by Cege Smith
keep all intruders away. Marius had heard the rumors, and although no one really knew what the protection spell would do, the general consensus was that it would render you soulless and dead.
"Good to see you again, Marius."
Marius swung around and tried not to show his surprise at Chim's appearance next to him seemingly out of thin air. Chim had a way of doing that, and Marius wouldn't put it past him to have figured out a way to transport directly into the garden. "I didn't see you there, Chim."
"I'm only seen when I want to be seen. You know that, Marius." The little man chuckled.
Even though Chim was hidden deep in the shadow of the shrubbery, Marius could still make out his red eyes and shrunken nose. The soulless were ugly, but Chim bordered on repugnant. Marius had observed that Chim's skin was losing the telltale mottled tone and was instead turning the color of rot in many places. Marius wondered how old Chim really was; his appearance suggested he was ancient.
"What's next?" Marius asked. He was ready to move. He was nervous standing there out in the open. He knew if they were spotted it would raise an alarm.
"We just need to wait a little bit longer," Chim said. “In about thirty minutes the garden is going to be empty except for the Chosen and their parents, the Head Master, and the Lead Acolyte.”
"Where are the rest of the acolytes going to be? I thought that they watched the ceremony."
"They are being sent to their rooms after they tie off the safety net," Chim replied. He grinned. "We're going to be able to walk right up to the fountain and get both of us a pretty little soul. It'll be like taking candy from a baby; literally in this case."
Marius wasn't sure what to make of this information. Everything about the day so far seemed very different from any other Soul Distribution Day. "How do you know all of this, Chim?"
Chim snorted. "When you've been around as long as I have, Marius, you'll know a thing or two. Mostly you'll know when the stars are aligned in your favor so that you can take advantage of it."
Marius decided that it was time to voice something that he had been turning around in his mind ever since the day Chim had approached him with his plan. "Is that why you’ve never tried to do this before?"
"What’s with all of these questions?" Chim's voice raised in pitch. "I'm offering you the opportunity to get the thing that you’ve always wanted; the thing that has always been withheld from you. I would think you'd be eager to do whatever I asked instead of questioning my intentions."
Marius simply nodded. He had no interest in getting Chim upset. He was just curious.
As if reading his mind, Chim took a deep breath. "I know this is a lot to process, and you must be very excited."
Marius shrugged. While he knew he had developed rudimentary emotions for a soulless one, he wasn’t sure if this feeling inside him was what a souled one would call excited. He was much more familiar with anger. He knew that he had gotten a bad roll of the dice when it came to his existence and future, and that he didn't like it.
"I can't do this alone, Marius. I had to wait a long time for someone like you to come along. Potential partners are slim pickings."
Marius understood that. Most of the soulless wandered around in circles in the Soulless Asylum when they weren't eating or sleeping. They were little more than ugly shells, constant reminders of mistakes and misfortune. To encounter a soulless who could not only communicate, but process logical thoughts was a rare. Marius didn't know of anyone like him and Chim at the asylum. Before him, Marius hadn't had a coherent companion in many years.
"So the acolytes are all going to be in their rooms. Then what, we waltz into the garden, go the fountain, and grab a soul?" Marius asked.
"It will only be slightly more difficult than that, but yes, you've got the general gist," Chim said as he drew his hands together in a peak in front of his chest.
Marius thought it looked like a mock prayer. "We should probably talk about the more difficult parts, then."
Chim pursed his lips. "As you know, there is only way into the garden that isn't protected by that stupid death and damnation spell."
Marius nodded. The only way into and out of the garden was the entrance by the front gate.
"Today the entrance will be guarded," Chim said.
That news surprised Marius. "The entrance is never guarded."
"The Head Master thought some added layers of security today would be a good idea."
Marius frowned. "It's like he knows we're coming."
Chim waved his hand, "He knows nothing. What he thinks he knows isn't even the half of it. Besides, his precautions are laughable."
"So there will be violence," Marius said. "I want my soul, but I don't want to have to hurt someone."
"Oh, how precious. A soulless with an ethical code," Chim smirked.
Marius didn't like being the butt of anyone's joke. He started to say so when Chim raised his hand and silenced him.
"If you do everything I say exactly the way I say it, then there won't be any need for you to do violence, Marius."
"Then tell me what to do, Chim. I'm ready."
SAMUEL
Samuel couldn't find the Head Master. He searched his office, his bedroom, the dining hall, and the courtyard. He was on the verge of panicking. The ceremony was scheduled to start in less than thirty minutes, and he had seen the cars of the Chosen starting to gather in the parking lot.
Finally he found him sitting in the very back corner of the library. The old man was just sitting there, staring out into space.
"Sir?" Samuel said as he slowly approached him. The Head Master didn't respond. "Head Master?" he said louder. In the empty room the words seem to reverberate like heavy rolls of thunder as they made their way back to his ears, and he winced.
The Head Master's gaze finally focused and settled on Samuel. The hair stood up on the back of his neck. The Head Master's eyes looked haunted.
"Samuel," the Head Master rasped. "What can I do for you?"
Samuel wondered if the Head Master was ill. "The Chosen have started to arrive, Head Master. It is almost time for the ceremony. I did as you asked and sent the acolytes to their rooms. Bishop is stationed outside the garden entrance. He was acting strangely again, though."
The Head Master nodded, but his shoulders drooped. "As if any of it will do any good."
"Sir?" Samuel was alarmed. This man in front of him looked like the Head Master, but all of his usual confidence and presence seemed to have been stripped away. And what Samuel was left with was a timid old man.
"Samuel, do you believe in evil?" the Head Master asked as he cast his gaze up at the ornate ceiling tiles.
It was an odd question. "I believe that sometimes bad things happen," Samuel replied. "But the Office of Souls keeps all things that lurk with malicious intentions away. It has been that way since the beginning of Malm, after the end of Before."
The Head Master sighed and then grimaced. "I'm afraid that we are about to embark on a new age, Samuel. One that is very different than the one you know today. What we know today may well become the next generation's “Before." I have done my best to protect us—the men and women here who have pledged service to the Office of Souls, the Residents of the territory, and our way of life. There are many who would say that my rules have been too stringent. But it was necessary."
Samuel had never heard the Head Master speak like this. It was as if they were sitting in a confessional. "Sir, we don't question your rules. You know more than all of us combined. You saw the destruction of Before. We trust you to lead us in whatever way you've see fit. I know that your intentions have always been for a safe and prosperous life for all of the Residents of Malm."
"Ah Samuel, you are the most loyal acolyte that has ever served me. Your faith warms my heart. But you don't see that unwavering devotion like yours is something that is a thing of the past. I have seen the seeds of discourse take root. I was a foolish man to think that I could ignore it. And now, the time of change stands on o
ur doorstep, and there is nothing to be done. I should have prepared you. I have failed." Tears streamed down the Head Master's face.
Samuel knelt at the Head Master's feet. "What can I do, Head Master? Tell me what I need to do to help. I will do whatever you require." He felt the Head Master's hands on his head. It reminded him of the day he had sworn his pledge of service to the Office of Souls, which had been the best day of his life. A rush of warmth and peace swept over him.
"I was wrong to lay these dark thoughts at your feet, Samuel. But it is important that you understand because it will be your duty to hold the line against the forces of darkness. Will you still serve faithfully in the face of evil?"
Samuel had no idea what the Head Master's words meant, but he would do his duty in the fight against any adversary of the Light. That had never been a question. "Of course, Head Master. My life belongs to the Office of Souls." He felt a warm shock of electricity pass through him, and he looked up into the Head Master's face. What just happened?
"You will know what to do when the time comes. Get up, Samuel. I can dally no longer," the Head Master said as he stood up.
Samuel stood up as well. He thought again of how frail the Head Master looked; like a strong gust of wind would blow him away. He watched the Head Master look to his right, at a low shelf on the far wall. Samuel saw that a book was missing. All books were required to stay in the library, and today was not a day that anyone would be engaged in casual reading. Everyone had a purpose on Soul Distribution Day.
The Head Master shook his head and sighed. "Someone once told me that the easiest way to hide something important was to disguise it in plain sight. I fear that wisdom has failed me. Our enemies are always around us. Come, Samuel. We must finish our preparations and then it will be time to meet the Chosen at the gate."
He turned and started to walk away. Samuel had idea what the Head Master was talking about, but he had no choice but to follow.
MALCOM
They turned slowly into the parking lot, and Malcom realized that he was holding his breath. Although there were spaces for hundreds of cars, there were only about twenty in the lot today. Malcom had heard that many years ago, the Residents of Malm would gather at the Office of Souls compound in hopes of being admitted into the garden for worship and prayers. To what purpose he had no idea. He wasn't even sure that was the truth. It was creepy being around all of the white-robed acolytes when they visited town for supplies. While today Malcom felt fortunate that they lived so close to the compound, he could see the appeal of living out in the perimeter towns. Out of sight, out of mind.
"It's kinda freaky, isn't it?" Eve said.
Malcom could hear the strain in her voice. Neither one of them had been to the compound since their own soul implantation days, when they were much too young to remember anything. It would have been easy to forget that the compound was even here, if it hadn’t been for all the mandates and rules that affected every aspect of their lives emanating from deep inside the walls.
"It's essentially just a really big ranch," Malcom said. He was determined to keep his cool today. Eve was the one prone to panic, and so one of them had to keep their wits about them, for Cameron's sake.
Malcom pulled up to a row that had several cars already lined up, and slid the car into a parking spot. He could see now that the majority of the cars in the lot had the Office of Souls logo on the side. There were just a few that looked like they belonged to Residents.
Malcom looked over at Eve. "Well, it's about time to go in. We don't want to be late."
He saw her nod, but she didn't move. Her chest was rising and falling faster than before, and she clutched the Official Handbook of Soul Implantation Procedure like it was going to jerk and try to get away from her.
"I'll get Cameron," he said.
Malcom got out and opened the back door. The baby seat faced the back of the car, and he could see immediately that she was fussing, albeit quietly. Her red-rimmed eyes caught his movement and her head swung towards him. She opened her mouth and a short caw came out.
"Is she hungry already?" he asked Eve.
"She's always hungry," Eve said sarcastically as she got out of the car.
Malcom had no idea what that meant. He wondered if they had time to give Cameron a bottle before the ceremony started. He had no desire to have an ornery baby on their hands during the most important hour of her life.
"Eve, did we bring a bottle?"
He slid Cameron out of her restraints and pulled her into his arms. That seemed to settle her a bit, but she was still opening and closing her mouth rather insistently.
Eve snorted and went around the back of the car. What the hell is the matter with her? He heard her digging into the diaper bag, and then she was by his side with a small bottle of wheat germ formula.
"Thanks," he said as he took the bottle and stuck the nipple into Cameron's mouth.
"There's two more for the ride home, just in case," Eve said as she pulled the bag from the back and turned toward the compound entrance. "Let's go."
Malcom knew there was something he was missing, but Eve didn't seem to be interested in enlightening him. He looked down at Cameron, who finally seemed content as she sucked hard on the bottle.
He took a few moments to study the compound up close as they approached the gate. Walls stretched on either side of the entrance as far as he could see. The histories said that the walls stretched all the way to the perimeter, just to make sure that Residents never accidentally stumbled into the garden. They were at least twenty feet tall and were a shining white even in the overcast afternoon. Malcom wondered who in their right mind would ever consider trying to breach them.
When they arrived at the gate, they found two other couples waiting off to the side. One of the women carried a baby that he easily could have mistaken for Cameron. He was surprised to see the other couple holding the hands of a small soulless toddler. The toddler's father immediately read Malcom's expression and his face hardened.
"No, they don’t get any cuter as they get older," the man said. His wife elbowed him in the ribs and took the toddler a few feet further away.
Malcom shivered as he looked into the toddler's vacant eyes. He had wondered what they would do if Cameron's name wasn't called until well after she had started to grow. He imagined it would be a nightmare. He looked at Eve and saw his thoughts reflected in her eyes as she watched the toddler as well.
"Hey, we're here," he said reassuringly. "It's almost over."
Eve didn't reply. Instead she opened the Official Handbook of Soul Implantation Procedure and turned away.
Malcom looked through the narrow opening of the gate. It looked to be made of cast iron, and the spikes at the top made it stand even taller than the walls. Malcom could see a courtyard on the other side and a long pathway that looked like it led to a large building in the distance. He couldn't see anything on either side. Just the courtyard, the path, and the building.
The other couples were keeping to themselves, and occasionally Malcom heard a low whisper pass between the adults, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. He looked down and realized that Cameron had finished her bottle and was starting at him intently. It unnerved him to see how adult she looked. It was as if she were looking at him under a microscope. The expression was akin to curiosity, but of course, soulless ones didn't have such an emotion. Eat, drink, defecate, sleep. That was all a soulless knew according to the handbook; nothing but the most basic human instincts.
Ten minutes passed and he shifted back and forth feeling anxious. He looked at his watch. The Office of Souls was getting a late start.
"Anytime now," he said. It was louder than he anticipated, and the others looked over at him. Eve, with her nose in her book, grimaced. But he thought he saw the shadows of a smile on one of the father’s faces. Residents were usually friendly and outgoing with everyone, and he thought it was only the strangeness of the situation that put everyone on guard.
&nbs
p; He walked over the couple with the other infant. "Hi, I'm Malcom. That's my wife, Eve, and this is Cameron. How are you folks today?"
He saw the couple exchange a look, but he felt some of the tension seep away.
"I'm Brian," the man finally said. He had the accent of someone who lived further toward the perimeter. "This is my wife, Emily, and our daughter, Cecile."
"Pleased to meet you, Brian. Where are you in from?" Malcom asked. He hoped that the generic questions would put the couple at ease.
"Jonestown," Brian said.
Malcom whistled. "You're a long way from home." Malcom and Eve had traveled three hours from West End, which was the closest town to the Office of Souls compound. Jonestown was three days out, halfway to the perimeter.
Brian shrugged. "Not a lot of choice in the matter."
"We're from Outer Bijou," said a voice behind them.
Malcom and Brian both turned and found the father of the toddler standing there. "I'm Mark. My wife is Tabby, and that's Joe." He kicked his thumb back towards his family. "He's our third."
Malcom whistled again. "Your third? In West End we get one shot at procreation, if at all."
"Things are a bit different in Outer Bijou." Mark sniffed. "The Office of Souls expects some of us to serve at the boundaries of Malm, and they are willing to bend the rules a bit."
Malcom blinked. He had never considered that. "What do you do, Mark? It must be pretty important if your work keeps you all the way out on the perimeter's edge."
"It's not important," Mark deflected. "It's just necessary."
Malcom wondered why the man wouldn’t answer the question. Every Resident's station and occupation was listed in the territory's census data, which was publicly displayed in every town hall. The Office of Souls not only monitored the population, but ensured that there was a body for every necessary job to keep the wheels of progress moving.
Malcom had grown up hoping that he would be assigned to be a doctor, but at his adult initiation announcement, he had drawn accountant. It wasn't glamorous, but it was a necessary function. He wondered if Mark had wanted to be something else too.
"I'm a farmer," Brian said. "Emily and I have a soybean farm just outside of Jonestown."
That made sense to Malcom. Between West End and the perimeter, there was a wide swath of farms and cattle ranches.
"We've just been called again in the procreation lottery as well. I'm glad Cecile is getting her soul today, because I think two at the same time would be a bit much for Emily to handle," Brian said as he put his arm around his wife.
"I didn't realize that the outer towns had lowered restrictions on procreation," Malcom said. Residents didn't talk about procreation much at all, and Malcom had a feeling that the Office of Souls liked it that way.
"It makes sense when you realize that amount of work that is being expected," Mark said. "You inner town folk don't realize what it's like to be so far away from the core of the territory."
Malcom was annoyed with the man's tone. It wasn't like he was an uneducated shmoe. "Eve and I feel fortunate to have Cameron, but honestly I don't think that we would ever want more children in any case."
He watched the other men closely. There was definitely discomfort there, and once again Malcom felt like he was missing something.
"So you've done this before," Brian asked Mark.
"A-yup," Mark said. "It'll be like slipping on an old hat, won't it, Tabby?"
"A-yup," was the quiet reply.
Malcom noticed the woman didn't move closer, though. The toddler was staring at him from behind her skirts. And he was opening and closing his mouth in the same way that Cameron did when she was hungry. Were these soulless always hungry?
He turned and saw that Eve had moved further away from them and was staring up at the tall walls. He wondered what she was thinking. Ever since Cameron had been born, he had felt a distance growing between them. Sometimes he felt like he was married to a stranger, a pale wisp of the woman that he had fallen in love with.
"Eve," he said to get her attention. He hoped that her strangeness was not as apparent to the other parents as it was to him. "Can you take this bottle and put it away?"
He thought for a moment that she hadn't heard him, that she was communing with some other entity he couldn't see. Just as he was getting ready to say her name again, her head swung towards him and he saw her eyes focus on him. She slowly walked over and took the bottle from his outstretched hand, capped it with a top that she pulled from the diaper bag, and stowed it back inside.
"How old's your little one?" Emily asked her.
Eve cleared her throat. "Cameron is six months old."
"Cessy just turned seven months today," Emily said. She smiled fondly down at the infant in her arms. "We are hoping that at her adult initiation she'll draw a dancer. I was a dancer before I married Brian."
Eve looked bored and Malcom was embarrassed. He wondered if being sequestered with Cameron for the last six months had robbed her of her social skills. He realized with a start that he couldn't remember the last time he had seen Eve interact with anyone aside from him since right after Cameron was born.
"What did you do before you were married?" Emily persisted.
It was common practice that women gave up their occupation as soon as they submitted their name for marriage approval. It made things easier for everyone if the couple was chosen to procreate. Children were cherished in the territory, and it was the parents’ duty to ensure that they became well-adjusted and active residents. That was no small task.
Life in Malm had many rules and customs that dated back to just after the collapse of Before. Residents were very proud of the world that they had built since then. It was what made them special, especially when compared to what they heard about other territories beyond the perimeter. Residents were not permitted to travel beyond the perimeter into the other territories without permission from the Office of Souls, but no one who Malcom knew had ever even wanted to. They were lawless, wild lands out there, no place for the civilized.
The Office of Souls protected them from those places and bore that burden so the Residents were safe. So it seemed a small ask that the Residents obey the commands and orders of the Head Master. He had never let them down. Even thinking that thought made Malcom feel like a sheep. That blind acceptance was something he had always struggled with.
"I was a chemist," Eve finally replied after what seemed like an uncomfortably long silence.
"A chemist? That sounds awfully important," Emily said with wide eyes.
Malcom wondered how the pairing of a farmer and a dancer ever came about, but it wasn't his place to question. Emily must originally have been from West End or one of the other inner ring towns. The mid-outer ring towns had little use for entertainment like the ballet. The people there worked the land hard and went to bed early.
Eve shrugged. "It was something I was good at. I even worked for Mabel Coffey for a while."
Malcom knew that chafed Eve most of all. Mabel Coffey produced all of the finer fragrances, colognes, and higher-end cosmetics in the territory, and given their reputation they were highly selective of the staff. Eve's appointment had been surprising, given how close she had been at the time to being eligible for marriage. Eve had asked to stay on after she and Malcom got engaged, but Mabel Coffey was a very traditional institution and well-connected to the Office of Souls. It wasn't unheard of for allowances to be made in other organizations, but it wasn't encouraged.
"We don't have need for fancy things in Outer Bijou," Mark said.
Malcom had almost forgotten that the perimeter couple was there.
"Tabby was a nurse assistant before we married. Now that's a skill she can use with our children. The Office of Souls would do better to funnel women into occupations that have social benefit to their families once they enter their marriage years."
Malcom felt Eve stiffen beside him, and he could hardly blame her. This strange man was getting more
offensive by the moment. He spoke with the fervor of a Traditionalist, and Malcom had little patience for Traditionalist ideals. While he felt many of the territory's rules made sense, there were more than a few that felt antiquated to him.
He was just starting to say something to that effect when he felt Eve tug on his arm.
"Look," she said, nodding at the gate.
Two men stood on the other side. The younger one wore the white robes of an acolyte, but the older man with gleaming white hair on his head and on his face was wearing a majestic shade of purple. Malcom knew that he was standing in the presence of the Office of Souls’ Head Master, Supreme Ruler and Chief Justice of the territory of Malm. The appointed hour had arrived.
BISHOP
Bishop knew something was wrong as soon as he stepped outside the garden. He had been around long enough that he could sense such things. He had the nose for it. Bishop could smell a shrub that needed to be pruned from the moment a leaf started to die. It didn't matter if it was halfway up the outer boundary on the far side of the garden. Once he knew it was there, it was just a matter of hunting the offending rot down.
He liked to think of himself as a topiary detective rather than a mere gardener. No one else could do what he did. Sometimes late at night when he couldn't sleep, he'd wonder if he had really ever had parents, or if the Office of Souls had grown him special just to tend their garden. The thought reminded him how much he didn’t know or understand about his employer, and that made him queasy.
He wasn’t the only oddity who lived on the compound grounds. Bishop took great care to stay clear of the creaky building on the far edge of the barracks. The Soulless Asylum wasn’t anywhere he had any desire to spend his time.
It was because of them that Bishop was uneasy today. He had been standing at the garden entrance less than five minutes when he saw movement at the edge of his vision. He was already nervous because he knew that the Chosen were about to be admitted inside the gates. He could almost feel the presence of the Head Master looming from the administration building.
So when he swung his head around and saw the two soulless approaching him he was surprised because they generally weren't allowed outside of the Asylum. He had seen the one a few times before, the one the acolytes called Marius. He'd heard the stories that this one was unusual, and had tested the boundaries of his captivity more than once. The other one, short and mottled with huge dark patches of skin that were unsightly even for a soulless, he didn't recognize. He recognized those patches for what they were: rotten, decaying skin. His fingers twitched around the pruning shears. It was instinct for him to want to cut that kind of thing away.
He thought that they would continue on to the path that led down to the barracks and eventually to the asylum, but they surprised him again by walking right up and standing in front of him.
"Hello, Bishop," the short one said.
Bishop blinked. How does he know my name?
"Is there something I can do for you fellas?" Bishop tried to maintain his composure. For once, he didn't want to be anywhere near the garden or the ceremony. He wanted to be back in the barracks under his bed.
The short one laughed a deep belly laugh and then doubled over in a fit of giggles. Marius looked bored, but that was a regular expression for a soulless.
"We'd like to walk the garden, Bishop," the short one finally said once he had gotten his laughter under control. "Seems like a beautiful day for a walk."
"No one's allowed in the garden today. It's a Soul Distribution Day," Bishop said formally. He was trying to make his voice imposing like the Head Master's. "Even if it wasn't, the soulless aren't allowed to roam around the compound unattended."
"“Unattended,”" the short one chortled again. "We aren't unattended, are we, Marius?"
Marius stared at Bishop. Bishop was trying to resist the urge to squirm.
"The Head Master is getting ready to let the Chosen in through the front gate. I heard their cars coming down the road. Y'all better git before he gets here, otherwise he's going to be mighty upset to find you here. Everyone else's been told to go to their quarters. You two better hop to it.”
Bishop couldn't believe he was trying to order around two soulless. Although Bishop's experience was limited, he knew that adult soulless usually did exactly what they were told. But neither one of these two made any movement towards leaving. Bishop knew that the Head Master would be there in just a few moments. He looked back towards the administrative building, but didn't see anyone outside.
"Go on, git!" he said louder as he gestured towards the barracks. For good measure he raised up the pruning shears to eye level and waved them around in what he hoped was a menacing gesture.
"Oh, Bishop. Good and faithful Bishop. So naïve," the short one shook his head condescendingly. "But don't worry. I can see your potential even if the Head Master doesn't. We may have use for you later."
Bishop started to respond when he felt a blinding bolt of pain bloom from the back of his head. He let out a short, pained cry and swung around. A young acolyte stood behind him with a shovel in his hands and a smirk on his face. He watched the shovel come down again as if in slow motion, and then felt another rough blow on the top of his skull that reverberated all the way down his spine.
His world went black.
MARIUS
Marius looked down at the gardener's prone body lying at his feet. "Was that necessary?" he said.
Chim sighed. "You said you wanted a soul. I'm getting you one."
Marius looked at the acolyte who had delivered the violent whacks to the old gardener's head. The boy glowered at them.
"Who's he?" Marius asked.
Chim started to respond when the acolyte cut him off. "You are looking at the future Head Master, you insolent soulless."
"We don't have time for your posturing, James," Chim said. "Quickly now. The old fool was right that the Head Master is going to be walking out those doors in less than five minutes. We need to be in position."
Marius and Chim followed as James dragged Bishop's body around the corner and into the garden.
"Over here," the acolyte pointed. "I used that spell just like you said and unbound the safety net from this path."
Marius looked closer and saw that there was a small break in the shrubs that led to another path. But the way the shrubs had been grown together, you wouldn't know it was there unless you were looking for it.
As soon as the gardener's body was out of sight from anyone coming through the entrance, Chim and the acolyte pulled off his clothes. The acolyte disrobed and quickly dressed in the gardener's outfit.
"You sure this is going to work?" Marius said. "He doesn't look like that man."
"Au contraire," Chim said. He murmured a few words under his breath.
Marius blinked. The gardener now stood where the acolyte had seconds before. He looked down at the gardener's body and back at the man standing before them. Then the man smirked. He had not known James long, but that smirk was familiar.
"Now get back out there and don't forget your prop," Chim said. "Remember, all's you have to do is make sure that once they go in, nobody but us gets out."
"And once I know the Head Master is dead, I can declare myself Head Master in his place and the other acolytes will bow to me?" the acolyte asked.
Chim nodded. "Once the Head Master is dead, you, James, will be Head Master of all."
"You swear?" James said with narrowed eyes.
"I swear," Chim said solemnly.
The acolyte hurried around the corner and out of the garden.
Marius turned to Chim. "The more people who know what we are doing, the more dangerous this becomes. What are you planning to do to the Head Master?"
"You worry about getting your soul, Marius. You leave the rest to me," Chim said as he started down the path.
Marius thought he heard the booming voice of the Head Master giving the opening remarks. They had definitely cut it close. But Chim was right; h
e was there for one thing. The only thing he needed to do was focus on getting his soul.
SAMUEL
As the Head Master started his introductory statement to the assembled Chosen's parents, Samuel did a quick head count and frowned. He consulted his journal and saw that, indeed, his observation was correct. They were missing one family, an unprecedented event. This was yet another odd occurrence on this odd day. Parents usually couldn't wait for their infants to get a soul. The Office of Souls receptionist fielded at least a few calls every day from anxious parents on the waiting list who wanted to know when their child's name would be Called.
At any given time, there were thirty to forty names on the waiting list. The Head Master said that they could never safely implant more than five souls at a time, and sometimes when the souls were Called for distribution, not enough would come. Since they had to make sure there were enough souls in the fountain before they could schedule a Soul Distribution Day, in those instances they had to hold multiple Calling rituals. This meant that they were always behind, and sometimes a couple had to wait longer than usual for their child to be Chosen.
Samuel knew that was the case with the outer perimeter couple that was in attendance today, the McMurrays. Their toddler was well above the standard implantation age, but Mark McMurray had assured them when the baby was born that given their experience with soulless infants and their gratitude to have been given three children, they would be willing to wait if necessary. The Head Master took that as permission to do exactly that, especially as the McMurrays had already submitted a request for a fourth child. The Head Master was always more lenient with Residents who reaffirmed their loyalty to the Light.
There was nothing to do now other than wait for the Head Master to finish his remarks and see if the other couple arrived before Samuel opened the gate. The gate was unlocked only long enough to allow the Chosen and their parents' entrance, and then it was immediately locked again. If the missing family didn't show up before then, Samuel assumed that they would go back onto the waiting list, but maybe not. The Head Master was not one to forget such a slight.
Samuel tuned back into the Head Master's commentary. He had heard it so many times before that he could repeat it at rote if he wanted too (which he didn't). He had been warned very early in his acolyte career that the Head Master chose his ceremonial words with great care, and repeating them in a different situation or context could bring about disastrous results.
"...the responsibility of taking care of a souled resident of the territory of Malm is not one to be embarked upon lightly. In a mere few hours, you will be returning to your homes and regular lives, but those lives are going to be changed forever. The Office of Souls takes great care to ensure that souls are implanted properly. It is a delicate process that puts both your infants and your own souls at great peril if the ceremony is not performed exactly to the letter as described in the Official Handbook of Soul Implantation Procedure I cannot stress this enough. If you have questions or concerns, you will have a few moments with Lead Acolyte Samuel to address them prior to entering the garden. Once in the garden you will not make any sound or speak to each other or Samuel. You will say out loud only those incantations that have been assigned to you. If you do not abide by these rules, you and your child will be removed from the ceremony and expelled from the garden. Do you understand?"
Samuel watched as the color drained
