Welcome, one and all, to the very first chapter of Book Three! I'm so incredibly happy that everyone loved the ending of Book Two, its reception honestly blew me away. This Book starts directly after the last one, so if you're a new reader, I'd recommend getting caught up on everything that's already been posted. For everyone else, let's get started!
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The underground complex was eerily quiet. Just a few minutes earlier, the hallways had been filled with the sounds of fighting, hellfire explosions and collapsing portals. Now, Amara led the search through the myriad hallways, trying to retrace her steps back to the room she'd originally been summoned to.
"I know it's around here somewhere, just gimme a sec," Amara said.
"How do you not remember?" Tessa asked. "It was like, half an hour ago!"
"I was a little preoccupied trying to stop the ritual! Besides, if I'd taken the extra time to memorize the route, who knows what would have happened to you two." They checked another room, this one as empty as the rest, and Amara groaned in frustration. She leaned up against a nearby wall, tapping her head against it as she grumbled. "Stupid cult, these hallways make no sense..."
"How about we head back to the main chamber, and start from the beginning again?" Tessa said, gesturing behind her.
"Yeah, fine, we might as well." Amara pushed off the wall, stretching her arms high above her head. Her back cracked in a few places, and she sighed with relief. When she started walking again, she caught Vee adamantly avoiding her gaze. "Something wrong, Vee?"
"Yes! I mean, no, it's fine, just... do you have to walk around naked like that?" Vee said, staring at a nearby wall.
"I do, actually. Brandon made me burn my clothes. Besides, I've got my exoskeleton...armor... thing. That's covering up all the important bits, right?" Amara looked down at herself, inspecting the various chitinous plates that covered her body. "Though, I suppose this is a little revealing..."
After pausing for a second, Amara manifested more blackened protective material around her body. Previously, her more sensitive areas had been covered by only the tiniest slivers of chitin, and now it looked more like she was wearing a strange bikini.
"How's that? Better?" Amara asked.
Vee hesitated for a moment, then finally looked over at Amara. "That's... fine, I guess."
Amara playfully tapped Vee on the arm, then walked past her and started heading back towards the main chamber. As they walked, Tessa spoke up again. "What even is our plan here? I told you, the best thing to do is leave everything alone."
"Tessa, dozens of people are dead!" Vee said. "And without any bodies, no one is going to know what happened. You honestly think it's best to not do anything? Let everyone think that they simply vanished without a trace?"
"Uh, yeah! This happens all the time when magic gets involved. Shit happens."
"Ignoring the missing people for a moment, what about the cultists that didn't vanish?" Amara said. "There's probably two of them around here somewhere, and Mr. Luxnor was in the cult for a while too. What if someone starts looking into the disappearance? If we do nothing, how can we ensure that those cultists don't spill the beans about us?"
"What, you think we can convince them to play along? Why would they?" Vee asked.
"Oh, I'm not worried about that." Amara cracked her knuckles, sparks of hellfire flying off them. "I'll make sure of it."
"Even if we do this," Tessa started, "what would the cover story even be? And again, for the record, I'm against us getting involved."
"We're already involved, Tessa." Vee said, rolling her eyes. "But... that's a good point."
The three girls went quiet for a moment, and after a few moments of silent walking, Amara spoke up. "What if we told the truth?"
"Ha! Good one!" Tessa said, laughing. "Wait, please don't tell me you're serious."
"Not the whole truth, we leave out the magic parts. We wait a couple days, let everyone start to wonder about the missing people, and then the remaining cultists come forward to make a statement. They admit to being part of a cult, but say they quit after realizing that some sketchy ideas were being floated. The last thing they heard, the cult was planning some kind of trip over Thanksgiving weekend, and the assumption was that they weren't coming back. Let everyone assume it was, like, mass suicide or something."
"That's... hm. I don't hate it," Vee said, furrowing her eyebrows as she thought. "It would be the easiest lie to spin, since it's pretty much all true."
"Plus," Amara said, looking at Tessa, "It gives us a way to spit on Mr. Wellington's legacy. He doesn't deserve to be remembered as anything other than a slimy prick that caused the deaths of dozens of people."
"Ooh, that's the most convincing thing I've heard all night. Alright, fine, I'm in," Tessa said.
Soon enough, with all three girls now helping, they managed to find their way back to the small chamber that Amara had been summoned to earlier tonight. Just as Amara had predicted, two of the cultists that had previously tried to take advantage of her were still inside.
They had both gotten dressed, but for some reason, hadn't bothered doing anything else. They were both sitting on the floor, breathing heavily, and they looked up nervously as Amara entered the room. The other girls followed close behind her, and Tessa spoke up when she walked inside.
"Oh dang, I've seen these guys around campus. What happened to them? They look like shit."
With a closer look, Amara saw what Tessa was referring to. Both guys were still panting, and their skin also appeared somewhat pale. It almost looked like they were sick, with slightly thinner faces and sweat on their brows.
