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Oskar slowly shakes his head. "I may be smarter than Håkan, but I'm not nearly as strong, in spite of the weightlifting I've been doing. I'm only twelve, remember? I'd be no match for an adult even with my knife, and I don't have the heart to kill a small child. I wouldn't even be able to bring myself to kill a boy my own age unless he bullied me. Would it be okay if I just kill bullies?"
Now it is Eli's turn to shake her head. "Unfortunately, no. If I could sustain myself on the blood of the evil-doers I catch, I'd restrict myself to them, believe me. I can barely sustain myself on the blood of all the people I catch, evil or not. As much as I hate it, I have to kill innocent people, and I was hoping that you could learn to do it too so that I wouldn't have to. That's what I meant by asking you to be me."
"And I thought you meant that you wanted me to become a vampire like you so that I wouldn't grow old."
Eli laughs. "You know, I could turn you into a vampire by biting you but not killing you, but that'd be a bad move. It's hard enough for one vampire to find enough sustenance in a single city, let alone two. If you became a vampire too, you'd soon become my competitor instead of my provider."
"Well, I have no desire to be your competitor and I'm not cut out to be your provider either, but I can be your housekeeper. My mother taught me everything I need to know to do that job. And you can be my provider."
Eli laughs again. "How typically Swedish of you to suggest that we reverse the traditional gender roles! I don't mind supporting you financially, but I don't want to do all the hunting myself; so, since you're not willing to do it either, I have another big favour to ask of you."