Page 67 of Souls We Rip

I bit my lip to the point I drew blood. How will I take these two souls without scarring the children for life?

Tears gathered in my eyes, cursing the Goat Man and whatever power he had. I didn’t want to repeat his story, where he left the children alive only to pass his legend from mouth to mouth. My fingers gripped the skull, and I was about to take it off when I felt a gush of cold wind behind me.

“You’re stalling, Ana.”

Standing with my back to the Goat Man, I nibbled my lip harder and harder.

It felt as if the people around us did not even see us, as though we were invisible to the human eye.

“What are you doing here, Goat?” I asked, conjuring my scythe. At once, the black handle appeared between my fingers, its dark blade shining in the artificial light.

“I came to see how you handle this situation.”

His words drawled.

“I cannot handle it, as you can see.” Frustration coated my words. My fingers gripped the scythe’s handle until they turned white.

“I thought you could do it all by yourself.” His tone was flat, but the mockery was there.

“And you came to gloat?” I gritted my teeth as hard as I could.

Ignoring my question, the Goat Man supported his shoulder on the wooden threshold, watching me. His arms crossed over his chest, expecting. Waiting to see how I would solve this.

But then, he said something that surprised me.

“If you cannot do it now, you can search for another soul. Believe me, the Earth has its share of evil.”

My head turned to him. “You’re not forcing me?”

He shook his head. “No, you can choose anyone you want.”

I looked again at the frightened children who stood in one narrow corner of the room. Their eyes were fixed on the adults. “But there are children here who act as slaves. I don’t want to leave them,” I said, my chin dipping.

Biting my cheek, I took a deep breath.

I remembered his words before our quarrel. “The means of taking a soul are endless. Use your imagination to get what you want.” If he had been that righteous before murdering his family.

With my free hand in the air, I threw all the adults out of their chairs and from the wooden objects, I raised a wall between them and the children.

Without looking at the man with the burning gaze, I knocked once with my scythe on the dark tiles in the salon. Stopping the adults from enjoying the carnal pleasures, I kept the musicians still playing. I walked to the chubby man, his golden rings tight on his fingers and hit him once with the scythe.

The fiddle music continued to play, the vocalist and their band watching my every move. The violin broke its rhythm, my ears picking up a prayer.

The first soul’s fat head rolled on the marble floor, staining the money.

“Are you feeling well?” My eyes slanted to Goat, who had a slight frown on his forehead.

“Yes,” I answered, but not as loud as I wanted.

“I’ll take care of the children,” the Goat Man said, his eyes hovering over me. With a snap of his fingers, the youngsters disappeared from the room. When he turned, a satisfied smile spread over his lips. “I believe you have one more to take?”

His head tilted, keeping his smile on his lips.

“Yes, I do. And as you can see, I can handle it.” I passed by him, and he gripped my hand.

“You can and you will, I do not doubt that,” he whispered. As much as I wanted to lose myself in his appreciation, I couldn’t. Not when he killed his family. I pulled my hand away and stepped around his body. The goosebumps his touch created were unnerving.

The chaos resumed behind us, screams overshadowing the music. I turned to the Goat Man. “Would you also deal with those, please?” As he nodded, I ascended the stairs.