Eli could hear voices calling for her, familiar voices. She slowly opened her eyes and looked in a daze around the room. It appeared that she was laying on a simple straw bed, surrounded by undecorated and unpainted wooden walls in a small room. Three other equally simple beds were also present. Two people stood at the side of her bed, two women. The memory of their faces returned, after being lost for what felt like an eternity. ‘Mother, sister’
Eli’s head ached; her memories were just a huge blur. She could almost swear that she went to bed in another place, a place with red walls and a painting of a castle. She could vaguely remember that castle, that night, her long years of solitude, the curse and her countless victims. As well as the image of a young boy with blonde hair, his name lost in the haze that was her mind. Eli looked up into her mothers eyes, full of compassion as always. She smiled warmly at her.
“Elias, you are awake. Do you remember what happened?
Eli searched her memory carefully, trying to recall the day before. She found nothing but very blurry images, images of the red walls and the painting in that unknown room, the blonde boy, a city of gold. She could not make reason of it; it had to be a dream. More clear however was her memories of the happenings at the castle. She could feel the panic build inside her just by thinking about it. Eli glanced at her sister; she could vaguely remember her name, Elin. Elin was only a couple of year’s older, going to be sixteen this fall. Her black hair flowed down her shoulders, almost looking like an older image of Eli, but slightly less beautiful, at least that was what the public opinion was. Elin’s smile was just as warm as mothers.
“Don’t you remember, little brother?” Sister’s voice was concerned.
“Something about a castle, a feast, a pair of white dices, a man in a wig, pain, searing pain.” Eli mumbled.
Both mother and sister looked puzzled at her. Mother laid her hand under her cheek, lifting her head upwards for better eye contact.
“Elias, you were severely wounded by stampeding cattle. You have been unconscious for almost a week; I don’t know what you are talking about. It has to be a dream.”
Eli inspected her body closely; it was full of bruises and minor wounds. She lifted her hand towards her head, it was bandaged, suggesting that she suffered a severe head injury. Most significantly however… she was still a boy. Eli could barely believe it. She was still Elias, she was still a he. The incident at the castle never happened, neither was she turned into a vampire, nor had he killed anyone. It was all a dream, just a nightmare.
Elias hugged his mother, then his sister.
“I have missed you both.”
Elin stretched out her hand and gave him a piece of bread.
“Here, you have to be hungry.”
Elias ate the bread with good appetite. It tasted better then it ever had in the past. The door to the bedroom opened and a man with a white robe entered. He has slightly older than middle aged. His hair was gray and an equally gray moustache adorned his face. Mother smiled at him when he came in. She immediately turned to her youngest son.
“Elias, let me introduce you to doctor Eriksson, you owe him your life. Without him you would now be dead.”
“I am thankful sir, but mom, you know we can’t afford a doctor. “
Elias remembered the hard winters, almost starving to death. He didn’t want to relive one of those.
The doctor just looked him in the eyes and shook his head.
“Don’t worry, little one. I won’t charge your family anything. I was just in the neighbourhood and happened to witness your accident. I gladly save the lives of children without charge, especially ones as cute of you.”
Elias could feel his face turning red.
“I am not cute.” He said childishly.
The doctor laughed heart-warmingly. So did Elin and Mother.
“You remind me of my own son, he is about your age you know. He is just outside helping your father and brother harvesting the crops.” The doctor said friendly.
Elias smiled equally friendly towards him.
“May I go out and meet with them?”
“Do so; you seem to be well enough.” The doctor answered.
Elias turned to his mother. She just nodded.
“Go my dear, do as you please”
Elias eagerly got up of bed, got dressed, and ran out the room as fast as his legs could carry him.
He went to the kitchen, glanced at it for a second. Just as simple in design as the bedroom, and, if somehow possible, even smaller. It looked just as he remembered it. With rusty pans and wooden cutlery laying about. Elias went out of the house, a primitive wooden shack. He ran for the crops fields; he could see the silhouettes of his father and brother. The sun shone heavily down upon them, Elias enjoyed every second of it.
When he got closer, his father waved at him. He was a man around his forties; Elias could remember his great strength and stature, strength that he got from the constant work at the farm, in service of the landlord. Elias shuddered for a moment; thinking of the landlord reminded him of his nightmares. He waved back at his father.
When he reached him Elias gave his father big hug. Only then did his brother take his eyes of his work, and stopped with the harvest. Elias let go of his father and hugged his slightly reluctant brother instead. He remembered his name, Elof. Elof, currently eighteen years old, was a tall person, but he did not really possess the same stature as father. He was just as strong as father, but he often gave the impression of being much more agile. Elof hugged him back, but quickly let go, like he was feeling guilty. Elias also let go of him. Elof smiled awkwardly at him. Still Elias could see a glimpse of eagerness in his eyes.
“Glad you are well, brother.”
Elias recalled the memories of happy times shared with his brother. How they used to play in the forest when he was younger, and their countless fishing trips to the river. Of course Elias had made several fishing trips alone as well, it was the only thing that contributed to his family’s survival that he was strong enough to do.
But that was a long time ago, Elof had since long outgrown him. Since that time, their relationship had become a lot more strained. Despite that fact, Elias still looked up to him as a role model. He was strong, fast and smart. To bad he had become too much of an arrogant jerk to play with his little brother.
Elof’s black hair flowed with the wind sweeping down the fields. It almost made him look ruthless. A triumphant smile slowly crept along his lips.
“Elias, you cannot even guess what you have missed during your week long sleep.”
Father looked at them both. Elias met his fathers gaze, he seemed happier than he could remember him being for ages.
“It’s true, Elias much have come to pass since last week. Prepare yourself child, for these news will blow your socks off.”
Elof smiled even more triumphantly.
“Brother, Lord Törnkvist has been apprehended. You see, a couple of days ago, a government official came here, searching for some kind of doctor, Eriksson I think his name was. You know, the one that saved your life. His boy was out here helping us for a while, but he was not good for much more than you.”
“Get to the point Elof, how did Törnkvist get arrested?” Elias felt impatient; he needed to hear all the details on this one.
Elof seemed kind of nervous.
“I am getting there. The official found the doctor; he was for the moment mending your wounds. The official asked about what happened to you, when he got his answer; he asked why the landlord did not provide aid to this child, as he should be ethically obligated to do. No one said anything, except one young boy, one young boy that was brave enough to tell the truth, that boy was me.”
Elias looked surprised at his brother. Self-importance flowed through his entire character. He had all the rights in the world to be proud, he caused the downfall of one of the most sadistic lords of all time. Elof continued to smile proudly and told the rest of the story.
“I told the official about the feasts, the games he played with our young. How some, where taken away to never be seen again. I told him that this had been going on, at least once a month, for as long as I could remember. He immediately went to castle Törnkvist, bringing with him all the guards he could muster. Törnkvist’s guards resisted the intruders, but they were quickly put down. The official discovered terrifying tools of torture and mutilation in the castle cellar. Törnkvist was captured and taken to Stockholm for a trial. Now we have a new landlord.”
Elias felt great satisfaction, he gloated in the evil lord’s downfall. Never would any other soul have to endure his heartlessness. Never would his nightmares come true, he could remain Elias. He never doubted that his nightmares were about him. Never doubted that it was what would happen if you were taken by the lord. He could barely remember the years of horror that followed; it began to completely fade from his mind, as did the name Eli. He was Elias, a boy living as a peasant in a small village, that was all there was. No prowling around at nighttimes in search of blood, no spending time alone in dark caves. He had a family, he had a life.
Elias smiled like he had never smiled before, vengeance was sweet, even though the things he sought it for was only a dream. He once again turned to his brother, Elof was not as happy as he had expected.
“What’s wrong?” Elias was concerned.
Elof just muttered to himself and snorted.
“It’s just, that I am not so sure about the new lord, he has a worrisome reputation.”
“Bogus.”
Father turned towards Elof.
“Lord el Gavri is an honest man; he dramatically lowered the taxes and let us keep more of our harvest than ever possible under Törnkvist. You should apologize for you making this slander.”
Elias could not remember when Father ever had stood up for a noble like this; it was almost like he was angry at Elof.
Elof just sighed and challenged his father with a fiery tone.
“As well as a reputation for ordering witch hunts, he purges any affront to the church with fire. El Gavri is responsible for at least as many deaths as Törnkvist, at least as many children, always for the same four crimes; heresy, witchcraft, adultery and homosexuality. Almost never were it any proof to support his claims, but no executions were stopped. He is dangerous, father.”
Father just laughed at Elof’s claims.
“That’s just a rumour, son.”
Elias was currently not in the mood for this kind of discussion, but he hoped that the rumour wasn’t true. But even if they were, his family would probably not be in danger. They were no heretics. Whatever the case, Elias was not going to stay there and listen to father and brother arguing.
“Where did Dr Eriksson’s son go?” Elias interrupted the fiery discussion.
“He is down by the river.” Father answered, still upset from his discussion with Elof.
Elias was already on his way down there at the time father finished the sentence.
The riverbed was almost deserted, only a few tufts of grass grew on its banks. At the creek, just a few meters from Elias, was a single tree. Beneath the tree sat a boy with blonde hair, staring out over the water. Elias recognized his face from his dreams. He approached the golden haired boy. He looked away from the water and right at Elias.
“Hi, I see you are finally well.”
“You know me?” Elias responded. He was not really surprised; he seemed to recognize this boy from somewhere. The boy looked right into Elias eyes; a cool smile entered his lips.
“I was helping my father tend for you; we barely left your side. I can even recall you opening your eyes for a brief moment, looking at me for a second, before once again closing your eyelids.”
That explained why Elias thought of the boy as familiar. He had taken care of him since the accident. Elias could still not remember the accident itself however, nor anything else from the same day.
Elias went over to the boy and sat down next to him, both looking out over the water in a dreamlike state. It was a beautiful riverbank on the other side, its golden shores rivalled only by the beauty of the nearby trees, whose leafs gently moved in the wind. However, these impressions were ruined by the foreboding presence on the horizon, Castle Törnkvist. Elias looked away from it, terrified; thinking about what could have happened was just too much for him to bear. He turned to the blonde haired boy, hoping to find comfort in his eyes. To his own surprise, he did. His eyes were deeper than the river itself, it was like Elias had known him for a very long time. Despite the fact that their first encounter was only a few minutes ago. After looking intently at each other for a moment, the boy gave him a content smile.
“You know, you are kind of cute, for a boy I mean.”
Elias knew just how to handle this.
“I could say the same about you.”
“That’s not true.” the boy protested.
“I take it back if you take it back.” Elias said cunningly.
The boy just emitted a comfortable chuckle.
“As you wish, your name was Elias, wasn’t it?”
Elias nodded. For some reason he could not hold back an uncomfortably girlish giggle.
“What’s your name, boy?”
“Oskar.” The boy answered, not too relaxed.
Elias hand approach his, Oskar took it and held it firmly in his. From that moment, Elias knew they would become the best of friends.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
“Oskar, help me.”
The words echoed through Oskar’s still unconscious mind. Before his eyes, Eli laid on the ground, covered in her own blood. Shadows approached her on all sides, together forming an all-consuming darkness surrounding Eli. The shadows tore at her body, dragging her into the darkness, ripping her apart in the process. Oskar tried to stop them, but found, much to his own dismay, that he could not move. He screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Eli.”
The shadows still carried on with their work, Eli screamed in agony as her body was ripped asunder under their greedy talons. Oskar tried to close his eyes, even this was impossible. He was forced to watch these terrifying creatures devour his beloved. He tried to scream again, but this time no sound was heard. The shadows carried her off into the darkness, her body still in agony from their touch, until she finally disappeared altogether into the eternal darkness. Oskar could feel a great wave of despair build up within him. The shadows noticed this, their attention turned to Oskar. He was dragged to the ground by the tendrils of darkness. He could feel them tear at his legs, his body, his head, and his soul. The agony was overwhelming. He screamed, in hope that anyone would answer his call but no sound was heard. But it didn’t matter; it was no one there to answer. He was all alone; Eli had already been swallowed by the darkness, he had no reason to live. He could only hope for the agony to end after he was devoured by the beings. Soon he realized he was hoping in vain. As parts of him were devoured, they did not stop hurting; in fact the pain was worse than ever. With no hope of relief, Oskar gave himself willingly to the darkness. Soon his entire being was gone, but the agony still lingered. He was alone in the darkness; nothing existed but solitude and pain.
Oskar rose from his bed, his heart racing and his lungs gasping for air. He took a look around the room. It was as they had left it. The red walls almost looked spooky in the darkness. Eli was already up; she was staring at the painting, seemingly lost in thoughts. Oskar got out of bed and went to her side and laid his hand on her shoulder.
“How are you? You don’t seem to be feeling well.”
Eli just laughed, not the normal sweet kind of laughter, but a creepy laughter, containing no emotion, other than total hopelessness, and contempt. Eli turned her head towards him, her eyes as beautiful as ever, but containing something that Oskar normally wouldn’t link to Eli, ambition.
“I feel fine Oskar, in fact, I have never felt better.” Eli’s voice was a little tense.
She quickly relaxed, Eli smiled towards Oskar, but no happiness could be seen in this smile. In fact she did not show any sensations at all. Her voice was completely monotone.
“It is time; it is time for us to leave this place, a glorious future awaits us.”
Oskar began to feel uncomfortable; something was wrong, very wrong. Oskar was genuinely concerned about her.
“Eli, what’s wrong? You are acting strangely. I mean, more strange then usual. It’s something about this room, that painting isn’t it?”
He looked right into Eli’s eyes; the love he normally could see in them was gone, replaced by a glimpse of fire, the fire of hate. Oskar recoiled in horror.
Eli’s eyes changed, the fire disappeared. Her eyes were once again the calm understanding eyes he recognized from his beloved.
Oskar once again approached Eli, slowly and carefully. He had never in his entire life been this afraid of her, not even when he first found out she was a vampire, almost killing himself in the process. However he could not fully explain why. Eli once again stared at the painting, totally ignoring Oskar. He took a closer look at the painting; he recognized it from Eli’s memories.
“Is that what I think it is?”
“It is.” Eli said calmly.
She turned around, facing Oskar. A sinister smile was on her lips.
“I have to go, come with me if you want, if you want to show yourself worthy of paradise.”
Oskar was baffled by her words.
“Excuse me?”
The fire once again took form in Eli’s eyes, their fury so intense that Oskar threw himself on the floor in submission. One thing was certain, this thing, whatever it looked like, wasn’t Eli. The Eli look-alike took him by the neck and lifted him up in the air. Its entire form began to be covered by fire, as did Oskar’s body. However he did not feel any pain.
“Be me a little.” The creature spit out scornfully.
Oskar’s vision faded; soon he saw things in a different perspective.
‘Before him, in other parts of the hotel, he saw men, women and children. He could feel them down to their very soul, their dreams and darkest secrets. He found them all despicable. They were all guilty in his eyes, guilty in the eyes of Justice. Their crimes ranged from adultery to sloth. These imperfect beings, they must all be purged; they must all be purged by righteous fire, may the impure and the unclean burn in the fires of suffering in all eternity.’
The visions faded and the creature dropped Oskar to the ground. The eyes that were once Eli’s looked down upon him.
“Are you coming with me, mortal? Or shall you face your righteous judgement?”
He crawled at the creature’s feet. He soon got up to his knees, and nodded his head. The creature took him up once again. Both his and Eli’s bodies were completely covered by fire, this fire spread to the rest of the room, setting it ablaze. With a roar, the room gave away under a great pressure wave that originated from the terrifying creature. All surroundings were blown to ashes; Oskar could see the night sky, the glittering full moon. He closed his eyes, he could feel them slowly dropping down to the ground, the roar of the fiery clouds surrounding them would not stop. He could hear it ripping the building apart. He heard the screams of the unsuspecting inhabitants as they was consumed by the fires, their petrifying death screams, they would forever haunt Oskar’s mind. The roar stopped, Oskar could feel himself hit the ground as the creature that was once Eli dropped him. He got a surprisingly soft landing. He opened his eyes, and saw that the entire building was nothing but ash, ash and corpse dust. Eli stood up, towering over him in a way he never could have imagined her doing, and the creature put her right foot at the top of his face.
“If you want to live, worm, I suggest you do as I say.”
Oskar had never felt more helpless in his entire life, he involuntarily squealed under the overwhelming power of Eli’s feet. Squealed like a pig. In all his confusion of this night, one thing he was certain of. This wasn’t Eli.
