Chapter 29.2

Tessa bit her lip, her tongue playing with its piercing as her magic wormed its way into Vee’s front door. It only took a minute before it clicked open, then she and Nick were able to walk inside.

“I can’t believe we didn’t think to ask Vee about this,” Nick said. “I was so worried about the cover story for the cult that I never bothered to think of a game plan for other weird stuff popping up.”

“Don’t beat yourself up, Nick. It hasn’t even been a day yet, and we still don’t even know if Vee is going to help us fend off planar incursions.”

“Why wouldn’t she? She’s an angel, right? Aren’t they here to help?”

“You’d fucking think that, wouldn’t you?” Tessa said bitterly. “No, the Church doesn’t give a shit about you or me. They exist to stop demons from fucking around on Earth, and they ignore everything else that’s happening. Monsters, extraplanar threats, climate change, poverty, world hunger, they don’t give a shit.”

Nick was now pacing around Vee’s apartment, looking for any clues about what may have happened. “You seem pretty sure of that, have you run into them before?”

“That’s none of your business,” Tessa hissed. She walked towards Vee’s bedroom, opening the door and letting her magic explore the space. “You find anything yet? I’m not seeing any unusual magic on my end, it’s just more of the same.”

“Uh, I found her laptop, but I’m not sure if that’s unusual for her.” Nick joined Tessa in the bedroom, continuing to look for more mundane things while Tessa examined the magic. “Ignore the Church for a moment, why do you think Vee wouldn’t help? She’s our friend, she goes to this school too.”

“She helped us fight some demons, Nick, that doesn’t mean she’s our friend.”

“But she’s a person, isn’t she? Even if the Church is as bad as you say, it’s not like they’ve brainwashed Vee and turned her into a robot. I found her phone, by the way.” Nick held up another phone, pocketing this one as well.

“Maybe not literal brainwashing, but she probably grew up marinating in their propaganda. Remember, she tried to murder Amara in cold blood.” Tessa scowled as she thought back to Halloween. She had been having so much fun that night, and Amara had seemed so happy to be out about as herself. When the fire alarms went off, Tessa had evacuated with everyone else. Her annoyance over the party stopping had vanished when Nick found her, sharing that he couldn’t find Amara. With that in mind, Tessa had started paying closer attention to the fire, and had noticed small flickers of purple.

It wasn’t until the next morning that Tessa had learned the full truth; Vee was actually an angel, and had attacked Amara to try and banish or kill her. For some reason, everyone seemed determined to give Vee the benefit of the doubt, but had she extended that courtesy to Amara? Weren’t religious figures supposed to be bastions of patience and reason? Tessa’s blood still boiled every time she thought about it.

“I just think you should give her a chance," Nick said. “Plus, it looks like she vanished at the same time Amara did, so she probably has no choice but to help us. Assuming we can find them, that is.”

“Ugh, you’re such an optimist. Found her keys,” Tessa said, tossing them at Nick so he could add them to his collection. She released her magic, having done a thorough sweep of the bedroom and turned up nothing. Before turning to leave, an idea crossed her mind, and she took a step closer to Nick. He didn’t realize she’d moved closer, and flinched briefly when he turned towards her, finding them face to face. “Y’know, we’re all alone right now. With Amara missing, there’s no way to know when you’re going to see some action again…”

Nick’s face turned red, and he stammered briefly before responding. “Tess, this really isn’t the time. I have a final to get to, and aren’t you supposed to be studying your notes about the circles?”

Tessa rolled her eyes, frustrated that she still hadn’t found a way to seduce Nick. The last time she’d tried, she’d offered up a threesome with Amara, and he’d still turned her down. “Ugh, fine, whatever.” She turned away from Nick, leaving Vee’s room and heading for the kitchen.

“Do you have a plan of attack? How are we going to start figuring this out?”

“I’m gonna visit all the circles around campus. Each one is linked to a different plane, so if I study the way they’re built, I might be able to tap into their magic to figure out which plane is acting up right now.”

“Do you need someone to keep watch while you work on the circles? I’m free tonight, if you want to get started.”

“No, I need to clean up my magic notes to prepare for this. I’ll text you in the morning, okay? In the meantime, you should see if you can get into Amara or Vee’s phones, maybe there’s something there.”

Nick seemed hesitant to give up the search already, but Tessa knew there was no way she could start tonight. More than anything, she was exhausted, and she just wanted to go home. After saying goodbye to Nick, leaving him to lock up Vee’s apartment by himself, Tessa walked back to her apartment.

Walking inside, she was greeted by the sweet smells of Sydney’s cooking. Tessa threw her bag down, then snuck up behind Sydney and pulled her in for a hug.

“Ah! Fuck Tessa, a little warning next time? What if I’d been holding something hot?” Sydney said.

“C’mon, I know you too well.” The girls smirked at each other, and Tessa moved in for a kiss before letting Sydney return to her cooking. Over on the couch, her other partner Riley was sprawled out while reading a book. Tessa knelt beside her, attempting and failing to read the cover. “This for one of your finals?”

“Hello to you too, Tess. Why yes, I did have a good day, thank you for asking!” Riley put her book down, leaning forward to kiss Tessa before pinching her side.

“Ass.”

“Bitch.”

Tessa pushed Riley’s feet aside, sitting down on the couch only to find her partner’s feet quickly returning, now on her lap. “Okay, but seriously, what’cha reading? It doesn’t look like English.”

“It’s for my French final tomorrow. Some of us actually study for our tests, you know.”

“Sounds like nerd propaganda,” Tessa said, sticking her tongue out at Riley. The girls continued to playfully bicker, and eventually Riley started responding in French just to annoy Tessa. When Sydney finally served dinner, Tessa couldn’t run to the counter fast enough. She missed a lot of meals recently, what with the cult and then Amara’s crazy libido, and she was thrilled to have an evening to herself.

After eating, all three girls cuddled on the couch for movie night. It was Sydney’s turn to pick, and she had vowed to pick something horribly saccharine just to annoy Tessa. They ended up watching some fantasy romance thing, filled with endless cheesy tropes and messages about the power of true love. Sydney and Riley loved it, with both being reduced to tears by the end of the movie. Tessa, as much as she liked to complain, found that she had enjoyed it more than expected.

Eventually, with everyone growing tired from the long movie, it was time to retire to bed. Tessa kissed her partners goodnight, then walked to her bedroom and locked the door behind her. Her room was hers and hers alone, apart from occasionally bringing fuck buddies to bed.

As she pulled her clothes off, magically tossing them in a pile in the corner, her thoughts turned to her last week. She still wasn’t entirely sure what to make of Amara’s new, heightened libido, or her sudden personality shift after the ritual. The sex was as amazing as ever, but having so much of it had stressed how little emotion there was in the act. Sure, Amara was sweet, but they weren’t dating, they were just friends with benefits.

She found herself wishing she could fall asleep in someone’s arms, but she couldn’t risk her magic going off in the middle of the night. Sydney and Riley needed to stay in the dark about her abilities, for their own benefit. Nothing good ever came from learning about magic.

Tessa pulled her blankets tight, turned off the lights, and hoped she would sleep soundly through the night. With Amara and Vee missing, there was a lot to do tomorrow.

“Purgatory?” Amara asked, panic setting in. “We’re in Purgatory?!”

“I’m sorry! I thought you already knew!” Vee said.

“So we’re dead, is that what you’re telling me?” Amara was now pacing around the room, her tail flicking back and forth.

“We’re not dead, Amara, and that’s why this is so weird.”

“Oh, it’s weird that we’re dead? Great! So happy to hear that everything would be fine if I’d just died in my fucking sleep!”

“That’s not what I’m saying!” Vee stood up, grabbing Amara’s shoulders to stop her pacing. “Can you just quiet down for two seconds and let me explain this?”

Amara glared up at Vee, the taller of the two, before huffing and sitting back on the couch. “Fine. Whatever.”

“Thank you. So, Purgatory is a weird place. Everything I know about it says that only the dead come here. It’s not a plane where creatures live, it’s basically an entropic void that houses restless spirits who aren’t ready to pass on yet. It sits on top of, yet aside from, our world, which is why everything looks the same.”

“Okay, so, we’re in Ghost Land,” Amara said. “Based on what you’re saying, our presence here is weird because we’re alive? We have our bodies, our thoughts, all that stuff?”

“Exactly. If we’d gotten here through natural means, we would be lifeless spirits, wandering around without aim or purpose. Maybe we’d have lingering thoughts related to unfinished business, maybe not. Everything I know about Purgatory says our presence here, in this state, is impossible.”

“Well, clearly it isn’t. Isn’t there an easy answer, though? The Planar Gate is broken, so while we were sleeping, Purgatory brushed a little closer than it should have, and we got sucked in. Makes sense to me.”

“But why us? We both looked all over campus and didn’t find a single other living soul.” Vee returned to the couch, pulling her legs underneath her as they continued talking.

“Maybe ‘cuz of who we are? We’re not humans, so maybe we vibe differently than everyone else. Are planar vibes a thing? Does that make sense?”

“You’re not asking the right person. I learned about Purgatory in a religious sense. Tessa’s the witch, she’s the one with the notes on all the circles. If anyone would be able to figure out why we’re here, or how to get us back, it would be her.”

Silence fell between the two girls, each thinking about the situation. Amara’s thoughts were racing, trying to digest everything Vee had just told her. She had trouble focusing on any one thought, and when she spoke up again, she changed the topic slightly. “So, all those gray wisps I saw around campus, are those ghosts? Or are those the real people on Earth, and we’re just seeing them from our side?”

“I’m pretty sure those are real people. Are you thinking we might be able to communicate with them somehow?”

“It’s worth a shot, isn’t it? If we can find a way to talk to them, and if we can find Tessa, maybe we can get her a message.” Amara paused again, thinking about her friends. “Actually, what are they going to think? From their perspective, we probably just vanished without a trace.”

Vee tried to respond, though her words were cut off by a heavy yawn. “I don’t know, Amara. I’m just as confused as you are, and I’m still trying to shake off the entropic effects of this place.”

“It’s really that bad here?”

“Oh yeah. If it weren’t for my protective wards, I doubt I’d last more than a day or two.” Vee looked up at the ceiling, and Amara followed her gaze. In the corners of the room, lining the ceiling and the walls, she saw vibrant, glowing Enochian runes. “I don’t know how long they’ll last, though. At home, I refreshed them every night using my book, but I don’t have that anymore. I could try to use my own powers, but that would exhaust me even faster.”

Amara looked back at Vee, and for a split second, swore she could see fear on the angel’s face. It was strange, seeing Vee this vulnerable after months of hostility.

“Alright, well, go get some sleep.” Amara moved to the linen closet and grabbed a blanket as she spoke. She didn’t need covers for warmth anymore, but she liked having something to cuddle under when she slept. “I’ll try not to invade your dreams and turn them into nightmares or whatever.”

Vee had left the couch to make room for Amara, and made a face at her last comment. “Please don’t.”

The girls went their separate ways, Vee closing the door to her bedroom while Amara unfurled a blanket for the couch. She noticed another series of Enochian runes on Vee’s bedroom door, and they seemed more powerful than the runes covering the rest of the apartment.

Amara thought back to Vee’s words about the nature of Purgatory, how it was a place of entropy where no living creature could survive. She was immensely pleased that she seemed to be immune, or at least resistant, to the effects of the plane, but another thought crossed her mind. Vee seemed to recover her strength the same way humans did, with food and rest, but Amara didn’t have that luxury. Without sex, without someone else’s arousal to feed on, she had no idea how long she’d been able to survive.

She tossed and turned for a few minutes, trying to find the right way to position the blanket around her wings. When she finally got comfortable, she thought about how strange it was to be sleeping over at Vee's again after everything that had happened between them.

Just a few months ago, they'd been ridiculously close. Some weeks she'd spent more time with Vee than with Nick, but her demonic transformation had burnt that bridge.

Was she being too harsh on Vee? She'd spent weeks begging for forgiveness, only to have Vee practically spit in her face upon returning to campus. Sure, Vee had helped defeat the cult, and she'd saved Amara's life, but then she'd gone right back to pretending Amara didn't exist.

By the time Amara fell asleep, she'd been wrestling with her thoughts for close to an hour.