Satyr Play 04 Pt. 01

"Your secret is safe with me," he said equally serious, and she looked at him in surprise.

"Secret?"

"That you have goddess lips." He slipped forward and nibbled her bottom lip with his. She squeaked and gently pushed him back.

"You are incorrigible!" she moaned, then engaged her glamor. With a smile she couldn't hide slipping onto her lips, she let herself out of the bathroom and closed the door. He dropped his glamor as it was the only way to dry off properly.

He heard the door behind him open, and he glanced back.

"Croo?"

"Ah..."

The twins weren't taking stop for an answer this time.

Chapter 3

Dayshia was pacing in her living room, and Michelle Beaumont was reading her book in her favorite chair in the corner. She looked up to see the dark beauty staring at her phone.

"Are you expecting the phone to call him for you?" she asked gently.

Dayshia glanced at her roommate in frustration. Michelle sighed.

"Call him! You're wearing a groove in the rug."

"Fine!" Dayshia gasped and pressed Henry's contact entry on her cell.

It rang three times, and she was about to hang up when he answered. "Hi, Dayshia!"

"Henry! Hi! How are you?"

There was the slightest pause. "I'm good! You?"

"Great! Couldn't be better! How was your day?"

She could hear the smile in his voice. "It was a really good day. I went to Mahati's, and the Kings came over so Eleanor and I could heal Kali's injuries. She looks a lot better. We couldn't remove the oldest scarring as that would have been more traumatic than leaving them. When we were done, she felt so much better. She'll have to see a counselor for the emotional toll her imprisonment took, but Mahati is excellent support for her."

Dayshia was shocked. "What? Kali was abused in prison? We heard she was missing, but no one said she was in prison!"

"No, no! She was captured during the Skyfall Event when her glamor failed. She was chained up in the basement of a torture club with other Hidden Races who'd also lost their glamors. The club was run by a demon. I used a spell to find her, then I freed her and brought her home."

"Oh my god! That's awful!" Dayshia said.

"Yeah," Henry agreed. "But she'll get better with help from her friends and family."

"Speaking of family," Dayshia winced at her clumsy redirection, and Michelle covered her mouth to quiet her giggles. Dayshia waved her hand to silence her amused roommate. "I was invited to dinner tonight at my sister's. She asked me to bring you along. Are you available? I know it's really short notice, and as she's in Chicago, we'd need to use that Magic Door thing you used from the Capitol building... you know what, just saying it out loud, I can tell it's a bad idea—"

"Dayshia! It's fine. I'd like to meet them!" he exclaimed, interrupting her.

She blinked. "Really? It's okay?"

"Of course, what time?" he asked.

"Could we be there at eight?" she asked.

"I'll pick you up at your place at two minutes to," Henry replied.

Dayshia giggled sweetly.

"Was that a giggle? So adorable!" Henry said with a grin in his voice.

"Shut up!" Dayshia squeaked and hung up. She stared in shock at Michelle. "Oh my god! I just hung up on him! I gotta call him back and apologize!"

"I seriously don't believe Henry will be upset," Michelle chuckled. "If it makes you feel better, you can apologize when he gets here."

Dayshia nodded as she bit her lip. "What am I going to wear?" she shrieked and rushed off to her room as Michelle watched with a grin.

-=-

Henry was standing outside Michelle and Dayshia's unit just before eight. He was wearing a body-hugging black turtleneck sweater under a grey dinner jacket and slacks with black leather shoes. Tish picked the outfit from an ad she saw online. She'd clued him in on the importance of making a good impression on this date.

He had to admit that he hadn't picked up on the event's significance and originally had a more casual outfit picked out. Tish straightened that out immediately.

The door pulled open, and Dayshia stood before him in a boldly striped gold and black silk dress. Her hair was once more a huge mane of dense curls calling out for his hands to go exploring.

"Dayshia, you look del—amazing!" he gushed.

"What were you going to say there?" she asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.

His face warmed up. "Delicious. I was going to say delicious."

She burst into giggles, and her eyes told him she was very pleased. Those lovely eyes swept down his body as well. "You look pretty damn delicious yourself," she grinned.

They stood there smiling at each other until Henry realized it was almost eight. "Should we go?"

"Oh! Right!" she blurted. "How do we do this?"

"I've never been there, so we're going to have to rely on your memory of their front door. I'm pretty sure this will work. Step out into the hall with me." He noticed Michelle in the room waving at him. "Hi, Michelle! Have a good night!"

"You as well!" Michelle called back.

Dayshia waved to her roommate and stepped into the hall, closing the door behind her.

"Picture the front door and concentrate on it as hard as you can. This is super important. I don't know what would happen if the Magic Door spell activated with no destination so let's not try that." Dayshia gave him a nervous stare. "When you have the door fixed in your mind, touch the door. I'll activate the spell and touch the back of your hand on the door. Then we'll knock. If Michelle opens the door, it didn't work and well have to go with method two, Google Street View."

Dayshia giggled nervously. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated. After a moment, Henry saw her reach out to the door, so he activated the spell but left the destination empty. He touched the back of Dayshia's hand and felt the spell engage. He lifted his hand, and Dayshia did too as she opened her eyes.

"It's still my condo door!" she said.

Henry smiled. "Yes, the door on this side doesn't change." He gestured for her to knock, so she did.

Seconds later, the door pulled open, and a taller, slimmer, and slightly older version of Dayshia was standing before them, staring back at them in shock. He noted her hair was brushed and tied back and became a large orb of hair just behind her head. There was a man behind the woman who was also struck speechless. Henry glanced at Dayshia and smiled as he watched her squirming. No one was saying anything.

"Hi, I'm Henry. Dayshia's boyfriend." It was how Tish told him to introduce himself. He held out a hand, and Beth suddenly snapped out of her paralysis.

"Oh my! Hello! I'm Beth, and this is my husband, Chris." She shook his hand and moved to the side, and the man reached forward to clasp his hand in a too-firm grip.

"Ooo! Strong hands you have there."

"S-sorry!" Chris said and released Henry's hand. "Is-is that a hallway in New York?"

"New Jersey, actually," Henry corrected gently.

"Where is our street? My storm door!" Chris exclaimed.

Henry smiled. "They're still there. Just as Dayshia's condo is still behind the door for us."

Three faces poked around their parent's bodies and stared at the hallway in wonder.

"This is my son, Danny, my daughter, Emily, and my youngest boy, Tommy," Beth said.

"Hi! Would you like to step from Boston to Jersey City?" Henry offered to the kids, and suddenly five people were stepping through the doorway. Henry and Dayshia had to move back to give them room. They looked around, but they were just standing in the building's interior hallway, not too spectacular. They looked back at their home inside the door.

"That is too strange," Chris muttered.

"Shall we go back to Boston?" Dayshia asked.

"Ah! Yes!" Beth said and shepherded her children and husband back through the door. Dayshia followed them with Henry at the back. He closed the door and released the spell. When he opened it again, they saw their front porch and the walkway leading to the street through the storm door's glass.

"Magic!" Danny shouted. Tommy echoed his older brother.

Henry smiled and nodded. He closed the door again. He adjusted his glamor to switch his leather shoes to soft leather slippers, but the change was so subtle no one noticed.

Beth rushed back to the kitchen. "Dinner's ready. Chris, please show them to the dining room."

Henry looked around at the cozy home the Nelsons lived in and felt a warmth in his chest. There were pictures of family on the walls and Christmas decorations everywhere he looked. They really went all out for the holiday!

They took seats around the table, which had a few festive Christmas designs like the table cloth and napkin rings. Likely made by the kids but sweet as hell! Henry found himself seated next to Dayshia, facing the three kids across the table. They were staring at him excitedly.

"Elbows off the table," Chris said, and Danny sat back in his chair after glancing at his father. Tommy leaned back too.

Emily's eyes were almost shining with happiness as she looked between Dayshia and Henry. "Are you really Auntie Dayshia's boyfriend?" she asked sweetly.

Chris frowned at the impertinent question, but Henry nodded vigorously, which made the young girl burst into giggles. Henry glanced at Dayshia, who was looking pretty happy with the answer too.

Beth returned with a large serving dish she placed on trivets on the center of the table. When she lifted the cover, Henry saw a bow tie pasta dish with spinach and some kind of tomato and meat sauce. His nose picked up the scent of spice too.

"You made your spicy sausage and spinach dish?" Dayshia asked her sister in surprise, glancing at Henry cautiously.

He returned the look. How spicy was it?

"What did I miss?" the mother asked, looking at her daughter's gleeful expression.

"Your daughter was asking about their relationship status," Chris said, steepling his fingers before him.

"Elbows," Beth said quietly to her husband, who leaned back from the table and glanced at the smirk on his oldest son's face.

Beth looked to Henry. "I'm told you're the CIO for an investment house in Manhattan. You seem young for such a role."

Henry grinned. "Yeah, I get that a lot. I'm younger than most CIOs, perhaps the youngest, but they've invested in me, and so far, they're happy with the results.

"What's a CIO?" Danny asked.

Henry smiled. "Chief Information Officer. I'm in charge of the computer systems at my office, from the hardware to the software that runs on them."

Danny seemed disappointed. "I thought you were a magician or a wizard!"

Henry chuckled and shook his head. "Magic is a recent addition to my skill set and not my favorite."

Danny was shocked to hear that. "How could magic not be your favorite?" he exclaimed.

"Danny, indoor voice," Chris said to calm his son.

Henry held the young man's eyes. "My experiences so far with using magic haven't been very happy. Lots of danger and people I care about getting hurt. Not pleasant memories." The boy frowned, and Henry shrugged. "The Magic Door spell has been really useful."

Beth spooned portions of the pasta onto the plates as Chris went back to the kitchen to bring out a wine bottle. The kids were given grape juice.

"Could I have grape juice as well?" Henry asked. The kids brightened up to see an adult who liked it too.

"No wine for you?" Chris asked.

Henry shook his head. "I have a very low tolerance to alcohol. I need to avoid it."

"Not the worst lifestyle choice," Beth said with a little smile for her sister. "Not one Dayshia's previous boyfriends shared."

"Beth," Dayshia growled, but Beth just flashed her eyes at her sister.

Henry nodded with a smile of his own.

"Do you go to church, Henry?" Beth asked.

"Beth!" Dayshia exclaimed.

Henry shook his head but kept his smile as he looked into Beth's eyes. She really did share Dayshia's lovely features. "I was raised by an adoptive grandmother who had no time for church or anything she considered frivolous." Henry held up his hands. "I don't share her attitude, but I also had no exposure to religion during those critical early years. Somehow, I think I developed a good grounding in right and wrong fundamentals, good and evil. I've certainly been exposed to examples of both recently, and my moral compass hasn't led me wrong."

She held his eyes for a bit as she put the lid back onto the pasta and took her seat. She reached out a hand to Danny and Henry. He didn't hesitate to take it. Everyone held hands as Chris said grace.

Beth smiled at Henry after they let go. "You have strong hands for a keyboard jockey."

Henry snorted softly and caught Chris' look of interest. "Yes, it's been all the non-CIO activities that have put so much strain on my body recently. I think it's also a default state for Satyrs. We're strong, as my Valkyrie friend tells me."

"You are a Satyr!" Danny exclaimed. "That was you on the TV in Washington?"

Henry nodded.

"How come you don't look like that now?" Danny pressed, and Chris looked both annoyed with his son yet interested in hearing the answer.

"I'm wearing a disguise made of magic. It's called a glamor. It lets me appear Human so people will feel comfortable around me."

He scooped up some of the pasta and put it into his mouth. As he chewed, he smiled. It was really good. Then the spices kicked in, and his eyes watered a little.

"Hoo! This is really good, but it's got a kick!" Henry gasped.

The kids laughed, and Beth smiled. Henry noticed Chris wasn't smiling. He seemed to have something on his mind. Henry wiped his eyes and looked to the man, encouraging him to ask the question on his mind.

"People are changing into new forms as they absorb this energy from another dimension. Will everyone get one of these glamors?" Chris asked.

"What's more likely to happen is that people with glamors will just stop using them as everyone will be in their new forms. They won't have to hide any longer. The world is becoming a much more interesting place. I know I'm looking forward to that day," Henry said.

"But what if we don't want to change our bodies to something else? It's not like we're being given a choice!" Chris argued. Beth looked at her husband in concern.

Henry could see Chris was becoming agitated. The thought crossed Henry's mind that Chris may have some form of body shape fixation. The man was obviously very fit and probably spent time maintaining that. He was proud of his physique. It would be particularly upsetting for him to know he was going to spontaneously change into something different.

"I see you're particularly concerned about this. I get it," Henry said with a nod. "The process of getting a glamor is not simple as the people who did it aren't able to work with the new dimension's energy."

"So, I have to be happy with whatever random chance throws my way?" Chris snapped.

"What about Tish?" Dayshia blurted, and Henry looked to her in surprise with a raised eyebrow.

"What's this about Tish?" Beth asked as Chris watched Dayshia too.

"Maybe we should finish this delicious meal before we... discuss that?" Henry suggested.

Dayshia nodded in embarrassment.

They ate their dinner, and the conversation was awkward. Even the kids picked up on it.

Finally, Henry pushed back. "That was really good! Thank you! I think we'd better address the elephant in the room, or in this case, the Satyr."

"Let's retire to the living room where we can get comfortable," Beth suggested.

Her husband led the way, and Henry paused in the doorway. The room was decked out for Christmas, complete with a lit and decorated tree. The room's warmth was so inviting. He sighed and smiled. "Now, this was what I missed growing up! It's beautiful!"

Chris smiled and gestured to the love seat. Soon Dayshia and Henry were sitting across from the Nelson family, who crowded onto their couch.

Dayshia placed her hand on Henry's. "I need to say something first." He nodded. "I shouldn't have mentioned anything about Tish before making a confession of my own." She swallowed and took a breath. "Over a year ago, I was exposed to a large amount of Wild Magic, and I... transformed."

Beth squeaked in surprise, but Dayshia raised her hand to calm her. "I changed, but Henry arranged to get me a glamor. What that cost him is something I regret to this day, but that's a story for another day. I changed, though my alteration wasn't too dramatic. I'm going to drop my glamor so you can see what I now look like." She smiled at the kids. "It isn't the slightest bit scary."

Dayshia's eyes were suddenly larger, glowing in subtle shades of blue, gold, and green, and framed with long feathery lashes.

"OH!" Beth and Chris yelped. The kid's reactions were far more dramatic.

"Auntie Dayshia! Your eyes are beautiful!" Emily gasped.

"They light up!" Danny exclaimed.

"Pretty!" Tommy squealed and clapped.

"They let me see in all kinds of different ways, across multiple frequencies. I can use them even when my glamor is active, so when I'm examining patients, I can see into their bodies to see the injuries or growths so I can operate more precisely and accurately," Dayshia admitted.

"You have x-ray vision? That is so cool!" Danny said enthusiastically.

She nodded but raised a hand. "Except it isn't x-rays. I tested it with an x-ray sensitive plate at the hospital's radiology department, and it didn't register at all."

"This change was random?" Beth asked.

"Yes."

"And nothing else changed," the older sister asked.

"No visible changes. I didn't lose any weight or grow wings. I definitely feel better than I did before, so that's a bonus," Dayshia said smiling at her sister.

Beth stood and approached as Dayshia stood and met her halfway. The older sister took her younger sister's face in her hands and looked at her new eyes closely. "They truly are breathtakingly lovely. If I were to change, I wouldn't mind becoming this." She turned to face Chris. "Would you still love me if I had eyes like Dayshia's?"

Chris looked scandalized. "Beth! Don't say crazy things! You know I'll love you regardless of what you become!"

"I feel the same about you, but you seem to be having a harder time with accepting the change," Beth acknowledged.

Chris frowned then controlled his expression as he glanced at the kids. "I-I just don't like surrendering control over something I thought was mine."

Dayshia looked to Henry, and he shifted uncomfortably as what she was asking was not guaranteed. He wouldn't deny her, though. He finally nodded.

"Please, let's sit again as I have more to say," Dayshia said to her sister. Once everyone was comfortable, she continued.

"The same night I was exposed to the Wild Magic, Tish was too. The difference was, Tish became a Faun—that's just another name for Satyr. She was holding Henry's hand to her stomach while she changed. We think she became a Faun because of this contact," Dayshia suggested.

Henry shifted uncomfortably. "That cause and effect connection hasn't been proven. It might have just been random chance that she became a Faun. No controlled testing has been done."

Beth looked to her little sister. "How can you test it if we don't know when we'll reach the threshold of energy that triggers the change?"

It was Dayshia's turn to fidget.

"I'm a source of Wild Magic. I can provide a stream of energy that would trigger the change."

Eyes turned to Henry, and Chris stood up, pulling his family with him. His expression told them he was not happy.

"I'm not a danger to anyone. I can control the flow," Henry assured them.

"Chris, you said it yourself. You're not happy losing control over the change. We might be able to give you some control. You could choose the race you'd become," Dayshia insisted.

He glared back at them then Beth pulled away. "I know I want the option to choose. I like the idea of becoming like Dayshia. It isn't a major change, and her eyes are so lovely!"