Suddenly A Succubus
Chapter 26.4

Vee was doing her best not to panic, trying to control her breathing. She was doing everything she could to keep tabs on the situation around her, but staying calm was difficult given the circumstances. After surrendering themselves, the cultists had taken her and Tessa to the main chamber, where they were being closely monitored. One cultist had even supplied small lengths of rope, which had been used to bind the girls’ hands together. Vee could hear Tessa muttering under her breath, berating the cultist for his poor shibari technique, but that was the least of Vee’s concerns.

Around them, the chamber was bustling with activity. Candles had been scattered against the far walls, and the lights above had been turned off. Vee tried to focus on counting all the people present, hoping to figure out how many humans still remained in their ranks. Unfortunately, without expending more magic, it was difficult to tell with just her senses, despite their heightened state.

Her Enochian Texts had been taken from her, and were now being kept on a small table closer to the magic circle. Vee knew of a dozen different spells that might be helpful at the moment, especially as Amara was nowhere to be seen, but without her book she was virtually powerless. Sure, she had a personal well of angelic magic, but she knew she couldn’t win a fight against dozens of possessed humans. Best case scenario, she would manage to take down a small handful, and the cult would probably decide she was too much trouble to keep alive.

As much as she hated it, she had no choice but to sit and wait. If an opportunity presented itself, she would be ready, but it was better to make the cult think they’d won.

After a few minutes of waiting, the crowd of cultists began softly chanting to themselves. They formed a large ring, surrounding the magic circle in the center of the chamber, which was pulsing with hellish energy. A figure emerged from a side entrance, and he pulled his hood down to reveal himself as their leader: Sebastian Wellington. Though Vee had only seen him once before, during their fight in the Dean’s office, she could tell he was exceptionally smug at the moment.

“At long last, our time has come! We’ve dispatched those who seek to stop us, and there is nothing left to stand in our way!” The crowd of robed cultists cheered, and Mr. Wellington allowed them several seconds of revelry before gesturing for them to grow quiet once more. He walked across the chamber, carefully avoiding the magic circle, and soon he’d arrived in front of Vee and Tessa. “We even have the perfect gift for tonight’s visitor. I’ll admit, I was worried when I realized we had an angel on our tail, but you proved to be horribly inept. Had I known that heaven’s righteous warriors were this pathetic, I would have taken you out back in that office.”

Vee glared at the cult leader, refusing to give him the satisfaction of hearing her talk. When the silence continued for a few more seconds, Mr. Wellington clearly got the hint and refocused his attention on the ritual. “Tonight, we take our final steps towards salvation, as we herald in my own ascension! Once my eyes are opened, just as many of you have experienced, we can take the first steps towards our new future!”

With another rapturous cheer, Mr. Wellington took a deep breath and stepped onto the magic circle. Though he was still fully clothed, Vee could see dozens of magical runes had been carved into his body, and they were now glowing brightly. He began speaking in a language Vee couldn’t understand, his body producing unholy sounds that defied the limitations of the human body. Underneath his feet, the magic circle began glowing brighter and brighter, and the ground seemed to blur as the magic intensified. Waves of hellish energy poured from the circle, and the sickening smell of sulfur assaulted Vee’s delicate senses.

The cult leader rose off the ground, now suspended in mid-air as unnatural tendrils of magic latched onto his body. Although Vee had never seen such a ritual before, she’d been exposed to the demons that had previously come through, and one thing was obvious; whatever creature Mr. Wellington was summoning would be significantly more threatening.

Vee began looking around, forcing herself to tear her eyes away from the sickening display of magic in front of her. She was still waiting for a chance to strike back, and this ascension ritual might be the perfect distraction. There were four cultists standing guard around her and Tessa, and she knew they carried lengthy daggers; she’d seen them earlier when they had been moved to this chamber. Two cultists were guarding the table with her book, which also held Tessa’s switchblade. Other than that, everyone else present had formed a circle around the center of the chamber.

As she started putting together a plan, trying to find the best way to break free of her guards, she saw something race out of the hallway behind the other group of cultists. It was moving incredibly fast, and before she could identify what it was, it charged the two men watching her Enochian Texts. Some kind of lance burst through the chest of the first cultist, lifting him into the air before throwing him aside. As his body hit the floor, Vee saw a twisted shadow leave him; the demon inside likely being forced back to Hell due to the death of its host.

Whatever creature had killed the cultist then grabbed the small table and jammed it against the second guard. The protective magic of her Enochian Texts activated, sending powerful angelic magic into the possessed body of the cultist. The creature kept moving, using the table to push the cultist closer towards Vee, eventually pinning him to the ground while he seized in pain.

The table fell to the ground, and before it landed entirely, the creature had leapt at two of Vee’s guards, blackened claws digging into their throats. She decided this was her chance to act, but before she could start to work on her bindings, they disintegrated under a concentrated burst of purple hellfire. She leapt to her feet, whispering a quick prayer to summon her sword and plunging it into the heart of the possessed guard next to her. Tessa had also leapt into action, her tattoos flaring as she pinned the last of the cultists to the ground, her switchblade forcing the demon inside to retreat back to hell.

The rest of the cult had just started responding to this new chaos, but they hadn’t closed the distance quite yet. Vee took a split second to examine this creature that had just freed them, and realized she was looking at Amara.

Hellfire leapt from her body as she moved, every feature of her glowing in its unnatural light. At first glance, it looked like she was naked; the athletic outfit she’d been wearing previously nowhere to be seen. A closer look revealed that, while much of her body was exposed, her most vulnerable areas had been covered by her strange, demonic exoskeleton. Her breasts were held in place by small strips of chitin, as was her groin, as if she were wearing an infernal lingerie bodysuit. The blackened material also formed around all her limbs, giving her feet and hands terrifying claws, and her tail a formidable blade.

Fear gripped Vee, as she could sense incredible amounts of energy cascading off Amara. The strength now on display dwarfed everything she’d seen on Halloween, and Vee had no idea how much of Amara might still be conscious inside.

However, at the moment, Amara seemed to be focused on keeping her safe, and Vee didn’t bother second guessing her good fortune. She ran for her book, quickly casting another spell to bind it to her hands, then flipped to the necessary page. “I need to cast this closer to the circle!” she yelled. Her words drew Amara’s attention, and she turned to look at Vee. The whites of Amara’s eyes had gone completely black, and her amber irises were glowing brighter than Vee had ever seen. Her gaze was as terrifying as it was awe-inspiring, and she quickly nodded to Vee.

A circle of hellfire erupted around the girls, its heat more intense than any fire Vee had ever felt. When she took a step closer to the magic circle, she noticed that the hellfire moved with her; Amara seemed to be matching her movements.

“Tessa!” Vee shouted, “Help Amara fend everyone off until I get my barrier up!”

“Finally, some real fuckin’ action!” Tessa shouted. Her tattoos flaring, Vee watched the table that Amara had smashed earlier dash through the wall of hellfire. The fire spread to the table, and Tessa took a fighting stance, now armed with her switchblade and a hellfire torch.

A few possessed cultists dared to leap through the flames, and Vee suspected it was incredibly painful. Their bodies were only human, after all, and didn’t gain the fireproof benefits most demons presumably called their own. Amara and Tessa engaged everyone brave enough to jump through the flames, doing their best to buy Vee space while she continued her Enochian chanting. As powerful as Amara was, it was obvious that Vee’s chanting was taking a toll on her, as well as all other demons in the area.

Amara’s movements, previously quick and deadly, were growing sloppy, and even the hellfire barrier had begun faltering. Through one of these gaps, Vee caught a glimpse of the magic circle, and saw they were almost next to it now. In the circle, Mr. Wellington’s body was still hovering, though now he was twitching unnaturally. His skin was darkening, taking on a deep red hue, and Vee swore she saw horns beginning to protrude from his forehead. She had a feeling they didn’t have much time left, and did her best to refocus on her barrier spell.

A cultist tried to charge her from behind, and Amara appeared out of nowhere to tackle him to the ground. Vee heard a sickening crunch, and decided to ignore whatever had just happened.

They forfeit their souls, they’re already dead. Don’t forget that.

Her Enochian chanting continued, and her words began reaching for the space around her as they sought to establish a protective barrier. Vee could tell that the ritual was nearing completion; Mr. Wellington's transformation seemed to be mostly finished, and she tried not to think about what would come next.

Out of the corner of her eye, Vee saw Amara flinch with pain as the Enochian magic grew stronger. The cultist she was engaged with managed to throw her to the ground, but before he could land a strike with his dagger, Tessa’s floating hellfire club shattered against his chest. He staggered backwards, dazed and confused, before stepping into Amara’s hellfire and crumbling to the ground. Amara turned to Vee, fury in her eyes, then screamed “How much longer?”

Vee locked eyes with Amara, fighting every instinct that told her she shouldn’t trust this monster. Amara’s hands were now covered with blood, and again Vee reminded herself of the necessity of their actions. Unable to speak, Vee held up a hand, all five fingers standing tall. One finger fell, then another, and just before her countdown ended, Amara leapt as far away from Vee as she could.

Vee’s spell finished, her Enochian magic roaring to life and leaving her body. Amara’s hellfire vanished, and the two possessed cultists unfortunate to be close to Vee were catapulted across the room. Vee and Tessa were now the only two people left inside the circle. “Tessa, you’re up!” Vee said, turning her attention to the mob forming outside her magic. She saw several cultists attempt to push through only to be violently rejected, but after a few moments of testing, they discovered the trick to the circle. Vee heard them shout to each other, sharing that unpossessed humans could enter freely, and Vee braced herself for a fight.