Chapter 44

**Merianna**

Contrary to what I was expecting, Noch didn’t fly off the handle and give into his compulsions as I had expected. I wondered if he was being considerate because he didn’t know where the archives were being stored. Human life never registered on the same radar to him as invaluable ancient documents did after all.

“What the hell are you thinking about Demon Spawn?” Noch asked suspiciously.

We had stayed in Ferina’s office while she went out to find out where Jernok was since he hadn’t answered his office phone. I was very curious to see how things between Jernok and Noch would play out this time around.

“Just wondering if I should be thinking of places to take cover while you meet with Jernok or not.” I answered honestly.

“I’m not a total heathen.” He said with a frown, then sighed. “Yes I don’t like the guy, and yes I like him and the organization he represents even less after the reinforcements issue. But, after having a proper talk with Ferina now I can imagine that their lack of response was mostly due to the other members who have a grudge against the Order or me.”

“This whole place needs to be reformed from the inside out. It needs a good spring cleaning.” Thyrion said with a dark smile.

Noch snorted. “That’s for sure. Though, no matter how much I’d like to do just that, this isn’t the Order nor is it our responsibility. That won’t keep me from cracking the skulls of whoever tries to look for trouble with me though.'' The smile he sported was just about as dark as Thyrion’s, which was quite eerie.

It didn’t take long for us to hear hasty footsteps approaching the office’s door. Just as I turned to look, the door flew open to reveal a tall man in his forties with dark brown hair standing in the doorway with Ferina hot on his heels. His eyes did a quick sweep of all of us who were there, then he instantly dove towards Noch, clamping his arms around his neck.

“I’m sorry!!!” Were the first words that flew out of his mouth and into Noch’s eardrums. Noch instantly tried to shove Jernok away, but didn’t get very far. The guy looked clingier than an octopus as he grabbed on for dear life.

“Have you finally come to forgive me?! How many times do I have to say sorry before you do?! I know what happened back then was terrible and in breach of our pacts but there was only so much I could do at the time!!! I’ve been desperately trying to contact you over the past two thousand years but never heard a peep back!!! I thought you might be plotting to destroy the Council by this stage!!! Please just forgive me already!!! I’m begging you!!!” The head of the World Witch Organisation, the Council Head, Jernok cried out with tears of desperation streaming down his face.

I had to admit, this was a scene that I never would have imagined happening at any point in time whatsoever. Ferina had closed the door and moved closer to the couch that Thyrion and I were sharing.

I stared up at her in question and she caught my what-the-hell expression. “Lets just say that the quality of witches that had come to work for the Council had drastically declined after the Order had shut its doors to new students. As you can tell, it’s really been wearing at his nerves over the years.”

Ahh… that did make sense in a way. If the quantity of witches kept increasing in these peaceful years but the quality kept degrading over the generations, it was bound to also bring the Council’s power and influence down just as much. That was the main role of the Order after all. Going to the Order was about the equivalent of attending a Military training camp and world renowned University at the same time. People who survived the Order’s training and managed to endure all the way to the end, were always guaranteed to have great talent and experience, and were normally the first to be picked up by the Council if they didn’t want to join the Order itself afterwards.

With that pivotal focalpoint suddenly gone, there wasn’t really anywhere for younger generations to gain a backbone, education and experience except maybe from past members or graduates. None of whom could ever match up with the original teachers either.

“For crying out loud unhand me! Is the only thing you trained in this lifetime your muscles?!” Noch yelled as he nimbly twisted his body and finally slipped out from Jernok’s hold.

“I haven’t heard your answer yet!!! I refuse to give up before I hear what you have to say yourself!!!” Jernok yelled back as he tried to dive for Noch again. Ferina caught him by the collar though and quickly had him in a headlock he couldn’t move from.

“Jernok, I hope you had actually been listening to me on our way here after I mentioned that Noch was one of the guests here.” She said sweetly while applying a little more pressure.

“Mph, mhmph.” Jernok managed to utter as he desperately tapped at the arm around his throat.

Ferina manhandled Jernok so he faced Thyrion and me next. “Say hi Jernok, It’s Merianna and Thyrion. Merianna is back!”

Jernok seemed to forget the fact that there was an arm around his throat for a second and stared bug eyed at me all snuggled up against Thyrion’s side. I just raised an eyebrow at him as he observed me.

“How is it that you are by far the person that has changed the most since the last time I saw you?” I asked him. I still remembered him as a chubby man with light coloured hair, but now he was tall, dark haired and very toned for a man in his forties. Not to mention the 180 that his personality has done since back when I first met him. He was quite snobbish last I remembered, and would rather get buried in horse manure than beg Noch for anything.

Jernok gasped as Ferina released her hold on him. He slumped to the ground and propped himself up on the coffee table between the couches, only to stare at me for a few minutes as recognition dawned on him. His face suddenly scrunched up like he was trying not to cry “Were you playing a prank on us all this time?” He asked woundedly.

“No.” I deadpanned. Even though I was most certainly capable of pulling something like my death off out of spite, I was definitely not a petty enough person to keep the charade going for a full 2000 years.

“Are we going to have to go through the whole explanation again?” Noch asked irritably.

“There should be no need for that. As long as we can get his approval, you guys can start getting busy while I fill him in on everything you’ve told me.” Ferina said with a sigh. “It’s not like he gave me much time to explain why you all are here. He instantly beelined for my office the moment I mentioned that Noch was here.”

Jernok looked between all of us. “What is it that you guys need approval for?”

“We need to get into the sealed archives.” Noch said simply with a shrug.

“Alright.” Jernok got to his feet and straightened his suit.

For a second I thought that he would want an explanation or something, but he didn’t hint at anything else or ask any more questions.

“Does that ‘alright’ mean that we can just go in and do what we need to do?” I asked just to make sure that I understood.

“That’s right. If any other Councilors see you going in there and want to make a fuss about it, don’t worry, I’ll handle them if need be. I’m still the Head of the Council for crying out loud.” He said with a shrug and turned to Ferina. “I do need that explanation you said you’d give me while they’re busy though.”

“And that I will. When have I ever kept anything important from you?” She huffed indignantly.

“Well…” Jernok rubbed his chin while pointedly raising his eyebrow at her.

She glared at him for a moment. “Let’s go. I bet you guys would like to get done as soon as possible, right?”

Her spontaneous change of topic made me extremely curious, but that was most definitely going to be something to bring up in later conversations if I catch her for a chat. With that settled, both Jernok and Ferina led the way to the bowels of the Council’s building, past many security checks, many cameras and many surprised faces. It seemed that Jernok’s quiet days were numbered with the amount of curious eyes that were zeroed in on us.