Page 47 of Haunting Goats

“She is everything, and you are nothing.” Attie yanks the blade from Jake’s hand before giving it back to him while the pull of the knife has Jake squirming and sucking in a breath to contain the pain along with the tears.

“What is this for?” Jake asks hesitantly before cautiously accepting the opened pocketknife. Attie gets down to his level. In a monotone voice, he says, “For the murder you’re about to commit.”

I get dressed while listening to the conversation.

With my back toward the boys, I hear Jake whisper the question, “Whose murder?”

Attie smiles viciously and with all teeth.

“Yours.”

CHAPTER 30

ATTICUS

Before either of us can say anything, already gripping the knife, I force Jake’s hand to come plummeting down like a hammer and puncture the top of his abdomen. Jake looks at Lyr in shock and horror as he shrieks at the top of his lungs. Her hands slap over her mouth, and she freezes.

Jake’s hand guides the blade all the way down his stomach, and copious amounts of blood come gushing out of the wound along with his entrails.

Jake's eyes shift to me.

“Fucker,” he says with hate on his tongue.

The only regret I’m feeling is not giving Lyr a chance to kill him herself. She should have been the one to do it, but after the way he spoke to my Strawberry Girl, I couldn’t control my rage any longer. I fucked up. I know, but I would do anything for my princess.

A waterfall of blood is the last thing to leave Jake’s chapped lips. I stand to my full height and retrieve my knife from Jake’s middle. I quickly dress and shove my blade back into my pocket.

When I turn around, Jake’s spirit is standing there with Lyric in a chokehold.

Goddammit.

She’s been through enough. I’m sure she’s barely registered her abuser’s death and now this?

He’s supposed to be in Hell, not here.

I observe him and notice that he looks the same as his body does lying on the bed. Lyr and I don’t wear our injuries, and I wonder why that is.

Looking him up and down, I can see Jake’s intestines dangling out of his body and curling around on the floor. He has belt marks around his neck, his dick is all different shades and still seared to perfection, and he has a goose egg on his head from when I slammed the ironing board on top of him. I smile at mine and Lyr’s handiwork.

Jake sneers, “You know, in the end you actually did me a favor. I’m collecting my property and I’ll be on my way.”

Jake has to be out of his fucking mind if he thinks I’m going to allow that to happen. He drags Lyric to the door and attempts to leave, but can’t.

“Open the fucking door. Now.” He grits at Lyr, and she almost does.

“Stop.” My voice is firm and loud as I instruct her not to touch the door.

She peers at me out of the corner of her eye; Jake won’t let her look directly at me. She goes to say something, and he holds his hand tight over her mouth. Lyr chokes on a sob, and I charge him, blinded by rage. He releases Lyr in a panic, and I shove her to the side as I plow into Jake, tackling him to the floor.

He gasps for air from the impact. I lean to the side and roll him onto his belly. I straddle him and snatch him roughly by his greasy hair. Seeing red, I smash his face into the floor repeatedly, just like he did to my girl, until I’m grabbed by my shirt and yanked upward and off of Jake.

But it’s not Lyr standing over me or pulling me off.

Tall enough that it has to hunch over just to fit inside this motel room, I lock eyes with a demon. Its body is a dark crimson, its fingers are long and accessorized with black, stabby nails, and eggshell-white horns jet out from its forehead. They’re small and look like human bones.

In my year being stuck in the In-Between, I’ve never seen this happen before, but this was the secret part of my plan all along. The fact that it worked has me stunned still, but I don’t have time to reflect on it. The demon smiles at me; its teeth are razor sharp and it’s like looking into the mouth of a shark. Locking eyes, I wince at its pure black irises. The fear I feel is unsettling.

“I can take it from here.” It winks and rolls Jake over onto his back.