“Lee.” Noah’s words were measured. “Is there another demon running around? A potentially very powerful one that Vermil summoned specifically to cause some sort of significant change in the social power of his family?”

“Yup.”

“Please elaborate more than just yup. That’s a massive problem.”

“Why?” Lee asked, tilting her head to the side. “It’s stuck in the Scorched Acres.”

“It was a lot stronger than you, right?”

Lee nodded.

“And you never saw it in the Scorched Acres.”

“No,” Lee allowed, a small frown crossing her features. “Now that you mention it, I didn’t.”

“And you managed to get out of the contract with Vermil on a technicality,” Noah continued. “Which means it wasn’t that sound. Sure, he didn’t prepare for something to sprint through, but the point stands. If you were a lot more powerful than you currently are, do you think you’d be able to get out of that contract?”

Lee swallowed heavily. “Oh. Yeah. I almost certainly would have, especially if Vermil hadn’t gotten a chance to properly bind the demon he summoned.”

“Could you elaborate on binding?”

“Yeah. It works for anyone, but it’s commonly used on demons since we have difficulty projecting our Runes outside our bodies like humans do. Since we’re partially magical ourselves, our bodies resist magic. That also means that, if we can’t draw on our magic, we’re much weaker. Weaker than a human.”

“Interesting,” Noah said, a frown crossing his face. “And how do you bind something?”

“By reversing the energy coming from their Runes. It’s difficult since you need to know exactly what Runes your target has, and Demons guard that very closely. The most common way humans figure it out is by constantly establishing contact for very brief periods of time, then matching up the energy they can detect with–”

“A bunch of Runes that they’re carrying around,” Noah muttered, his skin prickling.

Vermil’s book.

He’d asked for dozens of Runes to figure out which ones the Demon was using. “And demons just let them do that?”

Lee waggled a hand in the air and grimaced. “Not happily, but we also know it’s our best way out of the Damned Plains. A lot of demons tolerate it and intentionally try to give humans the wrong idea about their Runes. If you try to bind something and get one of the Runes wrong…”

“They can use that Rune,” Noah finished. “Vermil screwed up. He got the Rune combination wrong. The demon escaped and killed him, and it’s safe to assume it’s probably roaming around. It could probably be anywhere. Tell me – are demons usually as happy as you are about getting out of the Damned Plains?”

Lee cleared her throat and looked down in shame. “Some of them are bitter about being stuck there. Which tends to get people to send them back, which makes them even more bitter.”

“So older ones are usually…”

“Worse, yeah.”

“Let me guess. The older they are, the stronger they are?”

“Yep.”

“So we’ve got a likely very old, incredibly powerful demon strolling around somewhere, and it’s got a grudge against humans,” Noah concluded. “That sound about right?”

“Yep.”

“On a scale of Ranks, where would you put something like that? Like a Rank 4, or…”

“5 probably. It’s hard to tell when the power gets that high up there and completely eclipses my own.”

Noah cursed under his breath. This time, the severity of the situation impressed itself on Lee as well. She chewed her lower lip.

“Well,” Lee hedged. “It’s not like it’s attacked the area yet. It could be killing people somewhere else. Or it could have run off to find somewhere safer to terrorize.”

“Lovely,” Noah said, struggling not to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Vermil had possibly made the worst summoning attempt in the history of mankind. Not only had he failed to bind the demon he’d actually intended on calling, but he’d mistakenly let out a second demon and also likely called Noah’s soul to him, crushing his own in the process. “Well. We’re in a right pickle. At least I finally have some damn answers, though.”

“Sorry,” Lee said. “I should have told you earlier.”

“It’s not like it would have changed anything.” Noah rubbed the bridge of his nose. “And I already said I understood why you didn’t. I would have done the same in your shoes. I suppose I kind of am doing the same, now that I think about it.”

“What do you mean?” Lee asked.

Noah just shook his head. “Not yet. We’ve both got some secrets, and I don’t feel comfortable outing mine yet. Maybe once this whole thing is dealt with I can start to be a little more open.”

Lee nodded her understanding. “Okay. The demon isn’t really your problem, though. You don’t have to deal with it.”

“Maybe not,” Noah agreed. “But it’s close to Arbitage, which means my students are in danger. If I reported it, I get the feeling that either nobody would believe me or I’d get questioned far too closely for my liking – not to mention I’m still technically a suspect for the whole Hellreaver thing.”

“You did the Hellreaver thing.”

“Suspects can be guilty,” Noah muttered. “Let’s not worry about that. Forget the demon for the moment as well. I’m still sorely lacking in information about myself. I don’t think the Linwicks are going to suddenly vanish anytime soon either.”

“What are you thinking?” Lee tilted her head to the side. “It’ll be difficult to get much more information out of Brayden, and I already told you everything I know about Vermil. There isn’t a whole ton of stuff left you can do if you’re trying to impersonate him.”

Noah rubbed his chin and sighed. “That’s not true. I can think of one thing in particular that could possibly get me a lot more of what I need. I honestly don’t care about the Linwicks, but they aren’t going anywhere. I need to deal with them in a way where they’ll leave me alone.”

“What, are you going to fight them?” Lee snorted in amusement. “You’re a Rank 1.”

“Rank 2, once I combine my Runes,” Noah corrected, then paused. “Well, assuming my current combination works. I’ve got a lot of theory work I need to get around to doing now that I’m basically there. I have a lot of things in general that I want to do, actually.”

“Like what?”

“Right now? Learn Body Imbuement,” Noah admitted. “And that’s just one of many things. I still haven’t gotten a chance to really explore yet. There’s got to be more to this place than just Arbitage.”

“Exploring would be nice,” Lee said, letting her eyes drift past the plants and into the sky above. “I want to do that. And you would have learned some Imbuing already if you hadn’t skipped class to punch monkeys.”

Noah opened his mouth, then paused. An idea started to take root in his head. It wasn’t the smartest one he’d ever had, and that was saying a lot with the events of the past few weeks. And yet, the more he thought about it, the more it started to grow on him.

Despite his best efforts, a spark of excitement lit in his stomach and a grin crossed across his features.

“What are you doing that for?” Lee squinted at Noah.

“I have a plan.”

“That’s uncomfortably close to what you said when you were fighting the Hellreaver.”

“I never said that.”

“You implied it.”

Noah grunted. “This one is better. Much better.”

Lee cocked an eyebrow.

“Just follow me,” Noah said. “We need to speak with Moxie. I have to brush up on some school rules.”

***

“A field trip?” Moxie asked, aghast. “What in the world are you talking about? Do you realize you’re currently under investigation?”

“And? Brayden said he was one of many investigators, right?”

Moxie leaned back in her chair and sent Noah a befuddled look. “Yes. Logically, they’d bring in more than just one person.”

“And there aren’t that many suspects, are there?”

“You and Lee are both major ones, but since Lee isn’t part of the school, it’s just you. Nobody else used the transport cannon to get there, though there were a number of adventurers and other travelers close enough to the area to be considered a suspect as well. There’s also the possibility that someone teleported out. So sure, they aren’t thinking you did it right now, but that doesn’t mean they’ll let you waltz off.”

“What if I went with one of the investigators?”

Moxie opened her mouth. Then she slowly closed it. “What?”

“Brayden is my brother. What if I head home on a field trip? There’s something important that I need to do there. For all of our safety. He’d accompany me, and that would mean the school has no reason to suspect or worry about anything.”

“But why would you ever possibly want to go to the Linwick estate?” Moxie glanced over Noah’s shoulder and around her room, checking to see if they’d somehow been followed. She gave him a worried look.

“Nobody is there,” Noah promised. “Lee is watching to be safe.”

“Then why?” Moxie asked. “What if someone… you know? The chances of someone really recognizing Vermil are much higher at his home estate than they would be here, where he barely interacted with anyone in a positive enough manner to be remembered.”

“First, just let me know if it’s possible. I don’t want to get my hopes up any further before I know for sure.”

“I suppose it could be,” Moxie allowed, rubbing her chin. “Especially if Brayden goes with you. Considering the Linwicks paid for the Hellreaver Ape to be brought here in the first place, nobody would think they’d go light on you, even if you’re part of the family. I just don’t see what you’d accomplish, though. And what about your students?”

Noah chewed his lower lip.

What’s more dangerous? Staying here, where there might be a demon lurking and waiting to start slaughtering people? Or bringing them to the Linwick estate after I let them learn Runes from our book?

“Follow up question.” Noah raised a finger. “Let’s say someone got their hands on another noble house’s Greater Runes and learned them. Would anyone be able to tell?”

Moxie let out a long-suffering sigh. “If you managed to find Runes just lying around somewhere, throw them out. They’re almost certainly fakes.”

“Assume they aren’t.”

“If you know for sure they aren’t, then it would be very difficult to trace anything. Runes are often slightly different from each other, so there’s a chance that you might have learned a very specific rune that the noble family intentionally kept secret, but as long as you don’t go showing anyone the exact Rune you’re using, you’re fine.”

“Okay, great.” Noah rubbed his hands together. “I’ve got one more question. If I reported that a super-powerful demon was sitting, likely near school grounds, and planning to kill a lot of people, would anyone believe me?”

“Not a chance in all the hells.”

“And if you reported it?”

“Equally as likely. The higher ranking mages would have noticed any monster that powerful. Why are you asking this, Vermil? It’s not a very comforting line of questioning.”

“Because there is one.”

Moxie pressed her lips together tightly. “I’d ask if you were serious, but I’d hope you wouldn’t lie about something like this.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Then either the stronger mages have taken care of it, or its strong enough to hide itself from them. Arbitage won’t listen to either of us. I don’t suppose you’ve got someone more credible you can pull from?”

“Afraid not.”

“Shit,” Moxie said.

“And that leads me to my second question. What’s more dangerous – the Linwicks, or the demon?”

“If you aren’t lying, then it’s the demon,” Moxie said immediately. “For the rest of us, that is. For you – the Linwicks. Without a doubt.”

“That,” Noah said, holding up a finger. “Is only if they think that I am Vermil.”

“What are you talking about, Vermil?”

“Not Vermil,” Noah corrected, allowing the coldest grin he could manage to stretch across his lips. “As far as the Linwicks are about to be concerned, I’m the demon.”