Return of the Runebound Professor

Noah left Aylin and Violet in their new tent as he led Moxie and Lee over to their temporary new lodgings. The tents really weren’t much, but they were better than ducking into an alleyway to speak.

“You make a really good demon,” Lee said in a low tone once they were inside the tent.

“I’m going to avoid taking that as an insult,” Noah said. They all sat down, taking advantage of the momentary respite to relax as much as they could. “Aside from you, I haven’t really been a fan of any demons I’ve met.”

“Aylin and Violet seem nice,” Moxie said. “When you aren’t traumatizing them, that is.”

Noah winced. “I’d love to be nicer with them. I really would — but I’m pretty sure that would be even worse, wouldn’t it? Like this, they can assume I’m just some powerful asshole with an agenda that they fit into. If I was acting nice, they’d be terrified. They’d spend all their time trying to figure out my motives.”

Moxie paused, then blinked. “You know, that’s surprisingly perceptive of you.”

“I am a perceptive man.”

“So you are. I just need reminders sometimes,” Moxie said, leaning her head against his shoulder. “I can’t say I love the strategy, but you’re probably right that it’s the best option. What about you, Lee? Any thoughts?”

Lee shrugged. “They’re alive. If they’d made it this far in a city, then they’re desperate to make it farther. Terrifying or not, Noah is probably their best chance. Aylin and Violet were both starving to death when we first met them. They’d probably have both been dead in a few weeks. A month or two at most.”

“And now one of them is Rank 3,” Noah mused. He glanced at his grimoire, which was now apparently more than pleased to let Moxie carry it around.

They’d both been taken slightly by surprise when Noah had been first dressing himself up as Spider and, while Moxie was helping him look as mysterious as possible, she’d absentmindedly lifted it straight off his back.

The book was definitely far more intelligent than it had been when he’d first gotten it. It wasn’t just taking power from the runes he gave it. It was growing. Noah wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but the book had been playing along as of late, so he had no complaints.

“How many runes did it take to brute force that?” Moxie asked. “I can’t imagine it was a low cost.”

“It wasn’t,” Noah admitted. “I sacrificed two existing Rank 3s just to break apart for energy. Aylin wasn’t very experienced so he lost a ton of power, but considering he’d literally never made a rune before, I don’t hold it against him. He seemed pretty intelligent.”

“What Rank 3 does he have now?”

Noah looked at her out of the corners of his eyes. “No idea, Lee. I can’t read demon runes. I gave him a bunch of Fire and Earth runes and guided him on combining six Rank 2s, but the seventh one had his Demon Rune as part of the combination so he had to do that one on his own. When they all combined, the Demon Rune swallowed everything and now the whole thing is unreadable. The final result felt pretty solid, though.”

“I can ask him at some point,” Lee said. A small frown passed over her features before she crushed it. “You were smart to stop before he hit Rank 4.”

Noah’s lips pressed thin. “Yeah. I remember Azel’s warning — and I haven’t forgotten your situation. We’ll find a way to make a Rank 4 without changing who you are, Lee. This is the absolute best place to do that. We have a lot of test subjects.”

“They’re people too,” Lee said. “They aren’t just subjects.”

He paused. They were people. He knew that. It was apparent enough that Aylin and Violet were really no different than Isabel, Todd, and all the others back in Arbitage. Now that he’d spent a little time with Aylin, he had to admit he didn’t want to see the young demon die.

But the other demons in the Damned Plains… they might have been people as well, but when he weighed their lives against Moxie or Lee’s — Silvertide’s words rang through his head once more.

“I haven’t forgotten that,” Noah said softly. “But you and Moxie are infinitely more important to me than any of them are. I’m not going to try to go around killing demons, but I think we’ll be running into more than enough of them that stand in our way for me to do a little experimenting. I can’t afford mercy to our enemies when so much is on the line.”

They all fell silent for a few moments.

“Thank you,” Lee said. “I didn’t mean to make it sound like I don’t appreciate what you’re doing. I was just thinking back to my time here. Before I met you and Moxie and everyone else. There are so many other demons that never got to escape. Demons that just had to adapt or die.”

“Anyone that we can help, we will. But not at the cost of your life. Not at Moxie’s either,” Noah said. His eyes drifted to the gourd at Moxie’s side and his lip curled up in a small smile. “Mine… well, mine is a bit cheaper. I might be willing to sell a few of those.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Lee snickered and Moxie rolled her eyes.

“Just don’t sell them for too cheap,” Moxie said. “You’re like an addict. Don’t forget that killing yourself is not the best solution to every single problem.”

“Hey, I’ve been good about it recently.”

“Which is why it’s even more important to stop you from relapsing.”

They all fell silent as a demon passed by the tent outside, but they continued on without stopping. It seemed that the camp was too scared to try and challenge anything thus far. That was good.

Granted, the first step of the plan was probably the absolute easiest. It almost made Noah feel a bit scummy. Rolling up to a group of Demons far weaker than he was and just blasting them to kingdom come made him feel like a bully.

Fortunately, they’d been assholes first. That made things much easier. If he’d managed to take over this gang without killing the former leader, it would have been harder to solidify power later.

If the only thing that demons respected was power, peaceful takeovers probably weren’t going to be too convincing. They’d learn in time. Even if one of the streetlords was strong enough to fight against him or if they banded together… the end would be the same.

“Do you really think Aylin is going to be able to keep control of the demons here?” Moxie asked with a note of concern in her voice. “He’s got the power now, but he’s still a kid.”

“I think necessity drives people to do great things, even when they aren’t ready to do them yet,” Noah replied. “And he’s got some time to get used to his new strength. If he’s smart, he won’t waste it.”

“We’ll help him, right?” Lee asked.

“Of course,” Noah said. “It would be a complete waste of his life, not to mention all our efforts, if he just got killed the moment we stopped paying attention. We’ll help him. He just can’t know how much we’re helping him or he’ll start to rely on us. For this to work, he needs to be strong on his own. If he isn’t, he’s dead the moment we leave.”

Moxie and Lee nodded.

“So… what next, then?” Lee asked. “I doubt anyone is going to do much here, but it won’t be long before word spreads — especially since you didn’t try to restrict people from talking. The nearest streetlord probably already knows that Golon is dead.”

Noah smiled. “Oh, I’m counting on it. We’ve just been killing a little time to make sure the message has time to spread. I suppose it’s been long enough now.”

“So…” Lee trailed off, sending him an expectant look.

“Oh, go ahead.” Noah rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Just be careful and make sure not to get too carried away.”

“Okay,” Lee said with a cheerful smile. “I’ll bring you back something to eat!”

“Please—”

Lee vanished into a shadow.

“Don’t,” Noah finished, wincing. “Damn it. She’s totally going to bring back a corpse.”

***

Vrith was having a good day for one reason alone — Vroth was not.

Ever since they’d been born, her brother had always seemed to have the upper hand. Vroth stumbled into the best runes. He’d gotten the most training. When they’d taken over a gang together, Vroth had become the streetlord.

Vrith didn’t mind taking the backseat. She didn’t mind working from the shadows — but she did mind getting absolutely no recognition for anything she did. It wasn’t easy corralling a small horde of demons and making sure they obeyed Vroth’s commands. It wasn’t easy training the youths they brought in, nor was it easy watching Vroth take credit for every damned thing she did.

Unfortunately, while Vroth was lazy, he was also powerful. Powerful enough to protect their gang, and powerful enough to keep Vrith from doing anything other than following his orders.

It was rare that Vroth had a bad day, but today was one such day.

“Who does this Spider think he is?” Vroth snarled, his furred fist clenching in fury at his sides. His lips pulled back in a snarl, revealing a row of pointed teeth. “What a ridiculous demand. Killing one streetlord and he goes around acting as if he’s the new lord of the city.”

For all the bluster, Vrith knew Vroth more than well enough to recognize when he was scared. Golon wasn’t the strongest streetlord, but he’d been a respectable opponent. If he hadn’t been, they’d have taken the territory from him long ago.

There was no doubt in Vrith’s mind that Spider hadn’t killed him nearly as easily as the panicked rumors claimed. Rumors were just that. Rumors. They always exaggerated. They always changed reality to twist it into something more interesting — but there was truth at their base. Spider was a formidable opponent, and he was likely coming for them.

“I want him dead,” Vroth snarled. “Before he even has a chance to show his face here.”

As if anyone’s going to do that. If he’s strong enough to handle a streetlord, then he’s strong enough to deal with any of our subordinates, especially when it’s his own camp.

“Vrith, handle it.”

And just like that, Vrith was no longer having a good day.

“I — what? I can’t beat him. He killed Golon!”

“Golon was strong, but he was an idiot. It’s been a long time since you tried your hand against another Rank 3,” Vroth said, a hand clenching around the armrest of his seat. “You should be able to kill him before he even realizes you’re there. You’ve done it before.”

“Not against someone like this!” Vrith exclaimed. “Rumors are rumors, but we can’t just completely ignore—”

“I am the streetlord,” Vroth snarled, cutting her off midsentence. “Are you refusing a direct order?”

Damn it. He’s terrified. Idiot is putting more stock in those rumors than he should.

“Vroth, sending me is a waste. Don’t buy into the rumors so badly,” Vrith said. “Spider doesn’t know what we’re capable of. Our best chance of killing him is together, not by going in alone.”

Vroth hesitated. His hand unclenched and he leaned back, blowing out a slow breath and shaking his head. “You may be correct. I am being hasty. Yes. It would be impossible for someone that powerful to truly be here. A wise call, Vrith. It is a good thing I have kept you as my advisor.”

A relieved sigh silently slipped from Vrith’s lips. Her brother was rash, but he wasn’t an idiot. Now, all they had to do was —

“Excuse me?”

They both spun. A short female demon stood at the entrance of their throne room, chewing on a large chunk of roast meat. Vrith’s blood ran cold. She hadn’t noticed anyone entering, and the door was still closed.

“Who are you?” Vroth demanded, rising to his feet. “How did you get in here?”

“I’m a muss… mess… uh, something,” the demon said, trailing off as she chewed thoughtfully on the meat. “I forgot. Anyway, I’m here to bring a message.”

“What message?” Vrith asked, flexing her fingers. Claws pushed out of the beds of her fingertips.

“Spider sent me to get your answer on if you’d decided to surrender yet.” The intruder held a hand up. She stuffed the rest of the food into her gullet and swallowed it in one bite. “I can wait if you need to think about it, but if you don’t have one soon, I’m going to have to kill you.”

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