It had been a long days sleep, nightmarish images still filled Oskar’s mind. But in the end, Eli’s presence would mitigate any potential harmful effects. He felt Eli’s presence, her arms around him. Oskar opened his eyes. He felt relieved that his beloved was in fact lying next to him; it was only a dream after all. Eli snuggled up to him in her sleep and Oskar gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. Thus Eli opened her eyes, Oskar felt like he was about to drown in them. Her eyes were so clear, so pure, yet, they contained wisdom possible only for a creature that had lived as long as Eli had. Beyond all of this, he could catch a predatory glimpse that reminded him of a cat. Eli was obviously as glad to see him as he was to see her.
Eli stroke Oskar over the cheek and he closed his eyes, savouring her gentle caress. Suddenly, Oskar could feel Eli’s lips meet his. Her saliva tasted a little weird this soon after waking up, but Oskar did not mind.
After the kiss, Oskar and Eli took a look around. They were in that small hotel room with red walls. Eli seemed just as confused as Oskar felt. How could this be? He had seen it burn to the ground with his own eyes. He clearly remembered Eli standing by that painting of the castle, only it hadn’t been Eli. He took a look at that painting again and froze in horror. The painting was split in half, revealing pieces of parchment on which could be seen a strange text written with blood in an alien language. But what made his blood run cold was the blade launched into the painting. Oskar remembered that cursed sword all too well. He could feel Eli tremble and he was certain he did the same. The pieces of parchment almost looked like spells, Oskar feared that this painting and that very real nightmare were connected; he had seen it in another place, in Törnkvist’s office. The arrival of the demon wasn’t a coincidence, someone had summoned it.
Suddenly, the door to the room got breached and the voice of an elder man was heard.
“Don’t move, both of you, unless you want your beloved to get a bullet through his head.”
Eli had thought the ordeal was over, but she had only been woken from one nightmare to be thrust into another. That sword, it whispered to her, awakening all her inner demons with its words. As that man entered the room, Oskar shook like a leaf and thus Eli tightened her embrace of him. That man was in his late sixties, his head was shaved and a cold uncaring expression was on his face. He was clad in white robes, just like a priest. Behind his was a child roughly Oskar’s age, a boy to the looks of it, but Eli was not a person to make hasty conclusions. The child also had a shaved head and white robes, his facial expression was just as cold as the man’s; this child had no joy in his soul, only strict obedience. Here was a child raised by iron fists in order to become a machine. He looked at Eli with his uncaring blue eyes. The child seemed disgusted, probably by Eli and Oskar’s closeness to each other.
The older man was pointing a gun at Eli and Oskar. Eli changed position so she would be hit before Oskar if this madman decided to fire. Eli confronted the man with confidence in her voice.
“Who are you?” The man laughed in a manner similar to the demon Gavri’el.
“I am High Inquisitor David Phelpas, of the cult of the Flame of Light, this is my son Friedrich. We may have failed with our original plan to deliver this world to the lord, but at least we now have the most powerful weapon in the universe. I don’t know how you got out of Eden, but be prepared to be sent back.”
Friedrich approached the painting and pulled out the sword with uncanny ease. Abaddon’s voice once again attacked Eli’s mind.
“Screw Gavril’el and his trials, you shall both be executed here and now.”
The High Inquisitor spoke to his son.
“Friedrich, this is a rite of passage, send them to the abyss and you will be promoted to a full member of the order. I lied, they are not even worthy of an eternity in hell.”
The child was surrounded by that familiar aura of malice; he raised the sword to deliver the final blow. Both Eli and Oskar were paralyzed with fear and could not move a single limb. In the other world their love could defeat any obstacle, but in the real world it could not save them from certain death. Eli closed her eyes, pressing Oskar closer to her. She kissed him, their very last kiss before oblivion. Eli shared with him her very best memory; a child winter night, a golden-haired boy shoving her kindness unseen in hundreds of years. That memory was the beginning of Eli’s new life, it was only fitting it would also be the end. Somehow, Oskar shared the very same memory from his point of view. Even back then, Oskar had strong affections for her. Now their last thought would be happy, even in the void, Oskar’s love would help her endure. She braced herself for the impact, but it never came. Instead, a familiar voice yelled:
“Stop!”
When Eleonora left headquarters for this mission she could never have imagined the scale of the task at hand. During this mission, she had encountered the Evil One himself, only one person in the recorded history of the brotherhood had ever survived such an encounter; Jesus himself. But now the names of Elias and Oskar could be added in with the saviour. The deeds of both these young children was already enough to be proclaimed saints.
Eleonora did not know what the deal was with this ‘Eli’, he was to the looks of it just a normal child vampire, though an extraordinarily good looking one, one among hundreds created by the Törnkvist and De Rais families of vampires, though most of them destroyed shortly after their creation. Yet, this one was different, despite being created to be essentially a sex slave to his sire; he still possessed the willpower and quick wits to become the Brotherhood’s fines agent, surpassing even herself. But regardless of Elias talent, defeating the tyrant of Eden should have been impossible, there was clearly something to that boy, Oskar as well, and he was not even a vampire. It was apparent Eli and Oskar shared a bond unparalleled with anything Eleonora had ever seen.
Even now, after Eli’s and Oskar’s miraculous victory, it was not yet over, Eleonora had woken up in the church, together with Oskar’s parents. It was filled with corpses of members of the cult, probably sacrificing themselves to fuel the summoning of the evil one. Eleonora knew it was not jet over, more cultists could be present, and the local hotel had been swarming with them so Eleonora assumed it must be there they held the children. Eleonora butchered every single cultist on her way inside, to Erik and Yvonne’s utter terror. She was fast like a shadow, powerful like a lightning bolt. The ground drank their blood, what a waste, but she was not going to spare a single one. Eleonora emptied magazine after magazine of silver bullets; the corridor inside ran red with blood. She soon ran out of bullets, finishing the last one with her fangs; drank his blood. Oskar’s parents followed her all the way; they were clearly shocked by what they witnessed.
Now, when she finally had found the children, Eleonora stood against one last challenge; they were held hostage by two cultists; one being a child. The older cultist turned around, Eleonora took a good look at his face and she recognized him. Before her stood David Phelpas, the infamous High Inquisitor and leader of this worldwide cult. Eleonora had first encountered Phelpas in Germany during the war, back then an influential spy for the former High Inquisitor; Adolf Hitler. According to the Brotherhood’s database, the Phelpas family were of quite high status in the United States, both as bankers and as politicians. The young David had joined forces early with Germans to crush rival Jewish banks and accumulate their wealth for himself. At the end of the war, Phelpas replaced Hitler as High Inquisitor, but the old dictator did not leave as quietly as was popular belief. He did take with him Eleonora’s beloved. A single tear fell from her eyes, just thinking about it. She could never forgive them for that.
David turned around the moment she entered the room and aimed his pistol at her and her two companions. His weapon probably contained silver bullets so one shot could be fatal, even for her. The child behind him held his sword against the throats of Oskar and Eli; they were both trembling with fear. Not that Eleonora could blame them; she recognized that blade, it would not even grant them peace in death. Both Yvonne and Erik shouted hysterically.
“Oskar!”
Eleonora pulled her pistol at David, she had no bullets left, but he could not know that, still, he was totally unaffected by her threat.
“If you touch that trigger Eleonora, both you and the children are done for.”
“What makes you think I care about their lives, High Inquisitor?”
But he was right in a way, she had suddenly gained feelings for these two children. Perhaps their love reminded her of her own beloved, perhaps she felt they would be of use to the Brotherhood. Regardless of the reason, she wanted them to live.
“You have failed David; there is no need for this to continue.” She said but David just laughed at her remark.
“Failed? We have just suffered a minor setback. Even though the Master was sent back to Eden, we now have access to the most powerful weapon in the universe; soon the world shall tremble with fear before the power of the cult of the Flame of Light, just like these children.”
He made a gesture towards Eli and Oskar. Yvonne seemed to have gone out of control; she screamed at the top of her lungs while kneeling before David in desperation.
“Let them go please, you can have anything you want, just don’t hurt them.”
David totally ignored her pleas and instead he focused fully on Eleonora. She knew her first priority was to get the dark blade out of that child’s hands; it must not fall into the cult’s hands even if that had to cost Eli and Oskar as well as herself their lives and more.
She growled at the High Inquisitor like a fierce beast; as the guy responsible for her beloved’s death was already dead, she intended to take it all out on his heir.
“Bring it on Phelpas, let’s finish what your predecessor started decades ago.”
The child with the sword made an effort to cut the throats of Oskar and Eli with one fell cut; Eleonora immediately launched at him with her claws out, but she realized she would not reach him in time. But in that moment, with the speed of light, Eli punched him in the chest, he flew back and hit his head on a splintered painting portraying a dark castle, as he hit the floor, the painting fell down and hit him in the head again. As Eleonora reached him, he struggled to get a grip on the sword again. Eli, who remained exposed after the attack had barely enough time to turn towards David before he turned around and fired a bullet in her general direction. Eleonora was transfixed by that moment, allowing David’s child to get a good grip of the sword. Eleonora swiftly backed away from him to avoid getting eaten by the sword. The child used the chance to vaporise into black mist and leave, with an evil grin on his face. Eleonora had just the time to turn her attention towards the bullet David fired before its impact. In the last moment Oskar pushed Eli out of the way, only to get hit in the stomach himself, he fell out of the bed; bleeding all over the bed sheet and the floor. Blinded by rage Eli threw herself at David as a predator over its pray, feasting on his blood.
It all went by so fast, the boy halted his attack as soon as Oskar’s parents and the other vampire entered the small room, Eli had been at a state of panic all the time while the dark blade rested at her throat. The voice of Abaddon, that directed its attention but at her made these feelings of dread even stronger. But in the last moment, before the boy would finish of her and Oskar for good, she gathered enough courage to strike back. The boy flew all the way to the wall by the force of the blow. The moment after, a gunshot was heard, Abaddon spoke to her, one last time:
“Goodbye, Elias. You may have defeated me once, but in the end, victory will be mine, as this entire world cease to exist.”
Eli prepared herself to die, but instead, she was pushed aside and she heard Oskar scream painfully. Eli felt the heavy scent of blood. This was not good, Oskar was probably dead. A combination of anger and bloodlust consumed Eli. She became one with the beast, and it was hungry, really hungry. The man who had fired the gun was assaulted before he could fire a second round. Eli’s fangs pierced his throat, he dropped the gun as he fell screaming to the floor. Eli could feel his every desperate heartbeat as he was drained and his body became motionless and cold. As her blood frenzy disappeared and she became calmer Eli realized that she felt no guilt for his death, none at all. She truly felt like he had deserved to die and now she was no longer hungry so no one else had to die this night, Eli gladly twisted his neck and went over to Oskar’s wounded body. As she was well fed, resisting drinking from his open wound was no problem.
The other vampire as well as Oskar’s parents also came to Oskar’s side. The other boy and the sword was nowhere to be found. Eli and the others examined the wound, it went right through his stomach; he would die of blood loss within minutes.
“Why Oskar, why?” Eli whispered to the barely conscious Oskar.
Eli knew very well why, she would have done the same for him, but she would prefer to die before once again live alone. Oskar whispered a few words back to her before he finally lost consciousness.
“I could not let Håkan beat me, could I?”
A stream of tears ran down Eli’s face, she buried her face in Oskar’s hair. Both of Oskar’s parents were also crying right next to her. Only Eleonora remained calm. She spoke to Eli with a voice as calm as she looked.
“You can still save him Eli, there is a way.” Eli knew that she was referring to but Eli was unwilling to do it. Eleonora saw the look on Eli’s face.
“Eli, you are not a monster, neither am I, and I have killed over ten times as many people as you have. We have to do this to survive, just like any predator on this earth. We are not evil, not like Them, who kill because of hate.”
Eleonora made a gesture towards the dead man before she spoke again:
“ Killing that man alone probably spared more lives than you can possibly imagine, not to mention setting a stop to the return of the Evil One. I say that even if you were guilty of something; that must have redeemed you.”
Eli was still not sure, but she now had to agree vampires were not the worst thing in this world. Oskar did not think Eli was a monster either. Oskar’s parents both put a hand on Eli’s shoulder, the mother spoke:
“We understand, you are not a monster, not entirely anyway. Please, we beg of you, save our Oskar; even if he has to become like you.”
Eli remembered what Oskar had saying the day before this incident, in this very room. ‘Let me be with you forever.’ Eli made up her mind, she took Oskar’s knife out of his pocket and made a cut in her own hand, letting the blood drip into Oskar’s wound, now she was just hoping it would work.
The night passed, day came just to turn into night once again. Eli still stood watch over Oskar’s bed. Eleonora and Oskar’s parents were still with her, neither had slept. Erik and Yvonne were together with Eli watching the peaceful face of the unconscious Oskar. The wound had healed quite well since Eli applied her infected blood; he was going to be well soon, though he might need to feed quickly. Therefore the parents might be in danger; she had tried to warn them but they had not listened. Eleonora on the other hand spent her time studying the parchment in the painting. She gasped for air as she seemed to have found something.
“Eli, come here quickly.” Eli obeyed her, Eleonora shows her an insignia, depiction a great serpent, it was broken in two.
“One of the seven seals to keep the forces of Eden from invading the mortal realm.” Eleonora explained. Eli knew from her mortal life that the time all seven seals were broken, the world would end. So said the prophesy.
Eleonora seemed to sense Eli’s fear, but she also seemed not being able give much comfort as she was equally afraid herself.
“These seals were created by Jesus himself with the finest of magic. The can only be broken by one who shares his blood. Jesus had only three gets, who each founded one of the great families, Bathory, De Rais, Tepes and Törnkvist. It is the Tepes clan our Brotherhood was founded by, the other three opposed us, thinking only of fulfilling their every desire. You are all that remains of the Törnkvist clan, thanks to your brother. Yes, the Evil One used you to destroy the seal in this painting. Before, two others have been broken. According to prophecy, when the third is broken the Black Horseman of plague and famine will rise. I believe this horseman is none other than Friedrich Phelpas, with the Blade of the Destroyer in his hands. When all seven are broken the Evil One will return, no longer requiring a host or invitation, together with his army. ”
Eli was speechless. They had just thwarted one threat to run into the next.
“What can I do about it?” Eli asked her.
“Nothing, like everyone else, but you are now the only surviving Törnkvist, with the exception of Oskar of course. That means you are the lord of the Törnkvist clan, take your rightful place as ruler, and sire more of your kind. Only then can you hope to help us against the Flame of Light.”
Eli recovered her voice are tried to protest.
“But I don’t want to. I only want to live in peace together with Oskar.”
Eleonora chuckled, she sounded Amused, like she knew Eli would say that.
“At least think about it, you can be of great service to both us and humanity that way, Promise?”
Eli nodded; that really gave her something to think about.
Eli returned to Oskar’s side, the wait felt like an eternity. Meanwhile she had time to think about Eleonora’s offer. She had to admit it was tempting, but she had Oskar to think of, and taking active part of this war would draw too much unwanted attention, possibly risking both their lives. Eli took a look at Oskar, he seemed so peaceful, his golden hair reaching over his ears, his eyes closed. He no longer seemed to breathe, except for a single breath once per minute.
“God what he is beautiful.” Eli said without thinking. She blushed as she realized everyone in the room had heard.
Oskar’s father put a hand on Eli’s shoulder.
“Yes, he is. You know, I am glad he is alright, I am happy that if he has to leave us, he will at least have you. You are a wonderful person Eli.”
In that very moment, Oskar opened his eyes. He looked around the room, rather confused, and then he saw Eli and his parents.
“Have I died and went to heaven?”
“No, we are really here.” Eli said while she put her hand on his forehead.
“I am hungry, what happened?”
Eli sighed; she hoped he would not be mad.
“You were mortally wounded, in order to save you, I gave you...”
A pause followed, Eli struggled to find the right words, she looked Oskar in the eyes, they contained a glimmer that were there before, in fact they were more like the eyes of a cat. But it was still Oskar’s eyes; same gentle spirit inhabited them, his love still shone through his predatory gaze. If possible his eyes were even more beautiful than before, Eli continued.
“...A bit of my blood, sorry, it was the only way to save you, are you angry?”
Oskar gave Eli a wide smile; he hugged her so hard she had difficulties breathing, not that she needed to anyway.
“Thank you Eli, thank you. I can finally truly be with you, share you’re suffering. You know I have wanted this.”
Eli’s entire body surged with joy, but in some small corner of her mind, doubt lingered.
“But you have to kill to live; I can’t stand seeing you become a monster. But we are not really monsters, are we? Not compared to Them.”
Now Eleonora joined the conversation.
“Everything kills to live, even if it is plants, but they kill only for their misguided ideals, if you are burdened by guilt, hunt the cult.”
Both Eli and Oskar nodded. Eli faced the older vampire; she looked at them with pride. Eli told her what was on her mind.
“Everyone has a little darkness inside, as well as a little light. But mostly we are just ourselves; we should not feel ashamed of what we are. The true God understands this. But tell me, what kind of name is God anyway?”
Eleonora chuckled, so did Oskar’s parents.
“Yours, for starters, Eli does mean literally ‘my god’.” Eleonora replied.
“You will always be a god to me Eli, my saviour.” Oskar gave Eli another hug and Eli kissed him on the cheek.
Oskar responded by giving her a proper kiss, biting himself in the lip. A taste of blood filled Eli; she enjoyed both his company and his blood. When he let go, Eli bit her own lips and kissed him again. The taste of their blood mixed and filled them both and for a moment it felt like they were one. Eli somehow knew what he was thinking, the same thing as her, ‘Let this moment never end’. When they let go Eleonora smiled towards them.
“Seems you have discovered the blood kiss, the turning ritual of the Tepes family. Besides being a turning ritual, it is often used by vampire lovers as it allow them to temporality become one, sharing their every sensation and thought with the other, for double effect, in many cases even replacing sex. Much better than the barbaric turning ritual of the Törnkvist’s, don’t you think Eli?”
Eli shuddered from the memory of her own turning and nodded. After that kiss, she felt better than ever before in her life. Except for that time floating in the air above Eden, kissing Oskar surrounded by light, but it was close. Eli could not take her eyes away from Oskar, she could still feel the sensation still filled his body too, he did not seem as hungry as before, but she knew it was time for him to feed.
“Come, the night is still young, I will show you how to fly, and hunt.”
Eli dragged Oskar up from the bed. After a farewell between Oskar and his parents, they left the building. Oskar was a quick learner and soon flew with the same ease as Eli. She could feel the wind in the thin membranes of her wings; they played tag in the sky for a while, high above the village, away from prying eyes. The sound of the wind was the sound of freedom, the sound of Oskar’s wings love. Soon Oskar took his first prey. A white-cloaked man, a cultist who managed to escape Eleonora, he put his fangs into him; he seemed to drink without remorse. Eli was happy for him, happy he did not have to kill an innocent the first time. They returned to the sky, they played some more, Oskar seemed to enjoy his wings.
“I love this.” He said.
Eli gave him a playful smile, he smiled back. Eli had never before felt proud of being a vampire, but she realized she would not trade this for anything in the world. Everything was perfect. They gave each other another blood kiss, while, flying half-entangled in each other, while feeling the wind around them, letting go only to avoid crashing to the ground. ‘Please, let me be with him forever, this is perfect.’
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For what felt like eternity, but probably was just mere moments, Håkan was consumed by the void. He knew pain like never before. Mostly from an unexplained sense of loss, his subconscious screamed the name ’Eli’, though that word did not say him anything anymore. All that existed was emptiness and pain.
Several eternities passed before a bright light appeared in front of him, it eased his pain, memory returned. In the light he saw a young boy, dressed in elegant black clothes. ‘Eli?’
It sure did look like him, but he had a proud aura about him that could not belong to his beloved. The boy reached out his hand, Håkan took a steady grip of it. The boy draws him into the light, away from the darkness, away from suffering.
Soon he stood on a sandy riverbank, still holding the hand of the boy, a red moon shined down upon him, in the river flowed blood. He saw his own reflection in the river, a young boy, not older than twelve. To his surprise, as he admired his own naked form, he felt no lust, no attraction at all, he had become the child in front of him: he was cured. Håkan was so overwhelmed by gratitude that was able to form only one word.
“Why?”
The boy gave him a warm smile. Håkan could not help to think about how he reminded him of Eli. He still had feelings for that little vampire, despite no longer being attracted to children. He realized that the being that was standing beside him was the same as the young man under the bridge. The young boy spoke to him; his voice was soothing, but still held great presence.
“Because you were worthy, you sacrificed your very soul to save that child, resisting the temptation laid before you by the Evil One. Whatever your sins were, they are forgiven now. You can stay, enjoy yourself for as long as it lasts, drink from the river of life, it will sustain you.”
“For as long as it lasts?” Håkan sounded confused.
The boy looked him sincerely in the eyes, he seemed cheerless.
“The Dragon has been cast down, and with him the black horse of plague and famine. The horse will be given to the Beast, the Antichrist, who will be the ruin of the mortal realm. The white horse of conquest will be passed down to the False Prophet from the Third Reich who will stand by the side of the Beast. Only the horses of War and Death stand in the way of the Dragon and the destruction of all realms, including this one. But only the child of the Saviour can stop him.”
“Eli?” Håkan tongue suddenly slipped
The boy put a hand on his shoulders. They both turned around and Håkan witnessed a massive obsidian palace in the horizon, beyond a field of green grass with red flowers, lightened beautifully by the red moon.
“No, he has already played his part in this. The messiah will not be of immortal flesh, but that of mortals, though still related by blood to my Father. But that is not of your concern, your part is also finished. Live Håkan, your name will be remembered together with Eli and Oskar as the ones who gave humanity and vampire kind one last fighting chance. Go to the palace, you will meet others there, those vampires of a noble heart. You wanted salvation, it is yours.”
For the first time for what felt like an eternity, Håkan felt like a child again. This may not look like the traditional image of heaven. But it was just as beautiful as a paradise should be. He knew he would feel right at home here. In his heart he had just one question.
“Will Eli ever come here?”
The boy did not hesitate one second before he answered.
“Yes, but not for a long time, a very long time, and he will not come alone.”
That was all he could hope for, a long and happy life for Eli and Oskar. Håkan would never forget, he was here thanks to Eli. ‘Blessings to you Eli, all blessings to you both.’
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The year was 2044, many decades after the incident in Garpenberg. Friedrich Phelpas sat in his throne room at his palace in Kansas, watching the progress of the war transmitted to a large plasma TV that covered the wall opposite to his throne. Since that day, Friedrich had become the High Inquisitor, just like his father, as well as the ruler of his own empire. Through guile and brute force, he had divided the United States of America, the southern states followed him blindly, though the northern states were foolish enough to oppose him, oppose the power that was the Flame of Light, foolish enough to oppose the power of the Destroyer.
Friedrich Phelpas was today as much as 76 years old, not that anyone would notice, he still looked like a middle aged man, though his hair was entirely grey. This thanks to the sword he held in his hand, it has never left his side since he found it. The Destroyer whispered to him through its messenger, Abaddon, as it done for all these years.
Before him, on the screen, he witnessed the destruction of his enemies, as he commanded, nuclear weapons and virus bombs rained down on his enemies, levelling cities to the ground, those few that survived the initial impact perished by radiation poisoning and horrible plagues. All who opposed them must die, the visions the Destroyer must be fulfilled. He would deliver this world into the void.
Soon, the northern states was reduced to ashes, nothing would ever be able to live there again He was victorious. Soon Europe would suffer the same fate; the entire world would be reduced to dust, and the dust consumed by hellfire. Nothing could stop him now. Not even the Brotherhood, not the messiah, not even... Eli?
Friedrich Phelpas was surprised he remembered that name. It belonged to that young boy he met in Garpenberg. It was hard to believe this little sinner was able to defeat the great Abaddon with the power of Lord Gavri’el himself in his hands. But not this time, Eli would be destroyed together with the world. He could not possibly resist the power of the greatest military power in the world. No, Eli would die, together with the rest of his kind, together with all life, worse than dying in fact.
‘In those days men will seek death, and shall not find it; and they will desire to die, and death flees from them. ‘ Friedrich laughed manically. He gave his orders.
“This is President Phelpas speaking, declare war on Europe, they shall suffer the same fate as the traitors. Show no mercy.”
