Suddenly A Succubus Ch. 71

Heavy fluorescent lights whirred to life, their incessant hum fading into the background as they gradually warmed to their full strength. Beneath them, varied pieces of gymnastics equipment slowly came into focus, each in pristine condition despite years of constant use. Aurelius's gymnastics program was far from its most prestigious competitive team, but as a member of the Big Ten Conference, its athletes nevertheless had access to top-tier funding and support.

Tessa, of course, had no desire to be a gymnast. In the past, she'd spent several memorable nights with a few, but that had no relation to her presence here tonight. Instead of chalk, tape, and spandex, her backpack carried a heavy pile of circuit boards, defunct electronics, and cheap disposable phones.

Fighting off a heavy yawn, she raised her coffee to her lips and took a long swig. The scalding hot caffeine shook her back to her senses, and she sighed with relief as she lowered the mug again.

"I can't believe you're drinking coffee this late," Imani said. She shook her head in disbelief, her fluffy, incredibly voluminous black hair bouncing somewhat as she did. Her deep ebony skin looked all the more radiant under the bright lights, though her brown eyes were not framed with her usual white eyeliner.

"Hey, I'm not the one that chose to meet up this late," Tessa countered. "If it were up to me, I'd--"

"Ohmygosh ohmygosh OHMYGOSH!!" Chloé materialized out of thin air above Tessa, her arms outstretched as she flew around the massive, multiple story tall space. "This is so EXCITING! We've never done something like this before!"

"Not altogether, no." Off to the side of the space, Vee set down a backpack and pulled her jacket off. She wore loose, white and gold athletic pants that cinched at the bottom as well as a sports bra with a matching marble pattern. "I think the closest we ever got was back when Wellington was still a problem. Amara, Tess, and I trained here for a bit."

A demonic red tail snaked around Vee's waist, pulling her close before Amara kissed her cheek. "Ah, the good old times. The two of us drenched in sweat, rolling around on the floor, somehow pretending we weren't hopelessly in love..."

"We still do two of those, Hellspawn," Vee said with a chuckle, quickly kissing Amara.

Nick cleared his throat as he unzipped his gym bag. "I, for one, will refrain from tempting fate by bragging about how intense fight training hasn't been necessary for a while. That means we're not under attack, which, need I remind you all, is a good thing."

"Okay, obviously I'm happy that we're not being attacked by an army of mothmen or whatever," Chloé said, suspending herself upside as she hovered closer. "But that doesn't mean it's not fun to have superpowers! Besides, haven't you been coming here to train with Amara somewhat regularly? How is that any different?"

"I like to think of our sessions as meditation, thank you very much. She's helping me get in touch with my emotions so I can practice self-control. That's an entirely different thing to learning how to fight in preparation of taking down a mad cult." Nick walked into the middle of the open floor and started stretching, briefly casting his gaze to the ceiling. "Besides, things have been pretty chill for me recently. The new moon was last Saturday, so my lycanthropy has been pretty quiet."

"That's probably for the best," Amara said, grinning. "Our normal exercises might be a bit awkward with so many people around."

Tessa grumbled to herself, still upset that she missed the big finale to Amara and Nick's first training session. She'd heard about it after the fact, and she was still trying to figure out a way to convince the two of them to repeat the event, but with her in the middle.

At least Amara isn't monogamous anymore. That was a rough couple of weeks.

"So, how do we want to do this?" Vee asked. "I know we agreed on the broad strokes, but this isn't exactly normal sparring. The whole point is to practice and refine your new abilities, right? How best can we help with that?"

"Oh! We've been so busy that I haven't had a chance to show you guys my tattoo yet!" Chloé said as she raced closer. Amara, Vee, and Nick all gathered around, eager to see what design she'd ultimately chosen. Imani, despite being the artist responsible, crowded in as well. As they watched, Chloé grabbed her shirt and phased it off her body. Underneath, just above her thin blue sports bra, was the colorful tattoo she'd gotten days earlier.

Centered high on her back was a gorgeous, bright red strawberry. Bold, green leaves sat atop it, and two white, feathery wings extended out across Chloé's shoulders. The design itself was incredibly complex; it was not a series of monotone colors, but an intricate web of runic patterns. To an average onlooker, it might appear as nothing more than a simple design applied with a unique artistic flair, but in reality, the patterns hid a dense network of magical runes that gave Chloé the ability to channel magic from the Depths.

Everyone gasped in appreciation of the grand reveal, though Amara was the first to speak up. "Fucking hell, Chloé, that looks incredible!"

"Well, don't thank me. Imani did all the work, and without my wheelchair it wouldn't have been possible in the first place," Chloé muttered. "I've never considered myself a tattoo person before, but something about it just feels right."

"Does it mean anything?" Vee asked. "Or do you just really like strawberries?"

"It's from one of my favorite games! It was made by a trans woman, and it's all about climbing a mountain, but really the whole thing is about overcoming depression and self-doubt and that kind of stuff. Actually, she didn't know that she or the main character were trans when they started the game, it's a really inspiring--" Chloé shook her head. "Sorry, that's not important. It's a game I like, that's all you need to know!"

"Have you tested the magic parts of it yet?" Nick asked.

"That's what tonight is for," Imani said, cutting in. "We wanted to let it sit for a few days to make sure her body didn't reject any of the ink. White ink is notoriously hard to get right, and it tends to fade much more than other colors. There's also the added complexity of using ink derived from magical sources, and given the unknown nature of Chloé's condition... waiting was the right call."

"Well, it looks amazing," Vee said, pulling Chloé into a hug. "Plus, it'll be really easy to show it off if you want to! Get some spaghetti strap tops, or maybe a backless dress if you're doing something fancy, and it'll be a great accent piece."

"Ooh, I hadn't thought about that," Chloé said. "Honestly, I was more worried about the opposite. My parents will flip out if they see it, but I can easily hide it with just a tee shirt or a hoodie."

Tessa perked up at the mention of Chloé's parents. Months ago, back when they thought Chloé had been lost forever, Tessa had shared some rather rude words with the awful couple. "Whatever happened with them, anyway? I... kinda told them they were never going to see you again."

"Right, um... about that. Don't be mad, but I had to throw you under the bus a bit."

"Oh no, are you saying I can't hang out with them anymore?" Tessa said, rolling her eyes as she wrapped her words in a thick blanket of sarcasm. "However will I live with myself?"

"They think you're some kind of miscreant who was trying to convince me to run away from home. You didn't say I was dead, thankfully, which actually made explaining myself a lot easier. It's mostly water under the bridge at this point, though I've started sowing the seeds to eventually explain my wheelchair. That's gonna be pretty awkward, especially since I'm on their insurance; they'll know that I never saw a doctor about this."

"That's not what today is about, though!" Imani clapped her hands together and Chloé flinched in surprise. "We're here to see if these bad boys work as intended. Who's ready to start training?"

"Let's do it!" Amara shouted enthusiastically. "How can we help?"

Happy to change the topic away from Chloé's terrible parents, Tessa pushed off the balance beam she'd been leaning against and approached the group. "It'll be a bit before we need outside assistance, honestly. We'll essentially be doing nothing but running diagnostics for a while; if you wanted to just spar with Nick for a bit, you'll certainly have time."

Amara grinned deviously, rubbing her hands together as she turned to look at Nick. He nervously stepped backwards, then held up a hand before saying, "Amara, wait, there's no need to--"

Wings erupted from Amara's back in a flurry of hellfire, and within seconds she'd kidnapped Nick and dragged him dozens of feet into the air. It wasn't long before his lupine growling filled the room, tufts of fur wrapping around his exposed limbs as he fought to free himself. She watched the two of them wrestle, briefly losing herself in the fantasy of being trapped between them, when a flash of radiant light pulled her thoughts back to reality.

Vee's wings were pure manifestations of light solidified into soft, pillowy feathers, and she gracefully kicked off the floor before joining Amara and Nick as they bickered with each other. A faint halo glimmered above her head, and all the lighting in the building bent towards her. Next to Tessa, Imani's eyes went comically wide as she stared at Vee's angelic form.

"C'mon, Imani, it's nothing you haven't seen before," Tessa said, playfully shoving Imani's shoulder.

"Except it is," she muttered, tears threatening to form in the corners of her eyes. "I've never seen her wings before. Words don't do them justice."

Rolling her eyes with annoyance, Tessa nevertheless decided to give Imani her rapturous moment. "You ready to get started, Chloé? I'll be running a lot of the same tests as you, so I can walk you through how it's supposed to feel."

"Feel? Isn't it all about knowing which runes to activate and how they all work together?"

"I mean, yes, but it's more than that. Actually, here, let's move up to the viewing area to give everyone some space while we get started. Are you going to be alright without your wheelchair?"

"Oh yeah, it won't be a problem. The chair means I'm not constantly exhausting myself during classes, which makes it way easier to use my powers at times like these. Arms up!" Chloé, clearly excited to get started, moved behind Tessa and picked her up before flying her to the viewing platform. By the time the two of them were settled in, Imani had broken from her stupor and started towards the staircase to join them.

"Alright, so, magic tattoos," Tessa started. "Knowing how they work is important, and you've done a great job memorizing the theory behind everything, but that's only half the picture. It's kinda like driving a car--even when you know how it works, there are still some things you just gotta feel."

"Like when my car starts rattling, I know I've hit seventy miles per hour," Chloé said. "Or that my gear shift sticks a bit whenever I'm coming out of park."

"Exactly!" Tessa said with a smile. She rolled her shoulders to shake off her oversized jacket, then extended her right arm to expose her own set of new tattoos. She hadn't bothered showing them off earlier--she'd already bragged about them the instant she got them--but she took a moment to appreciate her fresh ink nonetheless.

Starting from her shoulder and extending all the way to her wrist, she now sported a fresh sleeve that she was immensely happy with. Many different designs had been mixed together and perfectly blended to create a unified whole: various types of flowers and plants, a skull, a tarot card, even small patchworks of nonmagical runic designs. At first glance, it looked exactly like the kind of tattoo that a girl might get if she thought herself a witch, but didn't know magic was actually real. The fake runes in particular were crucial in selling that aesthetic. In reality, of course, Imani had woven an intricate set of magical runes into the design. Her work was significantly more artistic than Elijah's, and at times even Tessa had trouble finding the magical intricacies now emblazoned on her arm.

Ordinarily, getting such a massive, extensively detailed tattoo necessitated months of hard work and slow healing, but knowing an angel had its perks. Vee's healing magic allowed Imani and Tessa to accelerate the process, allowing them to finish significantly faster.

"Now, if you were a witch, we'd start the process by running through a series of basic telekinesis exercises," Tessa continued, "but we can skip that part, obviously. Instead, let's start by accessing the most basic function of our new runes: connecting with the plane itself. In my case, the Aether, in your case, the Depths. If you do it correctly, you should feel the connection on an instinctual level. There might also be a small manifestation of magic or material from the plane; it's honestly hard to say what will happen given the new ground we're treading."

Tessa turned her hand over, her palm now facing upwards, and closed her eyes. She pictured the schematics of her new tattoo, remembered the countless hours she'd spent designing it alongside Imani. She focused on a small cluster of trumpet-shaped lilies on her shoulder, then allowed the magic to flow through her body. The energy was far more sporadic than she was used to, it skipped and stuttered like an excitable child, and she directed it towards her upturned hand.

Opening her eyes, Tessa flinched as a series of sparks appeared in her palm. They immediately condensed into tiny arcs of electricity, each of them leaping and dancing between her fingers. Taking a deep breath in hopes of easing her nerves, Tessa reminded herself of the countless protective runes layered into her tattoos. They shielded her from excess electricity, funneling it safely back to The Aether long before it could potentially injure her. They were so extensive that Imani was confident Tessa could easily be struck by lightning and not even notice.

"This is the most basic function," Tessa said, her voice calm as she focused on memorizing the feeling of this connection. "I'm not directing the magic anywhere, I'm not combining it with my other abilities."

Determination in her eyes, Chloé mimicked Tessa's motion. She slowed her breathing, furrowed her eyebrows, and stared intently at her upturned palm. Imani, now on the viewing platform with them, moved to sit behind Chloé with her eyes trained on the fresh, strawberry tattoo. After several moments of tense waiting, the silence periodically broken by flashes of light and animalistic growling, a soft glow drifted off Chloé's back.

"I feel it!" Chloé shouted excitedly. "Oh, I feel it. That's weird."

Countless tiny droplets of water pooled in Chloé's palm. They gathered into a tiny puddle that gradually grew in size, only needing a few seconds to spill through her fingers and onto the floor beneath her.

"No need to hold it forever, girl," Imani said, leaning in.

Chloé sighed, releasing her breath as she relaxed her connection to her magic. The water in her hand stopped swelling, then she asked, "Um, what should I do with this? I'd feel bad just chucking it on the floor."

"Not to worry! I came prepared!" Rummaging through her own backpack, Imani pulled out a series of thick, fluffy towels before tossing one at Chloé.

"I think that went well! What's next?"

Seeing Chloé's enthusiasm, Tessa couldn't help but smile. "Next, we want to test the various limiters that support, or hinder, the flow of magic. The easiest way to do this is to form that same connection again, and then try to slowly pinch it off." Tessa straightened her back and extended her hand. Within seconds, she once again held a small handful of lightning. Before commencing the next step, she unexpectedly caught herself laughing as she watched the sparks leaping to and fro.

My magic's never been this lively before.

It was almost endearing the way the magic felt as it skipped and danced between her fingers. She pictured those silly little plasma balls she used to love as a kid, the ones that shot electricity at your fingers when you touched the glass, and lost herself in thoughts of what might be possible with her new magic.

"Did you start yet?" Chloé asked. "It looks the same to me."

Tessa shook herself back to her senses. "Sorry, lost my train of thought there for a moment."

"I'm telling you, it's because of the coffee," Imani muttered.

Turning to look at the scribe, Tessa narrowed her eyes with a facade of ill intent. "Don't make me shock you, Imani. I have that power now."

"Girl, you shock me and I'll slap you into next week. Today was wash day! I didn't spend two hours breathing new life into this gorgeous mane only for you to fuck it up with a handful of static electricity." Both girls playfully glared at each other before breaking out into laughter.

Now ready to continue, Tessa turned her attention back to her magic. She once again pictured her tattoo, expanding her focus to include another image. The flowers, already humming with life, joined together with the skull of a cat that sat beneath them. Smoke drifted out of the skull's eyes, quickly solidifying into the stems of the flowers, and the expertly crafted runes woven into the image flared to life.

With the connection established, Tessa clamped down on the magic to restrict it. The bolts of energy in her hand gradually thinned, eventually becoming tiny threads of magic no wider than a strand of spider's silk. When she splayed her fingers further apart, the electricity seemed to vanish altogether; still present, it simply lacked the strength to form connections between her digits. The urge to weave her telekinesis into this tapestry was strong, but she knew the importance of taking things one at a time.

"The magic is still present, I've just lessened it considerably," Tessa said.

"Got it. I need to throttle the magic so that water continues appearing, but at a slower rate."

It only took a few minutes for Chloé to master this next step as well. She slowed the appearance of water to a tiny trickle, then after another of Tessa's demonstrations, proved she was capable of doing the opposite as well. Further testing proved more difficult; Tessa's next step was layering telekinesis over her electricity, while Chloé needed to connect her new magic with her inherent magical connection to Purgatory.

"Your mom used ice magic, right?" Chloé asked. "You said the connection for Purgatory allowed her to harness its entropy and freeze the water?"

"Yup, exactly."

"Huh."

"Is that not how your abilities work?" Imani asked.

"It might be? To be honest, I've never used them that way before. I've mostly focused on my ability to go invisible, phase through things, that kind of stuff. I'm just not sure how much of that is because of my connection to Purgatory specifically, and how much of that is a byproduct of the way I'm kinda suspended between planes."

Tessa paused to think over the situation. "Maybe you should try running all those tests again, but the other way around. Focus exclusively on your connection to Purgatory and try to isolate it."

Chloé cocked her head in confusion. "What would that even look like?"

"Well, it's entropy, right?" Tessa reminded her. "I imagine it would just sap the warmth from the air around you."

"Right, okay. That makes sense." Determination filled Chloé's eyes, and she refocused on her new task. Her body shimmered, its transparency flickering as her hair detached from gravity. It floated upwards as it lost its color, the naturally brown hue turning ghastly white. Life drained from her skin, her face taking on the sickly pallor of a banshee, before she opened her eyes. A piercing, lime green glow cascaded across her cheeks, casting her in a sinister light completely at odds with her usual, kind persona. Her breath froze as it left her body, releasing with it a wave of frigid energy that chilled Tessa to the bone.

Seconds later, it all vanished.

"Did it work?" Chloé asked cheerfully, blind to the haunting demeanor she'd just assumed.

"Uh, yeah, I'd say so." Behind them, Imani held up one of the towels they'd been using to absorb Chloé's summoned water--it was now completely frozen and as stiff as a board.

"Whoa, that's so cool!" Chloé gasped.

"For what it's worth, Chloé," Tessa started, "it was also kinda freaky. Like, full blown horror movie ghost and shit."

"Dang, really?" The ghost girl giggled playfully to herself. "Well, I promise to use this power only for good. As funny as it would be to leap out from your mirror or whatever."

Tessa forced a laugh to mask the shiver running through her. She'd always been freaked out by ghosts, and the fear had grown considerably after learning that magic and monsters were real. Thankfully, Chloé wasn't actually a ghost, but that didn't stop her from being extra susceptible to Chloé's invisible antics.

With the preliminary tests done, Chloé and Tessa continued exploring the limits and capabilities of their magic. Chloé learned she could manifest water anywhere within several feet of herself, not just in her palm or at her fingertips, and slowly improved the rate at which she could summon. Much of her practice revolved around merging her various talents--freezing water into various shapes, using her planar tremors and control over gravity to suspend them, eventually even firing off shards of ice while muttering "Pew!" under her breath.

After remembering that water and electricity were particularly bad to mix together, Tessa moved to the other side of the viewing area. Her tests initially focused on linking her connection to the Aether with her telekinesis, practicing all the different ways she was able to exert control over the erratic, lightning based magic now coursing through her tattoos. This new magic was incredibly unpredictable, and while they'd compensated by partially enhancing Tessa's telekinetic abilities, such control only extended so far. She eventually found that the best way to guide her new magic was not to force it, but to guide it down certain paths by paving the way. By adding additional runes to her three switchblades, she successfully retrofitted them to serve as miniature lightning rods. It wasn't long before she had powerful bolts of magic arcing between her knives as she manipulated them through the air.

Of course, while her display riled up Amara's hopes of exciting new sparring possibilities, Tessa's true interests lay elsewhere. As invested as she was in self-defense, her choice to pursue this line of magic was rooted in her desire to bypass the magical disruption of technology. As such, once she felt comfortable manipulating her new magic, she eagerly dug into her bag of circuit boards and disposable phones.

The rest of her night was spent practicing the applications of runes to modern day electronics. Initial tests involved standard runes, much like the ones on her knives, but later tests involved weaving bits of Aether magic into the designs. Her goal was to find the most efficient symbols to layer tiny channels of magic into the circuitry in hopes of removing the interference altogether.

Her efforts, of course, were continually interrupted by the antics of her friends. The friendly sparring between Nick, Vee, and Amara only lasted so long. Chloé eventually joined in once she felt confident with her abilities, and they had a blast flying after each other while pretending to fight, but their melodramatic monologues proved incredibly distracting. It wasn't long before they started begging Tessa to join them, despite her repeated insisting that lightning wasn't exactly something she wanted to mess around with.

Eventually, the six of them reunited in the center of the spring floor. Those of them excited to mess around had tired themselves out, and Vee had already made several laps around the building to repair all the damage caused by various explosions, claws, and errant flying icicles.

Tessa sat beside her bag of electronics, currently in the middle of applying her first test to a disposable phone. Beside her, Amara and Vee sat side-by-side, leaning against each other as they talked and idly scrolled on their phones. Nick had reverted back to his human form, and was quite excited to learn that his transformation was significantly smaller this close to the new moon. Chloé and Imani were mostly talking about the various applications of Chloé's magic, and how it felt being channeled through her unique physiology. This dynamic, Tessa found, was far more preferable than the rambunctious action from earlier.

"Ha, check it out!" Amara said, showing off her phone to everyone. "Sofia is putting together a board about photosynthesis, and it's so cute!"

"Wow, that's pretty well done. Did her parents help her out?" Vee asked, idly scratching Amara's back.

"I think with some of the more technical aspects of the presentation?" Amara said. "But those flowers were all her, she was showing me some of them last weekend. She's so creative!"

Amara returned to scrolling through her socials, at which point Vee turned to Tessa. "Speaking of science projects, how's your phone experiment coming?"

"Slow and frustrating," Tessa grumbled. "I'm trying to create runic channels that guide the magic safely through the tech instead of disrupting it, but there's not a lot of space to work with. I figured out how to use my new magic as a soldering iron, but I don't exactly have a lot of fine control. I might need to get myself some better tools."

"Why do we need extra phones anyway?" Amara asked.

"I don't think the point is the phone itself, Amara," Nick clarified. "She's just using them as a way to test different types of magical alteration. Although, it's not like there would be any downsides to having a few extra phones on hand in case of an emergency..."

Imani shuffled closer to the group and joined in the conversation. "Plus, think of the applications if Tessa can perfect this! Imagine a world where we add telecommunication runes into the magic circles, and the next time you have to visit another plane, you can call us whenever you like!"

"You're also a shapeshifter, Amara," Chloé said as she floated overhead. "What happens if you need to, like, go undercover or something? You wouldn't be able to use your actual phone, and having a spare that's magic resistant would be super helpful!"

"Okay, but magic resistant doesn't mean fire resistant, does it?" Amara summoned a series of embers and made them dance around. "The perfect phone, in my opinion, is one I could teleport with, but I'm not sure that's possible."

"How does your teleportation work?" Chloé asked.

"It... um... Well, I just vanish from where I am and appear somewhere else."

"That's how all teleportation works, Amara," Tessa mumbled sarcastically. "I think she's curious if you can carry stuff with you when you teleport."

"Ooh, I've never tried, actually. We should test it out! Can I borrow one of those phones?"

Tessa's tattoos lit up and she floated a spare phone over to Amara. "I like how you say borrow like I'm going to get it back."

"You might!" Amara protested as she jumped to her feet. Without waiting for a response, she leapt high into the air and summoned her wings. Once she'd leveled out a dozen feet above the floor, she focused her magic and disappeared in a blaze of hellfire. The intense heat briefly washed over Tessa, who'd paused to watch the demonstration, eager to see what happened to the phone. The instant Amara vanished, another blaze appeared on the other side of the building, and Amara reappeared as they receded. Amara landed with a smile, then reached into her pocket to retrieve the disposable phone. Instead of a phone, however, she held aloft a charred piece of plastic that had been compressed to the size of a golf ball.

"Huh. Well, I guess that's why they call them burner phones, right?"

Everyone but Chloé groaned at the terrible joke. As Amara rejoined Vee on the floor, she tossed the charred remains to Tessa, who engaged her magic to avoid touching the smoking husk. "I assumed this would happen, but it's good to have proof, I guess."

Tessa turned the plastic around a few times before tossing it in her backpack. As she turned her attention back to her amateur runic soldering, the rest of the group returned to their own idle musings.

Several minutes later, Amara shot forward without warning. "Oh shit!"

"What's wrong?" Vee asked.

"It's Camilla! She just texted me to ask if I'm coming over this weekend!"

"That's the cousin that doesn't like you, right?" Nick shuffled closer to steal a peek at Amara's phone.

"She's not my cousin, she's my great grandniece!" Amara shook her head. "That's not important. She's hanging out with some friends, and she wants me to come with! That's gotta mean she's warming up to me, right?"

"That's so exciting!" Vee eagerly hugged Amara as the demon busied herself with a response.

"I told you all that worrying was for nothing," Nick added.

"It was not for nothing, and I'm still worried! She was so mean to Vee the other day, and I can't think of why she'd be acting differently now. What if it's... I dunno, some kind of mean girl trap?"

"Camilla didn't particularly strike me as the petty type, dear," Vee said.

"What could she even do?" Tessa floated her current project up in the air, feeding some magic into it as she talked. "You're a nigh-invincible demon, it's not like she's going to get her friends to beat you up or whatever."

"I'm not worried for my safety, Tess," Amara grumbled. "I just want my family to like me. I'm scared I did something to insult Camilla without realizing it, but what? She's been acting weird since the instant we first met! Unless my mom did something, but... I dunno. Hopefully this is all water under the bridge soon."

Amara spent the next several minutes panicking about her upcoming hangout with Camilla. The conversation shifted to her family for a while afterwards, but it wasn't long before everyone decided to pack up for the night.

While Tessa was thrilled with her new tattoos, she was less excited about the progress she'd made on her tech experiments. Most of her tests had failed, and although she tried to frame those failures as helpful pieces of information, it didn't make the setbacks any less frustrating. She tried to practice some of the positive affirmations Nick always encouraged, shifting her focus to all the happiness her friends found tonight, but she'd never been a very meditative person.

By the time she collapsed in her bed, she'd failed to distract herself. She fell asleep with dozens of half-formed ideas about how she might fix her tech problem, each more nonsensical than the last.

-----

That Saturday

Amara grumbled and fidgeted in her seat as she wrestled with her clothes. Today's outfit--a simple pair of blue jeans, a flattering black button-down, and a long sienna sweater--was entirely real, which meant she wasn't able to mentally adjust how it fit. In the months since she'd started wearing entirely illusory clothes, her body had apparently continued to develop. Her pants felt tighter than she remembered, as did the button-down and the bra underneath. Realistically, they still fit her well enough; most of her frustration was, in fact, unrestrained nervous energy about her upcoming hangout with Camilla.

Why had she suddenly invited Amara out? Had something changed since her last visit? Camilla had been giving her the cold shoulder from the very beginning, and Amara still had no idea why.

"Are you sure you don't want to come with?" Amara asked.

"Positive," Vee said, reaching for Amara's hand. "I saw the look on Camilla's face. I don't know exactly what's going on in her head, but the fact that I'm an angel seemed to annoy her. I imagine my presence today would only make things worse. Besides, I found some really nice places in the area, and I'm happy to wander around for the day. It'll give me a chance to practice my aura reading some more."

"Are you sure you can't, like, read minds or whatever?"

"I doubt Heaven would give us such an invasive ability, love. Besides, even if they did, I wouldn't feel comfortable using it."

"Ugh, I know, I know..." Amara turned her gaze towards the window and watched the houses rush by. They were only a few minutes away from Rosie's house, and she couldn't stop her leg from incessantly bouncing.

"You're going to do great, Amara," Vee insisted. "Camilla has only met you in family settings, and for all we know, that's the problem. Maybe she just doesn't like her family, and that's accidentally rubbing off on how she treats you! Once you're with her friends, I'm sure she'll be much more amicable."

"Sometimes I think you're too optimistic for your own good."

"And that's why you love me!"

Amara chuckled. "That's only one of a million, incredibly extensive reasons why I love you, Vee."

At long last, Vee pulled to a stop in front of the Calderón household. She shared a few last-minute words of encouragement before kissing Amara goodbye, then the two parted ways. Amara nervously wrung the straps of her purse as she approached the house, eventually grabbing her phone to check her messages. On a whim, she decided to text Camilla in lieu of ringing the doorbell, just in case Vee was right about Camilla having mixed opinions about her family.

That can't be right, can it? Everyone is amazing, and they're all so nice! Although, I guess I'm coming in as a bit of an outsider, and they might be putting their best feet forward... Camilla grew up with all of them, she might know something I don't.

Soon enough, the front door opened and Camilla joined Amara on the front porch. She wore high-waisted black jeans and a simple graphic tee underneath a slim, blue jean jacket. After closing the door behind her, she tucked her phone in her back pocket and turned to face Amara.

"Hey, Camilla!" Amara almost went for a hug, hesitated, then settled for an awkward wave. "Did you, um, have a good week?"

Camilla shoved her hands in her jacket pockets and walked past Amara, halfheartedly gesturing for the demon to follow her. "I mean, it was fine, I guess. Most of my classes are gearing up for Spring Break after next week, so there's lots of cramming for tests and shit."

"Oh, that's when I'm on Spring Break, too!" Amara jogged to catch up to Camilla, excited to find something they had in common. "Do you have any plans?"

"I'm not going anywhere, if that's what you mean."

"Ah. Right, that, uh... makes sense, I guess," Amara stammered, unsure what to say. Camilla wasn't exactly being friendly, but she also wasn't being rude. "You're, um, in your last year of high school, right? Do you know where you want to go to college?"

"University of Chicago," Camilla said. She turned a corner and continued leading Amara to... somewhere.

"That's nice, I've always heard great things about them! I considered that for a bit, but my friend Nick really wanted to study architecture, and Aurelius has a fantastic program, so eventually he convinced me to attend with him. What made you pick UChicago over, like, Aurelius or Illinois State?"

"I never really considered other options. I want to stick with my family, and they're here in Chicago."

Shoot, that means Vee is wrong. I mean, I don't blame her, Rosie's family is incredible, but then what does that mean for me?

The conversation paused for roughly half a block, the silence hanging uncomfortably in the air between the two of them. Eager to find some point of connection with Camilla, Amara eventually decided to be more open and direct. "Hey, um, I'm really happy you reached out. I feel like we haven't gotten a lot of time together, and I'm really excited to hang out with you and your friends."

For a brief moment, her comment seemed to stir something in Camilla, but what? Annoyance? Excitement? Surprise? Amara couldn't make heads or tails of her relatively flat expression.

"That's... I just figured you should meet my friends, is all," Camilla muttered.

"To be honest, I was really worried I accidentally did or said something rude." Amara swallowed nervously, trying to watch Camilla for any clues. "For what it's worth, if I did, I want to apologize."

Camilla said nothing. Apart from briefly looking away to check for traffic, she seemed to have no reaction at all. Awkward silence returned, and as much as Amara desperately wanted to say something else, no ideas came to her. The two of them walked another full block before Camilla decided to speak up.

"So. A demon. What's that like?"

"In what sense? Like, what does it feel like? What can I do?" Amara quickly looked around to make sure they weren't near any eavesdropping strangers.

"You tell me, I don't know what I don't know," Camilla said with a shrug.

"Well, I guess it's a lot like being human, but in addition to all my normal needs, I also have an inner fire that fuels my... other talents. Since I'm a succubus, I feed on lust. Just like eating, if I go too long, my body starts to turn on me."

Camilla chuckled unexpectedly. "So, what, if you go too long without getting laid you die?"

"I'm not entirely sure, actually. At the bare minimum, if too much time passes, some of my more aggressive instincts kick in. It gets harder to control my darker impulses and stuff."

"So that's happened before? You hurt anyone?"

"What? No!" Memories briefly flashed through Amara's head of her time in Purgatory, then of her run-in with Tessa's coven. "I mean, yes, I once went a bit too long without sex, but no one got hurt."

"Must be nice, having a convenient excuse whenever you get angry." Hints of Camilla's previous aggression danced around the edges of her words, and Amara shrank into herself. She didn't want to fight, and decided it was better to stop talking altogether.

This final awkward silence continued for a few more blocks, at which point they arrived at a truly incredible house. Unlike all the other buildings around them--Chicago-style bungalows with raised porches and elegant brick faces--this home had recently been torn down and rebuilt altogether. Polished beige stonework framed the exterior of the two-and-a-half story house, and the corner closest to Amara was a large, circular turret. A grand, sweeping staircase led up to the front porch, and the main entrance was framed with towering, vaulted windows that hinted at an equally elaborate entry foyer.

Amara whistled quietly as they started up the front steps. "Wow, this place is huge!"

"Just don't make a big deal about it, okay? They're not as well off as they look." Camilla rang the front doorbell then leaned against the nearby wall while she waited.

Picking a spot opposite Camilla, Amara settled in to wait. "Your friends, they don't... y'know, have you--?"

"Don't worry, your precious secret is safe. Evelyn only stressed how important it was, like, a billion times. I just told them you're a distant cousin, if that's cool with you."

"Thanks, Camilla. I really appreciate it!" Amara said, trying to ignore Camilla's attitude.

The person who finally answered the door seemed nothing like the type of person that would live in such a nice house. Amara had expected someone poised, well-dressed, and charming, perhaps the kind of person with an ever-present smug grin. The man that greeted her, however, was anything but. He had incredibly poor posture and stood with a prominent slouch, yet still managed to be several inches taller than Amara. He had shaggy, unkempt brown hair and a rather long face that seemed permanently frozen with a look of dire resignation. Even smiling as he welcomed Camilla, he somehow looked defeated and worn down.

"Hey, come on in!" he said quietly, his voice as dim as his expression. He gave Camilla a quick hug, then looked over at Amara. "You must be the cousin, yeah? I'm David. Malhoune."

"Uh, distant cousin, but yes. I'm Amara Lamour, it's great to meet you, David!" Amara shook David's hand, then followed him inside. Just as Camilla requested, she did her best to avoid gawking at the incredible house around her.

Of course, it pales in comparison to Mom's penthouse. Our penthouse? Man, that feels weird to think about.

"Hold the door! Wait up!"

Looking back at the entrance, Amara saw a girl with short, bright red hair and an eclectic fashion sense running up the driveway. She turned and waved goodbye to a car lingering on the street, then ran past David, who dutifully held the front door for her. "Hi, Mimi. Glad you could get out on time."

"Hi David! Hi Cami!" Mimi ran to each other person in turn, giving them big hugs before eventually turning to Amara. "Heya, you're Amara, right?"

"Y-yeah! It's good to meet you, Mimi." The red-headed girl jumped forward and hugged Amara. She happily returned the gesture, thrilled to meet someone genuinely cheerful. For a brief moment, she felt that something about this girl seemed familiar, but she failed to think of an answer by the time the hug broke off.

"Is your mom still ferrying you around? She's seriously not letting you drive yourself anymore?" Camilla asked.

"Oh my God, it's so stupid. She only let me come here because I promised that Kat would be busy at work." Mimi marched in front of David, leading the group through the extravagant house. "Shoot, Amara, do you know about this? How much has Cami told you?"

Amara briefly glanced at Camilla and failed to fight back a smile. "Cami hasn't told me anything, actually. What's going on?"

After opening the basement door, Mimi started downstairs as she continued talking. "Ugh, it's my mom and her stupid boyfriend. She's always been a bit old-fashioned, which means that despite living in one of the most progressive areas in the entire country, she has weirdly outdated beliefs about queer people. She does that whole 'I don't have a problem with them as long as they stay over there' thing. Anyway, I don't know how it happened, but somehow she figured out that I have a girlfriend, and now she's throwing a giant hissy fit. She cut off my allowance, I'm not allowed to drive anywhere, she's treating me like I'm some spoiled kid!"

"I'm really sorry to hear that, Mimi," Amara said, quietly thanking her lucky stars that her own mother was so supportive.

At this point, the group arrived in a massive, finished basement. Crisp, clean carpet covered the entire floor, and small windows near the ceiling allowed for plenty of natural light to illuminate the many fancy touches littered throughout the space. The far wall had a kitchenette complete with a small wet bar, and the middle of the room was dedicated to a massive sectional that looked incredibly plush. Across from the couch, a massive TV had been mounted to the wall, and underneath were a series of older game consoles that Amara recognized from Chloé's dorm.

One last person sat curled in the corner seat of the couch. They looked up at the group with a quiet, hesitant smile, partially hiding behind a large tablet as she waited for them to approach. They had shoulder length, dirty blonde hair and a small spattering of freckles across their pale face. A large, greenish-blue sweater hung off one of their shoulders, and hints of a black, lace midi skirt gathered at the edges of their seat.

Mimi skipped across the basement and jumped onto the couch, pulling the rather androgynous blonde in for a hug. As everyone else filtered into their seats, Camilla spoke up. "Amara, this is Kari. They're studying abroad and we tricked them into befriending us."

Kari lifted their hand off their tablet and hesitantly waved at Amara. "U-um... Hi," they whispered. Amara heard a slight accent in their voice, but given how little they said, it was hard to place.

"Hi Kari!" Amara said, trying to match their energy. "It's good to meet everyone, I'm really excited to be here."

"So, Cami says you're some distant cousin she never knew about until a few weeks ago." David's back straightened somewhat as he sank into the couch, and Amara caught a glimpse of just how tall he really was. "How'd that happen? I always thought her family was really close."

Don't say demon magic, Amara, don't say demon magic.

"Well, my grandma had a pretty complicated life, and ended up moving away from the area. My mom moved back shortly before I was born, and then recently I wanted to know if we had any family, so we started looking. Thankfully, we got lucky!"

"I'll say, Cami's family is so big and fun and cool!" Mimi partially released Kari from her hug and settled in next to them. "So what's your deal? Cami didn't tell us much other than that she was bringing you over."

Amara briefly glanced at Camilla, but found her just as expressionless as ever.

Okay, maybe she's just always like this. For all I know, she's got the world's worst case of resting bitch face and she's actually pretty chill.

"I'm... not entirely sure what to say." Amara forced a laugh.

Shit, what do I say? My entire life has been nothing but demon drama, witch politics, werewolf attacks, monster invasions... Who am I outside all that stuff?

"I'm studying marketing out at Aurelius, this is my second year. I'm hoping to go into social media management one day, or at least something in that general ballpark. I... Um... Oh! I'm really into photography! People sometimes hire me to get updated headshots or pictures of them doing, like, cheerleading and dance and sports and whatnot. I also do a tiny bit of amateur modeling on my own, I guess?"

Ugh, I shouldn't have mentioned that. What if they ask to see? I don't want to make it awkward by confessing that I sell racy pictures online to horny college students.

Kari perked up at Amara's last sentence. "Modeling? What kind?"

Amara's face flushed in embarrassment; she hated the thought of accidentally making a fool out of herself, or maybe upsetting Camilla by fessing up to just how raunchy her photoshoot had been. "I-it's nothing crazy, mostly just stuff I put together myself in my apartment. It kinda started as a school project where I started up a couple different online profiles to demonstrate different ways of marketing and how to target different demographics."

"Ohh, for a moment I thought you meant, like, OnlyFans type shit," Mimi said. Kari's face turned bright red at the mere mention of spicier material.

"Not really, no," Amara muttered, again awkwardly glancing over at Camilla. "Like, sure, I've taken a couple pictures that were a bit racier, but--"

"Do you just wear stuff you buy at stores? Or do you make anything yourself?" Kari asked, cutting Amara off.

David laughed. "Uh oh, new girl is about to get Kari started on clothing design."

Shoot, what should I say? Technically I make my own shit, but I'm using magic. If Kari wants to talk about, like, different types of stitches, I'll have no idea what she's talking about.

"Um... It's mostly stuff I buy online, but I'll occasionally make small alterations. Nothing fancy."

"Do you have any of your pictures with you?" In sharp contrast to their earlier quiet, Kari jumped up and moved to sit next to Amara. As they settled in, they began frantically tapping their tablet to dig through its menus. "I'd love to see your work, and then maybe I can show you some of the stuff I've been working on."

Swallowing nervously, Amara grabbed her phone and scrolled through hundreds of different pictures in search of something halfway respectable. She eventually found a series of pictures in which she'd experimented with a more masculine flair; a clean white button-up underneath a slimming gray vest, with a partially undone tie and a sleek black jacket tossed over her shoulder. The rest of the shoot had involved taking everything off, of course, but there was no need to share that information. Turning her phone around, she showed the image to Kari, then everyone else.

"Holy shit, you said you do this in your apartment?" Mimi asked. For a brief moment, a pulse of excitement shot through her aura. "That, uh, lighting is really good..."

"Man, I wish suits looked that good on me..." David muttered.

Camilla seemed somewhat unenthused, though still forced a smile.

"It's all in getting them tailored, David," Kari said. "How many times have I told you to get better fitting clothes? You know what, never mind, this is a losing battle and I know it. Amara, how did you get so much structure in that vest? It looks like it's doing a lot of heavy lifting, but I don't see any ribbing or support anywhere. Unless you hid it in the shirt? That would be smart, and it would allow you to--"

Kari continued to pick apart nearly every aspect of Amara's photo, and Amara did her best to offer answers as best she could. Despite being completely in the dark about the process of making clothes--she'd never touched a sewing machine once in her life--Amara routinely spent hours and hours researching fashion to understand how to craft her illusions. The stitching still needed to look accurate, the fabrics needed to behave naturally, and she made sure never to conjure up something entirely fictitious. After all, if anyone were to grow suspicious of her inhumanity, a poorly crafted illusory shirt might be the final crack in her facade.

"--and Mimi's been telling me about this renaissance fair up north, so my hope is that I can have this bodice ready by then. In a perfect world I could make outfits for everyone, but that takes a lot of time and effort, and I also know that they're not as excited about this kind of stuff..." Kari muttered, her voice slowly weakening as she trailed off.

"I love the idea, Kari!" Camilla protested. "Mimi is the one that's trying to push you into costuming."

"It's not costuming, it's cosplay." Mimi wagged her finger at Camilla like a stuffy teacher correcting a student. "And it would be fun for everyone! Plus, I mean, come on, you add one letter and Kari becomes Kairi. It's too perfect an opportunity to pass up!"

Wait, I know that name. What does that sound familiar? Kairi, Kairi... That's right! Chloé told me all about those games once!

"I'm not seeing it," Amara said, waiting to draw Mimi's attention before she continued. "Their hair is blonde; wouldn't it be better if they dressed up as Naminé? Then you have an excuse to put David in a huge, billowing black cloak."

Mimi gasped as she leaned forward. "You play Kingdom Hearts?! Finally! Someone I can complain about the third game with other than my girlfriend! Which world were you the most disappointed with? Personally, I hated how--"

Amara held up a hand to restrain Mimi's excitement. "Sadly, I'm not actually much of a gamer. I have a friend who's super into that stuff, and I watch her play a lot of games, but that's about it. She's actually one of the reasons I started doing all my photoshoots. She was spearheading a fire relief charity, and I sold my first batch of photos to help with the fundraising efforts."

Surprisingly, Camilla perked up hearing this. "Wait, really? What happened with that?"

A flicker of excitement stirred inside Amara, and she turned to face Camilla directly. "A big party house burned down last Halloween, and she organized the effort to raise money for rebuilding. She'd already been working on an app that tries to streamline the process of fundraising and make it more accessible, so it was the perfect fit. I raised a bunch of money with my photos, but I also help her manage all the social media posting and outreach. I guess I helped a little bit with the manual labor, too. Like, um, knocking down the original building and stuff."

For the first time since meeting Camilla, Amara saw her smile. "That's... really cool, actually. What's going on with that now?"

"Last time I checked, they were still hashing out details for the rebuild. Lots of wrestling with insurance, permits, that kind of stuff. It's all out of our hands at this point."

"And you said this friend of yours runs some kind of charity app? What's that about?"

Ecstatic to have finally found a way past Camilla's icy exterior, Amara happily pulled up Chloé's app. The two of them inched closer together as Amara explained every tiny detail; the buying and selling sides of the app, how to tag charities, integrated ad potential, all of it. Camilla seemed really impressed with Chloé's efforts, and it wasn't long before she started speculating about other efforts that might benefit from being on such an app. Amara even offered to do special photoshoots just to help the charities Camilla seemed interested in, which led to Kari speculating about outfits that might be fun to make, and the conversation continued drifting naturally from topic to topic.

The more time Amara spent here, the more comfortable and relaxed the group became, but no one more than Camilla. Her smile came more naturally, her body no longer seemed as tense, and Amara slowly pieced together bits and pieces of her real personality. She thrived on lifting up her friends and supporting them in their ventures, but also in advocating for a better world overall. She held an impressive wealth of knowledge about local politics, and based on several anecdotes she shared, routinely volunteered at various shelters, food pantries, and other support ventures.

Roughly an hour after Amara first mentioned her charity efforts, the conversation halted briefly as David glanced towards a nearby window and flinched in shock. His face went white and his knuckles tensed, almost like the passing shadow had triggered a flight or fight response.

"Hey, are you okay? What's up?" Amara asked.

"No. I mean, yes! It's..." David swallowed nervously. "It's fine."

"Holy shit! It's Lion!" Mimi jumped off the couch and ran towards the staircase. "David, do you still have those cans of tuna? Amara, c'mon, you have to come meet him!"

Glancing back at David, Amara also caught a glimpse of Camilla's reaction. Something told Amara there was nothing to do about David's unusual response, and it wasn't long before the rest of the group followed Mimi upstairs. By the time they'd arrived, Mimi had already opened a can of tuna and was standing by the back patio entrance, beckoning them closer.

Curiosity overtook Amara's confusion, and she wandered outside to see what had Mimi so excited. Following her gaze, Amara saw a huge stray cat with a shaded silver coat and deep yellow eyes; she suspected it was a Maine Coon, and a particularly large one at that. Mimi, practically vibrating with excitement at this point, stepped closer and kneeled down to hold out the can of tuna.

"C'mere, Lion! Come say hi to Amara!"

The cat perked up as it caught wind of Mimi's snack, wasting no time in wandering over to indulge. Amara had expected a hint of skittishness from the cat, which was presumably a stray, but Lion seemed as comfortable around Mimi as any domesticated cat. Amara inched closer as quietly as she could, and after she kneeled down, Mimi pushed the can of tuna into her hands.

"He's super friendly, you can totally pet him while he eats," Mimi muttered.

"Is he a stray?" Amara gently pet behind Lion's ears and giggled as she felt its soft fur. From up close, she saw just how massive the cat was--at least three feet long, if not bigger, and his thick, fluffy coat made him look all the more imposing.

"Yup, he kinda does his own thing," Camilla said, taking a seat on the patio next to Amara. "When he first showed up, a couple families tried to adopt him, but he really didn't like that. I guess he belongs to the whole neighborhood? There are a few houses that routinely leave out, like, food and water and housing for him, but he doesn't play favorites."

"Aww, who's a good kitty?" Kari whispered, their European accent even thicker as they adopted a cute pet voice. "Yes you are. Yes you are!"

Everyone in the group took turns feeding and petting Lion, and eventually they settled on the ground to continue the conversations they'd started in the basement. Lion emptied the can of tuna and sprawled out next to Mimi, while Amara and Kari drifted back to talking about fashion design for their now-upcoming photoshoot. In the middle of this conversation, Camilla caught David nervously glancing at his phone and spoke up with surprising bite.

"David. Give me your phone," she said, her voice reminding Amara of a stern mother.

"I... Yeah. Thanks..." David muttered, his face flush with embarrassment.

Seconds later, as Camilla swiped through David's apps, she sighed in disappointment. "I'm not going to give you the whole spiel again, you already know what I'm going to say, but still. If I catch this on your phone again, I'm going to sit you down for a two-hour lecture about all the ways this is a terrible idea, okay?"

"Yes ma'am..."

Intensely curious about the exchange, Amara watched as Camilla opened the options for one app in particular. It was one she didn't recognize: a stylized gold "P" with a glitzy background. Seconds later, the app was deleted and Camilla handed David's phone back to him.

From then on, the conversation returned to normal. No one mentioned David's strange jumpiness, nor Camilla's disappointment in catching him with an app on his phone. Amara suspected she was the only one without context, as neither Mimi nor Kari raised any questions. Being new to the group, however, Amara decided her curiosity fell under the umbrella of "things Camilla had told her not to bring up."

It wasn't long before the bright daylight started dimming. Crisp, clean sunbeams grew heavier and adopted orange hues as they struggled to slide through the branches of nearby trees, and a brisk chill infected the ever-present breeze. The group's conversations lost their energy, and plans started forming for future hangouts. Mimi was the first to leave, by order of her parents. Kari left shortly thereafter, calling a rideshare to get back to their place. In their absence, Camilla and Amara decided to call it a night as well, hugging David goodbye before descending the elegant stone steps. Amara texted Vee that she was ready to get picked up, then joined her distant niece in walking back to Rosie's house.

"Your friends are so nice!" Amara said, shoving her phone back in her pocket. Throwing her arms around Camilla, Amara hugged her as tightly as she could without hurting her. "Thanks for inviting me out, Cami, today was amazing."

"I'm glad you could make it out," Camilla muttered, sheepishly returning the hug. "I'm... really glad you enjoyed yourself. I didn't expect everyone to get along so well."

"Hey, speaking of everyone else, if it's alright to ask... what's up with David? He seemed weirdly jumpy, and then there was that whole thing with you taking his phone and deleting something. Is he doing alright?"

Camilla paused, biting her tongue as her eyes darted back and forth across the sidewalk underneath her. "He's... in a bad spot, financially."

"And that's enough to make him scared of shadows?"

With a heavy sigh, Camilla made her decision. She looked up at Amara, then said, "His family used to be pretty well off. I mean, look at his house. It's huge, right? Things fell apart shortly after they built it, and David had trouble adjusting to a slightly more modest life. Nothing crazy, of course, it's not like he was swimming in gold, but he liked being able to spend money on friends, family, games, random projects, shit like that. For a bunch of reasons, he wound up sinking a bunch of time into a sports betting app called Pactolus."

"Wait, I've heard of that." Amara cast her thoughts back to a piece of news from earlier in the month. "Didn't it just come out that the guy who runs that app also owns some anti-gambling nonprofit?"

"Yup, that's the one. He's a huge skeezeball, but that's not even the half of it. I'm positive that he's doing a bunch of other illegal shit behind the scenes that no one has caught yet."

"What makes you say that?"

"I saw what they did to David." Camilla clenched a fist as her nostrils flared. "He lost a ton of money on that app, so much that they briefly froze his account. GAME reached out and encouraged him to attend some group counseling, and eventually they started pairing him up with a couple counselors."

"That's good, isn't it?" Amara asked, not understanding Camilla's anger.

"You'd think so, but no. They offered to help him take charge of his finances, and in doing so, they referred him out to a short-term loan company. The thing is, I looked over his contract after he'd signed it, and they royally fucked him over. They barely gave him any money, they're charging massive interest rates, and they're really aggressive about David paying them back. Over the last few weeks, he's caught people following him, and not all of them look like upstanding financial advisers."

"Shit, seriously?" Amara wrapped an arm around Camilla's shoulder. "That's terrible, Camilla."

"I'm just really worried that, like... I dunno. What if that place is a front for the mob or something? What if David just disappears one day and no one knows why?"

Amara tried thinking back to her many conversations with Chloé, hoping to recall some key piece of legal advice, but nothing came to mind. "Have you looked into the company? If they're doing something illegal, maybe we can find a lawyer to do something about it."

"Actually, I..." Camilla stammered as she pulled away from Amara. "I was thinking that maybe you could do something about this."

"Me? Camilla, I wouldn't even know where to start. I'm not a lawyer, and it's not like my photoshoots are pulling in tens of thousands of dollars."

Camilla shook her head. "No, that's not... I meant help in other ways."

They stopped walking just before turning down Rosie's street. "Other ways? Cami, are you asking what I think you're asking?"

"Think of how easy it would be! All you need to do is scare them off, maybe force the company to forgive his loan or something. It would be a piece of cake, and it might be David's only shot at a real second chance!"

"Have you forgotten about everything my mom said? About all the crazy shit that might find us if I start flaunting my abilities like that?"

"I'm not asking you to do anything crazy! I just thought if you met David, you'd be willing to--"

"What do you mean, 'if I met David?'" Amara gasped, pain shooting through her chest. "Is that all today meant? This wasn't about getting to know me in the slightest, you just wanted me to meet your friends in the hope that I would magically bail them out?"

"No!" Camilla hesitated. "Well... Look, at first, I thought-- Amara, I honestly had a lot of fun today, but that doesn't mean--"

"Just stop, Camilla." Fire swelled deep within Amara, and she fought to stop it from manifesting. Tiny hints of hellfire sparked around her hair, but she managed to pull them back before anything caught fire. Gravel crunched on the street beside the two of them, and Amara turned to see Vee waving from her car. "At least now I know what you really think of me."

Amara turned and walked away, grabbing the passenger door of Vee's car as Camilla called out.

"Please, wait! Let's just talk about this!"

The door slammed behind Amara, and she furiously grabbed the seatbelt. "Get me out of here," she hissed.

Vee hesitated, briefly glancing at Camilla, but ultimately said nothing. She nodded slowly, shifted out of park, and drove away. After turning the corner and breaking line of sight with both Camilla and Rosie's house, Amara broke down and started crying.

-----

In the corner of the office, an annoyed intern frustratingly shuffled papers around as he tried to restock the printer. Several desks away, a phone rang and an annoyingly boisterous employee started talking about his day. Keyboards clacked away, doors clicked open and shut, and the incessant buzz of idle conversations merged into an omnipresent maelstrom of distraction as Danika tried to refocus her thoughts on the screen in front of her. She closed her eye, took a deep breath, then tried to restart from the last paragraph she'd read.

Ron: Exactly. Look, I love gambling. I think it's great fun, and can be a really exciting way to spend your free time. I'm also not an idiot; I know it's addictive. I've seen firsthand how easily gambling can ruin people's lives. Yes, I want to give people a safe way to gamble, but I also want to make sure they're not throwing their lives away. By operating GAME alongside my other ventures, I have direct access to the habits of tens of thousands of gambling citizens. Information I wouldn't have if I didn't own Pactolus and Tyche's Paradise.

(Editor's Note: Mr. Forester's comments here do not represent the exact legal structure of GAME, Tyche's Paradise, or Pactolus Sports Betting. Information exchanged between these entities, as well as Mr. Forester's involvement in proceedings, is fully compliant with both state and federal regulations.)

Miriam: So you freely exchange information between your for-profit and non-profit organizations?

Ron: I do. I have a robust team of specialists dedicated to looking for signs of gambling addiction. We look at spending habits, presumed yearly income, things like that.

Miriam: Can you give an example of what that might look like?

Danika paused and scribbled some notes to herself. She'd combed over this interview dozens of times by now, and while it hadn't told her anything new, she couldn't stop herself from constantly coming back to it. She wished she could have talked to the Sun-Times before they published it.

"Hey, Danika, how's the weather over on this side?"

With a sigh, Danika set her pencil down and stared at Tom. He leaned awkwardly against her desk, a cup of coffee in one hand and his eyes halfway pretending they weren't scanning her notepad.

She flipped it over before responding. "How can I help you, Agent Richmond?"

Tom scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Come on, still with this 'Agent Richmond' stuff? Would it kill you to lighten up a little?"

Danika said nothing, instead choosing to stare daggers at Tom. His gaze briefly flicked to the eyepatch covering her right eye, then he quickly cleared his throat and forced more small talk to make himself feel better about staring. "So, they, uh... They still got you covering the Forester case, huh?"

"Yes."

More tense silence. With any luck, Tom would get the hint soon.

"I saw that interview he did with the Sun-Times. Can you believe it? That bastard finally gets caught in a lie, and what's come of it? Jack fucking shit. You should seriously ask to be reassigned; I'd rather spend all day writing parking tickets than try to nail his ass."

"I'm going to do the job I was assigned, Agent Richmond. Is there anything I can help you with?" she asked, her tone as lively and energetic as the broken printer across the office.

Tom took another sip of coffee, then forced a cough to fill the silence. "I, uh... How about I let you get back to work, eh?" After tapping the top of her computer with his knuckles, Tom turned his attention to another poor soul several desks down, finally leaving Danika alone with her work.

Flipping her notepad ride-side up, Danika finished her reread of the interview. She spent most of her day double and triple-checking all the information shared with the newspaper, cross-referencing it with her own notes about Mr. Forester's various business holdings. His casino was clean. His app was clean. His nonprofit was clean, at least on paper. Deep in her gut, Danika knew Forester was using GAME to launder money, but there simply wasn't any proof.

Closing the interview, Danika decided to once again consult her list of Mr. Forester's financial partners. GAME, Tyche's Paradise, and Pactolus all did business with a surprisingly small list of companies, and she suspected that some of them might be shell corporations.

As she pulled up the list, she rolled her neck and briefly assessed the state of her surroundings. If nothing else, she had control over her desk, and that was occasionally enough comfort to make it through the day. To the right of her computer, nothing but several unimportant files. Most were routine updates regarding past cases, with the one exception being an annual report on her performance. Just like last year, and the year before that, her requests for a better position had been denied. The higher ups had spent tens of thousands of words laundering the same ignorant argument they made every year: with only one eye, it made no sense to give her field work.

Not wanting to revisit their pointless drivel, she instead reached for her nameplate. Tom had knocked it over during his departure, and she allowed herself a moment to polish it off.

Danika Chevannes, Special Agent.

Her name used to mean something. Her title used to command respect, but how was it supposed to do that when she never left her desk?

After wiping the fingerprints from her nameplate, she sighed softly, then returned it to its place. She nudged it once to center it, then a second time to correct her over correction. Having given herself more than enough allowance for distraction, she turned her attention back to her list of suspected shell companies and got to work.

Alright, let's start from the top again. Avalon Financial Services, frequent partner of GAME. They were incorporated as a business fifteen years ago, but five years after that someone bought them out and changed their name. Since then, they--