Ana
If I had had a heart, it would have exploded into millions of pieces. Both of my hands flew to my mouth to keep my breathing in check.
I was wrong about him. As he was about me.
Yes, he did take the souls of people in the centuries he was the Goat Man. But he did all of that because of his brother. Who was no other than the Elk. My pulse quickened as I heard shuffling coming from where the Goat and the Elk stood.
At once, something snapped, followed by a piercing scream. My back glued to the wall of the cave; my body petrified in fear, warm tears drowning my eyes. Behind me, I heard someone murmuring, but I could only focus on the Goat Man’s screams.
They wrecked my body in ways I didn’t know it could.
Swallowing my tears, I took a deep breath.
My mind was, for once, in accord with my feelings, and I pushed myself off the cold stone, my fingers brushing it. I was guided by the snaps of bones and the screams of pain coming from the man who occupied my mind.
“Stop!” I shouted.
The snaps halted, but the screams turned into sobs.
My feet hit something soft, and I felt his voice calling for me. With my hands, I reached through the darkness, and I found something warm and thick. I knew what it was.
Blood.
My fingertips were coated in it, and I felt my own blood boiling, my muscles and veins straining against my skin.
“Who are you to command me, Stag Woman?”
I swallowed; all the courage I had earlier dissipating. Closing my eyes, I willed my pulse to stop its race against my veins. A warm hand touched my fingers and squeezed once, as if to say that he would be with me, despite the pain in his body.
“Leave him alone, Master!” I demanded through my teeth, holding the Goat Man’s hand, his shallow breaths ringing in my ears.
The Elk’s laughter replaced any other sound. “You’re ordering me, peasant?”
There was a similarity between the brothers, and that was their mockery. Although the Goat Man has changed for the better, his brother was the worst.
Don’t leave me, God. Even if I do not choose You this time.
“Please, let him go!” I begged, almost falling to my knees. “I…”
“Hm.” The Elk seemed to ponder, and I knew something evil would follow. I heard the clatter of hooves on the stones. “No, but…” its words crawled on my skin, “there’s a way you could free him.” Its voice seemed to travel over the walls, piercing my mind.
“Ana,” the Goat Man whispered, pulling me to my knees. Both of his hands searched for mine. “Leave me here and go. He will not end me, not until the contract is through. Go!”
“How can you be so selfish?” I asked, grabbing his arms. “Don’t you think that…” The words were blocked in my throat. Taking a deep breath, I touched my forehead to his. “I have a contract to fulfil, Goat Man.”
“Tiberius.”
My legs felt numb. “What?”
“That is my birth name. Remember it, Ana! Because it was too long since someone else knew it.”
I stood up, my blood flowing faster. Because yet again, the creature which took me was bare before me.
“Tell me, Master, what do I have to do in order to release the Goat Man?” My voice was steadier than my pulse and thoughts. I wanted to say his name out loud with every fibre of my being, but not here. Not when his brother was watching us from the darkness.
“Glad that you finally noticed my presence, Stag Woman.” The Elk spat the last two words as if they were bitter on its tongue. “What you have to do is to take the soul of something that you believe in.”
“I won’t kill the Goat Man,” I said, my mind already conjuring the darkness that would capture my own soul.
“Good to know that you value my brother,” it chuckled, moving closer to me. I felt a gush of warm air on my face, and it reeked of death. “As much as I would love that, I do not desire his soul. Not yet, anyway.”
The Elk surely wanted his brother human. After all, the Goat Man would be the heir to whatever fortune they had.
“I want you to think about my previous words.” I felt its body closer to mine, and it made me squirm in my own skin. “Take the soul of something that you believe in,” he repeated. “Until then, my brother will stay here and reminisce about his previous life.”
“Ana, don’t!” The Goat Man shouted, but his urgency was soon replaced by cries of pain.
“Tiberius!” I yelled his name over and over again until my throat became hoarse.
My body felt numb as it was pushed out of the cave.
The light of the moon was hurting my eyes. Squeezing my eyelids, I breathed. Once. Twice.
It was time for the Elk to see that the Goat Man was not alone anymore.
The fifth soul
Five days had passed since.
“You exhaust yourself, Ana.”
Andrei floated around me as soon as I arrived in our cave. I bit my cheek, thinking that two months ago, I called this lair my own Hell. And after everything, it was our cave.
Ignoring him, I continued to swipe through the sea of souls that my Mirror showed. There were too many evil people in this world, and still, there were none who would mean what the Elk asked. Something I believed in. What could that possibly be? I believed in many things, and not one was evil.
Not even the Goat Man.
Tiberius.
“What about this one?” Andrei asked, his translucent body coming next to me. He smelled of fresh-cooked food, but I couldn’t stomach anything.
His eyes stopped on a child, who was doing unspeakable things to rats.
“I cannot take the life of a child, Andrei!” I almost threw the mirror away, my eyes roving over the glass. Although he resembled an angel, his actions were the opposite.
“Fine, then continue your despair!” His hands were up in the air, their movement flickering the flames of the candles, almost extinguishing them. He paced around the kitchen table, making me more nervous than I already was.
I gritted my teeth and continued.
Bruises covered my fingers from swiping on the Mirror's thick glass. One soul after another, I couldn't unravel what Elk meant by something ‘I believed in’. There were many things I had faith in.
God, love, sisterhood, family. Even the stallion that neighed loudly had a place in my heart. Poor beast sniffed my hair continuously, for comfort.
For the most part, I believed in what I felt for him. Even if I couldn’t voice it or act towards it, I believe I could fight for his freedom. Remembering his screams, I pushed myself to search further through the Mirror for days. Which meant that for days, he was under his brother’s torture.
My eyes felt heavy as images of evil people around the world played on my Mirror’s glass.
Once it got to a man wearing a large black dress.
Not a dress. A cassock.
I felt my pulse slowing down and the colour draining from my cheeks. My ears became hot, and my breathing accelerated.
Something that I believe in.
God. His love for people spread through the words of priests.
Before my eyes, the man wearing the holy cassock was doing unspeakable things to women. His hands did not soothe but hit. Instead of caressing, he broke skin. The priest did not impart wisdom, but punishment. Instead of leaving God to spread His judgement, the priest was doing it.
“The Elk… is the devil incarnate,” Andrei whispered from behind my back.
“Yes.”
If the Elk wanted me to lose my belief in God, he would be disappointed. I knew that not all priests were like the one I was looking at. Priest Neagu was the image of kindness with anyone who would step inside his church. And I have changed so much since I joined Tiberius.
“Do you want me to come with you?”
I shook my head at the ghost. “No, I need to be doing this alone,” I whispered, grabbing one of Tiberius’s cloaks. The dark fabric was smooth on my skin, and the smell of old books and wax was imprinted on me. With a swift move, I called on my scythe. “Just be ready to tend to his wounds.”
Andrei nodded and breathed loudly. “Take care, Ana! And most importantly, this time, do not hesitate!”
God Himself must have placed me on this path. To prove my beliefs. As I said to the Elk, the Order had scythes to deliver justice on Earth. But ultimately, God had the power to decide which soul belonged to Him.
There was no hunger, no thirst, as I was waiting in front of the church. My eyes roamed over the holy place; paintings of different saints were shining in the afternoon light. The cross which stood on top of the roof whispered to me to back down. But I couldn’t.
Its large arcade windows were closed, and I felt the smell of burnt wax coming from inside the holy place.
The air was colder than outside, even if plenty of candles were aflame. My eyes hit the altar’s golden doors, where the priest was.
The holy place was larger than any church I have seen. Ten rows of pews occupied most of the space. Paintings of saints decorated the inside walls, with Mother Mary and John the Baptist guarding the altar doors. There were fresh flowers on each step that led to the room behind the golden gates.
A whimper caught my ear, and my head jerked to it.
Before the painted saints stood an older woman, holding a younger one. The latter’s skin was broken, just as I saw in my Mirror. The elderly woman’s eyes bulged as she saw me, but I shook my head. Then her gaze travelled to my scythe, tightening her hold on the younger woman.
My feet walked further until I reached the stand that held an icon picturing the Mother Mary and her child. I made the cross sign, kissed it and then prayed for forgiveness.
“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.”
“Oh,” someone said behind the stand.
I lifted my eyes, and the priest stood with a golden cross in his hands. His cassock was open, leaving nothing to the imagination.