Disclaimer:Victorious characters are not mine

They all came into the foyer . . .

"How did you know . . . "?

"I saw that you took the demonology book from my office," Soheila said. "I was at Liz's house telling her when the wind came up."

"And I saw the animals breaking from the forest and then heard the wind," Diana said, handing me her damp down coat. "I called Liz right away and she confirmed it was coming from Honeysuckle House."

"We knew you were using Angus's spell for banishing succubae," Liz said handing me her coat, which gave off a spark of electricity.

"I could have told you that the spell has its drawbacks," Soheila said. "It certainly should never be used by the person possessed by the succubus."

"I am not possessed," I said huffily. I was going for righteous, but since I was weighed down by the heavy coats I sounded more like an aggrieved housemaid. Or, I realized as the women exchanged pitying looks, a dope addict in denial.

As we sat around the kitchen table I finally broke the silence.

"What are you three? Witches?"

Diana laughed. "Well Liz is. She's one of the most powerful witches I've ever met." Diana smiled lovingly at the dean and I wondered why it had taken me so long to realize they were a couple. Apparently my gaydar was working about as well as my witch-dar. "But me, I'm just a garden variety fairy."

"Oh my dear, there's nothing garden variety about you." Elizabeth slipped her arm around Diana's narrow shoulders. "Diana is from the ancient line of Sidhe, who have tended to the Fairy Queen for time immemorial."

"I see," I said, surprised at how un-surprised I was. "And you Soheila – are you a fairy or a witch?"

"Oh neither," Soheila said, smiling. "I'm a demon."

Seeing the expression on my face she laughed.

"Oh daemon, as the more politically correct of my tribe call themselves now."

"Soheila, you really mustn't be shy about your origins. Soheila is descended from a great Mesopotamian wind spirit . . ."

"Really, Liz, I don't think it's necessary to go into that right now. The important thing for Tori to know is that most of us are no more dangerous than the fairies – although that's not really saying much. We can discuss genus and species later when we have more time. I'm afraid all you've managed to do with your spell is rile up your Succubus. We've got our work cut out for us."

Soheila was clearly the most impatient of the three to get on with banishing the Succubus. Maybe it took a demon to know what one was capable of, but I had a bunch of questions of my own.

"Is the whole faculty made up of fairies and witches and-" I still felt a little uncomfortable calling Soheila a demon "-other supernatural creatures?"

"No." Dean Book replied with a straight face, " We have vampires as well dear, but there are a few who are human like Mr. Harris for instance."

Before I could even respond to that Soheila started talking again.

"The succubus seems to know how to keep her victims alive for a long time. The Fairy Queen used to use her for pleasure and then when the Fairy Queen grew weak she used to banish the succubus to the Borderlands for a little while."

"Sounds a little mean," I said . . .

Soheila clucked her tongue.

"You're thinking she is the way she is because of how she's been treated. But you read Angus's letter. This demon killed his sister. Please don't underestimate her. Banishing her is the right thing to do."

Somehow I agreed to let them banish her correctly.

I opened my bedroom door. In the light from the hallway (all the light bulbs in the bedroom had been shattered), the room looked as if a wild animal had ravaged it. Salt, melted wax, and broken glass were strewn across the floor. The bed sheets had been torn from the bed. The mattress had been ripped to shreds. On the wooden headboard were five long gashes that looked like the mark of a clawed beast.

"You certainly made her angry," Soheila said, examining the claw mark. I thought I detected a hint of admiration in her voice. "What did you say to her?"

I tried to remember our little dialogue, but like most lovers' spats it was hard to unwind its logic, if any. Somehow it had gone rather quickly from her asking my name to me getting pissed off at her. Oh yeah, now I remembered.

"I told her that there was more to love than being good in bed."

Soheila's eyes widened. Diana clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh and glanced over towards Elizabeth Book, but the dean was staring at something on the floor.

"I think this is her reply," she said.

I came around the bed and looked at the floor. Written in the salt were two words: what more?

"Fascinating," Soheila whispered. I could barely hear her for the wind roaring through the broken window, it swept the salt and glass across the floor erasing the words – as if suddenly embarrassed by them – and I felt a momentary pang of . . . what? Disloyalty? As if I'd exposed her to the ridicule of these women.

I shook the feeling away. Look at what she's exposed me to! My boss, neighbor and colleague were cleaning up my bedroom, literally picking up the pieces of a supernatural dalliance gone wrong. I hardened my heart to her and pitched in.

She'd pulled out all the little drawers – all but the locked one – and dumped paperclips everywhere. My notes for my book were scattered on the floor. She should be embarrassed.

What kind of question was that? What more?

While collecting the scattered pages I found the fairy stone and put it in my pocket.

"There's a door to Faerie here-" Diana said, cutting her eyes towards the back of the house "-in the woods."

"As far as we know," Soheila added. "It's the last door to Faerie."

"You see," Elizabeth, said walking over to where Diana was standing, "The Old World witches worshipped the old gods, the horned god . . ."

"Cernunnos," Diana whispered.

"Mithra," Soheila breathed.

"And the Triple Goddess," Elizabeth continued.

"Mother," Diana said.

"Maiden," Soheila echoed.

"And Crone. The people of the town named it Fairwick to celebrate the union of fair folk and the witches." Liz said leaning against the windowsill.

"But then," Diana interrupted, "during the Middle Ages the Old Witches were persecuted because they worshiped the Old Gods. Some of the witches renounced their connection with the fey . . ."

"But others came here and reestablished their connection with the fey," Elizabeth continued. "It was decided that the college should be formed to store the knowledge that was accumulated. And to safeguard the door . . ."

"Because not every being that comes through the door is harmless," Soheila said. "The succubus for instances, I tried to get her to go back . . ."

"A century ago?" I asked. "So you're . . ."

"Older than I look," Soheila finished for me. "But even I couldn't make this creature go back into Faeirie. She's very powerful. Angus then tried and died before he could do that . . ." she paused and looked away. Diana laid her hand on her shoulder.

I sat down in the circle between Soheila and Liz. Soheila drew a fresh circle of salt around us, intoning something in Farsi that somehow made the salt stick to the floor despite the wind, and then sat back down next to me. There was a candle in front of each of us. Held down by iron doormice.

"It would be safer if the mice were outside the circle," Soheila said, sounding uncharacteristically irritable. "We would be ironbound."

"But then Diana couldn't be in the circle," Liz snapped. "Just cause you've trained yourself to withstand iron doesn't mean she can. I'm not even sure this is good for her . . ."

"I'm fine," Diana said in a strained imitation of her usual cheerful voice.

We lit our candles and then joined hands.

"The circle is complete," Elizabeth said briskly, as if calling a faculty meeting to order. "Lets keep it that way. Soheila will recite the banishing ritual. The rest of you repeat these words to yourselves: Begone, succubus, I send you away, demon. I cast you into darkness. Keep repeating them and don't let any other thought enter your mind . . ."

Soheila began to speak in Farsi. The words blended into a stream of sound that intertwined with the gusting wind outside, like two rivers meeting. I began reciting the lifesaving yoga mantra:

"Begone succubus, I send you away, demon. I cast you into darkness."

What more? She had asked. Pretending helplessness when anyone would know what more. What about decency and caring and really bothering to see –

"Begone succubus. I send you away, demon. I cast you into – "

-Who was she trying to seduce. Anyone who knew me certainly wouldn't mess with my desk or my papers.

"-darkness. Begone succubus I send you-"

Any woman worth her salt would know that talking was at least as important as lovemaking. She'd share something of herself, too.

"-into darkness begone succubus I send you away demon I cast you-"

Although maybe that is what she's been doing by showing me those dreams about fairies marching. I'd asked her, "Who are you?" and the sex dreams had stopped and the marching dreams had begun.

Is that what you were trying to do? Tell me who you are?

A particularly fierce gust of wind blew against me, but it wasn't cold. Although snow was now covering the heads and shoulders of my circle mates and ice had formed over the broken glass in the windowpanes, the wind that lapped against my face was warm as a Caribbean breeze. Yessss, it crooned into my ear, sending hot waves down to my toes.

I want to know you and for you to know me. You and I have known each other before.

I laughed out loud. It was the oldest line in the book: don't I know you from somewhere?

But even as I laughed an image was blooming inside my head – the rolling heath, the long line of travelers, my companions fading into mist before we could reach the door . . . because Riders were going through first . . . and then the one horse coming back. For me. She was coming back for me. Then we were in the glade – our wedding chapel – making love. But then someone was calling her. "No," I cried out – in my dream and in the Honeysuckle House, "don't leave me!" but she was already turning, looking over her shoulder, at her. The woman in green on the dark horse who bade her to come and she dared not disobey.

My eyes snapped open.

You left me for that . . .

I couldn't help myself, Tori. She was the Fairy Queen. The warm coil wound itself down the neck of my shirt and caressed my breast. I wrenched my right hand out of Liz's hand and slapped it away.

"Get out!" I hissed. "I never want to see you again."

For one moment the warm air turned into a hand and grasped mine, but I let it go – as she did mine so long ago – and then the coiled air snapped back like a rubber band and hit the window, shattering what was left of the glass. It whipped against the house and then into the woods. I heard trees snapping and something exploded.

I heard one last moan soughing through the woods.

Then everything went quiet.