his body into its own beastly shape, and if it wasn’t for Emil’s bad advice, none of that would have happened. Just this past morning, Adam had been desperate to leave, even if that involved borrowing Father Marek’s car without permission. It had been Emil who persuaded him not to make such rash decisions. It was fitting that he’d pay for his transgression in blood.
He tried to be brave as the monster approached, but his teeth clattered when Chort leaned over the altar, hovering its huge paw over Emil’s form. It huffed, watching him without earlier urgency, as if its appetite for blood and violence had been sated for now.
Or maybe he liked to play with his food. Emil closed his eyes, unable to handle the tension anymore. He didn’t scream, just wheezed as the beast rubbed its wet nose up his stomach. Maybe it would really go for the heart first and Emil didn’t have to suffer for too long?
The enormous body radiated heat that was in such direct contradiction to the icy surface of the stone that Emil found himself leaning into it against his better judgment. The velvety nose briefly stopped at his breastbone, but as he tensed, prepared for the huge teeth to bite him, Chort continued his exploration, eventually settling his warm muzzle at the side of Emil’s neck.
Fear mixed with a strange sense of relief. He was at the end of his road. He no longer had to struggle. By the time Chort pulled back, Emil breathed out.
He was ready.
“You fear me,” the creature said in that same strange voice that sounded like a piece of breaking wood sliding over the strings of a dissonant violin.
Chort still had one of Adam’s eyes, but it had become somehow more brilliant, like a cloudless sky at the height of summer, and looking at it shining right next to the one that was brassy and alien had Emil on the verge of sobbing with despair. If there was still a part of Adam left in the creature, Emil hoped he was at peace at least.
“If you’re going to fucking eat me, just do it!” Emil whined, ready to face his doom. But there was nothing even remotely aggressive in the shining eyes watching him from above. He flinched when the tips of Chort’s claws slid down his chest, but they did so without piercing the skin.
“I would never hurt you. Chort cannot hurt you. He promised,” the creature said, leaning in again to breathe in Emil’s scent.
Emil swallowed, and as the implication of what he’d heard sank in, clear air flooded his chest until his mind got fuzzy. He hadn’t dreamt up this nightmare. The supernatural was really a part of nature, and the proof nuzzled his pec.
“You won’t?”
The beast lowered its head and sat back by the rock, pulling his knees up to his chest in a surprisingly human gesture. “Of course not. I love you.”
Emil’s eyes went wide and he tried to sit up in shock only to be pulled back by the rope around his hands. “Adam? What? How?”
The goat-like features twisted. Just like that, the monstrous presence didn’t seem to take up nearly as much space, and its face gained a vulnerable quality that was so reminiscent of Adam Emil wanted to scoop him into his arms. But he couldn’t move. Chort—no, Adam—reached out and cut the rope with his sharp claws. “We’ve reached an agreement.”
Emil frantically pushed the loosened binds off his limbs and rolled off the altar, curling his toes when his feet landed on the damp ground that sent a flash of ice up his legs. “No. You shouldn’t have. You should have just—” What? Cut Emil’s heart out and eaten it as steak tartare? Blood thudded in him faster with each passing second and reached a crescendo when he looked at Adam, who sat next to him, face buried between his furry knees.. “You said you l-love me?”
Adam’s eyes opened. Their colors were bright like the neon hues of exotic fish, but the sadness they expressed—painfully human. “I’m sorry. It was the only way. I couldn’t let him have you.”
“You could have walked away from all this,” Emil whispered, rubbing his wrists, because he didn’t dare step closer yet. The screams of the four cultists were still alive in his ears yet he couldn’t find it in him to pity them. They had used his affection for Adam and lured him here under false pretenses, perfectly content with his