Suddenly A Succubus

Earlier

"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's sinister words rang in Chloé's ears, and the knot in her stomach twisted tighter and tighter. After Amara had blown a crater in the nearby pillar, the resulting cloud of dust had forced Chloé to retreat as far away from tangibility as she could.

The strain from her most recent manifestation was hard to ignore. She'd been so caught up in trying to talk Amara down that she'd failed to think about the effort it would take to do so.

Now, as the real world faded into the background, she found herself fixated on Amara's actions.

What happened to her? Back before I disappeared, she was a little edgy, but nothing like this. It can't just be that she thought I'd died... can it? No, Vee told me they've been through a bunch recently.

This isn't her. I know it isn't.

By the time Chloé felt strong enough to focus on the world around her again, Vee had already left, and Palesa had been freed from her bonds. Based on everyone's posture, it almost seemed like they'd been talking for a while.

Shoot. How long was I out?

Everyone suddenly looked towards the elevator, and Chloé took this opportunity to engage her hearing again. Moments after sound appeared once more, she heard a woman's voice call out.

"Palesa!"

Footsteps echoed through the chamber as Coven Head Bishop sprinted closer, her appearance spurring Palesa to her feet. The two women teared up as they embraced, their lips meeting over and over as they celebrated each other's company.

"I thought I'd lost you," Elizabeth whispered. "That horrid demon, she said she'd spared you, but--"

"And leave you alone, Liz? Never." Palesa kissed Elizabeth again before pulling her even closer, burying her face in her shoulder. "I'd almost forgotten what you felt like outside of my dreams." A few seconds later, Palesa flinched before pulling back to look into Elizabeth's eyes. "Wait! You talked with her? What happened? Are you okay?"

"I intercepted her at the manor. We had a feeling she would come back, and evacuated just to be safe. Once she showed up, I disguised myself as her blonde friend to try and pull information out of her. She figured me out, though, and tried to fill my head with lies about Davenport."

"Lies?" Palesa asked. "What do you mean?"

"Something about her not actually sealing the campus. She honestly thought I'd believe that Davenport was trying to siphon magic away from all the planes." Palesa's silence, accentuated by nervous glances from Nick and Tessa, caused Elizabeth to gasp. "No. You can't mean--"

"That's why Amara's doing all this," Tessa said. "She doesn't understand the politics of the coven, and she's convinced you're all in on it."

Palesa nodded in agreement. "I only learned of it myself very recently, but I didn't know the siphons would cause problems for the students here. After waking up here, Tessa and the others told me the process also required leaving the campus exposed."

Elizabeth went quiet for a moment, looking deep into Palesa's eyes before redirecting her gaze. "Tessa, I hate to ask this, but... what is Amara to you? How can we trust you're not... enthralled?"

"Because she's a fucking idiot!" Tessa yelled. "I tried to talk her down, but she's determined to make this all about her, as usual. Yes, we've fucked a bunch of times, but as far as I can tell there aren't any side effects to that. Plus, she's only fed on Nick, Vee, and myself. She's never fed on Chloé, and that's who first told us about Davenport's plans."

"Wait, I'm sorry, did you say Chloé?" Elizabeth asked, looking around in concern. "Isn't that--"

"I didn't die, if that's what you're asking," Chloé said. The elder witch flinched in surprise before turning towards Chloé, who briefly reappeared to lessen the confusion. "Well, I might have? I still don't really understand it myself, as I only got my memory back a few hours ago."

Several tattoos across Elizabeth's body began to light up, though some were hidden from Chloé's view by the witch's clothing. She raised a hand, focused for a brief moment, then directed a pulse of energy at Chloé. Strangely, Chloé was able to track the magic as it moved through the air, something she hadn't been able to do when she'd watched Tessa use her magic before their fight with Brandon.

"My god, this isn't an illusion," Elizabeth gasped, stepping closer. "This is unprecedented! So many questions, so many possible explanations, I wonder if--no, this isn't the time. Setting aside the specifics of what happened to you, how can I trust that you're even telling the truth?"

Chloé disappeared again to save energy, then tried to think of a way to convince Elizabeth she wasn't lying. "Um... oh! I was there when Davenport told you to ask Tessa what else she was hiding! You were all like 'But Imani's report said there was nothing!' and she was like 'Blah do it anyways or we'll have to increase our Dreamscape protection!' and then she left."

Elizabeth gasped, holding a hand to her mouth.

"Wait, Davenport put you up to that?" Tessa asked, clearly hurt by this discovery. "You told me it was necessary for closing the Gate!"

"I didn't have a choice, Tessa!" Elizabeth pleaded. "You know the hold she has on all of us!"

"You're trying to lecture me about trust, but you're letting her--"

"ENOUGH!" Palesa shouted, stepping between Elizabeth and Tessa. "Tessa, this isn't Liz's fault. As you've probably just pieced together, we've been seeing each other in secret. We were trying to keep this from Davenport, to prevent her from using it against us, so we only met inside the Dreamscape. Based on what your friend here is saying, Davenport likely knew the whole time and was sitting on the information until she had a use for it."

Palesa turned to look at Elizabeth next. "And Liz, I trust what they're saying. I have no sympathy for that thing that invaded my dream and kidnapped me, but Tessa stood up to her; they all did. Whatever plans that demon has for the Coven, they're entirely of her own creation."

"She's not a thing!" Chloé said, floating closer. "Her name is Amara!"

Elizabeth looked towards Chloé again. "I know she's your friend, Chloé, but she's also a demon. We can't ignore the influence that blood is having on her. I fought her at the manor, and it was terrifying. She wields a truly frightening level of power, and she's not pulling her punches. I believe, with every fiber of my being, that she would have killed me had she caught me."

At this moment, Nick stepped forward as he cleared his throat. "Um, look, I know it's not exactly my place to say this, but don't we have bigger problems right now? Amara's rage, however untempered it may be, isn't entirely misplaced. Even if Vee can talk her down, we're still planning to try and stop Miss Davenport. If you two believe that what she's doing is wrong, isn't this the perfect time to stand up to her?"

"Nick's right," Tessa said, stepping next to him. "Miss Bishop, you already told me that Davenport is nervous about the other Covens, and that was before we knew about her true plans here. If we can stop her before she finishes her siphons, the other Covens might have enough ammunition to strip her position from her!"

An uncomfortable silence hung in the air as Elizabeth looked to Nick, then to Tessa, and finally to Palesa. "I..."

"If not now, love, then when?" Palesa asked, cupping Elizabeth's cheek in her hand.

Elizabeth finally nodded. "Alright. We'll never have a chance like this again. It's not going to be easy, though. Gautier will do anything Davenport wants, and I'm sure she's itching for a chance to grab for more power. However, even if we stop them from installing their siphons, they're still both frighteningly powerful witches. If Palesa and I fought them on even footing, we wouldn't last five minutes."

"And I'm in no condition to fight," Palesa said. "Whatever that dem--I mean, whatever Amara did to me, I'm utterly exhausted."

Nick squeezed Tessa's hand in encouragement as he sighed in relief. "Vee is an angel; she might be able to restore your strength. For now, you two should get somewhere safe, maybe see if you can pull any strings to gather more information."

"And what about all of you?" Elizabeth asked. "What about Amara? We only have one shot at this, and she could easily ruin everything. I can't pretend I understand what a demon is doing here, and how an honest-to-God angel is okay letting her walk around, but I'm willing to defer to all of you when it comes to handling her."

"For now, we're going to trust Vee. If anyone can talk Amara down, it's her," Nick said. "In the meantime, we need to gather as much information as we can. Tessa?"

"Right," Tessa nodded. "I'm going to start checking all the circles. I'm the most familiar with how they're built, and I'll be able to tell if the siphons have been installed yet. If they have, I might be able to disrupt them, but there's always a chance I run into Davenport or Gautier while I'm checking."

Finally seeing a chance to be helpful, Chloé chipped in. "I'll stick with you, Tessa. I can help scout ahead and stuff!"

Tessa smiled. "That sounds amazing, Chloé. Nick, any chance you can contact everyone and campus and tell them to stay indoors for a bit? We can't risk them getting caught in the crossfire. I also think it might be a good idea to get in touch with Imani."

"Imani?" Palesa asked. "She's wrapped up in this too?"

"Well... not exactly. I have a hunch she figured out Amara's identity, and I'll bet she'd be willing to help if we tell her what Davenport is really up to."

"She lied on her reports?" Elizabeth looked away from Palesa for a moment. "Gods, is anyone in this coven actually trying to work together? I swear, if I make it out of this alive, I'm taking the longest fucking vacation in the world."

"Liz!" Palesa gasped, playfully hitting Elizabeth's arm as they started walking away.

"What? It's one thing after another with this stupid coven. We just finished dealing with Alaric, and now this? I'm allowed to swear once in a blue moon, love."

The two elder witches slowly walked out of earshot, and once they made it safely into the elevator, Tessa and Nick began formulating their plan. They were hoping to make contact with Imani first, then see if she'd be willing to rope in other coven members. Listening to them, Chloé realized that quite a few witches were in town, not just the six or so she'd seen previously. A few minutes later, after Tessa double checked the circle in the chamber, Chloé followed her to the next destination.

Together, the two of them checked a few different circles, starting with the Purgatory Circle under Lysander Hall. Thankfully, revisiting that circle gave Chloé a chance to catch her breath, and she had a feeling that Tessa lingered slightly longer than she needed to.

Their second destination was Brandt Hall, which held a circle hidden behind another illusory wall. True to her word, Chloé made sure to keep a fair distance in front of Tessa, scouting the area for any potential threats. After reporting back that Brandt was clear, Tessa removed the illusion and started checking the circle for signs of tampering.

The minutes passed quietly as Tessa worked, and Chloé again noticed that she was able to see small pulses of magic coming from her tattoos as they lit up. Chloé was lost in concentration on these strange sensations when Tessa broke her focus by speaking up.

"Um, listen, Chloé..." Tessa muttered.

"What's up? Everything alright? Did I miss something earlier?" Chloé asked, growing worried.

"No! Nothing like that, I just... look, I know I wasn't the best friend before. I could have spent more time with you, and taken more of an interest in your hobbies and stuff, but I let myself get lost in all the secrets I was keeping from everyone."

"Tess, I never thought you were a bad friend!" Chloé protested.

"Oh, come on! How many times did I blow you off to go to a party? Or try to rope you into doing things I found fun? I had so many chances to learn about you, what you like, all those games of yours. You're a wonderful person, Chloé, and when... when I thought we'd lost you, I couldn't stop blaming myself for all the time I'd missed with you."

Chloé floated closer, placing a hand on Tessa's shoulder. "Okay, so we didn't spend as much time together as we could have. So? I still treasured your company, and I was happy that you made me feel included, even in spaces that I struggle to feel comfortable in. You helped push me out of my shell, just a little bit, and I really appreciated that. Besides, I'm here now, aren't I? If you want me to talk your ear off about obscure video game lore, then I'm your girl!"

Tessa laughed, then quickly rubbed her eyes with her sleeve. "I'm really happy you're back, Chloé. Aurelius just isn't the same without you."

Manifesting for just a second, Chloé happily gave Tessa a quick hug. "Thanks, Tess. That means a lot, really. Now, come on, we've got a campus to save, don't we?"

Nodding, Tessa took a deep breath and looked back at the large magic circle in front of her. It took nearly twenty minutes for Tessa to confirm that nothing had happened here yet, and Chloé did her best to rest while she waited. After Tessa packed up, and restored the illusory wall, they headed out to their next destination: the Science Building.

Chloé only vaguely remembered the basement here. She knew the Coven had briefly visited here once when Tessa was showing them around, but without all of her senses back, Chloé had failed to realize just how cluttered the basement was. The section closer to the staircase was more organized, but the entire back half of the floor was a mess of old plumbing. Thick pipes, many of them rusted, hung from the ceiling and jutted out from the walls at awkward angles. Phasing through the pipes revealed they were no longer in use, and the insides were even more gross than the outsides. The one thing she didn't see, however, was a Coven Head anywhere. Flying back towards Tessa, she reported her findings and the two started off towards the circle behind all the plumbing.

Waiting for Tessa to weave through all the pipes took longer than Chloé had expected. Unable to effortlessly phase through the rusted metal, Tessa needed to carefully climb, crouch, and slide around everything while she crept ever closer to the secret room in the back.

It took Tessa significantly longer to study this circle. While all the others had been plainly visible, this one only appeared once she used her magic to reveal it. She needed to take several short breaks, and most of the work involved comparing the circle to the diagrams she had in her notebook. Chloé certainly didn't mind the rest, but she was starting to grow anxious. How long had it been since Vee left to deal with Amara? Had she been successful?

She wanted desperately for her friends to be safe. For Amara to realize that she didn't need to do this alone. She regretted that she hadn't done more to help the last time they'd all been together, but what could she have done? She didn't understand Amara's transformation, or how it affected her.

When Tessa announced that she was finished, Chloé eagerly sprang a few feet into the air and prepared for the next phase of their plan. She even flew several circles around the room to test how she was feeling, and was pleased to see that all the rest was helping. The thought of extended manifestation still gave her pause, and she was sure any significant effort would quickly exhaust her, but she was happy that her current level of focus wasn't draining her.

Her excitement to continue checking other circles, however, was quickly stifled when she realized she needed to wait for Tessa to navigate the pipe maze again. Mentally groaning to herself, she lazily floated beside her friend while she waited. Part of her wished she could just pick Tessa up and carry her, phasing her through all the pipes herself, but that idea didn't make any sense.

Wait, does it?

Stopping a few feet in front of Tessa, Chloé pulled her phone out of her pocket and studied it closely. After Amara had stormed off the first time, Chloé had flown home and grabbed her phone to make sure she could stay in touch with everyone else, and she'd never stopped to think about the implications of that action.

Her phone hadn't been with her when she'd been scattered. Despite not being exposed to those energies, however, it had stayed in her pocket the entire time she'd been flying around and phasing through walls.

Holy shit, I can make other things phase!

How does this work? Do I need to be touching them? Can I do it with people? I should ask Tessa if I can--no, don't be silly, Chloé. There's too much going on to start playing around with your powers. Besides, what if you mess up? I don't want to get Tessa stuck in a wall or something. Ooh, maybe the next time we're near the Lysander Circle, we can--

Footsteps broke her train of thought. They weren't Tessa's, as she was still stuck navigating the pipe maze. No, these footsteps came from the entrance of the basement. They echoed around the chamber, a foreboding prelude to the sinister laugh that appeared seconds later. Chloé started to fly towards the exit, hoping to figure out who might be approaching, but she got her answer when the stranger called out.

"Little Blackwood," the feminine voice said. It had a slow, playful cadence to it, and carried a light French accent.

"No!" Tessa gasped. She quickly looked around her, hoping to find a place to hide, but she was completely encased in old metal pipes.

"I knew your true colors would shine through eventually. Just like your parents, you've proven that you never cared for this coven, or what it stands for." Coven Head Simone Gautier let out another laugh, this one even louder, and Chloé saw the tattoos underneath her clothing start to glow.

"You're the ones betraying everything we stand for!" Tessa shouted back, trying to maneuver to a less cramped space in the middle of all the pipes.

"Insolent whelp!" Simone shouted. "You dare question our judgment? You, who lies with demons and angels? How quick you are to forgive the sins of the Church; I'm sure you were just as eager to sell your soul for cheap thrills. What did the demon offer you? Power? Fame? Or are you truly just that desperate for a fuck?" Magic began to swirl around the Coven Head at a rate far faster than Chloé had ever seen before.

"I'm not the one throwing the entire campus under the bus just for a chance at more power!"

"Oh, you poor thing, you think this is about power? This is about safety, it's about standing up to everyone that wants to make the world a terrible place. Your parents disagreed with me just as vehemently, and look where that got them. Slaughtered like pigs." As Simone finished speaking, the magic swirling around her lashed out. A horrid metal screech filled Chloé's ears, and she watched as the section of plumbing closest to the Coven Head bent and twisted out of her way.

"You leave them out of this!" Tessa said, fighting back tears. She tried to back up, but there was nowhere to go.

Simone kept walking, and more sections of piping bowed to her magic. A twisted metal arch slowly formed around her as she forced her way closer, talking all the while. "They were cowards! Weaklings! Your mother conned her way into being Headmistress, and she set the Coven back years!" Simone threw out another burst of magic, this one much larger, and it cleared a path directly to Tessa.

A second, smaller burst of magic shot out from Chloé's right, and she saw one of Tessa's switchblades flying towards Simone. Just before hitting her, it stopped in the air, the Coven Head's magic easily overpowering Tessa's.