Return of the Runebound Professor

“Scrap the riddles.” Moxie crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Just tell me what you want. There’s only one demon that I trust – and it isn’t you.”

“Trusting a demon is indeed risky business,” Azel said with a chuckle. “Little Lee. Such an interesting specimen. I’ve never seen a demon like her before. But this has nothing to do with Lee. I’m here about you, Moxie.”

“If that had come from literally anyone else, I might have been flattered.” Moxie’s gaze was unflinching. “Say what you want and put us back. I’m assuming you’ve formed some form of sub-space within my mind, but it won’t last forever. Anything that doesn’t belong will eventually erode, and you don’t have access to your Runes anymore. I can just wait you out.”

“You could,” Azel agreed. He gave her an impressed nod. “You’re actually more knowledgeable about the soul than I would have expected. Most of your kind don’t show it anywhere near the proper amount of respect.”

Moxie shrugged. “It was a special interest for me. Still is. But you’re the one on a time crunch, Azel. Speak or don’t – in the end I don’t care.”

“Please, call me Adam.”

“No.”

Azel sighed. “Difficult crowd, I tell you. I know you well, Moxie. Don’t forget, every single one of our dear Noah’s memories is also my own. You’ve built great walls around yourself, and for good reason. They protect you. That cold, determined exterior is a shield from your true feelings.”

“What are you getting at?” Moxie asked. “Memories or not, I couldn’t care less about your opinions. You have to realize that we’ll find a way to rip you out of Noah’s soul soon enough, and then you’ll be gone.”

Azel scratched his chin. “Yes, I’ve considered the possibility. Then again, the moment our souls come free, you’ll have a Rank 5 demon to contend with. Do you really think that’s a fight you’ll win?”

Moxie rolled her eyes. “Do you think we should have won any of the major fights we’ve taken? And yet, here we stand. I’d say we’ll take our chances.”

Azel’s expression flickered. For a mere instant, Moxie caught a flicker of what might have actually been worry in his smoldering eyes. Then it was gone, replaced by his infuriating smile.

“Perhaps. We shall see when the day comes.” Azel shrugged. “But we have gone off track. As I said, this is about you. What do you want, Moxie.”

“I want you to leave my head.”

“Think more general,” Azel said, completely nonplussed. “Forget me for a moment. We’re talking about your life as a whole. Your desires. Your goals. The future, Moxie.”

“A lot of things, but nothing that I have any plans of sharing with you.”

Azel pursed his lips. He extended his hands to his sides. “What if we made a deal, then? You agree to answer my questions. I’ll let you and Noah alone for the rest of your work today afterward. Otherwise, I’ll be pulling you back into one of these little chats every single time Noah calls on Sunder.”

Moxie opened her mouth, then closed it again. Azel raised an eyebrow. A second passed, and Moxie let out an exasperated sigh.

“Fine. I’ll answer your questions, but nothing that can put myself or anyone I care about at risk. How’s that?”

“Acceptable,” Azel replied. He extended a hand, and a faint swirl of smoke rose up from his palm. “I have no plans of doing that today. Believe it or not, I’m actually trying to help you.”

“I don’t.” Moxie stared doubtfully at the hand.

“Shake,” Azel said, his smile growing. “It’s a deal, Moxie. If you want me to hold my side of the bargain, then you will have to hold yours.”

“Three questions. No more.”

“Very well.” Azel waggled his hand.

Moxie extended her hand and clasped Azel’s. As soon as they shook, she pulled back. Azel didn’t seem to care.

“Back to the one I already asked, then. What is the future to you, Moxie? What do you truly desire?”

“Freedom,” Moxie replied.

“Wrong.”

Moxie blinked. “What?”

“You didn’t fully answer my question. Complete it.”

“That is the complete answer.”

Azel shook his head. “I know human emotion more than anyone else – I feast on it, dear Moxie. And you are not giving me the whole truth. Half truths are not honest answers, so that won’t count as completing the bargain. Finish answering the question.”

Moxie stared at Azel in confusion. “I’m not giving a half truth, though. That’s genuinely what I want. Once Emily is safe and doesn’t need me anymore, then I want to find a way to break free from the Torrin’s control over me. That’s it. That’s all I’ve wanted to do for years.”

“It used to be all you wanted,” Azel corrected. “I can feel the honesty in your words, but you have not fully answered everything. There is more that you desire.”

Moxie’s brow furrowed and she thought for a few moments. “I… suppose I would like to be able to continue spending time with Noah and Lee. Emily too – but in a different capacity for her. I will not be under the Torrin’s thumbs forever.”

A smile passed over Azel’s lips and he nodded. “Much better. Still not complete, but I will accept it. It is closer to the full truth. Then we shall move on to our second question. What is love to you? And don’t give me a general definition – I want to know what it means to you personally.”

“What kind of question is that?”

“One that I asked, and that you are obligated to answer.” Azel adjusted the lapel of his suit. “I am a demon, Moxie. And I have absolutely no shame in admitting that I feast on your heightened emotions. Anger. Lust. Hatred. All of those beautiful little sparks within you humans – they are my greatest delight. So, if it helps you, you may consider this a question born entirely from professional interest.”

The vines at Moxie’s feet curled as she thought. Finally, Moxie let out a sigh. “I don’t know. I haven’t had time to think about it. I don’t have the opportunity to think about things like that while I’m stuck working for the Torrins. I’m worried it would only end up ending in pain, so it’s better to avoid it entirely – at least until I’m free. How’s that?”

“Not bad,” Azel said, nodding his satisfaction. “A decent, honest answer. Life moves quickly for mortals though, Moxie. Your kind are always chasing freedom, but rarely ever get the chance to see it realized. You must know that it’s incredibly unlikely you grow strong enough to break free of the Torrin house.”

Moxie pressed her lips together. “That wasn’t a question.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Azel agreed. “Simply an observation. Your plans to wait for love are gallant, but life is rarely so accommodating. Sometimes, you have to act in a suboptimal situation to see your desires realized.”

“What’s the point of this?” Moxie demanded.

“Enjoyment and food, mostly. It’s been a while since I got to eat like this. Absolutely delicious. And, as I said, I’m only trying to help. Remember my words, Moxie. Life will move on – with or without you. Wait for the perfect time to claim what you seek and you may find that it is already out of reach.”

“Just ask your last damn question.”

Azel grinned. “No, I don’t believe I will. I never specified when I’ll ask the questions, only that I would. For now, we’re done here. Enjoy your time with Noah. I’ll be seeing you.”

A swirl of flame enveloped Azel’s body. He burned away in an instant, turning to glowing ashes that blew away in the wind. The world around Moxie rippled, and then Noah returned as if he had never gone missing.

***

Noah didn’t notice the expression on Moxie’s face. He was too focused on making sure he properly cut her Rune apart. He’d never done it for someone else, and didn’t want to mistakenly hurt her. His hand pressed against the surface of the Writhing Vine Rune. Moxie opened her mouth behind him, but she didn’t get a chance to say anything.

Noah’s veins turned a dark gray. For just an instant, the world went still. A deep thrum rocked her soul, and a line of pure black carved through the Rune from top to bottom. Energy poured out, flowing in a thick cloud of power around Noah.

Seven Runes shimmered, forming from the swirls of energy surrounding him. Noah turned back to Moxie and urgently beckoned toward the Runes.

“Do you need me to chop these up into Rank 1s, or will Rank 2 modifications be enough?”

Moxie shook head and ran up to join him.

“Two is perfect for this one,” Moxie replied. She extended her hands and the Runes flowed to her. Noah took a few steps back as she started to work. Several of them vanished as Moxie imbued them onto the grimoire that laid next to her in the real world.

More Runes popped into her soul, taking form around her body. Noah watched in rapt attention. He’d done the same thing quite a few times, but watching someone else do it was strangely mesmerizing.

Also, Moxie was still a good bit faster than he was at her soul control. Within just a few seconds, Moxie had replaced nearly half the Runes. She’d had quite a few full ones sitting around in her grimoire, so she must have been preparing for this ever since he’d mentioned it.

Did that mean she was also going out and hunting monsters to fill those? Okay – literally nobody actually used our camp while we were training. We all just pretended to use it. Well, unless she had some full Runes sitting around. I’d guess a mixture of the two.

He didn’t get to watch for long. No more than thirty seconds passed before Moxie clapped her hands together. The seven Runes shuddered, then slammed back together in a single, smooth motion.

It wasn’t like Noah’s combinations where he slowly slotted everything in until they clicked. It was more like Moxie hadn’t given them a choice. Seven became one in a single instant.

A loud pop went off in Noah’s ears as the pressure shifted. Light green energy swirled around Moxie, pouring into the new Rune. She let her hands drop and took a step back, letting out a relieved breath.

The new Rune exuded considerably more pressure than the previous one did, and it was only about half full. While a good portion of the energy had likely been lost in conversion, Noah could tell that it was of much better quality than the previous one.

Uncontrolled Uprooted Forest

“I think it worked,” Noah said.

Moxie reached up, gently brushing the Rune with the back of her hand. “I don’t believe it. I know you said it was possible, but… this is it. It’s not quite perfect, but compared to what I had before–”

“Oh. Let’s just do it again, then,” Noah said.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. Do you know what you did wrong? Don’t want to waste your gathered energy for no reason.”

Moxie thought for a few moments, then nodded. “Yeah, I do. I screwed up my intent at the last second. I think I was still stuck between what you were talking about and what I’ve been taught. Can you really re-split it that easily?”

Noah just grinned. “Get ready.”

He stepped up and pressed his hand to the Rune. Sunder’s power flowed through his veins and a line carved through it for the second time, splitting the newly formed Rank 3 Rune apart.

Moxie wasted no time. As soon as the seven Rank 2 Runes emerged, she grabbed them and slammed everything back together. Barely any magic even had a chance to slip out before a new Rune ripped itself into existence – but, even though almost all the previous power had been saved, this one was almost ten percent less full than the previous attempt.

Uprooted Forest

Noah grinned. “That looks like a perfect rune to me.”

Moxie stared up at the new rune in silence. Then she turned, throwing her arms around Noah and pulling him into a tight hug. He stiffened out of surprise for an instant, then regained control of his body and wrapped his arms around Moxie.

She quickly let go, clearing her throat and taking a step back. “Sorry. I let my emotions get ahead of me. I’ve never formed a perfect Rune on my own. I didn’t realize how different it was. I feel incredible.”

Noah just grinned and gestured out to the forest around them. “Well, we’ve got a few more to work through, and there’s no time like today. Shall we get back to it?”

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