Chapter 2: The Bargain

He dropped into his chair, his mind spinning, trying to process what he was seeing. “Impossible! Impossible! How can this possibly be?” He saw the sudden look of concern on the child’s face as she saw his reaction.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! But I had to do something! I had to make you believe me…” She quickly brought her arms back down to her sides.

The wings collapsed and folded with a rustle, and hung, drape-like from her arms, moving and flowing as though they had a mind of their own. They seemed to take up no space at all. He caught a fleeting glimpse of an edge, and saw that they were thinner than a sheet of paper, yet he felt a strong sense of their tensile strength, subtly implied by the way the folds moved against one another. Suddenly they began to tremble, and accompanied again by a faint crackling sound, became thinner yet, transparent, and then … gone, followed quickly by a few lingering wispy threads, which faded and seemed to retract into her arms. All that was left was a beautiful apparition, smiling gently down on him.
She hesitated a moment, took a step toward him, raised her arms level with her shoulders, palms out, made a slow full-turn in front of him, and finished with a mischievous grin on her face. She stood there like that for a moment, then quickly reached for her sweater, pulled it on over her head, and sat down in her chair, looking for all practical purposes, like the cat that swallowed the canary.

The Professor smiled in spite of himself. “Why, she’s just a child! Amidst all the upheaval, uncertainty and fear in her life, she is still just a child. How does she summon up the courage and fortitude to deal with this on a daily basis?” His heart went out to her.

Dawson took a deep breath. “How did this happen to you? You said you were bitten?” Visions of the old legends swam in his head. If this is real, it is clearly the source of much of the lore.

“Yes”

He was still trying to fathom the consequences of what he had just seen. “She is either a master magician, or I’m going to have to rewrite several of my books,” he thought wryly, “Perhaps all of them.” Surprisingly, he found himself hoping it would the latter.

“How did your parents handle this?”

Eli turned to Oskar and nodded almost imperceptibly.

Oskar went over the story in his head to make sure he didn’t make any mistakes. He and Eli had spent days working on it “But this guy is smart. Maybe we won’t be able to fool him.”
“We only had a father and he died. We live by ourselves. We ran away because they were going to send us to different homes and we didn’t want to be separated from each other. We live near here on money our Dad gave us. My … sister was bitten by a big – rat one night about 6 months ago and has been sick ever since. She can’t go out in the sun, she can do … all the things you saw, and she can’t eat regular food any more. It makes her sick and she can’t keep it down.”

“But how has she survived all this time without eating?”

“She found something that she could eat.”

“I found out that I could eat…blood.” Eli said. “And that seems to be all that I CAN eat.”

“How on earth did you figure that out?

Eli hesitated, “I would rather not talk about that. It was…an accident. But I am absolutely sure that I can’t eat anything else.”

He thought about that for a moment, and decided not to pursue it. “How have you gotten by over the last few months? How much do you need and how have you gotten it?” His mind was going to dark places now. But she’s so small and weak-looking. I can’t see her as a danger to anyone. Unless she flew ….. He dismissed the idea angrily. Stop it!. It’s not even a possibility!

“We bought it.”

“Bought it? How? Where?”

“We went to a part of town where .. people stayed who were willing to let us take some of their blood for money.”

Dawson leaned back in disbelief, “But, how did you collect it? How did you keep it sterile? Refrigerated?”

Oskar and Eli said nothing.

“My God! It’s a wonder you’re still alive! You could have gotten any number of diseases that way, not to mention being killed for your money, or worse.” He thought about all the possibilities and shuddered. He stood up“ You can’t continue to do that! Your lives are in danger for a variety of reasons, the least of which is starvation. If something were to happen to you, you would simply disappear. No one would know you had even existed!” For some reason, that thought frightened him. The research on her condition and everything it could mean to modern medicine would certainly be lost, but … that didn’t seem to be his concern. All he could think about at the moment was their safety, how they had worked so hard to stay together, their bravery and resolve in the face of what, to children, must seem to be impossible odds.

And, they had come to him for help. A heavy burden for him to bear..

Dawson thought for a minute. “Have you figured out how much you need to survive?”

They looked at each other. “At least one liter a week,” Eli said.

“How long has it been since you last …”

“Almost 2 weeks.”

“She must be starving to death,” he thought, remembering her ribs, how thin she had looked. “She can’t have much time left before she suffers some permanent effects of malnutrition, but I can’t allow them to continue doing what they have been doing.”

“Let me make a phone call.” He held up his hand as they started to protest. “I promise. I won’t say anything about you to him. I’m calling my son-in-law. He’s a physician”

He picked up the phone and dialed. “Arvid? Sorry to bother you but I have a favor to ask of you. Can you help me obtain two liters of blood? Type O Rh D negative as usual. The Molecular Biology lab needs it as soon as possible…….Our new Human Genome research project is falling a bit behind schedule. ……..How about tomorrow?.....Afternoon would be fine. It’ll be delivered here as usual? …..Thanks. How are the kids? Is Janice still scheduled for the swim meet this weekend? .....Great! I’ll be there of course. Thanks again.”

He looked at them solemnly, “Can you hold out until tomorrow? That’s the best I could do without attracting undue attention. I’ll have to do a bit of juggling to explain this in any case. “

Oskar turned to Eli, “Can you really do that? Can you …eat blood like that?”

“I don’t know! I’ve never thought about it before. When would I have ever had the chance to find out?” She turned to Dawson. “Yes. I can wait a while longer. I’m OK, really.”

“Is there anything else you need? Can I count on you to come back tomorrow night around…..8:30?” He looked down at his calendar. He could clear a couple of appointments and he would have the rest of the evening free.

Oskar and Eli nodded, and smiled at each other for the first time. Eli looked at the Professor with appreciation, “Thank you….so much! No, we don’t need any thing else. I….” she took a step forward, put her arms around him and gave him a quick hug, then stepped back and looked down, embarrassed.

“Promise me something,” he said as he leveled his gaze at Eli. “Promise me you won’t buy any more blood.”

She looked at him for a moment, hesitated, “I promise.”

“We have a lot to talk about, but I know that the shuttle stops running at 10:30.” He smiled, “and unless you also managed to acquire a car when you left home, you had best be going.”

Oskar smiled, “Ha, Ha. You think you’re so funny. Well, I DO know how to drive a moped.”

They grinned at each other.

“Promise me one more thing. In return, I promise you both I will never discuss what happened here tonight without your permission.”

“What is it?” Eli asked.

“That you will never look at me with those … eyes again. Believe me, you don’t need to. I’m sold without the magic.”

Eli grinned at him. “I promise.” I could probably never do it to him again anyway, she thought. He’s too nice. Like Oskar, grown up.

He put his hands on their shoulders. “I know you’ve been through a lot. I’m sure I can’t begin to imagine how much. But please trust me. I’ll do everything I can for you. If you need anything, please call me on my private line, or at home.” He handed them his card. “Can I give you a ride anywhere? …No of course not. The bus stop? Do you need any money? “

Eli held up her hand, “No, thanks!” She smiled at him again. “We’re sort of used to taking care of ourselves. And of course, we don’t want you to know where we live….yet. We have enough money to last a while, but not enough to keep buying blood. That’s another reason we came tonight.” She avoided his eyes, “I hate being like this…”

He got a mischievous look in his eye, “Are you really so sure about that? You’re going to have to tell me tomorrow in great detail how it feels to fly. That’s something I used to dream about when I was your age. I could easily envy you.”

Eli blushed. Oskar looked at her in amazement. “She looks happy! Happier than I’ve seen her in months.” He hugged her tightly and felt warm inside, like he felt when they were together at home, lying next to each other.

They gathered up their things and followed the Professor out into the hall toward the library. Dawson waved to Mrs. Holmberg as they put on their coats, gloves and boots, and headed down the stairs.

They opened the door and stood there a moment, looking at the snow. The walk was covered by this time, but there was only a light snow fall and they could see the bus stop across the courtyard.

“Please. Be careful. And stay safe,” he said gently as they started down the stairs. They turned and waved to him, as they headed down the walkway.

He slowly walked back up the stairs. He had a lot to think about and some important decisions to make before tomorrow. Her sensitivity to sunlight worried him a great deal. They probably weren’t in school either. He’d have to do something about that…

==========

Oskar and Eli got off the bus, crossed the street and walked slowly past the row of apartments,. Eli had a troubled look on her face. “Oskar, what if he finds out we were lying to him? We can’t expect him to keep helping us if he knows what I’ve really done. If he thinks we are dangerous to others, he has to turn us in. I know! I could sense what kind of person he was when I ….touched him. He would have to hate me if he knew!”

“Don’t say that! I think he really likes us – much more than Mr. Avila liked me, and Mr. Avila was the only one who knew I had set the fire and he still didn’t turn me in. He told me that he was there for me any time I wanted to talk about it. And we weren’t completely lying. We have been buying blood. You’ve only eaten twice the ….other way, since we left Blackeberg.”

“I know, but I’ve been killing for over 200 years! And it wasn’t until I met you that I couldn’t any more. And even then it wasn’t a choice. I HAD to stop. It hurt too much to kill after I was … with you.”

Oskar put his arm around her, “But you ARE a good person. You are! Anyone can see that.” He kissed her on the cheek.

“You don’t count. You’re under my spell” she said solemnly, stifling a grin. Her eyes gleamed as she waved her arm slowly back and fourth in front of him.

“I am not! Take that back!”

She laughed, “And what if I don’t? What are you going to do about it?”

He lunged at her, caught her off guard, and they fell together into the snow. “I’ll show you who’s under whose spell,” he said, pinning her arms to the ground, and straddling her chest. “Now, I command you to make a snow angel,” he said as he forced her arms up and down in the snow”

“Your wish is my command, Oh, great Wizard,” she said solemnly. Suddenly, she twisted over on her stomach, straightened her arms, and pulled herself quickly out from under him. Oskar landed on his face in the snow, turned and jumped up just in time to catch a snowball between the eyes. “Take that, evil Wizard!” she shouted. He turned, bent down and gathered a huge handful of snow, but just as he began to straighten up, he caught another one in the rear end that knocked him over again.

“Aha!” she shouted, “A fatal blow to the brain! Once again, good has triumphed over evil!”

Oskar leaped up, and threw his snowball directly at her head. She easily dodged it, lunged, and caught him around the waist, sending them both sprawling and laughing back into the snow. Oskar began tickling her hard, and as she jerked back giggling, he grabbed a big handful of snow and rubbed it in her face.
She shook it off, grabbed him again and they rolled back and fourth for a while, until Oskar, out of breath, cried “Enough!”
They hugged each other a moment then got up, brushed each other off, and walked quickly towards their apartment door, growling at each other.

Eli stopped suddenly, and looked into the dark passageway next to their apartment building. “What are you doing here?”

A short stocky man in a tattered black jacket stepped out of the shadows. “Hello, Eli”

“What do you want?” she said coldly.

“I’m not doing too well right now, and thought you might give me a little extra cash in appreciation for what I did for you before”

“Who’s that?” Oskar whispered.

Eli didn’t answer.

“Didn’t she tell you? I’m the guy who, out of the goodness of my heart, rented the apartment for her.”

“I gave you the rent money, and paid you a reasonable fee for your trouble. You’ll get nothing more.” Eli said.

“Yes, but I’ve given it a lot of thought since then. I wondered where you got enough money for six-months rent in advance, and figured there was probably a lot more where that came from. I figured you’d be alone, but I see you’ve found yourself a nice little boyfriend to share your little love nest with,” he snickered.

“Get lost!”

He stepped in front of them and pulled out a small pistol. “I have other plans. Now walk slowly in front of me and unlock your door.”

Oskar quickly stepped in front of Eli, “Please don’t hurt her … "

“Shut up, kid!” Oskar felt a sudden pain above his ear and went sprawling to the ground. As he rolled over and tried to get up, he heard a sharp growl as Eli leapt over him, and a dull thud as she struck the man in the chest with her head. He heard a shot, then saw two bodies roll across the sidewalk into the street. There was a sharp snap, then silence.
Oskar scrambled to his feet and ran toward the dark mass in the street. Eli slowly rose, saw Oskar and rushed towards him her cat-eyes glowing menacingly. “Oskar! Are you alright?” She grabbed him and hugged him so hard it hurt.

“Are YOU ok? I heard a shot and thought he had killed you.” Oskar was shaking all over.

“I’m fine, but I need to get rid of him.”

“Is he … dead?” Oskar looked over her shoulder, but couldn’t see the man well enough to tell. The snow had begun to come down hard again and they couldn’t even see across the street.

“Yes. Why don’t you go inside and I’ll move him someplace farther away. We can’t let them find him here.”

“Did you …”

“No! I told you I would never do that again. Besides, the professor….. . Please! Go inside. I have to do this quickly, before anyone sees.”

Oskar quickly opened the door to their apartment, climbed the stairs, and went into the living room. He stepped over to the front window, bent back the cardboard, and could barely make out Eli’s tiny figure carrying the body down the street into the darkness.

He stood there for a minute, took off his boots and jacket, then turned and sat down at the table. He picked up the solved Rubik’s cube and started absent-mindedly twisting it, until the surfaces were randomly mixed. He put it down and carefully picked up the reassembled egg and turned it over, examining it closely. It had taken her the first three weeks to reassemble it. She had done it while he was sleeping; while he was trying to adjust to staying awake at night so he could be with her. He knew it would have taken him years to do it.
He put it down, and picked up the rings strung on the piece of string. There were only four left. They had pawned several, to extend their diminishing money supply. Since she stopped … feeding, their money had gone pretty fast. The guys that sold them blood may have been a bit shady, but they weren’t stupid. By the time Eli and Oskar had become good at bargaining, over half their money was gone. That was yet another reason they needed help.

He suddenly realized that he was bleeding from above his left ear. The blood had run down his neck and was beginning to stain his undershirt. He quickly got up, went into the bathroom and cleaned himself up. He vividly remembered that night in the basement, and knew Eli was hungry. He didn’t want her to have to go through that again, after everything else that had just happened. He opened the cabinet, reached past the hair dye and toothpaste, and grabbed the first-aid kit. He had just finished changing his shirt and putting the bandage on his head when he heard the outside door open and close. He quickly stepped out into the living room and sat at the table. Eli came in, looked around, dropped her wet clothes on the floor and settled into the chair across from him, with a concerned look on her face. “Are you ok? Let me see…”

Oskar flinched and turned his head away from her. “No, its fine, really”

“Oskar, let me see. I promise I am ok with it.”

He turned his head so she could see the bandage. She reached up, touched it briefly, then put her hands on either side of his face, looked at him seriously and said, “Oskar, please don’t EVER do anything like that again! He could have shot you rather than just pistol-whipping you.”

“ ‘Pistol-whipping?’ ” he grinned. “ ‘Get Lost?’ Maybe we shouldn’t have gotten that TV set. You’ve been watching way too many American Westerns.” Eli swung at him across the table, but Oskar ducked away, still grinning.

“What shall we do tonight?” Eli asked, “We still have lots of time before daylight.”

Oskar thought for a moment. “Why don’t you tell me all about how you got the egg?” He suggested. “… Unless you don’t want to.” He said hurriedly.

She smiled, “Ok. Once upon a time, in a great castle in the Fjällen on the border of northern Sweden, there was a magical goose that laid Faberge eggs. On one particular day he had eaten something that didn’t agree with him, so his … plumbing was a bit backed up and…”

“Eli!!”