The Monster Inside: The First Vampire 178 The Charm Craftsman's Persistent Fool

Kit had certainly not expected that bathing with a man on the edge of sanity was how his day would come to a close. He was willing to bet that most people wouldn't expect such a thing. The only thing he'd known for sure was that someone had been spying on him while he worked, and Mr Moonshadow had been very clear about not letting anyone know the process except the person who'd signed the blood contract with Miss Falla.

So, he'd done what he'd resolved himself to do if he found any unsavoury soul snooping around the Ruin…prepared to kill him. Only, he'd been met with an unexpected response.

"Wait!"

The young man, no older than Mr Moonshadow himself, had actually spoken quite desperately in the face of death. Kit had actually stopped then, unsure how to proceed. Despite his affinity with shadows, he hadn't actually killed anyone before. He'd only ever used his shadows to scare others away. So, when he went to actually take a life, he was suddenly met with a response he hadn't imagined. He hadn't actually expected the strange man to say anything. Mr Moonshadow, though he had never actually spoken about death, didn't give the impression that people did such a thing in the face of their own demise.

(Though, it should be noted that when Ra.s.sa did take lives, it was often done so quickly and cleanly that his victims hadn't the time to do much more than scream. Kit however, would not learn this until much later)

So, in the face of such an unexpected response, Kit's hesitation had turned to pure curiosity, "Why?"

The man, who for an instant had seemed terrified, had then grinned like a fool and held out his charcoal-covered hand to Kit, "I'm Olly, the Mist brought me here".

Kit frowned, looking at the Mist surrounding Olly, "You're human, but not a Magician, how could the Mist do anything with you?"

"I listened and did as it said," Olly replied, his hand dropping.

Kit frowned. That seemed unlikely. The Mist didn't talk. As a Magician he read the Mist. He could see its movements and intentions, and in rare cases something akin to emotions lay within it. But the Mist had never spoken.
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Kit had said so, "The Mist doesn't speak".

"You just aren't listening hard enough," Olly had replied.

The Mist hadn't felt malicious when it interacted with Olly's aura. If anything it had felt protective. So, not knowing how to proceed, Kit had brought him before Iah and Sharli. Two humans who knew nothing about the Mist, nor could see it, and yet were his authority figures now that Mr Moonshadow had left.

Their conclusion hadn't been all that definitive. All that Kit got from it was that he wouldn't have to kill Olly. For now.

So, while Kit couldn't bring himself to entirely believe that Olly was capable of 'listening' to the Mist, he did believe that the Mist somehow thought of Olly as significant. In light of this, rather than ignore Olly's abnormalities that had defined him as a 'fool' all his life, Kit sought to understand them. His 10 year old mind created all sorts of fantasies originating from the question, 'did the Mist really have a voice?'

If it had a voice, did it have a body too?

A face?

Was it a boy or a girl?

Was it old or young? Surely it was very old? Mr Moonshadow had described it as being there since the dawn of life…that must have been ages ago.

What about it's voice? What did that sound like?

Or was it many voices? Many individuals? After all, the Mist was made up of countless particles. Did each particle have a voice?

The questions were practically bursting from Kit's mind as he bathed. Olly absentmindedly scrubbing his dirty skin also as his eyes darted around the room. Should Kit ask? Iah and Sharli had seemed to think that Olly was a little crazy like old Tegin who liked to tell stories. Kit wasn't necessarily convinced that Olly wasn't crazy considering his strange, darting eyes, but Kit was also fairly sure that Olly hadn't lied about at least being able to interpret the Mist. After all, what he'd said about Ra.s.sa had seemed true according to the Mist. Though Kit hadn't heard the Mist explicitly say anything, it was more like a feeling.

In the end, feeling the awkward silence surrounding him, Kit hesitantly spoke up, "How old are you, Olly?"

"Eighteen," Olly said, "I turned Eighteen in the Summer".

A clear, straightforward answer. It didn't sound like a crazy man.

"Have you always been able to…listen to the Mist?" asked Kit.

Olly nodded, "I was left on a rock shortly after I was born. The rock let me listen to the Mist".

"…a rock?" asked Kit. Okay, that bit sounded crazy.

Olly nodded, "It was a special rock".

Even a ten-year-old would have a hard time believing that. Maybe he was crazy sometimes and not others? Kit tried another question.

"Why is the Mist so…protective of you?"

"You can hear it?" asked Olly, his eyes turning to Kit.

"Ah, no, I can just see it," Kit replied.

Olly looked somewhat disappointed, then he pointed over to his dirty pile of clothes, "I got a charm, the charm said protection and the Mist understood. I've never been able to talk to the Mist before. But with the circle within a circle I can. The Mist understood when I drew that".

Kit frowned, "You drew the protection rune?"

Olly nodded, "Again and again and again. Then the Mist gave me choices. I chose the moonshadow, and it led me to the little shadow who knew it's language".

"You mean the runes?" asked Kit.

Olly nodded, then he looked excited, "You can teach me, yes?"

Kit frowned, "No".

Olly's smile dropped, "But you know them".

"And I was told by that moonshadow you saw that I must not teach anyone".

Olly looked quite disappointed, then his eyes started darting around the room.

"…blood…blood contract? The Mist says that will allow you to teach me!"

Kit's eyes widened, "How did you…? You know what, never mind. Even if it's true, you have to get permission from Miss Falla, and that means you have to prove you'll keep this a secret".

"I can keep secrets," Olly grinned, "I can keep lots of secrets!"

Kit looked away, "Saying it is not the same as proving it".

Olly frowned, looking away and then his gaze started darting around again. He didn't speak again as they bathed.