Return of the Runebound Professor

Lee’s throat clenched. Blood pumped in her ears. Rafael’s advance toward Moxie spun in her eyes, every step seeming to come slower than the last. Color shifted as the world turned a faint rose, then slipped into black.

Control snapped back to her body, but it wasn’t in the real world. She stumbled forward, finding herself within the darkness of her mindspace. A bloom of flame swirled before her, revealing Azel’s form.

“Idiot,” Azel snarled. “I told you to run.”

“Let me out!” Lee grabbed Azel by his collar. “I need to–”

“What?” Azel shoved Lee to the ground. “What are you going to do, you stupid girl? Your body is locked in place. You can’t move. You can’t even beg. All I’ve done is buy you a few meagre moments. You can feel it, can’t you?”

Lee didn’t have to ask Azel what he was talking about. A burning heat swirled at the back of her neck, working its way slowly up toward her brain.

“What did you do?”

“I’m forcing your brain to run faster than it should be capable of, but there’s only so long you’re going to be able to handle this,” Azel said, thrusting a finger into Lee’s forehead. “That’s your brain stem heating. And, in a minute, you’re going to go up like a candle.”

“Then help me!” Lee begged. “Kill the Inquisitor!”

Azel let out a bark of laughter. “Do you think me an attack dog, Lee? I don’t have a body thanks to Vermil. All I am is energy, and Evergreen did a lot of damage to me. It’s taken everything I have to shift the majority of my power to you, and you’ve been wasting it at every blasted opportunity.”

“I–”

“No,” Azel snapped. “No more talking, Lee. It’s my turn. I’ve helped you at every turn. If you want to live, you’re going to do what I say. Enough of this cowardice. You’ve got enough energy in your Runes to advance to Rank 4, and that’s what you’re going to do. That’s the only way you survive this.”

“If I advance, can I save Moxie?”

“Save? You should focus on keeping yourself from dying. Reaching Rank 4 will let you keep Rafael from freezing you in place with his domain, but that won’t let you fight him for more than a second or two. He’s a Rank 5, and a strong one. Ranking up will give you a chance to run.”

“What about Moxie?” Lee demanded. “I can’t–”

“You will!” Azel roared, flame coiling off his shoulders and lighting the darkness before it was swallowed by the shadows once more. “You are a demon. Beyond all else, we persevere. I do not know where you got this damn fool notion of sacrifice in your head, but the Damned Plains have no room for sentimental idiots. Rank up. Now. Otherwise, sit around and watch Moxie’s throat get slit and then die afterward yourself.”

If I’m Rank 4, I have a fighting chance. It might be enough to catch Rafael off guard for even a second, and that could give me time to grab Moxie and make a run for it. It’s my only choice. I don’t have another one.

Azel was saying she’d save herself, but Lee wasn’t so sure there would be anything of herself left to save after she reached Rank 4. Advancing and forming the Rank 4 Rune would very likely be the last time she was ever truly herself – but if she could hold on for just long enough to get Moxie and the others away from Rafael…

“Fine,” Lee said, swallowing heavily. “Let’s do it. Will you help me?”

Azel’s smile was cold. “What do you think I’ve been waiting this whole time for? I will aid you. You know your emotion, I trust? This isn’t going to work if you don’t.”

Lee’s hands clenched at her sides. “I do.”

“Then gather your Runes and become what you were always meant to be,” Azel said, his lips peeling apart in a hungry smile. “And have no fear, Lee. We will take our toll on this fool. Once we get out of here, I assure you we’ll return and rip this Inquisitor apart one nerve at a time. We will do it together, you and I.”

Azel lifted a hand into the air, curling his fingers into a fist. Lee’s mindspace trembled as power arced through it and her Runes rose up, the shadows constraining them stretching as they tried to keep their grasp on the power.

“You only have seconds,” Azel warned. “But time is meaningless to us, Lee. Demons are instinct. We know what we are. There is nothing that can ever change that. All you need is an instant to open the floodgates. Your emotion will guide you. Accept it.”

Lee closed her eyes, letting the energy from her Runes pulse through her mind. Then she brought her hands together, pulling the Runes closer. They were all full – they had been for a while.

Like Azel said, the power was there. It lay in wait, prepared to give her what she sought and take everything she cared about in return. There was only one thing left to do.

She reached out and took it.

***

Moxie’s magic was failing. All the vines in the world couldn’t have helped her when she simply didn’t have the power to penetrate Rafael’s domain. Her entire body was locked hopelessly in place and her magic couldn’t so much as twitch.

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Damn it all. If I hadn’t gotten my Runes shattered at the Torrin Estate, I’d be Rank 4 by now. I can’t die like this. I’ve come too damn far.

Moxie’s thoughts did nothing to slow Rafael’s advance. He didn’t look like he was in a talkative mood. He raised his sword, striding toward her with murder in his eyes. Moxie desperately fought against the bonds of his domain, but it was absolute.

There was nothing a Rank 3 could do within it. She couldn’t so much as grit her teeth. Helpless disappointment and anger swirled within her chest, closing around her heart like the hand of the reaper.

I keep hoping that someone is going to pop out in time to save me, but I think I’m all out of that. Fuck. I’m sorry, Noah. I hope you don’t kill too many people because of this.

Rafael reached Moxie and reared back, his muscles tightening as he prepared to swing.

I’m going to enjoy watching you get your shit beat in from the afterlife. If your domain lets up for even a second as I die, I swear I’m going to take you with me.

Out of the corner of her eye, Moxie saw a massive ice arrow streak through the air – and completely evaporate the instant it entered Rafael’s domain. Evidently, Emily hadn’t followed her orders.

The blade blurred toward Moxie’s neck, and she was denied even the option to squeeze her eyes shut and avoid the end. In a way, she was just fine with that. Moxie met Rafael’s gaze, hoping he could see the derision within her eyes.

And then Rafael vanished. His sword spun through the air and embedded itself in the ground behind Moxie. An instant later, a crash echoed through the Windscorned Plateau. Moxie’s body slipped back under her control and she spun to see that Rafael drop down from a small crater he’d made in the cliff face.

“She’s mine,” Lee hissed, but there was something off about her voice. It came out overlaid, as if two people were speaking at once. “They’re all mine. You can’t have them. They’re mine!”

Rafael rose to his feet, wiping the blood from his lips and pulling his lips back in a snarl. The blood on the ground around him rose up, forming into a pair of twin blades in his hands. “Advancing at the last second to use the burst of power to temporarily match up with me? Not enough, demon. Not nearly enough.”

Rafael blurred, and Moxie’s body slammed to a halt once again before she could take so much as a step. He reformed beside Moxie, his sword swinging — and a red blur slammed into him. A loud crack echoed out as his chin shot up, blood spraying from his mouth. A second blow drove into his stomach and sent him tumbling across the ground.

For the briefest instant, Moxie saw Lee – but the woman that stood before her didn’t look like Lee at all. Two jagged horns had ripped out of her forehead, curling up around her skull. Smoldering flame raced across them and throughout her hair, traveling down her arms and dancing across her knuckles.

Her fingers had sharpened to black claws, and her teeth had grown from pointed to full on fangs. But, beyond all of it, there was a deep, desperate hunger burning behind her eyes. It was a hunger that Moxie recognized – and it was more than just Lee.

Azel.

“What is this?” Rafael wheezed, staggering to his feet. The blood swirled around his body, forming into armor. He wasn’t playing around anymore. “It’s impossible. A demon at Rank 4 can’t have this much power. Not even with a rank up. What are you?”

Lee vanished in a puff of soot and flame, reappearing before Rafael and driving her claws for his throat. This time, Rafael wasn’t caught off guard. He spun one of his swords, knocking Lee’s arm to the side but failing to cut her.

He drove the other for Lee’s chest, but she vanished before the blow could connect. Reforming behind Rafael, Lee sent a brutal spinning kick for the side of his head. He spun out of the way, then let out a roar.

The blood surrounding him erupted, driving out toward her in jagged points. Several of them carved into Lee’s flesh before she could disappear once more. Moxie tried to move, but Rafael had her within his domain once again.

All she could do was watch through gritted teeth as Lee flashed and spun around Rafael, desperately trying to kill him. But, with every movement, Moxie could see Lee’s strength reducing. She’d used up the huge burst of power that had come with her rank advancement. Even though she still had far more strength than she should have, Rafael was taking control of the fight back.

“I will study you,” Rafael hissed, driving a fist into Lee’s stomach and sending her flying back. She spun, landing on her feet and skidding across the dirt. Her fangs parted in a snarl and she flashed toward Rafael again – only to be met with a blast of concentrated blood. Even as it sent her flying, one of Lee’s claws shot out. It caught on Rafael’s jaw, ripping a deep furrow down across his neck.

Lee hit the ground on her back, hissing in pain. She tumbled, bouncing once before managing to catch herself with her claws. Blood streaked her face and her chest rose and fell with desperate breaths.

The blood pouring from Rafael’s wound slowed. It should have been a borderline mortal wound, but the bastard was cheating – he was literally keeping the blood in his body. Rafael reached up to his neck, then cursed.

“I made the right choice in coming,” Rafael snarled, thrusting a hand into his pocket and pulling out a glass vial. “A creature such as yourself must not be allowed to grow any further. I can’t believe a newly made Rank 4 pushed me this far, but the fight ends here.”

Rafael clapped his hands together, shattering the vial. As he pulled his palms apart, his blood swirled together with whatever had been in the vial. Energy crackled at his palms and Moxie’s skin prickled, even from as far as she was.

The energy between Rafael’s palms seemed far too powerful for even a Rank 5. Lee recognized it as well, but she couldn’t get close to the Inquisitor. Blood swirled around him, carving through the ground in a tornado of sanguine blades.

“You should feel honored,” Rafael said, gritting his teeth as blood started to trickle from his eyes. “I’ve never had to use a bloodline curse on a demon before, but I refuse to let a creature such as yourself roam this plane. The damage could be irreparable if you continue to draw breath.”

“I’m going to consume you.” Lee’s horns burned with dark flame. “You won’t take them from me. Nobody will.”

“There won’t be anything left of you to take from,” Rafael replied. His teeth grit in concentration as he tried to contain the power swirling between his palms, but it was too much to handle. The ground shook beneath his feet and it looked like it was drawing every ounce of power he had just to keep from falling. “I’m not stupid enough to take any more chances.”

“As if I’ll let you hit me with that,” Lee said with a bark of cold laughter that sounded completely uncharacteristic for her. “You can barely aim. The moment you release that magic, you die.”

“I know your emotion, Glutton. And I know how you feel about those who belong to you. You’re fast enough that I’d never be able to land this on you anyway. But I don’t need to land anything when you’ll do it for me.” Rafael turned – not toward Lee, but toward Moxie.

He released the magic that had been gathering around him, sending an arrow of screaming blood carving through the air toward her with a howl of magical energy. And, for the second time that day, Moxie could do absolutely nothing but watch as death screamed her name.

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