Chapter 16

Amara looked around the barren classroom as Tessa flicked the lights on. Rows upon rows of empty seats sat ready, perfectly positioned to give everyone a clear view of the front of the class. The floor escalated just past the first seats, each step containing another row of chairs, until ending at the back wall. Tall windows let in considerable amounts of sunlight, though the source wasn’t visible; it was just past noon, and the sun was high above them.

The girls looked at each other for a moment before heading towards the back corner. They’d decided that it would be best to avoid unwanted attention, though Amara had a feeling that Tessa would have chosen the same spot regardless of cult activity.

The witch was wearing a pair of black, baggy cargo pants, as well as her usual combat boots. A red tank top hugged her curves, bearing the distressed logo of some band Amara had never heard of. A black jacket that was several sizes too big completed the outfit, though it only properly sat on one shoulder, the other side bunched around her elbow as she sat down.

Amara had put considerably more effort into her outfit. After being forced to spend several weeks hiding her tail and horns, she was always happy to put together something cute when she left the house. A flattering pair of dark blue jeans showed off her beige ankle booties, the heels rather small to accommodate long walks across campus. Her cleavage was tastefully on display beneath her low-cut shirt, its gray heathered pattern mostly hidden underneath a deep orange cardigan that ended at her thighs. She didn’t join Tessa in a chair, instead taking the time to walk around the classroom while her friend opened her journal.

“I’m so fucking sick of these circles. I was hoping that finding more would make it easier to figure them out, but I’ve got nothing,” Tessa griped. They had decided to get to Tessa’s English class early, hoping to spend as much time as they could hunting for potential clues. In the meantime, since no one was present, she was pouring over her diagrams of the various magic circles they’d discovered.

“Well, what do we know? What are easy assumptions we can make?” Amara slowly wandered around the room, looking at all the different seats as she slowly moved towards the front of the class.

“I’m like, ninety percent sure each one is tied to a different plane. That’s the simplest way to explain why all the circles act differently. The most obvious was the circle under the cafeteria, that’s definitely connected to The Wilds.”

“The Wilds?”

“That’s what witches tend to call it, but it’s got a lot of names. It’s heavily tied to ideas of ground, earth, and the life that springs from it. Think lots of heavy forests, thick jungles, stuff like that. It’s home to a lot of magical creatures too. Werewolves, fairies, dryads, tons of others; if there’s a cryptid on our plane, it’s likely from there.”

“Y’know, I’d briefly forgotten how weird my life had gotten, so thanks for the reminder.” Amara paused for a moment, taking in everything she’d just heard. “Fairies? Really?”

“Welcome to the World of Magic! Population: Everything and anything you’ve ever heard of. You’re a succubus, just be thankful you have a way to fight back. Learning about magic means you’re fair game to a lot of creatures, and not everyone has that luxury.”

“I’m going to get attacked just because I know about magic?” Amara asked, looking back at her friend in surprise.

“Alright, well, it’s not quite that cut and dry. A lot of things, people and creatures alike, greatly benefit from magic being underground, and there’s an unspoken rule that you should try to keep it that way. However, once someone knows about magic, you can fuck with them without breaking that rule.” Tessa took a deep breath, her eyes briefly staring into the distance. “But it’s more than that. This world, Amara? Magic? It’s a giant fucking curse. For some reason, things always seem to go wrong once people join it.”

Amara leaned against the main desk in the front of the classroom. Those last words rattled around in her head, and her thoughts drifted back to Halloween. She felt herself starting to spiral, and she quickly shook her head to stay in the moment. “Right, so each circle is tied to a plane. What else?”

“That’s honestly my only good guess. These things are complicated as hell.”

“What about the Science Building? You said it was keeping things out?”

“Even if I’m right about that one, I have no idea if the other circles were built the same way. If they are, why was that one hidden the way it was? Why not use illusions like the other ones? Why are there so many?” Tessa groaned again, sliding back in her chair as she threw her head back.

Amara, unsure what else to say, instead circled behind the teacher’s desk and started rummaging through its drawers. Most of them were filled with insignificant office supplies, but she dutifully looked through every nook and cranny just to be safe. In the end, the most interesting thing she’d found had been a small bag of chocolates. She happily swiped a few, returning to Tessa in the back of the classroom and handing her some sweets.

“So what’s your plan? Are you seriously just planning on watching him teach?” Tessa unwrapped a chocolate and popped it into her mouth.

“Yes, actually. Why is that so weird?”

“It’s just so boring! If I had your powers, I’d only need 5 minutes alone with him and we’d get all the answers we wanted.” The witch’s tattoos lit up, and her pen started hovering over her notebook. “Look at this, how am I supposed to threaten someone with mild levitation?”

“Tess, when I first saw you do magic, you threw someone across a room.”

“That was a fluke! And I shouldn’t have done it in the first place, I overexerted myself and had a headache for days.”

A sound in the hallway caught Amara’s attention, and she suddenly recognized the march of students nearing the classroom. She reached out and pushed Tessa’s pen back to the desk just as the door opened, then whispered, “Well, let’s be thankful that I’m the demon here, not you.”

Tessa rolled her eyes but dropped the topic without a fuss. She reached into her backpack, pulling out her notebooks for the English class that was about to start, and sighed heavily.

Amara, on the other hand, pulled out a pair of stylish sunglasses. She felt a little silly putting them on, but she figured the worst-case scenario would be strangers thinking she was hung over. In truth, she was hoping to study the auras of everyone in class. The events at the Halloween party, coupled with her recently discovered night vision, had been a reminder that her body was still changing. Who’s to say that her senses would stay limited to reading sexual auras?

With her eyes safely covered, she let them flare and began looking around the room. She saw a young man saying goodbye his girlfriend in the hallway before entering class, and they’d clearly fucked this morning. A minute later, a smaller girl with a tight black braid walked in with a vibrant aura, but there were no traces of a second person; she’d definitely just finished masturbating. An incredibly fit boy in a varsity jacket in the front row was pining for a tall, brown-haired boy that had just entered. The taller boy either didn’t share those feelings or hadn’t noticed the athlete, instead staying glued to his phone while he pulled his books out.

Everything she learned fascinated her, it was incredible seeing such intimate details out in the open like this. Still, other than a chance to flex her improved senses, she didn’t see anything noteworthy.

“Where’s the teacher?” Amara whispered.

“He’s always a little late,” Tessa replied. “I think he’s got office hours right before this class, sometimes he gets here with a student or two.”

As if on cue, the door opened. Professor Luxnor hurried inside, but not before holding the door open for the last student. Amara vaguely recognized the girl walking in behind him, a tall redhead in a green, low-cut top. Her simple leather jacket clearly wasn’t trying to hide her ample cleavage, and her posture implied that she was used to being the center of attention. A small handful of students grew noticeably excited at her entrance, though Amara was far more interested in the aura of this new student.

“Who’s the redhead? She looks familiar.” Amara asked.

“Kylie? You danced with her at the Halloween party. I remember ‘cuz I was really fucking jealous.”

“Oh, I don’t think it’s me you should be jealous of.”

“What? Who?” Tessa leaned closer, but Amara didn’t say anything. She simply gave a knowing look towards the teacher. “Mr. Luxnor?! Shut the fuck up!”

“Their auras are perfectly in sync; I’d say they finished within the last half hour or so.”

“I can’t fucking believe it! First the cult, but now he’s hooking up with a student? Man, he used to be one of my favorite teachers too...”

“You’re missing the silver lining here, Tessa.” Amara smirked, letting her eyes return to normal as she put her sunglasses away. “We can use this against him.”

After sitting through Professor Luxnor’s class, which dragged on much longer than Amara would have liked, she found herself with nothing to do for the rest of the day. Nick’s Tuesday schedule was packed full, and he wouldn’t be free until close to dinner. She thought about returning to her apartment to work on some homework, but being alone didn’t sound all that appealing. Instead, she pulled up Chloé’s number and shot her a text.

Amara: What’s up? Still in classes?

Chloé: Nope! I just finished up lunch and I’m handing at home

Chloé: Hanging*

Amara: Can I come over? Got nothing going on

Chloé: That sounds awesome!

Chloé: I’ll meet you at the entrance :)

Sighing in relief, Amara picked up the pace and made her way to her friend’s place. Chloé was the only one of her friends that actually lived in a dorm, so the walk was pretty short. She did her best to enjoy the feel of the sun on her face, but its rays kept getting swept away by the cool autumn breeze. As happy as she was to be immune to the changing weather, she was still vaguely aware that it was getting colder.

As she approached the building, she saw her friend leaning against the wall in the main lobby. She moved closer, opened the door, and the two hiked back up to the third floor.

It felt like ages since Amara had been at Chloé’s place. They used to hang out fairly regularly, but that tradition had been neglected in the chaos of Amara’s transformation. Thankfully, the trepidation creeping at the edge of her thoughts vanished as soon as she stepped inside. Everything looked unchanged, as if nothing had happened over the last few months. It felt like stepping into a time capsule, a relic of a bygone age where Amara hadn’t yet been swept up in demonic chaos.

Chloé led the way to her bedroom, then jumped on her bed and picked up her controller. She seemed to be in the middle of a game, and Amara happily let her start it up again while she made herself comfy next to her. After some careful rearranging of the stuffed animals on the bed, Amara ended up laying her head on a large plush shark while resting her feet in Chloé’s lap.

“So, what’s on the agenda for today?” Amara asked.

“Not much, to be honest. I’ve got a few things I’m waiting on for the charity, and I can’t really do much until those finish up. Until then, the day is mine! I was probably just gonna play games, eat dinner at some point, nothing much.” Chloé leaned back, resting against the wall as she talked.

Amara pulled out her phone, half-heartedly scrolling through various sites as she kept talking. “Hey, whatever happened with the guy you were into? Did you ever make a move?”

Chloé blushed, stammering for a few seconds before managing to speak. “N-no ... nothing yet. We still talk somewhat regularly, but every time I try to say something, I freeze up!”

“Girl, you just gotta go for it! Put yourself out there!”

“We talked at the Halloween party! I almost asked him to dance, but I froze up and couldn’t think of what to say. Plus, later I saw him dancing with some other girl, and she was super pretty...”

“So? I danced with a bunch of people, even kissed some, but I’m not dating any of them. There’s a big difference between letting loose at a party and actually looking for a partner.” Amara playfully jabbed Chloé with her foot, “And how many times do I have to tell you how cute you are? You can’t keep comparing yourself to other girls like this!”

“Well, yeah, but ... It’s not...” Chloé buried her nose in her sweater, blushing profusely as she failed to think of anything to say. Amara was used to these kinds of pep talks, and she knew from experience that trying to push further wouldn’t do any good. Instead, she decided to change the conversation and ask about the game she was playing.

Chloé’s mood immediately shifted. She loved video games, and loved talking about them even more. The change in her demeanor was so drastic it was almost comical; no longer was she nervously trying to be part of the conversation, instead she charged ahead as she happily shared her passions with her friend. Last year, when they’d first started hanging out, she’d been nervous about oversharing and dominating the conversation, but Amara had eventually convinced her that she loved listening.

In Amara’s opinion, everyone had a spark inside of them. A passion that burned bright, that could only be seen under the right conditions. Whether it was food, music, movies, or games, everyone had something that truly made them come alive. She loved to find that spark, to encourage people to share it, and she suspected that was one reason she felt drawn to photography. If she timed her shots well, if she asked the right questions, she was able to capture that joy and immortalize it in a picture.

Today, Chloé was playing a game about farming. She’d inherited a farm from her grandpa, and she had to get it up and running again while also getting to know the local townspeople. It was really cute, and at first Amara had thought it was an older game due to its pixelated graphics, but Chloé assured her it was purely an aesthetic choice.

After an hour or so of relaxing, with the girls talking about nothing in particular, Chloé’s phone went off. She paused her game and grabbed her phone, then her eyes grew wide.

“Amara!”

“Everything okay?”

“It got delivered! Quick, we have to go see it!”

“That ... doesn’t exactly answer my question.” Amara quickly moved her feet as Chloé jumped off the bed, running for her shoes. Confused, Amara joined her friend as she started down the hallway.

After a quick jog down the stairs, they left the building. Amara had expected this to be the end of the journey, but she didn’t see any sort of package or delivery. Instead, Chloé kept walking. She was staring at her phone, frantically texting, and Amara had to steer her away from other students a few times as their mysterious journey continued. It took another ten minutes or so for Amara to realize where they were heading, and she did her best to steel her nerves.

The Jade Palace.

“Amara, look! There it is!” Chloé said excitedly.

With their destination now in sight, Amara finally saw what Chloé was so excited about. The Palace remained unchanged, its blackened walls a horrid reminder of her actions, but it was no longer alone. On the back of the lot, further away from the street, sat a massive green dumpster. Its metal was worn, the deep green paint clearly chipped in numerous places, and one of the shorter sides was designed with a latch. Amara watched as Chloé ran closer, undoing the hinge and pulling at the massive door. She was clearly struggling, and Amara ran in to help her out. She pulled the door open with ease, barely even registering its size.

“Thanks Amara!” Chloé said, gasping for air. “This thing is huge! It’s just what we need!”

“What happens now?”

“We can begin cleanup! It’s gonna take a lot of time, and we’ll need a lot of help, but I already have that planned out. We can start recruiting volunteers now, designate specific cleaning hours so everything stays supervised, stuff like that. I just need to check in with some of the other members—”

Chloé continued talking, and after a few seconds Amara realized she was likely just talking to herself to keep her thoughts straight. Amara, instead, wandered closer to the burnt remains of the old party house, staring at all the destroyed lumber and drywall. She would definitely be needed to take pictures of the cleanup, that much was obvious, but it didn’t feel like enough. She closed her eyes, a deep breath filling her lungs, and flinched as the embers from that night brushed across her face again. She heard the house groaning and snapping, threatening to collapse on top of her. Her claws squeezed tight, Vee’s blood running down her—

No. That’s not who I am.

She shook her head, pushing the memories away as she wiped a tear from her face. Another deep breath, this one shaking with worry, and she turned to her friend. “Why can’t we start now?”

“What?” Chloé asked, her thought process interrupted by Amara’s question.

“The cleanup. We’re here, why can’t we start now?”

“Oh! Well, we don’t have any of the materials. Obviously we’ll need protective gear; safety glasses, gloves, hardhats, all that, but we’re also not dressed for it. Look at your clothes, you’d ruin them!” Chloé paused, looking at the remains of the Palace before continuing. “Plus, even if we had all that, I doubt I’m going to be much help. I lost a lot of muscle after I started hormones.”

“Right, silly question. I guess I’m just ... I want to help.” Amara paused, moving closer to her friend and pulling her in for a hug. “You’re a good person Chloé. Thanks for putting this together.”

“You’re already doing so much!” Chloé hugged back for a moment before pulling away. “Want to help put together a schedule?”

Amara laughed, then politely declined. With nothing else to do here, they picked up their things and began the walk back to campus. They continued talking about the charity efforts, Chloé sharing updates on what they could afford at the moment, and Amara explaining how they could structure their social media presence. Before leaving the lot completely, she turned back to look at the burned ruins, her thoughts lingering on the cleanup that was ready to begin.

Chloé’s charity efforts lingered in Amara’s thoughts for the rest of the day. Even after meeting up with Nick and heading back to her place, she found it hard to concentrate. Seeing the dumpster, hearing Chloé talk about the money they’d already raised, it somehow made the entire effort feel so much more real than it had yesterday. It wasn’t just an idea anymore, it was reality. She let Nick lead most of the conversation, and she was pretty sure he noticed.

She wasn’t completely silent, though. There were still the updates about the cult, about the new circle they’d found and the conversation they’d overheard. Nick seemed just as surprised to hear about Professor Luxnor’s affair with Kylie; apparently he was familiar with the teacher as well and didn’t think him the type.

“What if it’s all connected?” Nick asked.

“What do you mean? You think Kylie’s a part of this cult too?”

“No, but what if he wants her to be? Or what if he’s trying to set her up to be some kind of sacrifice? There’s already a huge power imbalance at play here, and he has a great excuse to invite her to secret locations without her asking why.”

Amara gagged slightly even thinking about the idea. “Fuck, I hadn’t thought about that. Guess it’s a good thing Tessa and I are picking up the pace.”

“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help?” Nick asked, concern in his voice. “I know this is way outside my wheelhouse, but it’s frustrating knowing what’s going on and sitting on the sidelines.”

“You’re going to stay put and stay safe. We have no idea what these people are trying to do, and you’re just a squishy human. Tessa’s got magic, she’s the only one that can read the circles, and I recently confirmed that I’ve got super-healing. We can hold our own.”

“Wait, did you get hurt again?”

“I was testing a shapeshifting thing and cut my hand a bit, no big deal. Especially since it healed in seconds. Plus,” Amara pulled the shoulder of her shirt down, “Vee stabbed me right here, the blade went completely through, and there’s not a hint of it there. That sword was Enochian, too.”

Nick paused for a moment before responding, his face twisting in concern. “I ... didn’t know that. At least it healed, right?”

His comments reminded Amara that she’d never actually gone through everything that happened at the Halloween party. She’d avoided sharing many of the details, especially the more painful ones, but sometimes it was easy to forget that Nick didn’t actually know everything about her. They looked at each other for a moment, an awkward silence filling the room before Nick finally decided to change the subject.