Chapter 22.1

The elevator ride took ages. Amara’s heart was racing the entire time, and she was terrified the cult might have a way to stop the elevator or call it back. There was also the demon; what could it do? Could it race up the elevator shaft and break in? Was she ready to fight another demon? She tried to stare at her reflection in the polished walls, and flinched when she saw Mr. Luxnor's face staring back at her. For a moment, she thought about returning to her own form, but she knew Nick's clothes wouldn't change with her. She instead shifted into Nick's body; at least the clothes would fit comfortably if someone attacked her.

Thankfully, by the time she landed on the ground floor of Lysander Hall, there had been no disruptions to her escape. She quickly broke into a sprint, leaving the building and rushing to her designated meeting spot with Tessa. After a few minutes of heavy sprinting, she found the witch yawning against the side of a building.

“Tessa!” Amara said, panting.

“Nick?” Tessa looked up, momentarily surprised, then paused to narrow her eyes. “No, wait, Amara?”

“Yes, Amara! I just left the stupid cult meeting, and it’s bad, Tessa. They’re not just summoning one demon; they’re bringing over dozens!”

“Well… fuck.”

“C’mon, let’s get back to my place so we can chat with Nick. We need to figure out what our next step is, and he’s way better at that than I am.”

Tessa nodded, pocketing her phone before starting the walk back to Amara’s place. The two girls walked in silence for a while, which Amara found odd, but every time she looked at Tessa, the witch was deep in thought. They had crossed half the campus before she finally spoke up again.

“How do I know you’re really you? That another demon isn’t disguised as Nick, pretending to be you?”

“C’mon Tessa, what kind of… actually, you know what? I take it back, that’s a really good question. Well, you love that thing I do with my tail, you’re the first person to fuck my ass, and— Oh! My fire!” Amara lit her hands on fire, focusing to increase its intensity. As she did, the flames turned purple, and she gave an expectant look at Tessa.

“Alright, I’m convinced. Still, put that fire out before someone thinks Nick is an arsonist.” Tessa smirked, then went silent again for a moment before continuing her train of thought. “We should have a code word. A shorthand we can ask each other to confirm our identities.”

“Like what? Favorite candy? First partner?” Amara asked.

“Ideally something a little more abstract, so a potential doppelganger can’t get it right on a guess. Though, it also shouldn’t be too obvious that it’s a probing question… hm.” The witch paused again. “What’s for dinner tonight?”

“What? Tess, we already ate.” After a look from Tessa, Amara pieced together what her friend meant. “Ohh, I see. That won’t get confusing?”

“I mean, it would be pretty easy to find other ways to talk about food.”

“Good point. Hm. How about hand-seared chicken?” Amara smirked, a few flames subtly dancing across her palm.

Tessa chuckled before continuing. “Good one. I’ll say lentil soup.”

“Short, but to the point, I like it. Do you actually—”

“I fucking hate lentil soup.” Tessa said. The girls laughed again, and soon enough found themselves back at Amara’s apartment. Tessa had texted Nick ahead of time, so the door was open by the time they arrived.

Over the course of the next half hour, Amara explained everything she saw at the ritual. She did her best to describe all the people, the design of the magic circle, and the surprise appearance of Brandon. She explained Mr. Wellington’s goals, as well as the music teacher that became a vessel for a demon. She ended with the cult leader’s promise that his own ascension would happen in one week’s time, which sent chills through her two friends.

“A week?!” Tessa said. “How are we supposed to stop this in less than a week?!”

“Alright, I’m going to ask the stupid question here.” Nick started. “Why can’t we call the cops? If we leave out the magic stuff, we could simply say they’re holding people hostage. Maybe Amara poses as someone that escaped.”

“Nick, I know you’re new to all this, so I’ll try to be nice; cops and magic do mix well,” Tessa continued. “On a broad scale, we don’t want large institutions learning about magic, and often witches put in serious effort to keep everything hidden from cops and the government. On a smaller scale? We already know that Mr. Wellington has paid off cops in the past, and what if these demons can jump hosts? Suddenly they’re armed with guns, body armor, and all sorts of nonsense.”

“Okay, fine, I was just asking.” Nick raised his hands in defeat.

“Let’s focus on what we know.” Amara said, interjecting. “We’ve completely lost the element of surprise; demons can sniff each other out, and Brandon will have already shared that I’m a succubus and you’re a witch. My presence at this meeting also means they know we’re trying to stop them. What is our actual goal here?”

“We have to shut down the portal.” Tessa said. “I’ve gotten pretty good at reading the signatures of these circles, and I think I could reverse the changes they made if I had enough time.”

“Time is gonna be pretty hard to get. There’s no way they let us waltz in there and spend a few hours studying the damn thing. Can you fight at all?” Amara asked.

“Sure, I can fight, but there’s a big difference between getting in random scrapes as a kid and fighting actual demons. My telekinesis won’t be able to affect them directly, and if I were forced to defend myself, I have a knife.” The tattoos on Tessa’s head began to glow, and her switchblade floated out of her bag. It opened on its own, then ominously made a few pretend stabs at the air in front of her. “Realistically? I’m batting way outside my league here. Even if I were stronger, or had better magic, I can’t fight if I’m focusing on reverse engineering the circle.”

“So, I’d have to keep you safe the whole time.” Amara sighed. The task in front of them seemed nigh impossible. “I don’t know if I can keep you safe that long, especially against a whole army. I have no idea how strong they are, or if they’re resistant to fire like I am. Plus, what if the people are still alive somewhere inside? The thought of turning into a killer, I… I don’t think I can handle that.”

“They’re asking for it!" Tessa shouted. "They’re turning over their souls to this stupid cult, and they’re doing it happily. Killing them is the kindest thing you can do!”

“But they’re people! Living, breathing, people that are trying to find their place in the world!” Amara briefly flashed back to her actions on Halloween, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “They deserve a second chance. Everyone does.”

“News flash, Amara, but they don’t give a fuck about you! If you hesitate, even for a moment, they will kill you. Or worse, they’ll force you into slavery, just like Brandon tried to do! Have you forgotten that he’s in this cult now? Does he deserve a second chance after everything he’s done?”

“I’m not a killer, Tessa.” Amara locked eyes with Tessa, and doubt crept into her voice. “But… I’m willing to defend myself. If they force my hand… I don’t know.”

Nick, having been silent for most of this argument, cleared his throat. “Look, things are a little tense, let’s all take a moment and breathe, okay? A week is better than nothing, and presumably these people still have to go to school. Amara, you saw a few dozen people, and most of them were teachers. There’s no way Mr. Wellington can cancel that many classes for a whole week.”

“You think demons are gonna wander around campus and teach music theory?” Tessa asked, her voice full of sarcasm. Nick moved closer, speaking quietly to try and calm everyone down.

“Look, I don’t know how any of this works, but it would make sense for the demons to have access to the memories of their hosts, right? We can keep tabs on some of the teachers Amara saw, and if they’re still teaching during the week, maybe that means you two will have a window of opportunity sometime during the day.”

Amara thought to herself for a moment, mulling over Nick’s idea. “That’s a pretty decent plan. We can track their movements, look up their schedules, and see if we can find a time where most of them are busy.”

“Plus, that gives me something to do.” Nick said. “I’m more than happy to do some social media research while you two handle the fighting and the magic.”

“While we’re killing time throughout the week,” Tessa looked at Amara, “should we up how much we’re fucking?”

“That’s what you’re worried about?” Amara said, a deadpan look on her face.

“It’s a serious question! You get stronger when you fuck, like when you hooked up with Mr. Luxnor and were suddenly able to see Wi-Fi! How do we know that lots of extra sex, or sex with new people, doesn’t unlock more abilities?”

“I didn’t gain anything new after you and I started fucking,” Amara pointed out. “Plus, Nick and I have slept together dozens of times, and my abilities always seem to show up randomly. I doubt there’s a lifehack to speeding up this transformation, and we don’t even know if there are more changes coming. For all we know, this is the end of the road.”

“But we should at least try, right? Obviously I’m willing, but I know for a fact my partners think you’re hot. You also just sold a bunch of slutty photos, I’ll bet half the campus is dreaming of hooking up with you at this point.”

“Excuse me, they were sultry and suggestive, not slutty.” Amara said, defending her photography skills.

“Oh, whatever, you know what I mean. We just… we need something more, something to give us an edge.”

Amara went quiet for a moment, thinking to herself. She didn’t like the idea of trying to force additional transformations, but she knew Tessa was right. As things stood, their chances of successfully stopping the cult seemed pretty slim. She supposed she could try to get in more fighting practice, but the strength difference between her and Nick would make that difficult.

Suddenly, another answer presented itself. She felt silly for not thinking of it earlier, and she knew Tessa wasn’t going to like it. “Tess, there’s too much at stake for us to play it safe. I think we need help.”

“I’m not disagreeing, but there’s no one to ask! What, do you want to give Nick a gun and hope for the best? I told you before, we’re on our own.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. We just need someone who already knows about magic, won’t spill our secrets, and perhaps, I don’t know, has years of experience training to fight demons?”

Tessa glared at Amara. “No. Absolutely not, never in a million years.”

“It’s literally her life’s purpose! She probably knows more about them than both of us combined!”

“She tried to kill you! Does that mean nothing?!” Tessa was now angrily pacing around the living room.

“She was confused! She thought I was framing her, purposely manipulating everyone to turn against her! And she was the most upset about the fact that I lied, that I kept my identity to myself. This is our chance to reach out, to give her the chance we should have last time!”

“Look, I get you’re upset with me for telling you to stay quiet. We didn’t even know she was an angel back then, and that makes it so much worse! The church is filled with pompous, egotistical maniacs who are convinced they’re the only ones that can do the right thing. If we invite Vee into this, how do you know she won’t backstab you the instant she gets a chance?”

Both girls were yelling now, and Nick had quietly backed into a corner to avoid getting dragged into the argument. With a deep breath, Amara closed her eyes and quieted her voice. “Tessa, this wasn’t a question. Tomorrow, after classes, I’m going to Vee’s and I’m telling her everything. End of story.”

“You need me to stop the cult, Amara. I’m the only one that can reverse engineer the circle.” The witch’s voice was quiet, but intense. The hints of her threat were obvious.

“So what’s more important, Tess? Do you care more about stopping this cult, or shutting Vee out of your life?” When Tessa didn’t answer, Amara moved closer and softly grabbed the witch’s arms. “Look, this is bigger than both of us. I’m asking you to trust me, just this once. If I’m wrong, well, I already know I can beat Vee in a fight. But… I have to do this, Tess. I have to try.”

Tessa stared at the ground, refusing to meet Amara’s gaze. “…How can you trust her? After what she tried to do to you?”

“I’ve been friends with her since college started, Tess, and so have you. Do you think that whole year was a lie? That everything we did together meant nothing?”

Without saying anything, Tessa shoved her face in Amara’s shoulder and wrapped her arms around her. As they hugged, Amara briefly locked eyes with Nick and smiled. When the witch finally pulled back, Amara couldn’t help but notice that tears had pooled near her eyes. “So, what, are you going to make me tell Chloé next?”

“Hey, I understand that you know more about this whole ‘world of magic’ thing than I do. How about we keep everything a secret, but if someone gets involved, even a little, we tell them everything.”

“…I guess that’s fine.” Tessa mumbled. “Thanks for… I dunno. Talking me down. I’m not used to working with other people like this. It’s weird.”

Amara smiled, then leaned in to plant a quick kiss on Tessa’s lips. “We all want the same thing, right? I’m just glad I didn’t have to invoke… .”

“The what?” Tessa asked.

“Oh, you know… withholding sex until you agree with me.”

“You wouldn’t dare! You monster!”

With a devious smirk, Amara wrapped her arms around Tessa and picked her up. Both girls started laughing, the witch playfully struggling to try and escape. “C’mon, it’s like four in the morning, and I’m exhausted. Tell your partners you’re spending the night here; I’m not letting you walk home after that stupid cult meeting. Nick, you cool taking the couch?”

Nick nodded, clearly relieved that the fight had resolved itself. “Perfectly fine by me. Glad we all agree on a plan.”

After everyone had plugged in their phones and set their alarms, they settled in to go to sleep. For the first time, Amara and Tessa spent the night together, wrapped up in each other’s arms.