Chapter 42

Heavy winds buffeted Amara as she walked across campus, repeatedly throwing her hair in her face as it wildly changed directions. The biting winter cold was no match for her inner hellfire, and she was perfectly comfortable in spite of the weather. She’d long ago grown accustomed to regulating her own temperature, but the intense cold front highlighted something new today; proof of just how effective her illusory clothing was.

When she’d created her outfit, she’d taken her mother’s words to heart, fully internalizing that the clothing didn’t actually exist. Now, as she marched across campus, she was shocked at how well the illusory fabric blocked the wind. As an experiment, she even tried messing with the fabric of her pants, slowly tweaking it to be thinner and thicker. To her surprise, this had an immediate and obvious effect; the wind forced itself through the thinner pants much easier than it did the thicker ones. It was one thing to see static illusions like walls, but it was another to be confronted with the true complexity of this new magic of hers.

Hopefully this doesn’t make it harder for my tail to phase through my clothing.

She was unable to test the thought, as her tail wasn’t out at the moment. In her incredibly brief conversation with Vee, she’d been invited to Nick’s apartment and told only to “dress for the public.” While it was obvious that Vee wanted Amara’s true form completely hidden, there were no hints why it was necessary, or why she’d asked in such a secretive manner.

Whatever the reason, she doubted she would enjoy hearing it. Vee’s enigmatic tone had even prevented Amara from sharing the news about her mother, despite how excited she was.

I fucking swear, if the campus is getting raided by the CIA or something, I’m gonna lose my mind. Whatever this is, it had better be something I can punch.

As she neared Nick’s apartment, she fired off a quick text to Vee and waited at the entrance. Staring through the window, her eyes came to rest on the lobby just a few feet in front of her. According to her mother, she could teleport there if she wanted. Doors were simply a suggestion now, a flimsy mortal construction that held no more power than the cold of winter.

Vee’s appearance interrupted her thoughts. They quickly hugged, but it was obvious that the angel’s attention was split. Her eyes scanned the campus behind Amara, her words of welcome were painfully generic.

The act only dropped when they returned to Nick’s place. He appeared just as tense as Vee, and they both sighed in relief when the door closed behind them.

“Alright, what’s with all this cloak and dagger bullshit?” Amara asked, vaulting Nick’s couch to take a seat.

The others quickly followed, Vee sitting next to her on the couch while Nick sat on the loveseat opposing them. With a deep breath, he began talking. “We’re not entirely sure if this is a bad thing or not, but ... Tessa’s Coven is here. They took her away, seemingly quite upset about something, and she warned us not to get involved.”

“What do you mean, took her away? Like, tossed her in an unmarked van and drove off?”

“No, nothing that dramatic,” Vee said. “They said something about having their own quarters, and Tessa simply walked off with them. We’re mostly worried because they were horribly rude to her, and she didn’t say anything. She let them walk all over her, it was really weird.”

“She’s never had good things to say about her Coven,” Amara pointed out. “In all the time I’ve known she was a witch, I’ve never gotten more than a few words on the topic.”

“She’s told me a bit, actually,” Nick added, leaning forward. “Her Coven supposedly monitors social media looking for signs of magic, and works to scrub all the evidence they can. According to their rules, Tessa should have reported back ages ago, back when the cult started messing with the circles, but she never did. She wanted to deal with it herself, to avoid dealing with them, but after learning you were a demon, things changed. She was adamant they never find out about you.”

“Alright, so...” Amara paused, pulled her legs underneath her as she took everything in. “They’re probably here because they found out the Gate broke. They’re mad at her for keeping it a secret, and need to start by interrogating her. You think they can read minds?”

“I hope not, or else this is gonna be impossible,” Vee said. “We have nothing to go on right now and figured that, if nothing else, you should know.”

Amara looked between Nick and Vee. “Wait, that’s it? Our plan is just to hang around and hope they let Tessa go?”

Nick nodded. “We don’t know what they want. For all we know, the worst thing that’ll happen is Tessa gets a slap on the wrist. Heck, they might be on our side for all we know. We can’t risk turning this into a fight just because they’re unnecessarily mean to Tessa.”

“How mean?” Amara asked, narrowing her eyes.

Vee stammered, clearly hesitant to share the full scope of what had transpired. “The one in charge, she calls herself Headmistress Davenport. Tessa forgot her title at first, and the Headmistress slapped her.”

Amara had to stop herself from jumping to her feet and running off. She slammed her fist into Nick’s couch, then immediately raised her hand in front of her face. As she flexed her fingers, chitinous exoskeleton rippled across her skin, joined by small waves of hellfire. “That fucking ... After everything Tessa’s done for this campus?”

“I know it’s upsetting, but Tessa’s a grown woman, and she knows more about them than anyone. We need to trust that she’s doing what’s right, and until then, there’s nothing to do but wait. Hopefully she’ll reach out soon.” Vee reached over, grabbing Amara’s arms as she tried to talk her down. Their eyes met, and Amara sighed before nodding slowly. Vee smiled, her hands rubbing Amara’s jacket softly before she changed the topic. “Is this a new jacket?”

“What? Fuck, that’s right! I’ve got crazy news!” Amara jumped to her feet, her eye flared, and the extravagant red jacket disappeared. “My mom’s a demon! She’s why I’m like this!”

“Wait, Evelyn?!” Nick asked from behind Amara.

Amara spun around to look at him. “Yeah! After Vee left yesterday, she called, and I finally told her I was a demon, and then she teleported into my living room! She told me a whole bunch of crazy stuff; she even told me who my dad is!!”

Nick was on his feet within seconds, beaming with excitement. He pulled Amara in for a hug, squeezing her as hard as he could. “Amara, that’s incredible! Who is he? Does this mean you’ll be able to meet him?”

“Well, no, he died a long time ago. Like, in the fifties,” Amara said, burying her face in Nick’s shoulder.

“Wait, what?” Vee asked.

“Alright, I should probably start from the beginning, we talked about a lot.” Amara moved back to the couch, took a seat, and cleared her throat. “So, she started by telling me all about the Garden of Eden, which is totally real, and about how Adam was given a wife...”

Amara spent the better part of the next hour relaying everything she’d talked about with her mother. Vee and Nick both had countless questions of their own, and Amara did her best to answer them, but she stressed that she hadn’t been able to spend much time with her mother. Supposedly, she was never supposed to have been a demon, and Evelyn had left to try and figure out why this was happening.

“ ... And then she gave me some pointers about how teleportation works, which ended with her leaving. Then Vee called, and here I am.”

Vee sighed as she slumped back in her seat, her eyes wide. “That’s ... wow. I mean, direct family ties to Lilith?”

“Amara, I’m so sorry about your dad,” Nick said. “After all those years, at least you have the truth, right? How are you feeling about all this?”

For the first time since her mother teleported away, Amara finally stopped to reflect. It was something she’d always been bad at, and Nick had a frustratingly helpful habit of pushing her to introspect. “I’m ... hm. Part of me is ecstatic, I finally have answers that I’ve been looking for all my life. It’s upsetting that I’ll never have a chance to meet him, though. When I didn’t know, there was still that chance, right? That vague hope that, if I found a name, I’d be able to meet him, but now that’s gone. Apart from him, though, I also have all these answers for everything that’s been happening the last few months. I know why I’m a demon! At least, a little bit. My mom seemed absolutely convinced I wasn’t supposed to be like this, and I hate that I had to lose her so soon after finding the truth.”

“She’s leaving because she cares about you, right? That’s got to count for something,” Vee said.

“I’ve never doubted that she loves me, but what if there’s something she’s not telling me? She spent all that time explaining that demons come from damnation, and I’m a demon, so...”

“Hey, you don’t know that,” Nick said sternly. “Look, I don’t understand the mechanics of the soul, but your mom has never shied away from having uncomfortable conversations with you. The fact that she’s leaving to look into this tells me there’s more going on here.”

Amara looked over at Vee, hoping that, as an angel, she would have something helpful to say.

“Cards on the table,” Vee started, “I don’t know that much about souls. Yes, there’s a lot the Church has told me, but a bunch of it has already been proven wrong. I mean, they told me demons were universally cruel and sadistic, and now I know two that are anything but.”

With a frustrated sigh, Amara grabbed a throw pillow and mashed it into her face. “Uuugh, I hate this! Why is everything so complicated?” With another groan, she fell sideways, her head coming to rest in Vee’s lap.

“How about we focus on one thing at a time,” Nick suggested. “Evelyn said she only needs a few weeks, so there’s no point in worrying about that for now. Tessa’s Coven is certainly unexpected, but their appearance could work out in our favor. Tessa’s biggest fear always seemed to be them finding out about you, Amara, so we keep your true nature hidden as best we can. In the meantime, we put our trust in Tessa.”

“Tessa herself would be the first to argue that’s a bad idea, Nick,” Amara said. She felt Vee chuckle, just a tiny bit, and caught herself smiling in response.

“C’mon, she’s pulled through dozens of times already!” Nick protested. “Look, we’ll give her to the end of the day, and if we haven’t heard anything, we’ll start poking around. Fair?”

“Sounds good to me,” Vee said, resting a hand on Amara’s shoulder. “Besides, we’ve got a master shapeshifter on our side, right? If we need to play dirty, we can.”

Looking up at Vee, Amara smiled again. “Oh, alright. One day.”

Tessa stood perfectly still, her eyes glued to the plush, extravagant carpet to avoid the piercing gazes of the Coven Heads. The four of them sat in a semicircle in front of her, each resting in an antique armchair covered with green, velvet quilting. Against the far wall, centered between the chairs, a brilliant marble hearth housed a crackling fire.

Directly to the right of the fire sat Headmistress Cassandra Davenport. Her black clothing as immaculate as her posture, she glared at Tessa over her thin spectacles. Although all Coven Heads technically held equal influence, everyone understood that Cassandra Davenport ran the show. She oversaw all facilities that taught magic to aspiring witches, and she had no tolerance for anything less than perfection.

Next to Headmistress Davenport, further from the fire, sat Simone Gautier. She had dark brown hair that curled in at her jawline, and equally curled bangs stopped just short of her eyebrows. Despite her naturally pale skin, she presented with an immaculate tan that seemed too perfect to be legitimate. Her sleek face had high-set cheekbones, matching the intensity of runway models, yet holding none of the appeal. While Headmistress Davenport watched with stern, unyielding eyes, Coven Head Gautier’s eyes were fierce and predatory.

To the immediate left of the hearth was Elizabeth Bishop. Her long brown hair gently cascaded in front of her face, partially hiding her warm, ever-present smile. Her face was more decorated than the other Coven Heads, the pigments perfectly complimenting her rich, tawny skin, and she dressed in loose, flowing garments that accentuated her natural beauty. She had always been Tessa’s favorite.

The last of the four, sitting furthest to the left, was Palesa Tsopnang. The crackling glow of the fire reflected strongly off her warm, dark skin. Her black hair had been fashioned into a series of tight braids, all of them ending in decorative silver cuffs that lightly clicked with every turn of her head. Soft brown eyes stared half-heartedly at Tessa as she spoke, her silver septum ring occasionally twitching as the smell of the fire washed over her.

The silence was nearly as thick as the carpet. Tessa had just finished recounting the events of the last few months, although she’d left out several important details. In her telling, Amara and Vee were no different than Nick and Chloé; two unlucky students that happened to get pulled into the chaos.

Would they believe her? Did the Coven already know anything? For all Tessa knew, this entire conversation might be a sham, a test to see how trustworthy she was.

“Miss Blackwood, do you recall why we sent you to Aurelius University?” Headmistress Davenport asked.

“I-I was to monitor the campus for any signs of magical phenomena, either natural or manmade, and contain the spread of information at all costs. Should any anomaly prove beyond my capabilities, it was my responsibility to report my findings to a Coven Head.”

Headmistress Davenport turned to her right. “Miss Bishop, did you receive any such report at any point in the last three months?”

Coven Head Bishop shook her head. Her long, elegant brown hair cascaded over her shoulder, and it shook slightly as she turned her gaze back towards the Headmistress. “No ma’am.”

“Perhaps there was an error, then,” Headmistress Davenport said. She turned to look at the other Coven Heads, addressing each in turn. “Miss Gautier? Miss Tsopnang? Did Miss Blackwood’s report accidentally land on your desks instead?”

Coven Head Gautier grinned, baring her teeth with unnatural enthusiasm. “No ma’am.” Her voice carried a faint French accent, the sound bringing back harsh memories.

Coven Head Tsopnang simply shook her head, saying nothing.

“I see.” Headmistress Davenport’s gaze returned to Tessa, who felt its intensity despite her own eyes still being fixed on the carpet. “It sounds to me like a report was never filed. Based on your recounting of events, I’m quite curious to hear why you thought a report was unnecessary.”

Tessa’s cheek tingled, the memory of the Headmistress’s anger still strong in her mind. “The cult took great measures to cover their tracks, and I did not understand the scope of the problem until it was too late.”

“And the incursion?”

Images of reapers flashed through Tessa’s mind. Desperately running from building to building, students screaming in terror as they ran for their lives. “The incursion only lasted for several hours. In my haste to protect the other students, the thought of notifying the Coven slipped my mind.”

“Tsk.” Coven Head Gautier huffed with indignation. “We all know what’s happening here. She shut us out, plain and simple. She deserves to have her magic stripped!”

Coven Head Bishop gently cleared her throat. “In Tes—sorry, Miss Blackwood’s defense, she was unaware of the importance of this University. Her briefing was minimal, and contained no mention of the planar convergence, nor of the seals that bind it. How was she to identify the breaking of those seals when the cult started acting?”

Headmistress Davenport turned her head to Miss Bishop, her glare more intense than ever. “Are you implying that her education was subpar?”

“N-not at all, Headmistress!” Miss Bishop stammered. “I just think it’s worth considering that, in spite of her lack of fieldwork, she managed to stop both the cult’s plans and the planar incursion. Such achievements mustn’t be overlooked.”

“Regardless of her actions, I must remind everyone that we stand at a crucial juncture,” Coven Head Tsopnang said, finally breaking her silence. “Debating Miss Blackwood’s guilt only serves to distract us from the real issue. This convergence has been sealed for centuries, and we have no idea when the next incursion might occur.”

Silence fell once more, and Headmistress Davenport’s attention returned to Tessa. She steepled her fingers, then took a deep breath as she waited. Once enough time had passed to make Tessa suitably uncomfortable, she spoke up again. “Miss Blackwood. While it’s true that you managed to avoid the worst-case scenario, your actions speak volumes about your intentions. Explain to me the full scope of your errors.”

Tessa swallowed nervously, still refusing to lift her eyes from the floor. “O-of course, Headmistress. My faults are plenty, and I—”

Headmistress Davenport snapped her fingers, and magic began swirling around the chamber. This magic was not hers, but Coven Head Gautier’s, who summoned it eagerly. Intense telekinetic power gripped Tessa’s face, angling it higher until she was looking the Headmistress in the eyes. “That’s better. Continue.”

“My faults are plenty and without excuse. I failed to report multiple magical disturbances, I engaged several magical creatures without proper training, and my actions led to dozens of students being exposed to magic.”

The Headmistress’s eyes were unyielding, and Tessa became nothing more than a scared child under their gaze. “Your actions have caused significant damage to the population here, the integrity of the planar barrier, and the sanctity of our eternal mission. We cannot move past this until you have demonstrated knowledge of, and taken full responsibility for, this damage.”

Tessa’s chin shook as she tried to maintain her composure. “Dozens of cultists sold their souls, and surrendered their bodies, to demons. Their deaths, and their eternal Damnation, lie on my shoulders. All future incursions are possible because of my actions, meaning all future harm that befalls anyone on this campus will be attributed to me. During the planar incursion, multiple students were injured, with one losing her life.”

More silence. Whatever Tessa had said, it clearly wasn’t up to the Headmistress’s expectations.

“T-that student’s death is ... is attributed to my errors,” Tessa said. A minuscule twitch of the Headmistress’s mouth confirmed this was what she wanted to hear.

“Elaborate.”

Another deep breath. Tessa’s chest shook. “Her name was Chloé, and her death could have been prevented.”

Headmistress Davenport leaned forward. “Elaborate.”

“Chloé’s death is ... is on me. It’s my fault Chloé died!” Tears began streaming down Tessa’s cheeks. She heard Chloé’s screams echoing across the quad, watched in horror as the portal closed around her.

The Headmistress finally nodded.

Another minute passed, the Coven Heads simply watching as Tessa failed to contain her sorrow. For the entire duration, her eyes stayed locked on the Headmistress’s, as she knew breaking eye contact would only make her life more difficult. When the tears finally stopped, Tessa didn’t risk wiping her face clean, instead keeping her arms perfectly still at her side.

“You are lucky that we stumbled across your incompetence,” the Headmistress began. “Had you successfully kept this hidden, no doubt more would have died. Thankfully, we’re in charge now, and we can right this ship.”

Miss Gautier’s magic flared again, this time opening the large, regal entrance to the room. Footsteps echoed from the hall beyond the room, though they grew silent as this mystery person entered the room. Now standing in front of the Coven Heads was a girl Tessa didn’t recognize. She had incredibly smooth ebony skin with thick, voluminous black hair. She walked with effortless grace, no doubt at the request of the Headmistress, and as she walked into view, her large brown eyes briefly met with Tessa’s. Incredibly striking white eyeliner adorned her face, and their shared look only lasted a moment before this new girl spoke up.

“Coven Heads, thank you for summoning me,” she said.

“Tessa, this is Miss Imani Mabaya. Moving forward, she will be taking charge of the student population. You are to cooperate with her every request, without hesitation.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Imani,” Tessa said softly.

“The rest of us, as well as our Scribe, will begin working on the Seals around campus. You are to assemble all your notes and present them to us posthaste, and any further tampering with these Seals is strictly prohibited.”

“Pft. Like she has any notes...” Miss Gautier muttered. Her comment earned her a stiff glare from the Headmistress.

“Provided the Seals are not completely obliterated,” the Headmistress continued, “we should be able to repair them entirely before classes resume again in January. I strongly recommend you do everything in your power to make yourself useful during this time, Miss Blackwood, as final judgment regarding your actions will be postponed until the Seals are repaired. This is your last chance to repent for your mistakes here.”

Miss Gautier seemed offended at the Headmistress’s last comment, but kept her thoughts to herself this time. Instead, the Coven Heads rose to their feet and began leaving the chamber. Headmistress Davenport went last, though briefly stopped in front of Tessa.

“Your actions disgrace your noble legacy, Miss Blackwood. Your parents would be ashamed of you.”

Tessa couldn’t summon the strength to respond. Tears welled in her eyes once more, and she simply nodded. Thankfully, with that last comment, the Headmistress left the room. Now alone with Imani, Tessa immediately brought her hands to her face and wiped it clean with her sleeves. Her composure broke, and she shuddered as she took another deep breath.

Once she’d finally calmed down, she turned to the girl next to her. She guessed that Imani was roughly her age, but she didn’t dare pose such an informal question with the Coven Heads still in the building.

“Apologies for my demeanor, Imani. What do you need from me?” Tessa asked quietly.

Imani’s posture relaxed. “Nice to meet you, Tessa. I’ll be doing everything I can to help manage the students and faculty that were exposed during the incursion. I’d like to know what organizational structures are currently in place and, if possible, it would be great if we could call a meeting so I can address everyone directly.”