Zoe hated to admit it, but all her experiences with the magic communities of all sizes and allegiances had landed her with a surprisingly cynical opinion about other fellow magic users. It was nearly impossible to find anyone of some impressive talent who was also a genuinely sincere and altruistic person. Even the nicer one usually had some agenda and a good chunk of skeletons in their closets.
More unpleasant wizards, however… Yep, it could go anywhere from causing wars between nations, inhumane experiments or even serial murders. Zoe had seen all of those during her first twenty years of life - that was a nasty perk of being an apprentice to the elder hedge witch with multiple connections.
No, of course, she had some respect for that quirky hag with her peculiar mindset of maintaining the true neutrality stance. However, Zoe had never learned from her master anything about the manipulations, restricting herself only to actual magic lessons. In a way, the elder witch had been more of an instructor, rather than a true master that the most of her magical acquaintances had.
So, Zoe couldn't understand the kind of bond Douxie had with Merlin. Well, she probably could relate to the found family aspect, as she had the same with other folks at the Hex Tech. But seeing a parent in anyone?
Zoe had never known her birth parents, her caretakers had felt more like siblings, and the magic master had been distant enough. So the head witch of the Hex Tech, being all that motherly with her, never sat well.
No, sure thing, the boss had shown no preferential attitude - more like, she considered everyone her children. Some found it endearing, some called it annoying, but secretly enjoyed.
Zoe, on the other hand, always felt awkward when staying in the same room with her superior. Especially when it wasn't about the work or magic and just involved some life wisdom.
Right now, she should have kept investigating the possibility of people visiting GDT Arcane Books being attacked, like she had promised Douxie. And what had she gotten instead? Her boss with a concerned expression who wanted to have some important talk.
"Look, Tyronoe, can't we just drop it until later?" Zoe begged, wondering how to escape it fast. She even called her superior by her real name - which was a bold step. The boss hated that one - it was an effective reminder of her actual age and apparently, had some connection to unpleasant memories.
Usually, Zoe would have been way more considerate, but if she needed to poke an old sore spot to escape yet another pointless lecture, she would seize the possibility. Tyronoe's important talks tended to be just pieces of life advice (sometimes, quite bizarre and better never applied to reality for everyone's sanity's sake!).
"I'm going by Tina nowadays," the boss corrected indifferently, as if there was no issue with hearing her name to start with. Her usual reaction would be way more hostile. Something serious had happened for sure.
Zoe frowned. Her mind ran through all the recent events - and yes, there could be only one thing Tyronoe could discuss.
"I assume it's about the potential war? I've thought the Hex Tech has decided on remaining neutral."
What was the point of beating around the bush? Granted, the head witch had always prioritized keeping her charges as far from the conflict as possible, but she was also one of the more benevolent magic users, with no lingering grudges against humanity. So, would it be that far-fetched for her to change her usual stance and openly support the Avalon group, even if just for cooling down some hotheads in the Janus Order? The Hex Tech had a wider reach, after all, making them a problematic party to have as an enemy.
"Not exactly," Tyronoe shook her head. "We're still neutral and will stay that way…"
Apparently, the guess was way off, though not that Zoe felt upset because of that. If it wasn't connected to the current difficult situation between different fractions in Arcadia, perhaps the boss's conversation would be just a regular nagging. And her ignoring her true name being mentioned aloud… Well, she was an adult, after all, so she could move on from that and continue living.
"If so, we can simply talk about it later, Boss. You know, at the moment I have some stuff I'd rather deal with now or else it…"
"Not 'later'. Now," Tyronoe interrupted her subordinate, some metal evident in her tone.
Sure thing, all motherly was more of her thing, however, at times she could be strict and rule with an iron fist - and Zoe wasn't going to check her superior's patience's limits when she was in that kind of mood.
"I've talked with Lumiere recently," the head witch continued after getting no response. "Can you guess what she told me?"
"Great," Zoe muttered under her breath.
Thanks, Lumiere. Never knew you liked to rat people.
To be honest, Zoe had overstepped the boundaries so many times. Lumiere, as a member of the Damage Control department, had the perfect reason to complain about her tendencies. It was more of the question why now and not earlier.
"Look, Boss, I know that I'm not the best in following rules, but there haven't been any single time when my actions endangered the Hex Tech," she started calmly, wondering what exactly Lumiere had told to Tyronoe. Most likely, not something trivial if the head witch decided to summon the offending party.
Still, Lumiere, despite all her unfriendly tendencies, had never struck Zoe as someone who would have run to her superior whining.
"It's not about endangering the Hex Tech," the boss sighed, massaging her temples. For some reason, she looked so tired. "It's about your boyfriend…"
"Casperan?"
No, it was just ridiculous. If anything, Zoe's bond with Douxie was stronger after surviving decades of wandering together and countless life-threatening monster hunts. Yes, she liked the Hex Tech and its members, but they weren't in position to question her life choices.
"Can you please stop to control my actions outside my work, Tyronoe?" she hissed. "I've thought you were above such pettiness!"
That had to be it - Zoe had all the right to just leave, slamming the door behind her. There was no point in listening to anything else. Whatever the boss had imagined about her relationship - did it actually matter? And Lumiere! She had to be the one to throw some ridiculous suggestions leading to all of this.
"I know he's Merlin's apprentice," Tyronoe's curt remark stopped Zoe in her tracks.
"Well, I'd be surprised if the witch of your age and caliber missed such a detail," she spat back. "And seriously, many of us cannot stand that Arthurian prick, however! Merlin is Merlin and Douxie is Douxie - he's his own person, not just someone's shadow! So, please, stop giving him that kind of attitude!"
It pissed her so much! How many times had it happened already during their travels? Douxie had been judged for his association with his master only - and it meant facing some hostility too.
It made Zoe sick to the core. She hoped that at least the Hex Tech could be more open-minded.
And…
Her boss just had to go and trample over all those hopes.
"Zoe," the head witch sighed once again, "would you care to sit down for some minutes and listen without getting defensive or storming out? You're not a kid - so decide after hearing out everything."
Perhaps she was right. Perhaps it was an actual overreaction, but…
Zoe turned back, marching to the chair furiously and dropping into the chair. She swore silently that if her superior continued with some kind of deranged nonsense, she would actually slam the door.
"Let me set it straight," Tyronoe started slowly, putting emphasis on each word, "unlike many others, I've never hated Merlin. Honestly, it's challenging to hate the guy when you knew him, since he was just a snotty brat clutching in Ganieda's skirt. And, believe me, he was a handful even back then. But I digress. The point is that I have nothing against Merlin, and obviously, I have nothing against young Hisirdoux."
"Then why do you even waste my time?" Zoe scowled.
If it was just another dumb conversation, then…
"My problem is the baggage Merlin managed to leave his apprentice before falling asleep," apparently, the head witch opted to ignore her subordinate's rude remark and continued her explanation instead. "He is difficult person, and even if I don't hate him, I cannot agree with his decisions and actions. He might have prevented trolls from wiping out a good chunk of humanity, however, he made more enemies than one person can handle. And young Hisirdoux needs to deal with the fallout of all of that."
"Seriously, I haven't even imagined!" Zoe's tone was full of sarcasm. "Should I remind you I have been there too?"
Probably, if someone in this world except Douxie himself knew about all the details of his struggles the best, that would be Archie and then her. And some random ancient witch couldn't even perceive all the hurt and stress the wizard-in-training had to endure - she hadn't been there, witnessing all of that.
Besides… Yes, Zoe suddenly understood what kind of conversation it was.
"You want me to cut all the ties with Casperan," she said aloud. It wasn't a question or a wild guess - and Tyronoe's expression was a perfect confirmation.
"You know our codex."
"I do - it's not that difficult to memorize. And I can say for sure - nothing there ever suggested that separate agendas were not allowed. It's basically you're free to do everything as long as it doesn't harm the Hex Tech," Zoe's voice was trembling with barely concealed annoyance. Well, it felt nasty to discover her workplace's double standards. "Neither my actions, nor my bond with Douxie, have ever been a problem before. So why should this potential war change a thing?"
She felt an urge to just go and quit - no matter how much she loved her job, such control wasn't worth any benefits she got.
"I've thought you were the person of reason," the boss avoided her eyes for some reason. "The problem isn't the current situation. Or more like, all this mess is just a tiny part of the entire issue. Don't you think that changelings act too bold now? Isn't it a good sign that they don't risk a thing? Even if there's some kind of miracle to stop the current potential war, I feel that way a bigger one is incoming and then… Let me set it straight - your boyfriend, being Merlin's apprentice, will go on the front lines. And you'll fight by his side, like you've always done. You'll get hurt or killed - and that will be the reason for the Hex Tech to get involved. Zoe, you're a capable witch, experienced and with an impressive arsenal of spells. But most of your peers here are different - they are novices, weak or traumatized folks looking for a perfect shelter to protect them from this cruel world. I won't lead those kids to war."
She was right - everyone had their own stance in the current situation, their own truth and values. And… Somehow, it was nearly impossible to tell who was right or wrong. Was Tyronoe's demand unfair? Undoubtfully - it was an open intervention into the private life of her subordinate. Apparently, the head witch understood it perfectly herself. She clearly went against her own principles here, deeming them an adequate sacrifice.
Zoe could understand it, perhaps, even sympathize a bit.
However, she would never sacrifice her own bonds, regardless of the possible consequences.
She could throw away something else, though, even if it meant losing protection and a valuable information source. Well, not that Zoe wasn't used to struggling against the world without any resources.
"I guess it means parting ways," she shrugged, looking straight into the boss's eye. "This way, everyone should be satisfied."
Tyronoe remained silent for a while - at some point the younger witch wondered if she could go away already. Intuition told her to stay - and well, it was correct this time.
"I told Lumiere you'd never change your position," the head witch broke the silence at last. "She had a different opinion, believing that you'd treasure your position here more… Well, when you came here I promised you to never force you to stay in the case you decided to leave… However, neither I'll ever force you to leave if you prefer to stay."
"Really? Then what the hell was this blackmail plan?" Zoe couldn't help scoffing at that.
At times, she seriously hated ancient wizards and witches - those often didn't know themselves what they actually wanted.
And Tyronoe - what was her wish? To make Zoe change her mind? To kick her out before everything went south? Or to have her around despite everything?
Apparently, the last one was the closest.
"I have a proposal for you. You'll stay at Hex Tech de facto, free to use whatever help you possibly need…"
"However, I'll be a stranger on paper," Zoe finished for her.
That was actually the best compromise decision, even if it didn't sit well with her. But saying no meant losing the Hex Tech's advanced network of information and a limitless supply of some magical ingredients. Tyronoe actually proposed to save the access to those - the only thing Zoe would lose was the protection.
It seemed she would be on the same board with Douxie quite soon, regardless of the situation.
Claire felt empty and conflicted. Sure thing, she was still annoyed with Jim and Douxie concealing the truth from her and at times blatantly lying (well, the latter was more of playing along with her misunderstanding, but still!).
However, staying alone while trying to consider everything and understand the reasoning behind their action had led to a quite unpleasant realisation.
She was no different from them.
Never explaining a thing about the monster and the state of her room - check.
Never telling her supposedly close friends about her magic - check.
If anything, Jim apparently had been more sincere because he had told his best friend about everything.
Claire groaned. The inner dilemma was killing her - the mind had already found all the justifications she needed, the heart, however, was dead-set on sulking.
At least, the Shadow Realm stopped with its nasty trick of pulling her in. Yes, that was quite a relief, but…
Claire also wished to go there once again, if only for understanding it more. Sure thing, it was eerie with its mysterious atmosphere and that overwhelming presence of some powerful witch. Yet it also lured her soul, no different from the fire luring a moth.
Wow, if her mind had come with that kind of comparison, then she should have probably avoided another travel to the Shadow Realm.
Claire picked up her magical textbook, flipping through the pages in an attempt to find anything that could connect all the dots. Yes, she had done it before, but it was before she had learned the truth, so maybe…
As expected, there was nothing about trolls.
Nothing about changelings.
Ditto about magic amulets and chosen protectors.
Someone had worked hard to keep everything about those matters concealed. Was it not common knowledge among magic users?
Or the author simply didn't want to scare off the novices. Somehow, that one also made sense.
Mary and Darci coming for a visit halted Claire's research momentarily. Perhaps it was for the better - she needed a break from all of that supernatural stuff. Some silly chatting about school was something she craved.
And it actually helped, be it Mary's complaints about Steve's insufferable ago or a description of Ms. Janeth's last lesson.
"And… Can you imagine, someone else was absent today?" Mary suddenly smirked. "Judging from your father's sour expression, I think my prediction came true…"
"Mare, don't jump to conclusions," Darci sighed. "Nevermind her."
Claire stared at both girls in bewilderment. Somehow, she had felt out of the loop.
"Explanation, please."
"Oh, come on!" Mary's smile grew even wider. "We all here know who visited you before us."
"Objection!" Darci protested loudly. "I believe that everything is in your head!"
Something odd was going on there - and Claire wasn't happy about that. If there was some other secret here involved, then…
"My sixth sense tells me Jim Lake was here in this room."
"How many times your sixth sense has been wrong so far?"
"How do you know that Jim came earlier?"
Darci's and Claire's questions were simultaneous, so it took everyone some time before the realisation struck.
And the reactions were obviously different. Mary was celebrating for whatever reason, Darci seemed genuinely surprised of the twist. Their friend, however, still had no idea what exactly was going on.
Jim had come together with Douxie, and the latter had decided to disclose the truth only after Claire's message.
"So has he confessed?" Mary's impatient question threw her out of the loop entirely. Ok, what kind of alternative dimension it was if her best friends knew about Jim's lies?
"I wish he didn't."
It escaped her lips before Claire managed to process it fully. Yes, those were her true feelings - at least part of her soul wanted to go back to the time when it hadn't been that awkward and she had still considered Jim Lake the fellow magic student.
"Oh boy," Darci whistled, her expression suddenly full of sympathy.
"No way," Mary scowled. "I've thought you liked the guy!"
"It has nothing to do with his lies though," Claire sighed, suddenly realising some oddity. It was as if her friends meant something else altogether.
There was simply no way that Mary and Darci were also involved with the supernatural without her knowing.
Then…
Yep, she obviously caused a major misunderstanding.
"What kind of lies are you talking about, C-bomb?" Darci asked slowly, shooting a warning glance at Mary, who turned flustered out of the blue.
That was bad. Claire suddenly realized she had no right to tell anything about the stuff Jim and Douxie had told her.
"That he didn't come to try-outs because he liked theatre," she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. Ironically, it was one hundred percent truth - that was just Jim trying to explain the magic armor to Mr. Strickler.
"Oh, that one," Mary giggled, sounding really disappointed. Darci elbowed her.
It was official - those two were hiding something as well. Claire felt some headache starting to build-up. Was it a day for unpleasant revelations or something?
"So what kind of confession you meant then, Mare?" she asked.
"Well, yesterday Lake was looking for you during the rehearsal," Mary started fidgeting for some reason and casting pleading glances at Darci.
"He wanted to discuss something important with you," her friend took a hint and came to the save.
Well, that at least made some sense.
So, apparently, Jim had attempted to tell Claire the truth before she had demanded answers. Maybe she was too harsh so far.
"Was Douxie with him too?"
"Who?"
Oh, it was another mistake. Her friends knew nothing about the link between Jim and Douxie.
"Wait, Douxie, as in that charming waiter from the Benoit's that Mary tried to hit on some months ago?"
Darci's attempt to clarify only made everything worse.
"Ok, how does that guy even fit into everything?" Mary huffed. "Last time I've checked, he wasn't from our school!"
"Well, he's Jim's friend, and they came together…"
"Don't tell me that dork brought a friend!"
The damage control wasn't working, that was for sure. Mary looked as if someone had offended her family or something. That was genuinely scary.
"I think we're tiring our Claire-Bear too much," Darci smiled, getting a hold of her huffing friend. "It's time to go."
Even though Claire felt grateful for that unexpected help, some guilt was already gnawing at her soul. Did being involved with the supernatural also meant lying to dear people? It wasn't for that long and she was already under too much stress. And most likely, it would keep piling until ruining her regular life…
That had been certainly a bizarre day, be it the death match at the beginning of it or the difficult conversation with Claire that might have resulted in the girl-in-question never ever approaching him.
Jim sighed, getting a better grip on a kitchen knife and returning to cut vegetables. Tobes had proposed to go out and have some tacos in a vain attempt to brighten a mood, but no one had joined him.
Douxie had run off, claiming that he should have worked on a defensive barrier around Claire's house. Probably, he also needed something to keep his mind busy.
Wasn't that exactly the same reason why Jim was working on a dinner right now?
He had not even the slightest idea what might have come next. His victory against Draal was nice and got him some boost of confidence, but… Yeah, the enemy side had decided to play dirty.
Douxie had been attacked and lost his place to stay.
Claire had barely survived an assault.
Who could be the next one?
The enemies supposedly couldn't know the Trollhunter's identity, so why it felt as if they knew?
Was it just a paranoia?
Perhaps Douxie was right, and they tracked everyone connected to GDT Arcane Books.
The unknown drove Jim crazy for sure. He wished Toby had been nearby right now, sharing some more optimistic insight. Alas, his best friend had seemingly misunderstood the mood, deciding on giving some space approach.
And Claire…
She had been so upset, and it was a justified anger, and…
Oh, he was going in circles. Just great.
"Wow, are we having a party I'm not aware of? You can feed an army with that!" his mom's joking comment broke his reverie at once.
Jim unwittingly cast a look at the clock. Sure thing, he had lost track of time, but wasn't it too early for Barbara to come from her shift?
"Free day this time, kiddo," she answered his silent question with a smile. "And I think I've told you that…"
Jim tried recalling it and failed miserably. Yep, the day was too eventful, that's for sure.
"So, what's up with this feast?" his mother gestured over multiple dishes. "Too much for just two of us... Some guests?"
"Just got carried away," Jim chuckled, slightly embarrassed. He actually had cooked way more than usual. Most likely, he would have continued for a while if Barbara hadn't stopped him.
And now - what would she possibly think about all of this? His mom could be sharp when it came to reading slight changes in his mood.
Lying once again was seemingly Jim's only option.
But…
He recalled the talk with Claire. What if that kind of situation happened once again, this time with his mom?
No, it could be even worse - at least, his crush had no problems with the fact that Jim was risking his life. Barbara though… Yeah, the hell would freeze over the day she would give her son an approval to go out fighting huge stone monsters.
No, she'd more likely barge into the Trollmarket giving everyone there a piece of her mind.
But then… What if Barbara's ignorance would put her in danger instead of protecting, like it happened with Claire?
Wait, no.
Claire had gotten hurt because she had entered the supernatural world, yet lacked some information.
His mom wasn't a part of all of that craziness in any form, so keeping secrets and continuing with lies should be a way more reasonable approach, and…
"Let me help you set the table," Barbara seized a plate from her son. "You're so quiet today - has something happened?"
She had noticed like Jim had suspected before.
"I had a fight with a friend," he responded reluctantly. Well, that could describe the situation with Claire to a certain extent.
"Toby?"
"No."
"True, you two make up shockingly fast…" Barbara nodded absent-mindedly. "Then… Someone from your chess club?"
What club?
Oh, wait, it was a part of the cover story. He should have paid more mind to keeping it consistent if he wanted to stick to his lie.
"Kinda."
"Someone not happy to see you there again?" the mother frowned. "Seriously, I'm eager to give those jerks a piece of my mind…"
"No, no, no," Jim interrupted her at once. "Actually, I've already resolved that one… It's something else this time."
"Oh, sorry for the outburst," Barbara smiled sheepishly. "So, what's happened then?"
"Well, how could I explain?" he stopped, trying to find some good words. His mind refused to cooperate for some reason. "Mom, how would you feel if you found out that someone you trusted lied to you?"
Clank!
Jim turned around, searching for a source of the odd sound.
His mother had dropped the plate, and it shattered into the pieces.
"I'll clean it!" she announced hastily, dropping on her knees with some ridiculous overeagerness.
"Should I help?" Jim asked, staring at her in bewilderment. For a second, this kind of uncalled behavior made him forget about everything else.
"I'm fine," Barbara responded, searching for the pieces of the plate and never raising her head. "So was a fight because your friend lied to you?"
"Actually, I lied," her son confessed guiltily. "And I think she'll never forgive me for that," he added quietly.
He didn't expect any response from his mom as she seemingly was more invested in locating all the shards, but…
"And what would you do if you were in her shoes?"
That was a quiet, barely audible question and for a split second Jim could swear Barbara seemed to appear even guiltier than him. Besides…
Who was that question about?
Was his mom also lying?
He nearly smacked himself mentally for having such kind of horrible thought. What kind of stuff Barbara could possibly hide? Some problems at work? Her own exhaustion?
There simply couldn't be anything major to start with.
No, everything was just a fruit of Jim's imagination going wild. Was it that unexpected, with his life being full of all kinds of supernatural stuff now? With magic, trolls, mystical amulets and shapeshifters around, everything could be possible.
However, Barbara had no connection to that altogether. She was his safe haven from all of that craziness, the pillar of stability to keep him sane.
And it should have remained the same. His mom did nothing to deserve evil trolls or goblins in her life.
"No idea," Jim responded honestly. Sure thing, he wished Claire (and his mom, if she ever learned the truth) would accept and understand his reasoning and forgive him, but… If it had happened to him, he would have been as upset and angry.
Because, in the end, the lie wasn't that justified - just a picking one of two evils…
She surely needed to take some time off more often. Nomura couldn't help grinning like a madman remembering how enjoyable her day had been without any need to care about goblins, Bular, her fellow protector of the museum and especially Stricklander's unhinged tasks.
Oh, that smug ass was already missing his favorite errand-girl - she could say it for sure, judging from his messages. He could wait though - and probably learn to cherish his aide meanwhile!
Well, the last one was more of wishful thinking. Leopard simply couldn't change its spots - and Stricklander would remain a skilled manipulator until someone obliterated him.
Nomura frowned, remembering some messages her contacts at the headquarters had sent her. No, sure thing, she had a 'vacation', however, keeping with the situation was always vital part if you wanted to survive.
Not only that, Shen had visited as well not that long ago, faking a wish to have an idly chat and lamenting about the lack of capable subordinates. You needed to be braindead not to read between the lines and miss the invitation to join her side.
Well, Nomura could imagine Shen having some schemes of her own - personally, she never liked that cunning snake. That one was smart, but too faithful in following the changeling codex, meaning that working in the same team with her would be just suicidal.
On the other hand, it might have given Nomura an opportunity she craved so much.
And, honestly, everything she had learned so far made her feel conflicted. The Janus Order attempted to dethrone Stricklander, and apparently, Nomura herself could walk out of it unscathed.
A rare opportunity for the freedom, yet…
She hated to admit that she was happy with that smug manipulative bastard as her boss. They had gone through so much shit together that it was impossible not to view him as some kind of annoying family member. Or perhaps a friend.
Nomura chuckled. No wonder that Stricklander could use her as he wished - she was such a failure as a changeling, trying to maintain at least a semblance of honor.
A perfect member of the Order loved no one, trusted no one and clung to no one, always ready to backstab to rise above everyone else.
Impure.
That infuriating nickname from regular trolls wasn't just to mock their nature being tainted with human one. No, it was more about soiling the sense of honor.
And apparently, some part of her psyche wished to rebel, at least against that one.
Nomura looked at the open window. Perhaps she could use a night stroll.
Just be careful and avoid risky places.
No museum.
No Bular's regular hanging spots.
And obviously no canals.
Yes, that plan would do. And hopefully, the fresh air would take away all the problematic thoughts and help to find some inner peace.