87 Tricks II

And the Hellreaver Ape had just sucked all of it out of the clearing.

Noah didn't get any more time to think. The monster swung its arm down for him. Without any wind to increase his speed and nearly no air left in his lungs, all he could do was dive to the side. The ground trembled and he scrambled back to his feet, but another fist was already flying toward him.

This time, there was no way to dodge. Noah's body crumpled beneath the blow and his soul ripped free. His corpse bounced across the clearing and slammed into a dry tree, smashing through it before coming to a stop several feet past it.

"Shit," Noah swore. "I'm an idiot. I should have expected that."

You know, a few of the Hellreaver's moves weren't all that different from the ones the monkeys used. I guess that makes sense, since the monkeys are basically imprinted by the Hellreaver. Unfortunately, it's a whole lot smarter than they are.

The Hellreaver straightened back up. Fire sputtered to life along it again, and its ring of flame reignited as it sat back down to nurse its wounds. Noah gritted his teeth and let the pull of his gourd call to him.

His new body formed and Noah jerked upright beside his tree, his head pounding in pain. Irritably, Noah threw his spare clothes on and gathered his belongings before trudging over to where his body had landed. He wasn't concerned about anything eating it now – he'd already reformed, so he wouldn't take any more soul damage – but he didn't want to leave a corpse sitting around for someone to find.

To Noah's surprise, he wasn't the first to make it. Lee sat in a tree branch above his body, swinging her legs. She raised an eyebrow as Noah approached.

"How'd it go?"

"What do you think?" Noah asked with a grimace as he massaged his temple. "I thought you stayed in Arbitage."

Lee hopped to the ground and shrugged. "I wanted to watch."

Noah grunted. "Not much to see. Just me being a moron."

"I'd gathered that much. For someone who can't die, you sure don't value life much. I suppose that makes sense."

Noah's brow furrowed. "What's that meant to mean? I'm not dying for no reason."

"You talk about death like it's some transactional exchange. I guess it is for you," Lee said with a shrug. She knelt beside Noah's corpse and nudged it. "Not for the rest of us, though."

"That's why I'm not making anyone else do it."

"Isn't it what you're doing for your students?"

"That's different," Noah replied through a grimace. "Besides, I'm trying to find a better way to help. You heard them, though. They don't have another choice. That's how things are here. Besides… death isn't–"

Lee raised an eyebrow. Noah shook his head.

"Never mind. I don't want anyone to die. That's why I'm doing this. To get strong. Also, the Hellreaver cursed me or something. I'm going insane every day this damn thing is alive. It needs to go before I do – or worse, someone else realizes that I can come back to life after I slip up when the Hellreaver sends me a vision at the wrong time."

"What are you talking about? Can't you just hold off until you're stronger?"

I can't explain that without talking about the soul damage, and I'm not sure if I want to share that quite yet.

Noah just shook his head. "I can't explain it. I won't deny that I've not made the best decisions at every turn, but anything is better than nothing – and I don't think I'll survive another month in this way. The Hellreaver has to die."

"If you say so. You going to eat this?" Lee nodded to his body.

"Help yourself."

Lee hunched over the corpse and Noah turned away. He wasn't particularly interested in watching Lee eat his body. Something about that just felt wrong on multiple levels. There were a few loud crunches, followed by a satisfied sigh. Noah turned back as Lee wiped her mouth and offered Noah the blank piece of Catchpaper he'd had in his pocket.

"Here."

Noah took it from her, then glanced around. "Where are my clothes?"

"Ate 'em. I've got a strong stomach. I hope you didn't want those."

Noah sighed and shook his head. "Better this way. Saves me from trying to find out how to clean them from a gallon of blood."

His head pulsated and he rubbed at it with a sigh. Fog still blocked his mind from magic, which was almost more annoying than the actual headache.

"So, what now?" Lee asked.

Noah leaned against a tree and gave her a shrug. "You trying to get me to say something? Like I should stop?"

"Nah. I'm having fun, so I don't care much what you do. I just don't want you getting your students killed or deciding to wander off without me. I'd have to leave Arbitage if you did."

Noah grunted. "I guess a selfish motivation is as good as any. I can't say I'm any better. What do you think I should do? There are too many powerful players, and I'm already drawing their attention. If I'm not strong enough to hold my own, things could go very poorly for all of us."

"Do what you do. I eat people. I don't think I'm the moral advice you're looking for. Ask Moxie, if you trust her enough. It's clear you care about those kids just as much as you care about… whatever it is that motivates you. I'm just making sure you aren't losing your mind."

"I appreciate it," Noah said. "I think I can get the Hellreaver the next time around."

"That's what you said this time. Maybe you are losing your mind."

"It had a trick."

"What if it has more?"

Noah scrunched his nose. "Then I'll get it the time after that."

"The scary thing is that I believe you," Lee said. "You're like a cockroach, but you get stronger every time someone kills you. Kind of scary, honestly."

"I'm not sure getting called scary by something that just ate my corpse in front of me is reassuring."

"It' s a compliment."

Noah grunted. "Thanks."

Lee shrugged. "Just keep leaving me corpses. It's a good replacement for eating other people. You'd be really popular with Skinwalkers. Infinite snacks."

"The moment you start looking at me like nothing more than an infinite food source, we're going to have problems. And I don't plan on making deals with any other Skinwalkers."

"Good," Lee said. "You don't die too often, so there wouldn't be enough food for both of us – and I hate sharing. I'll stop by the Hellreaver's area after class for as long as you insist on doing this. Who knows, maybe you'll actually succeed."

"I'll turn my attention to other things if this goes on longer than a week," Noah promised. "At that point, there are better ways to spend my time."

"A week of good food. Not bad. I'll take it," Lee said with a wry grin. "I'm going to get pulled back to Arbitage soon. I asked Tim to only send me over for an hour, and it took me a bit to find you. I'm gonna go run around until it happens. The only thing that I don't like about cities is that I can't move at full speed."

"Have fun," Noah said, raising a hand in farewell as Lee slipped into the trees and vanished. Then he sat down and waited, running back over the fight in his mind to identify all the spots he'd gone wrong in.

The mistakes wouldn't happen again. Eventually, the Hellreaver would run out of surprises. Then it would fall, and Noah would have his revenge on the Scorched Acres – and his sanity back.