It was no mistake. It was Oskar’s voice and it was not only in Eli´s head. In this realm of darkest night, in this state of misery and guilt, Oskar had reached her. His voice called out for her again.
”Eli”
Eli could see Oskar force his way through the crowd, he had a companion. Eli never thought she would see him again. Neither did she want to. Håkan looked like he did before he got caught, before all that acid. Eli could not stand looking at him. She turned her gaze to Oskar. Was this simply an illusion of her mind? A wishful fantasy or another cruel trick? Oskar was angelic in his appearance; his pale skin almost looked white in contrast to the darkness. He was clad in the same simple brown jacket he wore the day they first met. This unassuming boy had changed her life. A supernatural glowing aura seemed to be surrounding him. Eli could swear she could see the vague outline of a pair of angelic wings. Oskar had always seen her as his angel. Never did he suspect that Eli viewed him in the same way. Oskar was the angel of salvation that saved her from the nightmare that was her existence, giving her a reason to live. The moment she fell for him, Eli knew what kept her alive all this time, the desire to be loved, to be accepted by someone for what she really was. Her father had never accepted her true self, always going on about how she was not good for anything, he had always had a hard time accepting that she was not as”masculine” as he expected a son to be. Elof was his ideal son, strong, hardworking and outgoing. Eli was not any of these things. Eli had always been shunned by the other kids of the village. They called him ” Mama’s boy”, beat him with sticks, pushed him into the ice-cold river during the fall, forcing him to the ground and making him squeal like a pig.
No wonder Eli felt sympathy for Oskar´s plight. They were treated the same way. Eli´s only friends growing up were her siblings. Eli used to play with her older brother as well as with her sister. Elin considered her closer as a younger sister than a brother. Elof was the only one who treated Eli like the boy he was. They used to swordfight, fish, even wrestle. But Elof always won. As Elof got older he stopped playing with his brother to leave room for his training to serve as a guard at castle Törnkvist. Eli´s sister also become less interested in her as she become a teenager. All she wanted to talk about was boys. This left Eli with helping her mother with the housework. They had always been close, but never closer than they were at Eli´s eleventh birthday, before she was send to Törnkvist. Everything after that had been like one big haze of misery until she met Oskar. Oskar was her savior; he gave her comfort in this misery of a life. Oskar was the best friend Eli ever had, he was more than that.
Oskar and Håkan forced their way through the crowd and separated Eli from the mob by standing just between them. The man she killed in the apartment looked at them in the same way as a hunter viewed his prey. He examined Håkan closely.
”You, you are that man from the bar. The one that refused to sit by our table”
Håkan nodded by agreement.
”Please forgive Eli, it’s not her fault”
The man’s face distorted in rage.
”Not her fault? She killed my friend, made my girlfriend commit suicide, she ruined my life, and she must pay!”
As the man made an aggressive gesture towards Eli, she cowered down on the ground. Her entire body was shaking. In the same moment, Eli could feel Oskar putting his hands around her neck and shoulders. Eli found his touch comforting. Oskar turned towards the man who threatened her, still holding Eli in a tight embrace.
” Please sir, do not give in to hate, vengeance solve nothing, I know what she does might seem horrible, but look at her, isn’t she adorable? I love this person and if you got to know her, you would too”
Oskar caressed her cheek. Eli turned to him and gazed into his eyes. They were filled with genuine love. In them Eli saw a reflection of herself. The same feeling was present in her eyes. Eli put her hand on Oskar’s cheek, he smiled. Eli smiled back. The man watched them closely. The woman beside him put her hand on his shoulder.
” Lacke, I know what this child goes through. I do not like to judge her, she is only a child after all, but she should have ended her own life a long time ago. For the child’s own sake, we must end her misery”
The man called Lacke approached Eli. Håkan blocked his path.
”Over my dead body”
”Stay out of this, ritual killer.”
Lacke pushed Håkan to the side with surprising ease. He took out a knife from his pocket and raised it towards Eli and Oskar. A whimpering cry escaped Eli. She could hear Oskars´s heart pounding; at least they went out together, dying in each other’s arms. Lacke made an effort to strike at Eli`s heart. In that moment, a cry from behind Lacke was heard.
”Stop, do not any of you care about my opinion?”
A man stepped forth from the crowd. Lacke stared at him like he just seen a ghost. Eli recognized the man as the one she killed under that bridge.
” Jocke? Aren’t you dead?”
The woman face palmed.
”I am dead too Lacke, we are all dead. You are really slow sometimes, do you know that?”
Jocke approached Eli, met her gaze. He had a curious look in his eyes. Eli got to her feet; Oskar still kept his arms around Eli. Jocke examined them with a scrutiny’s gaze.
”You know, of all the things I thought would kill me, alcohol, cancer; never did I expect it to be a little girl. I just wonder; why did you do it?
Eli gave him a mischievous smile, Oskar let go.
”Let me show you.”
Eli kissed him, imbuing him with the memories of her life as a blood drinker, the nightmare of her existence, his death under the bridge, her crying over his dead body, her relationship with Oskar, her feelings for this boy, how he comforted her, encouraged her to live on. Eli let go, Jocke turned towards Lacke and that woman.
”I can’t do it, I can’t hate her, I forgive her, now let her be.”
Lacke sighed, he took a good look at Eli, and then he turned towards Jocke.
” I can personally not forgive her, but I guess you have a good reason. What did she show you anyway? Virginia, what do you think?
The woman that was called Virginia looked at Lacke, almost like a mother.
”My death was my own choice, not this Childs fault. I can’t live like that, but I now understand why she can. I have never seen a pair like these two in my entire life. Look at the life in their eyes. They are still children; her view of the world is still fresh, not stagnated like ours. Despite she has probably lived longer than I have. Lacke, I love you. I know you love me, but we wasted our opportunity. Let’s not waste the love of these two kids as well.”
Lacke looked back at her. A glimpse of affection was in both their eyes.
”Dear Virginia, now at least there is nothing stopping us being together. Let’s forget about all of this and live the afterlife as we should have lived in life”
Lacke and Virginia embraced each other and kissed. Eli and Oskar looked at each other and decided to do the same. Oskar’s saliva tasted better than it had ever done before. Eli shared with him all that’s happened since they both fell asleep in that hotel room in Garpenberg.
All the sudden, a demonic laugh echoed in the darkness. Eli turned towards the mob behind Lacke, Virginia and Jocke, they all seem confused about whatever they should feel towards the two children. Behind the crowd, an angel soared in the air, laughing maniacally. It’s six wings clapped in rhythm like a whole flock of birds.
Its fiery eyes looked upon the whole scene with scorn. Gavri’el turned his attention to Lacke and Virginia.
”You are totally useless, hereby, for your crimes of lust and idleness, I will send you back to the second circle where you will be separated forever.”
The demon made a gesture towards them and snapped his fingers. Eli felt like her body has frozen solid. Lacke and Virginia began to fade away into nothingness. The screamed in despair as their bodies disappeared, keeping eye contact until the very last moment. The echoes of their screams still hang in the air seconds after they were gone. Shortly thereafter, it was like they have been erased from existence.
Surrounded by the almost limitless crowd of Eli’s past victims, Eli turned towards Oskar and Håkan. Oskar was trembling. In his beautiful blue eyes was fear. She felt it too. Eli could see the love Lacke and Virginia had for each other, but it could not save them from their fate. How could their love do any different?
Eli met Håkan’s gaze. She could see lust in his eyes, but also loyalty and devotion. Eli did herself have no love in her heart for him. But she did have pity. She gave him a warm smile, he smiled back. Eli made a gesture indicating him to come closer. She quickly turned towards Oskar, gave him a similar gesture. Both Oskar and Håkan hugged Eli simultaneously. Eli’s face turned red. She laid her head on Oskar’s shoulder. Eli let it be for a couple of minutes. She then lifted her head and gazed at the nearby mob, still unsure of what to do. Eli gazed right into the fiery eyes of the angel. Its hate was indescribable.
Oskar whispered in Eli’s ear.
”We can take this guy.”
Eli continued to stare at the creature as like they were having a staring contest. It felt like the demon could see into her very soul. Her darkest secrets buried in the deepest corners of her mind. Everything else disappeared; soon she was surrounded by flaming eyes, all tearing deeper into her psyche.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oskar could feel Eli melt in his arms. It felt like they were one. Suddenly Eli raised her head and turned her attention to the demon behind the crowd. Eli suddenly became stale. Håkan let go of her. In an instant, Eli disappeared, so did Håkan. Oskar could see his surroundings start to change.
It was night, Oskar ran as fast as he could towards his house. He was in a small village. He was dressed in rags. Oskar remembered escaping from that horrible castle, blood dripped from his crotch. His entire body was in horrible pain. He did not know how long he was kept in the castle, months? Weeks? Days? It felt like an eternity, he did remember the man in the wig, endless pain and suffering, taking the life of another boy. Oskar knew that he should not go home, but he had to see his family one last time. He was filled with hunger, He decided to ignore it. He felt like all was just a horrible nightmare, that if he just got home, everything would be alright. After all of this, he longed after his mother’s arms. He was there, at his one house. Oskar knocked carefully on the door, no one answered. He knocked again, harder this time. He heard a voice from inside, a familiar voice.
”Who is it?”
It was his father’s voice. Oskar said his name.
”Elias”
Father opened the door. The rather large man inspected him from head to toe.
”Elias, what happened? We thought you were dead!”
” I rather not talk about it right now. I want to see mother, sister and brother.”
Father gave Oskar a warm smile.
”Elof is currently away, military business. I can wake up my wife and Elin if you like, but isn’t it better to wait until morning?”
Oskar looked down into the ground.
”I am afraid that is not possible. Can I come in? Please!”
Father looked into his eyes; Oskar could see he saw the sadness in them.
”Come in.”
Oskar walked through the door into the very kitchen. He followed his father to the bedroom. Father waked up mother and sister. As they saw Oskar, their jaw dropped, they both smiled. Oskar smiled back. He had never seen his mother and sister this happy. Mother sighed with relief.
” Elias? I am so glad you’re alive, but how? No one has ever escaped Törnkvist’s grip alive.”
Oskar looked down into the ground again. He knew he should not even be here. Elin ran toward him and hugged him. She hold him tightly, Oskar welcomed her embrace.
”Dear Elias, I can’t believe it’s you. I love you brother.”
Oskar could feel the blood flow through her veins. The beast grew stronger within him. Oskar felt his consciousness slip away.
His vision got black. He spent a moment in the darkness alone, soon the visions returned.
He was still standing in the bedroom of his house. His hands were soaked with blood, shaking. Before him was what once was his family. Their body parts were strewn about across the floor. Only a monster could have done this, a monster like him. His soul filled with despair, he cried over their dead bodies. His vision got blurry from all the tears. This was entirely his fault.
Suddenly, Oskar was flung out of the vision. His sight cleared and he regained his own sense of self. Oskar turned towards Eli. She was shaking like a leaf. She muttered something for herself.
”I…I… killed them. I can’t believe it.”
The crowd seemed to have regained their motivation. The angel behind them laughed maliciously.
”Of course you did. It’s time for you to take your rightful punishment. No more diversions.”
At the demon’s demand the crowd disappeared. Darkness surrounded them. Håkan was standing beside Eli and laid a hand on her shoulder. Eli was still trembling. She was still in shock over what she had done. Eli cried over Håkan’s shoulder. Oskar wanted to comfort her as well, but he couldn’t. Perhaps it was only another dark trick played by their adversary. But he was angry at Eli. A shred of hate took form in a dark corner of his being. Something within him told him that Eli must be punished. Oskar could not believe his own thoughts. Eli deserved better than that. Eli looked at him expectantly, wanting him to come closer. Something within Oskar kept him from doing so. It felt like he was held back by spectral hands, Eli grew more distant.
A black winged figure appeared blacker than night itself. The creature wore this darkness as a cloak. It carried a sword with a black blade, surrounded by an aura of red hateful energy.
The creature looked at Oskar. He could recognize its features. It was those of his father, but he was not himself. It was like the werewolf he saw in his eyes when his had been drinking has been given form. There was no trace of dad left. His eyes were burning with the same red energy as the sword. They were like a pit filled with pure hate. The creature turned its attention towards Eli, Raising its sword in a threatening manner. Eli braced herself, still trembling. Oskar could not move a muscle, it won’t let him, that gnawing hate at the root of his soul. He did his best to suppress this darkness. He could now finally move his legs. He ran towards Eli, but the more he ran the further away did he get. Soon, Eli, Håkan and the creature was only dots in the horizon.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Håkan could not believe it. He had finally found him. He could feel Eli’s body close to his. He delighted over feeling Eli’s soft body once again. It was tense and trembled with fear. Eli sobbed silently on his shoulder. Håkan caressed Eli’s face and draw his fingers through his hair, which felt good. Håkan wished Eli could remain in his arms for the rest of his life. He looked into Eli’s blue eyes, in them was a bottomless despair, Eli’s face was wet from all the tears. He was cute when he was sad. Eli turned his attention to Oskar. Håkan took a good look at him as well. Oskar was hesitant to come to them. Håkan had seen it as well, seen Eli kill her family, he felt sorry for Eli, more so than ever before. If Oskar had abandoned him, he would try to fill that void. The space between them and Oskar seemed to grow. A dark figure appeared before them, eyes glowing with malice. Håkan met the creature’s malicious gaze; a voice was heard inside his head.
”Abandon the child and I will grand you your heart’s desire. You could be a king; the children of the world, existing only to pleasure you.
Håkan imagined the bodies of the most beautiful children, all wanting to sleep with him. He was drooling over the very idea, but then he realized, all of these children were reminiscent of Eli, maybe be a single Oskar. He could not deny he wanted them, strong feelings of lust coursed through his body. Håkan once again took a look at Eli. His expression was that of terror. Eli looked so small and vulnerable. He could not abandon someone like that.
The creature raised its sword and was about to strike Eli. In the heat of the moment, Håkan pushed Eli away from him, away from the creature. The dark bladed sword pierced through his chest, Pain hit him like a brick wall. A dark matter seethed from the wound, forming tentacles holding him in a tight grip whilst slowly consuming him. He screamed in horror, the tendrils of darkness broke his spine in an instant, He screamed in agony and he continued to scream, louder for every second as it broke every bone in his body. As he was enveloped in agony, he took a last look at Eli. He had used the opportunity he gave him to approach the creature and give it at kiss. For what for he could not tell. Håkan kept his eyes on Eli’s gorgeous body as he was slowly devoured. It lessened the pain, his last thought echoed through his head as he was drawn into a realm of darkness and despair.
”Eli, I wish you the best, I love you.”
The pain did not ease as he reached the point of his second death. It increased by tenfold. In a realm of nothingness, all he knew was pain, trapped in suffering outside of time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eli had been frightened out of her mind. She had memories of her killing her own family. Probably a long suppressed memory brought out by recent events. This memory had caused division between her and Oskar. She doubted he would still like her now. Eli felt like a monster, fit only as a toy for Håkan and his kind. Still she had not come this far, she was not going to die now. When, to her surprise, Håkan had taken the blow from the creature’s blade, she had used the opportunity to act. One last desperate act.
Eli was eternally grateful for Håkan’s sacrifice. She had been too paralyzed with fear to act. This noble act had inspired her; Eli had not forgotten what Håkan tried to do to her last time they met. Eli did not know if she could forgive that, but if she had to be honest with herself, she knew he was not the only one. Many of her helpers had been of his kind. Håkan was not even close to the worst either. At least he had the excuse that he had already passed away when he tried to molest her. He could surely be forgiven; Eli hoped this sacrifice would redeem him of his sins. That he would find peace in the afterlife, together with Lacke, Virginia and Jocke. But this would not happen as long as the tyrant Gavri’el controlled the underworld, suffering was all that awaited them. Eli knew she would suffer the very same fate, and even worse, Oskar. Eli wanted to live, but more importantly, she wanted Oskar to live. Eli felt a deep fondness for Oskar. She loved him, did not care if it was wrong. It was Oskar who inspired her to make this last gamble. It had worked before, it could work again. As the dark figure raised its sword, before it dealt its next blow, Eli threw herself at the creature, kissed it where its mouth should be. The only feature visible in its face was the glowing hateful eyes. Eli could feel her lips corrode while in contact. Eli endured the searing pain and transferred her emotions, her memories, and her soul to the creature, in some vain hope that it would possess some degree of humanity. The gamble was successful; soon the creature dropped the sword to the ground. The darkness retracted. A man in his forties appeared before Eli, she let go. Eli turned towards Oskar’s direction. The earlier seemingly endless distance, felt closer by the second.
Oskar did not hesitate, he ran towards Eli and Eli threw herself in his arms, Oskar embraced her and once again with no hesitation, he gave her a kiss. Oskar knew Eli was guilty of the death of her own family, to him, this was irrelevant, and so was her gender. Eli felt like nothing could get in the way of their love.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the child kissed him, Erik’s eyes were opened. The hate and malevolence that previously coursed through his body dissipated as he dropped the black blade. It made a sharp sound as it hit the ground. The child let go of him. He met the child’s gaze. Elias, which was his name, met his. This contact lasted only for a moment, but he was still overwhelmed with impressions. To think that this child….
He could understand what Oskar saw in him. Eric did have to admit Elias was quite charming for a boy. Images of Elias tragic life flashed before his eyes. He remembered how the child viewed Oskar. No deception here. He did genuinely care for him, more than care; Oskar was Elis savior, as Elias was Oskar’s savior. Erik felt ashamed that Elias had been a better father figure that he had. As Erik watched the two lovers throw themselves in each other’s embrace, Oskar taking the initiative to kiss. He smiled warmly, they were so cute together, two boys, yet the most adorable couple he had ever seen. He knew that Oskar knew Elias was a boy, yet it did not bother him in the slightest, he was proud of him for that. Erik began to think, maybe people was wrong about that type of relation, maybe the ones that preyed on bigotry and hate was the true evil. No, Erik was now sure, Oskar was right; the only wrong here is hatemonger.
Erik turned around; behind him was the conductor of this whole situation, now taking the form of a young man. He had fair features and long blonde hair, clad in white garments and borne aloft by six majestic wings; he gave the impression of godlike power. The one feature in common with the last time Erik had seen this creature was the eyes, observing the two children with cold discontent, a malicious ire in its eyes. Erik could not believe he had listened to this creature and had tried to kill poor Elias. He could not understand what had come over him. He remembered the seething hatred, originated in the dark blade. He could hear it whisper to him from the ground, words about Elias guilt, how he must suffer the ultimate punishment. Erik knew exactly what Elias was guilty of, yet he could never punish him, that would break Oskar’s heart. The sword’s whispers filled his heart with hate; it spread in him like cancer. His body moved like on its own, he reached towards the ground, grasping after the blade. He suddenly got a hold of himself and realized what he was doing.
”No, I won’t do that!” But the whispers proved persistent.
”Embrace your hate, destroy, punish.”
Erik felt a hand on his shoulder, startled he turned around and was face to face with Oskar, holding Elias hand tightly.
”Father, I don’t know what to say, except I would want your support in this. Please accept Eli for what she is.” Erik could once again hear the sword whisper.
”Punish the unclean, the sinner must die, destroy.”
”Shut up.” Erik mumbled silently. Oskar looked at him shocked, Elias sighed sadly. Erik regretted speaking aloud.
”Sorry Oskar, I wasn’t speaking to you. I do accept you and Elias, more than that, I quite like him.” Erik turned towards Elias.
”Is it okay for you that I call you Eli?” Elias smiled.
”More that okay sir, I am glad you understand, this means a lot to me.”
Erik shook Eli’s hand, he once again looked into her eyes, they contained wisdom rare for such a small person.
Then it was like a wave of depression hit Eli, he kneeled down on the ground and picked up the evil sword, the weapon seemed gigantic in Eli’s little hands. Still, he handled it like it was a feather. The cloak of shadow enveloped him; Eli aimed the sword’s pointy edge towards his own heart, sobbing silently as he spoke.
”Sorry Oskar, I do this for your sake; I can’t live with the guilt. I deserve this fate, I accept this punishment, it will redeem you Oskar, and you are free to go, return with your father; do not think about me again.”
Eli made an effort to stab his own heart with the blade; Oskar tried to stop him but was held in place by dark tentacles. Erik also tried to stop him, but that cancer in his chest prevented him from moving a muscle. He could hear the creature inside the sword laughing at their pathetic struggle.
But as the blade merely touched Eli’s skin, a miracle happened. Seemingly out of nowhere a beam of light hit Eli’s fingers and he dropped the sword to the ground, putting his fingers in his mouth to mitigate the pain of his burned fingers. In a flash three figures appeared before Erik; his former wife Yvonne, that girl Eleonora and a man in his late forties clad in a simple brown coat and the kind of hat that brought vampire hunters to mind. Eleonora was carrying a crucifix in her left hand. Her index finger was still smoking from that beam of light.
