“How long have I been gone?” Noah asked, his chest tightening even as the words left his lips. Days were precious. Now, especially so. Had he missed another thousand years? What had happened to Moxie? To Lee? To his students, who still waited still back in the mortal plane.

If he’d missed all of that…

Noah’s throat clenched.

“The situation is not as bad as you fear,” Sievan said, lifting a hand and freezing the thoughts in Noah’s head. “You did not remain within the afterlife for long. The time that has been lost can be measured in days, not years.”

Some of the tension slipped from between Noah’s lips in a sigh, but his shoulders remained taut. Moxie and Lee would be fine. They weren’t gone.

He wasn’t so sure if he could say the same for his students back in Arbitage. There was a big difference between a few days and a dozen days. That was especially true in the Damned Plains, where the days were far longer than back in the mortal realm.

Every moment that went by in the Damned Plains mounted the risks they faced. They had too many enemies. He’d honestly pushed it to the back of his mind; his focus completely on finding a way to defeat Wizen.

But now that he had a way out and he hadn’t lost as much time as he feared… the idea of missing their exam was painful — and somewhere deep in his mind, Noah had never considered not being there for it.

Perhaps he’d been delusional. Nobody fell into the Damned Plains on the back of an artifact controlled by a mage far more powerful than them and then decided they’d make it out before a few weeks had passed.

But it was his duty as a teacher to be there for all of them. To make sure they could take the honest test that they should have been promised, and to ensure that nobody tried to interfere with things.

Isabel and Todd were still in danger, and not from the chance of failing the exam. People wanted Isabel’s Master Rune. Verrud, the professor from the Herron family that had tried to trick him and Moxie into thinking he was on their side so he could get closer to Isabel. Jakob, the Torrin professor working with Verrud, and his two brats, Marley and Yulin — and who knew who else.

If I’ve been gone for too long, what happened to them? Verrud and Jakob are nothing to me now. But what does that matter if they’ve already struck? Am I already too late?

“How many days?” Noah asked stiffly. “And where is Moxie? Where is Lee?”

“Just about three or four on the mortal realm,” Sievan said, predicting Noah’s next question with a quiet smile. “I have spoken to your friends. I know where your concern lies. They are safe, and it is not too late. Your friends in Arbitage still reside there, though your time runs thin.”

Thank God. Okay. We can still pull this off. I’ve got the Key. We can make it back in time for the exam, then. It just seems like we’ll have to move quickly.

“Where exactly is safe? Are Moxie and Lee here?” Noah asked, glancing around the platform. Aside from Sticky and Sievan, it was completely empty.

Sievan nodded over Noah’s shoulder.

Noah turned to find a silent portal of purplish black energy blooming in the air behind him. Gentle waves of energy rolled out from it and prickled against his skin. He took a step back as its surface rippled and bulged.

Zath’s huge form stepped out from within the portal, ducking to fit through it properly. He unfurled to his full height, bowing his head in respect to Sievan, and stepped to the side as Moxie and Lee followed him out of it.

“Noah!” Lee exclaimed launching herself in his direction the moment she spotted him.

Noah caught her with a laugh. Lee wrapped herself around his upper body like a koala and Moxie strode over, joining the group and throwing her arms around both of them. Noah was pretty sure he felt several bones in his spine pop as he got squeezed.

“Moxie. Lee,” Noah wheezed. “It’s good to see you too.”

“Where’s Wizen?” Lee asked. “Is he—”

“Gone,” Noah replied. “He’s in the Line. I don’t believe we’ll be seeing him again… and I got what we came for.”

Moxie released him and Lee dropped down to the ground, freeing Noah’s arm so he could lift the Key up and let them all see it. Moxie and Lee’s eyes widened.

“That’s the thing Wizen stole from Tim, isn’t it?” Lee muttered. “Does that mean we can go back home?”

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“Do you know how to use it?” Moxie asked.

Noah winced. The Key had the power to somehow cut through planes and allow passage between them… but he had absolutely no idea how it had worked. Wizen hadn’t exactly given him a tutorial. He’d left Noah with a single word of information to work with.

“No,” Noah said. “But I’m sure we can figure it out. We have to. I don’t suppose the word Orlen means anything to either of you?”

Both Moxie and Lee shook their heads.

“I’ve never heard it before. Why?” Moxie said. “Should it?”

“It was the last thing Wizen told me before he gave me the Key.”

“Wait. He gave you the Key?” Moxie blinked in surprise. “Why would he give it to you? Weren’t you fighting?”

“Wizen’s entire purpose in the Afterlife was finding his daughter, but he had no idea as to the extent of the damage that the afterlife does to a mind. We had a little chat before things really started to go south, and I was able to convince him that bringing her back would be the worst thing he could possibly do.”

“So… what, he just gave up?” Lee frowned. “He didn’t seem like the type to give up.”

“He didn’t give up,” Noah said with a shake of his head. He looked down to Sticky, who sat in silence on the ground, knees pulled up against her chest. “He changed his plan and decided to do his best to save two people instead of one. Sticky died during the fight. Wizen brought her back.”

“From the dead?” Moxie’s eyes went wide in awe. “He actually had a way to bring someone back?”

“Once,” Sticky said softly.

This might be a bit too much of a sore wound for Sticky to keep talking about it here.

Noah shook the key slightly. “We need to figure out how to get this working as soon as possible. Sievan told me that I missed a few days of time. That means we’re really going to be cutting this close. I didn’t think we’d even be able to get back in time, but if the possibility is there, we have to take it. The students’ exam might have already started. We have to get back as soon as possible.”

“That’s what you’re so motivated to return for?” Sievan asked, a chuckle slipping from his lips. “An exam? You, who walked the Line and returned, are worried about missing a test?”

“It’s not just a test,” Noah said with a shake of his head. “I’m a teacher, and my students are in danger. There are kids up on the mortal plane who are being hunted for their runes. I’ve got allies there, but I don’t know how desperate our enemies are. If I have the chance to protect them, I have to take it.”

A flicker of hesitation wrapped around Noah’s chest. Most of his students were back in the mortal plane, but not all of them were. His travels through the Damned Plains hadn’t exactly been solitary.

What happens to Aylin and Violet when we leave? They’re both much stronger than they were when I met them. Strong enough to defend themselves and what I basically had them build for me… but there’s more to life than just being strong.

Yoru is proof of that. She’s one of the strongest demons in the Damned Plains, but she’s been alone for centuries. Is it really right to just up and vanish without speaking to a single one of them?

Noah’s jaw clenched. He was being pulled in two different directions. His duty was to his students — but even though he hadn’t planned on it, he’d picked up a few more in this world. He couldn’t just abandon them.

He looked down at the key. His senses brushed across the artifact. There was power stored within it — there was no doubt about that. An ocean of roiling energy waited within the Key… and Noah had absolutely no idea how to access it.

No matter how hard he tried, his mind couldn’t find common ground with the key. There was no way to access the energy within it. It was immensely powerful, and about as useful as a chunk of lead in his hands.

Shit. Even if I get this working… I still haven’t answered the other question. What do I do?

Sievan’s domain was quiet for several seconds until Moxie broke the silence.

“We need to go back — but we can’t leave the kids here. They don’t deserve that.”

Noah chewed on the insides of his cheeks. He wanted to do everything. To protect his students, both here and in the damned plains. His fingers tapped an incessant beat against his legs as he dug for an answer.

“If you need to leave now, maybe you could come back after?” Sticky asked hesitantly. “So you can help the other demons?”

“Of course. I have no plans of abandoning everyone. I just didn’t think I’d have an opportunity to get back to the others in time,” Noah said. It wasn’t perfect, but it was workable. Right now, the most important thing he could do was make sure he made it back to the mortal plane in time. He’d have preferred to return the key to Tim the moment he could, but waiting a bit longer wouldn’t kill anyone. He looked down at the key in his hand. “I just have to figure out how to use this.”

“I… think I might be able to do it,” Sticky said, her gaze locked on the key and expression twisting in concentration. “There are memories in my head. I don’t think they’re mine, but I remember how to use the key.”

Noah blinked. “You do? Then Orlen—”

Sticky shook her head. “Not like that. No words. More like I’ve done something enough times that I remember how to do it.”

“If you can, then we would be in your debt,” Noah said, holding the key out to Sticky. It must have had something to do with how Wizen had completely rebuilt her body with Weave. He would have loved to know more, but there were many things that he wanted to do and not nearly enough time to do them all.

He just wished —

Wait.

Noah paused.

“Should I stop?” Sticky asked.

“No, you’re fine. Please figure out how to work the key,” Noah said. He looked to Sievan. “But, if you don’t mind, I’d like a little help. I believe there’s a rune you were looking to buy.”

The skin around Sievan’s eyes crinkled in amusement. “What price are you thinking?”

“Oh, not too much,” Noah replied. There was a way he could get almost everything he wanted. It wasn’t something that he had any chance of pulling off on his own — but he wasn’t exactly on his own. “Just a small favor and a bit of Zath’s time.”

“Is that so?” Sievan asked with a quiet laugh. “I know what you seek, and it can be arranged. This is going to be fun.”