The Soul Ripper (Twisted Souls #1)

by Cege Smith

small sucking noises. She was hungry.

  Malcom rocked her as he walked to the kitchen. He quickly warmed a bottle and Cameron latched on it as if she hadn't eaten in a week. In the first days after Cameron's birth Eve had reluctantly tried to breastfeed her, but wasn't able to get past the chilly little body latching onto her breast and leaving bruises from the force of the sucking. After watching several painful rounds and seeing Eve's fair skin turning black and blue, Malcom finally told her to stop. He had seen the relief in Eve's eyes, and struggled to not get upset at the unfairness of it all. This was nothing like the family that he had envisioned in his mind.

  Eve breezed into the kitchen, pulling her long blond hair back into a ponytail. She glanced at Malcom and Cameron before reaching into the cupboard for a pan. Even though Cameron was doing nothing but eating, Malcom felt the tenseness coming off Eve in waves.

  "Everything okay in here?" she asked as she pulled eggs from the refrigerator.

  "It's great," Malcom said, looking back down at his daughter. The infant's gaze was hypnotic as she sucked fiercely on the bottle. "I was just getting ready to go over the rules again for Cameron, to make sure she doesn’t mess anything up." Although Malcom's tone was lighthearted, he felt the niggling doubt in the back of his mind.

  Even turned to him with a panicked look on her face. "You don't think she can mess it up, right? I mean, she is just a baby, so they'd have to understand that we can't control that."

  "I'm kidding, Eve, relax," Malcom said. He wondered who he should be more worried about, Cameron or Eve.

  Cameron finished her bottle, and Malcom lifted her up onto his shoulder to burp her. He winced as chills ran down his spine from Cameron's cold cheek as it touched the sensitive area of his neck where it met the collarbone. He started to pat her back. An irrational thought flitted through his mind that she would latch onto his neck to continue her meal. He pushed the thought away.

  "She's not going to get a bad one, right Malcom?" Eve asked.

  He could see that breakfast had been forgotten as tears gathered in her eyes. "That's just a myth, Eve. A stupid story they used to tell us when we were young to keep us in line."

  "What about Molly Jenkins?" Eve persisted.

  "Molly Jenkins was an innocent little girl who got stuck with an abusive couple who should never have been able to procreate," Malcom said firmly. He turned away so that Eve couldn't see the doubt in his eyes.

  Many years ago, a little girl named Molly Jenkins killed her parents in their sleep. Even after it came out that she had been abused, there had been whispers that her parents were not the first people who had died around Molly. The punishment for murder was soul extraction, but it had taken the Office of Souls months to decide if the usual punishment would apply given Molly's age.

  But in the end, the Head Master decided that there could be no exception. Molly Jenkins became the youngest soul extraction in Malm's history, and then the rumors had started to fly that Molly had never stood a chance because her soul was flawed from the start. The rumors said that a man who had been convicted of serial murder had his soul extracted just days prior to Molly's implantation day.

  Whether they liked it or not, souls were in short supply in Malm. If a soul was identified as "flawed," it supposedly went through a rehabilitation process before it went back into the pool of available souls. Malcom shuddered to think that a soul that had belonged to someone evil could end up in his daughter. But he didn't have any say in the matter. The Office of Souls controlled the souls that were called to the fountain. The only thing that he and Eve could do was make sure Cameron's natural aura was more attractive than the others due a soul so that she drew the attention of the best soul.

  He didn't believe for one second that whatever the Office of Souls did to those "flawed" souls made them any better. Evil stayed evil. There were still people in the Malm who lied, stole, cheated, and killed. But the risk of a bad soul was a risk his family had to take. A child without a soul would forever be a societal outcast, and that wasn't what he wanted for Cameron

  He hugged his daughter closer to him despite the chill and smiled at Eve. "Everything's going to be great. Just you wait and see."

  SAMUEL

  Samuel had been with the Light in the Office of Souls almost a hundred years, and served in the role of Lead Acolyte to the Head Master for half that. But if asked, a Resident would probably have said he was in his mid-twenties. He had been told that time moved differently in service of the Light, and he had no reason not to believe it. Since his boyhood, he had known his life's purpose; to serve the Office of Souls and the Head Master with unwavering loyalty. He had never deviated from that mission, and he didn't ask questions even when he was asked to do things that made no sense.

  Samuel was accustomed to a very strict routine at the Office of Souls, especially on Soul Distribution Day. Soul implantation was a very delicate procedure, and in the last several years, Samuel had noticed that the Head Master was becoming more fatigued after each ceremony. Although he worried, he said nothing. It wasn't his place.

  So when he entered the Head Master's office to start the morning's preparations on Soul Implantation Day 3675, he was surprised to find him already at his desk. Usually the Head Master rested until an hour before the ceremony's commencement to conserve his strength. He was hunched over a large book, and he had papers with strange markings spread out all over his desk.

  "There you are, Samuel." The Head Master gestured for the acolyte to sit down in the chair across from him, although he didn't look up from his book. "Sit. I'd like to review the implantation procedures with you."

  Samuel sat down and frowned. "Did I do something wrong during the last implantation procedure?" Samuel had attended the Head Master at hundreds of ceremonies over the years and as far as he knew, he had never been guilty of even one mistake.

  The Head Master sighed and closed the book. "Samuel, you are my most loyal acolyte. I trust no one as much as I trust you." He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Suddenly, he looked ancient to Samuel, and the thought sent a shot of fear through him.

  The Soul Garden was protected by the will of the Head Master, and everyone was protected from the fountain by the power of the Head Master. Samuel knew that at some point those two things could be jeopardized by the humanity of the Head Master, but everyone, including Samuel, operated under the belief that he would live forever.

  "I serve you for eternity," Samuel said with a bow of his head. "Tell me how I can help."

  "I apologize that I have given you cause to believe that you have done something wrong. You have not," the Head Master explained. "But for the safety of the Chosen, today we are going to make a few modifications in our preparations."

  Samuel was surprised, and he knew that it showed on his face. "I thought that the ceremony had to be done exactly to certain specifications to achieve the right effects."

  The Head Master nodded. "We will carry out the ceremony to the letter as we always do, but today you will be the only acolyte attending."

  "The other acolytes will be disappointed," Samuel said carefully. "You know how they look forward to this day, especially after having to go through all of the necessary preparation."

  "They are unnecessary once the preparations are over, and so I want them to stay in their quarters," the Head Master said.

  Samuel could hear the annoyance in his voice. He had reached the limit of the Head Master's indulgence with him. "Of course, sir. I will advise the acolytes to return to their rooms once the safety net in the garden is secure."

  "Good. And I'd like to have Bishop watch over the garden entrance."

  Samuel had no idea what to make of the request. "Is there something in particular he should be watching for, Sir? I'd like to be very clear in my instructions to him."

  "The instructions are simple, Samuel. Once the Chosen go in, no one else goes in. Oh, and have him take a shovel or something with him. Just in case."

  "Sir?"

 
"I am sure it is nothing, Samuel, simply the worries of an old man. But I feel it is important that today we must be vigilant," the Head Master said, and sighed heavily.

  "We are always careful, Head Master. The ceremony is complex, but we have done it so many times I feel like I could do it in my sleep," Samuel said. ''But if you say these precautions are necessary, I will ensure they are followed."

  "That is my concern, Samuel. I fear we have become complacent. And I sense that something has been watching and has taken note of this."

  "Something like what, Sir?"

  The Head Master leaned back in his chair and paused as if considering whether to say more, then shook his head. "Start the morning preparations, Samuel. I am sure it is nothing, but keep your eyes and ears open and notify me at once if you encounter anything unusual. You may go." The Head Master opened his book again.

  Samuel was more confused than ever, but a seed of uneasiness had blossomed in his stomach. Although he had tried to hide it, the Head Master was afraid.

  MARIUS

  Marius woke up the morning of Soul Implantation Day 3675 in a state of calm that he couldn't remember ever feeling in his life. Today was the day he had been waiting for. Today was the day his life would finally be complete. After so long, he would finally embrace his destiny. The voices had told him so.

  Marius was nothing if not patient. There was little else you could be when you reached adulthood without the benefit of a soul. In the territory of Malm, the residents didn't like to be reminded of orphans like Marius. Orphans were victims of procreation crime, and the penalty for it was the soul extraction of the offending parents. So on the infrequent times it was committed, the infants were often left on the doorstep of the Office of Souls.

  Marius's lips curled. As if the idiots who ran the Office of Souls would give away a perfectly good soul to a creature that had been conceived outside the boundaries of their precious procreation guidelines. But it didn't matter anymore. Today was his big day.

  Marius quickly dressed and went downstairs into the main hall. Breakfast was already being served, and he saw the look of annoyance on the face of the acolyte who served him. Given that most adult soulless required almost constant feeding, being late to a meal was unusual. Marius thought that it probably wouldn't do to draw attention to himself, but a big part of him didn't care. He was soulless, after all; emotions were supposed to be the property of the ensouled.

  "You're late this morning, Marius," the acolyte said as he slid a bowl in front of Marius.

  "I overslept," Marius replied. He knew that the acolyte didn't really expect a response. Most adult soulless never spoke at all. But Marius was different. He had always been different, but it was like no one in the Office of Souls acknowledged it except on the rare occasion he bent an administrative rule. It made him feel good to know that after today, everyone would see him in a whole new light.

  The acolyte sighed. "You know the schedule, Marius. Don't make me have to report you to the Head Master again. You've given him too much trouble as it is."

  Marius ignored him and started to eat. For once he decided to hold his tongue. The acolyte seemed satisfied and moved away.

  Marius looked down at the porridge in front of him. He had eaten the same meal fifteen to twenty times a day the entire time he had been alive. He wondered if somewhere along the way, some scientifically-inclined acolyte had determined that the soulless didn't have the same kind of taste buds as the ensouled. The food was boring and bland, and there was never the option to have something else. The one time Marius had questioned it, he had ended up medicated in isolation for several days. The soulless weren't in a position to ask questions. Marius was