Suddenly A Succubus Ch. 72

Vee had never disliked driving, even after realizing her full potential and manifesting her wings. Amara was always the complainer--cars were too small, too restrictive, she could fly so much faster. As much as Vee empathized with those thoughts, she'd never truly internalized them until this moment. Seeing the love of her life crying in the passenger seat, being unable to cradle her because she needed to painstakingly crawl towards Evelyn's penthouse in a tiny metal box... Vee hated it.

She wanted nothing more than to sweep Amara up in her arms and fly her across the city. To hold her tight and whisper sweet nothings into her ear while assuring her everything was going to be alright. Instead, she had no option but to simply hold Amara's hand, to feel her shudder and shake as she recounted her conversation with Camilla.

Their first true moment alone only came as they entered the elevator that led to Evelyn's apartment. The doors had barely closed when Amara buried herself in Vee's shoulder, another small bout of tears escaping her as she hugged Vee tight.

"I really thought she was warming up to me, Vee. I thought I'd finally found some common ground with her, with the only other person in the family even remotely close to my own age."

Vee returned the hug just as tenderly, rubbing Amara's back and gently cradling the side of her head. "It's okay, love, I'm here with you. Everyone has trouble with their families from time to time."

"Not you," Amara muttered through her sniffles.

"The only family that knows I'm an angel are my parents," Vee countered. "And even then, they don't know the full truth. I can't even imagine what they would say if they knew I was dating a demon."

Amara huffed. "I just... I have a sister now, you know? Rosie is amazing, and funny, and smart, and caring, and I love her to death, but she's also like ninety years old. There's only so much we can have in common when she was born and raised in such a different time. Camilla is about to start college, and I got so excited about the thought of us being something like sisters, but now I know what I am to her and I--" More tears sprang from Amara's eyes and she smashed her face back into Vee's shoulder.

After years of being Amara's friend, and many months of being her partner, Vee knew that Amara needed to vent, to fully immerse herself in her feelings. Vee had several thoughts about Camilla's behavior, and in her own opinion, the situation was more nuanced than Amara currently gave it credit for, but this wasn't the time for that conversation.

Instead, after they arrived at the penthouse, they retreated to a pointlessly luxurious couch and swaddled themselves in plush blankets. Across from them, massive floor-to-ceiling windows showcased the breathtaking skyline of Chicago. While they'd unfortunately missed the sunset, the sparkling lights of the countless skyscrapers still made for an incredible view. It wasn't anything new--she'd once flown to Chicago and back and seen this from the sky--but it was easier to appreciate the beauty of the city while wrapped in the arms of her love.

Very little was said that night. They eventually made a bowl of popcorn and put on a movie, though neither cared to pay much attention. By the time the credits rolled and their bowl of snacks was empty, Amara was already half asleep. She curled into Vee's arms as the angel picked her up, gently carrying her to the master bedroom so the two of them could peacefully cuddle and sleep through the night.

-----

Vee woke first, unsurprisingly. Amara was perhaps the heaviest sleeper she'd ever met, and in the absence of alarms or an insistent jab, almost never woke before ten. Given how emotional yesterday had been, Vee suspected Amara would be asleep even longer today. In anticipation of this, she quietly slid out of bed and set about making Amara a delicious, hearty breakfast in hopes of kicking their Sunday off on a better note.

The kitchen itself was immaculate. Not only was it massive and decked out with the most expensive appliances Vee had ever seen, it had also been freshly stocked with groceries. The entire space was illuminated by the light of the morning sun, completely unobstructed by the nearby buildings and perfectly on display through the kitchen's own massive floor-to-ceiling window. As Vee surveyed the space, she caught several rays of ambient light bending towards her. She glanced at the window, remembered just how isolated they were from the rest of the city, and decided there was no need to restrain her full self this morning.

In much the same manner one might sink into a hot bath after a long day, Vee relaxed the intangible part of her that throttled her angelic nature. Sparkling glimmers of iridescent light leapt from her soul, scattering faint multicolored bands of color across the extravagant marble countertops. The colors that met above her joined together with such fervor they buzzed in excitement, singing in harmony as they merged into a glorious halo. Ever so softly, as if drifting on a breeze carried in from an unseen amphitheater, hints of Vee's favorite symphony began to play. The delicate melody of the overture skipped and danced around the room, brightening the space even further and lifting Vee's spirits to new heights. Amara deserved the most uplifting morning imaginable, and Vee was determined to give it to her.

Despite having never cooked in this kitchen before, Vee knew exactly where to find everything. The space itself seemed to come alive in her presence, sharing its secrets as if catching up with an old friend. Every egg she cracked came apart perfectly, every time she flipped a slice of bacon she found it perfectly crisped. At one point, she thought about seasoning a slab of hash browns, then watched as salt and pepper materialized out of thin air just above the savory potatoes. All the while, Vee hummed along with the symphony quietly filling the kitchen, her determination echoed in its triumphant notes.

One by one, Vee piled the fruits of her labor on a large breakfast tray. After a healthy helping of creative thinking, she managed to find space for three adults' worth of food--hopefully that would be enough to sate Amara's monstrous appetite. Vee normally left the cooking to Amara, and wasn't intimately familiar with the true scale of Amara's hunger, but she knew it had grown considerably following her discovery of her demonic lineage.

With the breakfast tray on one hand and a small tray of supporting items on the other, Vee decided it was time to wake her sleepy demon girlfriend. She strolled into the bedroom with the grace of a ballet dancer and giggled to herself as she watched Amara wake up. Her nose twitched first, then her tail flicked back and forth beneath the heavy comforter. She grumbled once, twice, then took a deep breath and arched her back to stretch her wings out. She rose off the mattress like a vampire floating out of its coffin, and doing so revealed she'd accidentally skewered her pillow. Nearly half of Amara's thick, auburn hair stuck to the pillow that hung from her horn, and as she lazily opened her eyes, a resilient yawn overtook her.

"Mmmwhatshappening?" Amara grumbled.

Vee moved to Amara's side of the bed and sat down next to her, setting the large breakfast tray down in front of her. "Good morning, sleepyhead. I made you breakfast!" Leaning in for a kiss, Vee placed the smaller tray on the nearby nightstand.

Amara's eyes shot open after their kiss. "Shit, seriously? Vee, you didn't have to do this."

"Well, tough luck, Hellspawn. I happen to be an early riser, and for some reason, I've fallen madly in love with you. As such, we have a lovely spread of anything and everything you could possibly want for our second morning in this ludicrously expensive penthouse. Eggs, bacon, hash browns, sausage, and a thick stack of fluffy chocolate chip pancakes!" To complete the dazzling display, Vee grabbed a bottle of syrup from the second tray and drizzled its thick, golden contents onto the pancakes. In much the same fashion, a tiny drizzle of drool dripped out of Amara's mouth as she took everything in.

"Before this day I knew not what love truly was," Amara whispered, in awe of the feast before her. Her eyes fell on a tall ceramic mug on the corner of the tray, and she curiously picked it up. "This is... a scoop of ice cream? I'm not complaining, but you don't seem like the type to do dessert for breakfast."

"Ah, but I haven't added the finishing touch." After setting the syrup down, Vee grabbed the piping hot moka pot and poured a generous helping of rich, full-bodied espresso over the ice cream. "With one small addition, it becomes--"

"Affogato!" Amara bounced in excitement as she brought the mug to her lips. "Mmmfuck, that's amazing."

No longer holding anything, and with the surprise now fully revealed, Vee slid closer and pulled the punctured pillow off Amara's horns. She placed it back on the bed before brushing Amara's hair from her face. At the same time, a small flurry of sparkling light repaired the damage to the pillow. Amara shivered as the angelic magic finished up, but paid it little mind in favor of digging into her breakfast feast.

"Vee, fuck, I can't--" Amara moaned between bites of food. "This is-- Fuck, it's so-- Mmmfffffuck."

Climbing onto the bed, Vee sat across from Amara and joined in, though her enthusiasm paled in comparison to Amara's rapturous moans. "So, it's fine? I think that's what I'm hearing?"

"Don't you play coy with me, I know you--" Amara paused to look around the room. "Where's that music coming from? Do you have a speaker going in the kitchen or something?"

"Oh, that? No, it's kinda been following me around all morning. Since we're all alone up here, I figured I'd let my magic breathe a little."

Amara chuckled. "Of course the music of your soul is classical."

"Are you feeling better after a long night's rest?" Vee asked.

"No, my girlfriend made an immaculate feast that's accompanied by a symphony powered by the literal light of Creation and I'm still miserable." Amara drizzled more syrup on her pancakes, the sugary sweetness nearly as thick as her sarcasm. "Of course I'm feeling better, how could I not be?"

Vee politely cut another piece of sausage and popped it into her mouth. "Are you feeling up for talking about yesterday?"

"What else is there to say?"

"Yesterday was too fresh, I wanted you to feel everything without interruption from me. Now that you've had some time, I figured it might help to talk about it."

After another sip of affogato, Amara sighed. "... I'm nothing but a demon to her, what else matters?"

Vee reached across their makeshift table and wiped a bit of ice cream from Amara's lips. "Love, what would you do if the government abducted me?"

"What has that got to do with anything?"

"Just humor me. Pretend the government discovered my identity, found a way to seal away my magic, and locked me up in some secret underground bunker. What would you do?"

"I would raze the building to the ground and make them regret ever touching you, obviously."

"That's exactly my point, Amara."

"... Hold up, I don't get it."

"Try to put yourself in Camilla's shoes. She's, what, eighteen? Still in high school, just an ordinary girl. One of her best friends made a few mistakes, nothing serious, and now she's terrified that bad actors are potentially weeks away from blackbagging him. She has no way to raise money, there's nowhere to hide, and time is running out. Suddenly, she learns about a long-lost family member that's a mythological force of nature. An absolute terror that could probably wipe out the mob in a week if she set her mind to it. What would you do?"

Amara pouted as she lazily licked the ice cream floating in her cup. "Probably ask for help..."

Vee remained silent, taking another bite of sausage as she gave Amara the space she needed to process everything. After another few sips, she set her affogato down and cut off another piece of pancake.

"She still lied to me!" the demon protested. "She invited me to hang out with her friends and let me think it was just a normal hangout!"

"Yeah, she did, and that's not great. You have every right to be upset about that. She also gave you the cold shoulder when you first met, and never really explained why. Whatever her deal is, I'm willing to bet it's more complex than just thinking you're a mindless demon." Vee popped another chunk of fluffy, syrupy pancake in her mouth. "Plus, she was rude to me too, and that's unforgivable. How about I take over hating her forever, and you can jump to hearing her side of things?"

"I don't hate her! I just--" Amara froze mid-chew, then glared at Vee. "Ugh, how are you so good at that?"

A self-satisfied giggle escaped Vee's lips. "Good at what? Encouraging you to be honest about your feelings? You love your family, Amara. I know you're not going to let one little fight get in the way of that."

Blushing, Amara tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Thanks, Vee."

Darting forward, Vee grabbed Amara's coffee cup and stole a sip of affogato. "Now, you were pretty distracted on the car ride here. What are Camilla's friends like? Are they nice?"

"They're really cool! First I met David, he's the guy that owes money, and honestly I had trouble getting a read on him. He kinda just looks tired and worn down all the time? But he's pretty funny and he clearly really likes his friends. Kari's doing a study abroad program and they've got this adorable accent, but they're also really into fashion and stuff! They had a tablet with them and were working on random designs for clothes they wanted to make. The others had mentioned a local renaissance fair and Kari really wanted to go to that, and then they found out that I do photoshoots, so we spent a bunch of time talking about costuming and stuff. The last girl was Mimi, and she's crazy energetic. Like, super bubbly and happy and talkative. I feel really bad for her, though, her parents found out that she's gay and they're being huge assholes about it. Like, come on, they live in Chicago! Who the hell is still being homophobic in Chicago?"

"Wait, Mimi? Short red hair, eclectic fashion sense?" Vee asked.

"Yeah, actually. Wait, how do you know Mimi?"

"That first day you met your family, I wandered around the neighborhood experimenting with my abilities. I was looking for a way to more efficiently channel my magic, and that's when I discovered my aura reading thing. Anyway, in the middle of all that, I ended up at a small church and happened to run into Mimi. Well, literally. She crashed into me and dropped a bunch of stuff. When I saw she had a lesbian pride pin, she asked me not to tell anyone, and it was really obvious she was talking about her parents."

"Man, that sucks," Amara moaned, finishing off another bite of eggs. "That her parents found out, I mean."

Lost in thought, Vee only managed a half-hearted response. "Yeah... weird coincidence..."

"Oh, there was also Lion! He's this huge cat that wanders around the neighborhood and he's super friendly! I got to pet him and he cuddled up next to Mimi a bunch, it was great. After he showed up we spent a bunch of time hanging out in David's backyard, he's got this really pretty outdoor space with lights and a little scaffolding and everything. His whole house was gorgeous, actually, but I guess his family hit some financial troubles after building it? I wasn't supposed to mention to him because of the gambling troubles, which I guess makes sense in hindsight, and--"

Vee and Amara's lazy breakfast continued for another hour. The hungry demon successfully cleared every plate, all the while sharing every tiny detail about the time she'd spent with Camilla's friends. As her stories slowed down, she started asking Vee more questions about her recently discovered aura reading, among other ways her magic had started manifesting in recent weeks. So much of their time recently had been spent fixating on Amara's new family, Tessa and Chloé's new abilities, Nick's training, and schoolwork, they'd barely had any time to just relax and enjoy a lazy morning together. Somehow, it felt easier to steal this time while lodged in Evelyn's incredible penthouse nestled amidst the clouds.

Long after they finished breakfast, they eventually found the strength to move to the kitchen. There, as they cleaned the counters and packed their plates into the dishwasher, Amara's phone pinged. The short, repeated buzzes indicated it was a text, not some random push notification, and she quickly dried her hands with a burst of hellfire before checking it.

She paused, opened her mouth as if to say something, then gave up on the idea. Instead, she nervously bit the inside of her mouth as her eyes darted over the text several more times.

"What is it, love?" Vee asked.

"It's Camilla. She wants to apologize, and is asking if I'm free to meet up today."

"Well, you are, aren't you? It's not like we had any plans."

"I was planning on spending the day with you! I mean, I hadn't settled on any ideas yet, but..."

"Amara. Dear." A cascade of glittering, Enochian fire dried Vee's hands, then she hopped onto the island counter next to Amara. "I'm not going anywhere. Go talk with Camilla, try to smooth this out."

"Are you sure? You keep driving me out here and I don't want you to think that--"

Vee pulled her girlfriend in for a kiss, hugging her tight before wrapping her legs around her waist. They lost themselves in each other, a tiny hint of passion that ended with Vee happily slapping Amara's ass. The succubus clearly loved this, leaning forward as she lost herself in the passion, which Vee used to her advantage by stealing Amara's phone. Seconds later, she'd successfully messaged Camilla, "Sure, what time and where?"

"Aaaand sent," Vee muttered, pulling away from their kiss.

Her words took a moment to register with Amara. "Wait, what? Hey! You stole my phone!"

"Go make up with Camilla, silly. I know how important this is to you."

Amara read Vee's text and failed to hide her smile. "... Thanks, Vee. I'll make this up to you, I promise."

Vee slapped Amara's ass one last time. "Come on, you have to go get dressed. No illusory clothes, remember?"

"Ugh, I hate real clothes," Amara griped. "They're too stiff and they don't fit right anymore. Do you know how comfy I can make all my outfits when they're made of magic! Also, wait, hold on, we were kissing the whole time. How the fuck did you send that text?"

-----

Camilla had initially suggested lunch, but due to Amara's late morning and even later breakfast, they instead decided to grab coffee and wander a nearby park. After waving goodbye to Vee, who insisted that she would be fine spending the day on her own once more, Amara turned to face the local coffee joint. Her insides twisted themselves into knots as she pushed open the front door, a delightful bell chiming above her head. Looking around, she quickly found Camilla sitting alone at a corner table, nervously spinning her phone in her hands as she waited. The bell drew her attention and she sprang to her feet.

She walked towards Amara with impressive speed, only for the two of them to awkwardly stare at each other in silence for several moments.

"Um... this is a nice place," Amara eventually said, looking around to avoid meeting Camilla's gaze.

"Yeah, it's got way better coffee than Starbucks, and they actually pay their employees a living wage!" Camilla forced a smile and half a laugh. "They serve really cool specialty drinks, and on Thursdays they bring in local musicians to perform, and they let people buy drinks for future customers and... y'know... stuff like that..."

Amara shuffled awkwardly from side to side. "So, did you order yet?"

"No, I was waiting for you."

"Well, I'm here, so... let's get in line?"

They ordered their drinks--which were surprisingly similar--then set a course for a nearby park. It paled in comparison to the Demali Forest Preserve, but it was hardly fair to compare the two; Ekstápoli's massive park was practically core to the city's identity. After finding a small bench tucked in the middle of a delightful grove of trees, Camilla spoke up first.

"Look, I'm sorry about yesterday. I feel like shit about it, honestly."

Amara sipped her coffee and sighed. "It's not just yesterday, Camilla. You've been giving me the cold shoulder ever since I showed up, and I have no idea why. I never had a family growing up, and meeting all of you has been a dream come true! I wanted so badly to make this work, especially with someone my own age, and you took advantage of that. I thought you were warming up to me, that you finally wanted to get to know who I am, but it was all a lie."

"That's not-- no, that's fair. I've been kind of a bitch, haven't I?" Camilla admitted.

"I just don't understand why. It feels like you've hated me since the moment I showed up."

Camilla drummed on the side of her cup as she listened. "When your mom first showed up, things got really weird. Demons, angels, magic, immortality, all this crazy stuff from Bisabuela Rosie's story was real? Aunt Lupe has always been religious, and she was convinced that letting Evelyn in was a terrible idea. She seriously considered getting holy water and trying to... I don't know, honestly. Purify her? Banish her? We talked her out of doing anything like that, but it's not like some of them didn't consider her side of things for a bit."

"I always forget about that kind of stuff," Amara admitted. "I'm so used to all this nonsense; it just fades into the background for me. I was pretty freaked out when I learned about it myself."

"It wasn't like that for all of us. Because of Evelyn, Rosie wasn't a very religious person, and that carried over to a lot of us. Personally, while I was a bit surprised, it didn't feel like anything to get that worked up over."

"I'm sensing a 'but' coming."

After a playful glance from Camilla, she continued. "But... then Evelyn explained the situation. She told us about how magic is a secret, how it needs to be a secret to keep everyone safe. She talked about the few times she intervened in Rosie's life to make things just a little bit better and, honestly? It made me angry."

"Angry? That she gave Rosie a better life?"

"I'm angry that you're not doing more!" Camilla slammed her palm against the bench. "Evelyn has all this power, all this influence, and she's done nothing but make things a little bit better for the one person that happened to form a genuine connection with her. If Evelyn wanted to, she could... fuck, I dunno, reform the entire prison system or force the government to pass universal healthcare. She could beat some sense into all those spineless politicians who do nothing but pad the pockets of their donors. She could be doing a million different things to make this world a better place, and instead she does nothing."

All that talk about reform, volunteering, political activism... Shit, it all makes sense now.

Amara took a moment to breathe, trying to distance herself from Camilla's fury as to not ignite similar feelings in herself. "And you feel the same about me, is that it? You're mad I'm not doing more?"

"It's not like I want to be mad about it! Earlier, you said you were excited to find a family member your own age, and honestly, so was I! I'm an only child, and the closest thing I've ever had to a sibling was Max, but he's five years younger than me. That's a huge difference! We have nothing in common! But then, every time I get excited to learn more about you, I just... I think about everything you're capable of, I imagine all the good you could do, and it makes me angry all over again. Why is it so important? What could possibly go wrong?" Camilla rubbed her eyes as she tried to calm herself down. "I'm sorry, I'm being a bitch. I want this to work, I really do. I genuinely had a lot of fun yesterday."

Fuck, I had no idea how conflicted she was about this. I guess I can't blame her, what with everything I learned yesterday. On the off chance she's actually asking about the magic side of things, I owe it to her to explain myself, right?

"You remember my girlfriend, Vee?" Amara asked, to which Camilla nodded. "Five months ago, she tried to kill me."

Camilla coughed and nearly spat out her coffee. "I'm sorry, what?!"

"She's an angel, and was raised by her Church to see all demons as innately evil. When she found out about me, she started preparing to either send me to Hell or to kill me. We got into a big fight on Halloween, and it's a miracle neither of us died."

"Fuck, Amara, that's not cool. Why are you dating her?"

"She's the greatest thing that ever happened to me, Camilla." Amara smiled, thinking back to her breakfast feast. "Sure, we had a bit of a rocky start, but we figured it out. It's not her fault that she was raised to be a warrior in a war she doesn't fully understand, and now she trusts her own judgment rather than that of the Church."

"Why tell me that?" Camilla asked.

"You asked what could go wrong, and, well... that's a damn good example. Since then, a madman started a cult on campus and convinced dozens of people to sell their souls to demons. After that, one of those cultists invaded our campus with an army of monsters, and one of my best friends had her existence rent between dimensions. When people find out about magic, they want that power for themselves, and they'll do anything to get it. That mad cultist with the army? He once magically bound my will in an effort to turn me into his personal sex slave. And that's only the stuff that's happened to me personally."

"That's... a really busy couple of months."

"You're telling me. I also know for a fact that there are secret factions within the government, rich assholes desperate for magic that would love to have an angel or a demon in captivity. Clans of vampires vying for control in the shadows, groups of monster hunters eager to see me and my friends dead. If I used my magic to help David, it's very possible that any of those groups might learn about me and decide I need to be stopped. What happens if one of those assholes finds out about you? About Rosie? All of you would be in incredible danger. Shit, why do you think I drive out here? I can fly, Camilla, and use magic to wipe my image from the sky. I wear real, actual clothes to visit the city, when normally I conjure up illusory outfits that are way more comfortable. I'm doing a hundred tiny things every day to keep myself hidden, all to try and keep the people I love safe."

Camilla buried her gaze in the gravel beneath them, cradling her coffee cup in both hands. "I know what that's like, to some extent. Obviously I don't mean the... y'know, the magic stuff, but trying to keep everyone safe. Sometimes it feels like my every waking moment is spent researching volunteer efforts, calling local politicians to pressure them into passing better bills. Every scrap of my extra money goes to shelters, food banks, everything I can find that looks like it's making a difference. We didn't grow up poor, but a lot of my friends did. I've seen what that life does to people."

"My mom tried really hard to give me a normal life, but even then, I guess I was a bit sheltered. I grew up in a pretty nice suburb, I never saw stuff like that."

Silence fell. Amara wasn't sure what to say next, and Camilla seemed too lost in her own thoughts to respond. Around them, the bustle of the city hummed along, a symphony of cars and people running to and fro. Amara had little experience with the city, but even she knew this was a fairly nice area. How close were they to the less fortunate neighborhoods? If she walked south for half an hour, what kind of lives would she find?

"Look, I'm not saying you're doing anything wrong. You clearly love your friends and our family, but... do you seriously think everyone else is playing by those same rules?" Camilla muttered.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing in this world is random, Amara. Gambling debts, shitty loan companies, poverty, hunger, homelessness, every single one of these problems persist because the people in charge want them to. Rich assholes are doing everything in their power to squeeze us dry, to suck out every last penny all in favor of padding their next quarterly earnings report. How many of them do you think know about magic? Do you seriously think that everyone who learns about this shit is a paragon of moral virtue?"

Flashes of a mad cult leader sped through Amara's thoughts. "Not at all. The guy that started that cult at my school got rich suspiciously quickly. We never found proof it was magic, though, and ultimately, it didn't matter."

"That's exactly my point! When they kill people with policy, who stops them? When they drain people's wallets instead of their necks, why is it suddenly not your problem? The worst people you know are desperately clawing for every scrap of power they can get, and if we refuse to use the resources at our disposal, they'll win every time."

"I... Camilla, I don't know. I've only been a part of this life for half a year. Tess and Vee have been doing this shit for decades, and I trust them to know more than I do."

Camilla set her coffee on the ground and turned to face Amara. "Then fine, ignore the hypotheticals. Was it wrong to trick you into meeting David? Yeah, absolutely, and I'm sorry about that, but I'm out of options. He owes too much money to fundraise, and everyone I ask for help says he deserves this. They rant and rant about how gambling is wrong, and he should have known better, but so what? People make mistakes all the time! All I want is to keep my friends safe, just like you, Amara."

As much as she wanted to, Amara couldn't bring herself to look at the woman begging for help beside her. "Camilla, I'm not saying you're wrong. It's just... this is really complicated. This life is so much bigger than me, and until recently, I felt like I was drowning in it. The last time I tried to take action, tried to stop someone I thought was wrong, I flew into a mindless rage and nearly butchered someone. I hurt the people I cared about most in a desperate attempt to protect them, and I'm constantly terrified of repeating that mistake. I'm a monster, Camilla."

Rage. Hellfire. Countless ravenous flames consuming the quad as Amara threw everything she was into tearing Davenport apart. Steel flashing throughout the chaos, skewering her body, piercing the love of her life before she fell into the sky.

A hand gripped hers, breaking her train of thought. Camilla looked deep into Amara's eyes, her gaze only briefly flicking to the smoldering embers drifting off the demon's hair.

"I don't think you're a monster, Amara," Camilla whispered.

Amara heard fear in her voice nonetheless.

In spite of that, the touch grounded her. She hated revisiting memories of that day, thinking about the terrible creature she'd gleefully become. Her guilt over those actions cast long shadows, but in that darkness an even more sinister truth lay buried. The rage, the self-righteous fury--it promised her freedom even to this day. The freedom to stop caring, to stop fearing what she was.

Deep breaths. In for two, out for four. She focused on the comforting touch of her family. Even if Camilla was afraid, she was still reaching out.

"Thanks, Camilla." The fires faded and Amara quickly looked around to make sure no one else had seen them. After confirming they were still alone, she mustered the strength to look back at Camilla and smile.

A hint of... something appeared on Camilla's face. A look Amara couldn't trace, one that vanished just as quickly as it appeared.

"Hey, I didn't mean for things to get this heavy. How about this--I've got a quick errand I need to run, want to tag along and think about something else for a bit?"

"You know, a walk to clear my head sounds nice. Where are we headed?" Amara asked, happy for the distraction. As they left the park, they tossed their coffee cups in a nearby garbage can, and Amara tried desperately not to think about the crushing existential weight of what it meant to wield power in an imperfect society.

"David's loan place. I was there earlier to argue with them, and ever since then I haven't been able to find my flash drive with all my homework on it. I've got a bunch of shit due tomorrow, so I just need to run in and grab it real quick. No drama, I promise."

"You still keep your homework on a flash drive?"

"You think I'm going to use the cloud? No way I'm trusting Google with my shit. What's to stop them from like, I dunno, selling it or stealing my ideas?"

No longer steeped in ponderous debates about civic duty, their conversation flowed much more easily. They talked about high school, college, and homework. Camilla asked more questions about Chloé's charity, and Amara elaborated further on her exact contributions now that she didn't need to skirt around details because of Camilla's friends. After passing a large graveyard, they eventually found the loan place they were looking for: Avalon Financial Services. Its garish sign had atrocious kerning, and Amara forced herself to tear her eyes away for her own good.

Camilla grabbed the front handle and pulled, but the door didn't budge.

"Wait, what?" Camilla checked the hours on the door, then smacked the door frame. "Shit! They're closed!"

Amara checked the hours as well. "Looks like they open tomorrow morning. Can't you just stop by before school?"

"They don't open until nine! I need all my assignments for first period, which starts at seven!" Camilla paced back and forth in front of the door, muttering to herself briefly before lashing out and kicking a nearby street sign. She groaned in frustration, then collapsed onto the edge of the curb and buried her face in her hands.

Joining her on the curb, Amara wrapped an arm around Camilla's shoulder. "How bad is this?"

"Pretty bad..." Camilla turned away, hiding her face. "This is the last week of classes before Spring Break, so all the first big projects of the year are due."

Seeing Camilla so torn up about this, Amara turned to look at the building again. It sat nestled between two other local businesses, but it wasn't a strip mall. Thin alleyways stretched between the buildings, and based on the layout of the lobby in Avalon Financial Services, the chances of a separate entrance out back seemed likely.

Looking up and down the street, Amara made sure there weren't any strangers within earshot. She leaned closer to Camilla, then whispered, "Hey. Come with me."

Camilla perked up, quickly glancing back at Amara before quietly nodding. Standing up, the two girls slid between the buildings and arrived in the small back alley that connected multiple different shops on this street. Just as Amara had anticipated, there was another entrance to Avalon Financial Services.

"Are you sure about this?" Camilla asked.

"Just stay quiet and let me do my thing, alright? We'll get in, grab your drive, and be out before anyone notices."

Connecting with her inner fire, Amara happily invited its infernal warmth to wash over her and enhance her senses. She heard car engines humming multiple blocks away, people conversing deep in the graveyard they'd passed on the way here, the sizzle of food on grills echoing out from nearby restaurants. Tuning those noises out, she focused her energy into her eyesight, enhancing and brightening the latent electrical signals that polluted the air around them.

Studying the building, Amara found exactly what she was looking for. Countless signals of varying wavelengths originated from inside the building. "That's... a lot of cameras. Wow," she muttered to herself.

"Wait, cameras? Amara, do you have X-ray vision or something?"

"What? No, don't be ridiculous." Amara grinned as she briefly met Camilla's curious gaze. "I can see electrical signals and radio wavelengths. I'm going to short out their cameras and alarm system so we can sneak in. Do you know where your flash drive is?"

Camilla shook her head. "It could be anywhere. I'm assuming it fell out of my bag somewhere in the lobby, but if they found it, they might have moved it to a lost and found or something."

Manifesting tiny sparks of hellfire, Amara shorted out the cameras in the building one by one. As she killed their signals, she found several new ones buried in the confusing tapestry of radio waves. After nearly a minute of searching, she felt confident she'd taken care of them all. From there, she turned her attention to the signal hanging on the wall just behind the door. If her assumption was correct, this was likely the alarm panel, and shorting it out would prevent any distress signals from getting sent to the owners or the police. The last step was the door itself. As easy as it would be to rip the door off its hinges, that would also be fairly obvious. Instead, she superheated the deadbolt holding the door closed. It glowed brighter and brighter, forcing Camilla to step back as waves of heat billowed out from the door, but soon enough Amara had completely severed the bolt in two. With a flashy smile, she grabbed the door and pulled it open, gesturing for Camilla to lead the way.

"Holy shit. Thank you!" Camilla ran inside, took a look around, then quickly added, "You take the lobby and work backwards, I'll start back here and move towards you."

Amara nodded and ran inside. With another burst of magic, she projected an illusory wall across the front windows to hide her presence, then began searching for a flash drive. The lobby was pointlessly extravagant. There were several large couches against the walls, a mini fridge filled with water in the corner, and a collection of plush armchairs scattered across the floor in between them. Two large windows with computers faced the lobby, and chairs on the other side were flanked with countless pamphlets about financing, success stories, and studies about the beneficial impacts of loan companies like Avalon Financial. As focused as Amara was on finding the flash drive, she couldn't help but seethe with resentment over the cheap facade of respectability they'd stretched over this predatory business.

She checked under, behind, and inside all the various couches and chairs. She patrolled every corner of the lobby, lifted the mini-fridge, and even rummaged through the garbage by the front door. Every single pamphlet holder was empty, every jar of hard candy held nothing but sugar, and every single pencil cup carried nothing but cheap black pens.

Satisfied that the drive wasn't in the lobby, Amara moved behind the computers to investigate the employee side of the building. This area was just as performative, and connected the lobby to the employee backrooms that Camilla was busy searching. Here, Amara rummaged through drawers, cabinets, and folders crammed with pointless talking tips about how best to convince desperate people to take out high-interest, short-term loans. She was roughly halfway through her second station with Camilla called out from the back room.

"I found it!" she shouted.

Jogging towards Camilla's voice, Amara sighed with relief. She hated the thought of spending so much time in a building she'd broken into.

"Where was it?"

"Weirdly enough, it was right next to the manager's computer. I swear to God, if that fucker was rummaging through my crap, I'll... Huh." Camilla paused, her attention drawn to something on the manager's computer monitor.

After briefly tracing her gaze over the plethora of Chicago Cubs paraphernalia plastered across every inch of the office, Amara found the item that had captured Camilla's attention. Taped to the side of the computer was a post-it note with a series of nonsensical, nearly identical phrases scribbled haphazardly on it.

SoxSux87

SoxSux87!

SoxSux87!!

SoxSux88

SoxSux88!

"Holy shit, Amara, I think this is his password!" Camilla gasped as she met Amara's gaze, her own hazel eyes glimmering with excitement.

Amara quickly glanced towards the exit. "Camilla, no. We don't know how long we have!"

"Come on, you said you disabled the security system, right? There's no way anyone knows we're here!"

"You don't know that!" Amara muttered, hoping to keep a low profile. "Sure, their cameras are busted, but what if there's some kind of alert that goes out if the system is compromised? We have no idea how complex their security is!"

Her words fell on deaf ears. Camilla tapped the keyboard to wake up the manager's computer, then typed the password and giggled with delight as she gained access. "This might be the only chance I have to clear David's name! If I can prove some kind of criminal conspiracy, I might be able to... shit, I dunno, start a class-action lawsuit or something. Just keep watch!"

Heart racing, Amara checked the back exit again. For the moment, it was completely empty, and she didn't hear anyone nearby.

I hate this. I hate this! Why did I do this?!

"I knew it. I fucking knew it!" Camilla whispered to herself.

"What's up?" Returning to the manager's office, Amara watched Camilla slip her flash drive into the computer. Displayed on the screen was a series of financial records and spreadsheets, all too dense for Amara to make heads or tails of.

"It's all a giant scam! Avalon has comprehensive, detailed information about people's gambling records. There's no way they could have that information legally unless everyone handed it over willingly, but that makes no sense. This proves they're in cahoots with Pactolus!" Clicking several more files, Camilla shut off the computer and removed her flash drive from the monitor, shoving it in her pocket.

"Okay, great, you got what you needed. Can we go now?"

Camilla nodded, and Amara quickly turned towards the exit. She bit her tongue, fighting against the part of her that wanted to chew Camilla out for taking advantage of her generosity. Her better judgment failed. As she left the manager's office, she opened her mouth to chastise Camilla, only for an unexpected noise to cut her off.

*CHCK-CHKT*

The sharp, metallic crunch of a pistol cocking rang in Amara's thoughts. She turned to the back entrance and saw three men in black jackets blocking the door. The man closest to them pointed a gun at the two girls, a sour expression on his face.

"You know... something tells me you two ain't employees of this fine establishment," the man with the gun muttered.

Amara froze, thankful she was in between Camilla and the man with the gun. Vaguely aware that Camilla's hands were in the air, Amara swallowed nervously and did the same.

I could take the three of them easily, but there's no way I can move fast enough to do so without them firing any shots. How did they know about our break-in, anyway? Did I miss a camera? If I did, I can't risk showing off any more powers, or I risk blowing my cover. Fuck. FUCK! Even if I keep my true form hidden, there's no way I can move fast enough to take them out before they fire. Getting shot wouldn't do shit to me, but Camilla... Fuck!

"No drama, huh?" Amara finally asked, opting to play the part of a helpless civilian.

"Shut up," Camilla hissed back.