Suddenly A Succubus Ch. 47

Time slowed to a crawl as Amara froze, her hand on the basement door in front of her. She planted her heel and began to spin around, absolutely sure she was losing her mind, but she caught a glimpse of Vee while she turned.

She heard it too.

Shock and disbelief gripped them both, their breath caught in their throats as they looked back.

Please.

Kneeling in the middle of the circle, wearing a familiar deep blue peacoat, staring up from beneath a curtain of light brown hair, Amara saw the very person she'd been unable to shake from her thoughts ever since that fateful night in the quad. She wasn't glowing, nor was she scattered into thousands of pieces, she simply looked up at Amara and smiled.

"CHLOÉ!!"

Amara broke out into a sprint, tears streaming down her face as she ran towards the circle. Chloé started laughing, overwhelmed with joy as she began crying as well.

Once Amara was close enough, she fell to her knees and slid to a stop just inches away from Chloé. "Is... Is it really you?" Her hands shook as she reached out, nervous to believe this was really happening.

Chloé mimicked the gesture, raising a hand towards Amara's, as she attempted to say something. Her words, however, devolved into tearful gasps of excitement as their hands touched, their fingers intertwining to prove just how real she was. She nodded, her touch inspiring Amara to lean forward and wrap her arms around Chloé.

This is real.

She's here!!

They hugged each other tight, Amara taking great care not to hurt Chloé while also desperately wanting to hold on with every ounce of strength she had. When Vee fell to the ground a second later, Amara looked over and saw the same look of shock she'd worn herself just moments earlier. Breaking off the hug, she happily allowed Vee and Chloé the chance to reunite as well, both girls gasping with unabashed joy while they hugged just as tightly.

Amara lost track of how long they sat there, hugging and softly weeping with joy. Every question gave way to laughter, every concern fell in favor of more crying. At some point, she heard frantic footsteps racing down the staircase behind her and turned to look at the door.

"Vee! What's going--" Tessa froze, gasping in shock just as Amara and Vee had done earlier. Her phone fell to the floor and she ran closer, falling to her knees to join the other girls. She briefly looked at Amara and Vee, silently asking if this was real, both of them simply nodding. Before Tessa had time to process everything, Chloé grabbed her hand and pulled her in for another hug, then did the same with Amara and Vee.

They were finally together again.

The next few minutes were a blurry mess of tears, half-finished questions, and apologies as the girls tried to process everything. Nick joined in too, even shedding his own tears of joy, and it took ages before any of them were ready to have a proper conversation.

Wiping the last of her tears on her jacket sleeve, Amara finally mustered the strength to speak up. "How? How are you still here?" she asked quietly. Next to her, Vee briefly leaned over and squeezed her arm.

"I don't entirely know," Chloé admitted. They were all sitting on the floor inside the magic circle, and they all grew quiet as Chloé began to explain everything. "After the portal closed, I just kinda... I don't know, stopped existing for a while? Like, I didn't have a body, and I couldn't differentiate myself from the world around me. I didn't have any of my senses, I didn't even know up from down. Eventually I started to piece things together, but I didn't have any memories; I was just navigating the world based on how things made me feel."

Chloé looked over to Amara. "I followed you around at times, no idea who you were, but I remembered that you made me feel safe. I did the same with all of you, at times, slowly trying to figure out who I was and why you all seemed so sad."

"Wait," Tessa said, "you've been here? On campus?"

Chloé nodded. "The whole time, yeah. Like a ghost. But, without my memories, nothing made sense. I didn't understand emotions, I couldn't even hear anyone talk for the longest time. I reached a point where I started to experiment, to try and recreate the things I saw other people doing. I pushed a mug off Amara's counter, I listened in on random conversations, my vision improved and I started to see colors again, that kind of thing."

"That was you?!" Amara asked in shock.

"That was me!" Chloé said, laughing. "It took every ounce of strength I had, and afterwards I completely lost myself for a bit. When I pulled myself together again, I saw, like, another you? Which was really confusing in the moment, but thinking back on it, was that your mom?"

"It was! That was the night I learned she's a succubus too!"

"So that's where you got it from!" Chloé laughed again, eventually sighing and quieting down once more. "But, yeah. I slowly figured out more and more things as time went on. I tried to figure out everyone's names, the names of the buildings, it took a really long time. The scariest part--well, at the time it wasn't scary, but now that I'm thinking back it was terrifying--was this weird void that followed me everywhere I went. I think... I think it was the afterlife. Whenever I looked at it, I just knew it was the end of everything."

Everyone grew quiet, paying rapt attention to Chloé's story. Talking about the void seemed to change her demeanor, and she stood up before turning to face the dead end behind them. "I don't know how to describe it. It was everywhere and nowhere, big and small, and no matter where I went it followed me. It was between the corners of the walls, at the edges of buildings, things like that."

Chloé stood at the edge of the magic circle, leaning forward slightly as she inspected the wall in front of her. While she did, her body slowly lifted off the floor. "It's not here anymore. I wonder if it gave up on me?"

Vee spoke up next. "How do you feel now?"

Turning back to the group, Chloé continued hovering a few inches above the concrete. "I'm still trying to figure that out. For a while, engaging any of my senses was physically painful and disorienting. It got a little easier over time, and it honestly feels like something clicked just a moment ago, once I got my memory back. Like, now that I've put all the pieces together, holding this form feels a bit easier. Amara, Vee... I heard bits and pieces of you saying goodbye, I think that's what brought me back. I suddenly remembered all the pain of the portal closing on me, but I also finally realized that you were all sad because I wasn't around anymore. It... it was really eye-opening."

"Of course we were sad, you idiot," Tessa said, forcing a smile as a tear ran down her cheek. "You're our friend, we were all falling apart without you!"

"I mean, yeah, but..." Chloé stammered. "There's always that fear, right? The little voice in the back of my head that says you don't actually like me, that you're just putting up with me. I spent so many years being harassed, the butt of the joke, and those feelings were the loudest when I was trying to put myself back together again. The most familiar thoughts, the ones that came back first, were the little voices that told me I was worthless. Nothing."

"Chloé, you saved our lives! You saved the entire fucking campus!" Amara said. "Without you around, I-I didn't know what to do with myself!"

"It's true," Vee added, playfully elbowing Amara. "She was an absolute mess."

"You've always been the one trying to keep us in line, pushing us to be better, more responsible people," Tessa said. "I'll admit, I don't think I realized how much I enjoyed having you around until, well..."

Nick grabbed Tessa's hand. "We were miserable without you, Chloé. I don't think I can possibly express how happy I am to see you again," he said quietly.

Chloé floated closer to Nick and Tessa. "Ugh, I know, and I don't want to make you all repeat the same things you've been saying for the last year and a half. I don't mean to make this all about me, it's just--"

Tessa jumped to her feet in protest. "Oh, don't start with that! You just fucking came back from an endless void between dimensions; there will literally never be a better time to make everything about you! There's so much I want to know! What did you see? When you interacted with the world, what was it like?"

The conversation began veering off on a small tangent, Chloé doing her best to answer Tessa's endless questions, and Amara mentally stepped back for a moment to collect herself. Vee seemed to catch this, and leaned closer to whisper, "Hey, you doing alright? Obviously this is incredible, but you've been a little... y'know, recently."

"No, I'm good," Amara whispered back. "It's just... a lot. This is so much to take in."

They looked over at Chloé and Tessa; the latter was excitedly shooting off question after question, while the former seemed to be struggling to keep up. Vee sighed. "Poor Chloé. I can't imagine how terrifying this all must have been for her. She still seems a little shaken, honestly."

"You think so?" Amara looked over at Chloé. She was happy, no doubt about it, but subtle differences in her posture stood out to Amara. She'd photographed Chloé at her best, and something still seemed off. "Huh, now that you mention it... she always has this spark when she's in her element, and that's not quite there right now."

"Well, it's not every day you claw back from death itself," Vee said cautiously. "You always knew her best, do you think there's anything we could do to cheer her up?"

"Cheer her up?" Amara looked at Chloé again, her eyes glancing briefly to the floor underneath her. "Oh. Yeah, that's easy."

"Really?"

Amara raised her voice, calling out to interrupt the other conversation. "Hey, Chloé!"

The other girls stopped talking, and Chloé looked over. "Yeah?"

"I thought you'd be more excited," Amara said, holding back a smile.

"Excited?" Chloé tilted her head in confusion. "About... almost dying?"

"About having superpowers, silly."

Chloé stared at Amara for a moment, the gears behind her eyes slowly clicking into place. She looked down at the floor, saw that her feet were no longer touching it, then gasped and looked back at Amara. "OH MY GOD! I CAN FLY!!"

With an ecstatic shout, Chloé rose even higher above the ground. Her arms floated up, as if in zero-gravity, then her hair and her coat followed suit. Laughing the whole time, a massive smile on her face, she looked up at the ceiling. Without warning, she began flying around the room, completely unrestrained by the forces of nature, her laughter occasionally cutting off as she effortlessly passed through the nearby walls and ceiling.

"I was able to do this over there, too! I was able to phase through--" She disappeared into the ceiling, then reappeared from the wall behind Amara. "-- but I didn't even think that I might still be able to do that! LOOK AT HOW FAS--"

Amara started laughing, beaming with joy as she watched Chloé race all over the basement. After another few passes, Chloé even phased through everyone present, an incredibly strange feeling that sent chills through Amara, but the strange sensation only made her more excited to have Chloé back. Not only had she defied death itself, but somehow, she'd found something new in the process.

A minute later, after the initial excitement had passed, Chloé paused a few feet away from the magic circle and wobbled slightly. "Whoa, guys, I feel a little dizzy..."

"Maybe you're pushing yourself too hard? Come on down, take a seat, relax a little," Vee suggested.

As Chloé nodded, she began floating closer to the group. As she moved, her hair began to lose its color and her body grew transparent. However, that translucency faded as soon as Chloé moved inside the circle, at which point she sighed with relief.

"Ugh, sitting sounds like so much work..." she complained.

"I'm sorry, work?" Nick asked. "It takes effort to sit?"

"Yeah, it's like... wait. Huh." Chloé paused, inspecting the ground underneath her. She briefly touched down, her clothes and hair falling limp, then a moment later everything began floating again. "Okay, I'm obviously not 100% my old self, the flying and the phasing is proof of that, but remember what I said before? That all of my senses came and went? I think that's still happening."

"But you said sitting takes effort," Vee said. "Sitting isn't exactly a sense."

Repeating her earlier maneuver, Chloé's hair and clothing briefly fell limp before floating back up again. "I think gravity is a muscle now. It takes real, tangible effort to make my body obey it. That's probably why I can phase through things; my sense of touch is optional now. I wonder if I can--"

Chloé suddenly vanished. Everyone else in the group flinched in surprise, but before anyone could move or say anything, they heard her voice again. "I knew it! Staying visible is the same way! Ugh, this is so much better. It's like coming home after a long day of classes and collapsing on a bed. Shoot, my bed! Am I not going to be able to use my bed anymore?"

"So, if you're able to pick and choose all your senses now, does that mean you can still touch things even if you're invisible?" Amara asked, speaking to the air where she assumed Chloé was. A second later, something grabbed her hair and lifted it up.

"Ha! You're totally right!" Chloé said from above Amara.

Following the sound of Chloé's voice, and the movement of her own hair, Amara assumed her friend was floating behind her. "It's not disorienting at all? Being upside down or invisible?"

"Not really, it's like I'm completely detached from... oof, actually, I changed my mind. I'm not feeling too great right now." Chloé dropped Amara's hair, though she stayed invisible. "Wait, am I...? Yeah, I just left the circle, that's why."

"The circle?" Tessa asked. "What has the circle got to do with this?"

Chloé spoke up again, her voice moving back to the center of the magic circle. "I don't know! For some reason, whenever I'm inside this circle, everything feels easier. It's not as tiring to see or hear or feel or whatever. Is there something special about it?"

"Right, we never told you that part," Tessa muttered. "This circle is connected to Purgatory, initially to hold it at bay, but I reconfigured the runes to instead create a bridge there. It's how we got Amara and Vee back just before Brandon invaded. If you technically exist in a permanent state of suspension between the two planes, that would explain why everything feels easier here!"

Tessa was clearly excited to explore the magic behind this new theory of hers, and she even pulled out her notebook to start jotting down more ideas.

"That's so cool!" Chloé said, reappearing a few inches above the circle. "I'll definitely need to be careful about overdoing it outside of the circle, but even if I'm just staying invisible and listening to things, that's still a huge help. I can't wait to help you guys take down the Coven!"

"Wait, what?" Tessa froze. "What do you mean, 'take down the Coven?'"

"You guys don't know? That's right, Davenport was being real hush hush about it..."

"About what? Chloé, what do you know?" Tessa asked again, much more concerned now.

"Well, I spent some time following Davenport around, and I learned that she's not actually here to close the Gate. She wants to alter them to act as siphons, which is only possible if they leave the Gate a little bit open. The bigger the opening, the more magic they get.

Stiff, uncomfortable silence hung in the air as everyone processed what Chloé had just told them.

"They're... not actually here to help?" Amara asked, her breath quickening.

"No, but... but Miss Bishop, she's always--" Tessa said, starting to panic.

"They're just here to exploit us? To throw us to the wolves in a desperate grab for power?" Thick, billowing waves of heat began to swirl around Amara.

Vee stepped closer, holding Amara's arm. "We can't say that for sure, maybe Chloé misheard--"

"Just like Wellington? Just like Brandon?!" Amara's hair burst into flames, causing everyone except Vee to jump back in fear.

"We can talk this over!" Vee said, radiant energy gathering around her to keep her safe from the fire. "We need to do this together!"

"That's what we tried last time!" Amara shouted. Looking around, she saw everyone's shadows flickering on the walls and clawed her hellfire back inside of her. With the fire now under control, she forced herself to take a deep breath; in for two, out for four.

"Amara, I get it. This sucks, but it affects all of us equally." Vee turned to look at Tessa, still holding Amara tight. "Tess, this is your Coven, what can we do to stop them?"

Tessa clutched her notebook to her chest, practically hyperventilating as she returned Vee's look. "I... I don't..."

"Hey, you're not alone, Tess," Nick said, taking her hand. "We're in this together."

She looked at him, nodded, then tried to calm herself down. "Davenport's in charge, but technically she holds the same title as everyone else. We should talk to Miss Bishop, she'll want to know about this, and she can help us put together a plan."

"You want to trust them?" Amara hissed. "Even if Bishop's better, she's still more than happy to let Davenport assault you in public!"

"T-this is different," Tessa muttered, shrinking into herself. "It's not about me anymore, this is a fundamental betrayal of everything a Coven is supposed to stand for. She can help us."

"Um..." Chloé muttered. "I wouldn't be too sure about that. There's a good chance that everyone already knows the plan. Some of them tried to talk Davenport down, but she's got dirt on all of them and she's using it to keep them in check."

"What?!" Tessa said, tears threatening to fall again.

"All the more reason to act now!" Amara said. "Every second we wait puts us at greater risk! Chloé, have they started changing the circles yet?"

"I-I don't know," Chloé admitted.

Amara pointed to Chloé, as if her admission proved her point. "If we wait too long, we lose our chance to fight them on even footing. Would you rather confront them now? Or after they've got all the magic of the planes behind them?"

"It's not... I just think..." Tessa stammered.

"We've spent months letting everyone walking all over us! The cult, Wellington, Brandon." Amara raised a fist in front of her, hellfire swirling bright around it. "I had a chance to end him, Tessa, and I let him go. Everything Chloé went through? I could have prevented all of it if I hadn't been scared of taking initiative!"

"It's not that simple, Amara," Vee said quietly. "Even if the siphons aren't active yet, we have no idea how strong they are!"

Amara looked to Vee, then around to the rest of her friends. Their silence spoke volumes as to which plan they favored.

"Tch," Amara scoffed. "Be that way. I'll take care of this myself."

Vee briefly tried to hold Amara back, and she pulled her arm free before walking over to Nick. She grabbed his arm tightly before turning to walk towards the exit.

"Wait, what?" Nick winced, planting his feet and trying to pull away. "Amara, stop! You're hurting me!"

Amara spun to face him, flames leaping from her gaze. "What?!"

"Too much energy and you won't be able to think straight, Amara," Nick said, holding his ground. "We need to talk this over as a group. Put together a planas a group."

Releasing her hold on Nick, she cast her eyes to Tessa.

"He's right, Amara." the witch said.

Vee nodded in agreement as well, then Amara finally cast her gaze to Chloé. Getting her back was a miracle, and now the Coven was trying to throw their campus into disarray again. They had nearly lost Chloé because they didn't strike while the iron was hot, and Amara refused to throw that lesson away now.

"I see how it is. Fine," Amara hissed. Stepping backwards, her tail appeared in a burst of hellfire and forced the basement door open. "You'll thank me when I'm finished."

"Amara, wait!!" Vee shouted.

Turning into the staircase, Amara leapt up the stairs while a wall of hellfire sprang forth in the doorway, stopping anyone from following her. Once she'd exited the building, she manifested her true form and leapt into the air, engaging her flight mirage to keep herself hidden.

Thoughts of her fight with Wellington lingered in her mind, as well as bitter recollections of their failed attack on Brandon. She was done hesitating. She was done second guessing herself. She was done hiding.

I won't lose anyone again.

I'll show them what happens when they mess with me.

---

Amara sat alone in the cafeteria, hunched over a small table while pretending to scroll through news sites. From her current vantage point, she had a perfect view of the serving counter, as well as all the students that passed by, dinner trays in hand. Behind it, smiling as she greeted students and faculty alike, stood Ruby. The shaved sides of her head accentuated her bright, artificially red hair that evoked images of a noble robin. She was dressed for work, which meant respectable long sleeves instead of her usual sleeveless tanks, but even from this far away her defined muscles clearly protested the restrictive fabric.

Thankfully, no one approached Amara, which was by design. After all, she wasn't quite herself right now. She'd completely overhauled her appearance and currently looked like an old friend from high school that was attending college somewhere on the east coast.

She slowly picked at the sandwich in front of her, keeping up appearances to prevent anyone from questioning her presence. The cafeteria was closing soon, after all, which meant she needed to be ready for the next phase of the plan. Over the course of the next half hour, she watched as Ruby started hauling dishes towards the back of the kitchen, gradually cleaning everything up so it would be ready for her return in the morning.

Careful not to overstay her welcome, Amara left a few minutes before closing. She posted up on a bench in front of the cafeteria, pretending to be on a call, and soon enough Ruby left the building before locking it behind her.

When she was nearly out of sight, Amara jumped to her feet and began to follow. Her enhanced senses, which she kept fully engaged, made tracking Ruby easy. Her hearing was sensitive enough that she didn't even need to keep Ruby within her line of sight; she was able to follow purely by focusing on the slight jingle of her keys as they bounced around inside her gym bag.

They walked east, to a series of dorms Amara had little experience with, though she quickly recognized Windsor Hall as Ruby's destination. From several hundred feet back, Amara watched as the redhead fished her keys from her bag, swiped her ID card, and opened the door. Just before it closed, Amara's eyes flared, and she summoned an illusory brick that prevented the door from shutting. Once she was sure that Ruby hadn't noticed, Amara quickened her pace and slipped inside the dorm, dispelling the illusory brick to hide her trail.

The sound of Ruby's keys stopped being helpful. Amara needed to identify Ruby's exact room, and faint jingling noises weren't precise enough. Instead, she shifted her focus to her sense of smell, quickly picking up traces of Ruby's deodorant. It smelled wonderful--Amara identified traces of sandalwood with floral undertones--but more importantly, it gave her a trail.

Ruby hadn't taken the elevators. Her scent traveled into the staircase, and Amara slowly followed it up to the fourth floor. From there, it led her to a series of hallways that connected all the dormitories, and eventually Amara found Ruby's room.

Alright, now to get creative.

Walking around the nearest corner, Amara made sure she was alone before shapeshifting back to herself. Her clothes returned to normal, a combination of simple jeans and a tee shirt, complete with her favorite deep red jacket. The next step proved more difficult, as it required pushing her shapeshifting to new limits. Imagining what her body might have looked like after being attacked by a reaper, she manually recreated the damage to the back of her shoulder. She grimaced as her body warped and twisted in strange, uncomfortable ways, but eventually she'd gotten her wish. Next, she tweaked her illusory clothing, making it appear ripped and tattered as if she'd just been in a fight, and she completed the visual with a thick coat of illusory blood.

With her costume complete, Amara followed the scent of sandalwood back to Ruby's.

How would I act if I were in trouble and genuinely needed her help?

I would probably try to hide how severe the injury is, honestly. I need her to be worried, and she's more likely to take charge if she thinks I'm not taking my injuries seriously.

A deep breath, a moment to get into character, then Amara knocked on the door.

As she heard Ruby walk towards the entrance, Amara began panting heavily as she leaned against the door frame. At the last second, she smeared a bit of illusory blood across her face and through her hair, then the door opened.

"Oh! Amara, I--FUCK! Shit, are you okay?" Ruby asked, holding the door open while gesturing for Amara to enter.

Pretending to force a smile, Amara chuckled and stepped inside. "I'm fine. You should see the other girl! I really... really showed..." She fell to the floor, gasping as she crumpled over.

"Fuck!" Ruby slammed the door, then ran to Amara's side. "Hey! Speak to me!"

"It's nothing, really," Amara whispered.

"Alright, you're talking, good. Let's keep that up. Tell me what happened, walk me through everything while I grab my shit." Standing up, Ruby ran to the kitchen and dug through her cabinets.

"It's Tessa's fucking Coven," Amara grunted. "They're lying about why they're here; I tried to call them on their bullshit, one thing led to another..."

Ruby ran back, first aid kit in hand as she slid to her knees beside Amara. "They what? Those fuckers!"

"I managed to get away, but they know where I live, and everyone else... well, let's just say they're not in a position to help me right now. Lucky I know a nurse, right?" Amara said with a smirk.

"Okay, we need to get this jacket off. Can you raise your arm?" Ruby asked, unpacking all her equipment.

"Don't need to, all my clothing is illusory."

"Illusory? What do you mean?"

Once she was sure that Ruby wasn't currently touching her, Amara flared her eyes and dispelled not just her coat, but everything except for the blood. She was now completely naked on Ruby's floor. "That's what I mean. I'm lucky I managed to hold it together long enough to get here."

Ruby's face turned as red as her hair, the sweet smell of her arousal filling Amara's senses. "Oh, uh, I, um... wow. I didn't know you could... um, summon clothing like that."

"Saves me a ton of money, which is nice," Amara muttered. As she finished, she summoned a few drops of blood in her mouth, then coughed them up.

Ruby swallowed nervously, then slid closer with a handful of bandages. "You should probably, um, turn over so I can bandage up your back." Amara slowly rolled over, smirking as she tested her connection to Ruby's aura.

The next few minutes passed quietly, with Ruby slowly bandaging up Amara's self-inflicted injuries while trying to avert her eyes from the demon's perfectly sculpted body. Based on the ebbs and flows of Ruby's aura, she was failing spectacularly. Once everything had been wrapped up, and Amara had artificially stopped the appearance of more blood, she took a deep breath and leaned forward.

"Alright, I've got some witches to fuck up," she said, pretending as if standing up were a far more laborious effort than it was. Attempting to stand, her foot buckled underneath the weight of her body, and she fell back to the floor. She slapped the floor in mock anger, grunting as she yelled "Fuck!"

"Look, I know you're freakishly strong, but even you have limits, Amara," Ruby said, her aura as strong as ever.

Come on, say it. You know you want to.

"I need to... to get back out there..." Amara said, gasping in mock pain.

Ruby paused for a moment, her aura swelling to even greater heights, then she spoke up. "Look, if it's that urgent... what if I helped you out? You, um, recover faster after having sex, right?"

Amara turned her head to look at Ruby, pretending as if she were shocked by the suggestion. "Ruby, I... I don't want to put that on you."

Reaching out, Ruby gently placed a hand on Amara's shoulder. "No, I want to. Not only do you need to get better, but someone has to go stop Tessa's Coven, right? I never liked them anyways."

Hesitating for a moment longer, Amara finally nodded, turning her naked body towards Ruby. "You're not worried about, y'know... that I'm a demon?

"It won't hurt, will it?"

"Not even a little. Although, I can't promise I won't ruin sex for you a little bit," Amara said with a laugh.

Ruby grabbed Amara's waist and pulled her closer. Facing each other, they were now only inches apart, and Amara could feel Ruby's breath on her lips. "Show me."

Perfect.

All hesitation vanished from Amara's mind, and she pushed her lips against Ruby's. The redhead's aura was already strong enough for Amara to begin feeding, which she did eagerly as they passionately made out. Ruby's lips were surprisingly soft, given how firm the rest of her body was, and Amara eagerly returned Ruby's moans of excitement while her hands began exploring.

Even in the throes of passion, Ruby was adorably careful. Her aura indicated that she was itching with excitement, eager beyond compare to indulge her sexual curiosity, yet she pushed Amara to the floor with cautious grace.

Only once Amara was comfortably on the ground did Ruby's hands start to wander. Her hands spoke to her weightlifting hobby, slightly calloused and incredibly strong, and through their touch alone Amara could feel how thrilled Ruby was to be in this position.

"What do you like?" Ruby asked, breaking their lips apart.

Amara gasped in excitement as Ruby squeezed her breasts, her dexterous fingers softly pinching Amara's nipples. "I'm connected to you, Ruby. The more you enjoy yourself, the greater that connection."

"Seriously?" Ruby asked. "That seems a little, I dunno, pornographic. Like, what, you're just the perfect partner who only wants what her partner wants?"

"I'm a demon of lust, Ruby. My body is literally designed to be an object of desire, and my instincts want nothing more than to fulfill your fantasies." Amara kissed Ruby's neck, even biting it slightly as she whispered. "I'm your perfect little fuck slut, Ruby. Use me."

Her last words were a test. She had no idea if Ruby liked dirty talk, and she needed to continue trying new things in order to learn Ruby's tastes. Based on the activity in her aura, Amara gathered she wasn't the biggest fan of the dirty, degrading language, which made sense. Amara was more used to fucking men, who she assumed were more likely to enjoy that kind of thing.

Thankfully, while Ruby didn't seem particularly thrilled about the dirty talk, it also didn't lessen her arousal. She gently grabbed Amara's chin and pulled their lips together again, running her hand through Amara's long, flowing hair, carefully avoiding the part matted with illusory blood.

"What about you?" Amara asked. "What gets you off?"

"W-well, I love getting fingered, especially when... um..." Ruby stammered, her face turning bright red again as her thoughts trailed off.

Amara pushed her hands underneath Ruby's shirt, appreciating the incredibly toned musculature she found underneath. "Come on, you can tell me. I've heard it all, Ruby, nothing you say could catch me by surprise."

Before she responded, Ruby grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head, tossing it to the nearby couch. "I really like when my partners are... are really strong."

"As in, you want to be overpowered?" Amara asked, slowly kissing down Ruby's neck.

Ruby quickly shook her head, her aura even fading slightly. "No, definitely not. It's more about the safety of it? The comfort of being held by someone big and strong, especially since I'm not the smallest person myself."

With a delicate laugh, Amara began pulling at the bottom of Ruby's sports bra. "Something tells me you have a weighted blanket."

"W-well... maybe..." Ruby muttered. Her face briefly disappeared behind her arms again as she pulled her sports bra off, tossing it next to her shirt. With her chest now exposed, Amara reached up and carefully traced the bottoms of her breasts, still trying to adjust to Ruby's surprisingly timid sexuality.

Her breasts were much smaller than Amara's, and the difference in size was only accentuated by Ruby's powerful muscles. They were perfectly proportioned to the rest of her body, and Amara found plenty of enjoyment in manually appreciating the definition on display. Her initial plan had been to tease Ruby's breasts before kissing and biting them, but with Ruby's desires now out in the open, she changed her strategy.

Reaching behind Ruby's back, Amara happily continued tracing and massaging her muscles. Her face nestled comfortably against Ruby's neck, she lightly kissed and nibbled the redhead while gradually increasing the pressure she applied with her arms. Her hug grew tighter and more encompassing with each passing second, and she was rewarded with the delightful scent of Ruby's reignited aura. She breathed deep, crossing her arms behind Ruby for one final squeeze before releasing her and moving back to her lips.

"I've got something I think you'll really like," Amara muttered between kisses.

"Yeah? This isn't too much, is it?" Ruby asked.

"Not at all. I'm already feeling better, I've been able to pull some strength from your arousal."

"Already? Wow, we've barely even started! Is that just how horny I am? Is that something you can even sense?"

Amara nodded. "Oh yeah. Now, stay still for me." Moving her hands towards Ruby's waist, Amara carefully rose to her knees and slid behind Ruby. While she moved, she continued tracing small circles around Ruby's hips, teasing the top of her pants and encouraging Ruby to quickly unbutton them. Once Amara was nestled comfortably behind the weightlifter, she pulled her hands higher until they crossed in front of Ruby's body, and she began massaging her breasts.

Ruby gasped, sinking back into Amara in appreciation, and Amara took advantage of the small distraction to manifest her true form, taking care to keep the flames away from Ruby. Her tail, as lithe and as powerful as ever, snaked forward and began to wrap around Ruby's waist, gently constricting her.

Even without her demonic senses, Ruby's excitement over this new addition was obvious. Her body twitched in excitement, and she gasped with pleasure as Amara kept playing with her breasts. She began lightly pinching and twisting Ruby's nipples, biting the side of her neck before raising up to whisper in her ear. "Do you want more?"

"Yes! Please!" Ruby pleaded.

This is almost too easy. I haven't even gotten her pants off yet.

Amara flexed her wings, then leaned further into Ruby and encompassed them both with her magnificent wingspan. The lights dimmed heavily as Amara enclosed the two of them, her hands leaving Ruby's breasts to begin sliding down. She quickly passed over her tail, still wrapped tight around the redhead's waist, and finally reached into her pants.

Responding to her touch, Ruby mirrored her movement with her own hands, sliding them down her body and into her pants. Her fingers briefly interlaced with Amara's before she broke away to push her pants off, her already warm body growing much hotter from the demonic limbs that now encircled her. Amara's tail briefly released its grip to toss Ruby's pants aside, and when Ruby reached to start removing her panties, Amara stopped her, instead letting her tail do the honors. Ruby wore cute, black boyshorts with decorative stripes up the sides, and Amara teased the top of their elastic hem with her tail, slowly wrapping it around Ruby's waist before squeezing tight. Ruby sighed in appreciation, then Amara began retracting her tail, slowly working it back and forth as she inched off Ruby's underwear.

Having now fed enough to believably remove her fake injuries, Amara took a deep breath and grinned at all the energy she felt swirling inside her. She'd already been moderately well-fed from her frequent romps with Nick, and Ruby's energy only served to bring her to even greater heights. The colors around them grew more vibrant, the air shimmered with potential as Amara began tracing electrical signals flying around them. The first time she'd fed this much, the sensations had nearly overwhelmed her, but now they felt second nature. She reveled in how the world buzzed around her and, eager for more, prepared to really dig into Ruby's aura by starting the real fun.

Once Ruby's shorts had been pulled off, tossed next to her pants, Amara began massaging her powerful legs. Thick, rippling muscles tensed and flexed under her touch, and the scent of her arousal grew even sweeter as Amara massaged higher and higher. Ruby spread her legs open, even pushing harder against Amara as if attempting to sink further into her embrace, and Amara slid her own legs forward to rest on either side of Ruby.

Amara's tail, which had previously been wrapped around Ruby's hips to pull her panties off, now slowly traveled down Ruby's right leg, circling around and around like a snake trapping its prey. Amara briefly considered taking advantage of her tail's considerable length by pulling both of Ruby's legs together, but quickly decided against it. This was about making Ruby feel safe and comfortable, it wasn't about restricting her movement and tying her limbs together. She did, however, continue pulling her wings closer and closer, inch by inch, carefully reading Ruby's aura to make sure she still enjoyed this.

By the time Amara's fingers found Ruby's pussy, she was already soaking wet. Thinking back to their previous rendezvous in the Dreamscape, which Ruby likely still believed was an errant wet dream, Amara remembered that the redhead vastly preferred having her clit played with over any form of penetration. With that in mind, her touch only lingered long enough to wet her fingers, then she finally brought her touch to Ruby's clit.

Ruby's entire body shook with pleasure, her moaning music to Amara's ears. Through her demonic connection with Ruby's aura, that pleasure circled back to her as well, radiating through her body as if she were merely playing with herself. Another touch, another gasp, and Amara began slowly circling Ruby's clit.

Waves of potent, succulent arousal crested over Amara, empowering her as she breathed it in. The energy ran circuits through Amara, teasing and playing with her enhanced senses, and she felt more connected to Ruby's pleasure than ever. She'd always been proud of her ability to reach orgasm purely by making other people cum, but this was something else altogether. She had so much sexual energy coursing through her veins that she swore she could feel her own fingers on her pussy. When coupled with the way she held Ruby, cradled close in front of her, it felt just like how she'd masturbated before discovering her demonic identity. Ruby was just an extension of her, another facet of her own pleasure, and she desperately wanted to cum.

She began rubbing Ruby's clit faster, circling faster and faster before switching to rapid, back and forth motions. Ruby reached down and grabbed Amara's legs, her rough hands squeezing tight as she held on. Her body convulsed with pleasure, and she bucked her hips in time with Amara's fingering.

Amara responded by moving her free hand to Ruby's breasts again, massaging and pinching her nipples while continuing to play with her clit. She began to mimic Ruby's hip motions, still able to feel her own fingers on her pussy as if Ruby weren't even there, and grew intimately aware that Ruby was close to cumming. Leaning forward, she began kissing and nibbling on Ruby's neck, her sandalwood scent mixing with the ambrosia that was her arousal. Amara's fingers picked up the pace, her arms squeezed tighter, her tail and wings pulled Ruby closer, and she finally got what she wanted.

All of Ruby's thick, rippling muscles tensed with pleasure as she reached orgasm. Surprisingly, she stayed completely quiet as she came, making only small gasping noises as she shook with pleasure.

Her orgasm was delicious, it brought Amara to new heights of awareness and enjoyment, and she eagerly shared in Ruby's orgasm with her. She had no desire to hide her pleasure and proudly moaned aloud, tossing her head back in appreciation of her own abilities as Ruby shook and convulsed in her arms. Both girls held on tight as they came together, Amara doing everything she could to prolong the experience as much as possible. The power coursing through her veins felt incredible, and it had been ages since she'd managed to masturbate successfully; she felt as if nothing could stand in her way.

As the heights of Ruby's pleasure began to fade, and her grip on Amara slackened, her breathing evened out and she seemed to return to her senses. Amara mirrored this behavior by slowly releasing Ruby, her tail retracting and her wings retreating behind her again. With the passion of the moment fading, Amara finally noticed the thick layer of sweat that had built up on Ruby's body, much of which had rubbed off on her.

"Fucking... wow..." Ruby muttered.

Amara playfully moved her tail closer, wrapping it around Ruby's torso to give her one last squeeze. "I take it you enjoyed yourself?"

Ruby nodded. "I see what you mean, I'm not sure how other partners can scratch that itch the way you can. The wings? This tail? Mmf, it's everything I've ever wanted."

With a gentle laugh, Amara leaned forward so they were no longer lying on each other. "Glad to hear it! I certainly feel loads better."

"Wait!" Ruby spun to face Amara. "What about you?"

"Nah, don't worry about it. Like I said, I share in your pleasure, so I came when you did, just as hard." Amara rose to her feet and stretched all her limbs high above her. "Besides, I really should be off. Hope it's alright that I'm bouncing so soon after."

"N-no, you're good!" Ruby said, her face reddening slightly as she also stood up. "I had a feeling this would be a quick thing. But, y'know, if you ever feel like swinging by again in the future..."

With a devilish smirk, Amara lightly rested her arms on Ruby's shoulder, then leaned in to kiss her one last time. "I won't make any promises, but I'll certainly keep you in mind! Now, I recommend you stand back for this part."

Although Ruby seemed somewhat hesitant to let Amara leave, she quickly acquiesced. Once they were far enough apart, Amara summoned a small torrent of hellfire to clean herself off, then a second one to restore all her clothing while dismissing her demonic features. Thinking about what she needed to do next, she inspected her clothing a moment before swapping it out for something a bit tighter. Instead of a flowing, knee-length coat, she now wore a slim, red leather jacket, and the rest of her clothing changed to fit the aesthetic.

"You know where the roof access is?" Amara asked.

"There's a door at the top of the staircase, but they keep it locked," Ruby said, tilting her head in confusion. "Why?"

"How about I show you?" Amara said with a wink.

It took Ruby much longer to get dressed, but once she finished, Amara led the way to the staircase. Traveling up to the top, she forced the door open without the tiniest bit of difficulty, then took a deep breath to appreciate the outdoor air. She quickly manifested her true form again, her horns immediately relaying the ambient pressure of the air around her, and she turned back to Ruby.

"Our little secret, right?" she asked.

Ruby nodded. "I won't tell anyone you were here. Go keep us safe, alright?"

Nodding one last time, Amara turned to the edge of the roof and leapt off. Tapping into the incredible amounts of energy she had stored up, Amara summoned her flight mirage as her wings angled to catch the air. Once she was sure that no one could see her, she warmed a column of air and soared high into the sky, preparing for the next phase of her plan.

---

Over the course of the next several hours, Amara patrolled the skies over both the campus and the surrounding town, looking for hints of where Tessa's Coven had set up.

At first, she'd limited her search to the campus, hoping to find Imani or a Coven Head and track their movements, but she abandoned that idea almost immediately. After all the time she'd spent with Chloé and Ruby, Palesa had seemingly finished her work on the quad and was nowhere to be found. Instead, Amara redirected her efforts to attempt to find other signs of Coven activity.

Thinking back to her earlier volunteer efforts, she remembered that she'd felt a strange tingle when Palesa first engaged her magic. That train of thought also brought back memories of Tessa getting herself trapped in vines under the cafeteria and Evelyn teleporting into her apartment. In both cases, Amara had felt the magical shifts before they fully manifested. With all the energy coursing through her veins, she wondered if she could amplify that particular skill set.

Knowing what to look for, however, was a challenge in and of itself. She began small, adjusting her focus to the myriad electrical signals that raced through the air, training herself to adjust to inhuman sensations.

Unfortunately for Amara, those signals contained a near infinite amount of variety, and she had to force herself not to fall down the rabbit hole of deciphering what all the signals meant. Instead, she tried to generalize all the signals and mentally shove them aside. If she could see magic, maybe it would appear as something else?

I can't believe I've never asked Tessa how she perceives the world, I'll bet that would be helpful information right about now.

Her efforts eventually paid off when she found a large manor that seemed strangely obscured compared to all the nearby buildings. The haze surrounding it was quite distinct from the countless electrical signals she'd been ignoring.

The manor itself sat at the edge of a large forest preserve, one with countless paths, fields, and community amenities such as playgrounds and gazebos. Her interest piqued, Amara began circling lower and lower, all while continually enhancing her vision to look for other hints. She examined the roof, the siding, the foundation underneath the house, hoping for more tangible proof that this building was magically protected. Thankfully, after nearly half an hour of careful observation, she heard the front door open. Angling towards the front of the building, she managed to catch a glimpse of someone walking inside. Though it was brief, Amara immediately recognized that thick, voluminous hair.

Imani.

That was all the proof she needed.

Satisfied that she'd found the Coven's base of operations, Amara began surveying the nearby forest preserve for an adequate hiding spot. She eventually found a dense collection of trees and shrubs, quite far away from all nearby paths, and descended from the sky. Attempting to make as little noise as possible, Amara opted not to land directly on the ground, instead clinging to the trunk of a large tree. Once she'd secured her grip, she dismissed her wings and slowly crawled towards the ground, at which point she adjusted her flight mirage to something more befitting the area.

At this point, night had already fallen. Artificial lights were few and far between in this forest preserve, which meant Amara also had a blanket of thick darkness to mask her presence here. Looking around, she saw that her landing had startled a small deer several hundred feet away, but otherwise she was completely alone.

Leaning up against the nearby tree, Amara settled in and closed her eyes. Breathing deep, she envisioned a world made of swirling gray mist, peppered with the occasional streak of color as the various dreams of humankind manifested themselves. She thought of herself, suspended in that swirling chaos, confidently swimming from dream to dream like a shark on the prowl. The Dreamscape was hers; a place beyond the reaches of humanity, a place where she had complete control over anything and everything.

When she opened her eyes, she'd arrived.

Her entire body floating listlessly in an idle current of thin, gray swirls. Without any sense of direction, her hair and clothes floated off her as if she were suspended in zero gravity.

Just like Chloé.

Thoughts of her friend, miraculously still alive, cemented her resolve. This was the only way to keep everyone safe, the only way to ensure that what nearly happened to Chloé would never happen again.

Looking around, Amara began inspecting the various dreams surrounding her. After her previous expedition in the Dreamscape, she'd grown much more proficient at telling the dreams apart, knowing which were closer or farther away, and which were more vibrant. Thankfully, her suspicion that the Dreamscape was loosely connected to the real world proved correct; she quickly found the exact dream she was looking for.

An incredibly large spiral of deep, green streaks that folded in and out of itself. Both its size and its density spoke to the complexity of this dream, one that verged on the edge of lucidity. The last time she'd entered this dream, she'd nearly been discovered, but now she knew what to expect.

As Amara flew closer, she flexed the invisible muscles that contained her hellfire. Around her, the veil of the Dreamscape rippled and bent to her will, and she knew she was ready.

She'd entered this dream carelessly last time. Now, she floated at the edge and slowly peeled apart the thick exterior creating a small, porous region that she left exposed just long enough to slip inside. Passing through the thick smears of color, she came to rest amidst a dense jungle. After a brief moment to inspect herself, ensuring that she caused as little friction with the dream as possible, she began moving forward. The trees, bushes, vines, and flowers around her clearly wanted to bend to her presence, but she held strong to the tethers of the dream and kept herself invisible. After traveling a few dozen feet, she found her destination: a large clearing filled with thousands of impossible flowers, all different shapes and colors, the only light coming from a series of large, bioluminescent plants that hung from the canopy like regal chandeliers.

In the center, lazily appreciating a large flower that hung from a nearby vine, stood Palesa Tsopnang. Even better, she was completely alone.

Flexing her demonic abilities once more, Amara changed her appearance. Her regular clothes shifted into a series of loose, flowing garments that highlighted the intricate tattoos all over her body. Her hair, already thick and flowing, grew thinner and straighter, and she let half of her face hide behind that elegant curtain. Her skin lightened, her eyes changed color, and when she stepped out into the clearing, she did so with effortless grace and elegance. She even made sure to rustle the leaves around her as she appeared.

Palesa turned around quickly. "Liz?"

Soft, demure, loving.

"I hope I'm not intruding," Amara said quietly, her voice patient and kind.

Without hesitation, Palesa ran forward and threw her arms around Amara, kissing her as if they were reuniting after years apart. "How I've missed you, Liz! Why are you here? I thought we needed to play it safe for a while?"

Amara reached up and gently caressed the side of Palesa's face. "I couldn't help myself."

Palesa laughed, a soft, vulnerable chuckle as she closed her eyes to nuzzle her cheek against Amara's hand. "Always the hopeless romantic. I'm surprised I didn't hear you enter."

"Just trying to be careful," Amara whispered. "What with... well, you know."

"Ugh, Davenport," Palesa muttered under her breath. "I don't even want to think of her right now... can't we talk about something else? We so rarely get to meet like this."

Amara leaned closer, running her hands down Palesa's arms before lacing their fingers together. She quickly kissed Palesa's forehead before speaking. "Tell me about your day, love."

Palesa glanced up, a look of playful mischief on her face. "What, a status report? Here?"

With a quiet laugh, Amara walked past Palesa before grabbing a seat on the edge of the hammock. "You know what I mean!" She patted the thick net of vines underneath her, and smiled as Palesa eagerly accepted the offer.

"I mean, work was work. Cleaning up their quad took longer than I would have liked, but I'm happy we managed to get most of the students out. I don't often get to show off my abilities to crowds of that capacity, I can only hope it inspires them to come together, to see that this world isn't all monsters and hellfire."

They leaned against each other. "And you sayI'm the hopeless romantic?" Amara asked in jest.

"Oh, hush!" Palesa planted her hands on Amara's shoulder and playfully pushed her over. Amara fell onto her back in the hammock, her long brown hair cascading down her body, and she manipulated the fabric of her clothes to fall in a way that flattered her lithe, slightly exposed body. She caught a brief hint of Palesa's arousal, though not nearly enough to take advantage of yet.

After a few moments of laughter, Amara reached out a hand. "Come lay with me, Palesa."

A brief look of confusion crossed Palesa's face, but it passed just as quickly as it arrived. She took Amara's hand, then leaned forward until her head rested on Amara's chest. "What about you, Liz? Any updates on that situation with Tessa?"

Situation? What is she talking about?

Amara shook her head. "Nothing yet, sadly."

"Do you think she will?" Palesa asked.

After a long sigh, during which she debated how best to answer, Amara said, "I can only hope, but it's out of my hands now."

Palesa's body stiffened, and she pushed away from Amara before casting a suspicious gaze down. "You hope? Why would you hope for that?"

"I-I... what I meant was--"

The witch's hand rose to her own cheek, and her eyes darted back and forth as thoughts raced through her head. Before long, she gasped. "Liz always calls me Sweet Pea. Who are you, really?"

Fuck. Time for Plan B.

Amara's eyes lit up, reverting to their natural amber color. "Heh. Not bad for a lowly human."

In shock, Palesa leapt to her feet and began backing away. "You would do well not to underestimate me, demon!"

To keep up appearances, Amara floated into the air and surrounded herself in bright purple hellfire. She laughed as her appearance began to change, her form warping and twisting as she pretended to revert to her true form. She knew she couldn't give away her real identity, and instead took some creative liberties with herself. Her skin quickly turned to a deep, rich shade of burgundy as the rest of her demonic features appeared, all of them altered in shape and coloration. Her clothes burnt away, replaced only with a thin, chitinous bikini much like what she wore during the Ritual. The final touch, the one she was most proud of, was when she replaced her feet with thick, cloven hooves.

"I assure you, Palesa, you have no idea how powerful I am here!" Amara hissed as she started cackling again.

"That's precisely the point, demon. So long as I'm in here with you, I don't stand a chance." Palesa held out a hand, her body tensed as she tried to focus, and a moment later she managed to manifest a small yellow device. "Did you honestly think that Liz wouldn't teach me how to survive in the Dreamscape?"

"What are you planning, girl?" Amara asked with a scowl.

Palesa held the small device up, flicked a switch, then grinned as electricity began dancing between two metal prongs at the tip. "Better luck next time, demon!" She turned the stun gun inwards, then jabbed herself in the side.

The entire clearing convulsed as Palesa attempted to shock herself awake. Amara hadn't expected her to be this proficient, and grit her teeth as she saw the dream begin to deteriorate.

Fuck, she's waking up!

In a panic, Amara threw caution to the wind and reached for the edges of the dream. This was her realm, her domain, and she wasn't about to allow some backstabbing Coven Head to pull one over on her. Through sheer force of willpower, she forcefully pulled the dream together, refusing to let Palesa wake up. The immense electrical current from Palesa's stun gun began to course through her as well, and with one last glare, Amara forcefully ripped the item from the witch's hands.

Palesa fell to the ground, gasping in pain as she looked up at Amara. "How?! How are you keeping me asleep?!"

Amara landed in front of Palesa, the flowers under her feet wilting and turning to ash as she walked closer. "I told you once already, witch. You have no idea how powerful I am. I'm going to make you regret that."

From the side of the clearing, a large vine sprang forth and tried to bludgeon Amara. She knocked it away with a simple glance, but Palesa's defiance continued. She backed away from Amara, digging her heels into the ground as she prepared to fight. Tattoos across her body began to light up, which brought a twisted smile to Amara's face. Her magic held no power here, but the tattoos acting this way likely hinted that Palesa's belief in her magic was providing her the will to fight back. If Amara could find a way to break down that belief, she might be able to assert more control.

More vines reached towards Amara, reaching from the canopy above and the ground below. They all turned to ash before they could reach Amara, but as she focused on burning them away, Palesa summoned a torrent of water and launched it towards Amara. While she was able to evaporate the water just as easily, the resulting vapor made it harder to notice the dozens of icicles that now raced towards her. She managed to melt some, but others she was forced to manually knock away.

Nothing that Palesa created hurt Amara, who was merely playing along. She walked towards the witch, slowly shrinking the clearing around them by reaching for the dream and pulling it close. No matter what illusory magic Palesa threw at her, she merely smirked and knocked it aside. Seconds later, as Palesa began to panic and sweat, Amara closed the distance entirely and wrapped a clawed hand around the Coven Head's neck. Lifting her up, Amara pinned her to a nearby tree, itself starting to crumble and burn away from the hellfire that had overtaken the clearing.

"Enough!" Amara shouted, gripping Palesa tight. "You're merely prolonging the inevitable!"

Palesa gasped and tried helplessly to pull Amara's hand off her neck. "T-there's nothing you can do to me here! I know how your kind work!"

"You know nothing!" Amara growled. She raised a hand, cloaked it in hellfire, and brought it close to Palesa's face. "We don't play by the rules, Palesa. I'm going to give you a little lesson about just how powerful we really are."

"No! Please!" Palesa shouted, her voice thin and weak under Amara's grasp.

As she struggled, Amara felt the dream shift around her. Before, she had merely been a tiny splinter in the fabric of the dream, masking her presence with illusion while trying to keep Palesa in control. Now the dream was hers; she'd wrested it from Palesa and made it her own.

Before she could do anything else, however, a bolt of magnificent, radiant lightning flew down from the canopy above them. The powerful energy of this bolt reeked of Enochian, but Amara knew it was simply a facsimile, an illusion powered by belief. Even still, Amara dropped Palesa and leapt back to prevent the bolt from hitting her. The thick jungle that surrounded them both, which Amara had been shrinking, began to grow back to its usual size. The fires started to dissipate, and another bolt of illusory lightning struck at Amara, who again stepped back to evade it.

A figure appeared from the thick underbrush, one with long, elegant brown hair and a collection of runic tattoos across her body. She wielded the dream around her as if it were second nature, and with another step forward, she threw a third bolt of radiant lightning at Amara.

"Sweet Pea! I'm here!" Elizabeth shouted.

Palesa, still coughing and choking, quickly rose from the ground to run to Elizabeth's side. "Liz, thank god! This thing is too strong, it wouldn't let me wake up!"

"You're safe now," Elizabeth whispered. "I'd never let anything happen to you."

"Bah!" Amara hissed. "You think you can defeat me? The fabric of the Dreamscape is woven into my very being! You can't possibly hope to rival my power!"

The entirety of Elizabeth's body lit up, not just her tattoos, and she began to float into the air. A complex pattern of Enochian runes appeared behind her, all while she guided her hands in a series of rigid, practiced patterns. Amara tried to charge the two women again, a burst of hellfire catapulting her across the field, but it seemed to grow longer as she traveled across it. Amara began conjuring a torrent of hellfire to counter Elizabeth's, letting it swirl and billow behind her as she raced closer. Seconds before she made contact, however, Elizabeth released a blast of magic that far surpassed Amara's.

A brilliant column of angelic energy eclipsed Amara's, dispelling the entirety of her hellfire while inflicting horrible, searing burns on her body. She screamed in horror as the energy overpowered her, and when Elizabeth's spell faded, Amara was nowhere to be seen.

At least, from Palesa's perspective. Unfortunately for her, Elizabeth was not actually present; the figure that had seemingly banished Amara was but another extension of Amara's control over the dream. Now that her horrid, demonic visage had been destroyed, Amara invisibly slipped into Elizabeth's body, gasping with exertion as if she'd just finished casting an incredibly powerful spell. She turned to Palesa, who immediately leapt forward and squeezed her tight.

"Liz! Thank you, thank you! I didn't know what to do, she was so powerful and she wouldn't let me wake up, even though I manifested a stun gun just like you taught me!" Palesa buried her face in Amara's shoulder, softly crying as she recovered the stress of the attack.

"Shhh, it's okay, Sweet Pea. I'm here, everything is okay now," Amara whispered. While she softly rubbed Palesa's back, she looked around the clearing and began to restore it to its former glory. The fires disappeared, the damage healed, and gentle bioluminescence returned to illuminate the night. Thousands of vibrant, multicolored flowers bloomed once more, their petals suffusing the area with a rich, comforting aroma.

The dream was entirely under Amara's control now.

She held Palesa close, letting her cry away her stress and recover from the attack. With everything now hers to manipulate as she pleased, she began to play around with Palesa's sense of time. Over the course of a few minutes, Palesa began to believe that nearly an hour had passed, and that Elizabeth had been happily comforting her the entire time. Palesa slowly began to recover, color returning to her face as she looked up at Amara.

"What happened, Liz?" Palesa asked.

"She was so powerful I felt shockwaves," Amara whispered, caressing the side of Palesa's face once more. "I got here as soon as I could. I'm only sorry it took so long."

"No, you saved me! I-I knew demons were terrifying, but I never thought... oh, Liz, it was terrible!"

"Shhh, it's okay. I'm here, take as long as you need."

They spent another hour cuddling together, though again it only took a few minutes from Amara's perspective. Once Palesa seemed more put together, Amara felt confident enough to pull her closer, pressing their lips together and slightly turning up the heat in the clearing.

"I was so worried, Sweet Pea," Amara whispered.

Palesa looked deep into Amara's eyes, the stress of the ordeal more than obvious. However, in that moment, as they passionately kissed and held each other closer, Amara felt Palesa's aura begin to stir. She played her cards carefully, making sure not to push too fast, as she continued to mess with the flow of time in the dream. Before long, as their loving embrace grew more heated, Amara had successfully coaxed Palesa's libido to where she needed it.

Holding Palesa tight, Amara manipulated the hammock underneath them to make it easier for them both to readjust. Palesa shifted to her side, one leg resting over Amara's hips, and the two began rubbing their bodies together in pursuit of pleasure. Palesa's lips traveled down Amara's neck, kissing and nibbling as her core tensed in excitement. As she kept exploring, Amara adjusted the elasticity of the dream to respond to Palesa's thoughts and desires. Her current form, just another expression of her dreamwalking, subtly changed to reflect what Palesa expected; slight blemishes on her shoulder, small patterns of freckles atop her breasts.

Amara reached down, dispelling Palesa's clothes with her fingers before tracing down her body. She caressed the dip of Palesa's waist, the ample curves of her hips, and finally moved her hand towards the source of her desire. Their lips met once more, Amara holding her tight as her tongue explored Palesa's, and she held back a smile as her fingers began circling Palesa's entrance, slick with desire after her perceived hours of comfort and safety.

With total control over Palesa's dream, as well as her supernatural talents for reading arousal, Amara brought the Coven Head to orgasm in a manner of minutes. Her body tensed and shook as she came, and with her climax Amara gained access to the depths of her aura. She reached deep into Palesa's arousal, quickly finding the core of her being, and gripped it tight. Just like last time, when she'd overpowered the three cultists the night of the ritual, it felt like grabbing a lightning rod in the middle of a storm. Rich, delicious ambrosia poured into her, and she took advantage of this connection to pull more strength from Palesa, her own senses expanding even further than she'd even felt before.

Palesa's eyes shot open, and she gasped as a second round of pleasure caught her by surprise. In the midst of this orgasm, she managed to look at Amara and whisper, "You're... you're not..." Her body shook again, wave after wave of pleasure overpowering her ability to fight back.

So powerful were Amara's senses that she was able to detect another layer of Palesa's arousal, one she'd never felt before. Currently, she was feeding as deep as she ever had, but now she stood on the edge of a cliff, one that promised a level of strength impossible to imagine. All she needed to do was reach down, grab tight, and take what she was owed. Deep down, some instinctual part of Amara knew that drawing from this well would pull something vitally important from Palesa, possibly something irrecoverable.

No. I need her alive. For now.

Stepping back from that edge, Amara instead cut off her connection once she was sure that Palesa no longer had the strength to fight back. Had Amara not been in total control of the Dream, the Coven Head would likely have woken up already. Amara held tightly to that connection, then left Palesa alone in the clearing as she began to float towards the edge of the dream. Her demonic senses, as sharp as they'd ever been, quickly found the barrier between Palesa's dream and the Dreamscape, but that wasn't her destination. Amara released her hold on the dream, letting Palesa finally wake up, and she paid careful attention to Palesa's presence as she crossed into the realm of the living.

Inside the magnificent, swirling green mass that was Palesa's dream, Amara began to see glimpses of reality. She saw a dark room, illuminated only by faint moonlight that poured through a large window on the far wall. It was a window Amara recognized, and she knew exactly how to get there. With one last grin, Amara finally let Palesa wake up, then quickly returned to her own body in the realm of the waking.

She took a deep breath as she opened her eyes, then looked towards the Coven's manor.

Gotcha.