Return of the Runebound Professor

The cat vanished in a puff.

“What are you doing?” Moxie demanded. “Father? Seriously? He’s not going to help! If anything, he’ll just end up dragging you down with me. Don’t do this, Noah.”

“Moxie? With all due respect, shut up. You’ve made your decision, but I haven’t made mine. There aren’t many people I care about in this world, and you’re one of them. I’ll be damned if I let you stroll off to the line just because some withered old bag is power tripping.”

“I don’t want you to die either,” Lee said softly, speaking up for the first time since they’d gotten back to the room. “I was trying to think of ways to kill Evergreen before you got there, but I couldn’t find any.”

Moxie ran her hands through her hair. “Is that why you were so quiet?”

“It’s hard to think when I’m talking. Normally, I just hit things and they die. I can’t do that to Evergreen, though. It’s really frustrating. I was thinking maybe we could kill a ton of monsters on the way over and get to Rank 6 to beat her, but…”

“No way you could do that in time,” Moxie said, shaking her head. “I don’t want to leave you either, but you can’t win every game.”

“You can if you don’t play by the rules,” Noah said flatly. “I’m not budging on this, I’m afraid. Contessa, I’m going to have to ask you to leave the room.”

Contessa blinked. “What?”

“Get out. I know this isn’t your fault, but you’ve already heard more than you need to. Stand outside in the hall or go get breakfast or something. I don’t care. Just leave. You’ve delivered Evergreen’s message, so you should be good. Oh, and don’t go too far. I’m sure you’ve guessed this already, but if Moxie dies, I’m killing you.”

Moxie shot Noah a look. “Noah, it’s not her fault. I have every reason not to like her, but–”

“Don’t care. I’m mad, Moxie.”

Noah wasn’t just mad. He was furious. In the back of his mind, Azel watched quietly. He wasn’t interfering with the rage this time – it all came from him. Contessa took one look at Noah’s face, then turned on her heel and strode out of the room, slamming the door in her rush to get out.

“I thought about Father as well,” Moxie said softly. “Please don’t do something you’ll regret, Noah. Father’s possibly one of the few people that could actually stand against Evergreen, but there’s no way in the world he’d do that for a Torrin – not without a massive cost. I won’t keep living if it means you have to sacrifice yourself. A favor of this magnitude isn’t going to be worth the price you pay.”

“Who said anything about favors?” Noah asked.

Before Moxie could respond, a crackle of energy ran through the room. They all stepped back as a purple line split through the air and peeled open. Energy shimmered, forming colors and shapes.

Father’s office materialized on the other side of the portal. As always, Father sat in his chair, his dead eyes boring into Noah as he leaned back in his chair, taking the scene in.

“Vermil,” Father said. “I was wondering when you’d call on me. This wasn’t the manner that I expected it, but I can’t say it wasn’t effective.”

Noah didn’t know what Father was talking about, but he didn’t particularly care either.

“Good to know. We need to talk.”

Father beckoned Noah to enter the portal. “I thought as much. Karina will be thrilled to–”

“This isn’t about her.”

Father paused, then tilted his head to the side. “It isn’t?”

I wonder if he’s bullshitting me or not. With Father, it’s impossible to tell.

“No,” Noah said. “It isn’t.”

“Well then. Enter. We will not speak where others can listen in.”

“Stay here,” Noah said. “I’ll be back soon.”

“No way. If you’re going to bargain with Father, then I’m coming with you. What’s the worst that can happen?” Moxie asked, piercing Noah with a glare.

“Fine.”

“I’m coming too,” Lee said.

The three of them strode through the portal. Father snapped his fingers and it slammed shut behind them, leaving them in his office.

“I was not expecting three of you,” Father said, interlacing his fingers and leaning back. “I sense desperation on your breath. What could possibly bring you concern, my immortal friend?”

“Before I answer that, are you really going to pretend like you don’t know?” Noah asked. “Because, if you do, that means the Torrins did something and you have no idea about it, which I find strikingly hard to believe.”

Father gave Noah an emotionless smile. “You do not seem to be in the mood for our games today. Very well. Yes, I am aware that Evergreen plans to do away with Moxie Torrin. I assume that is the reason you have come? To plead with me to save her life?”

“Of course not,” Noah said, crossing his arms. “Do you really think Moxie wants to trade one slaver for another? I’m not here to plead for anything, Father.”

“If that’s the case, why have you come?” Father’s expression remained placid, as if he couldn’t care less about what happened.

And that façade is a lie. If there’s one thing I know about Father, it’s that he’s a paranoid control freak. He can’t stand the idea of something being outside his grasp.

“To offer you a favor, of course.”

Father raised an eyebrow while both Moxie and Lee sent Noah baffled looks.

“Your companions seem just as surprised by that as I am.” Father stood, taking a glass from his cabinet and pouring himself a glass of wine. “I must admit, I am amused. Tell me then, demon. What could you possibly offer me?”

“Evergreen’s head. If you help us, you can completely remove her as a threat. We have a way to surprise Evergreen. If you can guarantee us a way out and a little assistance–”

Father let out a bark of laughter. It was fake, just like everything else about him, but it still cut Noah off.

“No, Vermil. If I truly wished Evergreen dead, then I would have already made motions to achieve that goal. I do not want her dead. She is an enemy, but one I know. One I can control. With her as the head of the Torrins, I can focus on what I truly care about. Why would I sacrifice that?”

Noah opened his mouth, then closed it. With all the bravado he’d had calling on Father, he’d never actually expected Father to say no. Evergreen was one of his biggest opponents. He’d been completely convinced that Father would do whatever it took to kill her, and that he simply hadn’t had an opportunity to do so yet.

Is he bluffing?

Father sipped his wine, then set the goblet down on the table. He was completely unreadable, but as far as Noah could tell, he really did seem to be telling the truth. If everything was already going how Father wanted it to, why would he need to take care of Evergreen?

Shit. There has to be something else he wants, then. If not Evergreen’s head, then what? I need to think.

“N – Vermil,” Moxie said, catching his gaze with her own. “It’s okay. I’m glad you care so much, but there’s only so much that we can do. Don’t drag more people into this.”

“I could help, you know,” Father said idly. “Evergreen would not go to war for the life of one woman. It would be annoying and costly, but I could interfere.”

“In exchange for what?” Moxie asked. “I know what you’re going to ask, Father. And I decline. I know who you are, and I know that I’d just be trading one master for another. I refuse. I’ll die on my own terms.”

“Respectable,” Father said. “And I truly mean that. If you were a Linwick, I would value your contribution to my family. But, as a Torrin, I am afraid that I will only be pleased by their loss.”

Father raised a hand and Moxie vanished in a flash of purple light. Noah lurched forward, but Father waved him away.

“Your emotions show too plainly, Vermil. She is not dead. I just returned her to your room in Dawnforge. That cat of yours was kind enough to provide me with your location. An interesting creature.”

“Forget the cat for now.” Noah’s fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms. The clever strategy would have been to try to convince Father that he didn’t care about Moxie and it was just a good move to keep her alive, but both he and Father knew different.

I can bullshit, but I’m not on his level. Not in this scenario.

“If I were to ask you for help, then – what would you want in return?”

Father smiled. “Fealty. A Rune Oath.”

Exactly what Moxie doesn’t want. God damn it all. I can’t take that offer. No matter how much I want to help Moxie, I can’t.

“No. I refuse.”

“Then the woman will die. You care for her, don’t you? It’s clear in your stance. You show emotion. Weakness.”

“So I do. It changes nothing. I will not serve you, Father. Not now. Not ever.”

Father shrugged. “You made the right decision. Agreeing would have been the choice of a fool, but it was the only one that saved her life. You will be an even more formidable opponent – and ally – after her death.”

Noah’s skin prickled with rage, but he kept it buckled beneath the surface. Mercifully, Azel didn’t goad him on. Father was just trying to push Noah into doing something, and Noah had no plans of giving him the satisfaction.

He shook his head. “If she dies, Father, we will never be allies.”

Father grunted. “So be it. Allies are temporary. I trust you will do enough damage to Evergreen, even without my intervention. You will fail, of course, but it will aid me nonetheless. Was that all we had to speak about? Do you care for Karina in the slightest?”

Noah burst into laughter. “You can’t think that has any leverage over me with that. She tried to kill me multiple times already. What happens to her happens. Maybe you should look into that frozen heart of yours and figure out if you ever cared for your daughter-in-law.”

“Is that all?” Father asked evenly.

“Yes. Send us back.”

Father took another sip from his glass, then waved his hand. Noah and Lee both vanished, reappearing in their room beside Moxie once more. Before Noah even had a chance to take his bearings, Moxie grabbed him.

“Tell me you didn’t.”

“I didn’t,” Noah said.

Moxie looked to Lee, who shook her head.

“Father offered. He said no.”

Moxie breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. It would have been a waste. Thank you for trying, Noah, Lee – but don’t throw your lives away for this. I made my peace with this a long time ago. I’ve always known the Torrin family wouldn’t keep me around forever. This is faster than I had hoped, but we can’t control life. I was really looking forward to that Great Monster hunt, though. It would have been fun.”

“We’ll have to get around to it later,” Noah said.

Moxie eyed Noah. “Noah, please. Don’t–”

“How far is Evergreen?” Noah asked, cutting Moxie off.

“With a flying sword, a week, probably.”

“Then we’ve got a week to figure something out. You have to head over pretty much immediately, right?”

Moxie let out an exasperated huff. “Why won’t you get this through your thick head? I don’t want you dying with me!”

“And I don’t want you dying without me.” Noah crossed his arms in front of his chest and met Moxie’s glare. “I’m not giving you an option, Moxie. It’s your life, sure, but my life is mine. And, if I choose to go with you to Evergreen, then that’s my choice to make.”

“Me too,” Lee added, giving Moxie a sharp nod. “We’re coming. Then we’ll rip Evergreen up like salad.”

“You’re both going to die. Are you just going to abandon Isabel and Todd?” Moxie demanded. “You’d do that to them?”

“No, of course not. I just won’t die.”

That earned Noah a withering glare from Moxie. “And how do you plan to do that?”

Noah didn’t respond immediately. It was hard to believe he’d been so carefree just a few minutes ago. Everything had felt like it was going to work out. The summer should have been theirs to enjoy. This wasn’t how it was meant to go.

His gaze drifted across the floor to the book of Formations that he’d left lying on the ground. Noah’s eyes tightened as he walked over and picked it up.

And this isn’t how it will go.

“I’ve never been able to solve every single one of my problems on my own. I’ve had help every single step of the way. Lee covered for me with the Hellreaver. You taught me everything I know about this world, and the kids helped ground me,” Noah said, sliding the book into his pack. “Nothing has ever been just me. This won’t be just you. If you think about it, a whole uninterrupted week is a hell of a lot longer than what we’ve gotten to deal with most of the other shit that has happened.”

“Exactly,” Lee said, mirroring Noah’s stance and crossing her arms. “I love you. I love Noah – you’re my family. And if anyone tries to take that from us, I’ll kill them or die trying.”

“Well said. We’re in this together,” Noah said. “We’ll win – because we have to.”

Moxie stared at them, her eyes watering. She turned away, wiping her face with the back of a sleeve and drawing a shaky breath. Neither Noah nor Lee said anything, giving Moxie a moment of privacy.

When she turned back to them, her expression was steady. Her eyes were a little red, but there was a sense of relief in her features that she’d clearly been hiding for their sake.

“Fine, you idiots. I don’t think I’m going to get rid of you, and I don’t want to spend the last week of my life arguing.”

“Brilliant,” Noah said, his lips stretching into a flat smile. “Then let’s get to figuring out how to defeat a Rank 6 mage, shall we?”

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