Page 44 of Souls We Rip

Why would she smile? It was not kind; it was not good. It was the opposite of what she was.

She bowed once as if the eternal Elk were royalty.

In a way, it was.

It had the largest antlers of us all. It could reach the highest branch of an apple tree. Neither of us had seen its human form, and to be honest, I did not wish to. Its voice could bend the ground to its liking, its wishes always coming true.

The Elk bowed to the girl as well, its antlers brushing her ie. My blood flowed faster to my head as I stepped closer to her. I felt the need to push the woman away from my master.

She was mine to wield, not its.

I had the sense of possession in my bones, and I was not fond of it.

“So, you are the girl who offered her soul for her father,” my master mused, one of its hooves pressing once on the grass. Its words lingered in the air, clearing a smidge of dark clouds above us.

The woman only nodded, fixing my master with her eyes.

“Hmm, and you’ve never hurt a man in your life?” The Elk tilted its head, one of its antlers resting on its shoulder.

“No,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.

“Not even an animal?” The Elk lowered its head to the other side, observing the girl.

“No, God wouldn’t let me,” she said, this time louder. Her head was held high, defiance in her glacial eyes.

If I could carry feelings, I would have been proud of her. But her expression changed when the Elk started howling. She winced, taking a step back, her ears turning red.

“Darling girl, there are no gods, saints and other things you kneel for between painted walls!” the Elk roared, its laughter endless.

I watched the woman as her fists clenched. Her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood. “If I believe that there are beings worth kneeling for, what is it to you? I would still keep my contract with the Goat Man!”

My eyebrows shot up. There was nobody who could reply to my master in that manner.

“Oh, is that right?” the Elk asked, the grass freezing at our feet.

I moved in front of the woman, but she would not have my protection. She went around me and stood taller in front of my master.

“Yes. Neither of us has to hurt any being without defence. And if I understood it right, you are a server of justice,” she said. Pausing to collect her words, she blinked. “You take evil souls out of this world, keeping the balance.”

Her idea made me raise my brows. I knew she was smart, but seeing her twist the spirit of the Elk in her favour, flicked something in me.

The Elk pondered the retort, its upper hooves clapping. “I will let you live, girl. Only because I want to see how this,” it crossed one hoof in the air between the woman and me, “plays out.”

My master then stepped towards the forest, waving at us, its antlers drizzled by the light rain.

And then, it was gone.

Watching her back relax, I stepped forward, right into her shadow.

“Where were you?” I asked, my voice sharp as if it could cut the thick branches of the firs. I made one of them fall, its needles dropping to the earth. The thump resonated in the woods, bouncing off the ground.

The human turned around, taking a step back. She pinned me with her eyes, defiance playing among the iciness. “In the stables,” she said loudly.

I snapped my head towards the servant. “You said she was gone!”

“I-I…didn’t…” he stammered over his own words, his ghostly eyes rolling continuously.

I drew the mud and patches of ripped grass beneath him, pushing his form down.