Chapter 12: The Art Critics

Oskar and Eli sat across from each other at Eli’s table, looking at Elaine’s sculpture. Papa had agreed immediately that Eli should keep it in her room; where better to exhibit the work of a vampire than in the room of a soulmate, he had told her.

“It’s so beautiful, Oskar. I like to imagine that I’m climbing the vines with them. They all seem so happy."

“Eli, did you notice that there are six separate vines and every other one has girls on it and the rest have boys? I wonder what that means?”

“I don’t know, Oskar; maybe it’s because girls and boys grow up with different goals in their lives.”

“But then, why would they all be climbing toward the same goal; the Red Rose at the top?”

“Maybe they have the same goals, but different paths?”

“Yeah, that’s probably it,” Oskar said. He stood up and looked more closely at the figures at the top.

“Oskar, look at this cute little guy here at the bottom. He looks just like Henry!” she giggled. “I guess we should keep that to ourselves.”

Oskar laughed, “Henry in the nude! Yeah, I don’t think he’d ever live it down if we showed it to Jack.”

“Eli, this girl at the top looks just like you. She even has your hair.” He bent over and examined it more closely.

Eli stood up next to him and crowded him out of the way. “Oskar, I think maybe that’s supposed to be Elaine. She has the same hair that I have…but this boy across from her does look a lot like you. Same haircut and everything.”

“What do you mean, ‘and everything?’” he looked at the figure again.

“I mean he’s just as pretty as you are.” She smiled at him.

Oskar blushed, “Why do you always say I’m pretty? Why don’t you say I’m handsome?”

“Because you’re pretty! And you’re cute! Papa’s handsome. You’re not old enough yet to be handsome.”

“Well... I still think the girl is you. She has your beautiful face, she’s slim and pretty like you, and her hair is wild, just like yours. I’m going to call her ‘Eli’”

“Well, I’m going to call this one ‘Oskar.’ See how you’re looking at me instead of the Rose?”

“And you’re looking at me. And I recognize that look. I’ve seen it before.”

She looked at it more closely, “When? When did I look like that?”

“You’ve looked at me like that a lot, but the first time was right before you kissed me that day in your apartment, before you went away. I really remember that! It was when I knew for sure that you loved me. After you left I felt more alone than I had ever felt in my life.”

“I’m sorry, Oskar.”

He leaned over and kissed her gently, then put his arms around her. “I’m not. You came back. That’s all that matters.”

“Papa! How long have you been standing there?” Eli smiled at him as he stepped into the room.

He smiled back, “Long enough to hear one of the best reactions to a real piece of art it’s ever been my pleasure to witness.”

“What do you mean, Papa?”

“Eli, the thing about art that makes it great, is its ability to strike a common cord with people of almost all ages and levels of education or knowledge. Its beauty, if it is truly great art, is accessible to almost anyone who is willing to open his or her mind the least little bit. The fact that they won’t all see it in the same way is of no consequence. If it fills up your glass, no matter what its size, it has done its job, and will stand the test of time.

“You and Oskar, just by observing it for a little while, have found the essence of what Elaine was trying to say when she made it. When you are older and have a larger ‘glass’ you will understand even more of what she was trying to say. There are things hidden there that will only reveal themselves to you when you are older and have had more life experience.” He thought about the thorns and the Rose and how their meaning would change for them when they were able to age physically. Who’s to say which meaning will have the most value to them? After all, there was danger in their growing up, as there is always potential danger in any change of that magnitude. Even so, he decided he liked their current impressions very much. And, just like the figures at the top, which they had instinctively, and correctly in his opinion, claimed as their own, they had not yet noticed the thorns beginning to pierce their own skin.

He sat down next to them. “Eli, did Elaine explain to you how she came to be with the Other One? It seemed to me that she may have been his captive; that she was with him unwillingly.”

“She was, Papa. She kept so much of it from me, but I think when she first met him, before she knew what he was, she stayed with him because she wanted to. When she realized what he was, it was too late. I don’t know what her life was like all those years, or how she learned how to make beautiful things. I know she went to Cambridge, though, before she met him. I don’t think she wanted me to see that, but I did.

“But he did awful things to her; really awful things. He held her for a long time in a room behind the curtain in the back of the vault. She was there when I explored the vault the first time, but decided to stay quiet, because she had no idea that we had killed him. He had a set of really heavy chains he used on her, and fed her just enough to keep her alive. She was alone for two weeks after he died, before she decided to try to escape. She was too weak to break the chains so she…she crushed her hands one at a time and pulled them out of the shackles. Then she did the same with her feet. Each time, it took her longer to heal and she became weaker. When she was finally free, she … fed on a man who had passed out by the cemetery gate.” She quickly looked up, “She didn’t kill him, Papa.”

“I believe you, Eli. And I believed her when she told us she hadn’t killed to eat.” But he knew she had killed. And she had fed on at least that one. He flashed back to Eli’s attack on Detective Ellstrom; but that wasn’t premeditated, even though she had fed on him. No, Elaine was definitely not a 12-year-old child. She was potentially much more dangerous.

Eli continued, “When she got her strength back, she soon discovered the place where He had died. She saw the burned spot on the grass, the holes where the spikes had been, and pieces of His clothing and part of a bracelet He was wearing. Then she went back to the vault and kind of settled in. Two weeks later, we visited her.”

“Under the circumstances, we’re lucky she didn’t kill us on sight!”

“She wouldn’t have done that Papa, I know she wouldn’t.”

=====

Eli rushed to the door as soon as the bell rang. “Hello Henry! Hello Jack! Come on in,” she turned and headed back to the kitchen, where she and Papa were finishing up the sandwiches.

Oskar hollered at them from the first landing, “Come on up to Eli’s room. I want to show you guys something.” He turned and headed back up the stairs, with the boys following right behind him. Eli glanced after them, a worried look on her face.

They all stood around the sculpture. “Look at this! Isn’t it neat? A friend of Dad’s gave it to us.”

“They’re all naked!” Henry exclaimed. He looked closer. “And look! You can see their willies.” He giggled, as he looked at them more closely. He checked out the figures on the adjacent vine “Is that what girls’ bits look like?” He turned to Jack.

“How would I know?!” Jack said, as he bent down and examined them more closely. “Boy, they sure look real. Look at their faces! You can see the pupils in their eyes and what color their eyes are. You can see exactly what each one is looking at – that red rose at the top. You can see their fingernails and toenails. And look! This one looks like Henry!” he laughed.

“No it doesn’t!” Henry protested.

“Eli thought the same thing, Jack!” Oskar laughed.

“I know it’s Henry! Look at his Wee Willie Winkie! I’d recognize it anywhere.”

Henry slugged him hard on the arm, “That’s not funny!”

“I thought it was pretty funny, Henry, and the rest of him looks like you too!” Oskar laughed.

“Not funny!” Henry yelled and pushed Oskar hard, his face red with embarrassment.

Jack grabbed him, pinning his arms to his sides. “Knock it off, Henry! You’re acting like a stupid little kid. We were just joking.”

“I don’t think it’s funny either!” Eli said from the doorway. “How old are you two anyway?” She stepped over and grabbed Henry away from Jack. “Henry, ignore them. They’re just stupid little boys. Come on downstairs and you can get first pick at the cake and ice cream – BEFORE dinner. I hope there’s enough left for you two little children AFTER dinner.” She glared at both of them. “You go on down, Henry. I’ll be right there.” He scurried quickly down the stairs.

“Oskar, what on earth is wrong with you? Jack? Henry’s your own brother! How could you treat him like that? You’re not so old that you can’t remember how that feels are you? If you can’t, you’re dumber than you look. And Oskar, with your wimpy background, I’d expect you to be a bit more sensitive to his feelings. I’m disgusted with you both!” she turned and stormed out of the room.

Oskar and Jack looked at each other, “Boy she sure told us, didn’t she?” Oskar said, a bit subdued.

“Yeah, she sure did,” Jack said, admiringly. Your sister is absolutely amazing!”

==

Henry was still upset. “Oskar told me you thought it looked like me too!” he said, accusingly.

Eli could tell that his feelings were really hurt. “Henry, he does look like you, but in the best of ways. He has that cute expression on his face that you get when you’re happy; and I think he’s very handsome, just like you.” She bent over and whispered to him, “And don’t tell him, but I think the boy at the top looks just like Oskar, willie and all.” She grinned at him.

Henry laughed, took Eli’s hand, and walked into the kitchen with her, where she immediately cut him a big piece of cake and sat down at the table with him. “Henry, it’s really a compliment that you look like one of them; and I noticed it right away. The artist that made it tried her best to make them all perfect in their own way, and they’re all perfectly happy looking at the perfect rose at the top. I’m sure the artist would have been very happy to meet you and see that there really is a sweet boy who’s as cute as she imagined him to be.”

Henry blushed, and hugged her tightly, “I really like you Eli!”

Papa smiled to himself as he listened to Eli repair the damage Oskar and Jack had done to Henry’s ego. Elaine’s sculpture was really getting a workout today. He looked forward to telling her about it the next visit.

===

“Do you think it’s safe to go downstairs yet?”

“I don’t know, Jack. She was pretty mad at us. Maybe we should stay up here a while longer.” They sat down and looked at each other through the sculpture for a few minutes.

“Oskar, look at this! You can see the muscles on this guy straining as he’s getting close to the top. Look at his arms and legs. He looks like I feel when I get to the top of the rope in gym, but he’s still smiling! I hadn’t thought about it, but I’ll bet you could get really worn out climbing something like that for very long – and seeing as how they look older the higher they are, they’ve been climbing a long time. And look! Even the girls’ muscles are straining. You can almost see their sweat.”

“ ‘Glow,’ Jack. Boys sweat, girls glow,” Oskar said, grinning.

“Oh, yeah. Right.” They both started laughing.

“Oskar, did you see this girl at the top? She looks almost exactly like…” His voice trailed off.

“It’s ok, Jack. I know you didn’t mean anything by it. I think she looks like her too.” He reached up and gently ran his fingers down her back. “Dad said she looked like the artist to him. She has the same hair as Eli.”

“But she’s not ‘glowing’ like the others. It’s like she changed her mind about the rose, or something. Just like the guy across from her.” Jack said, peering into the sculpture.

Oskar held his breath, certain that Jack would see how much the ‘guy’ looked like him, but for some reason, Jack didn’t seem to notice the obvious similarities. Oskar breathed a sigh of relief.

“I think maybe it’s safe for us to go down now.” He abruptly stepped away from the table and headed for the door, hoping that Jack wouldn’t take a closer look at the figure, but he was too late. Jack looked at it closely for a minute, then touched its face with his fingers. His other hand went almost unconsciously to his own face. He looked back wistfully at the Eli figure a moment, then with a faraway look in his eyes, turned back toward Oskar.

He blushed and looked away when he saw that Oskar was looking directly at him, but recovered quickly. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Besides, she won’t dare beat us up with your dad in the room.” He grinned as he started for the door. They went down the stairs together hoping they weren’t in for another tongue-lashing when they got to the kitchen.

==============

Dawson scratched his head as he put down the test results Eli had just handed him. He was at a crossroads; he could take his research in two different directions, depending on how important a particular DNA sequence really was in influencing Eli’s vampire characteristics and abilities. It could cost him years of research if he made the wrong choice. He knew he was at a definite disadvantage, not having a larger range of subjects from which to draw samples, but what could he do? In a normal research endeavor in which there was a large pool of subjects, the large number of samples would help him narrow down the truly unique characteristics of the particular disease he was looking for, thus eliminating the random elements that were almost certainly present in Eli’s sample. He needed more samples, but finding cooperating vampires was a problem. “Eli, do you think that Elaine might be willing to provide me with a blood sample for our research?”

“I don’t think so, Papa. You know how she felt about what you were doing; she thought it was a waste of time.”

“Perhaps if I talked to her I could convince her. It could significantly reduce the time it’s going to take me if I can make a more informed choice about which direction to go with the research.”

“Papa, I could go ask her if you like. Maybe she’ll listen to me.”

“I don’t know, Eli. I’m not sure I like the idea of you going there by yourself. Elaine has a dark side that makes her behavior a bit unpredictable. I don’t want you hurt.”

“She wouldn’t, Papa. I know it!”

“I know she wouldn’t intentionally hurt you Eli, but she has dark ideas about life in general and could cause you great discomfort, at the least. This is something I should probably do myself.”

“Please Papa. I know I’ll be fine. I’ve got you and Oskar. She doesn’t have anyone.” She smiled at him, “And I’d like to talk to her by myself. She’s like me you know. Oskar? What do you think?”

“I wish I could go with you. I kind of like her; she’s funny.” Oskar put his arm around her.

“Ok, ok! I guess I’m outnumbered on this one. You can go this evening, Eli, but be careful, the moon is almost full tonight.

====
Eli landed lightly in front of the tomb. It was a bit after two A.M., and the moon was low on the horizon as she carefully moved the stone and backed into the tomb, pulling it into place behind her. She slid the slab across the floor, descended the stairs, walked up to the Rose Door, hesitated a moment, then knocked. “Elaine? It’s Eli. Can I come in?

The door opened immediately, and Eli put her hand up to her eyes as the bright light hit her in the face. “You realize you don’t have to ask permission to enter the home of a vampire.” Elaine said as she ushered her in.

“I was just being polite. It’s your home.” Eli said, a bit sheepishly. She followed Elaine back to the banquet table at the far end of the vault, where she sat down and continued working on her latest sculpture, this one in white marble. Eli was startled to see that she didn’t use any tools. Her hands changed shape subtly, and her nails became pseudo-claws that took on delicate shapes, which she used to chip away at the marble. They changed as she moved her hand across the dips and rises in the stone, and Eli could actually see the marble changing shape and becoming more defined right before her eyes.

“I didn’t know we could do that!” Eli exclaimed, looking at her own hands. “Why didn’t the Other One do that with all his marble work?” She remembered all the tools on his workbench.

“Because he had a limited imagination. His world was a dreary place; cold, dark, and predictable to a fault – except its end.” She smiled grimly at Eli.

Eli stood up suddenly as she realized what Elaine’s latest sculpture was: a large hand, palm up, fingers curled, revealing a child in a long flowing white dress lying delicately on the palm. As she watched, Elaine’s claws became impossibly fine, and the face, Eli’s own, impossibly beautiful, took shape before her eyes. As Elaine worked, Eli saw an arm emerge from the marble, lightly caressing the face, which now had tears in its eyes; and finally Oskar’s face, full of longing and helplessness, took shape at the end of the arm. Eli realized this was the moment of recognition – the exact instant, frozen in time, before she warned Oskar off, saving his life; saving his life from the evil within herself. She involuntarily reached for Oskar’s face, hesitated, then drew her hand back.

“Your Oskar is an open book, “Elaine said, matter-of-factly, “but he has seen some truly wondrous things – your face, for example. I never really saw your face until I saw it as he sees it.”

“But I don’t look that – pretty.” She said, confused.

“Then, just call it ‘artistic license’ if you like, but I don’t think Oskar, or your Papa for that matter, would agree with you.” She sat back in her chair. “I’m glad to see you again. What can I do for you?”

“I have a favor to ask of you. Would you be willing to give Papa a sample of your blood for his research?”

Elaine frowned, “Why didn’t he come to me himself? Did he think I was a sucker for a pretty face?”

“No, no! It’s not like that at all. I convinced him to let me come, because I wanted to see you; to talk to you by myself; to be with you for a while…”

Elaine stood up abruptly, “Talk is cheap! Come with me.” She strode purposefully toward the vault stairs, paused at the bed just long enough to strip off her clothes, motioned for Eli to do the same, then took her gently by the hand and led her up the stairs and outside.

To Eli, as the moonlight washed over them both, Elaine looked like a goddess chiseled out of pure white marble. She looked to Eli like an older version of the figure at the top of her sculpture; even more so now, because her face had, at least for the moment, lost that hardness that Papa had seen when they first met.

She turned toward Eli, crouched down and tenderly touched the scar between her legs. Eli instinctively flinched, but otherwise remained quite still, wondering what was to come. Elaine put her hands on Eli’s shoulders, looked at her intensely for a moment, then sighed. “What fools they were, to think that this would take anything from your soul. If anything, it has made you whole – and given you Oskar.” There was a quiet tenderness in her voice.

She stood up, took a couple of quick steps away from the tomb and raised her arms, unfurling her powerful wings. “Try to keep up,” she said, as she gracefully launched herself into the air. Startled, Eli stumbled as she raised her arms, but quickly recovered and lifted off after her. It was all she could do to keep up. It took her three strokes to every one of Elaine’s and she still had difficulty.

Together, they climbed, higher and higher, until Eli realized they were higher than she had ever been before; higher even than when she had fled from Papa’s disappointment in her. Why was it so easy this time, she wondered. Finally they leveled off and Elaine turned toward the east, the direction of the rising sun. The river was below them and the moon reflected beautifully on the rippling water, outlining an occasional bridge or barge, but from this height, it looked more like a speckled silver ribbon. Eli realized it was so cold she could see her breath.

Elaine hung in the air, her wings motionless except for an occasional correction indicated by an almost imperceptible flick at the tip of a bony spar. Eli couldn’t even begin to compete with this, try as she might. She lost altitude a bit faster and had to flap her wings every now and then to maintain the distance between them. She felt like a novice for the first time in her life; small and clumsy in comparison with the power and grace that Elaine was so effortlessly displaying.

They flew for hours. Elaine would descend to the rooftops and fly low over a portion of the city where the combination of the reflected moonlight and approaching sun almost imperceptibly combined to produce an understated masterpiece of color and texture, then soar once again to impossible heights. Eli suddenly realized that they were on a tour of Elaine’s own living museum of art. As picture after incredible picture was placed on display for her, she became lost in the beauty of it all, until a moonlit Big Ben made her realize how late it was. She wasn’t even sure that, from this distance, she could make it home before the sun came up.

She veered off suddenly and headed for home, flapping her wings furiously. Almost immediately, she felt Elaine drop over her from above. “I’m sorry. I lost track of the time,” she shouted through the wind, “You’ll never make it home in time on your own. Let me do this!” She gracefully maneuvered under Eli and rose slowly up to her until their wings were almost touching. Eli lifted her wings slightly and softly dropped onto Elaine’s back, wrapping her legs around her waist. She quickly retracted her wings and wrapped her arms around her neck; the next instant, Elaine’s powerful dive and acceleration almost threw Eli off her back. She had never flown so fast before! She held on tight and, filled with elation, allowed herself to be carried away by this mysterious, beautiful, dark angel. She leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! That was so beautiful! Can we do it again?”

She felt Elaine smile, “Whenever you wish, Butterfly.”

They roared out of the sky and spiraled down towards the house, where Eli could just make out Papa and Oskar standing inside her open window. The sky in the east was bright now; the sun would be full up in less than half an hour. She felt sad somehow that their night was coming to an end, even though she knew with a certainty there were many more such trips ahead of her, but at the same time she felt a deep bond, a connection with Elaine that was difficult for her to understand. She desperately wanted it not to be over. She tightened her grip, leaned forward and pressed her cheek against Elaine’s. Please come in. I so so want you to come in. She felt Elaine pull up, stall out and drop gracefully just inside the window, as Oskar tripped and fell backwards, and Papa jumped out of the way.

Eli jumped down, pressed her cheek against Elaine’s chest and hugged her tightly. Elaine hesitantly put her winged arms around her, then firmly kissed her on the top of the head. “The answer to your question is ‘yes,’ but he has to ask me himself.” She smiled at Papa, looked out the window and stepped up on the sill, “Please come and see me again soon, Butterfly. Bring these – others along with you too, if you wish.” She turned and with a single thrust of her wings, disappeared over the top of the house and vanished from sight. Oskar and Papa stood there, momentarily speechless.

“Eli, she’s beautiful!” Oskar said, breathlessly.

“Yes. She is,” agreed Papa. He knew somehow that Eli was at least partially responsible for this change in Elaine; or else his first impression of her unyielding darkness was wildly off the mark. “And those wings! I hadn’t thought much about what the wings on a mature vampire would be like, but they are much more than proportionally larger than yours, Eli. I’m not sure how she was able to get them in the window intact; but somehow, she did.”

“Papa, she said ‘yes!’ But she says you have to ask her yourself. I don’t know why.” Eli said, excitedly.

Papa smiled at her, “You will when you’re a bit older, Eli. Now tell us all about your visit, and where you left your pants,” he grinned.

Less than 15 minutes later, Oskar assured them that she was within sight of home. “She called you a nerd again, Dad.”