Suddenly A Succubus Ch. 32

Learning that Amara and Vee were stuck in Purgatory was both good news and bad news. Knowing where they were was helpful information, and it enabled Tessa to start throwing together a rescue plan. Unfortunately, of all the places to be stranded, Purgatory was one of the worst.

Tessa had spent quite a bit of time explaining this to Nick yesterday. Purgatory wasn’t just a place for ghosts and restless souls, it was a place of pure entropy. While most other planes were dangerous, many were made so only by the creatures that inhabited them. Purgatory, on the other hand, was inherently hostile to living creatures, regardless of other external threats. While there was no way to know how Purgatory would affect Amara and Vee’s supernatural bodies, there was no doubt this rescue mission had a timer attached to it.

At the moment, Tessa was sitting on her bed with a pile of notes scattered around her. Nick was on the floor, nervously shaking his leg, and occasionally asking questions or pitching ideas of his own. Tessa, for the most part, had been ignoring him.

“Can you at least tell me what our options are? I hate just sitting around doing nothing,” Nick complained.

“Isn’t that what you’ve always done? Let Amara do all the hard stuff while you just, I dunno, get a bunch of free sex?” Tessa said, not bothering to look up from her notes.

“I’ve always found ways to help! I was able to research Mr. Wellington, I threw together a schedule for everyone in the cult, stuff like that. Plus, early on, I was doing everything in my power to keep Amara from freaking out about her transformation.”

“And I’m glad you did! But, right now, the only way forward is to figure out a way to get them back. Now that we know they’re in Purgatory, the best shot we have is to reconfigure the Lysander Circle. It was originally crafted to keep Purgatory out, but the cult weakened it. Since the circle is already intimately tied to the plane, I should be able to rework its magic to create a bridge, but like I’ve said before, this is old and powerful magic. I need time to figure it out.”

“If the school is a giant soft spot, doesn’t that mean Purgatory is already overlapping with us?” Nick asked.

“I mean, yes, but it’s not that simple. If we weren’t on a soft spot, building a bridge would be impossible for me; I simply don’t have the skills. Thankfully, we have the soft spot, and we have an existing circle that’s already been calibrated for Purgatory. I also revisited the Ritual Circle earlier today; in a strange twist of fate, it’s proving quite useful right now. I was able to study how they repurposed the existing circle to make a portal, and I think I can do the same with the Lysander Circle.”

“But do you need, I don’t know, reagents? Materials?”

“Nick, when have you ever seen me use something like that? I’m not just smooshing together some eye of newt and asking very nicely to see Amara again. That’s not really how magic works unless your power comes from a Fae, or something similar. Most of the time, magic is just math, but it’s the boring kind of math where there’s more letters than numbers.”

Nick, who had previously been leaning against the wall, pivoted and laid down on the floor instead. “Ugh, okay, fine.”

Tessa shuffled more of her notes around, jotted down a few ideas, then sighed. It felt like she was hitting a mental block, there were obstacles in her way that just didn’t make sense. The notes from the Ritual Portal were helpful, but it was hard to know which runes were for Hell, and which ones were for building the bridge. When they’d been going up against the cult, this would be the point where she would mount Amara’s tail to take a break and shake things loose, and she could already feel a familiar tingle between her legs as she recalled how good Amara felt inside her.

Maybe it’s time for another attempt. At the end of the day, he’s still a guy, right? I’ve just got to figure out what he wants.

Setting down her pencil, Tessa slid to the floor until she was next to Nick. “Actually, you know what? There is something I could use your help with. I have trouble thinking when I’m distracted, and I’ve got an itch that won’t shut up.” As she talked, she pushed her hands on Nick’s chest, then straddled him. She pushed her ass against his crotch, briefly grinding against him in hopes of exciting him.

When she’d started speaking, Nick seemed genuinely interested in helping out, but as he figured out what she meant, he changed his tune. “I, um… look, Tess, I appreciate the offer, but I really don’t think—”

“Oh, come on,” Tessa groaned, “don’t give me that shit! You were fucking Amara like, every day for months, no matter what crazy shit she got up to. Why is that different?”

“She’s a succubus, Tess! If she’s not having sex, her body shuts down, it’s literally a matter of life and death for her!”

Tessa crawled off Nick, huffing as she finally vented her frustration. “I don’t believe that, Nick. At that party, when Amara threw herself at you, no one knew she was a succubus! You didn’t hesitate to take her to pound town then, so what’s the difference? Are you secretly in love with her? Do you not like chicks with short hair?”

Sitting up, Nick shifted further away from Tessa. “It’s nothing like that; Amara and I are just friends, and I want it to stay that way. And you’re very attractive, Tess, I promise.”

“Then what is it?” Tessa sat down on the floor, leaning up against her bed before looking at Nick again.

Nick sighed. “Look, I don’t like talking about it, but I don’t really feel arousal unless there’s a connection. With Amara, we’d been best friends for years, so we already had that bond.”

“Wait, you’re demi?” Tessa asked.

“Yeah, pretty much. And, despite all the time we’ve spent together, I feel like I don’t know anything about you. Do you have family? Why are you going to college? How do you feel about your magic? Why are you a witch? Every time I ask, you dodge my questions.”

Tessa paused, surprised by Nick’s confession. She’d always assumed he had hooked up with Amara because he was just another horny guy, secretly desperate to fuck his best friend. With this new information, everything suddenly made sense.

“You seriously don’t have feelings for her? I thought demi people needed romantic entanglement before they wanted to do anything.”

“I can’t speak for everyone, but I’m more than happy to be friends with benefits. I know everything about Amara, I know her hopes and dreams, I know what she’s afraid of, I know her feelings about her family. I love her to death, but as a friend, and that’s still enough to feel a sexual attraction.”

Silence filled the room, as Tessa had no idea what else to say. Sex was many things to her, but never a way to connect with someone emotionally. Sex was a way to blow off steam, a way to convince lovestruck idiots to do her homework. It was a Swiss army knife that she’d used hundreds of times to take control of her life in a hundred different ways. Now, faced with Nick’s unique approach to sex, Tessa had no choice but to dwell on an uncomfortable truth; sex was a way to prevent people from getting too close.

She hated thinking about it, even though she’d always known it was true. In the past, people had tried to get close to her, and she had learned that a quick fuck often enabled her to skip conversations about her past or her feelings. Men were particularly vulnerable to this; their desire to learn about your future aspirations often vanished when your tits came out.

So, what now? I either accept that Nick and I are never going to hook up, or I give him what he wants. Of course, the biggest reason to keep people away doesn’t apply here; he already knows about the world of magic, and he’s already balls deep in it.

“My parents were witches,” Tessa said quietly.

Nick looked up, surprise on his face, but stayed quiet. Did he want her to continue talking? The silence bothered her, especially after sharing something she’d never told anyone before.

“They were in a coven, and they had the same job as every other witch; keep magic a secret,” she continued.

“Is magic really that big a deal?” Nick asked.

“Power corrupts, Nick, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. But that can happen in a million different ways.”

Nick’s voice was quiet, matching Tessa’s. He seemed to be picking his words carefully, and he talked as if walking on eggshells. “Amara once told me that you think magic is a curse. Is that true?”

Tessa sighed. “It feels like one. When someone finds out about magic and winds up dead, it’s tragic, but not surprising. I mean, look at Amara; she finds out she’s a demon, and within two months, multiple people have tried to enslave her, Vee almost killed her, and she had to fight off a demonic cult. It’s a miracle she’s not dead.”

“So, what do you do? As a witch, I mean. How do you keep magic a secret?”

“We do all sorts of stuff. Sometimes it sounds heroic, like fighting off werewolves or vampires to keep humans from finding out about them. Frequently it’s boring stuff, like making sure libraries or occult shops don’t stumble into real magic.”

“What about you?”

“Well, I didn’t come here for an education, for one thing. I was assigned to Aurelius University by my Coven. I have a feeling they did it so I could keep an eye on the soft spot and the Gate, but they never actually told me anything. They, uh… they don’t like me very much.”

There was another pause, and Tessa looked up at Nick. She’d seen him make this face before, and she had a feeling he was cycling through countless different questions to find the one he felt needed to be asked.

“So where are your parents? Are they assigned anywhere?”

Fuck. Why does he ask the worst possible questions?

“My parents are dead,” Tessa whispered. “They were killed when I was little, right in front of my eyes. That’s what I mean when I say this world is a curse; you don’t get a happy ending once you learn magic is real. It’s only a matter of time before some unknowable tragedy wipes you off the face of the planet.”

Tessa shut her eyes, squeezing them as hard as she could as she tried to fight off the horrible memories of that night. More than anything, she desperately wanted Nick to stop asking questions.

To her surprise, Nick stood up and walked closer. He kneeled next to her, putting an arm around her shoulder and gently hugging her. “I’m sorry to hear that. For what it’s worth, you’ve got me and Amara on your side. And maybe Vee, someday. You’re not alone in this anymore, Tess.”

As much as she tried to fight it, Tessa felt herself tearing up. “Look, I should get back to work. Can you, I dunno, go get us some burgers or something?”

Nick pulled away, keeping a hand on her shoulder as he tried to look into her eyes. “Absolutely. The usual?”

Tessa nodded. At this point, she just wanted Nick to leave, and figured he would only do so if he had a chance to feel helpful. She awkwardly sat on the floor as she watched him leave, but didn’t bother returning to her work once she was alone. A cloud of unpleasantness surrounded her, reminders of why it felt better to avoid these types of conversations. Knowing Nick, he was going to keep being nice, politely trying to learn more about her while offering emotional support, and she struggled to think of any reasons why she shouldn’t oblige him.

—

Vee didn’t necessarily wake up that morning; it felt more like admitting defeat. She’d spent a good portion of the night trying and failing to get comfortable, tossing and turning while trying to warm herself up. Despite the many blankets she’d piled on herself, despite the powerful Enochian wards, the cold had still found her.

She pushed her blankets to the side, swinging her legs gently to the floor. As she prepared to start her morning stretches, hoping some activity might warm her up, she flinched. Her feet bumped against something on the floor, something noticeably warm compared to its surroundings. Vee looked down quickly and saw that she’d barely avoided stepping on Amara’s tail. Her foot was resting less than an inch away from it, and the heat it gave off felt incredible.

Memories from yesterday returned, accompanied by a wave of emotions. She hadn’t intended to start a shouting match; she had just been fed up with Amara’s bad attitude. Apparently her frustration had just been a spark, and it ignited everything that had gone unsaid between the two of them.

She already knew quite a bit about Amara’s transformation from her conversation with Nick, but he hadn’t been able to capture the most important part: the fear. Even though Amara never admitted it, Vee could tell how afraid the transformation had made her, and it was easy to see why. Amara didn’t have a worldwide institution dedicated to helping her adjust to her supernatural lineage, nor did she have a supportive family to help break the news to her. She’d simply grown a tail out of the blue, with no idea that magic and monsters even existed.

Amara’s story had been incredibly insightful, and Vee had regretted that the conversation hadn’t continued longer, but there was so much to process. While the cold of Purgatory was certainly a big issue, she also knew that her tumultuous thoughts had contributed to her lack of sleep.

One thought, more than anything else, had become a point of fixation for her. Amara’s transformation had terrified her, upended her entire view of the world. In the face of all that uncertainty, however, she had tried to give herself one night of happiness. A chance to embrace her new identity, even if she didn’t fully understand what exactly she was.

And Vee had tried to murder her.

It was, perhaps, the one thought that Vee had been trying to avoid for weeks. Sure, everything she’d told Amara was true; she was scared of disobeying the Church, of discovering that their teachings were wrong. She was scared of learning that her own existence was built on a lie, but that fear didn’t seem as important right now. Above all else, hiding underneath every other fear, was one simple truth; accepting that Amara was different meant accepting that she’d tried to murder her best friend in cold blood without reason.

Of the two of them, who was really the monster?

Amara seemed convinced it was her, but hadn’t the entire world been telling her that for months? Hadn’t Vee basically told her that by driving a sword through her chest?

It was one thing to see hints, clues that Amara had felt bad. Yes, she’d cleaned up the palace, raised money for charity with her pictures, but there had always been distance between them. In person, faced with the entirety of Amara’s experience, Vee had felt just how visceral Amara’s guilt was. It was tearing her apart, it was driving her to lash out, and it was even robbing her of her flight.

Vee didn’t need any more proof. There would be no more second guessing, no more hesitation. Amara was a demon, yes, but she was so much more than that. She was a friend, and most surprisingly, a kindred spirit.

She didn’t feel alone anymore.

Wiping a tear from her eye, Vee carefully stepped over Amara’s various limbs and headed for the door. She opened it carefully, not sure if the rest of her apartment was safe, but thankfully the outer wards still seemed partially intact. Her kitchen and living room still had some color to them, but the difference in temperature was incredibly obvious.

It’s a good thing Amara stayed with me. I know she can’t feel the cold, but would the entropy affect her anyways?

Deciding it was pointless to guess about how extraplanar forces might interact with demonic physiology, she instead got herself some breakfast. She salvaged the last of the food that seemed good from the fridge, made two small meals, and walked back to her bedroom.

She wrapped herself in blankets, sat on the bed, and slowly ate as she waited for Amara to wake up. Thankfully, she wasn’t waiting too long. She’d only just gotten comfortable when the blankets on the floor began to stir.

Amara groaned, her various limbs twitching and stretching as she woke up. When she finally sat up, the covers tumbling off her, she looked at Vee. “Oh, uh, morning,” she said, her voice thick with sleep.

“Morning, Amara. How’d you sleep?” Vee asked.

“Um, fine, I guess. Nothing against your floor, I think it’s just the stress of being here.” After a quick pause, Amara quickly clarified. “I mean Purgatory! Not your room.”

Vee laughed quietly. “You’re fine, I get it. I made you breakfast, by the way.” She pointed at the second meal she’d thrown together, hoping it would be up to Amara’s standards. From what she could gather, Amara’s ability to summon fire had inspired her to take up cooking.

Amara quickly crawled over to Vee’s nightstand, then grabbed her breakfast and started eating. As she crawled back to her spot, Vee’s gaze accidentally lingered on Amara’s pajama shorts; they were sitting higher than usual, perhaps because of how she’d been sleeping, and even more of her body was visible. Specifically, Vee noticed how pronounced the curves on Amara’s hips were, and how much the shorts struggled to contain her—

Wait, what am I thinking?

Vee shook her head, quickly staring back down at her breakfast. She let Amara settle in, not entirely sure what to say. She wanted to say something, to break the tension after everything they’d talked about yesterday, but she also didn’t want to push Amara too hard. Did Amara want time to think as well? The more Vee thought about it, the more she realized that Amara had shared more about herself than Vee had; maybe that was a good place to start.

“Y’know, I’m not a very good angel,” Vee said quietly.

Amara was in the middle of a bite, and Vee’s comment clearly caught her off guard. She quickly swallowed, then spoke up. “Hey, I know I said some pretty rude things when we were sparring with each other, but you know I didn’t mean them, right?”

Vee shook her head. “That’s not what I mean. I’m being quite literal; compared to other angels, I’m objectively much weaker than most of them.”

“Oh, um… do you guys, like, hang out and practice with each other or something?” Amara asked. She seemed nervous, like she was unsure what to say.

“Nothing like that, mostly because there aren’t many of us. I mean, there’s a fair amount, but the world is a big place, and we’re stationed all over. No, when I was training, they would tell me about all the other angels, about what they were capable of, and I never measured up.”

“That sounds pretty rude, to compare you to everyone else like that,” Amara said quietly.

“It’s not about being nice or rude, the Church looks at the Earth like it’s a warzone. They tell us that demons are constantly trying to invade, and it’s up to us to keep humanity safe from them.”

Amara paused briefly, then replied with a smirk. “I keep getting emails about our master plan to steal all the gold from Fort Knox, but I keep ignoring them.” Vee looked up, meeting Amara’s gaze, and she saw hesitation. It seemed like Amara wasn’t entirely sure if the joke was appropriate, but Vee broke out laughing almost immediately.

“Oh shoot, I should let them know. They think you’re trying to invent a new type of rap music.” Both girls were laughing now, and it took a minute before they settled down enough for Vee to continue talking. “No, but seriously, I’m not trying to rattle off about Church politics. I just wanted to let you know that, well, there’s a lot of things I’m supposed to be able to do that I simply can’t. The biggest one, the one I cared the most about, was manifesting my wings.”

A look of surprise crossed Amara’s face. “Oh, I didn’t know that. I’ve wondered, once or twice, but it never felt right to ask.”

“We’re supposed to have big, beautiful, feathered wings. Probably as big as yours, honestly, but I just can’t do it. One reason I rely so much on my book is because my magic is weaker. That’s also why I used lots of holy water and similar things when I… well, during our fight.”

“You can talk about it, you know. It’s not like I’m constantly on the verge of breaking down from the memories.”

“It’s not that, I just… I wanted to let you know that I can’t fly either. I don’t even know what my wings look like. I hope it’s okay to say this, but I understand how badly you want to fly. I know what it’s like to feel like you should be able to, but there’s something holding you back.”

Amara didn’t say anything, instead pulling her wings close and looking at them.

Shit, should I not have said that? After all, it’s kinda my fault she can’t fly. Ugh, that was so stupid!

When Amara finally spoke up, her voice took on a melancholic tone. “It’s funny how much we have in common, isn’t it?”

“It really is. But, if I’m being honest, it’s nice to finally have someone I can talk to about everything.”

After briefly looking at each other again, the conversation paused. Vee finished her breakfast quickly, but when she put her bowl down, she noticed that Amara still had most of her food left. Vee thought about apologizing, her gut reaction that she’d given Amara something she didn’t like, when she remembered something Amara had said earlier.

“Food loses its flavor, I stop sleeping, and I grow weaker and weaker with each passing moment.”

If Vee’s memory was correct, today was their fourth day trapped in Purgatory. Earlier in the week, Amara had said the longest she’d ever gone without sex was a week, but that she’d also been somewhat sedentary that week. Here in Purgatory, they’d already fought two reapers, or maybe the same reaper twice. Plus, even if she couldn’t feel the cold, Vee was scared that being here might be draining Amara in ways she wasn’t aware of.

If we don’t find a way home soon, we’ll be finding out the hard way what happens when you starve a succubus.

“Hey, we got pretty distracted yesterday. How about today we take another look around campus, see if we can learn more about the reapers or find any other clues about how to get home?”

Amara quickly put her food down and jumped to her feet. “Sounds good to me. Make sure you bundle up.”

Soon enough, the girls were leaving the apartment and wandering back towards campus. Everything looked exactly the same, as it always did, the monotony growing more and more frustrating.

“So, yesterday,” Vee said, “that reaper attacked us closer to the Quad, right?”

“Yeah, I think we had just passed Lysander when we, um, started talking,” Amara said.

“You mean screaming our heads off at each other?”

“Screaming is a form of talking! And besides, I think I was doing more screaming than you were.”

“Yeah, but I started it. Plus, you have a lot to be angry about, you’ve basically been fighting the entire world ever since you started demon puberty.” Vee took the lead, gesturing for Amara to follow as they started circling campus, trying to avoid the Quad.

“Well, I hate to sound like I’m complaining, but it does kinda feel like that. First Brandon tried to enslave me, then Derek attacked me, then—”

“Hold on, what?” Vee said, interrupting Amara. “Derek attacked you?”

“Oh, yeah, did I not mention that part?” Vee shook her head, so Amara continued. “Yeah, I had a day where I had accidentally shapeshifted into you. I was trying to help Tessa research some circles, and on my way home in the morning, I ran into Derek. He was drunk off his ass, obviously thought I was you, and tried to force himself on me.”

“Wait. Were you at the Science Building that night?” Vee asked. She could practically feel the puzzle pieces clicking together. “In a small room behind a bunch of old plumbing?”

Amara seemed surprised. “We were, yeah. How did you know?”

“Because I was there. Early that morning, I went for a run, and I saw you leave the building. I didn’t know what was happening, but I knew you were the succubus I’d been hunting.” Vee had a thousand questions running through her head, and wasn’t sure which one to ask first. “What happened with Derek? Is that when he got hurt?”

Amara nodded. “Yeah. Like I said, he was totally wasted, and he was complaining that he hadn’t gotten laid that night. I tried to run, but he… um, he pushed me against a wall, broke the bottle he was drinking from, and threatened me with it. He was in the middle of trying to get his pants off when I realized that he wasn’t really attacking me, he thought he was attacking you, and I lost it. I got so angry that I manifested my hellfire for the first time, and it ignited all the booze he’d spilled on himself. I ran home, terrified because my hands were still on fire, and I didn’t know what happened with him until you came to me later that day.”

Holy shit, I saw that broken bottle. If I hadn’t seen Amara that morning, I would’ve just gone home; he would have attacked me instead of her.

“Amara, I… I had no idea. I’m so sorry, I should’ve tried to deal with him sooner.”

“Are you kidding? Vee, he’s the problem, not you. Honestly, as weird as it sounds, I was kinda happy it happened that way. I didn’t know you were an angel at that time, and I thought that it was better for him to attack me, because I was strong enough to defend myself. I thought I’d saved you, but obviously he went and reported you to the police. I just wish I could’ve gotten him to confess sooner.”

Vee was stunned. From her perspective, the succubus turning the school against her had just been more proof that the demon needed to be stopped. Now she was faced with the exact opposite; Amara had nearly taken a horrible bullet for her, and she was happy about it? Excited that she’d spared Vee the trauma?

Great, as if I didn’t feel bad enough for attacking her.

“How did you do that, by the way? Get Derek to confess?” Vee asked.

“After our fight, I started slipping into his dreams on accident. I learned I could control them, and we figured out that he was having repeated nightmares about an old girlfriend he’d accidentally killed. It wasn’t exactly the nicest thing I’ve ever done, but I started making the nightmares even worse. I followed him around campus, disguised as his dead girlfriend, and eventually it was too much, so he confessed to everything.”

“Oh jeez, I had no idea. After Tessa told me you were responsible, I just assumed you had charmed him or something.”

“Nah, my powers don’t work like that,” Amara said.

“What, you can’t use magic to charm people?” Vee asked.

“Nope. I’m slightly better at seducing people, since I can read their auras for hints, but I can’t compel anyone to do anything.”

“But then why do I—” Vee silenced herself as quickly as possible. That wasn’t a thought that needed finishing.

“Why do you what?” Amara asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“I-I meant, like, why did I see so many people buying your photos? I had initially assumed you’d used demon magic to get so much attention.”

Yes. That’s totally what I meant.

“Vee, I’m a hot girl that’s studying marketing. You think I need magic to convince strangers on the internet to buy naked pictures of me?”

Vee caught herself blushing with embarrassment. “W-well, when you put it like that…”

Amara started laughing, and despite Vee’s embarrassment, she soon joined in as well. They had just reached Vee’s intended destination, and had to steady themselves against the wall as they tried to calm down from their revelry. When their laughter finally subsided, Amara wiped a tear from her eye and looked around at their surroundings.

“Wow, Vee, I really needed that. Is this Whitmore Hall? Are we here on purpose?”

Vee nodded. “We are, yeah. I want to check out the ritual chamber, if that’s okay with you.”

“That’s a good idea! Gimme a sec, though, I want to peek around the corner to see if anything’s happening at the Quad.” Amara pushed off the building, then walked until she was just about to round the corner. She shifted her wings to make sure they didn’t peek around the corner, then poked her head out. “Oh. Shit.”

Nervous, Vee ran closer. Before she could round the corner, Amara reached out and stopped her. “Amara what is it?”

Amara took a step back, her eyes wide. “Take a look, but be careful.”

Vee nodded, then nervously leaned out to look at the Quad. It was immediately obvious what had Amara so spooked; a small collection of reapers were perched in the Quad. Some were on trees, some were circling in the air, and all of them seemed as imposing as the ones they’d fought earlier. Vee counted four in total, but there was no way to know if more were hiding elsewhere.

Additionally, in the center of the Quad, Vee saw a strange circle of dull light on the ground. She was too far away to make out any details, and she didn’t want to further drain her abilities by enhancing her vision.

“Fuck!” Vee said, moving back towards Amara. “What are they doing? Why are they gathering there?”

“No idea.” Amara started pacing, her tail twitching nervously. “I visited the Quad when I first got here, even tried to fly again, but I never saw a reaper until I was under Lysander with you. And I didn’t see any traces of that circle.”

“I don’t like this one bit. Could this mean there’s something else happening?”

“What do you mean?” Amara asked.

“Like, we’ve been thinking we got sucked here on accident because the planes were all out of whack. What if our presence here is no accident?”

“You mean someone brought us here on purpose?”

“I don’t know, maybe? We still don’t have any clues about what’s going on here, but we should at least entertain the possibility.” Vee moved up to Amara, placing a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down. “C’mon, let’s take a look at the Ritual Circle and then get back home.”

“Agreed.” Amara nodded, then jogged over to the entrance of Whitmore Hall. Vee followed closely behind, and they began weaving their way through crowds of student remnants while they made their way to the basement. Just like under Lysander Hall, the illusory wall here had vanished, and they had easy access to the strange tunnels that ran under campus.

Vee was trying to think of possible explanations for the reapers’ presence, as well as anything that might explain the strange circle, when Amara spoke up again. “So, what are we looking for? Full disclosure, but I’m not all that great at looking for things. It helps to have an idea of what we might find.”

“I wish I could say. Based on what Tessa told us the night of the ritual, the portal to Hell is what broke everything. Until then, the Gate was weak, but stable. Opening the portal, and then reversing it, is what caused the Gate to break down. Maybe we’ll find tears between the planes, or weird residual magic, but we’re basically going in blind. Thankfully, that whole basement was pretty empty, so hopefully anything strange will stick out.”

“I was afraid of that. Make sure you’re double checking behind me, just to be safe, alright?”

Vee looked back at Amara and nodded. They continued walking for a few minutes, doing their best to avoid getting lost in the labyrinthine tunnel system. Thankfully, between the two of them, they soon found the main chamber.

Interestingly, it looked shockingly similar to the real chamber back home. Not in a magical sense, everything was just as gray and washed out as the rest of campus, but more because the chamber had always been dull and lifeless. Vee clocked a few differences immediately; for one thing, there weren’t countless blood stains covering the chamber. Their fight had left quite a mess, and Vee had been too preoccupied with school to return and clean up. She also noticed that, while the circle was visible, it didn’t appear any different than the other mundane circle she’d seen at Brandt Hall.

“Well, should we start looking around?” Amara asked.

“Might as well. Give me a holler if you find anything, or if you think a reaper is nearby,” Vee said. They split up, with Vee heading left while she started looking around. While she didn’t know exactly what she was looking for, she was trying to be as thorough as possible. She swept her eyes up and down walls, across the floor and ceiling, hoping to get lucky. She was looking for strange cracks, hints of color, anything they might use to get home.

Other than briefly passing Amara, she didn’t find anything on her first pass. She made her second loop smaller, to no success, and her third loop had her circling just outside the large structural pillars. Before long, she’d reached the center of the chamber and was now looking at the circle.

Although she knew she was here to look for a way home, she was unable to fight the memories of their fight that wanted to resurface. In particular, she remembered the moment she chose to save Amara’s life, and a sense of pride welled up inside her. For all the pain she’d caused, it was hard not to see that moment as the first step in her road to making things better.

Her memories were interrupted, however, when she kicked something on the floor. Pulled back to reality, she crouched down to see what she’d found. She was immediately taken by surprise when she saw something full of color.

Just next to the circle, lying on the ground, was a small switchblade. Its handle was made of metal, and a dull rainbow effect had been added for decoration; it almost looked like the refraction of light off an oil spill. The blade of the knife was extended, and a clear coat of blood covered the tip.

“Amara! I found something!” Vee shouted.

The dull sound of footsteps echoed around the chamber as Amara ran closer, then kneeled next to Vee. “Holy shit, is that—”

“Yeah, it’s Tessa’s switchblade.”

“But that doesn’t make sense! It got sucked through the portal, but the portal was connected to Hell! How could it have ended up here?”

Vee went quiet, replaying the last moments of that fight in her head. This time, instead of remembering the look on Amara’s face, she tried to recall what the portal had looked like. “Alright, I’m not a witch, so this is just a guess, but didn’t the portal kinda spaz out at the end?”

“Um, I think so? I was mostly looking up at you, and I only looked down when I was trying to kick Brandon off me.”

“Well, Tessa said that reversing the portal is what blew the Gate open. What if the connection to Hell broke before the portal closed?”

“Are you saying the portal tried to connect to other planes?”

“Maybe? We know that all the circles worked together to create the Gate, so what if the portal tried to latch onto something else? Maybe Purgatory was already in sync with our world, or maybe the Lysander Circle was close enough to pull the portal’s attention.”

“But, that would mean—” Amara stood up, taking a step back from Vee. “That would mean Brandon might be here; this knife was in his hand when he got pulled through. Fuck! If he’s still alive, I swear I’ll rip him to pieces myself!”

Amara screamed with frustration, then lashed out at a nearby pillar. Just before her fist landed, its chitinous gauntlet returned, and a loud thud reverberated through the chamber as her strike landed. She was breathing heavily, and Vee swore her eyes turned black for a moment.

Vee stood up, gently placing a hand on Amara’s arm. “Hey, it’s going to be alright. What’s the one thing we know about Purgatory? It’s a place of entropy. Even if he ended up here, that was practically two whole weeks ago. There’s no way he survived that long.” As Vee spoke, she watched the material of Amara’s gauntlet slowly recede. It was a strange process, watching plates of exoskeleton slowly phase into her arm, but Vee tried to stay focused on comforting Amara.

“Okay. Right, yeah, that makes sense. We’re only alive because we’re not human, and we have your little pocket of reality,” Amara said. Her breathing started to calm down, and she looked up at Vee. “Um, sorry about losing my temper there. Still not used to being this quick to anger.”

“Hey, no one’s hurt. Look on the bright side, we have more information now. For all we know, maybe this knife will help Tessa somehow. If it can’t, well, at least she gets her knife back. Maybe it’ll make her hate me less.” Vee forced a smile, trying to put a positive spin on things to cheer Amara up.

Amara shook out her hand, then smiled back at Vee. “She’s pretty good at holding a grudge, if nothing else. You want to head back to your place? I don’t want to stick around here any longer.”

“Yeah, let’s do that.” Vee kneeled again, grabbing Tessa’s knife and closing the blade. Confident that they’d found everything they could, Vee happily followed Amara out of the main chamber. They backtracked their steps as best they could, and after several minutes of wandering, they found the basement of Whitmore Hall again.

They were climbing the stairs when Vee decided to speak up again. “What’s the deal with him, anyways? That Brandon guy.”

“Uh, bit of a long story, but he was stalking Tessa for a while, which led to him discovering she was a witch. He tried to blackmail her, but she promised she could teach him to summon a succubus to use as his own personal sex slave. Unfortunately, she didn’t know about me, and I ended up trapped in that circle. Do you remember that night I went missing for a bit? That was why.”

“Fuck, he’s been after you since then?”

“Yup. He started stalking me, doing anything he could to get in my pants. He offered his soul to me, then tried to blackmail me with pictures he took of me cleaning up the Palace. That’s actually why I made my own pictures, I was trying to pull the teeth out of his threat. After that, he joined up with the cult, told them about me, and was one of the guys that… well, let’s just say he got his wish before we tossed him in that portal.”

“Wow. What a bitch.”

“Right?!” Amara groaned, then continued complaining about Brandon for another few minutes. Vee ended up learning more about Amara’s gangbang than she’d intended, but she was just happy Amara felt comfortable opening up to her.

Ever since their conversation yesterday, things had been steadily improving. Even thinking back to this morning, their conversation had felt a bit stiff, but now Vee felt like they were starting to rediscover the friends they had once been. They kept talking all the way back to her apartment, and Vee was thrilled to have a distraction from the cold.

Eventually, time caught up with them, and Vee began to feel some exhaustion creeping into her body. It was strange, she felt like their days were growing shorter and shorter, and she wondered if that was a side effect of being in Purgatory. They had no sunlight to reinforce their sleep schedules, so for all Vee knew, they might be spending less and less time awake. Still, she needed sleep, as much as she dreaded trying to get some.

Amara pulled together some food for the two of them, but just like this morning, Vee noticed that she didn’t seem too interested in eating. She had a suspicion Amara was putting on a brave face, but she didn’t want to say anything at the moment.

Vee changed back into her pajamas, opting against wearing her thicker pair. She was slowly realizing that all the blankets in the world weren’t going to keep the cold out, so she figured it was pointless to pile on clothes that were far too heavy to wear comfortably in bed.

Of course, there might be another way to stay warm…

Her mind lingered on that strange thought as she got dressed. Instead of longer fleece pants and a thick sweater, she was now wearing shorts and a crop top. She only realized afterwards that she now matched Amara, at least a little bit. The demon wasn’t wearing a crop top, instead a tight sports bra that seemed to be stretched to its limits around her bust, but it was close enough.

Amara had briefly visited the kitchen to put their dishes away when she returned. She looked at Vee, her eyes briefly running over her new outfit, before she spoke up. “That doesn’t look nearly as warm as your other pajamas, Vee.”

“Ordinarily I’d agree with you, but last night was honestly pretty cold. I think my clothes and blankets are starting to lose their efficacy, so I might as well be comfy, right?”

“I’m not sure I agree with you, but I guess I’ll take your word for it,” Amara said. She was frowning as she spoke, but seemed determined to trust Vee.

“I actually had another idea, but… um, it might sound a little weird,” Vee said quietly. Amara cocked an eyebrow, likely curious at what was coming, but gestured for Vee to continue. “It’s just, well, you know how the cold doesn’t really affect you? This morning, I noticed that you were still really warm, and… well, I…”

Amara’s eyes went wide, and Vee caught her blushing. “Oh. Oh! You mean… right, yeah, I see why that might be weird.”

“If that’s okay with you! I know things are kinda awkward right now, but I just had a lot of trouble sleeping last night, and we might as well do everything we can to stay safe, right?”

“Of course, obviously. I mean, if you’re comfortable with that, it's okay with me.” Amara was stammering just as much as Vee was, both girls trying to avoid eye contact with each other. A few moments passed before they both tried to speak up at the same time.

“So, how do you—”

“Do you want to—

They both paused again, then started laughing nervously. The laughter did nothing to diffuse the tension, but eventually Amara gestured again for Vee to say something.

“I was actually thinking, if we’re going to do this… I’m a little curious what your tail feels like? Is that weird?” Vee said awkwardly.

“N-no, we might as well get comfortable with each other before we try to get some sleep, so that makes sense.” Amara pointed at the bed next to Vee. “Um, may I?”

Vee nodded, and soon Amara was turning to sit down next to her. Vee couldn’t bring herself to look at Amara quite yet, but soon a long, red tail had crept in front of her. She swallowed nervously, then reached out and gently placed her hand on the tip of Amara’s tail.

C’mon Vee, get over yourself. You’re both grown adults, aren’t you? This is only weird if you make it weird!

She noticed immediately how soft Amara’s tail was. She hadn’t expected it to be coarse, but in her hands the tail felt no different than a hand or an arm. Her touch caused the tail to twitch slightly, spurring Vee to say something. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah, it’s totally fine. Just… I mean, you know. Trying to get used to this, and you’re being so careful it’s almost a little ticklish.” Amara was fidgeting slightly as she spoke.

“You can feel everything?” Vee asked.

Amara nodded. “It’s just as real as any other part of me. I’m a little sensitive around the base of my tail, actually. Like, full-on ticklish. But, other than that, it’s completely prehensile, and surprisingly strong. It can support my entire weight if I need it to.”

Vee was strangely absorbed by the experience, and was glad that Amara was trying to fill the silence. She ran her fingers over the tail, eventually wrapping her hand around it and giving it a gentle squeeze. “You can also change it, right? I think I remember you giving it a bladed edge the night of the ritual.”

“Yeah, I can do a lot of things with my exoskeleton. I shouldn’t right now, it takes energy. I really shouldn’t have punched that pillar earlier, honestly.”

“Hey, you needed to vent, I get it!” Vee said, slowly letting go of Amara’s tail. She had just wanted to ease the awkward tension a bit, even though she was more curious than she cared to admit.

Amara pulled her tail back, wrapping it around her waist. “So, how should we do this? I feel like, normally, we would sleep back-to-back, but that’s where all my extra limbs are, which makes it a bit awkward. Also, the only person that’s shared a bed with my true form is Tessa, but that was after… I mean, you and I are just friends. I don’t know how I might move around in my sleep.”

“How about you just face inward, and I’ll face outward. Easy enough, right?” Vee asked. Thankfully, Amara quickly agreed, and the two girls crawled into bed. They pulled the covers up, and as they tried to get comfortable, Vee’s feet brushed against Amara’s.

“Sorry!” Amara said, quickly pulling away.

“N-no, that was me, you’re good.” Vee said.

Silence fell again, and after a few more moments of shuffling, it seemed like they’d both found a comfortable position. They weren’t touching each other, but Vee could already feel waves of heat pouring off of Amara. It felt amazing, and she wished she could just stay in this bed forever. Of course, that thought made her even more flustered.

It’s going to be fine, Vee. You’re just… sharing a bed with a demon. But you have to, right? You're just trying to survive.

The seconds ticked on, eventually turning into minutes. Vee was more comfortable than she’d been in days, and she quickly felt the specter of sleep beginning to circle her. Her thoughts calmed down, the novelty of the situation began to wear out, and she found it easier to relax. Memories of their conversation yesterday returned, and Vee couldn’t help but think about how happy she was to be friends with Amara again. Although she couldn’t pinpoint exactly why, something felt right about all this.

Before she fell asleep entirely, Vee whispered something to herself. Initially, she had no idea if Amara was awake or not, nor any inkling of which she preferred. She got her answer when Amara spoke up, her voice slightly muffled by the comforter.

“Vee? Did you say something?” Amara asked.

With confirmation that Amara was awake, Vee took a deep breath, and repeated herself. “Vequaniel.”

There was a pause, then Amara responded. “I-I don’t understand.”

“It’s my name,” Vee said quietly. “Vee is short for Vequaniel.”

Vee swore she heard Amara gasp. “Oh, I… thank you for telling me. You really didn’t have to, I was just being an ass before.”

“I wanted to. Like you said earlier, we’ve got a lot in common, don't we? If we’re going to be friends again, we should do it right. No more secrets; I know your real name, you should know mine. Though… maybe keep it to yourself. I’ve never actually told anyone before.”

There was a quick, tiny exhale behind Vee; a sign of Amara quietly laughing to herself. “You have my word.”

Vee hesitated. She wanted desperately to say one more thing, and wrestled with herself over whether or not to speak up. Eventually, she decided to throw caution to the wind. “Amara?”

“Yeah?”

“I… I’m sorry.”

Vee didn’t clarify what she meant, and thankfully, Amara didn’t ask her to. Instead, after another moment, Amara whispered back. “I’m sorry too, Vee.”

Vee shifted her foot under the covers, moving it backward slightly. She heard more rustling, and then Amara’s tail found her ankle, gently squeezing it. After a moment, they broke off their gesture of solidarity and returned to their own sides of the bed.

“Good night, Vequaniel.”

“Good night, Amara.”