Return of the Runebound Professor

Chapter 128: Noah

Moxie and Contessa stared at Noah in disbelief, though Contessa was considerably more shocked than Moxie was.

“Surprise,” Noah said, holding his hands out to his sides. “The Linwicks didn’t expect it either. Dayton tried to fight back. I broke him.”

“You,” Contessa muttered. “You’re the reason why the plan failed?”

“No.” Noah shook his head. “You are, if you had all your hopes pinned on a bumbling idiot who didn’t deserve his Rank. And the scheme with Evergreen’s scroll – amusing at best. Power is worthless without skill behind it. You actually thought that would work? Any of it?”

Contessa slowly rose to her feet. “I don’t understand. Why did you interfere? What could you possibly get out of any of this?”

“Same reason I killed the Hellreaver,” Noah replied with a shrug. “I wanted to.”

Realization flashed in Contessa’s eyes. “That was you as well? Of course. A demon is strolling around Arbitage and nobody even knows.”

Noah’s hand shot forward. Contessa yelped in terror, but she wasn’t fast enough to avoid Noah’s as he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer. Smoke swirled around his hands as he reached forward and pressed a finger to the back of her neck, allowing the smoke to heat – though not nearly enough to actually cause any damage.

He shoved her back and Contessa stumbled, clutching her neck.

“What did you do?” She demanded.

“Just some insurance,” Noah replied. “I didn’t bother making your Rune Oath very exclusive, so I implanted a little bit of heated Ash within your head. At any point, if I decide you’ve pissed me off enough to care, I’ll ignite it and burn out your brain stem. It’ll only take an instant. Fun, right? After all, you might have been thinking that you could break the Rune Oath and just suffer severe damage to your Runes. Maybe your family would fix it in exchange for the information. I just handled that temptation for you.”

Contessa just stared at him, raw fear playing across her features. “I won’t tell anyone. I swear.”

“Good. Then perhaps we can work together,” Noah said with a smile. “I may even be convinced to remove it, should you manage to keep from getting on my nerves too much. “Now, my temper is already short. Let’s get to the point so I can get on with my day. Why did you want the Linwicks destabilized? And keep in mind I couldn’t care less about them. Motivate me and I might actually be willing to help your goals.”

The faintest spark of hope lit in Contessa’s eyes – which was exactly what Noah had been aiming for. Threats were one thing, but giving her a path out where they could both accomplish their goals would make sure she was focused on that instead of betraying him.

“Because that was the task Evergreen gave me,” Contessa said. Some of the confidence returned to her voice. “The Linwicks and the Torrins have been–”

“Summarize it, please. I don’t need your life story. I don’t care about what mortals do. You’ll all be dead in a few hundred years anyway. Doesn’t matter to me. It’s all the same.”

Contessa bit her words off and nodded. “My task is to ensure that Father’s family is not brought into the Linwick main branch.”

“Why?”

“Evergreen thinks he’s a threat and will try to attack us. We wanted to make the first move to ensure he won’t be allowed to get the power he seeks.”

“I see,” Noah said. “Unfortunately for you, that situation may be out of your hands. Go report to whoever it is you report to. Tell them you failed.”

Contessa started to nod. Noah grabbed her by the chin, pulling her eyes up to meet his. “You failed, understand? Not Moxie. You. A swordsman blames not his sword when his guard drops. Moxie is still useful to me.”

Noah released her and Contessa gave him a jerky nod.

“Good,” Noah said. He paused for a moment, then tilted his head to the side in the same manner that Father had. “How did someone like you get to be in charge, anyway?

“I work for the main branch. I’m not good at fighting,” Contessa said, noticing the derision in Noah’s eyes. “I’m not a soldier.”

There’s a difference between not being good at fighting and trying to tickle your opponent to death.

“Unfortunate,” Noah said, not even trying to pretend like he meant it. “Well then, Cont. I trust you’re high up enough in the family to avoid getting your head chopped off for this?”

Contessa nodded again, not even daring to speak.

“That’s grand to hear. Then we’ll be able to enjoy a fruitful working relationship. Go figure out what your next plan is, then tell Moxie. She is now your handler. If you fail to report to me within a month, I’m killing you. Sound good?”

Contessa gave him one more nod.

“Then you’re free to go.”

Relief washed over Contessa’s face. She turned to leave. Noah grabbed her by the shoulder and she flinched, looking back at him.

“One last thing,” Noah said with a small smile. “Don’t forget that if Moxie decides she doesn’t like working with you anymore, all she’s got to do is whisper into Evergreen’s ear. Your death isn’t going to matter to me, even with the Rune Oath, and working directly with her might be more efficient. Just keep that in mind, yeah?”

He released Contessa and she practically sprinted away. Noah turned to Moxie. They stared at each other for several seconds. Noah cleared his throat.

“You forgot to bring breakfast.”

Moxie didn’t even respond. She just stared.

“Maybe we should take this back to your room?” Noah suggested, taking the pipe from his lips and snuffing out the remaining Flashgrass.

“Yeah,” Moxie finally said, rubbing her cheek. “Let’s do that.”

***

“Did you really just lay in my bed for a week when you could be strolling around this entire time?” Moxie asked as soon as they’d closed the door behind them.

Noah flopped down on her bed and looked up at her. “That’s your first question? Seriously?”

“Answer the damn question, Vermil. Or are you going to stick some ash in my head and threaten to blow me up as well?”

“No, I’m not going to do that. I can’t, actually. That was straight bullshit.”

“Seriously? You were just lying about everything?”

“You sure you want me to answer that?”

“At this point, I’m already in so deep that if Evergreen even gets the slightest inclination that I’m doing something out of her permission, I’ll be dead anyway,” Moxie said with a sigh. “If I die, at least I’ll die knowing the truth.”

“Then no. I really was bedridden up until late last night. And no, I didn’t lie about everything.” Noah said. “But I did kill Vermil.”

“It’s not like that’s a huge surprise. Why, though?”

“It wasn’t on purpose. He just played with things beyond his control.”

“Then what are you?”

Noah pursed his lips. “Human, I guess.”

Moxie crossed her arms. “You sure looked like a demon when you were talking to Contessa. That horned, floating skull made of smoke and the spikey cape?”

“The what?”

Moxie pulled her chair out and sat down. “Are you really going to play dumb? I literally watched you do it.”

“I did nothing of the–”

Noah cut himself off as he recalled the burning sensation on his shoulders. His smoke had certainly been doing something, but it hadn’t been intentional. It had just happened. For that matter, the strange urges of fury that had been filling him seemed to have receded as well.

I mean, I was pissed about what was happening, but that seemed like a bit too much. What the hell caused that?

“Let’s come back to that one,” Noah decided with a grimace. He really did need to figure out what was going on, but there was no trace of whatever had taken grip of him. “Unintended side effects.”

“Right,” Moxie said, not sounding particularly convinced. “You know, I feel pretty stupid. It wasn’t all that long ago that I said there was no way you’re a demon.”

“I’m not.”

“So you say,” Moxie said. She paused for a moment and her face softened. She let her eyes drift downward. “I suppose I can’t complain. Human or demon, you were still trying to help me, even if it was a damn stupid thing to do. You’re not actually higher than a Rank 2, are you?”

Noah shook his head. “Afraid not.”

“What happens if Evergreen does figure something out? She could kill you.”

“If she tries gunning for me, then I’ll pit her against Father,” Noah replied. “I’ve already got enough information to know she’s trying to take him out. But I don’t think Contessa has the guts to trade her life to help the family.”

“No,” Moxie admitted. “She doesn’t.”

“Then that went about as well as it possibly could have.”

Moxie looked down again. Her shoulders tensed and she stared at the ground like there was something hiding within it.

“Should I not have?” Noah asked with a small frown. “She was assaulting you.”

“You shouldn’t have put yourself at risk for no reason. I can deal with it.”

“That didn’t look like dealing with it.”

“It’s worked this long,” Moxie snapped.

“Just because something worked doesn’t mean it’s good,” Noah replied, crossing his own arms. “Why were you letting her treat you like that?”

“Because I didn’t have a choice,” Moxie replied. “That’s how things are.”

“Well, I fixed it.”

Moxie snorted. She rocked back in her chair and turned her gaze to the ceiling. “Yeah. You make a really convincing demon.”

A wry grin stretched across Noah’s face. “You’ve got no idea. Now Father isn’t the only one that thinks I’m a demon. I suppose I just had a lot of practice. This… did help you, right?”

Moxie touched a hand to her face, where the imprint of Contessa’s hand was just starting to fade away. “I guess we’ll see. To be totally honest, I’m not sure if it possibly could have gotten any worse. What’s your goal here, Vermil? Your real goal.”

“I already told it to you. I want to help my students. I just suppose that expanded to cover you and Lee as well.”

“Why? What do you get out of it?”

“Because I want to. That’s all the justification I ever need to do anything.”

A laugh slipped out of Moxie’s lips. “That must be nice. It sounds so freeing.”

“Was Contessa your main contact?” Noah asked, shifting his position to look at Moxie better.

She nodded. “I speak to Evergreen every month or two, but most of the day to day stuff is her.”

“So you should be a lot freer now, right? Contessa can’t control you anymore.”

Moxie bit her lower lip. “Yeah. I guess so. I’m not sure it’s processed yet. I can’t believe it, but I think I’m a little more surprised by whatever the hell happened to you than what you did to Contessa.”

Noah examined his hands. “You mean the whole recovery thing? It was incredible. I figured out a way to heal myself.”

“How?” Moxie asked. “People don’t just miraculously heal after being bedridden like that.”

Noah sat fully upright, grinning. “I discovered how to make a Rune. At least, the first step to it. I managed to form a Rune that healed my soul and my body all in one go. It did shatter right after, but the deed was done.”

Moxie stared at him. “You what? Actually – stop. Can we stick to one lifechanging revelation at a time? I’m still not over the fact that you may or may not be a demon and that you just humiliated my overseer from the main branch of my family.”

“You’re welcome,” Noah said. “You can buy me dinner later as a thank you. With your money, not mine.”

Moxie snorted. “We’ll see. I’m pretty sure taking care of you while you were unconscious should count for something. Is there anything else that you’re about to tell me that is going to completely screw with everything I know, or can I actually try to process things for a minute?”

Noah cleared his throat. Moxie started to smile, but it fell away when she realized he wasn’t joking. Her eye twitched.

“Is it immediately relevant?”

Not unless you walk into my bathroom.

“Depends where you’re standing.”

“Then it can wait,” Moxie said, running her hands through her hair. “I need to think, Vermil. I guess that isn’t even your name, is it?”

Noah shook his head.

“Can you tell me what it actually is?”

“Noah.”

Moxie gave him a slow nod. “Thank you. For everything today, I guess – but not for what you’ve inevitably started. This is going to be a shitshow.”

“Maybe we meet up again once you’ve processed everything?” Noah suggested, starting to rise to his feet. “I’ve got some questions for you as well, now that I don’t need to hide everything anymore.”

“Just… stay,” Moxie said, nodding at the bed. “If you leave, I might trick myself into thinking this was a hallucination.”

Noah shrugged. He sat back down on the bed and leaned against the wall. Moxie was clearly just barely managing to hold everything together. This wasn’t even slightly how he’d planned to tell her about any of his major secrets, though there was something to be said for ripping the bandage off all at once.

And, while we sit, I have to find out what was up with those temper bursts. Did it have something to do with that Rune I tried to form? Or is it something else?

The two of them sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts and troubles.

All things considered, the day could have gone a lot worse.