Return of the Runebound Professor

It only took Noah a little over half an hour to replace the rest of Moxie’s Runes, and most of that time was just hunting the Runes down in the forest of Moxie’s mind. The Writhing Vine Runes all became Uprooted Forests, and she changed her Cracked Flowering Seed into a Blooming Earth, getting it perfect on her first try.

Moxie didn’t even have to say anything – Noah could feel the happiness radiating off her like it never had before. He’d never seen this much of her guard down, though he suspected it would probably come back up by the time they returned to the real world.

“I never thought I’d have seven Perfect Runes,” Moxie said after she’d replaced her final Rune. She and Noah stood back in the center of the clearing, and her newly reformed Runes all floated in the air above them.

“You’ve back down to around half full on all of them again, though,” Noah said. “You’ll have to do some hunting to fill those back up.”

Moxie shot him a look out of the corner of her eyes. “Luckily, I think I know someone that’s probably going to spend most of his vacation killing monsters.”

Noah grinned. “Guilty.”

“What makes you think I meant you? I was talking about Lee.”

They both burst into laughter. Moxie shook her head, and the smile faded away as her features turned serious again.

“This means a lot to me, Noah. Most of these Runes were given to me by the Torrin family, and they felt like just one more thing binding me to them. I know I’m not actually free, but I feel free.”

“You will be one day,” Noah promised. “If Evergreen is anything like Father, which I suspect she is, then we can bargain with her. And, if we can’t, we’ll just kill her.”

Moxie rolled her eyes. “You say things like that as if the real Evergreen isn’t a Rank 6. We’re not killing her anytime soon. It’s fine, though. I wasn’t telling you this to ask you to solve every one of my problems, Noah. I was saying it because I appreciate what you’ve already done.”

Noah opened his mouth, then shut it and settled for simply nodding. A faint tingle pulled at the back of his mind. Moxie noticed the shift in his expression.

“Feeling the potion start to wear out?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Noah said as the tingle intensified, turning into a dull buzz. “Hasn’t it only been a bit more than half an hour, though? I thought it was meant to last for an hour.”

“It’s probably something to do with your screwed up soul,” Moxie said with a laugh. “It’s fine. We got what we needed, so nothing to complain about. Keep that in mind when you’re working on Lee’s soul, though.”

“I will. See you out in the real world, then.”

“Yeah.” Moxie nodded, but there was a slight reluctance to her words.

Noah didn’t get time to dwell on it. The sensation assaulting his mind intensified. The ground vanished beneath his feet and there was a sudden, sharp falling sensation. He drew in a sharp breath and there was a flash of darkness. His eyes snapped open, and he found the ceiling of Moxie’s room ceiling above him once more.

He sat up, rubbing his eyes as the last vestiges of the potion wore off on him and the buzzing faded away completely. Lee was perched on top of Moxie’s chair, holding a book upside-down and slowly flipping through the pages, her brow furrowed and lips pursed in concentration.

“Oh, you’re back. I didn’t realize,” Lee said, lowering the book and closing it delicately. “I was busy.”

Noah raised an eyebrow. “You read upside-down?”

Lee looked down at the book, then turned it over. “Nope. Your head must still be a little messed up from the effects of the potion. It was right-side up.”

“Sure,” Noah drawled, resisting the urge to laugh. “Well, Moxie’s Runes are all fixed up.”

“Really?” Lee asked, her eyes shimmering. “I didn’t think it would actually work that easily. Normally, something goes wrong midway through anything you do.”

Moxie let out a snort as she sat up beside Noah. “That’s true.”

“It most certainly is not,” Noah protested. He thought for a moment, then cleared his throat. “I’ll admit that I do have a penchant for somehow making situations I’m involved in worse before they get better, but that doesn’t happen every time.”

“So nothing went wrong?” Lee asked.

Moxie waggled a hand in the air. “Noah’s unwelcome head visitor popped up to annoy us, but it also left without too much struggle.”

“Azel left?” Noah blinked. “I thought you had him tied up in the corner of your mind somewhere.”

“Nope. Managed to convince him to leave.”

“How?”

“Doesn’t really matter,” Moxie replied. She nodded to Lee. “Don’t make Lee wait any longer. She’s already been patient enough – assuming you’ve still got enough power to work with her Runes? I’m sure it’s pretty draining.”

Noah thought for a moment, then nodded. “I’ve got enough. But Lee, do you have replacement Runes?”

All of them froze. A remarkably sheepish look crossed over Lee’s expression and she rubbed the back of her head.

“Uh… no.”

“How did I forget that?” Moxie asked, rubbing her forehead and sighing. “Sorry, Lee. I was so caught up with my own Runes that it slipped my mind. You don’t even have any Catchpaper to store extra Runes on, do you?”

Lee shook her head. Moxie pushed herself up to her feet and walked up to her desk, slipping past Lee to shuffling through one of the drawers in it. A few seconds later, Moxie cursed under her breath and shook her head.

“Damn. I was hoping I had some extras. We might have to go buy you some, Lee. It won’t be cheap, though. Catchpaper that can hold a Rank 3 Rune will probably be around two hundred gold a sheet.”

“I do have some Runes I could probably sell. I’m a Linwick, which makes me a noble. Does that mean I can safely sell a Rune?”

Moxie waggled a hand in the air. “Kind of. You’ll have to find a vendor that doesn’t love the noble families a ton, since you aren’t officially listed as a merchant anywhere as far as I know, but it’s possible. Selling Runes isn’t the greatest idea, though. It’s kind of a waste. I’d prefer to sell monster parts or the like.”

Noah started to nod, then paused. A small grin tugged at the corners of his lips. “Actually, I think I might know where we can get some stuff for a good price.”

“Where?” Lee asked, hopping out of the chair. “I want to fix my Runes too! Let’s do it.”

“Don’t forget we still have to actually get new Runes for you before I fix them,” Noah said with a chuckle. “But let’s start with getting that Catchpaper. I think there’s a good chance that what we need will be somewhere around my room.”

Moxie’s brow furrowed, but she didn’t ask the obvious question. She just fell in behind Noah alongside Lee as the three of them headed back out into the hall and toward his room.

They were greeted by the sound of loud, irritated knocking well before they reached the room. Noah already knew who it would be before the three of them turned the corner. Karina stood at his door in her true blonde haired and ruby eyed form.

“You look bored,” Noah said as Karina turned toward them, a scowl on her features.

“Where in the Damned Plains were you?” Karina demanded. Her eyes caught on Moxie and she paused. Her features turned cold and she took a step back. “And why are you with a Torrin?”

“Connect the dots. One of the students in Isabel’s group was Emily,” Noah pointed out. “Why do you think I’m with a Torrin? We’re working together.”

Karina let out a few curses under her breath. “You’re insane. Are you trying to get the family to kill both of us?”

“I’ll be honest, I really don’t care what happens to you,” Noah said, walking past her and opening his door. “But I think that was already made fairly clear. You don’t need to concern yourself with any of my relationships.”

“Who is this?” Moxie asked Noah.

“Karina. A woman from the Linwick family that tried to kill me twice. She’s got some shapeshifting powers, so you’ve already met her before as Bria.”

“That’s how you introduce me?” Karina demanded.

“Yes. Now come inside.”

Karina opened her mouth, then sighed. She headed inside and Lee came in after her, closing the door in their wake.

“So why is Karina here and how did you know she would be?” Moxie asked.

“Wait, you knew I was here and you still made me wait?” Karina’s eye twitched and her hands flexed at her sides.

Noah gave her a flat stare. “I think we’ve discussed what I think of you before, Karina. The only reason you’re still alive is because you promised that you’d be more useful breathing than not – you aren’t going to try to change my opinion on that, are you?”

Karina’s face paled and she shook her head. “No.”

“Good,” Noah said. “I assume you’re here for something – and, coincidentally, so am I. You can go first. What do you want?”

“How do you know–”

“Why else would you be at my door?”

“I’m your fiancée! It’s perfectly reasonable for me to be at your door.”

“You have a fiancée?” Moxie asked, her eyes going wide. They widened a moment later as a new thought struck her. “From how long ago? Was it–”

“Before we met, yes.” Noah rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Karina. I think you might have misunderstood something. I said that I’d look into getting you out of this by speaking with Father at some point, but that doesn’t mean that I’ll just be going along with it if he says no. Don’t call me your fiancée. I’m not. This is a business relationship and nothing more. So tell me – what do you want?”

Karina’s shoulders slumped and she sighed. “I did what I promised, didn’t I? I helped your students pass without actually cheating. They did everything on their own. I just revealed Eline’s position.”

“You did,” Noah said with a nod. “And?”

“Well, I can’t go back to the Linwick estate right now. It’s not exactly safe for me.”

Noah’s brow furrowed. “Why not? Father shouldn’t want to kill you. He’s trying to use the whole fiancée issue to annoy me.”

“You can’t know, and I have a fair number of enemies, you know. It won’t be long before Father reveals that our relations are cut and people come for me. You won’t be able to get anything else out of me if I end up dead.”

“You’re asking for protection?”

“No, just a place to stay for a little while.”

Is that it? Or are you hoping you can change my mind about something if we’re together for long enough? But… her offer to help us get into noble auctions and get rare Runes is really tempting. I’d rather she not die right now. No way am I sleeping in the same room with her, though.

“You could stay in my Room for a bit,” Moxie offered. “Then Karina can use yours.”

“That works,” Noah said with a nod, giving Moxie a grateful look, completely ignoring the aghast stare Karina sent him.

“I heard some students talking about a sleepover.” Lee rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Is this a sleepover? With food and talking in the middle of the night?”

Noah snorted. “I suppose so.”

“I’m coming, then!”

“You’re just going to leave me in your room? Alone?” Karina asked.

“Yes. You’re welcome. Also – touch anything that you aren’t supposed to and I’ll kill you.”

Karina let out a heavy sigh. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Noah replied. “And, now that I’ve done you a favor, it’s your turn. I need high quality Catchpaper, and I think you’ve probably got a way I can get some.”

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