Page 65 of Souls We Rip

He stood straighter as if welcoming the venom in my words.

“Stay away from me, Goat! I cannot look into your eyes.”

“That’s the thing, Ana,” he spat the words out. “I cannot. Because I bound myself to you until you take all those souls.”

“And whose fault is that?” I retorted, feeling my pulse boiling in my veins.

“It is mine, inimă. Only mine.”

I whipped my head towards him, desperate to find some trace of redemption in his face. He called me heart, as if that word was light when I had none in my chest.

“And to think that I almost thought of you as a friend,” I whispered, my hands feeling numb.

“I. DO. NOT. WANT. TO. BE. YOUR. FRIEND!” He bit every word, his steps bringing him at nail’s distance from me. I felt his warm breath on my face as I stood my ground.

I knew that if I turned, our lips would meet. And if that happened, I would forget what he was, what he did.

“I cannot wait for you to collect the souls and be rid of this eternity,” he whispered, making me shiver. With that, he left me alone. The taste of the food turned bitter in my mouth.

Closing my eyes, I slumped on the cold stone, praying.

I prayed to succeed in my quest. If he didn’t help, I would do it all by myself.

Asking God for strength of mind and soul, I cried.

“Master seeks you, Ana.”

I turned to see Andrei holding a small shovel next to him. He wanted to pick every tomato from the small garden he had, but the weather was not in his favour. Which was not something true, since pouring rain would pass right through him.

“Why?”

My fingers were red from dyeing an old cloth. I was tired of seeing black, grey and white in this lair. So, I took some of the beets and made my own dye.

“I don’t know, woman!” He threw his arms in the air, sending the shovel into the stone wall.

Sighing, I left my work and marched into the Goat Man’s chamber.

I took a deep breath and stepped inside. As always, whenever I would set my eyes on him, my throat would constrict, my skin would catch fire, and my pulse would jump. But, since our last discussion, I had to snub all that aside and remember what he did to his family.

“You wanted to see me?”

His eyes raised from a parchment paper, making my knees go weak.

“Yes, you need to learn how to travel.” The sound of his voice did strange things to my stomach, and I tried not to be aware of my reaction.

“I do travel. By feet.” Every word sounded strangled.

Goat rose from his chair, leaving the paper on the table. “And if the soul is waiting for you at the mountain’s peak, would you walk all the way there?” His dark eyebrows raised.

I bit my lip. “I don’t understand why you care about my souls.”

“Ah, but I do, Ana.”

My eyes travelled over his attire, so different from my embellished one. That day, my apron was green with gold flowers on its sides. My skirt and ie were white, but the green motifs on the sleeves gave them a splash of life.

Puffing my cheeks, I nodded. “Fine. Teach me how to travel.”

In two strides, he caught my waist, pulling me closer to his body. I couldn’t say a word as in the next second, we were outside the lair. My palms touched his chest, my fingers gripping his shirt.