by Cege Smith
The Head Master’s face swung towards him and Samuel let out a small gasp. If the man had looked old before, he looked ancient now. His face had aged by at least twenty years. His skin hung loosely from bones that poked out at his temples and cheeks. His normally clear blue eyes looked rheumy and were covered in film.
Samuel started to shrink back when the Head Master grabbed his hand. His grip was surprisingly strong. The Head Master stood up to his full height using Samuel’s arm as a lever, and then pushed past him. As he turned to the parents, Samuel heard the feathery whisper reach his ear.
“I will do what I can. The rest is up to you.”
The Head Master raised his arms to the heavens. Samuel watched the clouds swirl as if in response. He pulled the soul charms from his pocket as the Head Master closed his eyes and started the ceremonial chant. Samuel made his way to each of the three couples.
The soul charms were crystals about the size of a marble that hung on black leather cords. The acolytes mined the crystals from a cave on the outskirts of the compound, and then the Head Master imbued them with a kind of homing beacon that guided the souls from the fountain and into the Chosen. Samuel gently put the necklace over the head of the McMurray toddler, who was standing in front of his father.
“May your soul grant you health and a long life in service of the Light,” Samuel said. Then he moved to the Deeds. He repeated the prayer over the Deed girl. Finally, he moved to the Lowdens.
The mother was staring at him with a panicked expression. He tried to ignore the Head Master’s words, but he knew that something was terribly wrong. He quickly repeated the prayer over the Lowden girl and then stepped back. A flash of lightning had them all looking at the sky.
A storm was definitely approaching. Samuel had never seen anything but sunny skies on a Soul Distribution Day. It was as if nature knew that something bad was coming too. The Head Master’s chanting grew more urgent, and Samuel realized that he wasn’t saying the regular chant at all. A cold fear shot through his body.
“Protector of the Light, hear our plea! As evil looms before us, we, your children will follow the path of Light. We will not be tempted by the call of the flesh. We will stand firm in your principles. Grant us safety from this unholy peril.”
The Head Master is casting a protection spell. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise, and, as if they sensed the danger too, the Chosen all started to cry in unison. Suddenly Samuel heard a screech of pain that sounded like it was coming from just over the courtyard wall. His gaze locked with Malcom Lowden’s, and he watched the man’s eyes widen in fear as he looked behind Samuel at the fountain.
Samuel was about to turn when he saw an orange and yellow flicker and smoke burst from the wall of the courtyard behind the parents. And then the wall disintegrated before his eyes. The people in front of him went flailing to the ground, and a shock of warm air hit him full force, making his eyes water. He stumbled backwards but didn't go down.
Two soulless stepped into the courtyard; an old one whose skin was rotting away in places was leading the one Samuel himself had named Marius. But Marius didn’t look like Marius anymore. A red pulsating light was emanating from the orifices of his face, and his shirt hung open, exposing a red light that Samuel could see shining through the skin of his chest.
Then the clouds opened and the rain began to pour down.
MALCOM
Everything seemed to go wrong all at the same time. Malcom had been uneasy from the moment he stepped into the courtyard and saw the Head Master seated on the fountain. Eve touched his arm, but he had patted her hand absently. From that point forward, it seemed like time became disjointed.
When the Head Master stood to begin the ceremony, Malcom’s skin crawled when he saw the man’s face. He was well aware that magic was involved in all of the things that happened under the Office of Souls purview, but whatever the man had been dabbling in was clearly going awry. Malcom wanted to take Cameron and run. As the list of things that weren't supposed to happen grew longer, it was obvious things were out of control. But he didn’t know what else to do, especially if there was a chance that Cameron could still end up with a soul.
He barely heard the Head Master’s words as the acolyte distributed the soul charms. For a moment he thought that he had been overreacting, regardless of the strange weather, the deviation from procedure, and the Head Master's strange behavior. Then Cameron began to cry and flail in his arms, and he heard a scream from somewhere behind him.
If he hadn’t already been looking in the direction of the fountain, he probably would have turned around to see what was happening, damn the protocol, but then he saw the water in the pool at the fountain’s base begin to change color. He saw flecks of white dance in between flickers of red. It was the same color of red as blood. He glanced over at Eve and saw her mouth fall open. She saw it too.
Then a blanket of heat hit Malcom’s back along with a tidal wave of pressure that shoved him forward. He rolled in midair, and swung Cameron to the side so that he didn’t land on her when he connected with the ground. He heard her cry join a chorus of grunts and groans coming from the rest of the group. He landed on his back and staring up at the sky as the rain seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Instantly, he was soaked.
Suddenly he heard an excited, high-pitched voice break through the din.
“Surprise!”
Malcom pushed to his knees. Through the dripping water in his eyes, he saw what looked like two soulless adults approaching the Head Master. They had the red eyes and the gray skin of the soulless, but that was where any similarities ended. The small one, who wore an expression that reminded Malcom of a kid about to get his favorite toy in the whole world, looked more demon than human. His short fingers were chubby and his nails were long and pointed at the ends. His ears were pointed and his skin was dark in many places. The younger soulless had a pained expression on his face, and glowed red all over. Then Malcom realized that the red light was coming from inside him.
Malcom had no idea what the interruption meant, other than he and his family were in the wrong place at the wrong time. He felt a grip on his shoulder and felt a strong yank pull him forward to the side of the fountain. Samuel was crouched low next to the fountain and made a gesture for Malcom to be quiet. In Malcolm's arms, Cameron started to howl louder.
Malcom looked around for Eve. It was hard to see in the rain, but then his eyes finally found her. She was lying face down just a few feet from the clawed toes of the small soulless. When the blast had send him and Cameron flying to the right, closer to Samuel and the fountain’s base, it must have sent Eve to the left, putting her almost directly in the path of the intruders. If it wasn’t for Samuel bearing down hard on his shoulder, Malcom would have tried to get to her. She wasn’t moving.
“What’s the matter? Fountain got your tongue, Head Master?” the small soulless poked.
“Renauld,” the Head Master said gravely. “I thought I banished you the ends of the world.”
“Oh, you did,” the one called Renald snarled. “I did a lot of walking, and I needed a little help getting back. That's what took me so long. They don't call me Renauld anymore, either. These days you can just call me Chim. You didn’t think you’d get rid of me that easily, did you? I learned quite a lot of interesting things along the way too.”
“You were wrong to come back here, Renauld,” the Head Master said.
Malcom was having a hard time trying to track the conversation. All he could think about was Eve. She still wasn’t moving. He tried to shrug off Samuel’s hand, but he couldn’t. The acolyte was stronger than he looked.
“You can’t help her now. You have to stay here,” Samuel murmured.
“What are we supposed to do?” Malcom hissed.
“Trust in the strength and wisdom of the Head Master,” Samuel said. “And pray to the Light.”
With that in mind, Malcom thought for certain they were going to die.
SAMUEL
/> Samuel’s mind was racing. The only things he could think to do was try to keep clear of the confrontation unfolding in front of them, and hope that the Head Master knew what to do. When the parents and Chosen went down, Malcom Lowden and his daughter landed just a few feet away from him. He didn’t even think as he grabbed them and pulled them around the base of the fountain with him. He could tell by the wild look in the man’s eyes that he wanted to go after his wife, but given her proximity to this unknown but powerful soulless, it was too dangerous.
Samuel was trying to take in every word of the exchange between the Head Master and Renauld. He was having a hard time believing that the soulless standing in front of him could possibly be the same Renauld from the legend, but it seemed like he was. When the soulless said that his adopted name was Chim, Samuel knew that a very elaborate trap was closing around them. Chim had been the fourth name on the list; the missing Chosen had arrived after all.
The acolytes learned about, but rarely spoke of, the darker side of the story surrounding the history of the fountain. The first ensouled baby, the one whose mother discovered the soul pool, pledged his life to service and became the Head Master's first acolyte. That acolyte’s name was Renauld.
Renauld had an uneasy relationship with the Head Master. The legend said that Renauld had often thought, since he had the revered status of being the first ensouled human in the territory since Before, that he should be the rightful leader of the newly-formed Office of Souls. But on the day of the vote, the majority of the nomads, who from then on were called Residents, cast their votes for the Head Master.
A short time later there was a rash of violent soul extractions that left the Residents terrified and clamoring for an answer from the Office of Souls. After a secret investigation, a shocking discovery came to light. Renauld's envy had led him down a dark path. He had turned to the service of the Darkness, and was extracting souls to sacrifice to the Dark One, hoping to become powerful enough to overthrow the Head Master.
The difference between Renauld’s extractions and those the Office of Souls administered as punishment was that the bodies of those Renauld left soulless became violent. To satiate their never ending hunger, those soulless were drawn to living flesh and attacked Residents at will to eat them. Dealings with the Darkness were dirty business, and once he was caught, Renauld was banished beyond the perimeter, to the ends of the world. He also lost his soul.
“I came to take back what is owed me, Lairus, and a whole lot more,” Renauld sneered.
Samuel started at hearing the Head Master’s given name spoken out loud. No one was allowed to call him by it. It was forbidden, as it was said that names held power that could be used over you as a means of control.
“Whatever your intentions, you will not succeed,” the Head Master said firmly.
“I already have.” Renauld giggled. “Behold, Larius, I have discovered the Soul Vessel.” He patted Marius’s arm.
Samuel strained to see through the heavy rain, but he thought he saw the Head Master stumble.
“An abomination!” the Head Master hissed.
Then Samuel heard the whispered voices in the fountain begin to hum. The red light in the water flickered slowly, and then started to pulse in time to the light inside of Marius.
He racked his mind, turning over the histories trying to understand what was happening. A Soul Vessel. What did that mean? Whatever it was, it caused the Head Master’s voice to shake.
“The Soul Vessel was a myth. There was never any such creature created in the history of the world,” the Head Master said.
“Until now,” Renauld said with a sly smile. “And it was right here under your nose the whole time. What irony.”
Samuel watched in alarm as the water in the fountain began to spin. It was slow at first, but then it gained momentum. The souls inside seemed to be communing with the light inside Marius. And then the water leapt into the air and burst, something that Samuel had watched hundreds of times. The fountain was releasing its souls, but this time, instead of entering the Chosen, all four shot straight into Marius’s chest. The man’s eyes bulged and his lips started to quiver, then an unholy yell escaped him that made both Samuel and Malcom cover their ears.
“Those do not belong to him!” the Head Master shouted.
“We’re going to take them anyways,” Renauld said. Then his head swung to Marius. “Marius, don’t forget those too.” He pointed at Malcom’s wife, and the two other families on the other side of the fountain.
Marius’s mouth shut. He didn’t look around at all. He simply raised his arms in both directions, and Samuel watched in horror as five souls were ripped in unison from the bodies of the parents of the Chosen. Malcom cried out and tried to jump up but Samuel held him firmly.
Marius opened his mouth and the souls slipped right in between his lips. He didn't make any noise this time. The red pulsing in his chest sped up like an evil heartbeat.
“Now for the rest,” Renauld said.
But just as he stepped forward, raising his hand in Samuel and Malcom's direction, the Head Master shot his hands straight into the air and called out to the heavens. “Light give me strength!”
Samuel was blinded by a dazzling white light that lit up the clouds and then slammed down into the ground in between Renauld and the Head Master. Renauld screamed and drew back, pulling Marius with him.
“You will never have control of this fountain or this place!” the Head Master said. But then Samuel watched as the Head Master's body started to shake, as if he was losing control. The streak of light wavered, and then pulled back and through the Head Master before encountering the fountain. Samuel felt the pressure crackle in the air all around him, and then the world exploded.
MALCOM
Malcom slipped back into consciousness when he felt a tug on his ear. He struggled to remember where he was; he remembered the garden, the confrontation, and the blinding ball of light.
He felt the tug again, and raised his head, which was throbbing. He looked up into clear blue eyes that he would have known to be Eve’s eyes, but they were set in the face of a tiny angel with beautiful blond hair.
“Dadda,” the angel said.
Malcom felt his chest constrict. “Cameron?”
He slowly moved to his knees and shook off the debris of the fountain that seemed to be all around him. He reached up to touch his face and his hand came away bloody. His clothes were blackened and had holes in places.
But his daughter sat on the ground in front of him, unscathed. Her skin was clear and glowing, and every piece of her wavy blond hair was in place. As soon as she saw that he was up, she reached out for him. “Dadda!”
He was stunned. He slowly took her into his arms. Her breath was hot against his cheek, and her body was warm. He looked around them. The massive fountain that had stood there for a hundred years was no more. It had been blown to smithereens. He heard soft singing and searched for the source.
The rain was now only a light drizzle, and it took a moment for his eyes to fully adjust to the darkness that had descended upon them. Then he saw Samuel kneeling over the body of the Head Master. Samuel’s head was bent and he was rocking back and forth singing a hymn that Malcom remembered from his mother singing it to him when he was little. It was called “Triumph of the Light.”
He looked for Eve, but the three of them appeared to be alone in the courtyard. He slowly made his way to Samuel. He winced when he saw the condition of the Head Master’s body. The whole upper torso had been seared, and he could smell the awful aroma of burnt flesh. He kept Cameron’s face turned away.
“I don’t understand what the hell happened here,” he said to Samuel. “Do you?”
Samuel half-turned his face towards him. “Life as we know it has ended.”
Then Malcom heard screams in the distance. “What’s happening?”
“Renauld and his servants have reached the barracks,” Samuel said without any emotion in his voice. “May the Light hav
e mercy on their souls.”
“We have to do something!” Malcom said.
Samuel nodded. “We do. We need to survive. We need to protect the gift that the Head Master gave to us.”
“What gift?” Malcom said. “My wife is missing. The world has gone crazy. And it looks like the Head Master was at the heart of all of it.”
“The Head Master kept us safe for more than a hundred years,” Samuel said. “He protected us from evil men like Renauld. But evil is clever, and it waits patiently for us to become lenient. That was what the Head Master tried to tell me. I should have listened better.”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” Malcom said.
“Dadda,” Cameron said, tugging on his ear again.
“How did Cameron get a soul?” Malcom asked. “That man took all the souls in the fountain.”
“All but one,” Samuel said quietly. He closed the Head Master’s eyes and then stood. “Earlier the Head Master told me what he was going to do, but hid the knowledge in a spell that only would be lifted upon his death. He couldn't tell me and risk that I would do something that would compromise what he had to do. He needed to draw out the evil so that I would know what demon we faced and so I could bear witness. Before the ceremony started, he cast a very rare spell. It required precious strength that he could ill afford to waste, but he had no choice. The spell called upon the Creator to send him a very special soul. The soul of the Champion. The one we will need as our world falls into darkness. She will be the only one who can lead us out.”
Malcom’s head was spinning. “Are you trying to tell me that you think my daughter is someone you are going to try to use in your dispute with that demon?”
