Suddenly A Succubus Ch. 48

Earlier

“You’ll thank me when I’m finished.”

“Amara, wait!!” Vee shouted. She leapt forward, eager to pull Amara back to her senses, but she was forced to stop when a wall of hellfire swallowed the exit.

Without her book, it took her nearly a minute to summon enough angelic energy to smother the flames. Once she had a path, she sprinted up the steps in hopes of finding Amara. Bursting through the front door of Lysander Hall, she looked around in a panic, desperate to find even the slightest trace of where Amara had gone.

But there was nothing.

Vee fell to her knees, choking up as she slammed her fist against the concrete. At this point, Amara could be anywhere; between her flight, her illusions, and her shapeshifting, finding her would be nearly impossible.

Why are you doing this? We were all together again! Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?!

Vee let out an angry scream. Hoping beyond hope that Amara would hear her and decide to turn back. She might have even let out a small angelic flare, but she wasn’t exactly paying attention. When the door to Lysander Hall clicked shut behind her, she reluctantly turned around to see Nick and Tessa looking back at her.

“No sign, I take it?” Nick asked.

“…No.” With a heavy sigh, she rose to her feet and walked over to her friends. She wanted to say more, but instead she jumped at Nick, wrapping her arms around her and burying her face in his shoulder.

Nick hugged her back. “We’ll figure this out; she’s not gone yet.”

“We were so close! We’d just gotten Chloé back!” Vee paused, looking around one more time. “Wait, where is she? Still downstairs?”

“No, I’m here,” Chloé said. She seemed to be floating invisibly next to Nick.

“Are you okay out of the circle?” Tessa asked.

“It’s… tiring, that’s for sure, but I’m trying to take it easy. No being visible, no physical touch, just a little bit of hearing and the occasional spoken word.” Chloé paused for a moment, and without a face to read, Vee had no idea if she was planning on continuing her thought. “I want to help find her. She’s done so much for me, it’s time to return the favor.”

“Are you sure?” Vee asked. “We have no idea what’s going to happen, we might end up fighting Tessa’s Coven, and we don’t understand your condition. What if their magic can—”

Chloé cut her off. “Vee. I’m done waiting on the sidelines.”

Vee nodded, her heart aching with joy that Chloé was back. “Okay. First things first, we need to find Amara. Either she’s not strong enough to take on the Coven, and she’s putting herself in danger, or she is, and she does something she can’t take back. I’m going to run home and grab my Enochian Texts, hopefully that will give me a way to track her.”

“You should prepare some kind of binding spell, just to be safe,” Tessa muttered solemnly, causing Vee to glare at her. “What? She’s out of control, Vee! We already know you can’t take her in a fight, we might need to start accepting that… that she’s too far gone.”

“Too far gone?!” Vee said, aghast. “You’re ready to just give up on her? After everything she’s done for us?”

“I don’t want to, Vee, but look how she’s acting!” Tessa pointed vaguely behind her, towards the basement Amara had just stormed out of. “Demons are powerful on a level that’s hard to comprehend, and she’s been letting that power go to her head for weeks! You’re the last person I should have to explain this to, Vee.”

“I’m not giving up on her, Tessa,” Vee hissed, stepping closer. “Not now, not ever.”

Chloé manifested in between the two of them, pushing them apart. “That’s enough! Vee, run and grab your book. I’ll run home, get my phone, and then we’re all going to split up and find Amara. Okay?”

Tessa and Vee glared at each other for a moment longer before they both nodded in agreement.

“I want her back too, Vee,” Tessa muttered. “More than anything. I’m just so used to losing people to this life. If I prepare for the worst… maybe it won’t hurt as bad.”

Surprised to see Tessa being so vulnerable, Vee hesitated for a moment. She stepped closer, gently grabbing Tessa’s shoulder, then said, “Text me if you find anything. We can do this.”

Before splitting up, the four of them quickly assigned search areas to focus on. Tessa took the Coven manor just outside campus, Chloé took the skies, Nick took public gathering spaces, and Vee was free to go wherever her magic might lead her. As they searched, they continually updated each other in a new group chat that included everyone but Amara. Vee hated the exclusion, but finding Amara would be exponentially more difficult if she knew their every move.

Unfortunately, hours passed without any success. Vee occasionally caught small hints of demonic activity, but each potential lead only brought her to a distant memory.

One trail of demonic energy led to the football stadium, where Vee had tried to convince Amara to fly again. Another led to Amara’s apartment, which was predictably dripping with infernal activity. The last trail Vee followed ended atop the roof of her apartment complex.

She gripped the handle tight, hoping beyond hope to find Amara on the other side. She imagined Amara’s eyes, miraculously full of kindness once more. She would smile, scoop up Vee in her arms, then whisper, “I’m sorry, Vee. You were right. We’re stronger together.”

When Vee opened the door, she found only cold, desolate gravel. It crunched beneath her knees as she collapsed to the ground, the weight of everything threatening to overwhelm her.

Please, Amara. You’re better than this. You saved me from myself back on Halloween, but if I can’t do the same… what good am I?

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She expected a quick update from one of the girls, or maybe Nick, but when she clicked her screen, she instead saw that Amara had messaged their group chat.

Amara: Lysander Hall. Hell circle.

Vee’s heart caught in her throat as she read the message. There were no pleasantries, no hints of her intentions; just cold, unfeeling information. A cloud of dread formed in her thoughts as she read the message over and over.

What did you do, Amara?

Picking up her Enochian Texts once more, Vee raced to Lysander Hall. Despite the cold night air, sweat pooled on her brow as she ran. By sheer coincidence, she burst into the main building shortly after Tessa and Nick, who appeared to be waiting for the elevator.

“Do we know what this is about?” Vee asked.

Tessa shook her head. “No idea. That text is the only thing I’ve seen. The Coven manor seemed pretty quiet, honestly. I couldn’t find Miss Bishop, sadly.”

As the elevator opened, Vee prepared to say they should wait for Chloé, when she remembered that she might already be here. She cautiously called out, “Chloé? Are you here?”

“Yup, just got here,” Chloé said. Vee still couldn’t see her, but it sounded like she was heading towards the elevator.

Everyone piled inside the lift, then Tessa pushed the hidden button that led to the facility under the campus. The idle hum of the elevator did nothing to help Vee’s nerves, and she caught herself chewing on her nails as they sank deeper into the earth.

When the doors finally opened, Vee led the group down the narrow hallway. She was able to make out a single figure in the chamber ahead of them, but without manually enhancing her senses, she couldn’t see who it was yet. As they closed the distance, grim reminders of their fight with the cult entered Vee’s vision. She’d always meant to come down here to clean everything, but between Brandon and the Coven, there simply hadn’t been time.

Now, the myriad bloodstains and scorch marks served as haunting proof that Amara was more than capable of terrible violence. Vee hadn’t minded on the night of the ritual, as they’d only been fighting demons, but now so much more was at stake.

Once they were close enough, Vee finally got a good look at the person in front of them. She had dark skin and thick black hair, tightly braided with silver cuffs at the end. She appeared to be unconscious, slumped over in a simple chair with her hands tied behind her back. Thankfully, she seemed unharmed, but Vee knew Amara had plenty of ways to hurt people without touching them.

“Miss Tsopnang!” Tessa shouted, running past Vee. Before she could reach the Coven Head, an ominous voice called out from behind them. Tessa froze in her tracks before turning around.

“Careful, Tessa,” Amara muttered. “She’s one of them.”

Amara leaned casually against a large support column. Her eyes were completely blacked out, and her amber irises glowed unusually brightly. Wisps of hellfire occasionally jumped from the corners of her eyes, and her hair smoldered with dark embers, as if some infernal forge had been stoked and now refused to go out. Her true form was completely on display, and not only were the tips of her wings and tail also alight with flame, but her horns were larger than they’d ever been.

As terrifying as Amara looked, however, Vee was unable to shake a bone-deep sense of dread that had formed in her gut. It wasn’t just that she was scared for Amara—though she absolutely was—but there was an unnatural presence that radiated off her body. Feelings that weren’t Vee’s clung to her psyche, screaming that this creature in front of her wasn’t natural, and it took a considerable amount of strength just to take a small step closer to Amara.

“Amara, what did you do?” Vee asked nervously.

“She’s alive and well, just a bit tired. She passed out on the flight over here. Once she’s awake, we can interrogate her,” Amara said, her eyes darting between Vee and Tessa.

“What do you mean, interrogate her?!” Tessa shouted. “She hasn’t done anything wrong!!”

“Hasn’t she?” Amara’s voice echoed around the chamber, its sinister undertones lingering far longer than was natural. She kicked off the pillar, then slowly walked past everyone. “Didn’t she turn a blind eye to your abuse? Isn’t she doing everything in her power to convince us the Coven is here to help?”

“H-how did you even… Doesn’t the manor have protection wards?” Tessa, her body shaking, involuntarily stepped away from Amara as she moved.

“They did. They’re gone now,” Amara chuckled. Now behind Palesa, Amara lightly grabbed the chair she was tied to. Her claws tapped the cold metal, and the noise caused Palesa to stir.

Seconds later, as the cuffs in her hair began to clink together, Palesa raised her head and looked around.

“W-what… Where am I?” Palesa muttered. She seemed completely exhausted, pushing Vee to wonder if Amara had managed to feed on her. Palesa’s eyes locked onto Tessa, and she gasped. “Miss Blackwood! Please, you have to help, there’s a demon on campus and she’s—”

“Closer than you think, Palesa,” Amara whispered, leaning over the Coven Head’s shoulder. Despite how quietly she spoke, the air around her shimmered in the presence of her words. Palesa froze with fear, sitting up straight as she continued staring at Tessa. After studying her face for a moment, Palesa’s eyes shot open.

“Y-you know? You’re on her side?!” Palesa asked, horrified. Every breath she took seemed strained, as if staying conscious were itself a herculean feat.

Amara walked around Palesa’s chair, her hips swaying as her tail flicked back and forth in front of the Coven Head. She chuckled quietly as she walked, her voice nearly overshadowed by a soft tremor that emanated out from her footsteps. “Now’s our chance, Tess. We can stop this here.”

“T-that’s not… Amara, we can’t—”

“Can’t what? This is what you always wanted, Tessa. For me to embrace my powers, to use them against everyone trying to hurt us.” When Amara reached Tessa, she gently grabbed her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. “I’m doing this to keep you safe. Your Coven is never going to hurt you again.”

Chloé reappeared briefly, clearly shocked at what she was seeing. “Amara, Palesa’s just as much a victim as Tessa is. Davenport is holding something over her head. We should be helping her!”

Pondering Chloé’s words, Amara turned to face Palesa again. “Did you know that Davenport was only here to steal magic from the other planes? To promise us safety while ensuring the opposite?”

After taking a deep, pained breath, Palesa responded. “I knew she wanted to alter the circles to siphon away magic, but… are you saying that process poses risk to the campus?”

Turning towards Palesa herself, Chloé continued talking. “I overheard her speaking with Elijah! He said the only way to actually take the magic they wanted was to leave the campus exposed to the other planes. The more they imperil the lives of the students here, the stronger they become.”

“But that flies in the face of everything we believe in! We’re here to help, to keep people safe and stop the planes from crossing over!” Palesa looked towards the ground, seemingly lost in thought as she picked apart Chloé’s words. “I… I knew she wanted control, but I never thought she would go this far.”

“Amara, don’t you see? She has no part in this!” Tessa said.

Vee tried to step closer, hoping she might be able to talk Amara down, but her angelic nature bristled against the constant waves of overwhelming infernal energy pulsing from her demonic friend. She felt like she was walking on the edge of a knife, that a single misstep might push Amara away.

There’s got to be something I can say, something I can do to show her this is wrong. But what?

Still focused on Palesa, Amara leaned forward so they were at eye level. “If you truly mean that, if you believe that what she’s doing is wrong, then help us. Tell us how to take her down.”

“Ally myself with a demon? Are you mad? We both know you’ll throw me away the instant I stop being useful. How do I know you won’t hurt the others?”

Standing tall again, a flash of recognition crossed Amara’s face. “Ah. This isn’t about Davenport at all, is it? This is about her.” With a flash of hellfire, Amara shapeshifted into Coven Head Bishop. Although her voice changed as well, to one softer and brighter, it was still accompanied by sinister, infernal rumbling. “You can’t be with her, not in any way that matters, until Davenport is gone. Help us, and you won’t have to hide in your dreams anymore.”

“You have NO right to take her form!” Palesa shouted, tears streaking down her face. “You insult everything she is with this mockery!”

Turning away from Palesa, Amara shifted back into herself before walking back towards Tessa. “See? She’s not going to help us. She’s one of them, Tess; she always will be. That’s why we have to stick together.”

Some unknown well of strength seemed to bubble over in Tessa, and she pushed past her before walking over to Miss Tsopnang. “For fuck’s sake, Amara, they’re not monsters! We’re not facing down mindless creatures from another plane that want nothing but death and destruction! My Coven isn’t perfect, but they’re still people, and it’s wrong to treat them like this!” Tessa sank to her knees beside Miss Tsopnang, then started picking at the ropes tying her down.

As she did, however, more ropes magically sprang into existence. Vee looked over to Amara, whose hand was outstretched towards the chair. “We can’t let her go, Tess!”

With a frustrated shout, Tessa jumped to her feet. “What do you want me to do, Amara? Give up on the people who raised me? Yes, Davenport is a horrible bitch that deserves to be stopped, but her actions don’t reflect on everyone around her! What’s the alternative? Leave Palesa tied up in this chair forever?”

Tense silence filled the room as Amara weighed her options. “ She knows too much. We can’t let her warn the Coven about us.”

“You have to leave eventually, Amara. And when you do, I’m setting her free,” Tessa hissed.

The two glared at each other, and Vee felt the infernal power radiating off her friend intensify. “Fine. Then we end this now.”

NO!

Amara began walking towards Miss Tsopnang, her claws swirling with hellfire. Her eyes, previously unfocused, now barely restrained her bitter determination. Before she could close the distance, however, Vee finally overcame her fear and ran forward, jumping in front of Amara. She held up a hand, summoning a small shield of radiant energy to keep Amara from losing herself completely.

“Amara, STOP!” Vee pleaded.

A hideous growl filled the chamber as Vee’s Enochian magic collided with Amara’s hellfire. “Vee? You too?”

Vee stared Amara deep in the eyes, as unsettling as it was. The air crackled with intensity as their natures collided, and it took all of Vee’s strength to hold back the innate, overpowering aura that surrounded Amara. “This isn’t you, Amara! You’re not a killer!”

“If I let her go, she’ll tell the Coven what I’m planning! She’ll tell them who we are!” Hellfire concentrated and swirled around Amara’s horns, some even dripping from her mouth as she spoke.

“For fuck’s sake, Amara, they already know!” Tessa shouted.

The hellfire receded for a brief moment as Amara looked over Vee’s shoulder at Tessa. “What?”

“I told them! I thought they needed to know in order to close the Gate!” Tessa stormed past Vee, shoving Amara back with her telekinesis. “So what are you gonna do? Are you gonna kill me too? Where does this fucking end, Amara?!”

Faster than Vee could comprehend, Amara raised her hand to Tessa’s neck and shoved her back, slamming her against the thick concrete pillar behind them. “You ratted me out? After everything I’ve done to keep your secret, this is how you repay me? How can you possibly side with them over me?!”

Tessa started gasping for breath as Amara’s rage intensified, her grip tightening. Tessa’s tattoos lit up to no effect as she tried to free herself. “Amara… please…”

“You’re hurting her! Let her go!!” Chloé reappeared again, just beside Amara, and tried to push her away from Tessa. Although Vee doubted Chloé was anywhere near as strong as Amara, she acquiesced anyways and let Tessa go.

After taking a step back, looking at all her friends in shock, Amara spoke up again, her voice shaking the chamber. “All of you? You’re all siding with the Coven?”

Vee squared off against Amara, her own eyes flaring with angelic flames as she tried to resist the incredible energy Amara’s presence generated. “We’re not siding with the Coven! We need to stop them, but not like this. We don’t kill people, Amara!”

“No, YOU don’t kill people, Vee!” Amara shouted, stepping closer and jabbing her finger into Vee’s chest. As she did, a pillar of hellfire roared upwards from her horns. “You’re the Angel, you have the divine light of Heaven giving you permission to take the high road! Do you know what I think? I think demons have to exist because we’re the only ones willing to do what’s necessary.”

“You’re better than this,” Vee whispered, wrapping her hand around Amara’s. The familiar warmth she’d grown accustomed to was gone, replaced with malice and hatred, and it brought tears to her eyes. “You don’t know what taking a life will do to you.”

Amara narrowed her eyes. “There’s nothing left that can be done! I’m already gone, Vee. I’m a Demon, my soul is damned, and nothing I do matters anymore! If I can’t keep you safe, then all of this—turning into a demon, stopping the cult, stopping Brandon—it will have been for nothing!”

Another wave of infernal energy pulsed off Amara, forcing Vee back. Chloé briefly reappeared, helping to steady her, before calling out to Amara. “This isn’t why I came back, Amara! I came back so we could be together again! Please, just stop!”

Clenching her fists, Amara flicked her eyes between everyone present. Nick was at Tessa’s side, both staring at her in horror, and Chloé was silently pleading for her to stop. When Amara looked at Vee, still brandishing motes of Enochian energy, thick pillars of hellfire began to condense around her hands. With a powerful scream, she pivoted away from everyone, launching a concentrated blast of hellfire so intense it blew a small crater in the side of a nearby pillar. Shrapnel scattered across the floor, narrowly avoiding everyone present as dust filled the chamber, causing them all to cough and cover their face. Vee, thankfully, was able to shield her eyes and lungs from the debris, and she tried to look around for Amara. Instead, she heard an ominous voice that seemed to be coming from everywhere in the chamber at once.

“There’s only one way this ends, isn’t there? When I bring you Davenport’s head on a platter, you’ll thank me.”

“Amara, come back! Let us help you!” Vee shouted. She cast out a small pulse of angelic energy to scatter the dust cloud, giving her friends space to breathe again. She’d hoped the pulse would help her locate Amara as well, but she didn’t feel any adverse reactions to her magic. Whatever Amara was planning, she was no longer in the chamber with them.

“Vee, go find Amara!” Nick said, helping Tessa to her feet. “We’ll take care of Palesa!”

Nodding quickly, Vee ran to the elevator and began the frustratingly slow journey back to the surface. She was thrilled they’d managed to stop Amara from hurting Palesa any further, but the look in Amara’s eyes had terrified her. Whatever she was going through, whatever power coursed through her veins, she was absolutely convinced she was beyond saving.

I have to prove her wrong. I have to show her there’s a better way.

—————

Instead of taking to the skies after leaving Lysander Hall, Amara shapeshifted back into the form of her old friend. She did her best to appear aloof and disinterested, a simple heavy coat holding back the cold weather as she went for a casual stroll around town. Despite her calm exterior, she boiled with rage as she thought back to the events from moments earlier.

Who do they think they are? Don’t they know I’m doing this for them?

Tch.

It doesn’t matter.

I know what the real problem is. As soon as I find Davenport, I can end this once and for all.

As much as she wanted to sprint to her destination, to storm the Coven manor and raze it to the ground, she knew she needed to be patient. It hadn’t even been an hour since she’d smashed through their wards to grab Palesa, and she had no doubt they were on high alert. Although she didn’t understand the magic that went into their wards, she hoped that returning so quickly meant they wouldn’t have time to restore them. With the proper disguise, she might be able to walk in without raising any suspicion at all.

The buildings around Amara were dead silent. Dull, warm light painted the darkened streets in yellow-orange hues, and every few minutes a lone car would drive by. Snow crunched under her feet as she left the campus, slowly walking towards the manor nestled on the edge of the large forest preserve. Off in the distance, easily perceptible by her demonic senses, a single toll of a bell echoed out from the bell tower just south of the main campus.

At her relaxed pace, it took Amara nearly twenty minutes to reach the Coven’s manor. She’d expected to hear chaos, frantic scrambling as the Coven tried to repair the damage, but for some reason she heard nothing of the sort as she closed in.

Maybe they have ways to magically dampen sound? It wouldn’t surprise me.

Just before rounding the final corner, as she prepared to enter the house and see exactly what state the Coven was in, Amara shifted her form once again. She gave herself thick, voluminous hair, darker skin, and elaborate white eyeliner, even double checking her appearance in an illusory mirror to make sure she looked just like Imani. Satisfied with her disguise, she picked up the pace and started towards the manor.

From the outside, the house looked every bit as empty as it sounded. Further confused, Amara double checked her surroundings to look for any potential traps, but nothing else seemed out of the ordinary. As she walked up to the front door, she confirmed that the protective wards were still broken. The strange haze that had permeated the mansion from earlier was gone, and she didn’t feel any resistance as she reached for the front door. Still paranoid, she took one last look behind her before opening the door and walking inside.

She’d hoped to find activity, witches running back and forth with notebooks and spell components, but instead the manor was completely empty. All the lights were off, and Amara heard nothing but the faint hum of the central heating.

Where is everybody?

The darkness meant nothing to Amara, thanks to her flawless night vision, and she began looking around to familiarize herself with the building. She currently stood in the middle of a grand foyer, the walls lined with large, elaborate paintings. A small handful of doors and grand entryways teased the true size of the house, and Amara slowly wandered from room to room in hopes of finding out what had happened here.

A large dining room near the entrance held a massive table, and while surrounded by nearly a dozen chairs, only four appeared to see regular use. The chair at the head of the table was significantly larger and more regal than all the others, causing Amara to scowl as she imagined Davenport sitting there.

Nearby double doors led to an expansive kitchen. Large, exposed wooden beams ran across the ceiling, disappearing into large decorative stones that lined the upper third of the walls. This room, more than any other, betrayed the true age of the manor. An elaborate white brick fireplace, likely originally designed for cooking, had been repurposed to hold a small pile of lumber. A massive, wooden island took up most of the center of the kitchen, and above it hung a collection of fruits, spices, pots, and pans, some of which Amara suspected were purely decorative. The walls of the kitchen were lined with extravagant, top-of-the-line kitchen appliances that were so expensive they’d been custom designed to blend into the older architecture.

Amara didn’t sense anyone here, and so turned her attention to the next room.

Maybe they have a panic room? I should keep an eye out for any signs of magic that might conceal an entrance.

Many of the other rooms shared similar stylistic flourishes. She found two rooms that had likely originally been servant’s quarters, but were now simple bedrooms. Amara couldn’t find hints of them having been used recently, and without any suspicious magical clues, she kept searching.

The next room was a large parlor, complete with a grand piano and an impressive, five-foot-tall harp. A small fireplace sat in between two plush loveseats, and a chaise against the opposite wall had a book resting face down on its armrest. Amara didn’t bother checking the title when she picked it up, and instead lifted it to her nose to smell its pages. The rich smell of paper was obvious, but underneath that she detected hints of the person that had likely read it last. The smell of dried flowers and woodchips reminded her of Palesa, so she set the book down and continued on her way.

The last room on the main floor was either a study or a sitting room. The faint smell of incense lingered around the brilliant marble fireplace, one that definitely saw frequent use, and that smell clung to the rich green velvet of the four armchairs that surrounded the fireplace. The walls in this room were entirely hidden behind massive bookshelves that extended from floor to ceiling, and Amara briefly mused that this would be the perfect room to set up a secret entrance. However, despite spending nearly ten minutes searching the place, she was unable to find any contraption, magical or mundane, that revealed anything out of the ordinary. With no further rooms on the first level left to investigate, Amara turned her sights to the second floor.

As she carefully crept up the large, elegant staircase, she began to suspect that no one actually lived in this house. It was definitely in use—she’d found Palesa sleeping here, after all—but there were no signs that anyone had attempted to turn this manor into a home. There were no personal touches, no hints of socialization other than a larger than average dining room table. Even the paintings, which all seemed to be of random, unrelated people, seemed like they’d been plucked from an historical exhibit rather than a real place people lived.

There’s no way this is the Coven’s main headquarters. They call Davenport “Headmistress,” which implies a school; I wonder if they have a larger campus elsewhere in the country, and this manor simply exists as a base camp in case they visit the school.

Amara was less suspicious that rooms on this level would have hidden secrets in them, and spent far less time in each room. Just like the first floor, she skipped over all the bathrooms, and the only public space she found was a small landing near the staircase that held several small lounge chairs. From there, it was easy to deduce that this level existed purely for bedrooms.

There were four in total, most of which were painfully similar in design. Again Amara found no true signs of personalization, merely small collections of personal effects that betrayed this house’s purpose as a temporary residence. Closets only held a small handful of outfits, half-empty suitcases were tucked under beds and, much like the kitchen, modern-day luxuries had been retrofitted into each room.

The only bedroom that Amara spent a considerable amount of time in was Davenports. Even had there not been other hints, the sheer size of the room alone would have been a dead giveaway. The four-poster bed was twice the size of every other mattress in the manor, and the columns that sat on each corner were ridiculously overdesigned. Thick, plush green curtains were tied to each of the posts, casting even darker shadows on the already darkened bed, and even the ties were hopelessly overindulgent. A stack of worn, leather journals sat on a mahogany side table, but flipping through them revealed nothing but notes on runes and magical theory. The room didn’t have a built-in closet, but a large armoire against the back wall held several of Davenport’s dresses. There, Amara found exactly what she was looking for: hints of the Headmistress’s scent.

Grabbing the fabric, Amara pulled it close and inhaled. She detected strong notes of earthy, burnt wood, though the scent was much darker than Palesa’s. Underneath that smell was a faint undercurrent of vanilla, and Amara took a few moments to commit the scent to memory.

Perfect. Now to find Davenport.

Closing the armoire, Amara made her way out of the master bedroom and walked towards the staircase. While she hadn’t located her prey yet, she had a strong lead, and was ready to search elsewhere on the campus. However, as she approached the banister, she heard the front door open. Its thick, ancient hinges creaked once, then twice as the door closed again, and Amara looked over the banister at the person who’d just entered.

To her surprise, she saw Vee.

Interesting, I didn’t know Vee knew where this manor was. Tessa must have told her; it’s not like she cares about secrecy anymore.

Placing a hand on the railing, Amara started walking down the stairs. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

Vee looked up, then sighed in relief as she saw Amara. “Oh, thank goodness. I’ve been looking everywhere for you, Amara!”

A soft chuckle escaped Amara’s lips. “Who says I’m Amara? I’m clearly Imani Mabaya, the coven’s favorite little hanger-on who's here to assist in their cover-up.” After a playful laugh, she stepped down to the main floor as she approached Vee.

“Cut the crap, Amara. We both know how easy it is for me to detect you.” Vee held up a hand, which briefly pulsed with angelic energy. Strangely, despite seeing it as clear as day, the energy didn’t bristle against Amara’s infernal aura. Although initially surprised, Amara decided it made sense. After all, she’d never had this much power coursing through her veins before.

“I assume you’ve set Palesa free?” Amara asked, circling around Vee to head towards the entrance.

“We have, but she’s still… you know,” Vee muttered, casting a glare towards Amara. “What exactly did you do to her?”

“Nothing she won’t recover from. I fed as much as I needed to make sure she couldn’t fight back. I could have taken more, but I chose not to. I’m not a monster, Vee.”

“Then why kidnap her? Why steal her away to that dark corner of campus?” Vee asked, her eyes still glued to Amara.

“I have to assume Tessa has told them everything, and if that’s the case, I wanted to pick somewhere we at least wouldn’t be disturbed by other students. Plus, back when I dealt with Derek and Mr. Luxnor, I learned just how powerful a motivator fear can be. Waking up and seeing the bloody remains of all those cultists? I imagine she was terrified, not that it got us anything.”

Vee’s eyes went wide with recognition. “So, what now? You leave to go finish your bloody crusade?”

Now next to the front entrance, Amara nodded. “We could do it together, Vee. There’s no way Davenport could stand up to both of us at once.”

“I won’t do that, Amara. Please, just let this go.”

“Let it go?!” Amara hissed. “And let them get away with it? Let Davenport throw us to the wolves while she hoards all the magic of the cosmos? Once her siphons take effect, there’s no telling how powerful she’ll become. This is our only chance!”

For a brief fraction of a second, Vee seemed surprised by Amara’s words, but a second glance revealed that Amara had likely imagined it. “Do you even know where she is?”

“I have her scent. I won’t need long to find her.” Amara paused for a moment, reaching for the door handle before clicking it open. “I want to do this together, Vee. I don’t enjoy doing this alone, but you’ve given me no choice.” The door opened, and Amara turned to leave. She knew she wouldn’t be able to convince Vee to join her, so there was nothing left to say. She heard Vee start to run closer, and expected to feel Vee grab her shoulder, or perhaps her hand, but neither happened.

Instead, Amara’s entire body froze with shock and pain as a dagger plunged into her back. Fear gripped her, and before she could respond, Vee stepped even closer and grabbed her shoulder, pushing the knife deeper.

“That’s for Palesa, you demonic bitch,” Vee muttered, her illusory voice melting away.

Amara’s eyes flared with rage as she looked back, locking eyes with Elizabeth Bishop. “I’ll make you regret that.” Reverting to her true form in a burst of hellfire, Amara took advantage of the process to knock Elizabeth back and push the knife out of her back. She spun to face her attacker, briefly seeing a flash of her real form. With a flourish of her hands, she recast the illusion and Vee’s face returned.

“When did you figure out it was me?” Elizabeth asked. “When did you decide to fill my head with lies about Davenport’s plans for this campus?”

Rather than justifying her with an answer, Amara snarled with rage and leapt forward, her claws lengthening as she sharpened the edge of her tail. Elizabeth stood her ground, raising her hands to prepare another illusion, but Amara reached her before she had time to finish it. She grabbed Elizabeth’s neck, her claws effortlessly breaking skin and piercing deep into her throat. Blood poured from the wounds, dripping from the witch’s mouth as she struggled to keep breathing, and Amara closed her hand entirely.

The body in her grasp, rather than falling limp, vanished in a puff of illusory smoke.

Amara laughed. “You want to play hide and seek? Alright, let’s play.”

Flaring her eyes, Amara fully engaged all her demonic senses. She looked around for hints of magic, and suddenly found it everywhere. Doors that had previously been open were now closed, large walls now appeared to have strange new entryways in them, and arches Amara had seen earlier had vanished entirely. Thankfully, she’d already torn down an illusion once before, and she knew exactly how to handle this.

She began retracing her steps from earlier, heading towards the dining room. The elegant arch that had previously led there no longer existed, and when Amara reached the wall, she placed her hand on it and connected to her own illusory abilities. Within seconds, she’d torn down the wall.

The dining room was in complete disarray. The large table was on its side, cracked into three large pieces, and the chairs had been broken into pieces.

There’s no way she could have moved everything.

Amara struck out with her tail and, just as expected, it collided with an invisible table still standing proud in the center of the room. Engaging her hellfire again, she channeled her illusory powers through her tail and brought the table back into view, where it now appeared to share space with the broken second table and several pieces of chairs.

This is taking too long. If I just wander through the house manually dispersing every illusion, I’ll never find her. She’s able to make illusions en masse, so can I do the same? Can I dismiss them just as easily?

Inspired by Elizabeth’s deception, Amara summoned a small flame into her palm and began to condense it. She forced it smaller and smaller, channeling that potent energy into the intangible muscles she used to control her illusions, then tried to supercharge them. She raised her hand, directed that energy outward, and released it with a warm pulse. As the energy washed over the room, the scattered chairs and table vanished completely, then the fake doors on the walls did the same. Closing her fist, Amara smirked and made her way to the kitchen.

“You can’t hide forever, Bishop,” Amara called out, using her illusions to cast her voice across the entire manor. By doing this, she was able to obfuscate her exact location.

Her opponent seemed to know the same tricks. “What hold do you have over Tessa?” Miss Bishop asked in Vee's voice.

Amara stopped walking for a second, listening intently to the illusory echo of Vee's voice in hopes of pinpointing a location. Predictably, she failed. She was able to project her voice without speaking herself, so it made sense that the Coven Head could do the same. “What do you care? You've been letting Davenport abuse her since she was a child.”

“I’ve been protecting her since she was a child!” Bishop shouted. “Demons don’t have to play by the rules, you’re strong enough to break everything you want in pursuit of your own selfish goals, but the rest of us can’t do that. We have to keep our heads down, work within the system to try and piece together some tiny sliver of happiness. No one chooses to be a witch, Demon, it’s forced upon us when we learn about magic. At that point, if we’re not in a Coven, we die. Davenport may be cruel, but at least we’re alive!”

The kitchen had been filled with thick, putrid smoke, as if someone had burnt a thousand dinners and then kept the fire going for another hour. A horrible mix of spices assaulted her senses, and with an angry snarl, Amara released another burst of infernal energy to disperse the illusion. As she did, she caught something running towards the first-floor bedrooms and gave chase.

Crashing through the closed door, Amara held up a wing to shield herself from the splintered wood. Another glimpse of Vee caught her eyes, running into the second bedroom, and Amara continued charging. She didn’t have to burst through another door, and this time she was able to catch up with Vee. After digging her talons deep into the floorboards, Amara sprang forward and tackled Vee to the bed. She gasped in pain, struggling to free herself, and Amara released another pulse of illusory energy just to be safe.

The body underneath her vanished in a puff of smoke, and at the same moment, she gasped in pain as someone drove another dagger into her back. Amara’s tail wrapped around the figure behind her, then she turned around to glare into the eyes of her attacker. She saw Vee again, but this time didn’t bother dispelling the illusions. She dug her claws into Vee’s side, drawing blood for a brief instant before the illusion vanished.

Amara growled in frustration before bursting out into the foyer to continue the hunt.

“How does it feel, Demon?” Bishop taunted, using Vee’s voice. “Do you enjoy killing your sweetheart over and over?”

“I’m doing this FOR Vee!” Amara shouted. Another pulse of dispelling energy, then Amara turned her sights to the second floor. As she slowly marched up the steps, her clawed feet sinking into the plush carpet, she began to chuckle. “You’re showing your hand, Bishop. So desperate to manipulate me that you’re inventing fantasies about my friends and I.”

“Ha. I can smell your bluff, Demon. I see the way you look at each other,” Bishop returned Amara’s laugh. “An angel and a demon? If you hadn’t shown your true colors, I’d almost think it was romantic.”

Infernal energy washed over the second-story railing, and Amara saw a flash of movement on the other side of the house. Bending down, she launched herself into the air with a powerful thrust of her wings, and crossed the distance in less than a second. The figure in front of her gasped in surprise at Amara’s speed, and couldn’t escape in time. Amara’s tail wrapped around Vee’s leg, its bladed edge digging deep into her ankle before this illusion vanished as well.

Two can play at this game, Bishop.

“Romantic? Like the jungle clearing you created for Palesa in her dreams?” Amara chuckled again, powerful demonic tremors echoing through the manor. “You should have seen her face when she realized she was trapped with me.”

Amara conjured an illusory copy of Palesa’s voice, then cast it out to every room in the manor. “No! Please!” Palesa shouted.

“Trying to use my own tricks against me? The Dreamscape may be your second home, but I’ve been practicing my craft for decades. You are but a child compared to me, Demon. The cultists you stopped before? The idiot who grabbed for power in the depths of Purgatory? None of them can compare to the might of a real witch.”

The first bedroom was empty, as was the second. Amara was growing more frustrated by the minute, and it was hard to fight the urge to burn the entire house to the ground. She was about to rip the door to Davenport’s bedroom when she heard a familiar, dull creak coming from the foyer underneath her. Spinning around, Amara instantly leapt over the railing, her wings carrying her to the front door as she prepared to stop Bishop from fleeing.

As the front door closed, Amara saw Vee turn to lock eyes with her. She seemed surprised to see Amara, but at this point it was easy to see through Bishop’s tricks. Brandishing her claws, she pooled a burst of infernal energy as she slammed to the floor in front of Vee.

“Amara?” Vee asked, her voice shaking. “Are you okay?”

Not bothering to justify Bishop’s cheap trick with a response, Amara carried her momentum forward and shoved Vee against the massive doors behind her. She dug her claws into Vee’s arms, warm blood pooling around her claws, and released the dispelling energy so she could look into Bishop’s face before ending things.

Except nothing changed.

The magic washed over Vee, revealing that this was no illusion.

Vee gasped in pain as Amara froze, her claws embedded deep in the sides of her arms. With a pained gasp, tears pooled in Vee’s eyes, and she whispered, “A-Amara? Why?”

Aghast at what she’d just done, Amara retracted her claws and fell backwards. “Vee?! No, NO! I didn’t mean to hurt you! Bishop, she’s an illusionist, and she… she kept… Please, Vee, you have to believe me!”

Vee fell to her knees, wincing in pain as she brought her hands to her sides. Warm, angelic pulses of energy washed over her, healing the wounds Amara had inflicted. “Amara, I… you’re right. The Coven needs to be stopped, and if we don’t act quickly, we risk losing our chance. I know you just want to keep us safe, and all I’m asking is that you let me help. I want to be… to do this together, Amara.” Her wounds slowly healed as she talked, but Amara couldn’t shake the smell of Vee’s blood from her senses. Each pulse of angelic magic that washed over Vee’s body bristled against Amara, agitating her even further.

This isn’t my fault. Bishop did this. Davenport did this. When I kill her, everything can go back to normal! It’s the only way to prove I’m right!

Pain, anguish, fear, horror, rage, and thousands more conflicting emotions drove Amara into a frenzy. She needed to run. To run from what she’d nearly done to Vee, to run away from the guilt gnawing away at her insides. She needed to prove she was right, that this was all worth it. If she didn’t kill Davenport, no one would believe her, and everything would have been for nothing.

Trying to shut out the voices, Amara ran past Vee and charged through the manor’s front door. It splintered easily under her might, and without a second thought, she crouched low to the ground before jumping. She cleared the rooftops in seconds, her flight mirage keeping her hidden, as she set her sights back towards the Aurelius Campus. Davenport hadn’t been in the manor, which meant she had to be enacting her plan. She had to be on campus, finalizing her siphoning plans, and all Amara had to do was find her.

You die tonight, Davenport.