Suddenly A Succubus Ch. 43

After her failed attempts at cheering Amara up, Vee had barely gotten any sleep. She'd tossed and turned for most of the night, and only managed to get a few hours before the sun rose. For whatever reason--possibly her rigid workout schedule, possibly her angelic heritage-- it was borderline impossible for her not to wake with the morning light.

When she opened her eyes, and found herself just as tired and frustrated as last night, she'd texted Nick. Even if he didn't wake at the crack of dawn, she knew he would be up soon.

Thankfully, her intuition had been right. When he finally answered, she politely informed him that she needed to talk and invited herself over. To make up for her demands, she stopped for coffee on the way over; she still remembered his favorite order from when they'd nearly dated all those months ago.

Half an hour later, after they'd both finished their drinks, Vee had finally relayed the events of last night to Nick. How she'd attempted, and failed, to cheer Amara up by bringing her to the stadium.

She now paced back and forth in his living room, groaning in frustration. "I just don't know what to do, Nick. I feel like she's slowly slipping away from me. From us."

"Alright, let's calm down and take a step back," Nick said softly. "What's your goal here? If I'm being honest, I still don't entirely understand what's going on between you two. You're on good terms again, which is great, but I haven't really had a chance to unpack everything with Amara."

With a deep breath, Vee joined Nick on the couch. "It's... ugh, I don't know. Just a few months ago, she was being endlessly patient with me while I wrestled with my beliefs, but things are different now. She's angry on a scale I can barely comprehend, and I don't know how to help her. I set up a punching bag a few days ago, and it only took a few minutes for her to completely obliterate it. I'm worried that she feels trapped, helpless against all the bullshit we've been fighting the last few months."

"So you thought flying might take her mind off things?" Nick asked.

"No, it's not about the distraction. Flight seems like something that's really important to her, and it's my fault she can't do it." Vee paused for a moment, mulling over her words as she tried to voice her thoughts. "I told her in Purgatory that I've never been very fond of my heritage. Sometimes I feel like it's suffocating me, that I don't matter outside of being an angel. Amara showed me that wasn't true; she gave me a second chance at life, a chance to step back and decide for myself what I believe. I want to do the same for her. I want to show her that she's still in control of her life, she's not defined by her demonic nature, or the terrible things that happen to her."

"So, walk me through last night again, what exactly happened?"

"Well, in my opinion, she can't fly because she blames herself for nearly killing me on Halloween. I repeated everything I told her in Purgatory, that I forgive her, that I'm the one responsible for that fight. She jumped into the air, but only made it a few seconds before she froze up and fell."

Nick nodded, a knowing smile on his face. "Yeah, that tracks. You're being too direct with her."

"What, should I not forgive her?" Vee asked, rolling her eyes.

"No, I'm sure that helps, but Amara's never been very good at dealing with her emotions, even before this transformation started. Did she ever tell you about the weeks after Halloween?"

"Um, a little, but we skimmed over a lot of details."

"She tried to distance herself from her powers, specifically the hellfire. She was adamant that, if she never used it again, she could prevent more people from getting hurt."

"That obviously didn't continue," Vee muttered. "How'd you work past that?"

"Amara has never been able to tackle big feelings directly. She's not the person that goes to therapy, talks it over, and then walks away a healthier person. I always see the most success when I recontextualize things, and that's what I did with her powers. I made her start cooking, which gave her a chance to see her hellfire in a new light. Suddenly it's not a destructive force, it's something fun that creates delicious food. Plus, as a bonus, it forced her to practice controlling her fire."

"I always wondered how she picked up cooking..." Vee said with a smile. "As much as I love the idea, though, how does that apply to her current situation? She's completely unable to fly."

Nick slouched back on the couch with a sigh. "I wish I knew. I completely agree with you, I've never seen her like this before, and I wish there were something I could do. I keep getting sidetracked with all the other students, and now Tessa's Coven is here... it's a mess. If nothing else, I really appreciate you spending so much time with her."

Vee leaned back as well, staring into her lap. "I can't lose her, Nick. Not after everything we've been through."

After a few moments of tense silence, Nick reached out to put a hand on Vee's shoulder. "What about you? I hope you're not ignoring your own needs just to keep Amara up and running. Any thoughts about all those revelations yesterday?"

"Yeah, it's fucking crazy!" Vee said, suddenly pivoting to face Nick. "I mean, I always knew Amara's demonic heritage had to come from somewhere, but this? Not only is Evelyn a demon, but she's Lilith's fucking firstborn?! Part of me wants to dig through Church records to see if they mention Evelyn at all, but also... I don't know, I've met her myself. I've listened to Amara talk about her, and it really doesn't seem like she's a merciless killer from thousands of years ago."

"Is it really that simple?" Nick asked. "And that's an honest question, by the way. I have no idea what it's like to be an angel."

"Amara's different, isn't she? Why not Evelyn? I've been mulling over old conversations I've had with Amara, trying to remember every time she's talked about her home life, and Evelyn always seems like a perfectly normal mom."

"It sounds like she'll be coming back in a few weeks, so you very well might get a chance to speak to her yourself. How does that make you feel?"

"I'd love to learn more about her. Does she still visit Hell? Why is she living up here on Earth? It took forever, but dealing with Amara forced me to admit that not everything the Church taught me was true. What if Evelyn can prove even more? If she's legitimately just living a normal, harmless life, it disproves everything the Church has preached even more than Amara's existence does. What about you?"

Nick laughed. "I've known Evelyn for years. Amara and I were practically inseparable ever since we met, and there were weeks I spent more time at her house than I did my own. Sometimes I wonder what her past looks like. Has she tortured people in Hell? How many wars has she fought in? Started? Has she killed? If so, how many? For all I know, she spent the first few thousand years being an absolute horror. But, in the face of all that, I keep coming back to all the times she's made me lunch, or helped me clean off a cut before putting a novelty Band-Aid on it. I'm having a bit of trouble reconciling those two trains of thought. I'm sure it doesn't help that I'm human; I will fundamentally never understand what it's like to live that long."

"I get that," Vee muttered. "Honestly, even if she was the worst of the worst, I have to believe she's different now. I changed, didn't I? There's no way a truly terrible person could raise someone as beautiful as Amara."

"Beautiful?" Nick asked, cocking an eyebrow as he looked at Vee.

"Oh, shut up, you know what I mean," she said, pushing Nick away. "She's kind, patient, supportive, and endlessly optimistic. Everything she's going through right now, I refuse to believe that's the real her."

"I completely agree," Nick said softly, "but everyone has a breaking point. I'm doing my best to keep the situation under control, I really am, but I won't lie; I'm scared for her. I'm scared for all of us. Losing Chloé, it... it really shook me. As unnerving as it is to see Amara so unhinged, I also completely understand where she's coming from."

"You've still got me, right?" Vee said, jumping to her feet. "I refuse to give up on Amara, on any of us. You all were there for me, and it's high time I returned the favor."

"Lucky us, huh?" Nick said. "Our very own guardian angel."

Vee rolled her eyes, then checked her phone. "You're such a dork. Now come on, get your shoes, we need to get to the cafeteria. It's time to meet Tessa's Coven."

---

Amara slumped in her chair, scowling as she watched the cafeteria slowly fill with students. She hated the thought of meeting Tessa's Coven, and she especially hated having to pretend she was human. It was one thing to simply appear human for students who knew the truth, and another to actively monitor her every movement for possible giveaways of her demonic nature. Vee sat beside her, nervously bouncing her knee as she fiddled with her phone, and Amara sighed.

Come on, Amara, this isn't about you. Vee's putting in all this work, the least you can do is play along, right?

"Hey," Amara placed a hand on her friend's knee, "you doing alright?"

Vee sighed. "Just worried, that's all. We're pretty sure Tessa wanted the meeting to start at noon, but does that mean she's bringing the Coven here later? Or were we supposed to intuit that we should have told everyone to get here earlier?"

"Nick helped too, don't forget. If anyone can decipher Tessa's rambling, it's him." Amara forced a smile, trying to calm Vee down.

"I know, I know, it's just... we can't let the Coven find out about you."

"Me? What about you? Aren't we both at risk here?" Amara asked.

"Honestly? I don't really care if they find out about me," Vee said. "Even if they don't trust angels, I don't think they'll risk confronting me. If I really wanted to, I could contact the Church and raise a fuss, and I doubt the Coven would want to anger such a massive organization. But you? There's no way they leave you alone."

"I always forget about your Church," Amara muttered. She paused for a moment, an unsettling thought creeping in. "Um, don't take this the wrong way, but you didn't tell them about me, did you?"

Vee's anxiety vanished for a moment, replaced by resolute determination. "Absolutely not. Like I said back in Purgatory, I was pretty confused that you saved my life at the end of our fight. I decided to keep everything a secret until I could figure out for myself what was truly going on. I still had to file a report, especially since they brought in some priests to aid in my recovery, but I kept it vague. As far as my Church is concerned, there was a demonic threat and I took care of it."

"That's a relief," Amara said. She couldn't help but smile as Vee returned her gaze to the rest of the cafeteria. "You really think this'll work?"

"It has to." Vee said, "What about you?"

"I mean, I'm not happy about it." Amara joined Vee in looking out at the crowd of students. "I hate feeling like we're begging for our lives."

"It's not like that, Amara. We're all just students here, right? Surely we can appeal to their sense of decency. Besides, we saved all their lives, that's got to count for something."

Nick, who'd been welcoming everyone into the dining hall, wandered closer and interrupted the conversation. "I think that's everyone. There's still no sign of Tessa or her Coven, so we should get started."

With one last look back at Amara, Vee nodded and stood up. She walked towards the center of the cafeteria, and with a deep breath, called for the crowd's attention. It took a few moments for everyone to quiet down, and then she began speaking.

"Alright, I know this meeting was somewhat last minute, but we've got some news. As you all know, Tessa is a witch, and her knowledge of magic is what's kept this campus safe the last few months. However, she also belongs to a larger organization, and yesterday that very group wandered onto campus. They're planning to be here soon, as they want to talk to all of you, but they're mostly here to repair the Planar Gate."

A murmur spread through the crowd, with quite a few people beginning to smile and sigh in relief. Kenji, the student with the blue hair, raised a hand and spoke once Vee acknowledged him.

"Does that mean everything will go back to normal?" he asked. "No more monsters, no more magic bullshit?"

"We're not entirely sure, as we haven't spoken to them yet, but that's the hope. However, their presence does raise another problem." Vee paused, looking back at Amara before continuing. "Namely, myself and Amara. Tessa's Coven doesn't know about us, and we're hoping to keep it that way."

"Great, more secrets," Naomi whispered, just loud enough for Amara to hear.

Vee continued. "If they find out that Amara's a demon, they won't bother listening to reason. They'll try to kill her, end of story. I know I'm asking a lot, and I can't force any of you to do this, but... as a fellow student, I'm asking that you keep our identities a secret."

"How are we supposed to explain all the damage to the Quad?" One student asked. Amara looked over to see Naomi's friend standing up. She wore an Aurelius University athletic jacket, deep purple in color, and her thick dreadlocks brushed against her shoulders as she stood. "Or, for that matter, how you fought past all those monsters to stop that Brendon guy?"

For roughly the next hour, everyone present in the cafeteria argued over the best course of action. Amara did her best to pay more attention than she had last time, eager to at least understand which lies they were planning on telling the Coven. The last few months had been incredibly hectic, and while she hated hiding her true self, she had trouble thinking of any reason to start attacking the Coven without ruining their chances of fixing the Gate.

The debate came to a sudden end when one of the students spotted the Coven approaching. Vee made a last-ditch effort to summarize the story they'd hopefully all agreed on, then fell quiet as the doors to the cafeteria opened.

Amara furrowed her brows as she finally saw them. They were every bit as contemptuous as Vee had described, and Amara clenched her fists as she tried to bury her disgust. The woman in front, presumably the Headmistress, looked around the cafeteria as if she were walking through a landfill. Behind her walked three other women, each moving with a similar, if slightly lesser, gravitas. A short distance behind them, a slightly portly man shuffled with far less urgency, his nose buried in a small notebook. Tessa walked at the back of the group, her head hung low, and beside her was another girl that appeared to be roughly the same age.

With little else to do, Amara focused her senses and tried to study the Coven. The one seemingly in charge, who Vee had claimed was Headmistress Davenport, had an incredibly dull aura. As frustrating as it was to not have an easy method of manipulating her, Amara did pause for a moment to appreciate how much her otherworldly senses had grown. This older woman didn't seem to have a horny bone in her body, yet Amara was still able to perceive her aura.

The second woman, the one with an intense look and dark brown bangs, was a bit more lively. Amara still didn't see any traces of attraction or arousal, but her aura fluttered with a strange, tempered intensity.

The two women in back proved to be the most interesting. Their auras were slightly intermixed, but in a way Amara had never seen before. It didn't appear to be simple infatuation; Amara had seen that dozens of times around campus, and it always took on a brighter, more energetic smell. The aura was also faint enough that she was pretty sure these two women weren't fucking, but with those two options ruled out, Amara didn't know what to make of her readings.

Maybe they're in love but not fucking? Love is different than lust, but the two often intermix. Maybe I'm just seeing hints of their emotions? Ugh, I wish I could just ask Mom about this...

Tessa's aura was shockingly small, but this didn't surprise Amara given how miserable her friend looked. The other girl, the one seemingly around the same age as them, appeared no different than any other woman in her early twenties. Her aura was healthy and average, which told Amara nothing other than that this person harbored no secret affection for anyone around her.

The portly man in front of Tessa barely seemed to be watching where he walked, and his aura was almost as non-existent as Davenport's. It wasn't restrained the same way, which Amara assumed meant he had a naturally slow sex drive, rather than a healthy one that was being purposely restrained.

The Coven placed themselves in the center of the group, then pivoted to face everyone. After a moment of silence, the Headmistress opened her mouth and began to speak. Her voice was unusually boisterous compared to her thinner frame, and each word seemed to be laced with bitterness.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is our understanding that you have all borne witness to spectacular, unprecedented events these last few weeks. I'm terribly sorry to see so many innocent lives get swept up in this chaos, and I only wish we could have gotten here sooner. Our ward, Altessa Blackwood, was supposed to be our eyes and ears at this University. However, her failure to follow protocol led to the unfortunate death of one of your own. From the bottom of my heart, I'm truly sorry for the loss you've all suffered."

Bitch. I doubt you even care.

"All we can do now is set our eyes to the future. My name is Cassandra Davenport, and it is my sworn duty to protect you all from the perils of the supernatural. You are likely already aware that this campus sits on a nexus; a natural convergence of multiple planes of existence, and that a network of magical sigils held those forces at bay. Although recent events have fractured that network, we alone have the knowledge to restore the protections you've all grown accustomed to."

Naomi raised her hand at this point, but didn't bother waiting for Cassandra to acknowledge her. "What about us? We've been told that secrecy is of utmost importance, but how do you plan on enforcing that?"

Cassandra seemed to be taken aback by the interruption, and spoke through the teeth as she responded. "You take an accusatory tone, child, that I don't appreciate. We are not tyrants, it is not our job to cull those we deem untrustworthy. What I can promise you, however, is that answering to us is far preferable to other organizations that might sniff out the chaos at this University."

"Like what? You may not appreciate my tone, but I don't appreciate your vague threats."

"The government would falsify charges of terrorism and lock you away. Clandestine organizations that fancy themselves bastions of safety and nobility would force you to join their ranks. You would vanish from the face of the planet, your entire existence turned into yet another extension of those who think they can police forces that lie beyond their understanding. The wealthy that owe their success to illicit magic would kidnap you and use your blood to fuel their twisted schemes, then offer your corpse as sacrifice to any number of creatures that deem human flesh a delicacy. By contrast, we simply ask for your cooperation. I heavily suggest you not bite the hand we are extending."

While the older woman's tone still rubbed Amara the wrong way, she got the feeling she was telling the truth. As much as she wanted to object, to point out that Cassandra was avoiding any details about how they might punish noncompliance, she bit her tongue and stayed quiet.

After clearing her throat uncomfortably loudly, Cassandra gestured for one of the Coven members to join her, the younger girl that had walked in beside Tessa. "This young lady is Imani Mabaya; she will be taking charge of this little group of yours. Before any of you leave this room, you are to speak with her and share everything you witnessed here. Once we fully understand the scope of the damage that has been wrought, we can begin looking to the future. All subsequent questions are to be directed to her, is that clear?"

Although the question was posed to the entire group, Cassandra's sharp glare at Naomi was impossible to miss. After a few seconds of silence, once it was clear no one else had any comments, she nodded to the rest of the Coven. As they walked away, Imani snapped to attention and moved to a small staff room just off the main dining hall.

"Do you see why I hate them?" Vee whispered to Amara.

"Fuck, she's so smug!" Amara said. "And did you hear the way she threatened Naomi? Unbelievable!"

Vee giggled quietly. "You're defending Naomi now? Out of sheer curiosity, what's for dinner tonight?

Amara playfully pushed Vee's arm, nearly knocking her to the floor. "Ha ha, very funny. It's hand-seared chicken, and this is different."

Their conversation was forced to end when Imani approached them both. In sharp contrast to the rest of the Coven, Imani's smile seemed surprisingly genuine. When she spoke, her words were warm and reassuring. "Amara and Vee, I presume?"

"That's us," Vee said, jumping to her feet. She held out a hand to introduce herself. "Imani, correct? You're a witch with the coven?"

"That's me! I'm not quite as hands-on as many of my peers, but we all work towards the same goals." After shaking Vee's hand, Imani extended the offer to Amara as well.

Amara, however, simply crossed her arms and nodded halfheartedly in return. "What goal is that? Abusing Tessa?"

Imani's smile faded somewhat. "I have no say in how Headmistress Davenport treats her wards. Even if I disagreed with her methods, it would not be my place to speak in defense of Tessa. Seeing as how we'll be working together for the foreseeable future, however, I do ask that you keep your feelings for the Headmistress separate from your feelings about me."

"Alright, fine. It's good to meet you or whatever," Amara said, rolling her eyes.

After leaving the conversation, Imani moved around the cafeteria to greet everyone else. She seemed to spend more time than usual with Mr. Luxnor, as well as Mr. Roberts, another teacher that had been swept up in everything. As she made her rounds, Amara took great care to eavesdrop on her conversations.

It seemed Imani was hoping to understand the initial response to Brandon's attack. She asked the teachers how they organized everyone, as well as what steps were taken to ensure all potential witnesses were accounted for. Some of this information was actually news to Amara, who had spent the last few weeks either wrestling with reapers or adamantly avoiding conversations about covering up the invasion.

Through her eavesdropping, she learned that all students wishing to stay on campus over holidays needed to clear their request with the school. As such, when Brandon's invasion started, the teachers present had a list of all students supposedly on campus. Once the portal had closed, they spent considerable time tracking down all students on the list, working together with Tessa to ensure that no one was leaking information.

Once Imani's conversation with the teachers wrapped up, Amara expected her to start pulling students into the side room for private conversations. She'd even picked a seat closer to the entrance in an attempt to continue eavesdropping.

These plans were unfortunately ruined when, of all the students in the cafeteria, Imani approached Amara first.

"Amara? If you're feeling up to it, I'd love to speak with you about everything," Imani said, her tone frustratingly warm and supportive.

"Me? Why?" Amara asked.

"It's my understanding that you're quite close with Tessa, and have been involved the longest."

Fuck. What did Tessa tell her?

"Uh, sure. Why not." Amara reluctantly rose to her feet and followed Imani into the side room. It appeared to be some kind of employee break room, with lockers on one wall and several chairs and tables scattered around. Two beat-up couches rested in one corner, and the wall opposite the lockers had a sizeable dent in it.

Unsure what to expect, Amara moved to the couch and laid down. "So, what do you want to know? I'm sure Tessa told you everything already."

"Tessa can't read minds, Amara. She can give me her perspective, but not yours. I want to know what happened, yes, but I'm also here to support you in any way I can. Learning about magic can be a harrowing experience, even in the best of times, and this was anything but."

You've got no fucking idea, Imani.

When Amara didn't say anything, Imani continued. "How did you stop the cult?"

"Tessa fucked with their runes and reversed the portal." Amara said flatly.

"Okay, but you and Vee helped her out, didn't you? How did you hold your own against an army of possessed cultists?"

There was another pause before Amara spoke up again. "So are you, like, an intern? Why do they get the fun work while you're stuck interviewing students? They're not abusing you too, are they?"

Imani sighed. "If I answer your question, will you answer mine?"

"I mean, they seem to hate Tessa, but they still gave her an assignment here. You didn't even get that much."

"For your information, I volunteered for this. I consider myself quite lucky to be a part of this coven, I even have the privilege of studying to be a Scribe."

"What's that? Some kind of magic receptionist?" Amara asked, chuckling to herself.

"Scribes are responsible for applying the runic tattoos that give witches their abilities. It takes incredible precision, and requires intimate knowledge of dozens of potentially harmful magical materials. I love what I do, Amara, and the chance to come here and study sigils from hundreds of years ago is a spectacular opportunity."

"And you're really making the most of it, aren't you?" Amara gestured to the barren break room around them. "Look at all these sigils. Wow, so magnificent you can't even see them."

Imani wrote something on a pad of paper, then spoke up again. "I'm just trying to help, Amara. I know what it's like to see people get hurt by forces you previously thought impossible. I understand how you're feel--"

"You don't understand shit, Imani!" Amara hissed, jumping to her feet. "I had to watch a room full of cultists sell their souls for power. I saw monsters from beyond our reality invade the campus while a madman tried to rip a hole in the universe. One of my best friends died saving our lives! I held her hand as an unstable portal ripped her to pieces!!"

"Amara, please, I just want--"

"No! I'm done with this bullshit!" Amara shouted. She stormed past Imani, then left the staff room before slamming the door behind her. Vee and Nick both looked up in surprise, as did the entire cafeteria full of students, but Amara didn't care. Without a second glance, she raced out of the dining hall, leaving everyone behind.

---

As soon as the Coven Heads left the dining hall, they instructed Tessa to show them around campus. In order to begin rebuilding the gate, they needed to understand the previous circles that kept the other planes at bay. One by one, traveling from building to building, Tessa did her best to detail her findings about each circle.

They started with the circle under the cafeteria, as it was the closest. Tessa hadn't revisited this circle in a while, and was surprised to see that all the vines had been completely cleared up. She quickly explained how this circle had been weakened, allowing plant life from the Wilds to force its way through, but she had difficulty exposing the circle itself; it was still buried under a mountain of old kitchen appliances, after all, and last time she'd only been able to uncover it with Amara's help.

For better or for worse, Coven Head Gautier stepped in when it became clear that Tessa wasn't up to the task. As much as Tessa hated the smug look on Miss Gautier's face, she much preferred a bit of help to many awkward minutes of attempting to shuffle old kitchen appliances out of the way.

What Tessa hadn't expected was the speed at which Miss Gautier was able to clear the space. With barely a flick of her wrist, an immense amount of telekinetic power filled the room, levitating every single piece of furniture in sight. Metal scraped and clanged as the room rearranged itself and, after a minute had passed, the space was now immaculately organized, exposing the circle to the Wilds.

It took the better part of an hour to visit the rest of the circles; one hidden behind an illusion under Brandt Hall, one concealed in the cramped room under the Science Building, and several others Tessa had found in her off hours.

Their final stop was Lysander Hall, which held both the Purgatory Circle in its basement and the elevator that could take them to the underground chamber. As they approached the first of the two circles, this one also hiding behind an illusion, Tessa prepared her magic. Thankfully, she'd grown quite skilled at removing this particular illusion, and removed it in a matter of seconds.

"This particular circle is connected to Purgatory," Tessa explained. She pulled her notebook from her backpack and presented it to Headmistress Davenport. "I have a diagram of the circle in its original form here. However, because of the nature of the incursion, alterations needed to be made in order to bring back friends that had been stranded on the other side. To the best of my knowledge, this circle now acts as a functional portal to Purgatory, one that only opens with proper magical input."

The Headmistress took Tessa's journal, then turned to walk around the circle. The other Coven Heads followed suit, some taking notes of their own. The last person of the group, however, stopped next to Tessa.

This man was the Coven's Scribe: Elijah Jun. He'd been with the Coven for as long as Tessa could remember, and was the man responsible for applying Tessa's tattoos. He was a few inches shorter than Tessa, though only because he walked with a persistent slouch. Ancient glasses sat atop his rounded nose, and his short black hair seemed to be in the early stages of turning gray. Ever since the Coven had arrived on campus, he'd been ignoring Tessa in favor of studying something in his journal. Now, instead of approaching the massive, ancient circle in front of them, he turned to Tessa and began to speak.

"You know, centuries ago, people used to think that they could measure a person's intelligence by examining the shape of their skull. They believed that different parts of the brain would grow bigger when used more, and that those growths could be detected by feeling for different types of bumps."

"Uh, yeah, I've heard about phrenology before," Tessa said, unsure exactly how to respond.

"Obviously it was all pseudo-science, but sometimes it's important to examine bad ideas just in case. Mainstream science doesn't know about magic, after all. What if phrenology had decent ideas, but they only made sense from a magical lens?"

"I'm... afraid I don't see the connection, Sir," Tessa muttered.

"Hm?" Elijah tilted his head for a moment. "Oh, sorry, I was thinking about your tattoos. I'd never had someone request the side of their head before, and when I was researching how they should be applied, I fell down a few rabbit holes. How have they been holding up? Any unusual side effects?"

Tessa shook her head. "No Sir, everything works as intended."

"Elijah!" Headmistress Davenport shouted. "We need you focused on the task at hand, if you please."

"Oh! Yes, the circle. Duty calls, I'm sure you understand," Elijah said, flashing a warm smile. He quickly nodded to Tessa before hurrying off towards the circle, though he stopped after a few steps to look back at her. "Phrenology was all horseshit, by the way."

Good to know Elijah's just as confusing as ever.

Tessa stood perfectly still for the better part of the next fifteen minutes. She didn't dare lose focus, not in front of the Headmistress, but she had nothing further to add to her statement. She watched as the Coven Heads discussed various theories and ideas, occasionally pausing to get Elijah back on track.

The Headmistress and Coven Head Gautier were the most involved in the process. They periodically activated their own magic to test various parts of the circle, while also comparing the notes in Tessa's journal to one of their own books.

It was hard not to notice that Coven Head Tsopnang seemed somewhat detached from proceedings. She never strayed from her place beside the circle, but her attention was clearly divided. Eventually, Coven Head Bishop broke away from her peers, whispered something to Coven Head Tsopnang, and then walked towards Tessa.

"Your illusion work has improved greatly," she said calmly.

After a quick glance towards the Headmistress, Tessa responded. "Thank you, Miss Bishop."

"Have you given any thought to what your next tattoos might be? Based on your performance here, I must admit; I'm hoping you follow in my footsteps. Illusions are the pinnacle of creativity, and I've always thought they would suit you."

"With all due respect, Miss Bishop, I'm under the assumption that such advancement would not be permitted." Tessa shifted uncomfortably as she continued watching the rest of the Coven. "No doubt my performance here has further tarnished my already poor reputation."

"The winds are ever changing, Tessa. Never say never." Miss Bishop said, risking a sly smirk, but their brief conversation soon came to an end.

"Miss Blackwood!" Headmistress Davenport called out. "We've taken our preliminary notes, now please demonstrate the modifications you've made."

Tessa snapped back into her formal posture as she approached the circle. "Of course, Headmistress Davenport. Would you like me to use an object for this demonstration?"

Coven Head Gautier spoke up next, a callous smirk on her face. "You will use only yourself, Miss Blackwood."

"Y-yes, Coven Head Gautier," Tessa muttered.

A brief flash of surprise crossed Miss Gautier's face, and Tessa did her best to stay confident. She requested that everyone else vacate the circle, then knelt down to activate it. As she focused, she explained the process to her Coven, punctuating her demonstration by briefly visiting Purgatory herself. She had a feeling that Coven Head Gautier was hoping to intimidate her with the request, and she did her best to appear unfazed when she returned to Earth.

"So, to clarify," Miss Bishop started, "this circle now acts as both a bridge and a gateway? And you have full control over which side occupants end up on?"

"Yes Ma'am, that's correct," Tessa said.

"Hardly an impressive feat, Elizabeth," Coven Head Gautier hissed. "Any one of our adepts could manage such a feat."

"Could those same adepts also decipher outdated runes put in place centuries ago? That exist as part of a delicate network of interlocking, magical seals? If you refuse to say it, Miss Gautier, then I will; this is an incredible accomplishment."

Headmistress Davenport cleared her throat, and the conversation immediately stopped. "Her prowess is hardly surprising, as she studied under my guidance. Her skills as a witch are not in question here, and I would ask both of you to keep your opinions in check. Is that clear?"

Both Coven Heads nodded slowly before speaking in tandem. "Yes, Headmistress Davenport."

"Now, Miss Blackwood, I believe you have one final circle to show us, is that correct?"

Tessa nodded. "Yes Ma'am. There is a secret network of tunnels under the campus, and the circle connected to Hell resides there. We'll need to take the elevator down from the first floor."

After restoring the illusory wall, the group returned to the main floor and approached the elevator. Although it was technically big enough to hold all of them at once, Headmistress Davenport decided to split the journey down into two trips. Tessa was asked to wait for the second trip, and Coven Head Bishop volunteered to wait with her while the others traveled downstairs.

As soon as the doors closed, Miss Bishop's posture relaxed and she turned towards Tessa with her arms open. Without hesitation, Tessa threw her arms around the older woman's waist and hugged her back.

"How I've missed you, Tessa," Miss Bishop whispered. She gently ran her fingers through Tessa's hair as she continued speaking. "I'm so sorry. For everything."

Although Tessa fought to hold back tears, her body still shook with emotion as she hugged Miss Bishop. "I just wanted to get away from all this. The magic, the Coven, all of it. I was so happy when they assigned me here, but this stupid Gate ruined everything!"

"I tried to convince them, Tessa. I argued that you should know the full extent of what you were technically guarding, but they wouldn't hear me out. This campus has been dormant for centuries, and they were convinced nothing could change that."

"I did everything I could to keep this under wraps, I promise," Tessa muttered, her words partially obscured by Miss Bishop's dress. "How did they find out?"

"There were a few different leaks. None of them were all that bad, but it was enough to piece together that the seals had been broken. We're not the only ones here, technically; a secondary team of witches has been deployed to the surrounding town. They're doing their usual sweeps, listening for rumors, looking for suspicious actors, all that."

"What's going to happen to me?" Tessa asked, pulling back to look up at Miss Bishop.

"You're better off than you think. The planar convergence here is the strongest in North America, and while it's our responsibility to handle this, other Covens are going to catch on eventually. Davenport will never admit this, but she's nervous. Anyone that looks into this is going to learn that you were deployed here without any knowledge of the significance of your post. Whenever those investigations start, mark my word; I'll be the first to speak on your behalf."

Tessa nodded slowly. "As frustrating as this is, I'm happy to see you again. I missed you too."

Miss Bishop cupped the side of Tessa's face. "Enough about Coven politics, how are you holding up? Losing another friend like that... I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you."

Tessa looked up at the elevator and saw it was on its way back. She wouldn't have much more time alone with Miss Bishop. "She deserved better. She saved all of us, and it got her killed."

"This life is cruel, Tessa. No one knows that better than you. Based on what you've told us, it sounded like she knew what she was getting into."

"That doesn't make it right, Miss Bishop." Tessa paused to take a deep breath; she refused to cry again. "I'll never get a chance to thank her, to tell her how much I valued her friendship."

"So you carry on in her name. You do everything you can to stop this from happening again," Miss Bishop said. Tessa didn't say anything, choosing to instead nod slowly while keeping her eyes fixed on the floor. Moments later, a soft ping rang out from the elevator, and the two women began their trip to the underground tunnels.

"Thank you, Miss Bishop. For everything," Tessa said, taking a deep breath to regain her composure.

"I only wish I could do more. For now, your best defense is to continue proving just how capable a witch you are. If nothing else, you'll get to continue infuriating Miss Gautier." Miss Bishop smirked as she fixed her posture as well.

"Truly there's no better prize than that," Tessa said, returning the smile.

By the time the elevator had landed, their conversation had ended and they'd both fallen back into their professional facades. The rest of the Coven was already in the main chamber, gathered around the Hell Circle and comparing notes. As Tessa walked closer, she caught the tail end of something Elijah was saying.

"--it's a fascinating idea, but I'd need to do considerable research before I can say for sure if--"

Headmistress Davenport suddenly cleared her throat and cut Elijah off. "Certainly something we can discuss at another time, Mr. Jun. In the meantime, let's take a look at Miss Blackwood's notes on the matter."

"Of course, Headmistress," Tessa said calmly. She presented her notebook and began speaking, taking great care to spare no detail. Miss Bishop's words echoed in her head, and she spoke with more confidence than she had earlier. In all the time she'd spent reverse-engineering the circles on campus, it had never occurred to her that she'd been doing anything special, but now she doubted those thoughts.

Hadn't Nick asked her once if she enjoyed practicing magic?

Maybe his question hadn't been as misguided as Tessa had initially thought.

---

Back in her apartment, Amara was still frustrated after her interview with Imani. She'd been angrily pacing from room to room, occasionally breaking off pieces of raw cookie dough and baking it in her hands. The process had calmed her down slightly, but more importantly, time passed quicker when she had something to focus on.

"Stupid fucking Coven, coming in here and hurting my friends," Amara muttered, popping another tiny cookie in her mouth. "And who the fuck does Imani think she is? I bet she's just trying to get on our good sides to rat us out at the first sign of trouble."

Amara reached for another glob of cookie dough, but found the package empty. With a frustrated groan, she tossed the wrapper in the trash and started digging through her fridge.

She was running low on ingredients, and knew that another grocery trip needed to happen soon, but that could wait. As her eyes wandered from item to item, she found it increasingly difficult to decide on a meal. She didn't even understand why she was still hungry, she'd made a massive dinner for herself earlier, and had been snacking ever since. However, as she felt another pang of hunger, she realized what it was she truly needed.

After checking the time, Amara knew that Nick was probably asleep by now. Could she reach out to Tessa? Maybe she'd want a way to blow off steam after dealing with her Coven all day. Halfway through drafting a text, however, she stopped.

Wait a minute. When Mom was here, she stressed that our affinity for illusion magic comes from our ability to manipulate the Dreamscape. I figured out illusions really fast, but I haven't bothered with dreamwalking ever since I got Derek to fess up to all his shitty behavior. I'm way stronger now!

Amara deleted the message, then ran back to her bedroom. She plugged in her phone, then set up the same ambient rain noise she'd used back when she'd been visiting Derek's dreams.

She jumped on her bed, dispersing all her illusory clothes and grinning with satisfaction as soft bedsheets began settling against her naked body. Instead of laying down, however, she stayed in a sitting position as she closed her eyes.

Okay, the goal is not to fall asleep. When I was doing this before, I was able to see the Dreamscape as Derek woke up. It's a strange white void with streaks of color zooming around in the distance. Maybe those are dreams? The goal is to go there on purpose, not to end up there because a different dream ended.

Amara crossed her legs and leaned against the bedroom wall. She'd never been a fan of meditating, but with no real ideas on how to proceed, she pulled out her best imitation.

Calm, measured breathing. Deep breath for two counts, slowly release it over four.

She pictured the Dreamscape in her mind, memories of her time in Derek's nightmares filling her thoughts. When she hadn't been torturing him, it had been quite peaceful.

As the minutes passed, she lost focus on her immediate surroundings. The bedsheets didn't matter anymore, the white noise from her phone faded into the background. Even the plush mattress underneath her seemed to float away, caught in an unseen current as Amara focused on stepping into the realm of dreams.

Her breathing grew heavy, and she swore she almost caught herself snoring. Knowing that wasn't the goal, she panicked and opened her eyes, ready to reset her surroundings and start over.

However, she was no longer in her room. Her familiar bedroom walls had disappeared, replaced by a seemingly endless gray-white void. The occasional streak of dark gray made Amara feel like she was inside a marble sculpture, and she wondered if she should move closer to examine the strange material. Before she dared to move, she looked down at herself to see if anything had changed.

Thankfully, she seemed to be completely intact. She was still completely naked, however, which somehow didn't feel appropriate for the Dreamscape. Deciding this was a perfect chance to test her abilities, she tried to manifest a simple pair of sweatpants and a tank top. To her delight, the clothes appeared exactly as desired.

Now appropriately dressed in her pajamas, it was time to explore. She spun around slowly, looking in all directions as she tried to understand her surroundings. There was obviously no sense of gravity, and she was able to spin upside down without consequence, but that also meant she had no reliable way to keep track of where she was.

Does the Dreamscape even have physical locations? Like, I'm here, but where is here?

To play it safe, Amara manifested a massive bed in the void beside her. It resembled her own bed in every aspect but its size, as Amara had made it much bigger. With any luck, she hoped this would serve as an anchor point for her return trip.

Further inspection of the space nearby didn't give her any helpful insight, so she picked a direction and flew off. It was hard to gauge distance in the Dreamscape; she had no way of knowing if a particular color splotch was small and close or massive and far away. Thankfully, after a few minutes of aimless wandering, she managed to close in on a large, reddish-orange streak.

Moving as carefully as she could, she placed a hand on the color. The substance, whatever it was, danced around her fingers as if she were touching a river, and her touch seemed to agitate it. It swirled faster and faster, growing larger with each second as it began to encompass Amara. She began to see images in between the patterns, flashes of green and white that grew larger at an alarming speed. Before she had a chance to react, the reddish-orange cloud had completely enveloped her, then vanished completely.

The white void of the Dreamscape was gone as well, replaced with a setting that Amara quickly recognized. She was standing in a large field dotted with trees and pathways, surrounded by various academic buildings.

This was the quad.

It appeared to be early winter. Heavy clouds obscured the sunlight, and most of the trees had lost all their leaves, but the campus was still devoid of snow. A gust of wind blew across the campus, shaking the trees, but Amara didn't hear the familiar rustling of leaves and branches. For some reason, despite the absence of any kind of sound system, the entire field was blasting heavy rock music.

The music caught Amara off guard, but thankfully it was easy to manifest small, noise-cancelling earbuds. Now that she was able to focus, she began walking around the quad to discover whose dream this was.

Thankfully, that task proved incredibly easy. At the edge of the quad, walking with a pair of headphones on, was a student Amara recognized. She had bright red hair and a tank top that showed off her impressive, muscular physique. She paid absolutely no attention to her surroundings, and was bobbing her head to the pounding music.

Amara watched from afar, following from a respectable distance as she wondered what Ruby might be dreaming about. As she waited, a flash of light caught her attention, but it didn't seem to be coming from anything in particular. On several occasions, the ground seemed to quake slightly, but it was hard to tell if that was part of the dream or a symptom of the heavy music.

Ruby was nearing the corner of the cafeteria when another figure began approaching her. At first, this figure was a nonsensical blob of muted colors, but when they reached out for Ruby, their form cemented into another familiar shape.

She was now looking at Vee, exactly how she'd looked the day of Brandon's invasion. Vee pulled Ruby's headphones off, and the music filling the clearing faded into the background. Ruby shouted in protest, asking Vee to return her headphones, when she saw another shape that had just materialized in the clearing; a reaper.

Ruby immediately panicked, screaming in terror as the reaper stepped closer. Vee shoved Ruby's headphones back into her hands, then briefly closed her eyes to take a deep breath. When she opened her eyes again, radiant angelic energy burst forth. She floated several feet into the air, the rest of her body beginning to glow as well, and she spoke with an unnatural presence.

"Child! Be not afraid. I'm here to protect you. Go inside and stay with the others. Now!"

Holy shit, is that what happened? Vee looks incredible!

Grabbing her headphones, Ruby took one last look at the reaper before turning and running. She took the concrete steps three at a time, but ran for much longer than Amara anticipated. Before her eyes, the steps elongated, and by the time Ruby reached the top, each individual stair was nearly as tall as her.

Behind her, Vee had vanished completely, and a reaper was furiously running up the stairs in pursuit of Ruby. She climbed over the last stair, then began running for the entrance of the cafeteria, but another reaper crashed down in front of her. This reaper was nearly twice as big, and looked exactly like a massive dragon. Its powerful claws cracked the concrete as it stepped closer, and Ruby tried to turn and run, but the ground warped around her. Her steps were slow and arduous, and the sidewalk angled higher and higher while attempting to tip Ruby backwards towards the beast.

I had no idea Ruby was so shaken by the attack. She seems nice, she doesn't deserve this.

Amara cracked her knuckles, then replaced her pajamas with her chitinous armor. Her true form appeared in a burst of hellfire, and with a triumphant shout, she threw herself at the massive reaper.

With a single punch, Amara dislocated the monster's jaw. It roared in pain, then turned away from Ruby to focus on her. The familiar rush of combat began to excite Amara, but she forced herself to calm down. This was only a dream, and the creature wasn't real. If anything, this was a perfect chance to further practice her dream-warping abilities.

When the reaper pounced, attempting to crush her beneath its massive claw, she simply urged the dream to bend to her will. In much the same way she could take control of fire, she pushed her presence into the dream, and told the reaper that it was powerless against her.

Raising a hand, she stopped the incoming claw without so much as flinching. She curled her fingers around one of its talons, then lifted the creature up and spun around. She slammed the beast down to the ground, using the impact to revert the sidewalk to its regular state. This made it easier for Ruby to stand, although her relief was short lived.

The second reaper was crawling into view, and Amara sighed in frustration. With a heavy grunt, she leapt into the air, taking the larger reaper with her. It was impossible to ignore the heavy rock music in the background, and it began blaring a triumphant chorus as the fight continued. Amara spun around in the air, hurling the already damaged reaper down at the smaller beast, and both creatures screamed in pain. With a final shout, Amara summoned a burst of hellfire behind her and propelled herself towards the ground, landing on the creatures and blowing their skeletons to pieces just as Ruby's song ended.

Using her control over the dream, Amara quickly dispersed the corpses of the monsters. All the bones that had scattered after her attack vanished, leaving her completely on her own.

"Amara! You saved me!" Ruby shouted. She ran close, throwing her arms around Amara and hugging her tight. As she pulled back however, her eyes were wide and full of concern. One of her hands, the one that had been gripping Amara's back, was covered in blood. "Oh my god, Amara, you're hurt!"

What? No I'm not. Although, the first time Ruby saw me, I was limping into the cafeteria after killing a reaper. She's expecting to see me hurt, so the dream probably changed itself to suit her expectations.

Deciding it would be fun to play along, Amara made an exaggerated fainting motion and fell into Ruby's arms. She landed softly, the muscular girl catching her without issue, and she felt the dream shift around her. They were no longer next to the cafeteria entrance, they were in the bistro on the bottom floor. Ruby was standing over a couch, and quickly laid Amara down before pulling out a first aid kit.

Amara let Ruby bandage her up, curious what Ruby's subconscious mind would do next. If nothing else, the physical attention felt nice, and Amara doubted there was a hotter nurse on campus. She assumed Ruby was a powerlifter, as nothing else would explain her muscular physique. Her arms were thick and powerful, yet as they wound a bandage around Amara's shoulder, she also felt how gentle Ruby was capable of being. By the time she'd finished with the bandages, the powerful scent of her arousal had filled Amara's senses.

I wonder how far I can take this.

With a weak smile, Amara delicately placed a hand on Ruby's muscular arm. "I don't know if this will be enough, Ruby..."

Ruby swallowed nervously. "Is it true what they say? Can you recover from injuries just by having sex?"

Amara moved her hand to Ruby's face, then nodded slowly.

Strong, steady hands slowly moved to Amara's exposed waist. "I wouldn't be a very good nurse if I didn't do everything in my power to ensure a speedy recovery. It might be best if... if we..."

With Ruby's intentions painfully obvious, Amara pushed forward and kissed her. Ruby gasped in surprise as their lips met, but eagerly returned the gesture as her hands began tracing Amara's curves. Her touch felt amazing, especially as Amara hadn't been with a woman in far too long. Ever since the invasion, Tessa had been too preoccupied with the other students for the two of them to fuck, and Amara had been relying completely on Nick to keep herself fed.

She also couldn't deny the thrill of literally being the woman of Ruby's dreams. She took a deep breath of satisfaction as they kissed, the scent of arousal already taking the edge off her hunger.

Amara broke off their kiss, sitting up as she began exploring Ruby's body. She pushed under her clothes, eagerly exploring the muscled body being so eagerly presented to her. Ruby's back was just as muscular as her arms, and when her tank top came off, Amara smirked with delight as she saw Ruby's impeccable six pack. She traced her fingers down Ruby's muscles, then looked up into her eyes and kissed her again.

The smell of arousal was only growing stronger, and Amara decided she was tired of waiting. She sat up completely in front of Ruby, then used her hands to silently ask her to turn around. Now facing away, Ruby leaned back into Amara, who eagerly took the opportunity to unbutton Ruby's pants.

After eagerly running her hands down Ruby's muscled stomach one last time, she reached into her pants, her fingers gently touching Ruby's sex. Her clit was already pulsing with desire, and her entire body shuddered with pleasure as Amara gently massaged it. Amara continued testing the waters, moving her hand further down while carefully reading Ruby's aura. Her fingers circled Ruby's entrance, which was already dripping with anticipation, yet the motion didn't seem to elicit the same response as Amara's earlier touch.

Amara changed plans, moving her fingers back to Ruby's clit. Her other arm reached across Ruby's chest, beginning to massage her breasts over her sports bra. Frustrated by the fabric, but not wanting to stop the fun, Amara simply took hold of the dream and made the bra vanish on its own.

Ruby's breasts were on the smaller side, but she had adorably cute nipples. Amara eagerly returned to massaging Ruby's chest, slowly circling her fingers closer to Ruby's nipples before softly pinching them. Ruby gasped and her back arched, bringing her even closer to Amara. She grabbed Amara's thighs for support, then her hands traveled further back before squeezing Amara's ass.

"Fuck... Amara, this feels amazing," Ruby whispered.

"I want--no, I need you to cum, Ruby," Amara whispered back. She began rubbing Ruby's clit faster, and found that Ruby was already on the verge of cumming. Amara wondered if arousal felt different for humans as they dreamed, or if the specific cocktail of this impromptu hot nurse roleplay was simply pressing all of Ruby's buttons. The answer hardly mattered, and by the time another minute had passed, Ruby's entire body tensed with pleasure. She squeezed Amara hard, pulling their bodies together, and Amara happily fed on Ruby's orgasm as they held each other.

Ruby continued cumming for an impressively long time. Feeding on her was absolutely delightful, and it reminded Amara how thrilling it was to take on new partners.

Eventually, Ruby began to calm down. She breathed heavily as her orgasm faded away, and once she'd regained control of her body, she quickly turned to Amara and passionately kissed her. Their tongues met, and Amara felt Ruby's hands begin to further explore her body. Ruby caressed her shoulders, her waist, eventually inching closer to her breasts as she sought to return the favor.

Amara, however, had other plans. Her hunger mostly sated, Amara was eager to further explore the Dreamscape. Ruby certainly seemed excited to return the favor, however, which gave Amara an idea.

She dug her presence into Ruby's dream once more, this time creating a duplicate of herself. She instructed the dream to keep this second body invisible from Ruby, and as she felt Ruby push her onto her back, she switched places with her duplicate. She now watched from above as Ruby crawled between Dream Amara's legs, biting and licking her way closer to the faux demon's clit.

Fuck, that's hot. Definitely something to play with later.

Satisfied with her performance, Amara turned and flew higher in Ruby's dream. The sounds of Dream Amara's pleasure grew more and more distant as Amara climbed, and soon she'd found the edges of Ruby's dream. Just like when she had first entered, she began pushing through thick, reddish-orange swirls, and seconds later she found herself floating in the Dreamscape once more.

Amara let loose a hearty laugh as she took off, picking a random direction. It wasn't long before she found another dream, and she entered it just as easily as she had entered Ruby's dream.

This dream was much more confusing, and appeared to be a random student playing ping-pong with a rotating cast of B-Tier TV actors. Amara only spent a few minutes here before deciding to move on. The next dream was Naomi's, and she appeared to be meeting an undercover informant for dirt on a corrupt politician. For some reason, the entire dream was black and white, like Amara had stepped into an old noir thriller.

Amara wasn't sure how long she spent bouncing from dream to dream, but the longer she explored the Dreamscape, the more comfortable she felt navigating it. She began to develop a feel for the dreams, able to tell when a dream was particularly vivid rather than quick and fleeting.

It was quite surprising, then, when she found a dream that seemed exceptionally powerful. Not only did this particular dream take up more space in the Dreamscape, but Amara actually had a bit of trouble entering it.

Pushing through the strange, swirling matter eventually deposited Amara in a thick forest. There were impossibly large trees in every direction, and thousands of vibrant, multi-colored flowers covered the ground. Curious about the strangely resilient nature of this dream, Amara quickly masked her own presence before she started exploring the forest. She heard voices from further in, and after several minutes of navigating around the massive trees, she found a cozy clearing lit by several dozen bioluminescent plants.

Two figures were here, cuddled together while lying in a large hammock. Both were slightly older women, and they held hands as they talked with each other. The taller girl, the one lying on her back, had long brown hair and wore loose, flowing garments. Underneath the clothing, Amara saw intricate patterns of runic tattoos decorating her body, their design strikingly similar to Tessa's.

In this woman's arms was a slightly smaller woman with warm, dark skin and thick black hair that had been fashioned into a series of tight braids, each ending in a decorative silver cuff. This woman also wore thinner, flowing garments, and Amara saw equally intricate runic tattoos on her as well.

That was when Amara finally pieced it together; these were two of the Coven Heads that she'd seen earlier. The same two whose auras had been mixed in unrecognizable ways.

"--I just hate the way she assumes--Liz? Everything alright?" the smaller woman asked.

The brunette had lifted her head and was looking around the clearing. "I'm... not sure. I thought I felt something, but it's all quiet now."

"You worry too much, love. The only other witch with a connection to the Dreamscape is staying at a hotel halfway across town. Besides, they all know better than to wander into random dreams."

"We're also sleeping above the largest Planar Convergence in the country, Palesa. Forgive me if I'm feeling a little jumpy."

The two women pulled each other close and kissed before cuddling up once more. They stayed silent for the next few minutes, seemingly content to just enjoy each other's company. Amara took great care not to further disrupt the dream, just in case this witch proved to be powerful enough to see her.

"What if we just told her? She's distracted with her little project, she wouldn't have the energy to get properly mad at us."

"We also run the risk of her not having the energy to temper her wrath. If either of us lose our positions, you know what's at risk. God forbid we both end up leaving; she's probably already got our replacements picked out."

"Ugh, I know, I know," Palesa muttered. "I wish Tessa had done a better job of keeping this quiet."

"It's a miracle she managed as much as she did. She fought off not only a mad cult, but a full-scale incursion? I could never have managed such a feat at her age," Liz said, kissing Palesa's forehead softly.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're too sweet on her," Palesa said. "Though I can't deny that you were right. She's got real potential, but Cassandra is too proud to admit she was wrong."

Amara was enraptured by this conversation, and kept listening as long as she could. Unfortunately, as soon as Palesa brought up Cassandra, the conversation shifted into more mundane topics. They began to talk about other students, other Covens, and none of it sounded particularly relevant or interesting.

In the end, they spent a shockingly long amount of time just peacefully napping in each other's arms. When it became clear that there was nothing else to see, Amara quietly backed out of the clearing, doing her best to stay silent as she removed herself from the dream. Eavesdropping on them had taken much longer than she'd intended, and her excitement at exploring the Dreamscape had finally abated somewhat.

She decided it was time to return home, and tried to retrace her steps. The whole time she traveled, she kept her thoughts fixed on the bed she'd manifested when she first appeared in the Dreamscape.

Eventually, she found a space that felt familiar, but there was no bed in sight. Instead, she found another splotch of color. Had she fallen asleep?

She pushed into the dream, then confirmed that to be the case. Her dream was incredibly flimsy, and stranger still, she appeared to be dreaming of her own room. In fact, had she not just spent the night exploring the Dreamscape, she would have been tempted to believe that she wasn't dreaming at all.

Maybe it's not technically a dream? If I'm not with my body, could it possibly just... I dunno, manifest a bridge between the real world and the Dreamscape? Fuck, I wish Mom were here.

Amara joined with her body again, closing her eyes to mimic the exact state of her body. She felt as if she were both falling asleep and waking up, but she didn't bother trying to ascertain what exactly was happening. As long as she woke up in the morning, everything would make sense then, right?

She'd only just settled when an ear-piercing scream rang out. Her ears felt ready to burst, and when she opened her eyes, she saw Chloé kneeling on the floor in front of her. She was clutching her head in pain, and Amara immediately jumped off her bed to try and help. She sprang closer, reaching out in desperation, when Chloé vanished just as suddenly as she'd appeared.

Amara froze, completely stunned as she tried to wrap her head around what she'd just seen. Her room was deathly quiet once more, and Amara stared at the floor in shock. Had she been dreaming or not?

---

That was a beast of a chapter, wasn't it? I have a feeling that Book Four is going to see quite a few chapters nearing this length, there's a lot going on. Surely you can forgive me for the extra content, right? I know it's such a big inconvenience for you...

Anyways, don't forgot to blah blah engagement blah in the comments! The more you all Rate and leave Comments, the easier it is for new people to find my work!

Until next time! Nyx <3