Suddenly A Succubus Ch. 45

Vee paced back and forth in her room, repeatedly clenching her hands as she tried to steady her breathing. Thoughts raced through her head, each one trying to find meaning before another pushed it away. Having just woken up, her usually flawless blonde hair was now a tangled mess. It bounced around with each frantic turn before she finally crashed back to her bed.

"Vee, you idiot!"

Grabbing a nearby pillow, she used it to muffle a loud groan. Once she finished, she rolled onto her stomach before moving the pillow to the back of her head, burying her face in the covers to hide from her panicked thoughts.

This can't be happening. This can't be happening! How is this happening?!

Memories from last night flooded her thoughts. The uncertain leap of the quarry cliff, Amara diving after her, the two soaring up through the clouds as sunlight lit up Amara's face. Dancing through rings of fire, skimming over the Great Lakes, holding Amara tight as they flew.

She had hoped that a good night's rest would change things, give her a new perspective, but that hadn't happened.

Maybe it doesn't mean anything. I mean, I masturbated to her in Purgatory, but that's because she's a succubus! That's the whole point, right?

Right, yeah. It's just a lust thing. Perfectly natural, nothing new.

Visions of Amara flying through the skies returned, her brilliant brown hair fluttering in the breeze. The sunlight glimmering off her dazzling amber eyes, her exhilarated smile as she rode the jetstream miles above the world.

Her warm tail wrapped around Vee's waist, her powerful wings that held back gravity itself. When they'd embraced on the rooftop, nothing else had mattered. The two of them, alone together, softly swaying under Amara's beautiful hellfire. Even the memory of her scent brought a smile to Vee's face; faint hints of cinnamon and patchouli, along with several other notes than made Vee's heart soar.

When had she stopped smelling of sulfur? How was that even possible?

Lust wouldn't explain this. I don't just want to take her to bed, I want to fall asleep in her arms. I want to play with her hair while we kiss, to wake up next to her and bring her breakfast in bed.

Face it, Vee.

You have feelings for Amara.

Vee jumped onto her knees before throwing her pillow at the wall.

"But why?!" she shouted. "We're friends! We've always been friends!"

The pillow fell to the bed before tumbling down to the floor. It crumpled into itself, mirroring Vee's own actions as her body deflated.

"I thought we'd figured everything out. Things finally made sense, in their own weird way. Yes, it's weird to think of an angel and a demon being friends, but intimate? Partners?" She hesitated, lowering her voice as if someone might be listening in. "... Lovers?"

The word made her giddy. The idea made her heart soar, warmth radiating through her face. Some distant part of her wanted to scream out in protest, to say it was wrong to love a demon, but hadn't she spent months slowly turning away from that voice?

Why was this so different?

This changes everything. I have no idea if she feels the same way, and with everything that's been going on... Is now even the right time to say anything? Should I ever? She's going through so much, it would be selfish to throw such a massive curve ball at her now.

No.

She needs time to heal, time to come to terms with everything she's going through. Maybe once the coven has repaired the Gate...

A loud knock echoed through the apartment, causing Vee to jump in surprise. After making sure her pajamas were reasonably presentable, she quickly ran to the front door. Instead of opening it, however, she looked through the viewfinder just to be safe. On the other side, patiently chewing on her lip as she waited, was the most beautiful, perfect, immaculately gorgeous person Vee had ever seen.

No! I'm not ready for this!

Vee took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves, even going so far as to utter a quick prayer, but it was little help. As the only other option was abandoning Amara in the hallway, Vee bit the bullet and opened the front door.

"Amara, hey! What brings you by at this hour?" Vee asked, trying desperately to appear casual.

"I've got all your stuff, silly. You left everything in your car, including your phone, so I wasn't able to text you and ask when you wanted me to swing by. I know you're an early bird, so I just made an educated guess." Amara walked past Vee and, as the front door closed, manifested her true form. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

"N-not at all!" Vee muttered. Her eyes wandered over Amara's wings, her tail, her horns, and she caught herself sighing as she took in the beauty of it all. The unexpected silence then caused her to panic, worried that Amara might catch her looking. "After all that flying, I slept like a log. How about you?"

"Pretty good, honestly. Better than I have in a while, that's for sure." Amara's words were awkwardly paced, and she seemed to be avoiding Vee's eyes. "Look, about yesterday..."

Vee's heart skipped a beat.

I feel it too, Amara! Please, just say it!

"Y-yeah? What's up?"

"I just, um... look, I know I've been kind of a bitch recently. I realized last night that I've been so caught up in my own bullshit, and I never once asked how you were doing. I finally saw just how much you've been doing to hold me together. Sparring with me, taking me to the stadium, and then finally figuring out a way to trick me into flying... It means the world to me."

"It's nothing, really. That's what friends are for, right?" Vee said, nearly tripping over her words as she called them friends.

Amara stepped closer, finally looking up at Vee. Her sparkling amber eyes betrayed an unusual vulnerability, one that was incredibly welcome after so many days of pain and anger. Vee only had a second to appreciate the view before Amara pulled her into a hug, her wings and tail wrapping tightly around Vee. "Dammit Vee, I'm trying to thank you."

Vee returned the hug, sinking into Amara's embrace without a moment's hesitation. "You thanked me last night, Amara. No need to repeat yourself."

She's so warm. I just want to stay nestled in her arms forever.

"There's absolutely a need to repeat myself!" Amara protested. "You jumped off a fucking cliff, Vee! For fuck's sake, we were trying to kill each other a few months back, stop trying to pretend like this is some run-of-the-mill friendship."

Despite every fiber of her being screaming in protest, Vee pulled away from their embrace. "We're best friends, silly. I know you'd do the same for me, so don't sweat it."

Amara chuckled as she stepped back from Vee. "I swear, you're too nice for your own good."

Heat rushed to Vee's face and she quickly averted her gaze, pretending like she needed to check her phone. "So, um, what are you doing today?"

"About that," Amara started, casually leaning against the back of Vee's loveseat. "I guess Tessa's Coven is doing a thing with the quad? Like, in addition to fixing all the circles, one of them is going to clean up all the damage and shit. We've both been getting texts about it, but obviously you didn't have your phone so I--ugh, look, you wanna go to that?"

Vee cocked an eyebrow. "You want to help out Tessa's Coven? Seriously?"

"No! Well, not exactly." Amara paused, biting her lip again. "Yesterday just put a lot of things into perspective, I guess. It made me think back to the week after you and I fought. I spent the whole time cooped up inside, turning everyone away, but of all people, Chloé managed to talk me out of it. She had just started up plans to fundraise for the fire relief, and the thought of fixing some of my fuckups made me feel a little better. I still hate the Coven's guts, but I can't deny that our interests overlap a little bit. Maybe... maybe it's time for me to start chipping in a bit."

Pride swelled in Vee's chest as she listened to Amara. She'd already suspected that regaining her flight would be a huge step, but it was astonishing to see her so level-headed. "That sounds like a perfect way to kill some time. Gimme a few minutes to get dressed, then we can head out."

Shortly thereafter, once Vee had ditched her pajamas for something far more resilient to the winter chill, she returned to the front door. As they walked outside, Vee playfully held out her elbow for Amara to take, unable to resist the urge to be closer to her.

Outside, the sky was beginning to peek through the clouds, which made the cold wind slightly more bearable. Vee shivered briefly and stepped closer to Amara before a pocket of warm air appeared around her. She looked over and smiled, unable to stop herself from appreciating the contour of Amara's face. She'd demanifested her demonic features before they left, which meant her hair sat at a different angle.

"What?" Amara asked, returning the look. "Got something on my face?"

"N-no, I, uh..." Vee looked back to the ground, burying her blushing face in her scarf. "Just thinking, that, um, you'll need to hide all your powers when we're around the Coven. You might want to give yourself thicker clothing, too, just in case they get suspicious."

"Shit, that's a good idea." Amara broke away from Vee for a moment, returning once her outfit had shifted to a puffy winter coat and matching boots.

C'mon, Vee, get a hold of yourself! She doesn't need you gawking at her every time we hang out. She's come so far, the last thing she needs is you fawning all over her like a lovesick schoolgirl. God, how does she make winter jackets look so good? She's always had a fantastic eye for fashion, and now she can give herself anything she wants. That color suits her skin perfectly, and are her cheeks a rosier color than usual?

Ugh.

This is going to be a long day.

---

Tessa was far too tired to make her own coffee. This wasn't anything unusual, but normally she blamed her choice on preference; ordering from a coffeehouse meant more variety, and likely a higher quality drink. Today, while that was still the case, Tessa opted to buy her morning caffeine mostly due to sheer exhaustion.

She was terrified that Imani knew more than she was letting on. If she did, would she tell the Coven? Tessa was already in massive trouble for keeping the truth about the Gate from the Headmistress, and she expected that harboring supernatural creatures would be just as bad, if not worse.

She'd thought back to all her past conversations with Imani, picking apart every tiny comment and look they'd traded, and eventually decided there was no way to know for sure. All Tessa could do was hope that the other students had kept their mouths shut, and that Imani wasn't smart enough to piece together all the clues.

Focusing on the potential threat Imani represented had only kept her up a few hours, however. Despite everything she knew, and everything she believed, Tessa had spent a large chunk of the night pouring over her notes on the Purgatory circle under Lysander Hall. She'd been furious at Amara for nearly knocking down her door and floating crazy ideas about Chloé still being alive, but in the end, it was hard to deny how desperately she wanted Amara to be right.

In her desperation, she'd burned through an entire notebook trying to puzzle out a combination of runes that might explain Amara's sighting. As the floor around her desk filled with the crumpled remains of torn-out pages, however, her diagrams grew less detailed. The lines lost their clarity, the symbols became unreadable. The tattered remains of the notebook now sat in her trash can, saturated only with long, miserable smears of tear-stained ink.

Her thoughts drifted back to those pages every few minutes, wondering if she'd missed something or overlooked some crucial detail. It was hard to think on such little sleep, sadly. She slouched back in her chair as she watched the door, waiting both for the barista to finish her order and for Nick to arrive.

What about my knife? Chloé was holding it when the portal closed, maybe she--

"Tessa?"

A hand grabbed Tessa's shoulder, and she jerked forward in surprise. The chair squeaked as it slid across the floor, and she gasped before looking up at Nick.

"Fuck!" She shouted, grabbing the table.

"Hey, easy there, Tess," Nick whispered. "It's alright, you just zoned out for a bit. Here, I got your coffee for you. Looks like you need it."

Nick gently placed Tessa's coffee down in front of her, and she sank back into her chair. "Oh, um... thanks, or whatever." With a heavy sigh, she reached for her coffee and raised it to her lips. It was hotter than she liked, but she welcomed the distraction, even if it burned a little.

"Late night?" Nick asked, sitting across from her.

"... Something like that, yeah."

"Please tell me you didn't stay up all night."

"I mean, notall night."

"Tess, how late were you up?"

She buried her nose in her scarf before averting her eyes to the table. "Probably got like, an hour of sleep. If that."

Nick took a slow sip of his drink before setting it down again. "You want to talk about it?"

"It's fucking Amara, she nearly busted down my door yesterday with this crackpot theory about Chloé still being alive and I just... I know she's wrong, it's so obvious. But, at the same time, I wish I could be wrong for once." Tessa gripped her coffee tight, nearly crushing it in her frustration. "... I wish she were still here."

"What did you tell her?" Nick asked.

"That she's a fucking idiot and she needs to get over herself and accept that she's not the only person that misses her," Tessa hissed.

"Did you actually?"

"... No. I should have, though."

"I'm not sure that would have been helpful," Nick said, sliding a hand across the table before resting it on Tessa's wrist. "I'd hate to see Amara blow up at you."

Tessa finally looked up at Nick, meeting his gaze. "Pun intended?"

"Only if it makes you laugh," he said with a soft smile.

A quiet, reluctant chuckle passed Tessa's lips, and she repositioned her arm to properly hold Nick's hand. "We should probably head out. Coven's got some plans on the quad today."

Nick nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

The two of them bundled up again, politely nodded to the barista, and pushed out into the cold winter air. Tessa tried to distract herself by explaining what Coven Head Tsopnang had planned today, and why they were asking all the students to help out. She appreciated the chance to talk about something other than Chloé, and it was hard to deny that a few hours of mindless labor might be a welcome change in pace after spending a night pouring over her Purgatory notes.

They were approaching the final crosswalk before campus when they were approached by two strangers. The man was slightly shorter, with hunched posture and short gray hair, while the woman stood a few inches taller, her own long hair still fighting to retain its light-brown appearance.

"Excuse me, you two! Are you students here?" the man asked.

"Um, yes?" Tessa said, casting a confused look at Nick.

"Perfect, perfect. See, we were hoping you might be able to help us out. Our son is a student here, and we haven't heard from him in a while."

Shit. They better not be looking for one of the cult members.

"Well, what's his name?" Nick asked.

"You wouldn't happen to know Daniel Baker, would you?" the man asked. He held up a hand to indicate height. "About this tall, brown hair, glasses."

"I'm sorry, that doesn't sound familiar," Tessa said, shaking her head.

The woman seemed to remember something, then leaned closer to her husband. "Oh, Stephen, he might be telling people his name is Chloé, remember? He's still going through that phase."

Tessa's eyes went wide as she spoke through gritted teeth. "I'm sorry, you're Chloé's parents?"

"Yes! Do you know him? We've been trying to get in touch with him, but he keeps ignoring us! He's been acting so strange ever since he came to this godforsaken school. We've got half a mind to pull Daniel out if this keeps up!" the man said, stepping closer to Tessa.

Nick reached out to grab Tessa's shoulder, but she barely noticed his presence. She began recalling every terrible thing Chloé had ever shared about her parents, about how much she'd hated living at home. Her breathing picked up, and it took every ounce of effort she had not to flare up her magic and try to toss them into the street.

"Chloé is happier here than she's ever been!" Tessa shouted, stepping closer. "She's pouring her heart and soul into this campus, and the further she gets from you, the better!"

The older man gasped, her eyebrows furrowing in rage. "Young lady, how dare you--"

"Oh, how dare I?!" Tessa said, jabbing a finger into the older man's shoulder. "NO! You don't get to fucking lecture me about manners, when you're the people that refuse to see Chloé for who she is! You've done nothing with your lives but make her miserable, and if she's not talking to you, it's your own fucking fault!"

Chloé's mom tried to speak up next. "We love our Daniel with all our heart, and we only want what's best for--"

"Then prove it! If you want to do what's best for Chloé, you'll walk the fuck away! You arenever going to see her again!" Tessa's voice began to break as she shouted at the older couple, releasing every ounce of hate she'd ever felt over the years she'd known Chloé. They were both left speechless, and the older man looked at Nick as if to plead for a second opinion.

Nick took a deep breath before speaking, his words uncharacteristically chilling. "She's not here. Go home."

Without bothering to see if Chloés parents heeded Nick's advice, Tessa spun around and started walking away. She couldn't hear Nick following her, and when she turned a corner to continue running off, she saw he was still trying to convince the older couple to leave. Rather than continuing their journey to the quad, Tessa skirted around the edge of campus, angrily walking with no real destination in mind. Before long she found herself running, tears in her eyes, as memories of Chloé's last moments resurfaced.

She finally stopped at an ancient, elegant manor situated near the edge of a forest preserve. Only days earlier, her Coven had brought her here to interrogate her about the extent of her failures, but now she had nowhere else to run. Everyone and everything on campus reminded her of Chloé, and she needed to escape.

With a quick flare of magic, a hidden bell just inside the front door began to chime, signaling her presence to anyone and everyone inside.

---

As the two girls approached the quad, Amara began running through a mental checklist of all her powers. With Vee's reminder that the Coven would likely be on high alert, it was more important than ever to keep a level head.

Alright, my clothes are illusory, which means I should avoid ripping them; I have no idea how much stress they can take before they vanish. No fire, no manipulating heat to make people warm, even if they're shivering their asses off. I can keep my demonic features hidden easily enough, though I'll have to be careful with my eyes. My strength is going to be the biggest problem; I still have no idea how strong I actually am.

Maybe I should finally take Nick on his weightlifting offer.

Once the open field came into view, along with a small crowd of students, Amara retracted the warmth she had been projecting around Vee. She immediately shivered slightly and pulled herself closer, which brought a smile to Amara's face.

Scattered conversations and pockets of muttering filled Amara's ears as they joined the crowd. It didn't seem as busy as their previous meetings had been, though she had no idea who was missing. As she looked around, trying to place the faces of everyone around her, she saw Imani break away from a small group and run closer.

"Amara, Vee, hey!" Imani said, rubbing her hands together. "How are we doing? Truth be told, I wasn't expecting you to show."

Memories of her last encounter with Imani returned to Amara, and she wasn't entirely sure what to say. Thankfully, Vee spoke up to fill the silence. "Well, it's not like we had anything else going on, right, Amara?"

Vee nudged Amara, who awkwardly nodded. "Um, yeah. What she said. So, what's going on here?"

Imani smiled. "While the other Coven Heads are busy with all the magical theory, Coven Head Tsopnang is going to start repairing the damage to the quad. Her magic is a perfect fit, but she's going to need help with the manual labor. We're actually going to be splitting up into teams, and I'll be running around making sure everything goes smoothly!"

Hearing that one of the Coven Heads was here, Amara looked around to try and remember which one Tsopnang was. She eventually saw her standing in the middle of the quad, the silver cuffs at the end of her thick black hair glittering in the sunlight. She was ignoring everyone else, looking around at the ground and the trees, when she slowly raised her hands and closed her eyes. Amara felt a strange tingle run down her back as she watched Coven Head Tsopnang engage her magic, using it to clear away the snow that had gathered during the last storm.

The thick blanket of snow shifted and warped in response to the witch's magic, her hands elegantly tracing the path it took. Not a single hint of frost remained on the grass she cleared, which quickly exposed the scars from their fight with Brandon.

Okay, so this is... Palesa Tsopnang. She's got feelings for Liz, one of the other Coven Heads, but maybe it's a secret? I still don't know how they were in the same dream together. Unless they weren't and Palesa was just dreaming about a secret rendezvous. Their conversation seemed weirdly grounded, though, and Liz noticed when I entered the dream...

"--is that alright, Amara?" Imani asked.

"Sorry, what?" Amara turned back, having ignored the last few seconds of conversation as she watched Palesa work.

"I said you'll be over there with Ruby, Justin, and the others. Is that alright?" As she spoke, Imani pointed over to a small group of students standing closer to Palesa, near one of the larger trees.

Following the gesture, Amara saw the group in question. She immediately recognized Ruby, whose bright red hair and muscular figure stood out even in her winter gear. Everyone else in the group seemed to be bigger and muscular in their own ways, which seemed odd to Amara. "I hate to ask, but how are these groups chosen?"

"Like I said, there's going to be quite a lot of manual labor today," Imani began. "That group is going to be taking care of the heavy lifting! It's mostly people with athletic backgrounds of some kind, and I figured with your martial arts background, you'd fit right in!"

"My what?" Amara cocked an eyebrow. "I've never done martial arts before."

"You haven't? That's odd, I could have sworn... Eh, it's no big deal. If the group needs some extra help later, we can easily move people around. Let me know if it's too tough, alright?" With a bright smile, Imani jogged over to another student that was calling out.

"That was weird," Vee said, stepping closer. "Why would Imani think that?"

"Beats me. Maybe she thinks that's how I helped with all the cult stuff?" Amara sighed before looking back at Vee. "What do you think about all this?"

"Well, it's obviously an attempt to foster community," Vee scoffed. "There's no way they legitimately need help clearing away debris. I'll bet they have some long-winded explanation about how people working together form stronger bonds, and it's supposed to help us heal or something."

"Alright, well... let's give it a shot, I guess," Amara said. She pulled Vee in for a hug, who seemed to cling tighter than usual. Amara chuckled to herself, assuming Vee just wanted to steal her heat.

Once they split up, Amara walked over to join her assigned group. Ruby was busy chatting with the other students, and when she noticed Amara, she gasped before quickly averting her eyes. A powerfully sweet smell filled Amara's senses as Ruby's aura surged, which made her laugh quietly to herself.

She probably remembers that dream, but does she know it was actually me?

Amara thought about striking up a conversation with Ruby, but her attention was pulled back to Palesa when another tingle ran down her spine. The Coven Head was nearly finished clearing the quad of snow, which had taken remarkably little time. As Amara watched, the witch finished up completely, then moved to a large tree close to the center of the quad. She disengaged her magic, resting her fingers on the side of her face as she examined the branches above her.

She eventually stepped closer, approaching the base of the oak, and placed a hand on the trunk. Closing her eyes, Amara felt another tingle, then the branches of the tree began to shake. One by one, dead sections of the tree broke off and fell to the ground. At first, they were smaller, but soon thicker branches were falling as well. After a minute, Palesa stepped back with a smile.

She called out to the closest group, Amara's, and asked that they start moving all the detritus to the center of the quad. Once this started, Palesa left them alone and began traveling around the field, approaching each tree in turn and repeating the process.

In time, all the students present were busy moving bits of dead tree around. Small pockets of conversation continued, with occasional bouts of laughter echoing around the field as everyone worked. Amara found it difficult to engage in any of the small talk going on around her, but found herself enjoying the menial labor.

The easier tasks came and went, and eventually Palesa began pulling down larger sections of the trees. The responsibility for these larger pieces fell to Amara's group, which led to another problem: Amara had no idea how heavy they were.

When she first approached one, she found herself partnering with Ruby so they could lift it together. As Ruby rubbed her hands together, Amara stepped closer and quietly struck up a conversation. "Hey, Ruby. Awkward question, but how heavy is this thing? I need to make sure I don't draw any attention to myself."

"O-oh, Amara! Hey!" Ruby stammered. As she spoke, her words were unusually stilted. "It's, um... I dunno, I definitely couldn't lift it on my own. Just how strong are you?"

Amara leaned closer, then whispered "I could chuck this thing halfway across campus."

Ruby swallowed nervously. "Wow. That's really... um, never mind. How about I grab one end, you take the other, and just watch me for cues, alright?"

"Stare at your body and see how hard it is. Gotcha." Amara smirked as she caught Ruby's gaze, who immediately blushed before averting her eyes. The vibrant aura surrounding Ruby swelled again, and Amara took a deep breath to enjoy the smell before getting started. Working so closely with Ruby made the morning much more enjoyable. The smell of her arousal was delicious, and their proximity made it much easier for Amara to feign typical, human levels of strength.

Over time, many of the students began clearing out once the bulk of the labor had been finished. Amara's team stayed the longest, as they were moving the heaviest pieces, and Vee even joined them once her own assigned team had been dismissed.

It was surprising just how many trees had sustained damage during their fight. Amara had been so focused on fighting Brandon and the reapers that she'd allowed her hellfire to run rampant. While some of the branches appeared to have snapped from physical impacts, quite a few had been partially destroyed by her own flames.

Eventually, they were no longer needed, as all the dead wood had been gathered in a large pile in the center of the field. Imani was incredibly pleased with everyone's work and happily dismissed the last group. Amara, however, found herself curious about what was going to happen next. Rather than head to lunch with Ruby and the others, she asked Vee if they could stick around for a few minutes to watch.

With all the students gone, Palesa stepped close to one of the larger trees that had been near Brandon's portal. She placed a hand on the trunk, closed her eyes, and Amara felt another tingle run down her back as she watched.

The tree shivered at Palesa's touch, creaking and twitching as it reacted to the magic. A significant portion of its branches had been culled over the course of the morning, yet before Amara's eyes, those sections began to grow back. Thin, green slivers poked out from the healthy wood, pulsing with magic as they stretched and twisted into new branches and leaves. These new portions looked quite out of place compared to the other, barren trees, but Palesa soon remedied that as well. Seconds after the branches had finished regrowing, the bright green leaves shriveled and fell to the ground, leaving the tree in a state that looked completely natural for the season.

Palesa soon stepped back from the tree, taking a deep breath before she opened her eyes again. She nodded in satisfaction, then with another elegant hand gesture, swept all the leaves into the large pile of dead branches.

Her curiosity getting the better of her, Amara approached the Coven Head. "Miss Tsopnang, was it? What exactly are you doing here?"

"The incursion left deep scars here, I'm simply trying to restore what was lost. Cull that which no longer lives, breathe new life into that which can be saved." The Coven Head's eyes remained fixed on her next target, another large tree, as she spoke. "You were more closely involved with the disaster than most, correct? I recall Miss Blackwood mentioning you in her debriefing."

"Uh, yeah, but not by much," Amara muttered. "Just an extra set of hands, really. So, what, you have plant magic or something?"

"I object to the oversimplification of my abilities as 'plant magic' but, if you must, I suppose there are worse descriptors. The trees here suffered greatly during the attack; I'm pleased they were not beyond saving. Some of their branches were drained of life by the entropic forces of Purgatory, some were snapped off by the reckless flight of those skeletal beasts. Curiously, I've also found small pockets of fire damage, which I'm struggling to understand."

"Well, the portal thingy exploded when it collapsed," Amara muttered, hoping to deflect suspicion.

Palesa walked over to the pile of dead branches, plucking out one in particular with her magic. It hovered in front of the two of them while she continued speaking. "These aren't the burns of a planar explosion, but I'm having trouble placing what might have caused the damage. Still, it doesn't matter in the end."

The branch floated back to the pile, then Palesa held up a hand to urge Amara to take a step back. "Please keep your distance, child."

She raised her hands once more, and after a few moments of concentration, the dead wood in front of them caught fire. The flames spread slower than Amara anticipated, but it seemed that they were being controlled by the Coven Head.

"Whoa, you can do fire, too?" Amara asked. Vee appeared beside her, holding out her hands to warm them.

"I've been a witch for quite some time," Palesa explained calmly. "I had no interest in limiting my abilities to any singular field."

"How much control do you have over it? If you're a Coven Head, I'll bet you've got some serious firepower under your belt." Amara eagerly watched as the fire danced and flickered in the detritus, wishing she could flaunt her own abilities.

"Magic is not about raw strength, child. We don't concern ourselves with matters of destruction, for much the same reason we seek to limit the spread of knowledge regarding our secrets. There are too many people who would see magic as nothing but a weapon." Palesa turned to look at Amara, a solemn look in her eyes. "It is the most foundational of our principles, and our most deeply held belief: Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

The pile of branches cracked and shifted, finally releasing a small column of smoke into the air. Palesa shifted the position of her hands, and with another pulse of magic, the air above the bonfire began swirling with excitement. It dispersed the smoke a few dozen feet into the air, well before it might be noticed by anyone outside the campus.

"Then why take fire magic?" Amara asked, her gaze locked on the comforting flames in front of her. "Fire is destruction."

Palesa shook her head. "Fire is a tool. Yes, it can be used to harm, but what of the forest wildfires? When controlled, they clear away rot and death, paving the way for more plants to grow anew. What of the fires we use to cook our food, or to create buildings and works of art?"

Amara said nothing. She thought back to her own experiences, to the joy she felt when Nick first pushed her to make popcorn without a microwave. She took a deep breath, muttered a quiet word of thanks to Palesa, then left side-by-side with Vee. Her conversation with Palesa had been unexpectedly poignant, and when she looked up, she saw that Vee had been leading them back to their apartments.

She stopped walking. "Vee, wait."

"What's up? Everything alright?" Vee turned back, gently grabbing Amara's arm.

"I think..." Amara bit her tongue, trying to keep her emotions in check. "I think I'm ready."

Vee gasped. "Are you sure? We can wait; this doesn't have to happen today."

Amara shook her head. "No. I need to do this. I've been putting it off for far too long."

They looked at each other, Vee nodding solemnly, then they turned around. They started heading south, across the quad, towards Chloé's dorm.

---

By some stroke of incredible luck, Miss Bishop had answered the door. Tessa had been desperately trying to hold herself together on the off chance another Coven member answered, however, and seeing Miss Bishop broke the last bit of restraint Tessa had. Running forward, she threw her arms around the older witch, who hugged her close and quickly walked them to her quarters.

Miss Bishop's room was every bit as calm and comforting as the woman herself, not that Tessa noticed much. By the time she'd stopped openly weeping, she found that they'd settled on a decorative chaise. Burying her face in Miss Bishop's lap, while comforting, also meant that the Coven Head's dress was now stained with streaks of black eyeliner. Tessa blushed with shame, both at her emotional outburst and for ruining the dress, and tried to stammer out an apology as she wiped tears from her cheeks.

"I-I didn't mean to... your dress, I--"

"Hush, Tessa," Miss Bishop whispered. She produced a small handkerchief and raised it to Tessa's face, gently stroking her face with one hand while cleaning her up with the other. As Tessa sniffled, she saw the black streaks shimmer and vanish entirely. "It's just a dress. See? Gone already."

Tessa forced a laugh. "We both know you're just using illusions to cover it up..."

"Says who?" Miss Bishop said with a smirk. "Maybe I picked up cleaning magic while you were away at college."

"Yeah, right," Tessa muttered, rolling her eyes. "You're just channeling magic from the Plane of Soap."

"Don't be silly, child." A smirk crossed the Coven Head's face. "We both know the Plane of Soap is a myth for children. No, I have an eldritch patron who bestows his powers upon me. Surely you've heard of Mr. Clean?"

This time, against her best wishes, Tessa's laugh was genuine. She placed a hand over Miss Bishop's, grabbing the handkerchief to start cleaning herself up. "Thank you, Miss Bishop."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

With a heavy sigh, Tessa nodded and pulled her feet underneath her legs to settle in. "... It's Chloé. I've been trying to hold myself together, to pretend like I'm coping, but I just don't have the strength anymore. I'm so tired of losing people to this life."

Miss Bishop placed a hand on Tessa's shoulder. "You don't have to shoulder this burden alone, you know. I'm here, and you have friends to help you through this."

Tessa scoffed. "It doesn't feel like it. Vee's been spending all her time with Amara, who's basically a complete shut-in. On the rare occasions she leaves the house, she just snaps at everyone who so much as looks at her for too long. Did you hear she snapped at Imani?"

"Briefly. I heard that some of the students were taking the events rather poorly."

"She was trying to convince me that Chloé is still alive!" Tessa said, looking back up at Miss Bishop. "She even insulted my abilities, saying that I don't care about Chloé."

"We all know what happens when people learn about magic," Miss Bishop said softly.

Tessa nodded, then leaned into Miss Bishop with a heavy sigh. She stayed there for several minutes, Amara's words running through her head, when she finally caved to the question that had been burning in her heart since then. "Is there any chance Chloé is still alive? Any at all?"

Miss Bishop gently stroked Tessa's hair from her face. "None that I can think of, Tessa. The runes of a properly constructed portal will have built-in protections to prevent the magic from injuring anyone during the closure, but it sounds like Brandon was simply forcing a hole between realities with sheer willpower. I hate to say this, but with how unstable his magic appeared to be... it was likely a blessing that it happened so quickly."

There was no hidden truth in these words, and Tessa had repeated them to herself thousands of times since their fight on the quad, but somehow they were still laced with bitter finality.

"I just want this to be over," Tessa said, choking up slightly. "I want this stupid Gate fixed so I can get on with my life. I never imagined I would say this, but I'm glad the Coven is here. How is everything going on your end? Still think we can have everything back to normal by next semester?"

When Miss Bishop spoke, she had an unusual hitch in her voice. "It's... fine."

Tessa leaned back, looking at Miss Bishop directly. "What do you mean, fine? Is there a problem?"

"We haven't started applying anything yet. We've been running countless tests in preparation, but not all of our tests are yielding predictable results."

"Is it something I can help with?" Tessa asked. "I feel like I understand this stuff pretty well, although I'll be the first to admit that the exact nature of the Gate is still way beyond my knowledge. It's an incredibly complex piece of magic."

"That it is. The world has also changed quite a bit since it was initially put into place. Do you remember how you created the portal to and from Purgatory? How you had to carefully align the magic to resonate with the proper planes, then create a way to tell them apart?" Tessa nodded, then Miss Bishop continued. "Well, we're trying to do something similar, but on a much wider scale. In order to properly block out all the other planes, we need to align the entire configuration with this plane, and that's where the problems come in. There's... um, something on campus that's messing with our readings."

"As in a planar overlap?"

"N-nothing quite that dramatic, I'm afraid. We'd be able to easily detect something of that scale. No, our current theory is that a creature, possibly multiple, slipped through from another plane." Miss Bishop paused again, giving Tessa even more time to notice how stilted her words were right now. "Would you... happen to know anything that might be relevant? About any nonhuman creatures on campus?"

Tessa bit her tongue.

This means Imani didn't tell them! But, what Miss Bishop is saying... is that right? Can their presence affect the closing of the Gate? I've never heard of something like that before, but... this is bigger than anything I've ever studied.

"I-I..." Tessa stammered. "If, hypothetically, there were such creatures on campus, what would the Coven do?

Miss Bishop reached down and grabbed Tessa's hands. "Nothing at all. We simply need to know so that we can calibrate the Circles accordingly. Hypothetically."

Silence hung thick as Tessa thought about Miss Bishop's words. She stared at the ground, eyes bouncing from knots in the hardwood floor to the thick blue carpet that sat atop them. This was their one chance to close the Gate for good, to ensure that everything would go back to normal, that no more friends would die from madmen trying to collapse reality for their own benefit. She thought of Chloé, the pit in her stomach pulling her deeper into despair.

This ensures that what happened to Chloé never happens again. Right?

Tessa took a deep breath, one that rattled her frame as she released it, then nodded. "... T-there's two. Amara and Vee."

Miss Bishop nodded slowly, but stayed quiet to let Tessa continue.

"Vee's an angel," Tessa muttered. She couldn't help but notice that Miss Bishop's eyes, usually bastions of comfort and reliability, twitched in surprise. "Amara... Amara's a demon. A succubus, specifically."

A painful gasp left Tessa's mouth as she slouched forward, her shoulders shaking. She forced her eyes shut, tears falling down her face as Miss Bishop pulled her into another embrace. "Shh, it's okay Tessa. You did the right thing. I'm so proud of you."

They held each other close for the rest of the afternoon.

---

The entrance to the building beeped as Amara swiped Chloé's ID card. Neither her nor Vee said anything as they slowly marched up three flights of stairs, slowly approaching the dorms on the top level. Amara recounted all the times she'd walked up these stairs with Chloé, listening to her excitedly rant about what game she was playing at the time, eager to show Amara some hot new thing she'd just unlocked.

Today there was nothing but silence. Amara's demonic hearing amplified the echo of their footsteps, each one bringing them closer to the top.

When they finally arrived, it was only a short trip down the hall to reach Chloé's room. Amara slipped the key into the door, turned the handle, and walked inside. The first room didn't matter; a small common area with a kitchenette. Chloé's roommate, always the more boisterous of the two, had completely decorated this room without Chloé's input. Amara turned to the left, grabbed the handle to Chloé's room, then paused.

"We don't have to do this now," Vee whispered, lightly grabbing Amara's arm.

Amara shook her head. "No. I need to face this." She swallowed nervously, and once Vee released her arm, she summoned a small flurry of hellfire to change into something more appropriate. Her winter coat disappeared, as did the simple black tank underneath it. A black, zip-up hoodie now hung loosely on Amara's frame, a red and white stripe running down one arm and a patch on the chest reading "N7." Underneath, she wore a red T-shirt with the image of a woman on it. This woman scowled at an imaginary audience, asserting her dominance as her thick, blackened, skeletal wings reached for the skies. A heavy, chitinous carapace covered most of her body, accentuating her seductive curves, and Amara couldn't help but smile as she looked down at her new clothes.

"Who's that?" Vee asked.

"This is the Queen of Blades," Amara muttered. "Back when Chloé first found out about us, after you told her everything, she hid up on the rooftop for a while. I went to talk with her, and one of the first things she said was that I looked just like this character and that she was super jealous."

Vee smiled. "That sounds like her."

"I was ready to apologize when I found her. I felt terrible for lying about us, and I had a whole speech prepared, but then she told me she didn't care about the lying. She actually thought we did the right thing by not telling her. The thing that really bothered her was that our existence made her feel small. She'd always dreamed of magic being real, and we were proof that it is, but... she wasn't important enough to be included. In her eyes, at least. She really thought that she didn't matter, but in the end, she--"

"I know," Vee said, cutting Amara off. It was for the best; Amara wanted to celebrate who Chloé was, not dwell on the tragedy that cut her off in her prime.

Amara turned, smiled at Vee, then opened the door.

Chloé's room was exactly how Amara remembered it. A little cluttered, but not dirty, with plushies covering nearly every surface. Tiny monsters and creatures from all sorts of games and shows sat near her computer, on top of the mini-fridge, and everywhere else a surface could be created. Her bed held a veritable mountain of critters as well, with Chloé's favorites sitting front and center.

Walking inside, Amara gently traced a hand over Chloé's game collection. "I thought these were DVDs the first time I was here. I never really got into video games, but it was exciting seeing Chloé have so much fun with them."

"I was always impressed by how well you kept up with her stories, despite knowing nothing about what she was talking about."

"I like seeing people in their element. When Nick wrestles, or plays any sport for that matter, he gets this look on his face like he's exactly where he needs to be. When Tessa is at a party, or flirting with her partners, she's completely lost in the moment. With Chloé, it was gaming. She loved puzzles, and every moment of every game was a challenge to figure out. How to sneak around the guards, how to time her parries, how to leap across a bottomless pit. If you could catch her in her element, she was assertive, confident, and brilliant. The real world had been so harsh to her, however, that showing her true face terrified her."

Vee paused at Chloé's desk, picking up a small figure as she spoke. "One of my biggest regrets is not sharing that passion with her when I had the chance. I honestly forgot how many plushies she had. Didn't she name them all?"

"She did! They all had names, personalities, and backstories. Since she had trouble talking with people, she would use them to bounce ideas around or practice difficult conversations." Amara sat down on the edge of Chloé's bed, briefly displacing the two plushies in front of the pile. "These two were her favorites. Finnster and Paige."

Picking up the shark, Vee chuckled. "Finnster I understand, but why Paige?"

"Because it's a ram!" Amara said, picking up Paige and playfully making her headbutt Vee. "She's normally very timid and sweet, but if you get her angry, she'll go on a Ram-Paige!"

Vee laughed again, louder this time, before sitting next to Amara on the bed. She hugged Finnster close, then leaned against Amara's shoulder. "I'm kinda jealous. I think I hit a point where I decided plushies weren't mature enough. Is there more to Finnster here?"

"Um, if I remember correctly, Chloé said that every trans person in the world has one of these sharks. She swore it was part of the gay agenda." Amara smiled as she met Vee's gaze, the angel staring back with a healthy dose of skepticism. "It's safe to say she was probably making that part up."

Both girls laughed again before they put both plushies back where they belonged. Vee quickly returned to leaning against Amara's shoulder, and she welcomed the comfort as they started sharing stories about Chloé. They stayed there for the better part of an hour, occasionally laughing, occasionally crying as they remembered all the wonderful times they'd shared with their friend.

In the end, Amara got up to stretch her legs and found herself staring out the window. She nervously bit her lip as she watched the campus, the dull gray clouds slowly moving overhead.

"What're you thinking?" Vee asked, stepping next to Amara.

"I think... I want to say something. Like, something more official. I don't want to have a funeral, or anything like that, but... I think I'm ready to take the next step."

"Do you want to do that here?"

Amara shook her head. "Honestly, I wish we could do it in the quad, but Palesa is still cleaning everything up."

Vee thought for a moment before speaking up again. "Well, if the goal is to pay respect to her last moments, what about the circle under Lysander Hall? It's not exactly the same, but it still represents the barrier between our world and Purgatory."

"That's a really good idea, actually." Amara nodded resolutely as she steeled herself. "Let's do it."

After locking up Chloé's room again, and returning her outfit to something more appropriate for the weather, the two girls started for Lysander Hall. As they passed the quad, they saw Coven Head Palesa still hard at work. All the damaged trees had been regrown, and all the gouges in the field had been completely smoothed over. The scars from their battle against Brandon had all but completely healed, and Amara paused for a moment to watch Palesa as she continued regrowing patches of grass around the quad.

They only lingered for a moment, as Vee began shivering and grabbed Amara's hand to indicate that she wanted to get out of the cold. Once they'd walked far enough away from the quad, and the Coven Head, Amara quickly warmed a pocket of air around Vee to keep her comfortable before they made it inside.

Before long, they were standing in front of the illusory wall that hid the Lysander Circle. Amara had completely forgotten about it, but was too committed to her current course of action to bother Tessa. Instead, with the newfound knowledge that she had innate control over illusion magic, Amara placed a hand on the wall and tried to remove it herself. It took far longer than she wanted, and it was nowhere near as graceful as Tessa's removal, but in the end, she was able to disperse the wall with a flurry of hellfire.

They now stood at the edge of the Lysander Circle, the same one that Tessa had engineered to bring them back from Purgatory. Amara noticed that Vee had started shivering again, remembered that cold from the other side had a habit of leaking through, and brought back Vee's warm pocket of air.

The two of them stood side by side, staring at the circle. Amara was trying to find the words, and just as the weight of the situation threatened to overwhelm her, Vee quietly grabbed her hand. For some reason, it felt right to have Vee close like this, and Amara began to speak.

"I think, in the end, Chloé was the strongest of all of us. She wasn't a demon, a witch, or an angel, and she even defied our wishes by putting herself in harm's way. The last thing I wanted was to see Chloé get hurt, but had she listened to me, none of us would be standing here today. She faced down a madman with nothing but her own confidence, purely out of the desire to help. She refused to back down; she refused to accept that the world around her was beyond fixing. I've never known someone with a bigger heart, and I owe her my life. I only wish there was more I could do to celebrate her."

Vee squeezed Amara's hand, then looked over and offered a soft, reassuring smile. "Recently, I've been thinking about the kind of person I want to be moving forward. The Church always told me to lie low, to only intervene when absolutely necessary, but I see now how wrong that is. Chloé fought relentlessly to make the world a better place, and I want to do the same. No more hiding, no more half-measures."

Neither of them spoke again. Amara couldn't think of anything else to say, and instead let herself shed tears of sorrow as she remembered her friend. Once the tears had dried up, she took a deep breath, bowed her head, and whispered, "Goodbye, Chloé."