Tish considered him for a moment. “You said it yourself. Henry changed you. You aren’t the same person who did those things, and you expressed remorse for doing them. I can also forgive you as my life now is so much better than it was before. Thank you for healing me.”
Ikehorn nodded shakily and fell behind a little so he could wipe his eyes, unseen by the others. This swelling of emotions was another gift from Henry. Before, the strongest sentiment he’d felt was hate and even that he had to work at to maintain. The depth of the feelings he was able to access now? Overwhelming! It was like… he was suddenly seeing the world in color for the first time.
Then he caught Baba Yaga glancing back at him. She frowned then looked ahead. A chill ran down his spine. How could this… being have raised someone like Henry?
And why was she here now?
-=-
When Mab threw the two Succubi from the bed, Camila moved from her hiding place. Keeping low, she rushed forward and reached the first one just as a massive flash of light exploded from the platform. She looked up and saw Henry was in trouble. He was bound spread-eagled between the two, footboard bedposts and a silver light was draining from his horns. That silver light began leaping from the top of the energy shield over the central platform to each of the surrounding sofas. These were suddenly forming domed energy shields of their own, trapping their occupants inside. She looked back to Sigrid in shock but saw her friend yanking Meixiu clear a split second before the field snapped in place over that sofa. The actor and two other couples remained inside, unconscious the moment the field activated.
The room also began to glow with the green healing aura as each energy dome filled with it.
Camila looked up in awe at the web of silver threads spreading outwards from Henry’s trap to all of the other domes. Inside each, the occupants were twitching minimally but in fast motion.
She looked back to Sigrid who was tending to a very groggy Meixiu. The young vampire finally nodded and hugged herself as tremors shook her body.
Camila checked the unconscious Succubus and saw it was breathing and had no visible injuries. She kept low as she moved around the central dome to find the second Succubus and it was also unconscious but otherwise uninjured. The CEO carefully lifted the sleeping twin and carried her back to her sister, gently setting her down. Confirming they were both unconscious, she rushed back to the others.
“I take it they’re alive?” Roy asked, and she nodded. “They’re Succubi, but I’ve never seen one like them before. You called them feral. What does that mean?”
She gave her head a brief but firm shake. “Later, we have to get Henry out of that energy dome somehow. How’s Mahati? She’s our only wielder.”
The female in question was resting back against the sofa, staying clear of the energy field. She looked to Camila, her face still flushed with the aftereffect of the pheromones which thankfully were dissipating. She looked distinctly embarrassed. “I’m… well.”
Roy looked into the dome, and his eyes widened. He looked back at Camila in shock then rushed forward to peer into the force field with Henry. “Shit!” he exclaimed softly then rushed back. “This wasn’t an orgy. It was some kind of fertility ceremony for the specific purpose of producing a baby for Mab! She’s pregnant and developing fast. The silver light coming from Henry’s horns might be accelerating time within the domes.” He moved to peer into a few other domes. “Other pregnancies are developing in these domes as well! In the Humans!”
Sigrid looked to Meixiu then back to Roy. “Accelerated time? How are they remaining alive without food and wat- OH! The healing magic!” she gasped. He nodded.
“Henry’s trapped in the dome with Mab. Can you get him out?” Camila asked Mahati who frowned and hovered her hand close to the energy field momentarily. She looked back to Camila.
“Not without great risk to the occupants. I could probably overload the field, but it may fail… explosively. There are energies at work here I’ve never seen. The silver light-”
“Is none of your affair so don’t be meddling in things you don’t understand.”
They turned to face the voice and froze. Baba Yaga!
She was walking amongst the energy domes, looking inside each like they were display cases in a museum. Behind her was the rest of their group.
Marisa moved forward to hug her mother. Then she spotted the ferals. “What-”
“We’ll talk later.”
Baba would have none of that. “Oh! What do we have here?” she said with glee. “Feral Succubi? Mab has been a bad girl, hasn’t she! Exposing such a guilty secret! How will you explain this to your friends?”
Camila glared at the witch. “Brutal necessity.”
Baba looked into her eyes and nodded gently. “A good answer.” She moved off to look into the other domes.
Camila sagged then looked back to the others who were watching her. She sighed resignedly.
“On exceptionally rare occasions, Succubi are born in a feral state. It’s a form of birth defect. They all share the same physical characteristics you can see. Worse, they suffer from specific genetic defects that limit access to some areas of the brain while heightening others. The result is stunted intellectual growth and behavior driven by increased aggression and wild instinct. The Fae won’t waste time and effort giving them a glamor as Ferals won’t use them. This behavior makes them too much of a threat to the Hidden Races secret to be allowed to live. As horrific as it must be for a new mother to do, feral children must be euthanized at birth. For the safety of us all.” She shuddered as she contemplated it. “Mab must have stolen these… twins, which are the rarest of the rare.”
“What do we do about these two?” Roy asked.
“Nothing,” Baba said from a few rows away.
Roy looked uneasily between Camila and Sigrid. The latter just shrugged. Baba had spoken. They weren’t powerful enough to argue.
When the witch returned, she fixed her eye on Sigrid who was scowling at her. “What is it, woman?” she asked testily.
“Aren’t you going to break Henry out of this trap?” the Valkyrie blurted, relieved to get the question out.
“And kill all these living souls?” Baba asked incredulously. Sigrid looked at her in surprise causing the old woman to cackle with glee. She sighed with contentment once she finished laughing. “It’s true. I don’t care about any of these insects under the domes. However, the children they are creating is a different matter.”
“Children?” Sigrid asked.
“This was a fertility ceremony. I counted thirty-two new infants about to enter the world, imminently,” Baba explained.
Sigrid looked around at all the… incubators. That’s what they were. “Human children-”
“No!” Baba grinned manically. “None of these newborns will be human. Soaked in the Wild Magic from their inception, what forms they will take is unknown. These will be exceptional children, but they cannot remain with their birth parents. The Hidden Race Council will have to find homes for them. Surrogate parents. They have quite the task ahead of them.”
Tish stepped forward, back in her Human disguise as the Ogre, who remained in the hallway, had warned them that the room contained human guests. “I could take care of one!” Sandy and Dayshia looked at her in surprise.
Baba smiled at the tall woman and approached her. With a gesture she canceled Tish’s glamor, forcing her back into her new form. Tish blinked at Baba in surprise as the witch gently patted her tummy. “You will have your hands full with this one. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.”
“What… I’m not- I can’t be! I can’t have a baby!” Tish stammered, almost panicked.
Baba shrugged. “But you are and you will.” She turned her attention back to Sigrid oblivious of the impact her words had on Tish. Sandy and Dayshia rushed to her sides to brace her as her trembling legs began to give out.
“I cannot break the link until Mab’s spell completes. If I try, I kill everyone contained within the energy fields, including the developing children.” The witch looked to Mab who was watching her thoughtfully through the shimmering light of the dome. “She knows it too. It was her gamble that I wouldn’t risk Henry. But I’m more interested in the child growing within her. What purpose does she have for a child at her age?”
“How long until the spell completes?” Sigrid asked.
Baba looked into the interior of the closest sofa. “Minutes from now. Time is moving much quicker within the fields. She will pay for meddling with what she shouldn’t.”
Everyone but Baba jumped as they heard the sound of footsteps approaching. A tall man with a crooked smile walked around the central dome and walked over to them. He was smiling at the witch.
“Well met, Baba Yaga,” he said.
“Coyote. I suppose I’m not surprised you’re here,” she replied.
He nodded. “Plenty of potential for social upheaval here. I would have been here sooner, but I had some texts to send for the Minister of Security.”
Baba’s eyebrows rose. “You work for the council now?”
His smile was wide and toothy. “You know me. I work for everyone’s best interests. Even if they don’t know it yet.”
Sigrid was becoming anxious about the impending completion of the spell. Their bantering wasn’t helpful in this situation. “If the Humans wake when the spell concludes, we’ll have a massive breach of the secret, if we haven’t already. These are famous personalities in Human culture. They can’t just disappear,” Sigrid exclaimed.
Baba glared at her. “And how is this my problem?”
Coyote gave her a sly grin. “Is it not in the children’s interest, to maintain the secret?!?” He’d been listening in, of course.
“Why would you care? Aren’t you an advocate for change?” Baba challenged him.
Coyote shrugged. “Subtle yet profound change is best. This… this is blunt force trauma. There is no finesse or cleverness to this. I’m disappointed in the Queen. She can do better than this.”
Baba frowned as she considered that point. “I still haven’t determined her true intent. This could be a decoy.” After a moment of silent staring around, Baba began hissing like an old steam engine. Then she looked around at all the sofas and seemed to be counting.
“Uh, excuse me?” Dayshia said.
“Silence!” Baba snapped as she tried to put the pieces together.
“The Queen is leaving.” Dayshia asserted with a cross look at being dismissed.
“WHAT?” Baba looked at Dayshia in surprise then over to the central dome. It looked like nothing had changed but…
“Where is she going?” Baba asked. Dayshia pointed up.