Chapter 33

Amara woke up horribly disoriented. For one thing, she’d slept terribly; her lack of sex was starting to extract a heavier toll than just her appetite. She was honestly surprised she’d gotten any sleep at all, the last thing she remembered was tossing and turning, trying to keep her wings and tail from accidentally prodding Vee.

Now, as consciousness slowly returned, she felt incredibly restricted. She tried to flex her wings slightly, but it felt like one of them was asleep. Had she accidentally tucked it under herself? It wouldn’t be the first time. She also felt a strange weight around her waist, and briefly wondered if her tail had fallen asleep too.

However, when she looked underneath the covers, she saw a pair of arms.

Amara’s eyes snapped open in surprise. Vee was behind her, hugging her waist tight, and their legs were intertwined; her tail was even wrapped entirely around one of Vee’s legs. In a panic, she tried to flex her wings as well, and found them partially extended. Vee was lying on top of one, while the other was draped across her like a blanket. As her wings twitched, she heard Vee grumble, so she stopped trying to move.

Okay, this is weird, right? Is she doing this on purpose? No, that doesn’t make sense. It’s just really cold here, so when we were asleep, she must have absentmindedly reached for the warmest thing she could find. That has to be it.

Their precarious situation presented Amara with another problem. She hadn’t had sex in over four days, and Vee had changed into shorts and a crop top last night. She’d done her best not to look, despite her libido’s demonic urging, but now it was impossible to ignore. Their bare legs intertwined, Vee’s arms holding her tight, it was almost too much to handle.

Her pussy ached, already wet with desire. She couldn’t even squeeze her legs to try and fight her urges, as Vee’s leg had pushed between them. She couldn’t use her tail, either, as it was busy keeping Vee warm.

Vee is between my legs, no big deal, it doesn’t mean anything. Her skin is so soft, though, I bet she would feel amazing inside—

Amara squeezed her eyes and shook her head.

I can’t think about her that way. We’re finally friends again, she trusted me enough to tell me her real name and invite me into her bed, I can’t betray that trust! Besides, this is only my desperation speaking, it’s not what I really want. I just haven’t had sex in days, and she happens to be the only other person here. I mean, sure, she’s incredibly hot, but I don’t actually want to fuck her. I don’t need to know if she prefers being on top or bottom. I don’t want to feel her lips on my neck, my thighs, or kissing my—

No! Shut up!

There was no telling how much time passed before Vee woke up. For all Amara knew, it might have only been a couple seconds, but it felt like an eternity. She didn’t want to wake Vee prematurely, as in Amara’s weakened state, Vee would have to be the heavy hitter from now on. Amara stayed perfectly still, silently whimpering in frustration, as she tried to wait for Vee to wake on her own.

Eventually, Vee started to rouse from her sleep. Amara tried to take solace in the fact that Vee had slept so well, but given her body’s urges, it was hard to think straight. Vee grumbled, then took a deep breath and stretched out one of her legs, the one wrapped in Amara’s tail.

“What—” Vee started saying, then Amara felt her quickly tense in surprise. “Oh!”

“Morning, Vee,” Amara said quietly. “For the record, I don’t know how this happened. I only woke up a few minutes ago, and we were already like this.”

Vee began pulling away from Amara, removing her arms and legs before jumping out of bed entirely. “Okay, um, right. Well, maybe, in my sleep, I just happened to reach for something warm, and, um...”

“Right, yeah.” Amara slid her legs out of bed, facing away from Vee. “Look, nothing else happened, so no worries, alright? Besides, it seemed like you got some decent sleep for a change. You were out cold when I woke up, which seems preferable to shivering all night.”

“Well, uh, you’re very warm, and I guess that helped.” Vee was speaking quite matter-of-factly, as if trying to distance herself from any unintended emotionality.

Amara stood up, quickly stretching out her limbs. “I’m gonna let you get dressed.”

Vee nodded just as quickly, then started rummaging through her clothes. Amara practically raced out the door, closing it behind her, then shut herself in the bathroom. The instant she was alone, her fingers were in her shorts, reaching for her sex.

There was no subtlety in her actions, she was desperate and needed release. She gasped as she started rubbing her clit, her entire body shaking as it begged for more. With her other hand, she pushed two fingers into her eager cunt, and her legs almost gave out as they quivered in excitement. She pushed deeper, adding a third finger as she rubbed her clit even faster. She had so little experience going this long without sex, and was terrified that she might not be able to get herself off.

Leaning against the door, she slid down to the floor while she kept fucking herself. She bit her lip, doing everything in her power to avoid making any noise, but she feared that she might be too wet to hide what was happening.

She readjusted her hands, pushing one underneath her bra to free her breasts. She squeezed one tight, then the other, before pinching her nipples to try and push herself over the edge. Her other hand continued filling her pussy, though its thumb was now working her clit. After a few seconds of gasping and squirming, she knew she needed more.

Her tail, which until now had been idly wrapped around her leg, now uncoiled to join in the fun. Its tip replaced the fingers in her cunt, and with both hands free, she began twisting and squeezing both her sensitive nipples. She fucked herself harder and harder, taking her tail as deep as she could, but still her orgasm eluded her. Everything felt amazing, but she wasn’t here to make love; she needed to cum if she were to have any chance at pretending things were okay.

Her mind wandered, desperate for something more, and she found herself dwelling on the most depraved thing she’d ever done. The night she’d surrendered to her instincts and drained three men dry at once. Not only had it felt amazing, getting filled to the brim in every hole, but there had been a twisted satisfaction in turning tables on them. Giving them the strongest orgasms of their lives, twice in a row, then watching their faces fill with fear as she broke free. They had been such fun toys, and the rush of power had been like nothing she’d felt before.

Her tail slipped free of her cunt, then slowly moved towards her tight ass. She was desperate to recreate that feeling, and as she pushed inside, she began fingering her pussy again.

Her eyes rolled back in her head, and her breath caught in her throat as she began filling both her holes. Her ass was incredibly tight, and she could feel her tail inching deeper with the fingers in her pussy. The feelings compounded, the tail in her ass enhancing the pleasure in her pussy, and vice versa. She needed to cum more than anything, this had to work, and she silently begged for release while she fucked herself.

But it wasn’t enough.

No matter how hard she tried, no matter how deep she filled herself, her orgasm evaded her. It stayed just out of reach, and the more desperate she became, the further it drifted. Even the pleasure, what little of it she’d managed to find, started to feel hollow.

She was starving, and without a proper meal, there would be no release.

A door opened behind her, though thankfully not the door she was leaning against. “Amara? Where’d you go?” Vee asked.

“In here, just a minute!” Amara said, doing her best to not sound painfully horny. She clenched her fists, quietly punching the air in frustration as she finally gave up on finding release. She leaned forward, pulled her tail free, then adjusted her clothes. After standing up, she reached for the handle, then paused.

Wait, I’m going to reek of sex if I go out like this. I can’t do that to her, I need to keep things appropriate between us.

Amara looked at her hands and tail, still glistening with juices from her failed experiment, and tried to summon hellfire to clean them off. There was no denying how drained she was, but she needed to do this for Vee. With a deep breath, she reached for her inner fire and urged its last embers to spring to life. A tiny fire appeared at the tip of her tail, just big enough for her to burn off the residue, and she quickly ran her fingers through it before dropping the connection.

Although she was now clean, she could no longer feel any fire left.

Eager for something to distract herself with, she opened the door and joined Vee in the kitchen. She had already put together two small bowls of breakfast, and smiled at Amara as she walked over. “Everything okay?” Vee asked.

“Just, um, running some diagnostics,” Amara said.

Vee paused for a second, likely thinking over her words carefully. “ ... How long do we have?” The implications of her question were obvious.

“I don’t know, Vee. What I said earlier in the week was true, I’ve never pushed myself like this. I know for a fact I’m not going to be able to fight anymore, but I have no idea what else might happen to me.” Amara forced a spoonful of food into her mouth, grimacing as she reluctantly chewed.

“I think we should check Lysander again. It’s been a bit since I tried to send a message through, maybe Tessa’s figured something out.”

“What about the reapers? We saw four of them, Vee, and we can barely fight one.”

Vee frowned. “We have to try something, and Lysander is our only chance.”

Amara continued pushing her food around, no longer able to muster the willpower to force another mouthful. “No, you’re right. I’m just scared, I’m not used to being this defenseless.” Surprisingly, Vee reached across the counter and squeezed her arm.

“Hey, you’ve still got me. We’re not alone.”

With a smile, Amara looked up and met Vee’s gaze. “Thanks, Vequaniel.”

“If it’s okay with you, I’d much prefer Vee. I’m sure this is obvious, but I’m not a big fan of my name,” Vee said. She had just finished her food, and was throwing on a jacket so they could head out. Amara jumped at the excuse to avoid eating anymore.

“Why’s that? I mean, it’s a bit atypical, but it’s certainly fun and unique,” Amara asked.

They closed up Vee’s apartment, then continued talking as they headed for Lysander Hall. “It’s, well ... honestly, I’ve had a pretty complicated relationship with my heritage. I know I said earlier that I’m not sure what to feel about it, but that’s not exactly a recent feeling.”

“Shit, really? I thought that was all because of me. I don’t mean to sound full of myself, but the way you were talking...”

“No, that’s a big part of it,” Vee said. “But, even before everything that happened with you, I just had trouble mustering any excitement for being an angel. My whole life, it’s like I’ve just been shuffled from place to place, existing in a weird holding pattern on the off chance my Patron decides to call me to action.”

Amara paused, trying to pick apart Vee’s statement. “Well, what do you want to do with your life?”

“I’m an angel, Amara. I live to serve the Church, and—”

“Fuck the Church, Vee!” Amara looked up and saw Vee looking back in shock. “What about you? Imagine you had no holy duties, no patron, just you. What would you do?”

“I ... I don’t know. No one’s ever asked me that before, not really,” Vee whispered.

Amara jogged closer, eager to have an interesting conversation to distract her from her demonic urges. “Well, they should. You’re more than just your heritage, you matter because you’re a person, just like the rest of us.”

Silence fell again, and Amara started worrying that she might be pushing Vee too far. As a demon, it was presumably much easier for her to speak up against the Church, but she also didn’t want to start mindlessly attacking Vee’s beliefs. When Vee finally responded, she still seemed deep in thought, like she was trying to use her words to sort through her memories.

“I owe them everything, even my life, Amara.”

Amara suddenly remembered how little she knew about Vee. “You know, I’ve been meaning to ask something. Feel free not to answer if I’m crossing a line, but what does being an angel mean? Like, are you from Heaven? You certainly don’t act like a timeless being from beyond the mortal veil.”

After a quick glance, and a reassuring smirk, Vee responded. “The nature of angels has changed quite a bit over the last few thousand years. Originally, all divine beings resided in Heaven, and if there were matters to attend to on Earth, they would just pop down for a quick visit. At first, however, they didn’t have a great way to adapt their forms to be compatible for humans to easily comprehend, and that’s where you get all that ‘be not afraid’ business.”

Vee continued. “Eventually, they decided that it would be helpful to have a continuous presence on Earth, a small collection of holy beings that could help when needed, but were also completely immersed in humanity. This way, instead of trying to adapt to human forms or learn human customs, they could default to local experts.”

“I guess that makes sense. I can’t imagine we have a lot in common with them,” Amara said.

“Long story short, modern angels are more or less mortal. We’re born, live human-standard lifespans, then ascend to Heaven when we die. The big difference is that we exist in a state of Salvation, which gives us a connection to divine magic.”

“I’m sorry, like actual, literal Salvation?”

Vee nodded. “Yup. Traditionally, when a mortal dies, their soul is judged and they either ascend to Heaven in Salvation, or descend to Hell in Damnation. It’s kind of like an official classification around which the entire afterlife is built.”

A troubling realization crossed Amara’s mind, and she hesitated briefly before speaking up. “But I’m a demon. Am I Damned? Am I going to Hell when I die?”

“I-I ... well, that’s what the Church says, at least. That’s not something I’m very well-versed in, unfortunately. They only train us to hunt demons, not understand them.”

The thought of guaranteed Damnation was a troubling one, to say the least. Amara had been so focused on her practical concerns that she hadn’t spent a lot of time pondering the existential implications of her recent transformation.

Great, more harrowing thoughts to throw on the pile.

As Amara thought about her possible fate, she caught her eyes wandering over to Vee’s body, appreciating her athletic build and toned figure. She managed to tear her gaze away, and decided she would probably benefit from more conversation as a distraction. “So, what about you? Is your dad actually an archangel or something?”

“No, my parents are both humans. After they got married, they tried for a while to have a kid, but it just wasn’t working. They’ve always been pretty religious, and against all odds, their prayers were literally answered. A divine being, my Patron, performed a miracle on their behalf. They were finally able to conceive, but with the understanding that I would be an agent of God. Once I was old enough, the Church sat me down, explained what I was, and my training began.”

Amara half-heartedly chuckled to herself. “Must have been nice, having all the answers.”

The girls were now approaching Lysander Hall, making sure to pick the entrance opposite the Quad. Before pushing into the building, Vee looked back at Amara, gently grabbing her arm. “I’m sorry you’ve had it so rough, Amara. Maybe, when this is all over, I’ll help you figure out where you came from.”

“You know, that honestly sounds really nice.” Amara smiled at Vee, who returned the gesture before releasing Amara’s arm. “Now, friendly reminder, but I’m kinda useless right now. If we find danger, I can’t do anything but run back to your place.”

“I’ll go first, you stay close behind me.” Vee turned towards the entrance, then hesitated before asking, “You don’t need help, like, walking around, do you?”

“Not yet. I lose my senses first, then my ability to sleep, and then I—” Amara paused, her eyes briefly glancing at Vee’s hips, “I start losing focus. Things like that. If I take any more hits, though...”

“Yeah, let’s try to avoid that.”

Knowing there was nothing else to prepare, Amara and Vee entered Lysander Hall.

Tessa yawned, her mouth stretching wide open as she closed her eyes. She normally covered her mouth as well, but she couldn’t pull her hands off the illusory wall in front of her. The contact technically wasn’t necessary to pull down the illusion, but she found it helped her concentrate.

After her conversation with Nick yesterday, she’d stayed up all night to study the runes of the Lysander Circle. It had taken her longer than usual to put together a working theory, and she had no idea what to blame. Many of her thoughts had been preoccupied with Nick, lingering on everything they’d talked about. Facts about her life that she hadn’t shared with anyone in years.

It wasn’t completely Nick’s fault, though. She was also working with unfamiliar magic. Not only were the circle runes ancient, but she was planning more extensive modification than last time.

She yawned again, just as the wall in front of her vanished, when she heard Nick knock on the staircase door behind her. After a quick pulse of magic that shook the door twice, their agreed signal that everything was okay, he opened the door and closed the distance. Most importantly, he had two large cups of coffee in his hands, and the smell alone began to perk Tessa up.

“You’re lucky the coffee place is right above us,” Nick said, taking a sip of his drink. “How late were you up, anyways?”

“Doesn’t matter. Gimme!” Tessa grabbed her coffee, eagerly taking a few large gulps. The warmth, and the caffeine, flooded her body as she sighed with relief. “Fuck, that’s the stuff. Alright, get inside, I need to pull the wall back up.”

“Wait, like, while we’re inside?” Nick asked.

“Yes, while we’re inside. If my first attempt doesn’t quite work, I’ll need time to iterate on my ideas until I can figure it out. We can’t risk someone wandering down here and catching me again.”

Nick walked past the threshold, making his way to the back corner while carefully avoiding the runic circle on the floor. “Again?”

Tessa’s tattoos flared as she began reaching for the magic of the illusory wall, and she started the process to pull it back into existence. “This is where Brandon first found me out. Fucker had been stalking me and walked in while I was taking down the wall for the first time.” Another minute passed before the wall reappeared, at which point Tessa set her backpack down and pulled out her magic notes.

“So, what exactly are we trying here?” Nick set his coffee down as he readjusted, now sitting on his knees as he watched Tessa.

“We know that Vee and Amara are in Purgatory, but we don’t know how they got there. The first thing I did after pinpointing their location was scour the campus for a portal, but I couldn’t find anything, which means whatever pulled them through was a temporary anomaly. Normally, creating a portal would take way more magic and knowledge than I have, but thankfully, I don’t have to work from scratch. This circle is connected to Purgatory, but that connection was initially used to build part of the Planar Gate. Since the Gate is now down, I’m hoping I can use that connection to build a bridge.”

“It sounds so easy when you say it like that,” Nick said with a smirk.

“Yeah, well, I’m dumbing it down so you can understand. You want to start pouring over all the runic symbols with me? Help craft equations to create stable interplanar travel?”

“Look, I know you’re joking, but that honestly sounds kind of interesting. If we weren’t racing the clock, I’d ask you to show me the basics.”

Tessa was crawling around on all fours at this point, her magic exploring the circle, and she paused to look at Nick. “Even if I did, you wouldn’t be able to do anything with that knowledge. You need basic runic tattoos like mine to even interact with any of this shit.”

“Who said I wanted to do magic? Maybe I’m just fascinated by the way everything fits together. If nothing else, I might be able to give you someone to bounce theories off of.”

“Oh my god, you’re such a nerd. Why are we friends again?” Tessa asked, rolling her eyes.

“Presumably because you’re dating Amara,” Nick said, his voice light and playful.

His comment, however, pulled Tessa away from her task. Her tattoos faded, and her vision blurred as she lost focus on the task at hand. A strange feeling had just appeared in her gut, something that didn’t quite feel right. When she responded, her voice was quiet, almost hesitant. “We’re not dating, Nick. We just ... hook up occasionally.”

The change in tone seemed to catch Nick off guard. “Oh, I just assumed with all the time you’ve been spending together ... Do you not like her like that?”

“The sex is amazing. It’s unreal how good she is at pulling orgasms out of me,” Tessa said flatly.

Nick carefully placed a hand on the circle, waited a second, then slid himself closer. “Tess, what is it? I sense a ‘but’ coming.” He settled in next to her, his voice growing soft with concern.

“It’s nothing, really.” Tessa sniffed, scratching her nose briefly as she tried to push Nick away. When she looked over at him, however, his eyes were locked on her, their gaze unyielding. He stayed silent, but she knew exactly what he was saying. “I just, ugh, I don’t mean— it’s not like I don’t like her! I think it’s just like what you two have, there’s no romantic feelings.”

Another few seconds passed, and when Nick moved again, it was to put a hand on Tessa’s shoulder. “Tess, there’s something you’re not telling me.”

Tessa’s breathing quickened, and memories returned to her unbidden. Flashes of the ritual, of Amara’s bloodlust. Her claws covered in blood, her victims scattered into pieces. The remaining cultists they’d found after, their bodies drained of life. “You didn’t see her that night, Nick. You didn’t see the people she fucked before the ritual.”

“What did she do to them?”

“I don’t know, Nick! According to her, she just fed on them a little more enthusiastically, but they looked sick. Their skin was pale, their bodies weak, and they were terrified of her. And, ever since that night, she’s been getting rougher than usual when we fuck.”

“And you’re scared she might do the same to you?”

“No! I mean ... fuck, I don’t know. She’s my friend, I trust her, but that night just made me realize how much she’d changed. What if this isn’t the end? If she’s getting rougher in bed, how do I know she won’t accidentally take too much eventually?”

“I understand where you’re coming from, Tess, and I wish I had an answer, but I don’t.” Nick took a deep breath, then squeezed her shoulder. “You remember that week I took off school? That wasn’t a family thing, I just got overwhelmed with everything that was happening with Amara and needed to get away for a bit. I’ve never been very religious, but when we figured out she was a demon, it shook me.”

Tessa looked up, surprise in her voice. “Really? You still kept fucking her, though. Clearly you weren’t that worried.”

“I just decided to trust her. I’d already slept with her multiple times, and I didn’t feel any different. We could spend all day worrying about the future, about what might happen, but I’d much rather focus on the now. She’s my best friend, and from what I can tell, she has yet to hurt anyone other than a cultist or a stalker. If she’s ever at risk of changing too much, the best chance we have at pulling her back is to stick with her. We’re stronger together, Tessa.”

They both fell silent again, Tessa unsure what to say. She’d never known that Nick had his own doubts about Amara, and her own feelings suddenly felt a bit more valid. Yet, in spite of his concerns, Nick had still been a bastion of reliability for Amara, continuing to sleep with her and help her practice her abilities. From what Tessa remembered from various conversations with Amara, Nick had single-handedly helped her through almost every change in her transformation.

What if my distrust of Amara is what pushes her over that edge? Nick is right, if we don’t give her everything we have, what chance does she have?

“Plus,” Nick said, breaking the silence, “it’s pretty damn hot to fuck a succubus in the ass.”

Tessa snorted loudly, unable to hold back her laughter. All her nervous thoughts vanished in a second, and she had to hold her stomach as the laughter refused to stop. Nick moved her coffee away from her, just in case, and after a minute she managed to pull herself together. “Fuck, Nick, I didn’t think you had it in you. Wow.”

He held up Tessa’s coffee, then said, “How about we get back to the circle, huh? Amara’s strong, but I don’t think she can rip holes between planes quite yet.”

With a resolute nod, Tessa took a long drink from her coffee, then returned to work. Her tattoos flared to life, and she eagerly began making additional alterations to the circle. She did her best to work slowly, to make sure that each change she made was applied carefully. After seeing the disastrous results from the cult’s changes, she knew precision was of the utmost importance.

After roughly an hour had passed, she felt confident enough to make her first attempt. “Alright Nick, ready to give this thing a spin?” she asked.

“Wait, do you have to turn it on? I thought these things were always active.”

“Um, yes and no. It’s not inactive, necessarily, but an active portal requires additional magic. Normally circles like these are self-sustaining, but that would require additional time that I simply don’t have. Think of it like a bike; I’ve got all the gears in place, but I’ll still need to pedal.”

Nick shuffled back into the corner again, making sure everything he had was off the circle. Tessa did the same, then carefully kneeled by the edge and placed her hands on the ground. She took a deep breath, connected with her magic, and reached for the circle. She focused on her breathing, keeping it steady as she observed how her magic was interacting with the circle. She felt it move through the runes, lighting them up one by one, and soon she felt the magic start to click.

She kept pushing, putting all her energy into maintaining a consistent, steady flow of magic. After the first few seconds, as the circle continued to glow brighter, she started to see shapes appear in the space above the circle. Strange red lines at harsh angles, collected on the floor, all stemming from a darker, indistinguishable mass.

“Shit, Tessa, are you seeing this?” Nick asked.

Tessa nodded quickly but didn’t dare respond. She kept feeding the circle magic, knowing she only needed a few more seconds of concentration. The strange shapes atop the circle grew brighter, more defined, and she began to figure out what she was looking at. The red lines solidified into two large wings and a tail, the dark mass at the center suddenly had recognizable brown hair. With one last push, Tessa gave the circle the last bit of magic it needed, then she gasped and fell backwards.

Her gasp seemed to catch Amara’s attention, as she looked up in surprise. “Hello? Is someone there?” the demon asked.

Amara was sitting on the floor while leaning against the back wall, her various extra limbs collected in front of her. As Tessa looked up, she saw why Amara’s figure had initially looked so confusing; only the parts of her directly over the circle were visible. Knowing what this probably meant, Tessa jumped to her feet and walked closer. “Amara! Fucking hell, you’re alive!”

“Holy shit, Tessa?! Vee, get over here!” Amara said, gesturing to the space behind Tessa. “What’s happening on your side? Is everyone safe?”

Nick spoke up next, his usually calm voice now raw with emotion. “Amara!” He ran into the circle, falling to his knees as she tried to embrace Amara, but when he moved forward, he instead fell to the ground. His entire body phased through Amara’s, and he had to catch himself to avoid hitting the back wall.

“Okay, that’s not a good sign,” Vee said, suddenly appearing in the circle. She gestured to the magic surrounding them before directing her gaze at Tessa. “This is your work, I presume?”

“Yeah, once I saw your magic in the circle, I tried to figure out a way to reverse engineer its magic to create a bridge. I must have messed up, though, because it doesn’t look like we can touch each other.” To prove her point, Tessa playfully threw a punch at Vee, only to watch it pass harmlessly through her arm.

“And it looks like we can only see each other if we’re over the circle. This is really fucking impressive, Tess, but it doesn’t look like we’ll be coming home today.” Amara started to stand up, then quickly faltered. She stumbled forward, catching herself on the floor in front of her, and began panting heavily. Shockingly, Vee was at her side in seconds, wrapping a hand around her waist before helping her to her feet.