Chapter 654

"Because of me?"

Evenson stared at the Ancient One in utter confusion.

"What the hell does that have to do with me?"

Ever since he’d learned that Cthulhu was actually on Earth, Evenson had gone out of his way to avoid anything remotely connected to the Void.

No movies.

No novels.

No games.

He’d even avoided saying the name whenever he could.

He had been careful to an almost ridiculous degree. How could Clea possibly have gotten tangled up with that kind of power because of him?

And if she’d asked you for the book, you just gave it to her?

Evenson shot the Ancient One an incredulous look.

Who exactly was in charge of Kamar-Taj?

Was she the Sorcerer Supreme, or was Clea?

"Stop glaring at me."

The Ancient One waved him off.

"How do you think things are going between you and Clea?"

"What?"

Evenson had no idea why she’d suddenly changed the subject.

Still, he answered honestly.

"I think we’re doing pretty well. We get along, we trust each other..."

He paused.

"...and we’re compatible in every conceivable way."

The Ancient One sighed.

"But Clea doesn’t see it that way."

"What did you just say?"

Evenson’s confusion only deepened.

He’d always thought their relationship was fine. They loved each other, rarely argued, and generally got along.

Well...

There was that one thing.

His relationship with the Eredar Twins could certainly make Clea unhappy. He knew that much, and he’d never pretend otherwise.

But Clea had always avoided discussing it.

She’d never sat him down and told him how she really felt.

"She thinks she’s trapped in an awkward position."

The Ancient One watched his expression carefully.

"When she borrowed that book, she told me something."

Evenson’s brow furrowed.

"She said that her place in your life, the role she played beside you, even the way the two of you interacted... always left her with a strange sense of discomfort."

"Discomfort?"

Evenson rubbed his chin.

"Why? What kind?"

The Ancient One answered without softening it.

"She feels like a canary kept inside a cage so that someone can admire it."

Evenson blinked.

"She thinks I don’t let her be free?"

He looked genuinely baffled.

"I’ve never stopped her from doing anything. Usually, I let her do whatever she wants."

He paused.

"Well... except for what she’s doing right now."

"I know."

The Ancient One nodded.

"That’s why the cage isn’t the important part."

She stared directly at him.

"It’s the fact that she’s being admired."

Evenson looked as though someone had just handed him a puzzle with half the pieces missing.

The Ancient One sighed and continued.

"Clea loves you. She knows you love her. That’s why she trusts you, and why she’s willing to compromise for you in so many areas."

"But she’s not stupid."

"She knows there are many things you’ve never told her."

"That’s true."

Evenson didn’t argue.

Aside from occasionally talking to Clea about his work with S.H.I.E.L.D., he’d kept nearly all of his private plans to himself.

"I don’t tell her because I don’t want her worrying," he said. "And even if she knew, there’s not much she could do to help."

"But the two women did."

Evenson went still.

"The twins..."

His expression shifted.

"Wait. Is she jealous because they know?"

The Ancient One’s expression immediately turned cold.

"Jealous?"

Her tone made it clear she didn’t appreciate the word.

"Clea watches anime, reads comics, plays games, buys figures, and occasionally disappears into her room for an entire month."

She folded her arms.

"But she’s not shallow."

Evenson pressed his lips together.

"You’re aware those statements aren’t exactly compatible, right?"

"I know that."

His expression softened.

"That’s one of the things I love about her."

The Ancient One stepped closer.

"You’ve always indulged her. You’ve always protected her. That’s why she began to see herself as a canary in a beautiful, perfectly safe cage."

She fixed him with a hard stare.

"But what use is a canary?"

"What can it actually do for the person who loves it?"

"Sing beautifully. Look pretty."

Her voice grew sharper.

"And when all is said and done, it still can’t do anything meaningful beyond that."

"You are powerful, Evenson. And those two women you’ve become entangled with are even more powerful."

"Clea doesn’t know what she can contribute anymore. She doesn’t know how to do anything except make you happy and accept your affection."

Her eyes hardened.

"She doesn’t want to be your canary."

"Because a canary can always be abandoned."

"Sometimes the owner gets bored long before the bird grows old or loses its voice."

The Ancient One’s voice became heavier.

"She’s terrified of that possibility. She can’t bear the thought of losing you."

Her hand suddenly closed around Evenson’s collar.

"And you..."

She shoved him aside.

"...have never exactly been a model of restraint."

Evenson stumbled a step.

The anger in the Ancient One’s face was personal.

Clea had grown up at Kamar-Taj. The sorcerers here weren’t merely her colleagues. They were her family, and she was family to them.

As the eldest figure among them, the Ancient One had always been especially fond of the bright, talented girl.

That was why Clea had been excused from many of the worldly trials other sorcerers had to endure.

Nobody had objected to her hobbies.

Nobody cared that she’d spend her free time collecting toys and gaming.

They’d even let her bring her prized Sword of Unyielding Light to a convention because she thought it would make a good prop.

And somehow, despite being spoiled by practically everyone at Kamar-Taj, Clea had never grown arrogant or bratty.

She was simply a good kid.

Then one day the Ancient One learned that this beloved girl had fallen in love.

She was going to marry.

And the man she’d chosen was an outsider.

The Ancient One had experienced every possible emotion at once.

She wasn’t exactly thrilled.

Then she learned what sort of man Clea had chosen.

A man already involved with two other women.

A man who apparently had no idea what the word "boundaries" meant.

That had been an entirely different level of aggravation.

If he hadn’t been Evenson, the Ancient One probably would have...

Well.

She would still have refrained from actually killing him.

Probably.

Fortunately for Evenson, Ollivan didn’t know about the situation.

Because if Clea’s adoptive father ever learned that she’d been hurt by a man he’d trusted, Evenson would discover that even an old man could still have several teeth left.

So every time the subject came up, the Ancient One felt irritation rise straight into her throat.

Evenson covered his face with both hands.

Then smacked himself lightly on the forehead.

"Those words..."

His voice was full of shame.

"You’re right."

"I never even thought about it from her perspective."

"I told myself I was protecting her. I never stopped to consider how she felt about being protected."

"That’s why Clea went looking for power."

The Ancient One finally calmed herself enough to continue.

"She wants to have a more important place in your life."

"She doesn’t want to be a canary anymore."

"She wants you to need her."

"Not simply love her."

Evenson stared at the floor.

"So that’s why..."

He remembered Clea’s sudden interest in magic.

She hadn’t simply wanted more power.

She wanted to become strong enough to stand beside him.

To help him.

And he’d been too blind to understand.

"That makes sense now."

He drew a slow breath.

"But..."

His expression tightened.

"There are plenty of ways to become stronger."

"I understand why you wanted to help her. I even understand why she wanted it."

"But how could you let her touch that kind of power?"

"She should never have been exposed to it."

The Void.

The power of the Old Gods.

Even a Warlock like Evenson knew better than to treat that force casually.

He knew how easily it could corrupt someone.

How readily it could hollow out a person’s mind and destroy everything they were.

If anything, it was even more insidious than fel magic.

The Ancient One studied his expression.

"Judging by your reaction, you know the mythology."

"I know it’s not mythology."

Evenson’s face darkened.

"R’lyeh is real."

"Cthulhu is real."

"The Old Gods and their power are real."

"Seeking their power is a road to self-destruction."

He shook his head.

"And it’s a shortcut."

The Ancient One remained strangely calm.

"There’s no need to worry."

"I had her read the Prelati’s Spellbook."

"Prelati..."

She shrugged.

"R’lyeh. They’re simply different names connected to the same place. The book’s influence leads specifically toward Cthulhu."

"So there is no problem."

Evenson’s eyes narrowed.

"You’re very confident about that."

He quietly took several steps backward.

His hands slid behind his back, fingers brushing the magical mark on his arm.

"Why?"

"Because you know a great deal about Cthulhu?"

He kept his eyes fixed on her.

"Or because..."

His voice lowered.

"...the Sorcerer Supreme has already fallen into darkness?"

"The protector of Earth has become a priest of an eldritch god?"

"Are you keeping Earth safe only because you intend to preserve it as a private feast for the Lord of the Deep?"

He paused.

"What should I call you now?"

"Mother of Twilight?"

The Ancient One stared at him.

Then her expression became extremely strange.

"Mother of Twilight?"

She frowned.

"Am I going to be Mother of Dough next?"

Evenson blinked.

The Ancient One looked genuinely offended by the accusation.

"So that’s where your mind went."

She shook her head.

"Clea was right. Your imagination becomes remarkably unhinged in certain areas."

"I know a great deal about Cthulhu, which is why I know exactly how much danger there is."

"Hmm."

Evenson made a low sound in his throat.

His shoulders relaxed slightly, but he didn’t lower his guard completely.

"Then how do you know so much?"

The Ancient One smiled.

"When the Sanctum was attacked and I couldn’t arrive immediately, where do you think I was?"

Evenson said nothing.

"Kaecilius has been hiding for years after betraying Kamar-Taj."

She looked toward him.

"Why would he suddenly choose today to attack the library?"

Evenson’s expression changed.

Only now did he notice the details.

The Ancient One’s robes were slightly damp.

There was a faint trace of salt in the air around her.

And beneath everything else...

The smell of the sea.

Evenson’s eyes widened.

"Don’t tell me..."

He stared at her.

"You went to R’lyeh."

The Ancient One nodded.

"I did."

Evenson’s eyes widened further.

He immediately jumped several steps backward.

"Wait."

He stared at her in disbelief.

"You’ve been to R’lyeh?"

"And judging by the way you’re talking, you’ve been there more than once."

His face twisted.

"And you’re still standing here telling me you haven’t gone over to the other side?"