Return of the Runebound Professor

Shit.

That thought echoed through Noah’s aching skull like an echoing roar. He could barely manage anything else. His brains were so thoroughly scrambled that it felt like he was processing the world with a quarter second of delay, but even that wasn’t enough to keep the gravity of the situation from slamming down on his shoulders.

The Apostles had found him.

Are they here because they finally figured out that I’m the one Decras was looking for? Or are they here because of Garina?

Damn it. Something’s gone wrong. Really, really wrong. Garina definitely didn’t want this to happen any more than I did. Did she actually get killed by the Night’s Shadow? There’s no way. But she’s not here… and I’m nowhere near ready to deal with the Apostles in any capacity.

“That’s lovely, but I actually have dinner plans already. Maybe we could reschedule?” Noah said, his eyes flicking around the room as his mind scrambled for a plan. He didn’t have access to his magic. His gourd was in the room with him. Dying would give his secret away, not to mention potentially reveal his connection with Decras’ magic.

The Apostle’s molten eyes bore into Noah’s skull like they were trying to melt a hole straight through it. It was impossible to tell what the man was actually thinking. His features were so sunken and drawn taut that he barely even looked human. There was no way Somnus had any internal organs. He was just bones and skin.

“This was not an invitation,” Somnus said. “It is a command. Your obedience is optional. I trust you should know enough about the Apostles to understand that attempts to resist would be pointless — or has Garina failed completely in her duties?”

Noah paused for a moment.

They’re just 80% of the way there.

“Oh, no. She’s very good at her duties. Dutiful. Very dutiful,” Noah rambled as he stalled for time. Even if the Apostles didn’t know what he was yet, it would be very hard to keep things that way if he actually went with Somnus. He needed a way out. One that wouldn’t put anyone at—

Wait.

Where’s Moxie?

Noah’s eyes snapped to the window. The sun had moved a fair amount through the air. It had been hours since he’d collapsed in bed. Not long enough for his magic to return, but enough that Moxie should have returned from meeting with Karina and Contessa.

His other thoughts fell away. Noah’s features went as flat as a metal sheet. Even the pain pounding against his skull crumbled and found itself shoved to the side. He nearly dove off the table to grab the other man by the collar of his shirt, but he stopped himself.

Suddenly jumping at Somnus would give away too much. He couldn’t let on how much he cared or the Apostles would use her against him. Giving them leverage like that was a game-losing play.

Noah didn’t see any signs of struggle in the room. It was exactly as it had been left when he’d come back with Moxie. He refused to believe that she would have gone down without a fight, even against someone as powerful as Garina.

That meant she was probably somewhere else. It did not mean she was safe. Moxie could have been waylaid somewhere outside of the room, while she’d been with Contessa and Karina or on her way back.

Worry built within Noah. He couldn’t outright ask Somnus. The loss of Mascot stung stronger still. If the cat had been around, he could have asked him to check on her. But Mascot wasn’t around to help him anymore.

He was on his own.

What do I do? I can’t just let him take me. Not when Moxie is potentially in danger. Even if they have nothing to do with her not being here, that just means someone else could have attacked. We have no shortage of enemies.

The pounding pain in his skull returned, not to be denied any longer. Noah gritted his teeth.

How do I get out of this?

“The Apostles are that set on seeing me for dinner?” Noah asked.

“Yes,” Somnus said simply. He didn’t seem very bothered by the long delay in Noah’s responses.

“Great,” Noah said. “Then come back at dinnertime. I wouldn’t want to keep them waiting, after all. There are still a few hours before then. That’ll be enough time for me to get properly dressed. It would be a shame to meet everyone looking like this. I have to get my white face paint and dark eyeshadow.”

“No,” Somnus said. “I will not return later. You will come with me. Now.”

Great. Does anyone in the Apostles have a sense of humor, or are they all either dry, insane, or just assholes?

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Somnus had discovered the most effective strategy against Noah. Namely, completely ignoring everything Noah said and just barreling ahead toward the goals he’d come here to accomplish.

I don’t care what the hell the Apostles want. I’ll deal with them after I know Moxie is safe. There’s no way for me to check on her as long as this guy is here. It could just put her in even more danger.

“Ten minutes?” Noah tried. “I get ready fast. I’ll even skip the fancy underwear.”

For that matter, why is he even entertaining me? It doesn’t seem like he cares about anything I say. But for all the talk of going now, he’s not really being that insistent on actually taking me anywhere. Even Jalen kidnapped me faster than this.

“No,” Somnus said. “We are leaving now.”

Noah went to reply, but the words never made it out from between his lips. His brow furrowed. The shadows in the corner of the room were… odd. They were pooling in a way that they shouldn’t have been, almost like water rather than light.

A deep sense of unease exploded up within him like it had broken free of restraints. Noah’s back went stiff, and in the corner of the room, the shadows pooled faster still.

The walls of the room suddenly wavered. They twisted like seaweed and the bed warped beneath Noah as the sheets suddenly forgot they were meant to hold their cohesion. He jerked to his feet, spinning in confusion.

“What the hell?” Noah asked. The floor bubbled and sunk beneath him as it turned to quicksand. He jerked his feet up from its grasp, stumbling until a twisting wall found his back.

Somnus didn’t so much as blink. He continued to stare mutely at Noah. It was almost as if the Apostle was entirely unaware of what was happening.

Noah paused as a thought cut through the confusion and surprise.

Somnus wasn’t blinking at all. He wasn’t just seemingly unaware of the world. He was completely frozen, a still image in a melting world.

A spike of pain drove into Noah’s head. His mind shuddered. He clasped his hands to his skull and gritted his teeth. Fragments of the room fell away around him like chips of paint peeling away from a sun-damaged wall. Bright white light poured in from the holes they left behind.

It was a light Noah recognized.

Soul Damage. What is that—

His eyes went wide.

“I’m not awake,” Noah whispered.

The world shattered.

His eyes snapped open. Noah jerked upright, suddenly back in Moxie’s bed. The room was as it had been all around him — and sitting in the chair at the bedside was Somnus. He held one hand over Noah’s stomach, while the other was palm-out in the air behind him.

A twisting black portal the size of a dinner plate swirled behind him. In the brief moment that Noah locked eyes with him, the portal grew larger by an inch.

This time around, Apostle’s features were far from expressionless. A flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.

“You’re awake?” Somnus asked, pulling the hand that had been over Noah back. “How? You should be dreaming. I did not want to interrupt your rest.”

“That’s why you were so content to sit around and do nothing but tell me no,” Noah said, his eyes thinning into slits. “You were keeping me asleep until you finished making the portal.”

“A mercy that seems to have been wasted,” Somnus said. “Stay where you are. I am not here to fight you. You are as troublesome as Crone said you would be, but there is no reason for odds between us. We are not yet enemies.”

“I’m more than happy to be buddies,” Noah said. “And we can start that in exactly ten minutes, when I come back after getting changed. That’s a perfectly reasonable request.”

“It is not,” Somnus replied. “Others might see me. I cannot allow for that. It will destabilize far too much. Garina would be displeased. Anyone that becomes aware of my presence will have to be put down, and I take no pleasure in killing the weak. Now stop distracting me and remain silent. I have bound my soul down so that nobody will detect my presence, but if you make enough noise that someone comes in, then their death will be on your shoulders.”

Noah’s gaze sharpened. Somnus didn’t know it, but he’d just revealed a fair amount of vital information. Garina was alive. That was good. The other Apostles also still respected her enough to not try and fuck around with her job.

Somnus’ portal had grown large enough to squeeze through now, but it looked like he planned to make it bigger still. Noah didn’t protest. Every second it took the Apostle to prepare himself was another one for him to force thoughts through his aching mind.

“You’re not meant to be here, are you?” Noah asked.

“As previously stated. Garina is occupied.”

The corners of Noah’s lips twitched. She was occupied right now, but something told him she wouldn’t approve of Somnus rolling up on her territory out of nowhere. And that meant if Noah managed to get rid of him, it was very unlikely he’d get a chance to come back anytime soon.

Okay. I might be able to work with this. Even without my runes, I’ve got a way to get Garina’s attention. If I shove Somnus through the portal right as he makes it, then draw on my pattern and try to squeeze some magic out of myself by using a pattern, I should be able to get Garina to come check out what the hell is going on.

It was far from ideal. The Apostles wouldn’t be happy about it, but it would be far from the first time he’d defied them. They were the type that respected power more than anything else. Crone had actually kept to his word, so Noah was willing to take his bets that they wouldn’t be too pissed about getting outplayed.

A groan came from the other side of the door.

“What in the Damned Plains?” Moxie’s voice asked, her words dripping with exhaustion.

Somnus’ eyes narrowed. “She woke up. Another one? How?”

Relief washed over Noah at her voice.

Somnus must have somehow put her to sleep to disguise his presence.

There was a moment of silence. Then Noah’s thoughts shifted to horror on a dime. He knew Moxie more than well enough to guess what her thought process were. She wasn’t the kind to randomly fall asleep in a hallway — which meant someone had caused it to happen.

And if Noah had suddenly woken up right outside Moxie’s room when she’d been sleeping in the bed, he knew exactly what he’d have done.

Somnus turned to the door with a sigh. He lifted his hand, grayed fingers curling into a clawed shape. “What a waste of potential.”

No!

Vines exploded through the door in a roar, tearing it off its hinges as a tidal wave of green plant flesh poured into the room.

“I’ll be back!” Noah yelled as he lurched into motion.

He slammed his shoulder into the husk of a body that was Somnus. The other man was about as heavy as a feather. A surprised grunt tore from his thin lips as he was lifted off his feet. And, with a rather significant amount of déjà vu to accompany him, Noah tumbled into the black portal alongside the Apostle.