Suddenly A Succubus

Chapter 64.5

Amara leapt through the thick boundary at the edge of Feith’s influence, focusing intently on Ciara’s cozy little alcove. Branches and twigs snapped under her feet and leaves scattered in her wake, but just like last time, there was surprisingly little resistance to walking through such thick underbrush. When she left the boundary, finding herself in her intended destination, she let out a sigh of relief and looked around.Setting her sights on the opposite end of the alcove, Amara took off. She walked as quickly as she could while also avoiding the countless plush blankets, socks, patches of moss, and other cozy decorations. To be safe, she even apologized to each item she stepped over; she figured she might as well treat anything and everything with respect, just in case.

After making it to the other side, she took a moment to check her own possessions. The bouquet of flowers in her arms seemed just as vibrant as when she first was gifted them, and Nick’s cure still thrummed warmly as it hung against her chest. The small bottle was incredibly warm, and while she sensed hints of her hellfire inside, she dared not reach out for further comfort. The last of the items was one of Tessa’s switchblades. It was tucked into a small pocket in her shorts, and losing it now might make this entire journey pointless.

Content she had everything she needed, she stepped into the boundary. As the underbrush enveloped her, Amara closed her eyes and focused on the first stretch of their journey in The Wilds. Much of those first hours—or possibly days—blurred together; an endless patchwork of wild curiosities, but one encounter stood out from the rest.

The river.

It hadn’t been directly next to Ciara’s domain, but it had been close enough, hadn’t it? If nothing else, she knew it needed to be the next stop.

When she left Ciara’s domain, the forest around her had changed considerably. The countless plants, trees, mosses, insects, and splotches of light surrounding her felt incredibly similar to her first experiences in this plane, which she took as a hopeful sign. Off in the distance, she even heard the familiar roar of the river she’d envisioned as she’d crossed the boundary. She didn’t remember it being that close to Ciara’s alcove, which confused her.

Without second guessing herself, Amara once again charged into the forest. She focused on the sound of the rushing river, envisioned its countless residents racing towards some unknowable destination. As she hiked between the trees and bushes, she continued her earlier practice of speaking to everything she encountered. A small compliment here, a quick apology there. Although unsure if it helped at all, it made her feel just a bit safer about crossing the forest without a guide.

In time, she found the edge of the woods. In front of her, the same river they’d crossed earlier raged with all the same force it had previously, though she saw many new shapes in the water as it passed her way. She saw a massive whale moving at a somewhat slower pace compared to the rest of the river, and even a few jellyfish floating around it.

Instead of stopping to appreciate the view, Amara turned around to start examining the nearby trees. Most of them were completely colored in various patches of multicolored moss and black, oily kudzu, but eventually she found a small patch of exposed bark on a large tree. Puffing up her chest slightly as if to impress it, she approached the tree and kindly placed a hand on it, filling her mind with thoughts of civility and kindness.

“Hi there, friend. I’m trying to return to my home plane, and I’m afraid that means I need to cross this river. Could I possibly ask for your assistance? I’d be incredibly grateful.”

The thick bark shuddered underneath her hand, and moments later the tree groaned and leaned away from her. Heavy, powerful roots rose from the ground, nearly knocking Amara over as she jumped to try and avoid them. The many roots that appeared due to her request extended far across the river, gradually rising higher and higher until they’d once again formed a small tunnel.

“Jackpot!” Amara muttered. Before leaving, she turned back to the tree and added, “Thank you so much! I hope you have a great season!”

Amara nervously stepped closer to the river, memories of its intense force returned to her. Resisting its current had been incredibly difficult even with her demonic strength, so she imagined this crossing was going to be much worse. In preparation, she lightly compressed the bouquet of flowers in her arms and tucked the stems into her cleavage. The bases of the flowers were stickier than she would have liked, but after all the other bullshit she’d gone through, it hardly seemed like that big a deal.

With her hands free, she grabbed the thick root on her right and turned to face the incoming river directly. She held it tight, braced herself for impact, and slowly sidled into the passageway.

Impossibly powerful waves of wind slammed into her, scattering a handful of petals from the flowers as her knuckles turned white from strain. Her hair fluttered back and forth as it pulled at her head, and she reminded herself not to look sideways to avoid blinding herself with her thick locks. She took her first careful step, then her second, and slowly fell into a tedious routine.

Part of her wondered if it would be easier to brace herself against the opposite railing, if she might save energy by not having to pull herself forward, but that thought scared her as well. What would happen if her head snapped backwards into the river?

Caution won out in the end, and she stayed the course. Each step was hard earned, each breath practically impossible against the raging winds. Even the root handles, as crucial as they were to crossing, were far from perfect. Several minutes into her crossing, sharp pain shot through her fingers as she found an unexpectedly coarse bit of wood. She shifted her grip as soon as possible, but the damage done to her hands made the rest of the journey even more agonizing.

Traces of blood pooled beneath her palms, and after several more steps, the texture of the bark shifted once again. This time, instead of unexpectedly sharp, it became as smooth as glass. When coupled with the thin layer of blood underneath her hands, her grip slipped and her feet skidded backwards several feet. Her left foot in particular bumped into something as a result and a loud snapping noise managed to break through the incessant wall of noise and chaos. Leaves opened up beneath her, and a single powerful vine shot up from the disturbed plant.

The tip of the vine pierced her calf, then the leaves reached up to wrap around her foot. Amara screamed in pain, even looking down to try and orient herself against this predation. In the shuffle, a single flower fell from her clothing and disappeared into the water, frustrating Amara even more. She redoubled her grip on the root in front of her, picked up her other foot, and prepared to kick the plant in hopes of breaking herself free.

Amara took a deep breath, gently set her foot down, then tried to shout over the noise of the river. “I’M TERRIBLY SORRY, BUT I’M NOT PART OF THE RIVER! IS THERE ANY CHANCE I COULD ASK YOU TO RELEASE MY FOOT? I THINK YOU’LL BE QUITE UPSET IF YOU TRY TO NOURISH YOURSELF WITH MY BLOOD!!”

Seconds later the plant shivered, and Amara heard a quiet, elegant voice speaking from below. She heard it perfectly clearly, despite the raging river, and it said, “Oh, my most sincere apologies! I panicked when I felt your presence. Off you go, lass!”

The plant twitched briefly, then its leaves opened. The sharp vine pulled out of Amara’s legs, and before it fully retreated into the plant, it produced a tiny adhesive leaf to cover the wound. The pain from the injury dulled immediately, and Amara was then free to pull her foot back into the corridor.

She redoubled her grip on the handles, then set off once more. She lost track of how long she was in the river, instead focusing on simply shuffling her feet inch by inch closer to the opposing shore. When she finally noticed a change in the ground beneath her feet, she dared to look down once more and found the sand had started mixing with dirt. The edge of the corridor was in sight, and with only a few dozen more steps, she emerged safely on the other side.

Before restarting her journey, she turned to look at the river and yelled, “THANK YOU! SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE!”

She allowed herself a few minutes of rest, mainly to check on her bloodied hands and injured foot, but thankfully the damage seemed somewhat minor. As she sat on the soft ground, thoughts of Vee resurfaced, and a pit of worry formed in her stomach. Was Vee okay? Where had she been thrown after the dragon attack? While Amara still believed getting home was the safest bet for reuniting with her love, it was hard to sit in this uncertainty for so long.

Once she’d rallied herself, Amara restarted her hike. She kept her thoughts firmly on the clearing in which she’d first arrived, the one with the magic circle atop the tree trunk, and marched confidently through the woods.

After several hours of monotonous travel, she finally found it. A large clearing filled with blueish-green grass, framed by a perfectly circular ring of trees that Amara now stood at the edge of. Strolling confidently into the clearing, it only took a minute before she’d stepped onto the large trunk, and she sighed with relief as she saw the very same magic circle that had brought everyone to this plane.

Amara reached into her pocket, grabbed Tessa’s switchblade, and flicked open its sharpened edge. In her hands, the familiar magic of her friend hummed softly in the presence of the magic circle, and she kneeled down carefully.

With the blade fully extended, Amara gently placed the knife in the center of the magic circle. She took great care not to disrupt any of the runes with the blade, but Tessa had been very clear that the magic she’d given the knife only worked when extended. Now, the knife acted more or less as a key that would transport Amara home. Magic swirled around the knife, slowly ballooning out further and further as it activated the many runes of this circle. A soft magical hum filled Amara’s ears, growing louder and louder, and once it reached the pinnacle of its power, it vanished.

The world around Amara flashed, transporting her out of The Wilds and back home. The three moons, the unusual song, the multicolored tree leaves, they all vanished. Now, Amara crouched in the middle of a discarded pile of old kitchen appliances. Next to the circle, gathered in a small pile, were the belongings she’d left behind back when this journey first started.