Page 38 of Souls We Rip

“Do I have to remind you that you bathe in a river?” it mocked.

“You…”

Its laughter filled my thoughts. The Goat Man saw me naked?

The beast wouldn’t stop roaring, the sound making me want to hit the skull with a broom constantly. Another wave of heat crossed my cheeks.

“I…haven’t…seen…” it was out of breath by the time he finished his sentence, “you… in your Eve’s costume!”

“Amusing.” I sighed, closing my eyes. “Do you take me for a fool, Goat Man?”

It coughed, stopping his roaring. “A fool, not. A feeble human, yes.”

With the corner of my eye, I saw the Goat straightening its skull.

“I did not, nor will I see you naked, human.”

“Alright. Let us not tarry on matters of bare flesh,” I muttered in my chest.

Chuckling, he continued. “Every one of us has two forms. One, which is this, with the skull that we choose at the baptism. And our human form. You will be presented with two skulls on your baptism day.”

“Human form?” I repeated, blinking. “Why don’t you use it?”

“And to be fragile? No, thank you.”

Ignoring its response, I wiped water again from my face. “But I am baptised,” I remarked, my hands crossing my chest.

“No, human. Not by a god. Your god does not offer you bodily eternity. My master, does.”

“But I do not want eternity! My God promises that my soul will live forever in Heaven.”

It snorted, delicate splashes surrounding its body. “You still seem to think that after you keep the part from our contract, you will get there?”

Anguish captured my body. It was right, what if I won’t see my family in the skies? What if we were separated by Earth? Or them in Heaven and I in Hell?

“But, returning to your previous questions, as I, you will become immortal. You won’t feel sickness, nor injuries,” the Goat said, the water moving around its body. “You will not feel hunger as you do now, your throat won’t be dry as it is now.”

“But I’ve seen you eat and drink, like any of us.”

At least that is what I gathered from Andrei, who cooked meals more than my mother and me. Each day, he prepared a different recipe and would frown when I would try and help him.

The Goat Man sighed. My neck was getting strained, and my muscles were in pain from keeping my eyes on the ceiling.

“I said that you won’t feel hunger as you do now. But you will still feel it.”

I bit my cheek. Then I voiced the words that stood behind my doubt. “I cannot kill any man, woman or child,” I murmured, noticing a small gap in the ceiling. No light came through; the night must have set already for good.

“Not even if they were…evil?” it tried.

“I do not think so…” I replied, trying to conjure any memory I had when my father raised his hands at my sister or me. But not once have I wished his death.

“Hmm…”

The sound rumbled on my skin, raising goosebumps again. It crawled on the surface as though spiders weaved their webs on my skin, making it hotter than it should have been.

I heard him take a deep breath. “I saw your life before I took you. And after.”

“What do you mean by that?” I almost looked at the brute, forgetting its undressed state.