Iolai nodded and offered a small grin to Tom as she watched him. She stepped up to run her fingers through his hair, offer a loving gaze, before stepping away from the two of them, into the dark of the forest. “I’ll be back. Keep each other safe.”

It seemed to only take a few steps before Iolai’s form had disappeared into the forest. She spent the day tracking, questioning, trying to figure out what would have done this and why? It was hardly the first time she’d received a threat like that on her door, but she thought she had peace in her current home. She liked it there.

It was a long day, with only a few mysterious hints as to what may have done this. What the creatures that had witnessed the murder of this animal described sounded akin to a Vampire, but it didn’t sit right in Iolai’s gut. Mostly because she got along with Vampires quite well.

Along with her searching she spoke to the centaurs, two of which volunteered to guard her home at night. Iolai insisted that it wasn’t necessary, but they talked her into letting them stick around for a few days. Iolai knew they couldn’t do any harm. She was vastly more powerful than they knew, but it would be good for Tom to meet them.

So she walked home with the two of them at her sides and only her thoughts to get any closer to preventing this from happening again. As she got closer to the house Ghendal opened the door, knowing that she had been near and calling out in greetings.

“Iolai! I’m so glad to have you back, ma’am. It’s been a good day here with Tom. Who’s that with you?”

Iolai looked over Ghendal to Tom, glad to see the awe in his eyes. She gestured for her boy to come closer. “This is Almiel and Madoc. They wanted to come and watch our door for the next few days.”

“Whatever it is,” Madoc chimed in. “We’ll be sure to stomp it out the moment it shows its face.” His young face showed a stubborn determination while Almiel stayed quiet at Iolai’s side, only offering a nod in acknowledgement to her brother’s comment. Iolai looked at him, waiting for the other to calm before she continued. “This is my son, Tom.” Almiel extended a leg forward and bowed to him, soon followed by Madoc. Almiel straightened up and smiled at Tom. “You must be quite the little boy for the Fae to have chosen you.” Iolai kept her eyes on Tom, a small, proud smile sitting on her lips.

“I’ll be back. Keep each other safe...”

Iolai’s parting words faded as she took several steps forward and disappeared into the forest. When it was just the two of them, Tom turned to look down at the House Elf. The child smirked at the creature’s obvious unease.

“So, you would like me to clean and bury the hedgehog? I don’t think I can remove the spines from its body...”

Ghendal was shaking like a leaf. The verbal reminder of the act of murder seemed to affect the kind-hearted elf just as much as the gory sight of it suspended over Iolai’s door.

“Y-yes of course Master Tom. Ghendal w-wouldn’t expect you to have to- to touch-”

The boy squeezed the elf’s palm again. 

“You can do it, Ghendal. It is horrible and sad, but death is the gateway to paradise. They taught us that at the Sunday school in the orphanage.” 

Tom pursed his lips for a moment, young eyes flicking over to the corpse. He had certainly enjoyed killing it.

“That creature will be with the Lord now. The Lord, who commands all beasts that walk the earth and swim beneath the sea. Through Him, all those worthy are granted the gift of eternal life.”

A hungry tone seemed to infuse the former orphan’s voice. After a pause, the boy smiled. “So you see, Ghendal. The hedgehog is not dead. Not really.” 

He patted the elf’s back as the latter sniffed, wiping the last of his tears on his sleeve. “Come now. I’ll go and collect some towels to wipe away the blood from the house. I’ll be back with you in a few minutes.”

Leaving Iolai’s friend alone outside with the corpse, Tom stole into the cottage and went straight to the kitchen to fill a large bowel with warm water. Drawing some fluffy towels from a drawer, he soaked them in the liquid, watching the material expand between his fingers. Gazing into the clear water, he caught the glimmer of his reflection in its crystal depths. His young face looked concentrated, preoccupied with a myriad of thoughts. 

Death is the natural conclusion to life. 

Did he really believe it when the visiting pastor had said that? Perhaps, for those who felt life so strongly they despised its polar opposite, the reality check was something profound. Frightening, even. For Tom, it was more a bitter disappointment and a sharp anger that seized him at the adult’s words. 

Why should he accept that?    

For Tom did not simply want to live, he wanted to persist. He wanted to attain a state of being higher than any trapped in that dichotomy of mortal existence. He wished to transcend the limits of human experience.

Upon the water’s surface, ripples stretched out from the centre of the bowl,  turning darker, red with blood... 

Tom snatched his hands out of the water as a hissing sound filled his head.

~Asmodeus?~