others. "Call it instructions bound to energy if you like. Here." Henry called his Wisp light spell and brought up one the size of a basketball. He popped it into existence in the space between him and his small audience.

The group jolted back in fright as they stared wide-eyed at the slow-moving flames.

"Easy. It's just light. Touch it and think of a color," Henry instructed.

Sarah poked a finger into it, and it changed to yellow. A broad delighted smile appeared on her face. Soon everyone was poking it, and it rapidly scrolled through several colors.

"What is this?" Sarah asked.

"It's just energy following an instruction. Anyway, back to my story." He clapped his hands and the orb popped and dissipated. "So, the room was filled with a green light which was... anybody?"

"A healing spell?" the lovely redhead on the couch offered.

Henry nodded with a smile. "Exactly. Uh..." He looked questioningly at the lady who answered.

"Vickie," she said with a smile.

"Exactly, Vickie! Now, the healing spell is in the room, but it's dormant because it isn't being used. Magic responds to the will of a wielder, one of the races able to control magic. Not every race can. Some races seem to have a native ability, don't ask me why. I don't know."

"So, Doctor Hollings is one of these other races that can?" Frustrated-guy was back.

"No..." Henry said and waited for the man to offer his name.

"Bernard," the man offered.

"Cool old-school name," Henry said with a smile and a nod. "Last night, I acted as a go-between to feed the magic into her so she could control it with her will and skills. She really is a most brilliant surgeon!" Henry said with a smile. "Either you belong to one of the wielder races, or a wielder assists you.

"So, you're a wielder? A Fae?" Sarah asked.

"I'm a special case and not a Fae. I'm not going to go into my details. My point to all this was, as a Fae, you should be able to use their wielder ability and will to shape healing magic into any surgical instrument your imagination and your will can create and sustain. If your will is strong and you have a disciplined mind, you might be able to do what she did. But remember, Doctor Hollings is a highly skilled surgeon with a brilliant, sharp mind and a strong will. It's like any other sport. Practice, practice, practice, and if you have the aptitude, you can master it."

Henry frowned. "There is one more key requirement, pulling a stream of that healing magic from the sky down into the room to be used. That's something I know how to do, but I don't know anyone else who does," he admitted. "If I could think of a way to build a device which collects the energy in operating rooms, then you had Fae surgeons...." Henry's mind spun away as his brain began working on the requirements of such a device. It could be a lot like his Wild Magic charging station.

Bernard erupted in frustration. "Fae surgeons! That's fine for Sarah, but the rest of us have no idea what we're going to become! The fucking transformations are random! We could become one of those god-damned red-eyed horrors! We'd all love to become Fae if that means we'd be able to become better surgeons—"

Henry was yanked back from his thoughts. There was the heart of their concern. They were afraid of the random transformation. What they'd gone through was traumatic, and they were shaken. Maybe... maybe he could help them.

"I never said being a Fae would make you a better surgeon. Even if you become a Fae and could operate light-based surgical tools, it comes down to you. Are you good enough to be a surgeon? Magic isn't going to help you there. That question is only answered by your natural skill. I sure as hell couldn't do it. I could only assist." He sighed as he looked at their nervous expressions.

"I don't know the different races' pros and cons. I don't even know what all the races are. There are so many. Maybe you'll want to be something other than a Fae—not that there's anything wrong with being a Fae," he added as he looked at Sarah. She smiled.

"Fae sounds good to me," Vickie said softly, and the other picked that up.

Henry smiled. "I'm feeling a lot of Fae love in this room. I think you guys need to hug it out."

They chuckled, and Henry stood. "Come on. Everyone on your feet. Sarah in the middle as the Fae of our dreams." There were more chuckles, but Sarah grinned, stood in the middle of the space, and opened her arms. Vickie and Bernard were first into the group hug then the others quickly joined in.

"Close your eyes and think Fae thoughts. Sarah, these are your Fae family. Share the love."

Henry reached over the group and touched the top of Sarah's head. Her eyes opened to look at Henry curiously, and he released the Wild Magic into her. A lot of Wild Magic as these would be wielders. Her eyes widened in surprise as she felt the flood of energy. He nodded, and soon everyone gasped and slumped to the floor in a pile, including Sarah. Henry quickly checked each of the six post-humans, and they'd shrunk a few inches, Bernard the most, and were sporting pointed ears. Success.

He wrote Henry and his cell number on a piece of paper and tucked it into Sarah's pocket. As she saw what he did, she was going to have questions.

He slipped out of the lounge and walked down the hall to what could be a nurse's station. There was still quite a lot of activity, but their expressions weren't as grim as they'd been the night before.

"Can you tell me where I'd find Doctor Hollings? I understand she may still be in surgery," he asked when he got the attention of one of the nurses.

She froze, and the area quickly went quiet as people stopped to stare.

"Do-do I have something on my face," Henry asked cautiously as he glanced from face to face.

"You're the one who did the magic last night!" the duty nurse said.

"I think the real magic was what Doctor Hollings achieved. So many lives were saved! I have to admit that I was barely conscious by the early morning hours, so I lost track of how many we saw."

Doctor Jarvis stepped up and shook Henry's hand. "We only lost one patient last night, as they died before we could get them into the operating room. The damage to their heart was too great. What you and Doctor Hollings did last night was beyond incredible!"

"Hang on! It was completely Doctor Hollings. I did nothing more than provide the energy for her skills to work. You don't praise the battery for the brilliant flashlight showing you the way," Henry scoffed gently. "Where is she?"

"Operating room two," Jarvis said

"Please take me to her."

The man nodded, and they headed away from the nurse's station. Jarvis was fidgeting, so Henry smiled at him. "Speak your mind, doctor."

"I was speaking with Doctor Carmichael this morning. She says you did more than just act like a battery. She says you took her pain and turned it into pleasure," the man said uncomfortably.

"Ah. Well, we were trying to go fast and didn't have time for niceties like anesthesia. I have a spell I can use which redirects nerve impulses from pain to pleasure. Too much of either can be overwhelming, so I did my best to balance it to allow them to ride it out and remain conscious."

They reached the elevators, and the doctor pressed the button. It looked like he had another question, so Henry turned his face toward him with a smile. The door opened, and Henry caught the expression of fear on Jarvis' face before he felt the impact and pain of a blade plunging into his chest. Henry turned his face back to the elevator and froze. Rand?

A big fist seized his shirt, yanked him into the elevator car, and slammed him against the wall. The blade was still in his chest, sending another wave of agony through him. As he opened his eyes again, he saw the Dwarf press the button for the basement. Then the big fist smashed into his face slamming his head back against the wall of the elevator car. Henry's legs gave out, and he fell to the floor.

He looked up at the angry but pleased expression on Rand's—no, it wasn't Rand, but he could be related.

"Thanks for announcing where you were. You're a difficult bastard to find!" the older Dwarf said, then drove his boot into Henry's gut.

Nausea washed over Henry, and he reached for the handle of the knife in his chest. The Dwarf stomped on his hand, and three fingers broke.

"Nah, you leave that alone. I want you alive until we've had a little conversation."

Henry's pain made it impossible to concentrate on opening a rift to Eden or doing any of the things he struggled to think of.

The door opened, and an elderly gentleman pushing a Janitor's cart was waiting to enter. The Dwarf gave the trolley a firm kick, and it crashed over the old man, knocking him to the ground where he lay moaning.

The Dwarf grabbed Henry's wrist, making his broken fingers throb painfully, then dragged him out of the elevator and down the long cement corridor of the basement level.

"HEY! YOU HURT MR. KAMEEL!"

Henry looked toward the sound of the enraged voice and saw an Ogre stomping his way after them.

"Fuck!" his assailant cursed and dropped Henry's arm, which struck the floor painfully. Henry watched the Dwarf move beside him as he pulled a large handgun from under his vest. It looked like a cannon.

Henry needed to even the odds. He prepared his healing spell, tweaked it to three times its speed, and ran it on his hand first. The fingers reset, and he ground his teeth to keep silent. He gripped the knife's handle and pulled it free before plunging it deep into the Dwarf's thigh.

"AAARRR!" the bearded thug bellowed as his gun fired and blew a chunk of the wall loose.

Henry launched the expedited healing spell on himself and felt his world spiral into a pinprick of light as agony tore through his chest. He heard the grunt and thud of fighting. His vision began to return as he saw the Dwarf staggering closer, blood on his face and a wicked grin.

"You're a fucking sneaky cunt," the Dwarf said through split lips as he got closer.

Henry pulled his legs back like he was trying to get away, and the Dwarf chuckled evilly.

Dropping his glamor and kicking out simultaneously, Henry's hoof slammed into a kneecap, folding it backward.

As he heard a scream from the Dwarf, Henry groaned with the effort to rip open a tear to Eden.

They tumbled through to drop to the grass six feet below as the rip snapped shut. The impact stunned Henry then he felt hands grabbing his body as his assailant dragged himself on top of him. Big hands wrapped around his throat, and Henry struggled to breathe.

The Dwarf spared a second to glance around. "This where you wanted to die, fucker?"

Henry saw it now. The resemblance. This had to be Rand's brother.

"It's... where your... brother... died."

The manic grin faded as he glanced around again. "Rand died here?"

"Yes. What's... your name?" Henry asked.

The Dwarf frowned as he stared at Henry's reddening face. Then his anger returned. "Gren von Deussel. Know the name of the Dwarf who took vengeance for his family's legacy, the destruction of Zult and Zort—"

Henry forced a grin onto his face. "You couldn't... use them... could you?"

Gren froze as he stared into Henry's eyes.

Henry took a grip on Gren's wrists and put all of his strength into pushing him up slowly until he could see the Dwarf's hands

"You're struggling to strangle me because you're missing a thumb. You couldn't wield the two axes, so baby brother got them?" Henry taunted.

Gren was frozen with a bottomless rage as he sputtered.

"GUH!" he grunted as his head suddenly shifted to the right two inches, caused by a glancing blow from a Silver Person running past faster than the eye could track. His muscles began to shake in response, so Henry pushed him aside, where he toppled onto the grass.

Henry flopped into his back and felt the world spinning around him. He'd healed himself too quickly. He was paying for that now. He'd need to do it again at normal speed to fix the new damage. As he prepared the spell, a silver face appeared above him with a concerned expression.

He smiled up at Mick's dad. "Hi, Mr. Tennison. Excellent timing. Thanks!"

"Call me Ron. Who is that?" the Silver Man asked.

"Just someone trying to kill me for killing his brother, who was trying to kill me," Henry said wearily.

"Your... son... is... dead."

Henry perked up when he heard the threat. "What?"

Gren tried to chuckle, but it came out as a pained groan. He slowly lifted his right hand, and there was something clutched in his grip.

Ron looked closer, then grabbed Henry and dragged him away at speed. "Bomb vest!" he said.

Henry opened a rift under Gren, and his body dropped through. Ron stopped, and they looked up to see the Dwarf falling through the sky a distance away. He seemed to be flailing his arms. When he struck the lava flow, he exploded.

Bits of Dwarf flew everywhere.

Ron sheltered Henry from the flaming gore, but Henry had triggered his healing spell and was already unconscious.

-=-

Fenris slipped through the small gap in the bathroom window of the brownstone. He had one target in mind. Henry Gable's son.

His contact at the Ministry informed him that Henry had one son, recently born, and he lived here.

Flying silently in his smallest form, Fenris crossed to the door and listened. The home was silent, and everyone was asleep.

It had been centuries since he'd last done any covert work, but he'd drilled so much in his youth that it came back to him easily. He went up the hallway, found the children's room, and slipped inside. He paused in surprise. There were two cribs?

He slowly moved over the first and saw a small girl sleeping inside. She didn't look like a newborn. He spotted a name on the crib's headboard. Ylva. What kind of name was that?

Listening to their almost silent breathing, he flew over to the other crib and saw the name Stanley on its headboard. That matched the name his informant gave him for Henry's son. He moved closer but stopped in confusion. The boy was also not a newborn. Was this some twisted aspect of his magic?

His mind flashed to an image of his son being stuffed into the maw of the Nekomata, and his sword was in his hand. It was only three inches long, but he could drive it into the ear of his target and send a burst of lightning down its length to fry his young brain. It would do the job on an infant.

Stanley was lying on his stomach with his head turned sideways, his ear aimed at the ceiling. Perfect.

Fenris positioned himself directly above the child's head and prepared his spell.

A five-pound, rubber-coated dumbbell suddenly slammed into him and bashed him against the headboard. He fell to the mattress as Stanley woke up with a jolt. Dark eyes stared at Fenris in surprise. He was still reeling from the image of his son's death and addled from the dumbbell. He slashed at the child's face sloppily and scored a deep gash across his cheek.

Instead of crying, Stanley cried out in surprise and anger then his little hand grabbed Fenris and slammed him against the crib's bars. He felt a rib break from the impact and the child's intensely strong grip.

Fenris desperately stabbed the child in the palm and was thrown against the headboard. As he fell to the mattress, he looked up in shock to see Ylva coming over the side of the crib with a scowl on her little face. She had another five-pound weight clutched in her hand, the rubber showing tooth marks.

She was the one who hit him with the dumbbell? He leapt out of the way of the second one as she threw it at him. It crashed into the headboard with a loud crack, then Stanley slapped Fenris from the air as he tried to fly away. Ylva grabbed his wings as Stanley grabbed his legs. He screamed as they pulled in opposite directions. He slashed with his sword blindly behind him, and Ylva grunted but didn't let go.

He had no choice. The little monsters were going to tear him apart! He returned to full size inside the crib. He slapped Stanley away from his legs, but the boy just snarled at him. He realized he'd dropped his sword, which was still only three inches long. He desperately pushed himself up and over the bars to crash to the floor on his back.

Agony exploded in his shoulder as a blindingly white armored warrior pinned him to the floor like an insect with her gleaming spear.

He stared in shock and awe at a Valkyrie in full rage. The owner of this home was a Valkyrie? Now he understood the uncanny strength of the children. That bitch in the Ministry office set him up!

"Speak only the truth, or I will strip you of your skin very slowly," the warrior said with absolute control in her voice.

Pain exploded in his pierced shoulder, and he struggled to remain conscious.

"Your name."

He licked his lips. "Fenris. Fenris Hoek."

His fingers twitched as he tried to summon his power. Then he was screaming as she twisted the spear.

"Try to move again, and it will be your last. How did you get in?" she snapped.

"Bathroom window is open," he gasped.

"What were you attempting to do when you broke in?" she commanded.

He sucked in another breath, and his eyelids fluttered from the pain rushing through him. "Revenge... for my dead son."

"A son for a son?" she asked in surprise. "Do I know you?"

"Henry Gable's son," he managed to get out.

The warrior looked at him suspiciously. "Where did you get your information?"

Fenris had no problem stabbing his source in the back as she'd let this critical fact slip and fucked him. "Marjorie Kinnison. Special Census Project Division of the Ministry."

The Valkyrie stared down at him, and he broke out in cold sweat from her grim expression.

"Was she working with you?" she asked.

He thought about lying and saying it was her idea, but the Valkyrie would know. "We do—did favors for each other."

"Henry would hunt you down and kill you in the most painful way he knows, and he's experienced death. What were you thinking?"

"Henry Gable may be dead now if Gren's plan was more successful than mine," he grumbled.

"WHAT?" she bellowed and leaned on the spear.

Fenris dipped into unconsciousness for a moment as the pain was too much.

"What was Gren's plan?"

Fenris blinked his eyes open. "Gable was... on the news... at a hospital in Manhattan. A green beacon in the sky above it led Gren right to him. Saving lives with magic as the surgeon worked with tools made of light." He snorted as he began to fade. "Deserves to die."

The Valkyrie slammed her fist against the shaft of her spear and drove the sharp edge of the spearhead down from his shoulder to bisect his heart. He felt the savage rip then the brilliant light from the Valkyrie faded in his eyes.

-=-

Sigrid put away her weapons and armor and moved to Stanley. He had some nasty cuts on his face and arms, but he reached for her to be picked up. She gathered him against her as Hilda picked up and inspected Ylva, sporting a nasty gash on her cheek that matched her brother's.

"They both did remarkably well, considering they've had no training!" Hilda exclaimed with a smile.

Sigrid wanted to scream. Instead, she nodded. "Don't leave the bathroom window open again."

Hilda's smile faded. She nodded. She'd made an extra smelly dump last night. This was her fault.

"I have to call Roy to get his people over to Eleanor's hospital." Sigrid was already moving. She picked up her cell and dialed Roy. He picked up on the third ring.

"Good morning, Sigrid. Do we have a situation?" he asked immediately.

"Fenris Hoek infiltrated my house this morning and attempted to kill Stanley. He and Ylva fought back, giving me time to intervene and capture the Pixie. He said Gren von Deussel was going after Henry at Eleanor's hospital. Henry must have gone there last night instead of joining us for dinner. Can you send your team to ensure he's safe," Sigrid asked.

"On it," Roy said immediately. Sigrid heard Mary speaking to the team in the background. "Do you need assistance with Fenris?"

"A clean-up squad would be appreciated. Hoek's dead," Sigrid said flatly.

"I'll send one over. I'll let you know what we find at the hospital." He hung up.

Sigrid looked over at her mother. "Let's get these two cleaned up and see if they need medical attention."

Hilda held her tongue. For once.

-=-

"The Dwarf hurt Mr. Kameel—Is he okay?" the large brute in coveralls asked again.

Roy nodded. "I spoke to the doctor, and Mr. Kameel just has bruises. He'll be fine. Back to the Dwarf. What happened next?"

Blue eyes blinked up at Roy as the custodian assistant nodded. "I saw him dragging a man down the hall by his arm. I yelled at him, and he stopped and pointed a gun at me." He snorted. "Wouldn't have worked on me. Then the guy on the floor pulled a knife from his chest and stabbed the Dwarf in his leg. Surprised him good!"

Roy smiled and glanced toward Mary, who was holding the gun she found behind some trash bins. She raised an eyebrow as it certainly looked powerful enough to kill an Ogre or at least hurt one.

"Then you fought the Dwarf?" Roy prompted.

"Yeah. Fucker surprised me. He hit where it hurt most. I got him good, but he got me worse. I was on the floor and watched when he returned to the other guy." Blue eyes widened, and a look of wonder appeared there. "The guy changed into a goat man and kicked the Dwarf's knee in two. I heard the crack and rip! Then they disappeared!"

Roy glanced at Mary in concern, then locked eyes with the custodian assistant. "What do you mean, disappeared?"

His blue eyes held confusion as he rubbed his temple with a beefy finger. "They fell through the floor, but there's no hole!"

Roy relaxed a little. Henry took them to Eden. It didn't mean he was safe, but maybe he'd get some help there.

"Thank you, you've been very helpful!" Roy said with a nod.

Mary showed the brute the weapon. "This the gun he pointed at you?"

Small eyes peered at the gun. "It looks like the one."

Mary nodded. "If someone points one of these at you, stop him from pulling the trigger if you can, or get behind something big, like a concrete pillar. This one could really hurt you."

Blue eyes widened as the big man nodded. Lesson learned.

Roy and Mary headed back to the elevator.

"What do we do now?" Mary asked.

Roy frowned. "It's not like I can call his cell, and the gate is closed. We'll have to wait for him to come back." He sighed. "I'll let Sigrid know."

Mary frowned. "Do you think Henry might set someone else up with permission to open the Gate to Eden?"

Roy glanced at Mary and realized her suggestion was a very good one. An alternate contact for situations like this. "Smart! I'll speak with Henry."

Mary smiled, then got a thoughtful look on her face. "Gren von Deussel and Fenris Hoek. Both are family members of the Dwarf and Pixie killed on the night of Skyfall. Do you think there are any more vengeful relatives out there?"

Roy gave Mary a weary look. "I hope not."

Chapter 25

While Quolliss still hated the witch for being first, it knew it was no longer the contingency plan. It had become the Masters' single point of influence on Earth.

The Eldritch beings must have known how important Quolliss would become to their plans as they'd bestowed upon it great gifts during its development. While its body was now immobile in its sanctuary, it's mind could roam the planet freely as a passenger in the bodies of the Demons only it could create. The Masters enabled Quolliss to develop many things within its body. Demons were the most important of these as they were the eyes, ears, and hands of Quolliss, which followed the will of its Masters. Recently their creation had been its primary task. This drained its energy, but the Masters had been trickling new energy to compensate.

It learned from one of its earliest communing sessions with the Masters that the witch had stolen something of critical importance from Quolliss. When the Eldritch entities determined she was not working for them as promised, they delivered to her a final dark energy-driven spell embedded with a compulsion to cast it in the most secluded area she could find. While she wasn't strong enough to prevent herself from complying, she managed to find a way to delay the Masters' goal by tampering with the spell before she activated it. She detected it contained direct realm access and removed this component. The witch didn't know what the spell's function was, and after it was cast, she failed to see the creature it created.

Quolliss was merely instinct at birth and skittered away into the darkness. It found a secure place to rest in a hidden cave with a water source nearby. Instead of having full access to the dark realm, it had the same restrictions as Baba did; communicating with the Eldritch beings through its subconscious as it slept. Unlike Baba, it was immune to Earth-based magic, so it could contain the dark energy in its natural state and feed on it directly. This allowed the Eldritch entities to manipulate the creature's physicality to fine-tune it for their purposes. They began trickling dark energy into it through its dreams.

They gave it longevity and psychic powers and kept it hidden from danger, working on its intellect and cunning until it was capable of creating Demons of its own that it could control. Its first creations were low-level demons who brought it food so it could dedicate its time to building the strength of its psychic abilities.

With its affinity to dark energy, it could sense where the witch was from the magic she carried within her.

Now it tracked Henry the same way.

He'd disappeared again, but Quolliss was confident Henry would return to its perception shortly. Soon it would pinpoint the location of all that dark energy.

And what it knew, it could pass along to Emmanuel and his Demon Enforcers.

They were ready.

-=-

Marisa woke and noticed a difference immediately. As her eyes opened, she looked up at the light fixture on the ceiling. There was just one.

There was no sign of the hazy overlay showing every version of ceiling light she'd thought about redecorating with.

Her seer sight wasn't active. Not just pushed into the background. It was completely off!

She sat up suddenly with a little squeak of surprise and heard footsteps in the hallway and a light knock on the door.

"Marisa? Are you up?"

It was Lorelei's voice.

"Y-yes. Come in," she called out.

The door opened, and Lorelei stepped in. "How are you feel—Oops! You're not dressed," she said quickly as she turned her face.

Marisa glanced down at her chest, and her eyes widened. Her breasts were bigger!

"I've evolved!" she exclaimed softly.

Lorelei smiled at the surprise in her voice.

"Yes, I'm told you were with Henry," he said, still looking to the side.

Marisa noticed the blush on Lorelei's face and pulled the sheet up to cover herself. "Sorry to embarrass you. Nudity just isn't something I'm self-conscious about."

"Being so beautiful, you have no reason to be," Lorelei chuckled softly as she looked back at the Succubus.

That brought a smile to Marisa's face. "Thank you." She looked at her hands and marveled at how elegant they'd become.

"Oh! You have wings now!" Lorelei gasped softly. "And a tail?"

Marisa's eyes widened as she tugged the sheet back down and spun on the bed to let her open her wings fully. "They feel a little weak," Marisa moaned quietly as she eased them closed. Then she sucked in a breath and felt soft fingers slide up her tail.

"This feels very strong," Lorelei said softly as if mesmerized. Their eyes met when her fingers reached Marisa's ass, and Lorelei realized what she'd just done. She immediately blushed and stepped back. "I'm sorry! I-I can't believe I just did that!" she stammered in confusion and embarrassment.

Marisa turned to fully face her, and Lorelei couldn't prevent her eyes from dropping once more to admire her perfect breasts. Marisa took Lorelei's hands in hers and smiled. "I'm not offended in any way. It's kind of what I'm designed to be. I'm flattered as well. You're a very attractive woman, and I can see what Henry sees in you."

Now Lorelei's face was definitely heating up. She tried to redirect the conversation. "I've seen him look at you with love in his eyes."

Marisa's smile showed her great joy. "He loves me! And I was finally able to accept that I love him too!"

Lorelei was confused by her wording. "Accept?"

Marisa nodded gently. "I believed Succubi weren't able to feel love, but I understand now. It's the nature of Succubi to move from partner to partner, so we hold our emotions back to protect our hearts. Henry makes that impossible. For the longest time, I had these feelings for him that didn't fit my preconceived notions. Mother was able to identify her feelings as love for Henry. That shook my world when I found out it truly was possible. I had to do some soul searching as the vulnerability is frightening."

Lorelei nodded as she knew exactly how that felt. She looked into Marisa's eyes, and they felt that connection.

"You love him too, as he loves you," Marisa stated confidently.

Lorelei's eyes widened at the other woman's perception. She finally nodded.

Marisa pulled her into a hug, and Lorelei gasped at how good that felt. Her body was tingling, and she held Marisa tighter as the buzz increased in her nerves.

When the hug ended, they pulled back, and Marisa looked into Lorelei's eyes before leaning in to caress the woman's lips with hers.

Lorelei sucked in a quick breath, then her tongue slipped between Marisa's lips, and they tasted each other.

Marisa purred as she felt Lorelei's hands cup her breasts and gently squeeze. She pulled back from their kiss to smile at the woman, then threw her head back in bliss as Lorelei took one of her nipples into her mouth. Her tongue circled and swept around the stiff and sensitive bud.

"Ahhh, yesss," she sighed as her hands automatically slid into the other woman's hair to pull her tighter.

Lorelei responded by sucking and nibbling, which drew louder gasps from Marisa. The beautiful brunette switched to the other nipple, and Marisa cried out in bliss before quickly and efficiently stripping the other woman of her clothes. Lorelei gasped in surprise, but her eyes showed her desire for Marisa. They both slipped onto the bed, and Marisa took the initiative with a deep kiss. Lorelei moaned into her mouth as the blonde moved her body on top to press her full breasts against Lorelei's more modest ones. The sensation sent tingles through both of them until their bodies were pressed together firmly. Marisa ground herself against Lorelei and drew gasps from the woman.

"Oh! Fuck! You're getting me close!" she said urgently, desperation in her lovely dark eyes.

Marisa smiled wickedly. "Mmmm! Just what I was hoping for!"

She slid her body down and kissed Lorelei's neck. She spent some time worshipping her breasts and tantalized her with tongue strokes around her hip bones before finally reaching her destination.

Lorelei's eyes were rolling back with her desperate need, so when Marisa's mouth finally found the soft, wet, and swollen lips of her pussy, she couldn't hold back her cries of bliss. These grew in volume as Marisa drew her pleasure to a feverish pitch, then launched her over the top.

"Ahhhhh! Marisaaaaaa!" Lorelei gasped as she clung to the woman's head between her thighs. Tremors were rocking through her body almost violently, and when they finally subsided, Lorelei was left panting and shaking gently.

"My god, you're amazing, beautiful, loving, and..." Lorelei tapered off with a satisfied smile as she gently pulled Marisa to move up beside her. They rested on their sides, facing each other and smiling. "Could... could I see the true you?" Lorelei asked.

Marisa nodded and dropped her glamor. Lorelei's eyes widened. "You're even more lovely!" she sighed.

She leaned forward and pressed her lips against Marisa's, tasting her tongue, then moving to her throat.

Marisa's breasts were spectacular, and Lorelei enjoyed her nipples as the Succubus began to squirm in pleasure under her. The tender skin on the undersides of her breast as she lifted them by not-so-gently tugging on her nipples proved to be sensitive as well.

When she reached Marisa's pussy, the nectar was flowing, and Lorelei was enthusiastic even if she wasn't as skilled as her partner.

For Marisa, the genuine desire obvious in every kiss and lick was intensely erotic, and she reached her peak rapidly.

Then Lorelei slid two fingers inside her, and she went up another pleasure level.

"Oh fuck, yeah!" she cried out as she looked down at the gorgeous brunette desperately.

She added another finger, and Marisa threw back her head as Lorelei began pumping her fingers in and out as she kept stroking her lips with the tip of her tongue.

"More," Marisa pleaded.

Lorelei glanced up and then added her fourth finger.

"More," Marisa repeated as she held Lorelei's eyes.

The brunette tucked her thumb into her palm and slowly pushed her hand forward, watching in amazement as Marisa accepted it inside until Lorelei was looking at her wrist resting against the swollen lips of Marisa's pussy. Her clit was stiff and swollen, so Lorelei took it between her lips and stroked her tongue across it as she began pumping her fist into the Succubus.

Marisa threw her head back and silently screamed as her release crashed through her body. Lorelei hung on for dear life as the Succubus thrashed under her.

When Marisa touched her head gently, Lorelei slowly pulled her fist from inside the woman and moved back up to lie beside her, her eyes filled with wonder.

"I've never done that before," she said softly.

Marisa panted and grinned at her. "You did very well for your first time."

As Marisa recovered from their fun, she rested her head on her pillow and watched the blissful smile on Lorelei's face. She truly was lovely, and Marisa felt a warmth spreading through her.

"Join me in the shower?" she asked.

The twinkle in Lorelei's eyes was a definite yes.

-=-

Minkah didn't like snow and didn't enjoy cold, damp weather either. When her current mission was over, she was going for a long walk in the desert again.

She'd been following a large group of Demons she'd picked up the trail of in Romania. They had another big brute of a Demon leading them. She'd wanted to snipe it from a distance, but it was far more cagey than its African counterpart, and she'd had no opportunities. The number of lesser Demons it had collected had swelled to over fifty as they traveled through Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia, Germany, and Belgium. She'd had to scramble to get a boat to carry her over to England as the Demon hoard flew across the channel in the dark of an overcast night. Their numbers swelled again as they picked up two dozen Demons waiting for them.

Minkah shared this news with Roy, and he'd determined the most likely scenario was they were heading for a ship to take them across to the states. The surviving Valkyrie from the attack in Brazil reported the South American Demons had boarded a boat for the journey north.

But now she was beginning to question that conclusion. The Demons bypassed the ports on the south coast of England and instead flew north into Scotland. She thought they might be heading for the ports in Glasgow, but they veered west again and flew straight for the coast. Once more, she had to quickly find a ship to sail her across the strait to Ireland. She hotwired a van at the port and picked up the trail of her prey once more as they continued to head west.

She was given a little time to breathe as the Demons descended on a flock of sheep to gorge themselves after their long flight. Again, she failed to find an opportunity to take out their leader, but she called the Ministry to ask about the significance of the western coast of Ireland in case she'd missed something.

As she waited for the Demons to continue their journey, she also waited for the call back from the Research department.

-=-

Henry woke up with his head resting on a lap. It wasn't the softest surface he'd ever slept on, but Veronica was made of rock.

"Hi," he said, making no effort to move.

"Hello," she replied with a shy smile. While her outer surface had the texture, feel, and appearance of coarse rock, it moved with a plasticity that allowed her to have recognizable facial expressions. Her eyes glittered like diamonds, and they were currently focused on him.

Henry did a quick inventory of the injuries he'd suffered at Gren's hands. Everything felt better, so his healing spell had worked properly this time. He frowned. "How long was I out?"

"Just a day," she said, then helped him sit up. "Are you better now?"

Henry nodded. "Yes. How are you doing?"

Her smile widened a little. "Good. I-I wanted to ask if it would be possible for me to return to Earth for a short time."

Henry's eyebrows rose. This was a good sign for her mental state. "Of course! You can come and go anytime. Well, any time the gate is open. If it isn't, you can ask any of the glass people to contact me to open it for you."

"Thank you," she said with a shy little nod.

"I should get back as my friends are likely worried." He frowned. "I do that too much. Worry them, I mean."

Her smile widened. "It's good to have people who worry about you."

His smile returned, and he nodded.

"Are you ready to head back now?" he asked.

"Yes."

They climbed to their feet and left the Glass People village. Henry sent the people his greetings, thanks, and affection, and they returned it.

Before they reached the doors set into the cliffside, Veronica touched Henry's arm, and he looked over at her.

"Thank you for bringing the Quintuplets to Eden. Thank you for creating them. Their music is beautiful!" she said.

Henry smiled. "I didn't know what I was creating when I made them. They evolved far beyond my expectations. I'm so impressed by them!"

She nodded as they stopped before the doors.

Henry reached out and touched their surface and felt them wake. "Where do you need to be?"

"I want to buy some sheet music for classical pieces to teach the Quintuplets. They are amazing, and this music would be perfect for them," she sighed.

He glanced at her. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but you don't seem to be carrying a wallet."

She glanced down at herself and smiled. "That's true, but I have a Manhattan lawyer who's handling my estate. My parents passed years ago, and their lawyer has been very helpful with handling my finances for me. I just drop by his office, and he gives me a prepaid credit card for whatever amount I need. I have no expenses, so the money just sits there."

Henry grinned. "Camila hasn't suggested you move your account to VRL for them to make your money grow?"

"Actually, I've only spoken to her once. The night you died? I've been on Eden ever since," she said awkwardly.

"Oh! I'm sorry—" he responded, but she shook her head.

"I went for a long walk and eventually found my way back here. Then I heard the music. I'd forgotten how much I love music. I was going to be a musician before...." She looked at her rock fingers and sighed.

Henry was a little confused. "How long ago did you change?"

"It seems like a lifetime ago. Over a decade at least," she said.

Henry frowned. "That was way before Skyfall and before I was even aware I was a Satyr and such beings ever existed!"

"I spent a very long time in a convent my parents sent me to. They said I sinned, and God was punishing me. I'd done something impure, and this was my penance," she said sadly.

Henry took her hand in his. "You know now that's not true," Henry said gently.

She smiled at him. "Yes. I'm not angry with Nate as he didn't know."

Henry froze. "Nate?"

"Nate Walker. He was my neighbor when we were growing up. He was a lot of fun to be around, and one day, we got a little bit carried away. Sexually. Then this happened to me. I was terrified, and my parents took it badly. It seriously messed up my life since that day. I hated him for a long time. I felt sorry for myself for years. I know now it was Nate, but I also know he didn't do it intentionally." She'd looked down as she explained and finally looked up to see Henry's shocked expression. "What?"

"I-I didn't know. I didn't know you knew Nate. I didn't know he caused your transformation," he said quietly.

"We were just two stupid kids unaware we were playing with a loaded gun. Tragic but not evil," she sighed.

"One more mark against Baba," Henry said with a frown.

She looked at him curiously, so he answered. "Baba Yaga pulled Nate from the past, like Lorelei and me... and DJ." He shook off the sadness from contemplating the Djinn's brutal ending Sigrid told him about. "Baba raised me, but Nate, Lorelei, and DJ were put in far less controlled environments. Very much like a loaded gun left in an unlocked drawer. I'm no less guilty as I altered several of my friends."

Henry realized he was slipping into a funk, so he gave her an embarrassed smile. "Sorry. It's not good to dwell on what's already happened."

She smiled at him. "I'm certainly guilty of that."

He opened the doors, and they entered the mansion. He shut and deactivated the doors as he walked to the end of the corridor. When he dropped the privacy wall, he jumped as Meixiu was there. Instantly she was pressed against his chest with her arms wrapped around him tightly.

"Meixiu, what's wrong?" he asked.

She looked up at him. "We heard you were attacked at a hospital and got hurt."

He nodded. "I was. I brought him with me to Eden. Mr. Tennison helped me take him out. Then I had to heal." His stomach rumbled as he suddenly remembered he hadn't eaten for quite some time.

Meixiu pulled back and smiled up at him, so he took her face between his hands and kissed her.

She swooned and then grinned as he pulled back. "I will make you a late lunch!" She rushed away, tapping a text into her phone as she went.

He smiled at Veronica as he put the privacy wall back in place on the corridor. Then they headed for the exit of the cavern. "Meixiu will pass the word to Sigrid, who will tell Camila and Roy, so I should check my cell battery as I'll be getting a call—"

As they stepped through the door from the vestibule to the front hall, Henry's cell chirped with an incoming call. He smiled and gave Veronica an apologetic look. She just smiled and nodded, so he answered Sigrid's call. "Hi."

"Hi?" she gasped in outrage.

Henry heard the stress in her voice. "I just woke up and came straight back from Eden. I needed to heal from the injuries that bastard Gren gave me."

His phone chirped again with another incoming call. It was Camila. "Hang on, I'm bringing Camila onto the call." He conferenced Camila in, and his phone chirped again. It was Roy. He sighed. "Hang on," he said again, brought Roy into the call, and left it on speaker. "Where is everyone? We should do this face to face instead of a call," he suggested.

"We're at VRL," Roy said.

"I'll be right there. I'm bringing Veronica to Manhattan as she has some errands," Henry said.

"Bring her! I need to speak to her!" Marisa's voice called out.

He froze as he needed to speak to Marisa, but his voice failed him.

After a moment of silence, Marisa spoke again. "It's okay, Henry. Just come to mother's office."

"Be right there," he said and hung up.

"Who was that?" Veronica asked as she watched Henry's expression.

"That was Marisa. I... I recently evolved her with Wild Magic, and there was some concern that her seer abilities would become uncontrollable. She... she sounds good."

Meixiu stepped up with a brown bag. "I packed your lunch to go."

Henry accepted the bag, hugged her, and gave her another kiss. "Thank you so much for this."

She was grinning happily as she stepped back. She nodded to Veronica as Henry led her to a closet door and linked it to his office door at VRL. He stepped through, and Veronica followed. He released the magic, then they left his office and walked down the hall. Felix waved them in though his eyes were caught by Veronica's appearance for just a moment.

Henry was three steps inside the office when he was wrapped in strong arms, and Sigrid's lips were on his. When she broke the kiss, she tucked her face into his neck.

Suddenly, a memory blunted by his pain and healing time flared in Henry's mind; Gren's voice saying his son was dead. Sigrid's desperation suddenly took on a terrible meaning.

"STANLEY!" he jolted.

Sigrid pulled back to look into his eyes. "He's fine. Ylva too. Fenris Hoek tried to kill them, but they fought back, and I caught and killed him."

"Gren said my son was dead. They fought back?" Henry was shaking and dropped his lunch bag. What she was saying made no sense to his mind. They were just ten days old!

Sigrid smiled proudly. "They almost managed to tear him in two, but he changed back to full size to escape. That's when I pinned him to the floor with my spear."

Henry had to accept that this represented normal in the Valkyrie world. "They're okay?" he asked again, and Sigrid nodded. He nodded, looked down, and picked up his lunch bag.

When he gazed further into the office, his eyes were trapped by the sight of mother and daughter Succubi smiling at him.

He dropped his lunch again.

Even hidden behind their glamors, the raw sex appeal these two exuded drew him in like a gravity well. But it was the love in their eyes that took his breath away. He walked to them and pulled them into a hug, kissing them both.

Roy picked up Henry's bag and placed it on the table before the couch. "Why don't you eat something while you bring us up to speed on what you've been up to since you disappeared from the New Year's Eve party."

Henry glanced at Roy and nodded. He looked to Veronica standing just inside the door and gestured for her to come in. "Everybody, you remember Veronica Henderson?" His friends said their hellos, and Henry turned to Marisa again. "What did you need from Veronica? She has plans."

"It's okay, Henry. I don't have any deadlines. I can be flexible," the rock woman said.

Henry froze as she caught him by surprise. She grinned, and the chuckle caught in his throat escaped.

They all took seats, and he opened the bag to pull out the sandwiches Meixiu had made for him. As he ate, Camila, Marisa, Sigrid, and Roy discussed what they'd read on the news about the attack in the hospital and how magic light was used to save the lives of so many of the victims.

Henry was secretly pleased to not hear about the group of young doctors-in-training all transforming into Fae. On that thought, he checked his cell and saw he had messages in his voicemail. He'd have to listen to those soon.

He gave his story about his evening and Gren's surprise attack the next day. He told them about Mick's dad coming to his rescue and then his healing.

Then he pinned Marisa with his eyes. "How are you?"

She smiled, and he felt that right to his core. "I'm good, Henry. The upgrade had no detrimental effects, but the opposite. My seer abilities can now be completely parked or at least become invisible. They are still prone to sudden activation, but the images are much clearer, and their onset is less frightening. I've recently had a few about people who seem important to the next conflict." She looked at Veronica. "You seem to play a key role."

Surprise appeared on the woman's face. "Me?"

Marisa smiled with a nod.

Roy's cell chirped, and he glanced at the screen with a frown. He looked to the group. "Sorry, I have to take this." He stepped away to speak quietly into his cell.

Henry wiped his mouth with the napkin Meixiu included in his lunch bag as he felt his energy levels begin to return to normal.

Roy returned to speak to him. "I need you to join a call with Chancellor Mugawee, Roku, Greg Wilson, and me."

Henry looked at him curiously. "Oh, now?" Roy nodded, so Henry smiled at the ladies and followed Roy down to the boardroom in the lower levels.

As they entered the room, Henry locked eyes with Roku. She was watching him nervously, which made him feel a little sad though he could understand why she might feel that way.

She was sitting next to a handsome Dwarf—wait, that was Greg Wilson, one of VRL's client account managers! He'd transformed.

Henry put a smile on his face and noted how Roku was clinging to Greg's larger hand. "Hello, Roku, Mr. Wilson."

"Hi, Mr. Gable—" Greg began nervously but stopped when Henry held up a hand.

"Please call me Henry," he said, and Greg smiled.

"Call me Greg!" he returned with a grateful smile, and Henry nodded.

Henry took the seat Roy indicated and turned his face to the large wall-mounted screen where a picture was flickering into place. When it settled, a stern face gazed out at them. Henry thought his camera might be a little too close.

Roy began. "Good day, Chancellor Mugawee. As promised, Henry Gable, Greg Wilson, and Roku."

"Good day, Roy, Mr. Gable, Mr. Wilson... Roku," the chancellor said, though he seemed a little uncomfortable with the Nekomata.

"I asked Roy to arrange this call today as recent events have been brought to my attention which conflict with very significant measures in place to protect the people the Ministry is charged with protecting. Primarily the discovery of a Nekomata."

Henry frowned. "Enslaved by Katsu Sasaki and used as an enforcer."

The Chancellor nodded. "Indeed, we have been in contact regarding his violation of Ministry Law. This brings me to you, Mr. Gable. I was informed that you were made aware of this law at the time it came into your possession."

Greg looked upset. "Hang on a minute! You're talking about Roku like she's some kind of possession. She's a living, breathing person!"

Henry nodded, but the Chancellor wasn't finished. "Mr. Wilson, you don't seem to be aware of the origin of Nekomata's or their violent history."

"Roku told me about her past, which sounds like the violent history you mentioned, but she was a slave back then. She's free now and no longer has this rage thing that made her so dangerous!" Greg insisted.

Mugawee looked at Henry. "Yes, there is the question of how this was done."

Henry nodded. "I know how unethical it was to manipulate her mind, but I was told the only alternative was death. Nekomatas are killed upon discovery because they cannot control their rage and have only hate for others. Removing that seemed the most ethical means of giving her a chance to have a life. I won't kill if there's a chance for redemption."

"But how did you do it?" Mugawee pushed.

Henry fixed his eyes on the Chancellor. "Baba Yaga forced her magic into my mind the night she died with billions of other Humans. I have every spell she knew and now the ability to use them. She has a spell for stripping the personality from a mind. I made a copy of that and adjusted it to only remove her rage and greatly decrease her hate." He saw the incredulous expression on the Chancellor's face. "Yes, I can alter spells. They aren't that difficult to figure out." He huffed in annoyance. "I never wanted magic. I was perfectly content working with computer hardware and software. I still prefer that! I love my job at VRL. That's all I want to do. Greg can attest to how much better the work environment has become with the new desktops, faster servers, and a better interface."

"It's true!" Greg offered with a grin.

Henry nodded to him, then looked back at Mugawee. "But outside forces are constantly interfering with that. Now we have Demons up to no good."

"Are you planning to offer them redemption?" the Chancellor asked.

Henry's expression went cold as he held the older being's eye. "No. They all have to die."

Mugawee watched Henry for a moment, then nodded slowly. He took a breath and looked at Greg and Roku. Then he looked at Roy as his expression showed his curiosity. "Why was Mr. Wilson included in this meeting?"

"He insisted, as we are discussing the woman he loves," Roy said.

The Chancellor's eyebrows rose. "Loves?"

"Yes, I love her!" Greg insisted.

"I love Greg!" Roku blurted nervously. "I saved him! He is mine! He helped me with all these new emotions!"

Mugawee stared at her in shock, then looked at Henry, who clearly believed his redemption attempt was successful.

Roy cleared his throat. "It might be time to review that policy." He struggled to control his expression and was saved from the effort when his cell made a distinctive tone.

"Excuse me, Chancellor, this is our agent, Minkah."

"Take it," Mugawee said. He looked to Roku. "I'm pleased you have discovered love. It is a most powerful emotion! I-I wish you two well." The relief on Greg and Roku's faces brought a smile to the Chancellor's, and he shared it with Henry.

Roy turned suddenly to face Henry. "Minkah followed a hoard of Demons through Europe to the far western coast of Ireland. They seem to be gathering there."

Henry froze. "Near Carrickhesk?"

Roy nodded. "Minkah says Michelle got back to her about Mab's castle being in that location and linked it to the missing member of the team who tried to capture your daughter. He was in Mab's inner circle. He might have been given the Demons access to—"

"Mab's magic doors. There must be one nearby!" Henry guessed.

Roy got back on the cell. "How many Demons?" His expression became grim as he looked back at Henry. "Hundreds, but the number seems to be diminishing." He nodded to himself. "The ship was a decoy meant to make us think we had more time. Clever."

"Where are the Valkyrie?" Henry asked, leaping to his feet.

Roy looked at the Chancellor, who nodded and disconnected. Then Roy dialed Camila's extension.

"Yes, Roy?" she said.

"If everyone is still with you, put me on speaker." They heard a click and then the room, so he continued. "The Demons aren't coming by ship. They're coming by a magic door, likely to Manhattan directly through Mab's secret passage. The attack seems imminent, according to Minkah, our eyes on the scene. We need the Valkyrie!"

"They're practicing in the yard at the mansion!" Sigrid called out.

"I'll bring them here. Meet us on the roof," Henry said.

Roy nodded. "I'll contact the General."

Henry ran to the elevator and took it up to his office. He linked his door to the hall closet door in Meixiu's mansion and rushed through. He went out on the front step and saw the Valkyrie practicing. The brightness was dazzling.

"VALKYRIE'S ASSEMBLE!" he bellowed. He immediately felt stupid as it sounded cooler in his head.

Only Hilda and Talia paid any attention and swooped down to land before the step. "What the hell was that?" Hilda asked.

Henry's face was burning. "Sorry, it was the first thing I could think of to get your attention. The Demons are attacking. They're using a magic door to get to Manhattan, not ships. We're out of time," he explained.

Talia turned and sang out a loud and fierce refrain. All Valkyrie immediately rushed to join them.

Revna rushed forward. "Top our energy up!"

Hilda nodded. "That's actually a good idea."

Henry climbed down onto the front drive into their midst as he spoke loudly to be heard by all. "There are hundreds of Demons coming through a magic door from Ireland into downtown Manhattan. Some of them are likely to be the bigger, more dangerous ones. That's all I know. Gather for a group hug so I can charge everyone at once." He turned and saw Revna and Talia standing directly before him, the latter moving first to press herself against his chest. Soon he was feeling the squeeze of dozens of powerful warriors, so he dialed open his rift and let the energy flow outwards.

He heard the Valkyries sighing as they became saturated with the charge. Then he pushed it a little higher before shutting down. Everyone had excited smiles as they struggled to keep their wings in.

Henry noted two Valkyries standing separate from the others. They didn't look excited. He assumed they were Wilma and Lira. He moved closer, and they looked at him uncomfortably. "May I give you two extra shields for protection?"

"No," the younger of the two said immediately.

Wilma glanced at her and then nodded to Henry. He queued up the spell and applied it to Wilma's temple.

"Touch there to activate and deactivate it. You'll see a little colored light in the corner of your vision. Green means it's good, and red means it's almost gone," he explained.

Wilma nodded, so he turned and rushed back to the front door. He led the Valkyries through his office door, down the hall to the stairwell, and up onto the roof. He moved to the side to make room for the warriors to spread out on the upper deck.

He spotted Aadiya and Mahali next to Marisa and they rushed over to him to get hugs and kisses, nuzzling his face with theirs. Henry eased back to look at Marisa in surprise.

"They need to be here," she said.

He turned back to his crimson beauties and gave them both personal forcefields. They were both immediately distracted by the green light in their vision and tried to catch them. He touched their faces again to remove the spells, as clearly, they wouldn't help.

"I want you two to be especially careful out there. Watch out for the bigger Demons. They are especially sneaky and very strong. Avoid them," he insisted as he fed energy into them, and they kissed his cheeks. He assumed they'd be staying with the Valkyries.

Roy and Camila walked up to him. "The General and his team will be here shortly. We should head down to the lobby. We've sent the employees home, including Greg and Roku. They're a sweet couple."

They headed back to the elevators and rode one down to the lobby. Henry noted the building was quiet except for Roy's team, who were preparing for the battle. Mary smiled at him with a gleam in her eye.

He spotted Veronica... and Lorelei! He turned to Marisa. "Why are they here?" he asked in concern.

Marisa smiled and shook her head. "They need to be here. I don't know why but it's important."

Roy's cell rang, and he immediately placed it to his ear. His expression darkened. "Don't let them see you, and get away if you can." He hung up.

Henry looked at him in worry. Roy gave him a grim look. "Minkah will have to lay low as new guests have arrived at the location in Ireland."

"Friend or foe?" Henry asked.

"They can't really be defined that way. Avoidance is the best option, and stay out of their way. Minkah is safe for now, but I'm not sure how much damage they will cause at the other end. They could be problematic if they come through to New York."

Henry blinked in surprise at this. Who the hell is more frightening than the Demons?

-=-

Father Slay frowned as he stepped from behind the wheel of their rental truck. The original one they'd ordered had been nicked from the port parking lot. It had taken far longer than it should have to get to the remote corner of this island. They were in danger of missing the party.

He smiled at his fellow clergy. "Can you smell them, Brothers?" he asked as he pulled his cassock up and off.

"Aye, Brother Slay, but the foul creatures are slipping away. We must make haste!" Father Pain complained as he quickly undressed too.

Father Rage smirked as he removed his cassock and tossed it and his boots into the back of the truck. Mirroring his six brothers, his body was hard and lean, corded with muscle, his skin a terrible roadmap of scars.

Father Burn was already undressed and slipping into his trance state as his brothers quickly followed suit.

Father Fury and Father Grim were transforming into their alternate nature, their breathing fast and deep. Muscles began to swell, and low growls rumbled from their throats until the seven men of the cloth became... other.

As always, Father Gore was the first to reach his full Berserker state. With twice the muscle mass of his peaceful form, he wore only a simple leather loincloth. His red-hazed eyes locked on the distant field, the night's darkness meaningless to his augmented senses, and his nose picked up the spoor of the vile ones. The primary creatures he was born to hunt and kill. He grabbed his morning star and raced across the field at top speed, howling his joy at being unleashed to kill.

His brothers were only steps behind him as they gripped their weapons which would taste the black blood of the Demons ahead.

Burn carried dual hand sickles.

Rage and Fury preferred cudgels studded with iron spikes.

Pain used a six-foot iron-tipped spear.

Grim crushed his targets with a heavy battle hammer.

Slay preferred his broadsword.

They reached a small dell with a tiny thicket of woods. The keep-away spell had no effect on them as they rushed directly at the thirty-three demons who were waiting to step into the small opening leading into the brush. The brother's screams of crazed rage had the intended effect of preventing their victims from collecting their wits and flying away.

Their weapons knocked aside the Demon's spears, then tasted the vile black ooze in their veins. Blunt instruments caved in skulls and rib cages and broke spines and limbs. Bladed weapons removed appendages, carved into torsos, and lopped heads from bodies.

The Demons they faced were fast and vicious, some managing to hit their targets, but the injuries weren't severe enough to distract the Berserker's killing rage. Instead, it just made them fight harder.

While their weapons wreaked havoc, their growls and screams echoed across the fields. The Demons were quickly decimated, and still, they hungered for more.

Slay burst through the opening in the brush to face a terrified Fae standing in a darkened doorway. He screamed and slammed it shut.

The broadsword bit deep into the wood, and the magic field collapsed explosively, blasting the Berserker through the brush and out onto the gore-covered field. Soon, without a target to focus on, the Berserkers began to shrink and calm until six men stood in the muck and gathered around their seventh, slowly coming around.

He sat up and frowned. "We missed the party."

Father Grim frowned and nodded. "Bishop Lamba isn't going to be happy with us."

"Bishop Lamba should have gotten us the location sooner," Father Burn grumbled.

They got to the task of stacking the remains of the dead while Father Slay quickly rinsed his body in a stream then he brought the rental truck closer. He carried the supplies satchel and the petrol cans across the field to soak the pyre. Father Rage threw in the packets of accelerant, and Father Burn was given the honor of setting it ablaze. The bonfire burned hot and fast as the brothers circled it in silence. There would be no ceremony of passage for the dead. They were going back to Hell.

They thoroughly bathed their bodies in the nearby stream's frigid water to remove their enemies' blood. Their recent injuries had closed and were well on their way to being healed, adding to their collection of scars.

Clean once more, they returned to the truck to don their cassocks. They'd have to report in to discover their next mission.

Their holy work here was done.

-=-

After the truck moved out of sight, Minkah came out of hiding and approached the burn zone. The Demons killed by the Vatican's Berserkers were no more than ash, and the fire had engulfed the small thicket as the Fae magic no longer protected it. The remnants of the door could be seen amongst the scorched plant life.

She frowned in annoyance as they'd killed her opportunity to strike the enemy from the back of their line.

Pulling her satellite phone from her pouch, she called Roy again.

"Roy here."

"The Berserkers decimated approximately thirty Demons but also destroyed the Magic door. I heard a scream near the end of the slaughter, which I'm assuming was from a Fae as it was too high-pitched to be from a Demon. Not sure if they killed him."

"Contact Michelle Beaumont. She may have a local address for our suspect. We don't want him getting away. The bastard tried to abduct Henry's daughter. You are fully sanctioned for this. Thanks, and good luck," Roy said and hung up.

Minkah smiled to herself as she dialed her number for the Ministry Research Division. If he lived, the kidnapper would soon learn the error of his ways.

-=-

Harkland winced as he dabbed at the cuts on his scalp. When the magic door was destroyed, he'd been standing too close to it. The collapsing spell threw him back through the shed door. He was lucky to have avoided breaking any bones though he was badly bruised and something tore in his right knee. He'd needed time to recover before he could escape to Norway. He had a bad feeling that he couldn't take that time.

He burst into tears as his near-death experience suddenly flashed through his mind once more. He was shaking with terror as he saw the terrifying grin on the warrior's black, streaked face. The monster had rushed at him through the brush, sword held high, ready to split him in two. How he had the presence of mind to slam the door between them, he had no idea.

Once he got his emotions back under control, he grabbed his father's cane and used it to hobble over to the side window, which faced the remains of the shed.

The building was destroyed. He'd not be using the magic door any longer. Even the words of power in his mind were gone, as the doors they were linked to were just splinters now.

The painkillers he'd taken earlier were kicking in, so he made his way slowly to his bedroom and eased himself onto the bed. He was too sore to do any more today.

He'd get a flight over to Bergen once he could and slip away under anyone's notice.

For now, he rested.

As best he could, with the savage's face returning to terrify him again and again.

Chapter 26

Henry stood in the lobby of VRL, watching the energetic activities as everyone had something important to do... except him. He wasn't doing anything. Roy was speaking with Camila, Marisa, and Sigrid, who was in touch with Hilda on the roof. The Valkyries were flying patrols, but there was no sign of the Demons yet. They'd received word of someone spotting them flying out of an underground parking lot in the downtown core, then they disappeared. Rough estimates put them at close to three hundred, but somehow they were hiding.

The Silver Soldiers were patrolling Manhattan's streets, looking for any sign of them. So far, no luck.

"What the hell are they waiting for?" Henry finally growled to no one in particular.

Roy glanced over. "You okay, Henry?"

He cast an incredulous look at the man. "No! I feel completely useless doing nothing. I should be doing something better than standing here in the lobby."

"This is the best place for you to be. The Demons will come to us as they want your energy. We have home turf advantage," Roy insisted.

Henry huffed. Something was wrong. He felt it in every fiber of his being. The Demons were preparing something, and he needed to be ready to counteract it.

Roy listened to his earpiece, turned a troubled look in Henry's direction, then turned away to say something.

"The Demons are incoming!" Sigrid said and rushed out the front door to leap into the sky, mighty wings powering her upward and out of sight. Henry moved, but Roy blocked his exit.

"Stay in the building!" the big redhead said with a scowl.

Henry frowned at him as he saw the worry in Roy's eyes.

-=-

Aadiya and Mahali wrinkled their noses as they picked up the scent of Demons on the breeze from their position on the roof. They were coming. The sisters shared a look.

"Watch out for bigger Demons," Aadiya said.

"They are super sneaky and strong," Mahali returned.

"Avoid them," her sister finished.

"We will be sneakier!" Mahali suggested, and Aadiya grinned.

They leapt from the roof's edge, and the Valkyries saw them depart and quickly gave chase. The twins glanced back, then grinned at each other over the sight of so many gleaming warriors.

Ahead they saw the sky was filled with their enemy. The Valkyrie began to sing their battle cries and the Demons screamed in response as they rushed forward in seemingly overwhelming numbers.

Aadiya slashed with claws and tail tip as she darted and wove her way through a sky filled with a smaller form of Demon. Mahali caught up to her, and they shared another look. None of these Demons was particularly dangerous for them. They saw the second wave, which contained Demons who seemed a little bigger, but there were fewer of them. These didn't feel like the menace Henry warned about.

Fighting the larger Demons was definitely more challenging as they were scary fast, but none could outfly the twins, so they punched through this wave to find... nothing. There was no third wave.

The biggest Demons weren't in this group.

Where were they?

The twins flew back and engaged the Demons from behind, giving no quarter. Even against the greater numbers, the Valkyrie were making excellent headway with the first wave.

They spotted one of the Valkyrie being separated from the others, so they changed course and rushed to her aid. But before they could reach her, a spear thrown by a second wave Demon caught her on the back of her neck, and she went limp. The smaller demons began to tear her apart until the twins swept through and slashed through their bodies. They fell to the earth below, and Aadiya returned to the one who threw the spear and opened him from groin to throat in one slash, sending him earthbound as well.

Mahali joined her sister after she lowered Lira's body into a treetop for later retrieval.

Aadiya and Mahali began to worry that the big sneaky Demons had out-snuck everyone.

-=-

Talia formed the point of a wedge curled in from above and carved their way through a cloud of lesser Demons. Muscles buzzing with the Wild Magic, she had no fear of exhausting herself against these weaker opponents. Her shield knocked aside every spear thrust at her while her sword flashed out to remove heads, arms, legs, and wings.

These Demons were falling to the street below, but there was no sanctuary for them there, as Silver Soldiers raced back and forth amongst them, ensuring they were dead.

The last time she faced a group of lesser Demons had been the night they lost Tove and Tore. These Demons were equally fast and vicious, but thanks to her Wild Magic upgrade, she was so much quicker and stronger. Her enemy wasn't difficult to defeat, but their numbers were daunting. Fortunately, their crowding made them easier to kill rather than overwhelming. They were interfering with each other's attack, so she could identify the dangerous from the mere bothersome. The former received individual attention from her sword or spear, while the latter were sent spiraling to the ground with a ripped wing for the soldiers to dispatch.

Revna, who was above and to the right, blocked a spear that punched through one of the lesser Demons. It was thrown at her by one of the larger Demons from the second wave, who seemed to be holding back. She shared a look with Hilda, then the two broke away to attempt to carve their way through the cloud to get to the richer targets.

Talia frowned at their reliance on the old moves as they struggled against the mass of enemies. Then she saw the red twins weave their way through the first and second wave of Demons, leaving a trail of savaged bodies yet escaping without so much as a scratch themselves. Their method of flying made her think of her battle with the ribbon beast on Eden. Its sinuous movements caused her to miss her target repeatedly until she finally managed to predict where it would be and thrust her spear there.

She sang out a mighty battle cry and then immediately attacked with new vigor, mimicking the movements of the creature that eluded her so well. Her blade slashed and stabbed as she pierced through the wall of lesser Demons. Revna swung in behind and above her while Truda and Gerta swooped in behind and below, heeding her call. They formed a wall of slashing steel, and the Demons fell back. Mostly, they just fell.

Truda and Gerta picked up and matched Talia's movements, and the three began carving an even larger hole through the Demons.

Hilda finally gave up her solo effort and joined Revna, though she'd taken damage. They provided protection from above as Sylvi, Ingrid, and Runa took up protection duty from below.

Their thrust decimated the lesser Demons as other Valkyrie joined in to fight like Talia. What had been an impenetrable wall was unraveling rapidly. The first wave was broken as more and more Demon bodies fell from the sky.

When Wilma had her shield knocked away and caught a spear in her gut, the desperate Demons swarmed over her, biting and clawing as they'd finally found purchase past her expired shield. She died before the other Valkyrie could get to her, but every one of her attackers was carved into pieces.

Once the first wave was in tatters, Talia and her group bit deep into the second. These Demons were stronger and tougher but nowhere near the threat of the largest ones.

Hilda once more attempted to strike out in an old-school solo effort, but Revna pulled her back into the group, saving her life.

None of the Demons were allowed to escape. Sherris was fooled into chasing a single injured Demon which drew her into an ambush that ended with her death. All remaining stragglers were left to the twin Succubi to take apart.

Talia and Hilda moved back to make a quick assessment and saw they'd broken the Demon's defences, but none were running. That wasn't typical behavior either. Standing to the last man was not something Demons did.

Revna joined them with an angry look on her face.

"Where is he?" she shouted at the Demons.

"Who?" Talia snapped.

"The big bastard who killed Kari. The Demon who hit me with his spear!"

Talia quickly assessed the remaining enemy. "I don't see any of the larger Demons."

Hilda quickly called Sigrid. "No large Demons in the attack waves." She listened and hung up.

"They need us to finish this group to the last Demon, then rush back to VRL."

"Let's get this done," Talia growled.

While she was mostly pleased with their performance, she had a bad feeling in her stomach.

-=-

Henry's suspicions flared when eight Silver soldiers suddenly rushed up to form a defensive line before the front doors. Each placed their right hand on the shoulder of the soldier to their right, making a barrier for access in and out. He turned to face Roy. "What's going on?"

"Son, maybe you should wait in the boardroom," Roy said.

Henry leaned away from Roy and caught Camila and Marisa's expressions of worry. They'd dropped their glamors, but their concern showed through.

"What... what's coming?" Henry asked, then motion in the corner of his eye made him turn his face toward the front window.

Slowly descending to the street before the building were five large Demons. They were being so bold because three of them, positioned at the three points of a triangle, were wearing explosives vests with babies strapped to them. These three held the detonator triggers in their right hands, exposed for all to see. The other two Demons stood at the center.

The infants were crying, and that sound was triggering Henry.

"Lad, they seem to know how to push your buttons. You need to let us deal with this."

Henry frowned, but he held his position while his muscles trembled. How long he'd last, he didn't know.

His mind accelerated to find a solution to the Demon's puzzle.

-=-

Roy watched Henry for a moment, then nodded. He stepped out the front door and stopped behind the Silver Soldiers, who were twitching at the sound of the children.

"Steady, lads," he said quietly.

He examined the five larger Demons. The three wearing the bombs and babies seemed strangely stiff and emotionless, while the two in the middle had smug expressions. No Demon would willingly submit to wearing suicide gear as none were selfless enough to voluntarily sacrifice themselves.

"What's with the babies? Aren't the bombs enough?" Roy called out.

The slimmer of the two inside looked at Roy. "Incentive. We'd really like to speak with Henry, please."

Roy was once more surprised by the behavior of these Demons. Please?

"Not while the children are at risk. Let them go, and perhaps we can arrange something."

Now the speaker grinned. "I don't think so. I have six chances to convince Henry to come out to talk. Children are especially delicious. Let's see how Henry enjoys witnessing this." He paused and looked directly into Roy's eyes. "This one's on you."

The Demon closest to Roy slowly opened his jaws unnaturally wide and moved them over the head of the newborn girl on the left side of his harness.

Roy froze as every scenario he imagined for stopping this ended with everyone dying.

-=-

As Henry watched the Demon prepare to eat the child, he was already dropping through the lobby floor while pointing to the babies.

Six of the eight Silver Soldiers also fell through a hole to Eden he'd opened under their feet. Being linked, their perceptions were accelerated, and several looked back at Henry and saw he was looking at them but pointing to the babies. Henry dropped his glamor as another rip opened under his hooves, returning him to Earth to drop directly in front of the Demon about to bite the child. As he fell past, he reached out, activated his disassembly spell on the baby harnesses, and grabbed the babies as he continued down through a new tear back into Eden. He released the babies into the hands of the Silver Soldiers waiting there and fell through another tear back to Earth.

The only way he could open and close the tears this quickly was to queue them in a spell, but the energy demand was draining him dangerously. He had to concentrate on rescuing the babies.

As he passed the second pair to the soldiers, he suddenly realized he hadn't considered his acceleration as he fell. He was moving so fast as he dropped in front of the last Demon he had to jab his hands down to release their harnesses and pushed the babies down into the hole to Eden.

Something ripped through Henry's mind scattering his thoughts as his fall slammed to a stop. The third Demon grabbed him and threw him toward the two in the center.

A heavy fist slammed into Henry's jaw and his head filled with stars.

As his consciousness fled, he heard the voice of the Demon from Brazil. "Nice to see you again, Henry."

-=-

"HENRY!" Camila screamed and jarred to a stop as Marisa grabbed her hand.

"EVERYBODY BACK," she yelled as she pulled on her mother's hand, her eyes staring at something only she could see.

Mick, Feinberg, and Yablonski raced out the door and grabbed Roy, who was staggering back after he crashed into a forcefield blocking him from leaving the sidewalk. The soldiers had to lift him bodily to rush back inside as other team members grabbed people in the lobby to accelerate their escape out the back door.

Marisa screamed as something stabbed into her brain like a hot poker, and she was out.

Everyone felt the pain to some degree except Lorelei.

-=-

Emmanuel struggled to control Radu, Laohu, and Percy as they fought back against his mental override of their bodies. He felt Quolliss slide into his mind, and the effort became nothing as his creator was so powerful!

It slapped Henry's mind to put a stop to his clever antics and powered Radu's body to move lightning fast to catch the falling Satyr and send him back to Severiano to subdue. A powerful psychic pulse was sent outwards as they sensed sensitive minds nearby, which needed to be disabled so they couldn't interfere.

It was time to activate the most powerful spell Emmanuel had ever channeled for his creator. Henry needed to be brought to Quolliss for the next phase. Unlike Henry's dimensional tears and his local magic doors, a dark energy translocation spell required a large sacrifice. Quolliss fed the spell into Emmanuel's mind, and he activated it as his creator had the three slaved enforcers trigger their bomb vests.

The high explosives ripped through the Demon Enforcers, killing them instantly. This exposed their dark energy, which amplified the explosions one hundredfold. The three converging shockwaves ripped a hole in space, and Quollis pulled to draw Emmanuel, Henry, and Severiano to its location, deep in a cavern in the Ural Mountains of Russia.

Emmanuel fell forward onto his knees and clutched at his head which throbbed from channeling so much power for its creator.

He glanced up just in time to see Severiano stab his spear through his chest.

He stared up at the brute in shock as he felt his life force draining away.

"Can't have you sacrificing me next, can I," Severiano chuckled and kicked Emmanuel from the end of his spear.

As he sprawled out on the cave floor, he reached out to Quolliss, begging to be saved, and felt... annoyance, disappointment, and its cold, dispassionate evaluation. His creator slipped into his mind and siphoned off all the Dark Energy left in Emmanuel's body. There would be no explosion within the creator's sanctuary.

As his vision faded, Emmanuel's mind returned to Father Slay's words, but this was not the peace he was searching for.

-=-

Severiano looked about the black cave, which his Demon vision had no trouble seeing. He knew he'd been born here, but those memories had been stripped away shortly before he was sent out into the world.

The cave was fairly big, with one straight tunnel that led upwards to the surface, dug out by the first Demon slaves their creator made. Running through the center of the cave was a small stream. It entered the cave from a large hole on the upstream wall and left through a hole at floor level downstream.

Tucked up against one wall on a large, raised shelf was a huge featureless mass of undulating flesh. This was his creator. Not a physically impressive being.

Now that Emmanuel was dead, this seemed like a good time for Severiano to take on the more advanced role that was vacant.

He felt a cold and indifferent mind brush against his, and a shiver ran down his back. Then it plunged into his mind, and the Enforcer Demon finally faced the true depth of its Master's madness. It took everything to prevent his mind from fracturing in the onslaught of chaos radiating from Quolliss' mind.

"Bind our guest to the floor," rang in his head, and he staggered to drag the unresponsive body of the Satyr to the chains prepared to imprison him. He positioned Henry as Quolliss desired and fastened the shackles around wrists and ankles.

"Bring me Emmanuel's body," the large being insisted. Severiano hoisted it and dropped it against the lower edge of the fleshy monster, where tendrils extruded to wrap around the corpse and dragged it under to be dissolved and absorbed.

"Take the reliquary and attach it to our guest's head," Quolliss instructed, and Severiano staggered from the internal volume. He stepped closer to the huge fleshy mass, and an orifice began stretching open to expel a cylindrical shape. Severiano couldn't help but think of a dog taking a shit and received a mental slap for that disrespect. He moaned under the psychic load, then moved forward and accepted the slimy device. One end seemed to have an orifice of its own. He carried it back and stood ankle-deep in the stream, watching Henry's hair sway in the gentle current. Lowering the reliquary into the water, he pressed the orifice against the top of Henry's head and heard a wet sucking sound as the device took a grip.

Suddenly he felt himself thrown back against the far wall in the cavern, where he collapsed in pain.

"Stay."

Severiano realized he was being told which of them was closer to the dumb animal on the evolutionary chain. He shuddered against the unwelcome forced humility.

-=-

Quolliss struggled to contain its excitement. It maintained a careful probe in Henry's mind to keep him in a semi-conscious but docile state. It wouldn't do to have him putting that clever mind to work against Quolliss' plans now, not when it was so close to fulfilling the Masters' wishes.

It desperately wanted to suck all that delicious dark energy directly from Henry's brain, but the Masters had forbidden that. This power was their key to breaking through to this dimension, and they'd promised that Quolliss would have all the dark energy it wanted once they did.

It gently dipped into Henry's memories to find something that it could use to trick Henry into remaining still and inattentive. It was going to start draining the dark energy from its captivity in his head, and it wouldn't do to have Henry take notice. He was too clever.

Quolliss hated that it found itself excited to meet another formidable intellect. After such a long period of solitary existence, encountering a mind that came close to challenging itself was a thrill it had never before experienced. This also made it feel terrified and jealous, and a murderous rage bubbled just below the surface. For the sake of the Masters' plan, all its emotions had to be suppressed.

It found the memory of Henry's time at the edge of death and paused in shock. The Masters had whispered to him. Promises... promises Quolliss would have accepted instantly, but Henry rejected again and again.

Quolliss withdrew from Henry's mind to regain its stability as rage almost caused it to sever Henry's connection to life. It once more locked away its emotions and took a moment to ponder why it was having this trouble. It would have to be more vigilant.

It returned to Henry's memory of clawing his way back from death, but Quolliss suppressed the whispers as they threatened to destabilize its mind again.

The Masters' promises were for Quolliss alone.

-=-

The Silver Soldiers lost their footing as the colossal explosion dropped the ground below their feet for a moment. They went sprawling but did their best to protect the people they carried. The noise was deafening, and they were already a block from ground zero.

When they stopped, they all looked back at a huge cloud of dust and debris drifting between the buildings.

Roy shoved Mick and Feinberg away from him and charged back toward the building. Yablonski got in front of him and quickly sailed away after being slapped off his feet by an Uber-Were.

"Mr. Duncan! The buildings will be unstable. Let us check first!" Mick shouted to get his attention.

Roy was panting with a wild look in his eye when Camila took his arm. He looked into her eyes for a moment, then gave Mick a shaky nod. She and four of her team rushed away and carefully circled the block.

Mick took pictures of the devastation as she waited for the dust to settle. There was a solid breeze tonight, so it didn't take long. The office tower across the street from VRL had collapsed completely. The buildings on either side of it were badly damaged as well, potentially uninhabitable.

When she turned to face VRL's tower, she stared in shock. It was largely undamaged! Some of the facias were cracked, and there were quite a few damaged panes of glass on its face. There was a large crater in the road before it, and big sections of the sidewalk were ripped up, but they could see an intact section of paving right in front of the building, which looked like someone had parked an enormous snow plow blade in front of the building. The point of the undamaged sidewalk reached the curb, curved back then ran parallel to the front of the building

Mick took pictures, then saw the towers on either side of VRL had suffered far more damage than their neighbor. Then they heard the sirens of the firetrucks on their way.

"Let's get back," she said, and they agreed silently. They rushed through the dusty streets and found the General standing on the sidewalk with the people they took from VRL. "Massive damage to all buildings except the VRL tower. Your neighbor across the street has fully collapsed, and its neighboring buildings are questionable." She pulled out her cell and showed them the images she'd taken.

Roy's expression showed his shock. "He put up a forcefield," he muttered. "I hit the back side of it when I tried to get to Henry. I didn't realize how big it was!" He shook his head. "I don't understand why they wanted to kill him."

Camila's expression was stricken. "Is—is Henry dea—"

"NO!" Marisa shouted, and concerned eyes turned to her. She regained consciousness after being carried from the building but still seemed slightly off. She tilted her head, and her eyes began to glow. Relief crossed her face, then worry. "They took him. He's... THERE!" She pointed east.

Everyone looked, but all they saw was a street with a few people moving about a few blocks away.

"Can ya be a little more specific?" Roy asked in frustration.

Marisa's eyes flashed white as she continued to point east. Her voice carried a power you felt on your skin when she spoke.

"Henry is in a cave, deep inside this...."

A loud crack announced the sudden appearance of a half-circle arch across the road. Beyond the opening, it was night, and they could just make out a river, a gravel beach, some brush, and a stone cliff rising behind the beach.

Lorelei was closest to the portal, and her head snapped around to stare at the river. She suddenly rushed through the arch toward the water.

"Wait!" Veronica called out as she moved to catch her, and General Crane went next as he activated his shield.

Another psychic pulse came through the arch, stronger this time, and everyone clutched their heads in pain, but Marisa collapsed.

The arch snapped shut.

Camila rushed to Marisa's side as the rest stood on the sidewalk staring at the space where three of their group had just disappeared.

-=-

Henry floated in the darkness, struggling to climb from the deepest pit he'd found himself in yet. His mind told him he'd fallen from Mab's castle to the street below, which meant he was dead and had no business trying to leave. Except, there were too many reasons he had to return. Most importantly, his children.

So, he struggled, and as the endless time passed, he somehow felt closer to where he needed to be.

It was still incredibly lonely in the dark. This made him think of someone who lived in the darkness. Someone he'd like to see again.

"Boy, what are you doing?"

He felt a rush of joy just hearing another voice. That it belonged to his Baba made it even more welcome.

Except... Baba didn't come to him when he was on Eden. And this Baba was a spirit who wouldn't move on.

When he was coming back from death on Eden, the only company he had was the constant whispering coming from the Dark Energy in his head. Now, he heard nothing. He checked on the quarantined spells and discovered some were showing a reduction of their energy.

He was under attack.

Henry carefully tried to access his body, but something was blocking him. His thoughts remained unaffected, so his attacker likely couldn't stop that. Instead, they'd tried to trick him.

He knew if the energy was taken, the Eldritch horrors would breach Earth's dimensional barrier, and everyone he knew and loved—no, EVERYONE would die.

He wracked his mind trying to think of a way out of this latest trap but realized he was out of options this time. Unable to control his body, unable to directly access the quarantined spells without alerting his attacker, his remaining play was the least attractive. He'd just returned to his life, and it showed so much promise. The thought of giving that up made him want to scream, but that would alert his captor.

Instead, he looked deep inside. He saw the young man he once was, quiet and small but with dreams of building his own life, working on tech, and maybe, just maybe, making a friend or two. What he'd actually achieved in the time between then and now was incredible. His life was rich with friends and love, more than he'd ever dreamed of having. He'd been blessed. Now he had the opportunity to protect those people.

No one knew how much life they would get, so you had to make the days you had matter. Henry had.

He would do this to save the ones he loved.

He'd have to send the energy back to its dimension directly. He knew exactly what would happen to him if he exposed himself to that dimension, but it was okay.

Henry tapped into the time magic to freeze the moment. Baba was immediately in his face.

"Dammit, Boy! I told you not to mess with time magic! Weren't you listening last time about the futility—"

"Shut up, Baba," he said calmly, and she froze. "Yes, I know I can't move anything that requires time, but now I know the nature of dark energy."

She stared at him in annoyance, so he continued.

"The only thing that I'll be moving is the dark energy. It's not affected by time as it comes from the Eldritch realm, which is timeless. I'm sending it back."

Baba's expression showed he'd finally impressed her. It was time to impress her again. He pushed her out of his time bubble.

Now he was truly alone, but he realized that was okay. For what he needed to do, it was better this way.

He locked down his mind with an implementation of his firewall. Then he built an energy streamer that would begin draining the Dark Energy from the quarantined spells and feed it directly back to its source dimension, the Eldritch realm. This would expose his mind to the ancient evil, but he accepted the sacrifice. He was just one man, and this would save everyone. He'd failed to stop Mab, and billions were lost. He could do this to protect the rest.

The greatest challenge would be forcing the dark energy back with his will, as the evil fuckers on the other side didn't want it to leave this dimension.

He once said he was going into battle against beings way above his weight class. Now he'd learn just how foolish that idea might be.

He understood they'd attack mentally, so he confirmed his defenses, took a moment to complete his preparations, then fed the dark energy from the first corrupt spell in his queue into his streamer. The energy wanted to leave and return to its own realm, so it easily punctured the barrier and began feeding the vile power back into their realm. Resistance to the flow immediately began to ramp up as the stream caught the attention of the Eldritch Entities.

The strain grew, but Henry pushed.

-=-

Quolliss was worried. The feed to its reliquary rapidly slowed to a halt, but it saw no sign of Henry's interference with the quarantined spells. As far as it could tell, Henry's mind continued to be trapped in the dark of his memories.

But the energy was no longer moving!

It could feel the Dark Energy trapped in the spells contained in Henry's brain, but something was blocking the flow into the reliquary. It would have to risk dipping deeper into Henry's mind to see if he was interfering somehow.

Quolliss eased its probe into Henry's thoughts and found itself staring at a series of computer file folders. It paused. What was this? It looked into one file folder and found a document listing an incomprehensible string of alphanumeric data.

What did this represent? It pulled back and found itself back at the computer file folders. It tried to move forward, but it just faced another set of folders identical to the first. The files inside them were the same as well. Becoming frustrated, it pushed deeper and deeper into the folders, but there didn't seem to be any end to them.

Finally, Quoliss pulled his mind from Henry's abruptly. It was being thwarted by Henry's cleverness again, which sent it into a rage. It wanted so badly to kill him, but it knew the Masters would punish it for doing so.

Instead, it seethed as it tried to think of another way to get around Henry's trickery.

-=-

Severiano shuddered as he pressed himself against the cold rock of the cave wall. The pure menace radiating from the huge fleshy creature across the cavern made his skin crawl. There was no movement in the space other than the flow of the stream and the breathing of the three beings.

Then, breaking the absolute darkness of the cave, Henry's large, curved ram horns began to glow with a silver light.

Despite himself, Severiano was fascinated by this, but he had no idea what it meant. He looked to see how its master would react, but it didn't. Severiano frowned. The Satyr was up to something, but... its master was blind! He needed to tell it!

Before he got more than a step away from the wall, he was slammed back against it.

Severiano contained his moan of pain as it was clear its master would not tolerate any distraction.

The silver glow continued, and the Demon Enforcer worried about what that meant.

-=-

Gordon's shield spell thankfully filtered most of the pain from the mental attack, so he was aware of the sudden drop in ambient light. He turned around and saw the portal Marisa created was gone. He took stock of his situation.

He looked up at the stars and saw familiar patterns, so he was still on Earth.

It was cold and the visible constellations confirmed he was in the northern hemisphere.

It was night here, so he was a good distance around the globe. He had a sneaking suspicion that he might be in Russia. His presence here could be problematic with him being a General in the U.S. Army on a seemingly covert mission.

Looking around he saw he was clear to transform so he did as Dragon eyes were much more useful in the dark. He activated his shield spell once more as it felt like a wise precaution.

"Are you two, okay?" he asked.

Veronica nodded. "The attacks only cause me a dull ache."

Lorelei was still focused on the river, but she looked at him briefly. "They don't affect me at all. I'm going to commune with the river."

Before Gordon could suggest otherwise, she stepped into the frigid water and quickly sunk beneath the surface.

"And then there were two," Gordon muttered, causing Veronica to chuckle. It was a gravelly sound, but it contained a happy tone.

That brought a small smile to his face as well.

-=-

Lorelei moved to the center of the river and felt it responding eagerly to her presence. It was sick and needed her to purify it. She felt its need, and while she'd never done a purification before, she desperately needed help. Sounds came to her mind, and she sang for the first time under the surface. This song wasn't for those who dwelled on the land. It was an ancient key stored in her DNA that unlocked access to a vast calm pool of power from an entity so vast she felt like a droplet of mist in comparison. Her joy exploded when it slowly responded to her call, and her song became one of welcome, praise, and love.

The presence felt incredibly ancient, but its strength was beyond her comprehension. She burst into happy tears when she felt the sweetness of its surprise and joy at hearing these tones after so long. A warmth enveloped her, and she'd never felt so loved and cherished in her life.

She wanted to remain in its embrace forever, but she remembered her original purpose in calling it. She sang her plea for the river, its desperate state, and its need, then threw back her head in bliss as the entire length of the river thrummed with purest energy, purging the sickness. Then the colossal presence slipped back into its watchful state once more. Lorelei's whole body tingled with the power she'd received from the ancient presence. She also felt joy and gratitude radiating from the river for her intervention. She basked in that for a moment then it guided her to the shore to show a source that led to its sickness.

A small stream was pouring from a hole in the rockface and cascading down to merge with the river below. Here was a major source for the taint the river had carried.

Lorelei frowned. The spoor of evil was being carried in this stream. It must pass by or through the cave of the Demon!

Then she felt something else. Henry! His bright energy was in the stream as well. He must be in the cave! She needed to get him out!

Lorelei surfaced and turned to the beach were her two companions waited. "Henry is here! He's in a cave this stream passes through. I can feel him in the water!"

Gordon looked back to where the arch had been, then faced her. "We don't know when they'll be able to open the arch again or how long they'll have it open for reinforcements. Perhaps we should engage as we seem mostly immune to the attacks. We can keep them busy so the others can join when they can." He looked at the rock face. "I'll try to find an entrance."

"I'll see if I can reach Henry to let him know we're here!" Lorelei called back.

"You find the entrance and I'll go in to protect him until help arrives," Veronica said with grim determination. Lorelei watched her with concern, but the rock woman just smiled at her companions. "I haven't encountered anything that can damage me. I'll be fine."

Lorelei nodded to them then slipped back under the surface to move to where the small stream joined the river. She reached for the stream and felt its sluggish response. Using the power the vast entity shared with her, Lorelei pushed her will upstream, climbing the falls, and into the channel that ran through the rocks. As she sought the source of the corruption, she took strength from the traces of Henry's energy. Inspired by her song for the Earth Spirit, she began to sing of her love for Henry and carried that energy upstream with her.

She would reach him!

-=-

Henry staggered under the unrelenting pressure from the attack of the Eldritch horrors. As he struggled to force the energy back into their realm, his mind was battered with fear, doubt, and hate.

Then one of the impossibly vast entities turned its full attention on him. Its weapon was despair, and in Henry's weakened state, it brought the energy stream to a halt. Madness licked at Henry's mind, but he willed himself to look away.

Before it could press its advantage, Henry felt Lorelei's love flow over him as her Earth-based magic burst through Quolliss' barrier. He was shocked and quickly confirmed his time spell was still in effect. It was, but he recalled time hadn't actually stopped. Its forward progression was just incredibly slow. He was experiencing the leading edge of Lorelei's genuine love reaching him. He couldn't communicate outwards, but he could feel the strength of her love. His heart swelled with joy and every Eldritch monster pulled back, repulsed by this.

In the instant relief of their decreased pressure, Henry had an epiphany.

Baba had chosen very well, as Satyrs were the absolute worst agent for the Eldritch Entities! He LOVED EVERYBODY!

His laughter was on the verge of being hysterical, but it felt so good!

He watched with a manic delight as the horrid presences were repelled—No! He loved his friends so much! Especially when he thought of the ones who loved him in return.

When he was young, he only had Baba, and while she hadn't been the most demonstrative when it came to love, Henry loved her, and she didn't reject him. Now he had so many people who truly loved him, he didn't even try to contain it.

The outpouring of love seemed to be anathema to the Eldritch entities, and they couldn't get near to him. He felt their desire to rip him from that feeling—No! He desperately kept pushing how much he loved everybody, Hidden Races and Humanity, and loved every creature inhabiting Earth. The strength of that love was boundless.

He could tell they were looking for another vector to attack him—No! Henry split his mind into multiple copies. The new Henrys were happy and energized for their mission. They gave him a group cheer then they took over maintaining the flow of his love outbound and kept the pressure on the streamer to make the enemy focus on that.

While Team Henry was tormenting the nasty beasties, Henry pulled up the source code for the most virulent viruses ever sent at his firewall and stripped out its payload as he had something else in mind.

In his design, Dark Energy would be used as the propulsion system with different amounts pulled from the quarantined spells to randomize the distances the viruses would travel before activating. The energy would also act as camouflage as it blended into the background energy, disguising the viruses so they could move unnoticed.

Next, he designed the virus payload. Powered by a piece of his will, each virus would replicate the ecstatic sensation of being in love and followed the original virus' method for reproducing itself rapidly.

Now he needed a team to help him build a factory to produce these weapons. He split his mind into additional copies to create and run his weapon assembly line. He designed an extraction mechanism to pull the dark energy from the quarantined spells starting from the bottom of his spell queue. He also used the power to build the factory. Then he bound his willpower into the factory as a source for the payload.

He was ready.

He knew nothing would be left of himself when the factory shipped out the last of the weapons, but the dark energy would be back in the dark realm, and they would no longer have the means to threaten his children and the others he loved. Instead, they'd be very busy.

He allowed himself a final moment to bask in the love Lorelei sent him as it was the last love he would ever feel.

-=-

Quolliss became aware of intruders outside the cave. It couldn't afford to let them interfere, so it unleashed its local reserve of Demons to defend the nest. They just had to delay the invaders long enough for it to fill the reliquary and use it to launch the final spell.

Then the Masters would deal with them.

-=-

Gordon flew next to the cliff face and switched his vision to infrared to look for heat sources. Picked up the signatures of a few small animals as he rose up the side of the rockface then his shield was being struck by spears thrown by the Demons streaming out of the mouth of an opening a third of the way down from the top. The swarm was soon attacking him directly with tooth and claw but his shield was doing its job and nothing was getting through.

He hovered in place and used his big, clawed hands and feet to crush their bodies. He managed to bash a few with his tail while he was at it. But more took their place.

He spotted Veronica free climbing the cliff face by punching her own hand and toe holds into the solid rock. Gordon was seriously impressed. He was also becoming pissed off with the nuisance these Demons were becoming. It was like walking into a cloud of mosquitos!

He changed tactics and began spitting plasma balls at them, picking them off as they flew toward him from the cave mouth. His last shot went off course and struck Veronica. He rushed closer but she continued climbing until she reached the mouth of the tunnel. She turned and waved to him.

Gordon's heart was in his throat. "I'm so sorry I hit you with the plasma!"

Veronica smiled as she crushed the skull of a Demon trying to get by her as she blocked the exit. "I didn't feel anything except a little warmth. Can you shoot a beam of plasma at me?" she called back.

Gordon stared at her in shock. "That's crazy! It would kill you!" he exclaimed.

She shook her head with a sad smile. "In a dark moment on Eden, I jumped into lava. I didn't melt. I just got hot. If you charge me up with heat, I can clear out the rest of these Demons and protect Henry. Please, let me make this hideous form of mine useful."

Gordon was nervous so he hit her center mass with a plasma ball as an experiment. She smiled and glowed for a short time.

"See, I'm fine. Do it," she begged.

Gordon took a breath and fired a concentrated beam at her until she glowed white hot. He watched, terrified he'd killed her, but she nodded, turned to face the crowd of Demons trapped behind her, and walked into the tunnel, dragging her fingers along the walls, leaving streaks of glowing molten rock and footprints in her wake.

He killed the last few Demons which continued to stab and bite at him then looked back down the tunnel. He realized it was a straight shaft with a downward slope. He could see the scorched corpses of the Demons Veronica walked over.

It was a grisly sight.

-=-

Henry cast his gaze over his assembly line, all of it constructed of time agnostic dark energy contained in a spell. As the last of the quarantined spells ran dry, this energy would also be fed into the last and final virus until all the nasty power was injected back into its realm.

He shared a grin with dozens of copies of himself all waiting for his command. With tears and a shuddering laugh, he activated the spell and felt an immediate draw on his mind.

His workers were isolated from this and diligently ensured the energy flowed from the quarantined spells into their new homes within the virus spells. Each was fueled and coated in a dark energy shell before the payload was added with a piece of Henry's will in each and sealed up. The final step was activating the virus' propulsion which punched them through the dimensional barrier on their journey home.

These tiny packet injections were far less obvious than a solid stream, so they fell beneath the attention of the inhabitants of the realm. They raced deep into their home space following random vectors and flight durations.

Henry felt himself weakening until he witnessed the factory disassembling itself into the final virus. All the dark energy was gone, sucked from the very factory that produced the packets.

His copies smiled back at him as they aimed the last virus toward the Eldritch Bastard who favored despair.

Away it went.

-=-

With the last of the dark magic gone, Henry's streamer shut down, and the Eldritch beings gloated over their victory. This didn't last, though, as realization struck that they could no longer sense Henry through the energy supposedly contained within him.

The being which had focused completely on Henry suddenly realized it had been compromised. It pulled back from Henry and looked inward at an odd and horrid sensation beginning to fill its mind and spreading throughout its vast body.

Quickly, the remaining corrupt monstrosities began to realize an infection had penetrated their dimension. Then they saw one of their own had been compromised. Using their combined might, they destroyed the infected one and slammed a barrier between Henry and them, severing ties between the dimensions.

But the virus remained.

-=-

Time started up again for Henry, but his eyes stared up at the ceiling, seeing nothing as his mind was shattered into fragments, unable to comprehend or contain what he'd experienced.

-=-

Quolliss immediately noticed the change. One second, Henry was blocking it from accessing a wealth of Dark Energy stored in his head, and the next, the energy was gone. It plunged into Henry's mind and reeled back in agony. There was nothing but chaos, sharp edges, and shrill noise inside. His mind was so violently broken Quolliss was unable to stay inside. It knew its own mind was fractured, making looking into Henry's impossible. In an explosion of rage, it pulled completely back from Henry and prepared to unleash a killing blow.

"The glow is gone!"

It paused as its last Demon called out that warning. Glow?

"Someone is coming, Master!" Severiano hissed quietly.

Though it no longer had the ability to move from its perch in the cavern, it desperately wanted to flee. Instead, it pumped energy into Severiano so its strength could devastate the one trespassing.

It felt the satisfaction from its last slave and wished it was enough.

-=-

Veronica was reaching the end of the tunnel and could see it opening into a cave just ahead. She glanced back and saw the glowing scars she'd made all the way down the path. This would serve as lighting for the rescue party.

As she stepped out of the tunnel, something slammed into her chest with brutal force, strong enough to knock her off her feet and push her back into the tunnel. That had never happened before. She looked down and saw a dark spot at the center of her torso. She wasn't hurt, but she'd lost a lot of heat. That brought a frown to her face.

She climbed back to her feet and stepped back into the cave. Across the space, she saw one of the larger Demons staring at her in fear and pressing himself against the wall. It hissed at her.

She spotted Henry chained to the cavern floor with the back of his head resting in the stream Lorelei mentioned, but she was still too hot to approach him.

To her left was a large sluglike creature—

A devastating psychic stab was thrust at her brain but passed through painlessly. Energized as she was, her brain was operating on a completely different frequency. She knew where it came from, though, so she focused her attention on the slug.

The hissing Demon went silent, then it ran towards her stiffly. She saw terror in its eyes before she backhanded it across the cave, scorching its face. Then she turned her attention back to the slug.

The dark being rushed at Henry and then raced up the tunnel clutching something white under its arm. She turned back to examine Henry and saw his eyes were open, but he didn't look at her. She began to worry they were too late.

Five Silver Soldiers ran into the cave, two carrying a basket stretcher. They stopped in surprise to stare at Veronica.

"Take Henry out of here and get General Crane to shoot another plasma beam down the tunnel," she growled. "I need to dispose of this menace." She pointed to the slug.

The soldiers beat their fists against the chains until they broke, then they carefully loaded Henry onto the stretcher and rushed away. She walked to the bottom of the tunnel and waited for the energy to fill her once more.

-=-

Roy braced Marisa as she reached for Henry's location once more. She'd been dazed by the last attack but knew time was of the essence, so she prepared herself again.

She tore open the portal and held it firm. Instantly, the waiting Silver Soldiers rushed across the threshold carrying a stretcher.

General Crane was flying next to the rockface but quickly landed and spoke to his people. They rushed to the cliff and promptly climbed up using Veronica's hand and footholds.

Roy, Camila, and Sigrid stepped to the portal's edge and looked up at the rock wall. Henry was in there somewhere.

Marisa walked up beside them. "Where is Lorelei?" she asked, but the Naiad was nowhere to be seen.

-=-

Henry was safe!

Lorelei felt the presence of Veronica and Silver Soldiers in the cave, and the Demon had fled.

When Henry left the stream, Lorelei knew they'd take him to safety.

Now, she'd deal with the monster who stole him away and poisoned her river. She once more felt the river's gratitude and smiled.

Speaking with the stream again, she followed it further upstream past the cavern to an above-ground stream fed by a lake. She asked for its help, and the water swelled in the lake, spilling over the shoreline next to the stream's head, the water rushing down into the stream faster and faster until a wall of it poured into the tunnel leading to the cavern.

She'd fill that cavity and drown the evil monster.

-=-

Gordon listened to Mick's message from Veronica before she rushed after the stretcher heading back to the portal. He frowned but leapt into the air and flew back to the entrance. Then he moved further away as firing a plasma beam into a tube would produce blowback. He moved even further back and ensured his shield was on and fully charged. He could see the bright dot, which was Veronica at the other end of the tunnel, so he took aim and fired a powerful beam straight toward her. He wouldn't be able to see her, so he'd have to keep the blast going as long as he could.

-=-

Veronica watched Gordon arrive at the entrance, then move back and further back still. She grinned at his caution and good sense. He was a good man—Dragon... Dragon Man?

The beam struck her, and it was stronger this time, so she only needed a second of it before she moved from it to leap onto the monstrous slug. The moment she made contact, it screamed mentally, so she pushed forward, sinking into its scorched flesh as it burst into flame and its insides erupted to flow over the cave floor. She thrashed around in its guts, burning it from the inside out as she sensed its screams fading quickly.

She turned just as the uphill side of the stream exploded into the cave and struck the end of the plasma beam and the molten rock of the cave floor

-=-

The second Lorelei felt the plasma touch the stream, the river yanked her back and dragged her deep into its fastest current.

-=-

Gordon cut off his beam with a gasp and wondered if he'd overdone it. A psychic scream battered his mind, and he glanced down to see the portal dropping again.

"Shi—"

The hillside exploded with the force of an atomic bomb, vaporizing the cliff face in a brilliant flash of white and sending a shockwave racing outward. Gordon was slapped from the sky by Celestial beings one more time, and everything went black.

-=-

Marisa collapsed as her abused mind said no more. Roy eased her into her mother's arms as the Soldiers paused next to him. He moved closer and saw Henry's vacant stare.

"No... lad, what have you done..." he muttered in fear, his mouth going dry.

Sigrid rushed to his side and took Henry's face between her hands as she looked into his eyes. "Henry? Henry! HENRY!" she screamed as he failed to respond.

Roy showed Mick the address for Eleanor's hospital. "Please take him there. We'll be right behind you." She nodded as Roy gently pulled the grieving Valkyrie from Henry. She clung to him as Roy looked into the stricken expression on Camila's face. "Let's get to the hospital."

She nodded shakily as she held her sleeping daughter.

Roy's team had collected some SUVs from VRL, so they climbed in and headed after the soldiers.

-=-

"Uh, Mick? He's gushing Wild Magic. Is it safe to take him into a hospital?" Yablonski asked from the head of the stretcher as he and Feinberg shared the load. Two new squad members carried the other end as they rushed to the hospital. Three additional squads of soldiers had been transformed into Silver Soldiers, contrary to their commanding officer's wishes, so they were unofficially under General Crane's command. The rest of the team ensured traffic was clear at each intersection ahead of them.

"I know. I'll go in first and appraise them of the situation." She glanced down at the stretcher as she ran alongside, and her expression was sad. "I don't think it's going to matter to Henry."

They stopped outside the hospital, and Mick went inside.

-=-

On the sixth floor, in a room at the end of the hall, the family of Ludmilla Voloshyn gathered to say their final farewells to the family matriarch. She'd lived ninety-seven years, had witnessed the birth of three new generations, and survived the family's migration to the new world. Her husband had passed two decades before, and her eldest son, Gregor, was carrying the burden of deciding to shut down the machines keeping her body alive.

Her doctor, who stood by the machine, had assured him his mother would not recover and was gone. He glanced at the others in the room and smiled, knowing his mother had left behind a loving legacy. The children were at home, but they would miss her too.

Gregor looked at the doctor and nodded.

He pressed the controls, and the machine shut down. He then disconnected the cables and tubes until his mother rested peacefully and just stopped... she was still breathing. He moved closer to the doctor, whose expression showed surprise.

"I'm not sure—"

Gregor yelped slightly as his mother sat up and blinked at the room full of people staring back at her in shock.

"Mama?" Gregor asked cautiously.

Her eyes tracked back to him, and a scowl appeared on her face. "No. She's moved on. I need her body."

The frown increased, and she reached under her gown and grunted. When she pulled her hands back out, they were filled with bits of pink and red fleshy bits. She handed them to the doctor, who accepted them into his cupped palms. "You were right. With these tumors, she wasn't coming back." The man gaped at the mass he was holding.

She threw back the sheets and stepped out of bed, shooing the doctor and Gregor out of her way. The rest of the family were on their feet, staring at the woman with different levels of disbelief, joy, and grief on their faces.

The youngest great-granddaughter managed to find words. "Granny Ludmilla?" Obviously, a pet name shared between loved ones.

The old woman's scowl wobbled, and she paused to look them all in the eye but finally focused on the young woman. "Ludmilla passed peacefully. She was happy and joined her family members already in the next place. Now, sleep."

Everyone in the room slumped to the floor.

Carefully stepping over the bodies, Baba Yaga stepped from the room and into the stairwell. She snorted at her brief sentimentality.

She had things to do.

-=-

Vickie and Bernard ushered three duty nurses into the room where they monitored the big Satyr. The Silver Soldiers who brought him in explained that Henry was leaking large quantities of Wild Magic and might cause spontaneous transformations. The room they brought him to was in the first basement level, and very few patients were there. They'd put a call out to Eleanor, and she was on her way.

Sarah was standing beside the bed with her hand resting on Henry's chest. She was smiling blissfully as she could feel the magic flowing up her arm and pooling in her body. When Vickie and Bernard guided the three ladies to stand before her, Bernard and Vickie stood behind them and closed the circle around them, and Vickie dumped the energy into the hug. The three ladies sighed and slumped to the floor as their bodies stretched taller with longer limbs, long straight hair, and their ears grew points and extended back. They looked regal but weren't the Fae they expected to make!

"Where are my nurses?"

Sarah, Vickie, and Bernard looked to the doorway to see the Head Nurse glowering at them from the entrance. Nurse Donnah Kirk was a bit of a ballbuster, but she ran a tight crew. She was a big woman, and that wasn't due to fat. She kept her long red hair tied back in a tight bun. The three on the floor were her newest members.

Sarah's experiment required willing participants, and these wanted desperately to be Fae as well. The test hadn't worked exactly as planned, which shook her conviction.

"What did you do?" the Head Nurse snapped as she saw her nurses in their unconscious and transformed states.

"Nothing they didn't ask for," Sarah said with a little wobble. "You shouldn't come in here as there's an elevated level of magic energy here. It's not safe for the non-transformed."

Nurse Kirk boldly stepped into the room and marched right up to Sarah to look down into her wide nervous eyes. "It's a good thing I transformed already, then, isn't it."

Sarah blinked first. "W-what did you become?" she asked faintly.

"You don't want to see my other side," Kirk growled.

"Easy!"

She turned her head and looked back to the door. Immediately her aggression faded as an Alpha-Wolf was entering the room.

He frowned as he took in the three Fae standing by Henry's bed, the three High Elves unconscious on the floor, and the Were watching him nervously.

"Everyone get out—except for you, Miss?" Roy snarled and looked to the Head Nurse.

"Mrs. I'm Mrs. Donnah Kirk. Married to Don Kirk. He hasn't transformed yet. I'm Head Nurse at the hospital. I was just looking to find where these three ran off to," she said in a rush as her face flushed.

They watched the three Fae struggling to carry the sleeping ladies from the room until they were out.

Roy smiled at Donnah. "I can tell you're a Were, but I don't know if you've been able to get a glamor."

"What's a glamor?" she asked.

"It's a magic disguise that allows you to remain in your Were form but switch back to looking like a Human without the painful physical transformation," he explained.

Her jaw dropped. "That exists? I never want to transform again!"

Roy handed her a business card. "Call me next week, and I'll see if I can get you that glamor."

The woman nodded and grinned at Roy as she backed out of the room.

Roy walked over to the bed and looked down at Henry. He reached out a hand and pushed back some stray hairs from his forehead. He knew the ladies would be downstairs momentarily, so he'd only have a moment to be alone with the boy.

"Son, why must you always give too much," he said as his throat closed up.

"Because the boy's heart is too big," a voice said from the doorway.

The hair stood up on Roy's back from head to butt. Even without looking, he knew who it was. The voice was different, but it was Baba.

"I suppose I can't say I'm surprised you've come back from the dead. Henry did it, and he said he learned the trick from you. What do you want from him now? Hasn't he given enough?"

Roy was surprised by the anger that surged in him. Baba Yaga scared the piss out of him, but this was for Henry!

The old woman in the hospital gown who came to stand beside him didn't look like Baba either. Again, Roy knew instinctively it was her.

"You love the boy?" she asked.

He managed to hold her eye. "Yes."

"He did what I couldn't. He sent the dark energy back to their dimension, but he's gone. I'm sorry," she said awkwardly.

The lights went out.

He heard a shout from the hallway, and Sigrid's weapons and armor suddenly lit up the darkness as she came running into the room with Camila and Marisa behind her.

The lights came back on, and Roy looked at the bed, but Henry was gone.

"Where is he?" Sigrid shouted as she searched the room with her eyes.

Roy was stunned. Baba said Henry was gone, and she apologized... to him! What did that mean?

Sigrid put her weapons and armor away and grabbed Roy's arms to look into his eyes.

He saw the fear and desperation in hers. "Baba...."

"She took him? What did she say?" Sigrid asked.

Roy saw Camila and Marisa waiting for his answer too. It wasn't one he wanted to deliver, but they deserved the truth.

"She said he got the dark energy back to where it belonged, but he's gone. Then she apologized."

Hearing Sigrid, Camila, and Marisa's grief wasn't a sound Roy ever wanted to hear again.

His grief remained in a tight knot in his chest, a heavy weight making it hard to breathe.

His mind tormented him as something wasn't right.

Baba set up Henry to take her Magic so she could die on Skyfall. Her spirit remained and didn't cross over or whatever people did when they died. Instead, she hung around Henry, who suggested it was because the deal hadn't been completed due to Gordon Crane being Human.

Henry found a way to transform Crane so the deal was truly over and Baba could move on... but she didn't.

Why did Baba come back?

Chapter 27

Summer returned as life moved forward, irrespective of the wishes of those left behind.

The six infants stolen by the Demons were returned to their parents the following day when the Glass People on Eden opened a tear for the Silver Soldiers to return to Manhattan. It was a big public relation boost for the soldiers though they insisted it was mostly Henry's doing.

The Valkyrie hunted down every Demon they could find. The larger Enforcer Demons seemed to be extinct, except for Severiano, who was still in the wind. Revna vowed to never stop hunting for him.

Mick and Feinberg reported seeing the large Demon flying away from the cave with something cylindrical in its arms.

Hilda was livid that the Demon escaped with what might have been a reliquary. She was highly critical of the team who attempted to save Henry. This didn't make her any friends.

Sigrid finally sent her mother packing as she'd also said careless things about Henry when she found out what had happened to him. Talia stepped forward to be Sigrid's live-in nanny, assisting with training the young Valkyrie.

Camila and Marisa were mourning, but they had each other's support and the day-to-day work at VRL to occupy their minds.

Meixiu and Roy made sure everyone visited the mansion as often as possible to get together and talk. The magic doors, the security dome over the property, and the charging station continued to function, but access to the doors to Eden was locked away.

Tish let everyone know during their first visit that the Succubus twins were missing. Camila suspected they were hunting for Henry. She worried about them as she felt they would weaken quickly without him.

Having the outlet of this large and compassionate extended family helped everyone's mental health.

On the International front, shortly after the explosion in Northeastern Russia, General Gordon Crane was discovered lying in a marsh by the Russian Army when they arrived to investigate. He was unconscious with bruises and abrasions but otherwise unharmed. He was checked out in a hospital and then placed in a top security military prison as the two governments began rattling their sabers at each other. Gordon remained a silent but model prisoner until he was sufficiently healed and rested. On his daily exercise in the yard, he switched into his Dragon form, accelerated straight up at Mach five, then exited Russian airspace as expeditiously as possible. He finally landed outside the front gate of Ramstein Airbase in Germany and turned himself over to the base commander. It wasn't long before he was back in Washington. The debriefing there took weeks, but his new Silver Soldiers were allowed to visit him so he could get to know them.

His girlfriend also got to visit. Gordon was happy about that too.

The investigation of the Russian explosion site determined normal background radiation levels, proving the explosive wasn't nuclear in nature though the resulting damage pattern was similar.

They made a startling find on the seventh day of poking through the rubble. A slim feminine hand made of multi-colored glass was poking up between two refrigerator-sized boulders. One of the soldiers on the site touched the hand, and it spasmed and clutched his fingers.

The team reacted badly, and explosive ordinance was used. When the smoke cleared, the boulders had been turned to rubble, and they discovered the glass hand was part of a beautifully sculpted svelte woman made of glass. The shape of her long hair blended into her back, and her facial features were truly lovely.

Her expression, however, was not happy.

It was later reported that after she finished destroying their weapons and vehicles, she stepped through a tear in space into red grassland.

Lorelei showed up at the mansion two months after her disappearance. With her ability to sway people, she'd had no problems getting home, but she'd visited many rivers to purify them on her journey back. She was devastated to hear of Henry's loss.

-=-

Late summer in the Caucasus Mountains, two weary and skinny red Succubi discovered a small, abandoned village. It was mostly hidden amongst the trees but comprised roughly of a dozen small and damaged buildings. They landed and took the scent of the place. Their eyes lit up, and they smiled as they began to chase each other from home to home, following a scent.

On the southern edge of the settlement, they spotted a small plume of smoke rising from the chimney of a cottage which looked more intact than the others. They spotted Henry in his Human glamor chopping wood in front of the cabin.

Under the sweat and smudges of dirt, his body was leaner and harder, but his eyes held a thousand-yard stare.

As they rushed closer, he spotted them, dropped his axe, and stumbled back from them and the cottage. They stopped as they saw the fear and uncertainty in his eyes. He didn't recognize them!

The door to the cottage opened behind them, and the twins spun to see an old babushka step out. They hissed at her, sensing the danger.

The old woman cursed quietly, which turned into a weary sigh. The woman's features and body seemed to melt until Baba's appearance returned. She scowled at the Succubi, which were terrified but doing their best to stay between her and Henry.

"The boy is almost healed, as best as can be done, and you'll have him tomorrow," she said grumpily.

The twins stopped hissing as they heard her tone and saw the witch was presenting no threat.

They turned back to Henry and saw he was holding himself stiffly. They moved closer, slowly, to not scare him until they were close enough to sniff and lick his chin. Satisfied it was Henry, they rubbed their faces against his chin and crooned happily.

Henry's eyes were blinking rapidly as his arms slowly lifted to wrap around them until he was hugging them. Their purrs increased.

That night, Baba helped Henry go to sleep in the straw bed in the old cottage. Aadiya and Mahali eased themselves onto the bed and cuddled next to him.

-=-

Henry surfaced from a dreamless slumber and felt warmth and softness pressed against his left side. That seemed familiar, so it didn't frighten him. It was good. The bed under him was softer than the straw he'd been waking up on recently. That was good too.

Turning his head to the left, he saw the crimson beauties who arrived... yesterday? He felt he knew them. They were cuddled against each other, and both had stretched a hand out to rest them on his chest.

Aadiya... and Ma—Mahali. Pulling their names from his mind was almost painful, but he felt a rush of relief for achieving it.

He watched them sleep for a moment, and remembering them felt wonderful.

There was a sound from behind him, and he froze. His mind screamed at him to run, but the sound hadn't triggered that response. Cautiously, he turned his head to the right and saw... a faun, a female one, resting next to him, but her eyes were wide open, staring at him in fright. He... knew her. Her being here was natural and right. More pain as images connected in his brain.

Her name. "Tish?"

Immediately, she was in his arms, kissing him, saying his name, crying, and he began to cry too. He felt the twins touching his back to comfort him, and his tears almost got control of him, but he pulled his emotions back and forced them into submission.

Something important was pulling at him. It involved Tish—"CELESTE!" he blurted and awkwardly pushed himself out of bed. He took a second to orient himself as the layout of his apartment returned. He walked down the hall and into the baby's room, with Tish and the twins following.

Henry stopped next to the crib and gazed at the perfect little faun, sleeping innocently.

"I kept her safe," he whispered.

Tish moved beside him, looked into his eyes, and touched his hand, reassuring herself that he was there. "What did keep her safe from?" she asked.

Henry looked at her, and his expression slowly stretched into a silent scream of terror, then cleared.

"I don't know."

-=-

Camila was having another dream of Henry.

She always felt so good when he knocked on her office door and sat across from her with a cheeky grin.

There was a second knock which surprised her. She looked to the door, and Marisa was there, looking surprised as well.

"Mom?"

Camila frowned. "Marisa?"

"Are you in my dream, or am I in yours?" Marisa asked.

Camila looked at Henry, but Baba Yaga was sitting in that chair, and Marisa was now in the chair next to her. Baba was frowning in annoyance.

"This is the simplest way to speak to you both at once, so listen. Those annoying twins found us, so I brought Henry back to his home. You two are not to tamper with his mind! I've done what I could to repair the damage, but Henry is not what he was." She was silent for a moment. "Be gentle with him for the next few days."

Camila shared a look with her daughter, then looked to the witch. "Baba, do you love Henry?"

The crone looked sharply into Camila's eyes, but the anger they'd seen before wasn't there.

"Take care of my boy."

Camila woke with a start, then immediately dialed Marisa but got a busy signal. They tried again, and on the third attempt, Camila got through.

"Sorry, mother," Marisa said immediately.

"It's fine. Please call Mahati to let her know and ask if we can meet at her place as a base for our visiting Henry. Send me a text to confirm her answer. I'll call Tish," Camila directed.

"Yes, mother," Marisa said and hung up.

Camila took a deep breath as her nerves were tingling. She called Tish.

"Hello?" Tish answered.

"Hi, it's Camila. Baba showed up in my dream and linked in Marisa to tell us she brought Henry back and we shouldn't tamper with his mind. She said she did what she could to repair the damage, but he isn't what he was. How is he?"

Tish sucked in a breath as her emotions took another hit. She calmed herself with another slow breath. "She's right. Henry isn't himself. He seems lost, and something's missing. It's painful to watch him struggling to remember things." Tish paused again. "We'll have to be gentle and not overwhelm him. One visitor at a time."

"That sounds good. We'll orchestrate our visits from Mahati's place after lunch if that's okay."

"Yes, that would be best. See you soon," Tish said, then hung up.

Camila saw a text from Marisa saying Mahati was on board. Maria had also contacted Siobhan and Lorelei, so she called Roy.

"Camila? What's up? It's early."

She quickly brought Roy up to speed. "We'll be visiting him from Mahati's this afternoon."

"I'll call Sigrid to pick her, the twins, and Talia up to bring them over," he said.

Camila rushed off to the shower. She had to get ready!

-=-

After speaking to Camila, Tish called Sandy.

"Henry's back, but he's not himself. Come visit but take it slow as he struggles with his memory. One visitor at a time," she said. She heard a click and walked to her front door.

Sandy ran down the hall, and Tish let her inside. "Take. It. Slow," Tish warned firmly, and Sandy nodded, but her friend could see she was trembling. She decided to follow to ensure Henry was okay. At the end of the hall, she stopped to see how he'd react to Sandy and her amorous mass of blonde hair.

Henry was standing by the window in the living room, looking out over the Hudson River. He turned when he heard Sandy suck in a surprised breath. Tish knew Sandy was seeing Henry's weight loss and how hard his muscles now appeared. Like something had beaten all the softness from him.

Henry's eyes lit up when he saw Sandy, but confusion flashed across his face when he took in Kesini.

The blonde moved into his arms, and Henry released a little gust of breath as tension eased.

"S-sandy."

She pressed her face to his chest. Kesini gently wrapped herself around them, and Tish saw Henry pick up the sensation of love. Tish saw recognition in his eyes as he pulled some to his lips as he used to do.

Tish slipped back into the hall the step into the master bedroom to have a little cry.

-=-

Sandy left Henry at the window, and his eyes returned to the river. She saw Tish was no longer waiting, so she let herself out into the hall and sucked in a deep breath to settle herself. Kesini was hugging her as she also felt a little lost.

She spotted Dayshia and Michelle standing beside their door, wringing their hands nervously. Sandy moved to them and put her hands over theirs to calm them.

"Henry's back?" Dayshia squeaked through a tight throat.

"Some of him," Sandy replied as that was the best she could explain what she'd felt when she'd held him in her arms.

Mahati opened her door and looked out into the hall. "Don't talk in the hall. Come inside."

Sandy nodded and guided her bestie and Michelle down the hall to Mahati's and inside.

Once they were all inside and the door was closed, Mahati gave Sandy a nervous look. "How does he look?"

Sandy's brow creased as she was still stunned by her impression of him. "It's like... parts of him have been carved away." She winced as that felt too accurate. "He didn't recognize Kesini at first. He seems lost. His rift seems to be closed."

There was a knock, and Siobhan was let inside. Sandy shared her impression again and looked at Dayshia. "Do you want to go next?" Her bestie shook her head with tears in her eyes, and Sandy hugged her.

"May I?" Siobhan asked, and the others nodded, so she slipped out into the hall.

As Sandy consoled her friend's fragile heart, she wondered if Henry would ever get back the parts he lost.

-=-

Siobhan knocked gently, and Tish answered the door with a gentle smile on her lips. Her eyes were still a little red.

"Sandy mentioned Henry's rift may be closed. Would it be okay for me to take a look?" she asked Tish.

"Yes, go ahead. Do you want to say hello?" Tish asked.

Siobhan smiled gently. "There will be many people who will need to do that today. I'll just take a look so Henry won't need to be disturbed. Today is going to be hard enough for him."

Tish pulled Siobhan into a hug for her consideration of Henry's peace of mind.

Siobhan nodded to her with tears in her eyes. She wiped them dry then they slipped down the hall to peek around the corner.

Henry was standing before the large windows, and Siobhan saw how accurate Sandy's description had been. She also saw the rift was a pinprick in comparison to what it had been before. Just enough to keep him healthy. It didn't look natural like this. More work from Baba Yaga?

She pulled back and nodded to Tish. They went back to the door, and she saw the curiosity on Tish's face.

"His rift has been closed except for a trickle to feed his body," Siobhan said.

Tish scowled. "Baba."

Siobhan nodded. "Likely."

They shared a troubled look as neither of them could face off against someone with that level of power.

Even if they thought her help wasn't really serving Henry's best interests.

Epilogue

Henry had a mentally draining day, so his sleep had been deep and, thankfully, dreamless.

Which made what he was experiencing now feel so odd. He was dreaming, but he wasn't truly asleep. He thought he recognized the white expanse. He'd... visited it before with... Marisa. He knew better than to focus on it and felt a deep sense of satisfaction radiating toward him from all around. Someone was very happy with him, and that felt really good.

He realized he'd risen just above unconsciousness to converse with someone or many people who looked like him.

He faced multiple copies of himself, but none of them were complete. The missing bits were filled in with a haze containing a fuzzy representation of what should be there. Those fuzzy bits were made from the white energy sourced from this... realm.

It was... unsettling.

"Hi, Henry," said a copy with a complete face standing at the front of the group.

"Hi... who are you?" he asked.

"I'm you. Actually, we're all you. Split off copies you created to help you with magic." It gestured down at its missing torso. "Baba did a real number on us with her bloody scissors. I mean, I get she was trying to cut out the bad bits that were keeping you crazy, but she might have gone a little overboard with her editing." It looked around like it might expect her to pop out of the shadows, but in the vast white expanse, there were no shadows at all.

Henry scanned his eyes over the large group of Henry pieces. "I-I don't have magic anymore," he said sadly. "I can't help you. I can't heal you."

The fragment smiled. "Not to worry, Henry. We're not here for you to help us."

Henry watched them cautiously. "What are you here for?"

The Henry-Bit smiled at him and gestured to the fluffy realm they stood in. "Your friends here collected us and patched us up as you can see. They did it because you've forgotten something critically important. We don't know what it is, but collectively, we know you need it."

Henry looked at all the many silent yet expectant expressions aimed at him, from the fragments with faces, that is.

"How can you help me?"

"You need to take us back. You'll get back the willpower you embedded in us when you absorb us. You lost too much, but we don't remember how. You'll hopefully also have the clues you need to figure out what you've forgotten."

"What... what if it's something bad."

Henry-Bit smiled gently. "Have you taken a good look at us? Baba left nothing bad behind."

Henry nodded as that made sense. "What do I need to do?"

Henry-Bit shook his head. "Just accept us." Then it walked into Henry's body, sinking inside.

Henry felt a sensation of anticipation, so he embraced the being inside him. He felt an immediate but minor uptick in his vigor and mental clarity. The next fragment came forward and faded into him, and he also allowed it in. He felt another boost.

The others began streaming in, and Henry opened himself up completely. He began to feel like a balloon reinflating to its proper size. That made him feel stronger.

Soon, the fragments were a blurring stream of light flying into him so fast he couldn't see the end of one from the beginning of the next.

He was beginning to pick up flashes of the moments when he split these copies from himself, but the magic they were created to use was a blank.

When the last one sank inside, there was a bright flash, and Henry found himself floating in a large, dark, empty space with no up or down. It felt a little like the missing magic the fragments were meant to use. He knew there was supposed to be something in this vast emptiness, but he just didn't have what was needed to perceive it.

He did feel much better than before. His mind felt sharper, and he felt a little more confident.

Back to the puzzle. He liked puzzles.

Something he'd forgotten and needed.

Okay, as clues went, this one was shit.

He sighed. What did he need?

Love? He had that, and it was the best thing in his life!

Family? He had his work family, his friends, and his children.

Purpose? He had that too. He was very content with his job, which gave him much satisfaction. From designing the network, building the servers, protecting it with top-notch firewalls, and ensuring it was backed up—

He physically jolted.

BACKUP!

The word reverberated in his very cells.

He'd made a backup of his mind before...

Shit.

He couldn't recall why he'd made one but was certain he had.

Next problem. Where was it?

Thinking of the terrible condition his fragment copies had been in, what if Baba had done the same to his backup?

No.

He knew he wouldn't have wanted anyone to mess with an archive. It was no different than how he felt about the archive files he made for VRL. They were to be protected at all costs. They were like his babies—

Henry looked inwards, sinking deeper into his mind to his most treasured memories. The moments he'd shared with the ones he loved. These moments shone with his love for them and were warmed by the love they felt for him.

Unsurprisingly, there was no evidence of Baba's sharp scissors here, a place filled with emotions she avoided. These memories were strong and positive. She would have found them difficult to be near.

That's where he found his emergency backup. It looked like the fragments but far more solid and entirely complete. He'd kept it safe from whatever danger he'd faced and from Baba's interference.

He examined the expression on its face and realized it was frozen in a moment of intense emotion. He was suddenly afraid to touch it. He didn't want to know!

That fear felt wrong, and he realized what it was. A compulsion. Baba had placed a compulsion on him to keep him from investigating what was missing.

His rational mind accepted there was likely a very good reason for that. Something very bad had happened to him. She'd brought him back as best she could.

But he was missing important bits. He wanted them back. He needed them.

Feeling around the edges of the compulsion, he realized if he broke it, Baba would be aware instantly.

And she would come quickly.

He looked at the backup once more. It had what he needed. It might also have something he didn't, but looking closer at the expression in the eyes of the frozen copy of himself, he saw fierce determination and courage in a desperate act. There was hope there too. Henry doubted he would have made the backup if there hadn't been.

He sighed. Okay.

Without warning, Henry flung himself at his copy. Airborne, he couldn't prevent himself from touching it.

In the split second before contact, he felt the terror of breaking Baba's controlling spell flare and split apart.

"BOY! WHAT—"

That's all she had time to say before the backup file suddenly expanded his mind in all directions, flooding him with the missing memories. He felt his terror at what he'd been about to do, but he also felt the necessity. There was absolutely no doubt at all in his mind this was right.

Henry's confidence came crashing back along with a vast storehouse of magic knowledge and a mountain of willpower that told him he wouldn't let the eldritch beings touch his loved ones.

Eldritch monstrosities.

Damn. No wonder he lost his shit.

Something told him his time was up. His instinct told him danger of another kind was almost upon him.

Henry dumped himself out of his dream into instant awareness and hopped to his hooves. He ripped his internal rift to Eden wide-open and flung up the strongest shield he could around the bed just in the nick of time.

Tish and the twins jerked awake to stare up at him in fright.

Baba slammed into the outside of the dome and bounced back to crash into the bedroom wall.

She shook off her daze, drew her scissors, and flung herself back at him inhumanly fast.

Henry watched the deadly points stabbing through the shield.

Then Baba threw herself back with a shriek as the tips of her shears glowed angrily from being dipped in lava. She dropped them as the heat scorched her hand.

Henry released the rip to Eden and stepped forward through his collapsing dome to pick up the scissors before they completely scorched his hardwood flooring.

Gritting his teeth to ignore the burning, he gave Baba a disappointed look as he carried the scissors past the old woman, who stared at him in shock. He entered the bathroom and ran the cold water into the sink before dropping the scissors in. Steam jetted up for a second, but Henry was already turning back to face Baba. He launched his healing spell on his charred fingers and grit his teeth as the dead flesh fell away for new tissue to grow in its place.

"You don't have to protect me anymore Baba. I'm no longer a child. I assume you did your best to heal my mind before returning me to my friends and family?"

"What did you do?" she asked quietly.

Henry reached back to turn the water off and let the sink drain as he collected the damaged scissors. He handed them back to her, and she looked in dismay at the ruined points.

"I used magic my way and backed up my mind before I faced the big evil." He checked something and smiled. "I didn't save the quarantined spells, though. They're gone, so I assume my plan worked."

Baba looked at him uncomfortably. "You have my magic?"

"Just a copy. You're the one who took the originals back, yes?" he asked, fixing his eyes on hers.

Nodding, she reached out a hand to touch his forehead, but her fingers touched only skin as her mental probe was blocked by another shield around his mind. She yanked her hand back in frustration. "You aren't ready to have that much magic!" she snapped.

"Baba, you gave it to me when you tried to escape your deal. The same deal I completed to set you free! I certainly wasn't ready then. That also meant I was left to face the owners of the evil shit you dumped in my mind. So, I PAID MY FUCKING DUES. The magic is mine, so don't fuck with it. More importantly, don't fuck with my family or friends. You no longer have any reason to but never again. If you do, I will end you."

They stood facing each other, eyes locked, wills clashing, but neither gave an inch.

Finally, Baba snorted and semi-gently cuffed Henry's cheek, conceding the point to him.

"You have grown up."

"And you're back but no longer infected with the evil magic. That was your ultimate goal, right?" Henry pushed. Baba looked into his eyes for his judgment but saw only curiosity.

"Perhaps..." she said softly.

"Since you're no longer tainted by the evil, that means you're able to accept a hug from me," Henry said with a smile as he moved closer with his arms wide.

Baba skipped back a step and gaped at him uncertainly. "Don't talk nonsense, or I'll think your mind slipped loose again."

Henry stopped and smiled sadly at her. "Okay, you're not ready yet, but I will give you that hug one day soon."

Baba shook her head as her expression twisted to show her utter disbelief. "After everything... How can you still—"

"I hate what you did. I know why you did it and understand why you thought you had to, and I'm not sure if I'll ever forgive you for it." He paused as he looked into her confused eyes.

"But you're my Baba. I will always love you," he said softly.

Baba snorted explosively, shot him a troubled and slightly desperate look, then fled into the shadows of the dark bedroom.

Henry sighed as he watched her go.

Tish and the twins were suddenly clinging to him.

"Henry? What did you mean about the backup?" Tish asked cautiously.

He took her face between his hands and kissed her tenderly, and she began to cry.

"Hey! That's not the result I was hoping for," he chastised her gently.

"You're b-back—fully back t-this time?" she gasped as her tears flowed.

He realized he had no memory of anything that happened after he made the backup. The backup file had done a complete overwrite. Hmmm... he'd have to add an option to have backups preserve existing memories.

"I'm fully the person I was before I faced the Eldritch Fuckers, but I have no memory of anything after that." Looking inside, he smiled as he realized he'd picked up something extra. A lot extra, actually.

The desperation on Tish's face after Baba left gave him pause. The version of him Baba brought back must have been terrible. He felt awful that his friends had been exposed to that. That said, part of him must have existed to have enough wits to find and restore the backup he'd made.

Based on what he'd just found, perhaps his recovery had been supported by outside influences. The same assistance that helped him learn magic so quickly. He couldn't feel their presence now, so a question for another day.

"I'm sorry you had to see me in that state. I have no memory of it, but it must have been terrible," Henry said. She nodded shakily.

He took her face between his hands and kissed her tears away. Then he kissed Aadiya and Mahali until he could feel their purring in his chest.

Henry glanced at the clock and saw it was just five in the morning. "I guess it's too early to call anyone—"

Tish used her Faun strength to push him down on the mattress. Then she stripped and dropped herself on top of him. Aadiya and Mahali moved back slightly to watch, but they were ready if there was the slightest indication that participation was desired.

"The first thing we are going to do is start on our second child!" she insisted.

Henry smiled up at her sweet but determined expression. "As you wish."

Happy tears appeared in Tish's eyes, and she leaned down to kiss him. When she pulled back Henry was well on his way to being fully erect.

"Besides, I want this child to be born close to the birth of the baby you gave Steph," Tish said with a cheeky grin.

Henry's eyes widened. "She's pregnant?"

"You know how it is with Satyrs," she cooed as she drove herself down on his cock, the fit exquisitely perfect.

Henry did know... better than most.

-=-

He tip-toed from the bedroom where Tish, Aadiya, and Mahali rested after the intimacy. He was grateful for his Satyr's resilience as they'd been very demanding.

Not that he'd minded.

He looked at the time, as it was still early. Six o'clock was wake-up time for Marisa, he recalled her mentioning. A few minutes past and she should be up.

Henry dialed her number as he stood in his living room, looking out at the sun painting its morning rays across the Hudson.

"Henry?" Marisa's voice said cautiously.

"Yes, are you alone?" he asked.

"Mother's here... H-Henry?" He picked up the tension in her voice and could no longer wait. He launched his translocation spell and appeared in Marisa's living room with a burst of air.

"HENRY!" Marisa cried and leapt into his arms. He held her tight as he kissed her soft lips, his hands in her hair.

Camila raced down the hall and made a strange noise as she saw them. Henry pulled back from the kiss and held Marisa tight against his chest as he reached out a hand to Camila.

The brunette rushed over and hugged them both. Henry kissed her deeply.

When they stopped crying, Henry sat them down side by side on the couch. He pulled up the ottoman to sit before them and held their hands.

"First, I want to tell you I'm back to who I was when the Demons abducted me. I apologize for what you saw yesterday. I understand Baba tried to put me back together, but much was lost. I don't have any memories of the events between my abduction and this morning when I woke up."

"What happened this morning?" Marisa asked.

Henry shook his head. "My last memory before I began to push the Dark Magic into its home realm was making a backup of my mind before exposing myself to the Eldritch Entities. This morning I restored my mind from the backup but lost my current memories in the process. I don't know how it happened if my mind was in such poor shape. Perhaps I had outside intervention." He held Marisa's eyes which widened as she understood.

"I'll ask tonight when I dream of them," Marisa said.

"Who?" Camila asked.

"Vast beings from another realm, but they feel like they're the opposite of the Eldritch bastards," Henry said.

Camila just shook her head, then leaned forward and kissed Henry. Marisa was right there for her turn when Camila pulled back.

"I'm deeply sorry I put you through so much pain," Henry said softly.

Camila shook her head and gave him a little smile. "You told me you were more resilient than most. I should have had more faith in you," Camila said.

Marisa reached out a finger and placed it on Henry's lips. "Don't apologize for things you couldn't control. You came back to us. That's more than we could have expected. We need you."

"I need you too!" Henry said with a smile.

"No, we need you. Now," Camila clarified.

"Oh!" Henry said, finally getting a clue.

Camila and Marisa dropped their glamors, and Henry moaned with desire as their pull tugged him like no others.

It would have been more comfortable to have moved to a bedroom, but Henry wasn't given the option as the two Uber-Succubi pulled him down to the carpet.

They were very insistent, and he didn't mind at all.

-=-

Henry jumped to the sidewalk outside Sigrid's door. He looked around, but only a few people were at the other end of the block, so he was good.

He'd left Camila and Marisa with tender kisses and promised to spend more time with them today.

He had other minds to set at ease.

He climbed the steps and rang the doorbell.

Moments later, the door opened, and Meixiu cautiously looked at him.

"Henry? Are you... okay?" she asked with a trembling voice.

"I'm very okay," he said gently, and her expression broke as she leapt out the door into his arms, tears running down her cheeks.

He carried her inside, pulling the door closed behind himself. He kissed her tears away and gave her lips gentle kisses until she stopped crying.

"Meixiu? Who was at the door?"

Meixiu pulled back with a brilliant smile on her face. "I must tell Sigrid!" She rushed away, a flash of white going up the stairs, leaving Henry standing in the entrance with Talia staring at him in shock.

"Hello, Talia," he said with a gentle smile.

She took a few hesitant steps forward. "I... I was told your mind was broken!"

Henry winced, as that must have been awful to witness. "Yes, I heard Baba brought me back in a broken state. I restored my mind this morning."

Talia stared at him with wide eyes. "How is that possible? No one can use magic on themselves!"

Henry gave her a crooked smile and shrugged. "I guess I just don't know any better." He looked down the hall. "Where's Hilda?"

Talia stared at him and then shook her head. "Of course, you wouldn't know. Sigrid sent her home."

He heard the sound of footfalls as someone rushed down the hall upstairs. He looked to the stairs as Sigrid ran halfway down, then stopped to stare at him. He smiled, and she practically flew the rest of the way down to crash into his chest. Her arms were around him so tightly as she pressed her face into his neck, gasping for breath.

He rubbed her back and whispered soothingly into her ear to calm her.

"What happened?" she managed to say.

He took her face between his hands and eased her back so he could see her. "Facing the big evil was going to break my mind, so I made a copy before I did. This morning I restored it. I have no memory of anything between my abduction and this morning. You sent Hilda away?"

She pressed her forehead against Henry's. "Yes. I don't have room in my life for her negativity. Talia brought a new way to fight to the battle, while Hilda almost got herself and others killed with the same old tactics."

"I'm not going to cry about her absence, especially with Talia taking her place," Henry said, tipping Sigrid's face up so he could kiss her. He saw the pleased smile on Talia's face before his lips met Sigrid's.

She melted in his arms and sighed happily when he pulled back.

"I'm sorry for the pain I caused you," he said.

"Forgiven," she sighed immediately.

Meixiu was standing on the stairs watching with a big smile. "We should have a big party this weekend at the mansion to welcome Henry back!"

He grinned. "For me, we just had a big party at the mansion. New Year's Eve!"

There was a thumping on the door behind Henry, so they turned to face the door, and Sigrid opened it with Henry behind it.

Roy stepped inside and locked eyes with Meixiu. "You said Henry was here?"

Henry stepped out from behind the door. "Hi, Roy."

The man spun and looked carefully at Henry. "You're all there?"

Henry snorted and grinned. "Nice."

Then he was gathered up in the big redhead's arms in a bearhug. Henry spotted Mary beaming a smile at him from the doorway.

"I love you, too, Roy," Henry said, hugging the man in return.

He was set back on his feet, and Roy looked into his eyes. "How is this possible?"

"I restored a backup I made of my mind," Henry said simply. He realized he should have gathered everyone together to tell this story once.

Roy huffed in frustration. "Magic doesn't work like that!"

Henry just smiled at him and shrugged.

"Fuck me. Are there no limits?" Roy said in wonder.

"There's a limit to how many times I wanna tell people the story. Can we save it for the weekend and Meixiu's party?" He suddenly realized he had no idea what day it was. "Uh, what's the date?"

"You were missing for six months. It's Friday, June fifteenth," Sigrid said.

Henry shook his head in dismay. "Shit." Then he jolted. "Wait, it's Friday? I only get one workday this week? I'm so far behind!"

Sigrid laughed joyfully and squeezed Henry in a hug, turning his face so she could kiss him. "I have to get ready for work. See you there." She grinned back at him as she rushed up the stairs.

"No more big bads?" Roy asked cautiously.

Henry shook his head. "None I can think of at the moment. Maybe some little bads with grudges?"

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.