“Y-yes? No?” he huffed.
Noble gently ran his hand over his curls. “What was it about, Baby?”
Ollie’s breath stuttered before he managed to say, “Shadows…”
“Shadows?”
“Th-there—” He cut himself off with a frustrated growl when he stuttered again, and took a few deep breaths to calm down before trying to explain. “I was…trapped, it was hard to breathe, there were footsteps, and then the shadow figure found me. How does it even make sense? Like, Mikael was the one that hurt me, not some random, dumb shadowy creature! My monster had a face! I don’t understand why I’m jumping at shadows now, and freaking out on people for no reason.”
“Baby, you were forced to run away from him. You were terrified that he, at any moment, could come up behind you and grab you. And when you got away, you then hid in a closet, worried he would find you.”
“He would have if it wasn’t for Red. Mikael, he… He opened the door… He opened the door and stood inches away from me, and then he closed it and walked away. Then Red left me in there to go fight him, and I think he left me there knowing, or at least believing, he wouldn’t be coming back. That he was g-going to d-die.” Ollie whimpered as more tears broke free.
“But he didn’t die,Ollie. You saved him.” Noble sighed and pulled back gently, brushing away a few tears as his heart ached at the man’s pain, before pressing a kiss to his forehead.
The witch took a stuttered breath, his tears starting to slow. “I almost didn’t.”
He had to stop himself from looking away at the trust he saw in the witch’s wide gray-blue eyes. Ollie was looking at him as if Noble was everything, when he really was just like the monster in his dream, just like the monster Mikael had been. Noble had been part of the very organization, and was the exact thing, that was driving the man’s nightmares and fear. He was a witch hunter…a former one, he may be, but the stain remained.
Taking a deep breath, Noble softly rasped, “But you did. And…I think it makes perfect sense why your fear is focused on the unknown, or rather, a shadowy being.”
“Why?”
“Because Mikael is dead. He can’t hurt you anymore. But he isn’t the only witch hunter out there.”
Ollie heaved out a sigh, finally no longer crying. “They are unknown…and thus, shadows?”
“Yes.”
“I hate being afraid of the unknown. I usually just…research anytime something scares me. It doesn’t always help, in fact, sometimes it makes it worse, but other times, just understanding whatever it is can at least get rid of the unreasonable fears. I can’t really do that this time, because there are no books that I know of.
“Maybe my grimoire can help, if it ever feels like being helpful? Though, I’m not sure if knowing about witch hunters will make me fear them less, considering they all want me dead regardless. But maybe it will make me feel less helpless?”
Not all want you dead…he thought. He knew Ollie learning more about witch hunters would endanger his secret, and thus, limit his time with the witch, but the more the man knew, the safer he would be. And as selfish as Noble was, he couldn’t find it in himself to discourage the man.
“It’s…possible? Maybe try to ask it tomorrow?”
Ollie let out another little sigh as he snuggled against his chest. He was silent for a few moments before asking, “Noble…do you…ever get afraid? You always seem so…put together.”
If ‘put together’ meant he was a semi well-adjusted, former serial killer with a slight penchant for violence, and almost zero personal hobbies, then yes, he was put together.
“Things aren’t always as they seem. And the truth is, I was terrified when I drove up and spotted the doors of the library wide open, and heard the screaming. Just as I was terrified when you called me that night you were injured, and I could hear you were obviously not okay.”
“Were you scared when Mikael came that first time?”
Noble hesitated before admitting, with a mix of lies, “Yes. Because I had realized what you were, and had learned, from past interactions with the bastard, what he was.”
“Jahla figured you probably knew what he was. Which, I guess, is why you warned me to stay away from him.”
“I’m sorry, Baby. I should have told you after you admitted to me that you were a witch; I just didn’t want to scare you. And I didn’t think he had realized what you were.”
“You telling me wouldn’t really have changed anything. He did just sort of show up,” Ollie said with a yawn.
Noble wasn’t so sure about that. He couldn’t help but wonder if the man would have opened the door without checking first, if he had told him. But instead of pointing that out, he just murmured, “Let’s go back to sleep; it’s still early.”
Ollie grunted and snuggled closer still.
As her gazeflicked around the barely visible room, Jahla’s heart pounded away in her head, seeming to pulse with the feathered darkness at the edges of her vision, as her breathing increased. As dark as the room was, she saw enough, and none of it was anything she had ever wanted to see again.
