The Monster Inside: The First Vampire Chapter 101

That Tavern Master was watching him again . He thought he was being subtle, but Rassa knew the man was in way over his head . Though, it did give Rassa the smallest bit of amusement to imagine how the man would react knowing he was watching someone who could kill him without even moving .

Aegin and Ebony ate their dinner in silence . Rassa found it somewhat surprising that no one ever commented on the fact that Rassa wasn't eating . Maybe they just assumed he'd already eaten? Who knew what went through their minds .

Towards the end of their meal, the Captain Rassa had seen earlier that day, a Token if the whispers were true, strode in with the young man around Rassa's age as his company . The two of them took seats at the bar and successfully brought the Tavern Master into their conversations .

Now, mostly because he was bored, it was Rassa's turn to eavesdrop on their conversation .

" . . . more information?" asked the Tavern Master with a grin, "Well, you're going to have to offer more than a story about a Goddess with the tail and ears of a fox granting wishes" .

Rassa froze, the description flooring him . But . . . there was no way . Was there? For the first time in a month, he wanted to consult Victor, but was now incapable of doing so . All that remained was in his memories . The lessons he'd been taught those years he dwelled in chains .

They'd only been mentioned a couple of times, their existence a mystery and a rarity, but the Foxes that served Chaos were legendary . Victor had never gone into detail because even he himself knew little about them, but what he did know was that they were temperamental . One time you would hear stories of their cruelty and trickery, another of their kindness and benevolence . It was enough to frustrate . Still, if there was a possibility, even the slightest chance that . . .

No . It was none of Rassa's business . Here was safe . here, he didn't have to worry nor pay any mind to that great entity called Chaos . It was best he let it lie .

Rassa stood and moved from the table without a word . Aegin and Ebony only glancing after him, knowing exactly where he was headed . It was time to take his mind off the world and hunt for his own meal .

Hunting humans, as Rassa had worked out, was not an exact science . There was no one method to it . Sometimes he'd wait in a tavern or inn for someone to walk out alone . Other times he'd watch over darker alleyways and side streets until some unlucky individual passed through . He'd tried his best to stick to those who were guilty of something . Theft, violence, assault . It did not sit well with him to take from those who had done nothing wrong, even if they did taste better . Victor would no doubt turn his nose up at Rassa's behaviour, but keeping a low profile took priority, and those people just so happened to be the ones that lurked in shadows and darkened corners where they thought no one was watching .

Tonight, Rassa took to the roof top of the bell tower, surveying the city from the vantage point . His hearing was sharp, it did not take him long to find a victim .

The man appeared like a rat, scurrying through side streets and back alleys with a sack over his back . A sack that clinked and shift with a sound consistent with that of glass bottles . Rassa frowned as the shadows had moved him from the bell tower to a point where he could watch over the man . He contemplated for a moment . What was the man up to?

While Rassa had assumed that the man had simply stolen some liqour from one of the warehouses, he seemed to have another intention as he weaved his way into the Token district . Rassa, needing the entertainment, sat back and watched, knowing he was in no rush to collect his meal .

He followed the man via the rooftops, eventually pausing when a familiar scent came to him .

Ewan .

The man in question waited behind one of the larger Token warehouses with a few other men beside him, some of them Rassa had seen earlier that day as he and Aegin left the docks . Rassa crouched beside a chimney as he watched from above .

"Good," Ewan said as the man Rassa had followed arrived, putting the sack of bottles at Ewan's feet, "Each of you taken a bottle and a cloth, remember to do it quickly, in and out before the guards know what happened" .

The men did as told, and Rassa watched as they each took a bottle and uncorked it, then soaked a cloth in some of the liquid before using the cloth as a type of cork in the neck of the bottle . The smell of strong liqour wafted up to Rassa, and his frown turned into wide eyes .

They weren't were they? They weren't stupid enough to do it .

Rassa was proven wrong in the next instance .

Ewan lit the cloth of one of the bottle on fire, then hurled it at the wooden doors of the warehouse . The bottle smashed upon impact, and the liqour caught on fire, bathing half the door in intense flames . The others picked up various large rocks and hurled them at the burning door, which under the stress of the fire and the heavy weights hitting it, broke down quickly . The men then ran in through the burning doorframe with their own bottles, lighting and throwing them inside as they went .

Were they crazy? That was thousands of gold coins worth of products! No doubt tens of thousands considering it was a Token warehouse .

Rassa looked down at Ewan as the men scattered to the shadows once more .

"If you won't take me seriously, Token, then I'm sure you'll take your precious business seriously . You are nothing without it after all," Ewan proclaimed in the shadows, then he turned and jogged away as the calls of the guards rang out .

Rassa watched the blaze build and tear through all that lay inside, then, burning out of control, jumpt to the next warehouse . There was so much fuel for the fire within those warehouses, but if this continued, it wouldn't just be Token that was struck a blow .

Rassa reached out to the shadows, pushing power into them to grow and smother the flames . Not all of them, just enough to prevent further damages . He didn't need the Dock Masters or the City Officials to get suspicious .

He was there for an hour preventing spot fires from breaking out before the fire department finally managed to get the blaze under control . By then, Master Hargreeve and the Token Captain that Ewan was targeting had arrived on the scene to survey the damage . Rassa watched for only a few more minutes before he left, now hungrier than before .

Least he knew where to look for his meals now . That little rat man wouldn't be enough after that use of his shadow magic . He sighed to himself . What was he doing? He'd told himself that it wasn't any of his business, yet he'd jumped to solve a problem the minute it arose .

This is why you ended up in chains, idiot, Rassa scolded himself .

Chapter end