Return of the Runebound Professor

As it turned out, when somebody fainted while Noah was still in their soul, it served as a rather effective boot to the ass.

The moment Alexandra lost consciousness, Empty Proliferation’s power shattered. A sea of inky black darkness exploded up from Noah’s feet and swallowed him whole, yanking him away and back to his own mind before he could even try to check on her.

The scent of burnt wood and dirt greeted his nostrils. In the time it took his eyes to snap back open in the Scorched Acres, Alexandra had already recovered.

She sat up just a moment after him, blinking furiously as she looked around. The girl’s gaze focused on him and he gave her a sheepish grin in response.

“Sorry,” Noah said. “That was a bit much.”

“A bit much,” Alexandra muttered, massaging her temple and letting her head thunk back against the ashy tree trunk behind her. Its branches rustled and she let out a pained yelp. “Shit! That hurt!”

“No more Body Runes. Compared to what you were, you’re quite fragile right now. You need to be careful.” Noah clambered to his feet and brushed the ash and dirt off his pants. He cleared his throat. “Not that I’ve been helping much there.”

“Not helping is an understatement,” Alexandra said, letting her hands drop. She gingerly pushed herself upright. They’d only been under Empty Proliferation’s magic for a few minutes, and it looked like nobody had really noticed what was going on.

Moxie and Lee had everyone’s rapt attention on them. The two seemed to be midway through a somewhat exaggerated retelling of what had happened in the Damned Plains. Lee was eagerly gesturing with the giant black axe that she’d taken from Axil, forcing everyone to keep a fair amount of distance from her to avoid getting cut in half.

Wait. Where did she get that thing? I remember her taking it from Axil back in Treadon, but I can’t quite place the last time I saw it. She didn’t have the axe back when we were in Sievan’s domain, did she? So where did it—

Lee overcommitted to a demonstrational swing. The axe launched from her grip like a massive boomerang, whumping through the air and flying over the treetops. Everyone turned to watch it vanish into the horizon.

“Oops,” Lee said.

“Didn’t you steal that from a Death Demon?” Isabel asked with a wince. “Maybe we should go get it? It seems pretty valuable.”

“Oh, it’s fine.” Lee gave Isabel a thumbs up. “It always comes back.”

Todd’s eyes darted around and he raised his hands defensively. “You mean like… immediately? Is it about to come flying through the trees and chop one of us in half?”

“No,” Lee said. “It just pops up. Don’t worry about it. I’ve done that at least four times already.”

When!?

A poorly suppressed snicker broke through Alexandra’s lips and she shook her head before running a hand through her hair. “I’m really going to have to be careful. I don’t suppose you’re going to drop any more revelations on me? Because if you do, I’ll need to sit down to avoid a traumatic head injury.”

“That’s it.” Noah hesitated for a moment. “I think. I might have forgotten something.”

“Well, keep it to yourself for a while unless I really need to hear it.” Alexandra blew a strand of hair up with a huff. “I’ve got enough to piece through already as it is. I’ll work on trying to figure out how to do that thing you mentioned to me… preferably without killing myself.”

“Always a good idea. That’s kind of my whole thing, so I’d be offended if someone crimped my style.” Alexandra stared at him like he’d started speaking a new language. Evidently, not every single English word was going to translate properly. Noah cleared his throat and shook his head as she waited for an explanation. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just rambling. Off with you. Go listen to Lee regale you with mostly accurate tales.”

“…and then they blew up a noble demon’s mansion with a giant plant,” Lee said, throwing her hands over her head to emphasize the size of the supposed explosion.

How’d she find out about that one?

Alexandra glanced at Noah out of the corners of her eyes. “Did that really—”

“It’s close enough.”

The girl shook her head and wandered back over to the other students, her mind still clearly lingering on their conversation. There was definitely a lot for her to take in. Noah was pretty sure he’d gone just a bit overboard. He’d been too eager to get her up to speed.

I’ll have to do much the same with others, but at least Todd, Isabel, and Emily all know a fair amount about me already. Emily doesn’t know the complete story, but she’s got a good bit of it. James… well, I’ll find out how much he already knows from Emily.

I haven’t seen that madman Revin in a while, but who knows if he’s swung by to say something to James since I’ve been gone. Not sure if I can completely trust him yet. We’ll see.

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A leaf crunched to Noah’s side.

The thump of a staff met his ears as Silvertide stepped out from the treeline and came to a stop beside him. They were both silent for several long moments. The elderly soldier studied Noah out of one eye.

Then he broke the silence.

“You took my advice.”

“Your advice?”

“Your eyes,” Silvertide said, tapping the side of his face. “When you left, you moved like a soldier these were of a kinder man. You’ve changed. Was that the Damned Plains?”

“Ah. That advice. Yeah. I took it to heart. When I took a moment to weigh every possibility, I realized that there were some things that I was willing to do anything to accomplish… but it wasn’t the Damned Plains that changed me. They were just a place, no different than here.”

“Truly? That’s a bold claim. The Inquisitors would say that the Damned Plains are a land of horror and torture. A world of agony where demons rip each other to pieces without restraint.”

“Well, they probably wouldn’t be entirely wrong about the ripping each other to pieces bit. I wouldn’t say the Damned Plains were a great place. But the people there — the demons are no different than us. They just want to live. Not all of them are trying to destroy the world.”

“You will have a difficult time convincing the Inquisitors of that.”

“I’ve never been much a fan of the Inquisitors. They and I don’t see eye to eye.”

“That may be so, but they carry a great deal of power in the kingdom. There are many people that fear what a powerful demon could do should they manage to get a good foothold on the mortal plane. You will have trouble from them.”

“Only if they find out about our new friends before I’m ready for them.”

Silvertide planted his staff in the ground and crossed his arms, leaning against it. “Do you really think they didn’t feel the massive portal you opened to return to the mortal plane? They will come, Vermil. As surely as you and I breathe, they will come. And I suspect you will kill them.”

If they try to go after Lee or any of my other friends, then you’re damn right I will. Probably best not to admit that, though. I like Silvertide. I like him, but he’s still an instructor at Arbitage. His loyalty is to Isabel and Todd, not me.

“Bah. I’m just a Rank 4. I couldn’t—”

A soft laugh bubbled up from Silvertide’s chest. He shook his head. “No, Vermil. You are not. I have not gotten to this age without becoming an observant man. Your Runes may be Rank 4… but you are no Rank 4. A Rank 4 could not command the respect you do from a group of powerful demons.”

Noah kept his expression flat. He highly doubted the old man had any plans of doing anything that could put Isabel at Todd at a risk, nor did he think Silvertide would turn him in to the inquisitors. He had an angle. “Is there a reason you’re mentioning this?”

“I know you are strong,” Silvertide said. “But will you be strong enough? You call great danger, not just upon yourself, but all of your students. The Inquisitors will not be careful when they come to purge those who they believe to be demons.”

It was a while before Noah responded. “Yes. I will be strong enough — and when the Inquisitors come looking, I fear they will find nothing.”

“You truly think you can hide the demons from the Inquisitors? They have been training to find demons since before you were born.”

Noah let out a burst of laughter. The old man sent him a surprised look, but Noah shook his head and held a hand up until he’d gathered himself. “I highly doubt that, Silvertide. They will find nothing. Because, unlike them, I actually know demons. I know what makes them what they are… and I know how to change that.”

“A new type of demon. The girl wasn’t being metaphorical, then,” Silvertide murmured, his eyes burning with inner light, and Noah realized that this was the answer that the old soldier had been fishing for ever since they’d started their conversation.

“No. She wasn’t,” Noah said. He didn’t see any reason to hide it from Silvertide. “I determined what caused demons to have their detrimental affixation with a single feeling or aspect of life, and I can repair it.”

“So all the demons here…”

“Not all fixed. Not yet — but they will be.”

“And this makes them… docile?”

“It makes them who they were meant to be. Are you docile?”

Silvertide’s lips pulled up in a smile. “No. And there are few who are foolish enough to believe otherwise. I see your point, Vermil. I take it that you have great confidence in these demons, then. You are defensive of them.”

“I do. They are my students, just like Isabel and Todd. Many of them are children. They deserve to live just as much as anyone else does.”

“I believe you, for some odd reason. I would act with haste, then. The Inquisition will not wait long. They will have doubtlessly felt your arrival. If there is something you must do to ensure they cannot find your people, then I would do it soon.”

Noah nodded. That was good advice, and it was already well within his plans. “I will, right after Jalen brings everyone back to Arbitage. The demons and I will remain in the forest. And, as far as Arbitage is concerned, I will remain dead.”

“I had thought you might. Do not worry. My mouth is sealed. But, if I may ask, how do you plan to resume normality? Not just with the demons, but for Isabel and Todd. The noble houses—”

“Are welcome to try me.”

“You could need a small army to fight them off if the full truth gets out. Isabel’s Master Rune could mean war.”

A cold smile slipped across Noah’s face as his thoughts drifted to the demons that he’d left back in the Damned Plains — but not without task. Sievan had been kind enough to help him out with a few things. It would take some time, but he was pretty confident that his name would carry a lot of the work for Pirren.

After all, Spider might have left the Damned Plains, but that didn’t mean the demons knew that. Recruitment was going to be at an all time high after news of his meeting with the Lord of Death got out.

“If its war they want, then I think they’ll find that I’m more than ready for it.”

Silvertide’s gaze bore into Noah. “You’re being serious. Just how powerful are you, Vermil?”

“I’d imagine we’ll have the misfortune of finding out soon enough,” Noah replied. “But, until then, I have a few demons to repair. I hope you don’t mind the interruption.”

“Mind?” Silvertide arched an eyebrow. “You’d have to knock me out if you wanted me to look away. Fixing a demon. Bah. You’re talking about the discovery of a century. The next best thing would be to tell me that you’ve found a way to cure death itself.”

The corner of Noah’s lip twitched.

For myself, sure. For others… hmm. Maybe one day.

Silvertide didn’t miss it.

“What was that? Was that a smirk?”

“Curing death,” Noah said through a snort. He shook his head and turned on his heel, heading toward the others. “What a ridiculous concept. Nobody is immortal. Now let’s go fix some demons, shall we?”

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