Stealing from the humans was easy. She barely distinguished between the ones she'd already taken from. No matter what country they were from rich mortals blended together in Olivia's mind. She'd not bothered with learning the differences, the names of the countries, or any of their languages. None of it mattered. 

The only difference was the scent of food that wafted through the halls. Almost each house made her hungry, but she wasn’t supposed to sneak into the kitchens. No. She was supposed to get into the library, then the office. 

Already she’d raised the library, getting the logs they'd asked her to. Now she crept down the hall, clinging to the shadows where she could. It was almost funny how the very thing that had ruined her life was what helped her now. A more optimistic part of her would say the darkness had made her current life more bearable. 

She reached the right door. It opened easily, its hinges regularly oiled. Another luxury these mortals thought benefited them. It helped thieves more than anything. Olivia knew well how difficult it was to sneak into a shack without carpets or stone floors. 

She slipped into the study, searching for any disruptions to the shadows. Spirits almost never came into the presence of mortals. Why, she didn’t know. But with her being there, they’d be drawn to her. It wouldn’t matter if they were dark or light. 

Getting what she was sent in for was too easy. There were drunkards all across the building instead of actual guards. It had been too long since anyone had broken into the nobleman’s mansion. The guards on the perimeter still did their jobs well, but those inside were only there in the case of the worst of encounters. Olivia was confident she wasn’t that. Not this time. 

She tucked in the papers, folding them carefully beforehand. Then she slipped the key from the ring. She never needed to use one, but the people who'd sent her did. If she wasn't braking a door down, she could recreate the write key with the darkness. 

The people who’d sent her didn’t need to know that. The effort alone gave her a fair amount of money. The key itself even more. 

She did a once-over of the study. On the far end was a long bookshelf that rose to the ceiling. So much information for so little time. Olivia had barely had a page to her name before. Now the humans had information about her too. They were only brief sightings and primarily based on rumour, but they all talked about her. 

She shook the thoughts from her head and opened the other drawers of the desk. There were no stray coins. Of course not. With how neatly it was kept, there was probably a log on how many pieces of silver and gold were owned. Were they counted every week?

And if she took something, maybe the staff would be accused of thievery. Already, the theft of the keys and information stored in paper would raise enough suspicion. She wouldn’t make it worse for them. They were paid little enough already, and losing a job like that was hard for humans. If she lost a job, she only needed to go to the next town or region. 

Olivia went to the window. There were guards all across the grounds. Had this been a job that needed to attract attention, she would’ve needed to fight them. She was glad this was one that needed secrecy. 

She placed a hand on the outside wall, letting shadows bloom beneath her fingers. They coalesced into two handholds. Olivia climbed out of the window, closing it as best she could. She scaled the building, thankful for both the night and her abilities. Was it ironic? Probably. 

She reached the top and sat down. 

The moon was only a thin crescent tonight. She liked it better that way. She liked it even more when it wasn’t there at all. When she saw it, she always felt exposed. On those days, it almost felt as if the pale orb in the sky was mocking her. Those were the days when the last years caught up with her properly, ones where she was exhausted, or both. 

She let the night wash over her in that moment. She’d been tense getting past the guards, wanting nothing more than to avoid a confrontation. Fights were simple, yes, but they’d become too easy. It was almost effortless for her to ram her elbow into someone’s face. She barely hesitated to break a bone. 

Then again, she also didn’t hesitate to take what she needed (sometimes what she wanted) from the places she visited. 

Olivia sighed. Thinking wouldn’t help her off this roof. She needed to find the right place for it. She crept to the other side, finding the lamps of a permanent guard post on the ground below. She fought another sigh. 

She found a spot between two groups who’d decided they could have a chat. At least while all six of them kept an eye on the perimeter. She’d use the shadows of the smaller wall, set off a distraction, and then get away. 

She was about to start her descent when she felt a small wave of sickness. Then there was a shout of alarm. 

Olivia cursed and turned around. The spirits had gone straight to the guard post. These were the worser of the spirits. They were bright, but aggressive. Mortals and elves alike didn’t expect an attack from bright spirits until it was too late. 

Olivia always expected it. Bright spirits, no matter if good or bad, almost always attacked her. 

She ran for the edge. She summoned two daggers as she did. 

When she got to the edge, she saw a light green wolf circling a man on the floor. He gripped a glowing hand, his eyes wide with terror and pain. He let out a strained whine each time it came closer. A white hound had backed four guards right by the house they usually stayed in. They had drawn their swords, but didn’t look like knew what to do. 

The other guards who’d come had stopped in their tracks. Their minds wouldn’t know what to make of it. To them, spirits were just from superstition. Be out too late, you’ll attract bad spirits. Betray someone, you may be cursed and turned into an evil spirit. It went on. Useless information.

Olivia threw both her blades, first at the wolf, then at the hound. Both struck their flanks. As the daggers melted into the spirits, their skin turned dark green and grey respectively. 

Both spirits let out harsh howls. The wolf made to complete its attack on the one guard. 

Olivia leapt down from the roof, tackling it to the ground of cobblestone. It hurt, burning her skin where she touched it. 

She forced a new blade into the side of its head. It let out a whine and stayed on the ground. 

When she straightened, she barely had time to register the hound coming at her. She dodged left, stumbling as she did. She steadied herself. Her left hand was near the shadow of a currently terrified young man. She said a silent apology and took it.  

She barely heard his yelp as she turned to face the spirit. She forced it to form a stake as the hound lunged. She drove it into its mouth, trying not to dwell on the yowl of pain. 

Words were spoken to her. The language of the area. She didn’t know it. 

Olivia only shook her head at whatever he said. Perhaps it was, what was that? Who are you? What are you? Will there be more? 

If she was lucky, there’d be more talk on surviving this night than there was about being attacked. She wasn't lucky, so they'd speak of a girl who wielded darkness as a weapon, of a girl who was surrounded by cold air, and of the pale spirits she’d turned dark. 

Said spirits were standing idly now, only regarding the guards with curiosity, as if they hadn’t nearly killed them. 

Olivia looked to the one whose hand still glowed. He wasn't touching it, but there were tears running down his face.

She hesitantly held out a hand, pointing at his. 

He looked between her and the glowing hand. Would he deny her help out of fear? Or just stomach that and accept it. 

He then nodded, saying something else she couldn’t understand. Was he speaking to the rest? 

Olivia just took his hand, absorbing the light. It made her hand feel oddly warm and she wanted to retch. The light of these new spirits was corrupted. How, she still didn’t know. All she knew was that she could destroy the light if she absorbed it and that it made her feel sick. 

Some of them murmured, words gentle, perhaps even with a degree of wonder. None of them had run off to alert someone. They were either focused on her or transfixed by the now peaceful spirit. None were attacking her either. It was a good change by that account. 

When all of it was absorbed, there was only the bite mark. She might have been able to heal him, but if giving light to humans was frowned upon, giving them darkness was even worse. 

She nodded at them before turning away. She heard them call something out, maybe wait, but she didn’t stop to listen. She's stay a mystery. She'd become another story. 

The two spirits followed. A dark green wolf and a grey hound. It could’ve made for a lovely mortal painting. She wondered if any of those guards had a creative flare in their mind. She’d always appreciated that about mortals. 

She let the darkness cloak her some more. If they tried to follow, she’d have disappeared for them. Perhaps they’d be able to tell a difference in the air, but that would unsettle them more than anything. 

Olivia sighed. She’d still be getting her pay, but if this particular story reached the wrong ears (and it always seemed to), she’d have to get somewhere else. And if the others heard it, she'd get a scolding. It wouldn’t work. Attracting spirits like this wasn’t anything she could control. They were drawn to immortals, to darkness, and to people who felt negative emotions. They liked anger most of all. 

No, Olivia couldn’t stop spirits from coming to her. Being out in the open, she was a beacon for all spirits. The moon, and its followers, had made sure of that.