As it turned out, when somebody fainted while Noah was still in their soul, it served as a rather effective boot to the ass.
The moment Alexandra lost consciousness, Empty Proliferation’s power shattered. A sea of inky black darkness exploded up from Noah’s feet and swallowed him whole, yanking him away and back to his own mind before he could even try to check on her.
The scent of burnt wood and dirt greeted his nostrils. In the time it took his eyes to snap back open in the Scorched Acres, Alexandra had already recovered.
She sat up just a moment after him, blinking furiously as she looked around. The girl’s gaze focused on him and he gave her a sheepish grin in response.
“Sorry,” Noah said. “That was a bit much.”
“A bit much,” Alexandra muttered, massaging her temple and letting her head thunk back against the ashy tree trunk behind her. Its branches rustled and she let out a pained yelp. “Shit! That hurt!”
“No more Body Runes. Compared to what you were, you’re quite fragile right now. You need to be careful.” Noah clambered to his feet and brushed the ash and dirt off his pants. He cleared his throat. “Not that I’ve been helping much there.”
“Not helping is an understatement,” Alexandra said, letting her hands drop. She gingerly pushed herself upright. They’d only been under Empty Proliferation’s magic for a few minutes, and it looked like nobody had really noticed what was going on.
Moxie and Lee had everyone’s rapt attention on them. The two seemed to be midway through a somewhat exaggerated retelling of what had happened in the Damned Plains. Lee was eagerly gesturing with the giant black axe that she’d taken from Axil, forcing everyone to keep a fair amount of distance from her to avoid getting cut in half.
A flicker of confusion passed through Noah.
Wait. Where did she get that thing? I remember her taking it from Axil back in Treadon, but I can’t quite place the last time I saw it. She didn’t have the axe back when we were in Sievan’s domain, did she? So where did it—
Lee overcommitted to a demonstrational swing. The axe launched from her grip like a massive boomerang, whumping through the air and flying over the treetops. Everyone turned to watch it vanish into the horizon.
“Oops,” Lee said.
“Didn’t you steal that from a Death Demon?” Isabel asked with a wince. “Maybe we should go get it? It seems pretty valuable.”
“Oh, it’s fine.” Lee gave Isabel a thumbs up. “It always comes back.”
Todd’s eyes darted around and he raised his hands defensively. “You mean like... immediately? Is it about to come flying through the trees and chop one of us in half?”
“No,” Lee said. “It just pops up. Don’t worry about it. I’ve done that at least four times already.”
When!?
A poorly suppressed snicker broke through Alexandra’s lips and she shook her head before running a hand through her hair. “I’m really going to have to be careful. I don’t suppose you’re going to drop any more revelations on me? Because if you do, I’ll need to sit down to avoid a traumatic head injury.”
“That’s it.” Noah hesitated for a moment. “I think. I might have forgotten something.”
“Well, keep it to yourself for a while unless I really need to hear it.” Alexandra blew a strand of hair up with a huff. “I’ve got enough to piece through already as it is. I’ll work on trying to figure out how to do that thing you mentioned to me... preferably without killing myself.”
“Always a good idea. That’s kind of my whole thing, so I’d be offended if someone crimped my style.” Alexandra stared at him like he’d started speaking a new language. Evidently, not every single English word was going to translate properly. Noah cleared his throat and shook his head as she waited for an explanation. “Don’t worry about it. I’m just rambling. Off with you. Go listen to Lee regale you with mostly accurate tales.”
“...and then they blew up a noble demon’s mansion with a giant plant,” Lee said, throwing her hands over her head to emphasize the size of the supposed explosion.
How’d she find out about that one?
Alexandra glanced at Noah out of the corners of her eyes. “Did that really—”
“It’s close enough.”
Noah let out a burst of laughter. The old man sent him a surprised look, but Noah shook his head and held a hand up until he’d gathered himself. “I highly doubt that, Silvertide. They will find nothing. Because, unlike them, I actually know demons. I know what makes them what they are... and I know how to change that.”
“A new type of demon. The girl wasn’t being metaphorical, then,” Silvertide murmured, his eyes burning with inner light, and Noah realized that this was the answer that the old soldier had been fishing for ever since they’d started their conversation.
“No. She wasn’t,” Noah said. He didn’t see any reason to hide it from Silvertide. “I determined what caused demons to have their detrimental affixation with a single feeling or aspect of life, and I can repair it.”
“So all the demons here...”
“Not all fixed. Not yet — but they will be.”
“And this makes them... docile?”
“It makes them who they were meant to be. Are you docile?”
Silvertide’s lips pulled up in a smile. “No. And there are few who are foolish enough to believe otherwise. I see your point, Vermil. I take it that you have great confidence in these demons, then. You are defensive of them.”
“I do. They are my students, just like Isabel and Todd. Many of them are children. They deserve to live just as much as anyone else does.”
“I believe you, for some odd reason. I would act with haste, then. The Inquisition will not wait long. They will have doubtlessly felt your arrival. If there is something you must do to ensure they cannot find your people, then I would do it soon.”
Noah nodded. That was good advice, and it was already well within his plans. “I will, right after Jalen brings everyone back to Arbitage. The demons and I will remain in the forest. And, as far as Arbitage is concerned, I will remain dead.”
“I had thought you might. Do not worry. My mouth is sealed. But, if I may ask, how do you plan to resume normality? Not just with the demons, but for Isabel and Todd. The noble houses—”
“Are welcome to try me.”
“You could need a small army to fight them off if the full truth gets out. Isabel’s Master Rune could mean war.”
A cold smile slipped across Noah’s face as his thoughts drifted to the demons that he’d left back in the Damned Plains — but not without task. Sievan had been kind enough to help him out with a few things. It would take some time, but he was pretty confident that his name would carry a lot of the work for Pirren.
After all, Spider might have left the Damned Plains, but that didn’t mean the demons knew that. Recruitment was going to be at an all time high after news of his meeting with the Lord of Death got out.
“If its war they want, then I think they’ll find that I’m more than ready for it.”
Silvertide’s gaze bore into Noah. “You’re being serious. Just how powerful are you, Vermil?”
“I’d imagine we’ll have the misfortune of finding out soon enough,” Noah replied. “But, until then, I have a few demons to repair. I hope you don’t mind the interruption.”
“Mind?” Silvertide arched an eyebrow. “You’d have to knock me out if you wanted me to look away. Fixing a demon. Bah. You’re talking about the discovery of a century. The next best thing would be to tell me that you’ve found a way to cure death itself.”
The corner of Noah’s lip twitched.
For myself, sure. For others... hmm. Maybe one day.
Silvertide didn’t miss it.
“What was that? Was that a smirk?”
“Curing death,” Noah said through a snort. He shook his head and turned on his heel, heading toward the others. “What a ridiculous concept. Nobody is immortal. Now let’s go fix some demons, shall we?”