Chapter 43

After her failed attempts at cheering Amara up, Vee had barely gotten any sleep. She’d tossed and turned for most of the night, and only managed to get a few hours before the sun rose. For whatever reason—possibly her rigid workout schedule, possibly her angelic heritage— it was borderline impossible for her not to wake with the morning light.

When she opened her eyes, and found herself just as tired and frustrated as last night, she’d texted Nick. Even if he didn’t wake at the crack of dawn, she knew he would be up soon.

Thankfully, her intuition had been right. When he finally answered, she politely informed him that she needed to talk and invited herself over. To make up for her demands, she stopped for coffee on the way over; she still remembered his favorite order from when they’d nearly dated all those months ago.

Half an hour later, after they’d both finished their drinks, Vee had finally relayed the events of last night to Nick. How she’d attempted, and failed, to cheer Amara up by bringing her to the stadium.

She now paced back and forth in his living room, groaning in frustration. “I just don’t know what to do, Nick. I feel like she’s slowly slipping away from me. From us.”

“Alright, let’s calm down and take a step back,” Nick said softly. “What’s your goal here? If I’m being honest, I still don’t entirely understand what’s going on between you two. You’re on good terms again, which is great, but I haven’t really had a chance to unpack everything with Amara.”

With a deep breath, Vee joined Nick on the couch. “It’s ... ugh, I don’t know. Just a few months ago, she was being endlessly patient with me while I wrestled with my beliefs, but things are different now. She’s angry on a scale I can barely comprehend, and I don’t know how to help her. I set up a punching bag a few days ago, and it only took a few minutes for her to completely obliterate it. I’m worried that she feels trapped, helpless against all the bullshit we’ve been fighting the last few months.”

“So you thought flying might take her mind off things?” Nick asked.

“No, it’s not about the distraction. Flight seems like something that’s really important to her, and it’s my fault she can’t do it.” Vee paused for a moment, mulling over her words as she tried to voice her thoughts. “I told her in Purgatory that I’ve never been very fond of my heritage. Sometimes I feel like it’s suffocating me, that I don’t matter outside of being an angel. Amara showed me that wasn’t true; she gave me a second chance at life, a chance to step back and decide for myself what I believe. I want to do the same for her. I want to show her that she’s still in control of her life, she’s not defined by her demonic nature, or the terrible things that happen to her.”

“So, walk me through last night again, what exactly happened?”

“Well, in my opinion, she can’t fly because she blames herself for nearly killing me on Halloween. I repeated everything I told her in Purgatory, that I forgive her, that I’m the one responsible for that fight. She jumped into the air, but only made it a few seconds before she froze up and fell.”

Nick nodded, a knowing smile on his face. “Yeah, that tracks. You’re being too direct with her.”

“What, should I not forgive her?” Vee asked, rolling her eyes.

“No, I’m sure that helps, but Amara’s never been very good at dealing with her emotions, even before this transformation started. Did she ever tell you about the weeks after Halloween?”

“Um, a little, but we skimmed over a lot of details.”

“She tried to distance herself from her powers, specifically the hellfire. She was adamant that, if she never used it again, she could prevent more people from getting hurt.”

“That obviously didn’t continue,” Vee muttered. “How’d you work past that?”

“Amara has never been able to tackle big feelings directly. She’s not the person that goes to therapy, talks it over, and then walks away a healthier person. I always see the most success when I recontextualize things, and that’s what I did with her powers. I made her start cooking, which gave her a chance to see her hellfire in a new light. Suddenly it’s not a destructive force, it’s something fun that creates delicious food. Plus, as a bonus, it forced her to practice controlling her fire.”

“I always wondered how she picked up cooking...” Vee said with a smile. “As much as I love the idea, though, how does that apply to her current situation? She’s completely unable to fly.”

Nick slouched back on the couch with a sigh. “I wish I knew. I completely agree with you, I’ve never seen her like this before, and I wish there were something I could do. I keep getting sidetracked with all the other students, and now Tessa’s Coven is here ... it’s a mess. If nothing else, I really appreciate you spending so much time with her.”

Vee leaned back as well, staring into her lap. “I can’t lose her, Nick. Not after everything we’ve been through.”

After a few moments of tense silence, Nick reached out to put a hand on Vee’s shoulder. “What about you? I hope you’re not ignoring your own needs just to keep Amara up and running. Any thoughts about all those revelations yesterday?”

“Yeah, it’s fucking crazy!” Vee said, suddenly pivoting to face Nick. “I mean, I always knew Amara’s demonic heritage had to come from somewhere, but this? Not only is Evelyn a demon, but she’s Lilith’s fucking firstborn?! Part of me wants to dig through Church records to see if they mention Evelyn at all, but also ... I don’t know, I’ve met her myself. I’ve listened to Amara talk about her, and it really doesn’t seem like she’s a merciless killer from thousands of years ago.”

“Is it really that simple?” Nick asked. “And that’s an honest question, by the way. I have no idea what it’s like to be an angel.”

“Amara’s different, isn’t she? Why not Evelyn? I’ve been mulling over old conversations I’ve had with Amara, trying to remember every time she’s talked about her home life, and Evelyn always seems like a perfectly normal mom.”

“It sounds like she’ll be coming back in a few weeks, so you very well might get a chance to speak to her yourself. How does that make you feel?”

“I’d love to learn more about her. Does she still visit Hell? Why is she living up here on Earth? It took forever, but dealing with Amara forced me to admit that not everything the Church taught me was true. What if Evelyn can prove even more? If she’s legitimately just living a normal, harmless life, it disproves everything the Church has preached even more than Amara’s existence does. What about you?”

Nick laughed. “I’ve known Evelyn for years. Amara and I were practically inseparable ever since we met, and there were weeks I spent more time at her house than I did my own. Sometimes I wonder what her past looks like. Has she tortured people in Hell? How many wars has she fought in? Started? Has she killed? If so, how many? For all I know, she spent the first few thousand years being an absolute horror. But, in the face of all that, I keep coming back to all the times she’s made me lunch, or helped me clean off a cut before putting a novelty Band-Aid on it. I’m having a bit of trouble reconciling those two trains of thought. I’m sure it doesn’t help that I’m human; I will fundamentally never understand what it’s like to live that long.”

“I get that,” Vee muttered. “Honestly, even if she was the worst of the worst, I have to believe she’s different now. I changed, didn’t I? There’s no way a truly terrible person could raise someone as beautiful as Amara.”

“Beautiful?” Nick asked, cocking an eyebrow as he looked at Vee.

“Oh, shut up, you know what I mean,” she said, pushing Nick away. “She’s kind, patient, supportive, and endlessly optimistic. Everything she’s going through right now, I refuse to believe that’s the real her.”

“I completely agree,” Nick said softly, “but everyone has a breaking point. I’m doing my best to keep the situation under control, I really am, but I won’t lie; I’m scared for her. I’m scared for all of us. Losing Chloé, it ... it really shook me. As unnerving as it is to see Amara so unhinged, I also completely understand where she’s coming from.”

“You’ve still got me, right?” Vee said, jumping to her feet. “I refuse to give up on Amara, on any of us. You all were there for me, and it’s high time I returned the favor.”

“Lucky us, huh?” Nick said. “Our very own guardian angel.”

Vee rolled her eyes, then checked her phone. “You’re such a dork. Now come on, get your shoes, we need to get to the cafeteria. It’s time to meet Tessa’s Coven.”

Amara slumped in her chair, scowling as she watched the cafeteria slowly fill with students. She hated the thought of meeting Tessa’s Coven, and she especially hated having to pretend she was human. It was one thing to simply appear human for students who knew the truth, and another to actively monitor her every movement for possible giveaways of her demonic nature. Vee sat beside her, nervously bouncing her knee as she fiddled with her phone, and Amara sighed.

Come on, Amara, this isn’t about you. Vee’s putting in all this work, the least you can do is play along, right?

“Hey,” Amara placed a hand on her friend’s knee, “you doing alright?”

Vee sighed. “Just worried, that’s all. We’re pretty sure Tessa wanted the meeting to start at noon, but does that mean she’s bringing the Coven here later? Or were we supposed to intuit that we should have told everyone to get here earlier?”

“Nick helped too, don’t forget. If anyone can decipher Tessa’s rambling, it’s him.” Amara forced a smile, trying to calm Vee down.

“I know, I know, it’s just ... we can’t let the Coven find out about you.”

“Me? What about you? Aren’t we both at risk here?” Amara asked.

“Honestly? I don’t really care if they find out about me,” Vee said. “Even if they don’t trust angels, I don’t think they’ll risk confronting me. If I really wanted to, I could contact the Church and raise a fuss, and I doubt the Coven would want to anger such a massive organization. But you? There’s no way they leave you alone.”

“I always forget about your Church,” Amara muttered. She paused for a moment, an unsettling thought creeping in. “Um, don’t take this the wrong way, but you didn’t tell them about me, did you?”

Vee’s anxiety vanished for a moment, replaced by resolute determination. “Absolutely not. Like I said back in Purgatory, I was pretty confused that you saved my life at the end of our fight. I decided to keep everything a secret until I could figure out for myself what was truly going on. I still had to file a report, especially since they brought in some priests to aid in my recovery, but I kept it vague. As far as my Church is concerned, there was a demonic threat and I took care of it.”

“That’s a relief,” Amara said. She couldn’t help but smile as Vee returned her gaze to the rest of the cafeteria. “You really think this’ll work?”

“It has to.” Vee said, “What about you?”

“I mean, I’m not happy about it.” Amara joined Vee in looking out at the crowd of students. “I hate feeling like we’re begging for our lives.”

“It’s not like that, Amara. We’re all just students here, right? Surely we can appeal to their sense of decency. Besides, we saved all their lives, that’s got to count for something.”

Nick, who’d been welcoming everyone into the dining hall, wandered closer and interrupted the conversation. “I think that’s everyone. There’s still no sign of Tessa or her Coven, so we should get started.”

With one last look back at Amara, Vee nodded and stood up. She walked towards the center of the cafeteria, and with a deep breath, called for the crowd’s attention. It took a few moments for everyone to quiet down, and then she began speaking.

“Alright, I know this meeting was somewhat last minute, but we’ve got some news. As you all know, Tessa is a witch, and her knowledge of magic is what’s kept this campus safe the last few months. However, she also belongs to a larger organization, and yesterday that very group wandered onto campus. They’re planning to be here soon, as they want to talk to all of you, but they’re mostly here to repair the Planar Gate.”

A murmur spread through the crowd, with quite a few people beginning to smile and sigh in relief. Kenji, the student with the blue hair, raised a hand and spoke once Vee acknowledged him.

“Does that mean everything will go back to normal?” he asked. “No more monsters, no more magic bullshit?”

“We’re not entirely sure, as we haven’t spoken to them yet, but that’s the hope. However, their presence does raise another problem.” Vee paused, looking back at Amara before continuing. “Namely, myself and Amara. Tessa’s Coven doesn’t know about us, and we’re hoping to keep it that way.”

“Great, more secrets,” Naomi whispered, just loud enough for Amara to hear.

Vee continued. “If they find out that Amara’s a demon, they won’t bother listening to reason. They’ll try to kill her, end of story. I know I’m asking a lot, and I can’t force any of you to do this, but ... as a fellow student, I’m asking that you keep our identities a secret.”

“How are we supposed to explain all the damage to the Quad?” One student asked. Amara looked over to see Naomi’s friend standing up. She wore an Aurelius University athletic jacket, deep purple in color, and her thick dreadlocks brushed against her shoulders as she stood. “Or, for that matter, how you fought past all those monsters to stop that Brendon guy?”

For roughly the next hour, everyone present in the cafeteria argued over the best course of action. Amara did her best to pay more attention than she had last time, eager to at least understand which lies they were planning on telling the Coven. The last few months had been incredibly hectic, and while she hated hiding her true self, she had trouble thinking of any reason to start attacking the Coven without ruining their chances of fixing the Gate.

The debate came to a sudden end when one of the students spotted the Coven approaching. Vee made a last-ditch effort to summarize the story they’d hopefully all agreed on, then fell quiet as the doors to the cafeteria opened.

Amara furrowed her brows as she finally saw them. They were every bit as contemptuous as Vee had described, and Amara clenched her fists as she tried to bury her disgust. The woman in front, presumably the Headmistress, looked around the cafeteria as if she were walking through a landfill. Behind her walked three other women, each moving with a similar, if slightly lesser, gravitas. A short distance behind them, a slightly portly man shuffled with far less urgency, his nose buried in a small notebook. Tessa walked at the back of the group, her head hung low, and beside her was another girl that appeared to be roughly the same age.

With little else to do, Amara focused her senses and tried to study the Coven. The one seemingly in charge, who Vee had claimed was Headmistress Davenport, had an incredibly dull aura. As frustrating as it was to not have an easy method of manipulating her, Amara did pause for a moment to appreciate how much her otherworldly senses had grown. This older woman didn’t seem to have a horny bone in her body, yet Amara was still able to perceive her aura.

The second woman, the one with an intense look and dark brown bangs, was a bit more lively. Amara still didn’t see any traces of attraction or arousal, but her aura fluttered with a strange, tempered intensity.

The two women in back proved to be the most interesting. Their auras were slightly intermixed, but in a way Amara had never seen before. It didn’t appear to be simple infatuation; Amara had seen that dozens of times around campus, and it always took on a brighter, more energetic smell. The aura was also faint enough that she was pretty sure these two women weren’t fucking, but with those two options ruled out, Amara didn’t know what to make of her readings.

Maybe they’re in love but not fucking? Love is different than lust, but the two often intermix. Maybe I’m just seeing hints of their emotions? Ugh, I wish I could just ask Mom about this...

Tessa’s aura was shockingly small, but this didn’t surprise Amara given how miserable her friend looked. The other girl, the one seemingly around the same age as them, appeared no different than any other woman in her early twenties. Her aura was healthy and average, which told Amara nothing other than that this person harbored no secret affection for anyone around her.

The portly man in front of Tessa barely seemed to be watching where he walked, and his aura was almost as non-existent as Davenport’s. It wasn’t restrained the same way, which Amara assumed meant he had a naturally slow sex drive, rather than a healthy one that was being purposely restrained.

The Coven placed themselves in the center of the group, then pivoted to face everyone. After a moment of silence, the Headmistress opened her mouth and began to speak. Her voice was unusually boisterous compared to her thinner frame, and each word seemed to be laced with bitterness.

“Ladies and gentlemen, it is our understanding that you have all borne witness to spectacular, unprecedented events these last few weeks. I’m terribly sorry to see so many innocent lives get swept up in this chaos, and I only wish we could have gotten here sooner. Our ward, Altessa Blackwood, was supposed to be our eyes and ears at this University. However, her failure to follow protocol led to the unfortunate death of one of your own. From the bottom of my heart, I’m truly sorry for the loss you’ve all suffered.”

Bitch. I doubt you even care.

“All we can do now is set our eyes to the future. My name is Cassandra Davenport, and it is my sworn duty to protect you all from the perils of the supernatural. You are likely already aware that this campus sits on a nexus; a natural convergence of multiple planes of existence, and that a network of magical sigils held those forces at bay. Although recent events have fractured that network, we alone have the knowledge to restore the protections you’ve all grown accustomed to.”

Naomi raised her hand at this point, but didn’t bother waiting for Cassandra to acknowledge her. “What about us? We’ve been told that secrecy is of utmost importance, but how do you plan on enforcing that?”

Cassandra seemed to be taken aback by the interruption, and spoke through the teeth as she responded. “You take an accusatory tone, child, that I don’t appreciate. We are not tyrants, it is not our job to cull those we deem untrustworthy. What I can promise you, however, is that answering to us is far preferable to other organizations that might sniff out the chaos at this University.”

“Like what? You may not appreciate my tone, but I don’t appreciate your vague threats.”

“The government would falsify charges of terrorism and lock you away. Clandestine organizations that fancy themselves bastions of safety and nobility would force you to join their ranks. You would vanish from the face of the planet, your entire existence turned into yet another extension of those who think they can police forces that lie beyond their understanding. The wealthy that owe their success to illicit magic would kidnap you and use your blood to fuel their twisted schemes, then offer your corpse as sacrifice to any number of creatures that deem human flesh a delicacy. By contrast, we simply ask for your cooperation. I heavily suggest you not bite the hand we are extending.”

While the older woman’s tone still rubbed Amara the wrong way, she got the feeling she was telling the truth. As much as she wanted to object, to point out that Cassandra was avoiding any details about how they might punish noncompliance, she bit her tongue and stayed quiet.

After clearing her throat uncomfortably loudly, Cassandra gestured for one of the Coven members to join her, the younger girl that had walked in beside Tessa. “This young lady is Imani Mabaya; she will be taking charge of this little group of yours. Before any of you leave this room, you are to speak with her and share everything you witnessed here. Once we fully understand the scope of the damage that has been wrought, we can begin looking to the future. All subsequent questions are to be directed to her, is that clear?”

Although the question was posed to the entire group, Cassandra’s sharp glare at Naomi was impossible to miss. After a few seconds of silence, once it was clear no one else had any comments, she nodded to the rest of the Coven. As they walked away, Imani snapped to attention and moved to a small staff room just off the main dining hall.

“Do you see why I hate them?” Vee whispered to Amara.

“Fuck, she’s so smug!” Amara said. “And did you hear the way she threatened Naomi? Unbelievable!”

Vee giggled quietly. “You’re defending Naomi now? Out of sheer curiosity, what’s for dinner tonight?

Amara playfully pushed Vee’s arm, nearly knocking her to the floor. “Ha ha, very funny. It’s hand-seared chicken, and this is different.”

Their conversation was forced to end when Imani approached them both. In sharp contrast to the rest of the Coven, Imani’s smile seemed surprisingly genuine. When she spoke, her words were warm and reassuring. “Amara and Vee, I presume?”

“That’s us,” Vee said, jumping to her feet. She held out a hand to introduce herself. “Imani, correct? You’re a witch with the coven?”

“That’s me! I’m not quite as hands-on as many of my peers, but we all work towards the same goals.” After shaking Vee’s hand, Imani extended the offer to Amara as well.

Amara, however, simply crossed her arms and nodded halfheartedly in return. “What goal is that? Abusing Tessa?”

Imani’s smile faded somewhat. “I have no say in how Headmistress Davenport treats her wards. Even if I disagreed with her methods, it would not be my place to speak in defense of Tessa. Seeing as how we’ll be working together for the foreseeable future, however, I do ask that you keep your feelings for the Headmistress separate from your feelings about me.”

“Alright, fine. It’s good to meet you or whatever,” Amara said, rolling her eyes.

After leaving the conversation, Imani moved around the cafeteria to greet everyone else. She seemed to spend more time than usual with Mr. Luxnor, as well as Mr. Roberts, another teacher that had been swept up in everything. As she made her rounds, Amara took great care to eavesdrop on her conversations.

It seemed Imani was hoping to understand the initial response to Brandon’s attack. She asked the teachers how they organized everyone, as well as what steps were taken to ensure all potential witnesses were accounted for. Some of this information was actually news to Amara, who had spent the last few weeks either wrestling with reapers or adamantly avoiding conversations about covering up the invasion.

Through her eavesdropping, she learned that all students wishing to stay on campus over holidays needed to clear their request with the school. As such, when Brandon’s invasion started, the teachers present had a list of all students supposedly on campus. Once the portal had closed, they spent considerable time tracking down all students on the list, working together with Tessa to ensure that no one was leaking information.

Once Imani’s conversation with the teachers wrapped up, Amara expected her to start pulling students into the side room for private conversations. She’d even picked a seat closer to the entrance in an attempt to continue eavesdropping.

These plans were unfortunately ruined when, of all the students in the cafeteria, Imani approached Amara first.

“Amara? If you’re feeling up to it, I’d love to speak with you about everything,” Imani said, her tone frustratingly warm and supportive.

“Me? Why?” Amara asked.

“It’s my understanding that you’re quite close with Tessa, and have been involved the longest.”

Fuck. What did Tessa tell her?

“Uh, sure. Why not.” Amara reluctantly rose to her feet and followed Imani into the side room. It appeared to be some kind of employee break room, with lockers on one wall and several chairs and tables scattered around. Two beat-up couches rested in one corner, and the wall opposite the lockers had a sizeable dent in it.

Unsure what to expect, Amara moved to the couch and laid down. “So, what do you want to know? I’m sure Tessa told you everything already.”

“Tessa can’t read minds, Amara. She can give me her perspective, but not yours. I want to know what happened, yes, but I’m also here to support you in any way I can. Learning about magic can be a harrowing experience, even in the best of times, and this was anything but.”

You’ve got no fucking idea, Imani.

When Amara didn’t say anything, Imani continued. “How did you stop the cult?”

“Tessa fucked with their runes and reversed the portal.” Amara said flatly.

“Okay, but you and Vee helped her out, didn’t you? How did you hold your own against an army of possessed cultists?”

There was another pause before Amara spoke up again. “So are you, like, an intern? Why do they get the fun work while you’re stuck interviewing students? They’re not abusing you too, are they?”

Imani sighed. “If I answer your question, will you answer mine?”

“I mean, they seem to hate Tessa, but they still gave her an assignment here. You didn’t even get that much.”

“For your information, I volunteered for this. I consider myself quite lucky to be a part of this coven, I even have the privilege of studying to be a Scribe.”

“What’s that? Some kind of magic receptionist?” Amara asked, chuckling to herself.

“Scribes are responsible for applying the runic tattoos that give witches their abilities. It takes incredible precision, and requires intimate knowledge of dozens of potentially harmful magical materials. I love what I do, Amara, and the chance to come here and study sigils from hundreds of years ago is a spectacular opportunity.”

“And you’re really making the most of it, aren’t you?” Amara gestured to the barren break room around them. “Look at all these sigils. Wow, so magnificent you can’t even see them.”

Imani wrote something on a pad of paper, then spoke up again. “I’m just trying to help, Amara. I know what it’s like to see people get hurt by forces you previously thought impossible. I understand how you’re feel—”

“You don’t understand shit, Imani!” Amara hissed, jumping to her feet. “I had to watch a room full of cultists sell their souls for power. I saw monsters from beyond our reality invade the campus while a madman tried to rip a hole in the universe. One of my best friends died saving our lives! I held her hand as an unstable portal ripped her to pieces!!”

“Amara, please, I just want—”

“No! I’m done with this bullshit!” Amara shouted. She stormed past Imani, then left the staff room before slamming the door behind her. Vee and Nick both looked up in surprise, as did the entire cafeteria full of students, but Amara didn’t care. Without a second glance, she raced out of the dining hall, leaving everyone behind.

As soon as the Coven Heads left the dining hall, they instructed Tessa to show them around campus. In order to begin rebuilding the gate, they needed to understand the previous circles that kept the other planes at bay. One by one, traveling from building to building, Tessa did her best to detail her findings about each circle.

They started with the circle under the cafeteria, as it was the closest. Tessa hadn’t revisited this circle in a while, and was surprised to see that all the vines had been completely cleared up. She quickly explained how this circle had been weakened, allowing plant life from the Wilds to force its way through, but she had difficulty exposing the circle itself; it was still buried under a mountain of old kitchen appliances, after all, and last time she’d only been able to uncover it with Amara’s help.

For better or for worse, Coven Head Gautier stepped in when it became clear that Tessa wasn’t up to the task. As much as Tessa hated the smug look on Miss Gautier’s face, she much preferred a bit of help to many awkward minutes of attempting to shuffle old kitchen appliances out of the way.

What Tessa hadn’t expected was the speed at which Miss Gautier was able to clear the space. With barely a flick of her wrist, an immense amount of telekinetic power filled the room, levitating every single piece of furniture in sight. Metal scraped and clanged as the room rearranged itself and, after a minute had passed, the space was now immaculately organized, exposing the circle to the Wilds.

It took the better part of an hour to visit the rest of the circles; one hidden behind an illusion under Brandt Hall, one concealed in the cramped room under the Science Building, and several others Tessa had found in her off hours.

Their final stop was Lysander Hall, which held both the Purgatory Circle in its basement and the elevator that could take them to the underground chamber. As they approached the first of the two circles, this one also hiding behind an illusion, Tessa prepared her magic. Thankfully, she’d grown quite skilled at removing this particular illusion, and removed it in a matter of seconds.