Page 18 of Souls We Rip

My voice echoed off the walls. I took another mouthful of food and stuffed it. The grease from the fish was dripping on my chin, my hunger sated.

The boy scurried away, leaving me alone.

As I always was.

Alone and content in my solitude.

After I finished my meal, I took off my robe and stared at myself in the mirror again. My skin was spotless and young, my body lean. Only my eyes betrayed my age.

Eternity.

“What is it that you want, Goat?” my master’s voice asked.

If I were eternity, my master was the abyss.

My back stood straighter at the sound of its ironic tone, my upper hooves joined against my chest. I never liked coming to its lair. It was darker than mine, no light coming in or out.

Situated underground, the lair was filled with the voices of the lost souls gathered in the same place, the only way to be guided through the darkness. Murky eyes followed every step I took down the endless corridor. They were the whisperers, knowing everything and everyone.

The master’s eyes saw everything. And if one would not sit straight or with their head down, souls would be taken from them, eternal life cut down to almost nothing.

“I want to make a trade,” I declared, my voice as loud as I could manage.

Instead of its harsh voice, whispers rippled through the walls. Some were shouting, some were sniggering, but most of them were making my pulse race.

“A trade, you say?” My master sounded intrigued, its knowing eyes on me. “My whisperers tell me you have lost a soul at the Girls’ Fair. Is that true?”

Saliva coated my tongue. “Yes,” I answered, my hooves clacking on the floor.

“And you still want to make a trade, Goat? After your failure?” it laughed. My teeth clenched, pain ebbing in my mouth.

I nodded.

“And what would that be? A new chance?” it asked, his voice mocking me along with every whisper on the walls.

I swallowed, every part of me screaming to run. But I had to convince my master, the Elk, to set me free. So, I gathered my courage and put my plan on the line.

“I want the peasant I took to stand in my stead. She is untainted by malice. She would balance my deeds and bring you more souls than you ever had.”

Laughter met my ears, coming from everywhere. But not from him. The voices scratched my hearing, pouring anguish into my chest.

Through the darkness, I couldn’t see a shadow. Although I felt my master ponder.

“SILENCE!” The Elk’s voice vibrated the ground, my hooves trying to find stability.

At once, everything stopped.

“What you propose sounds too good to be true. Who would train her to rip souls, since she is untouched by evil? She would cower at the first drop of blood, Goat.”

I placed my hooves on the sides of my body. “She did not cower from me, Master. Not when I came for her father. She offered herself in his place.”

There was no sound coming from the walls, the whisperers deliberating, their silence slashing through my skin. I wanted to scream at them that they are taking too long, that I was wasting minutes of my life.

I knew I had more lifetimes to live than any peer of mine, but every second was precious. And I wanted to be free.

“We came to an agreement. We will watch you closely as you train her. You have until the next Girls’ Fair. If by next year she has not collected ten souls, both of you will be stripped from this earth and become collectables.”

My jaw ticked.