A Soul to Settle (Twisted Souls #4): Twisted Souls, #4

SAMUEL

There were too many questions and not enough answers. Samuel wondered if he was trapped inside some kind of psychotic dream. His trip back to Before with his brother shook him to his core. If even a tenth of what he had seen was true, then everything he had pledged his life to was a lie.

The organization he now led was nothing but a shiny veneer covering one man’s thirst for power and absolute control over the people of the Territory of Malm. How he had not seen through to the former Head Master’s true nature deeply shamed him. He had followed the man blindly. His only consolation was that he was not the only one.

During the time of Before, Lairus led a branch of government called the Operational Security and Alliances group, which kept the previous territories safe from not only each other but also external forces that were not of this world. Lairus made a deal with one of the mysterious entities he came into contact with, and the result was the almost total annihilation of the human race.

Ever the opportunist, Lairus turned the destruction to his favor by gaining the trust of the people through a deceptive ploy that gave him the credibility to rebuild the world to his liking. Thus, he established the Office of Souls and took control of the newly created Territory of Malm.

Samuel still wasn’t sure how to assimilate this information to determine if it had any relevance to the events that happened in the Soul Garden nine months ago. He thought it had to considering it was what his brother showed to him. Lairus’s untimely death meant that Samuel couldn’t confront his mentor and demand an explanation. There was a niggling thought in the back of his mind that he was missing something important about that day.

As First Acolyte, Samuel assumed control of the scattered remnants of the Office of Souls administration after Lairus’s death. So far his tenure had been marked by nothing but death and destruction, the likes of which had not been seen since the end of Before. It was a legacy that he hoped to change, assuming he was able to defeat his foes. But in order to do, he needed the woman, Cameron Lowden, who had gone missing. Cameron’s soul was the key to their victory; he was sure of it.

Samuel had no idea what happened next if he and Cameron were successful in their quest. He couldn’t go back to the way things had been done before because it was all built on a foundation of lies. He wasn’t sure that he was the right one to lead. He had been raised inside the walls of the Office of Souls. He didn’t know any other way to live.

Until a few hours ago, Samuel had no idea that his territory was not the only one that survived the destruction of Before. He had thought they were alone in their plight, but upon escaping from the Lowden apartment, he was taken against his will by the man who now sat beside him in the back of the battered truck.

May I ask a question, Thomas?

A gun rested in the man’s lap, which was one reason that Samuel was careful to keep his tone in check. Gun ownership by residents was prohibited in the Territory of Malm. Even within the administration, guns were usually only found in the outposts around the perimeter of the territory. Samuel always wondered what those outposts were protecting them from, and now he understood. Lairus was protecting his turf.

You can ask, but I’m not promising an answer, Thomas replied. He looked impatient, and his eyes constantly roamed the area outside the windows.

Samuel had no doubt what he was watching for. Soulless ones ruled the Territory of Malm now. Any Resident still living was lucky, or unlucky depending on your viewpoint. The soulless ones preferred meal of choice was the flesh of the living. They relished it, and in some strange twist of evolution, had recently become sentient and aggressive. It was an unwelcome complication in an already desperate situation.

Where are you taking me?

Samuel had somewhere to be. He and the survivors of that fateful day in the Soul Garden, Bishop, Malcolm Lowden, and Malcolm’s daughter Cameron left their underground hideaway and had been on their way to Outpost Alanstown. There, they planned to confront the two men who almost singlehandedly brought destruction down on the territory. But fate was cruel, and Bishop didn’t survive the day once they left the bunker. Malcolm fell victim to the soulless ones before they reached the capital city of West End. And while Samuel was recovering from exhaustion that resulted from an overuse of magic, Cameron disappeared. He couldn’t entertain the idea that she was dead. Until he found her, the fate of the territory rested on his shoulders.

I told you. Master Nelson has requested an audience, Thomas replied, finally answering his question.

How did you even find me?

Thomas looked pointedly at the mark on Samuel’s wrist. It wasn’t too difficult, once the signal reappeared a few days ago. We assumed Lairus’s replacement was dead. We assumed you were all dead. Needless to say, the fact that you are not required a new protocol. You appear to have a problem here. Our convoy lost over a dozen men to the creatures after it crossed the territory’s perimeter.

There were several startling pieces of information in Thomas’s brief reply. Samuel’s fingertips brushed the mark. It was the mark of the Head Master of the Office of Souls and had appeared on his wrist shortly after Lairus’s death in the Soul Garden. It provided undeniable proof that he was Lairus’s heir apparent. He didn’t know that it acted as a tracking beacon.

This is the Territory of Malm, he said slowly.

Otherwise known as Territory One, Thomas said with a sneer. Lairus always had a bit of flair for the dramatic.

His brother told him that three territories still existed, which meant that there was potentially one other Master out there aside from Master Crane Nelson. Samuel knew that he had to keep his mind sharp. He was dealing with men who survived from Before, like Lairus, and who likely had equally treacherous goals. They traded the souls of the human race for power and control. The knowledge still made him ill.

So I assume that this audience is taking place close by?

Master Nelson has set up base camp in Franberg, Thomas said. Although I’m not sure how long we’ll be able to hold it. The number of creatures appearing in the city is increasing dramatically.

They’re drawn by the smell of fresh meat, Samuel said grimly.

Luckily a bullet through the head still does the trick, Thomas replied.

Samuel knew other ways, but he wasn’t ready to volunteer them yet. He didn’t trust Thomas or the mysterious Master Nelson. He had his own questions.

Tell me more about yourself, Thomas, Samuel said. We have a few hours before we reach Franberg. We might as well get to know each other. He wanted to get the man talking. If he would hazard a guess, he’d say that the man was fifty or so years old. But given that he also maintained a face much younger than his years, he knew that Thomas could be many years older than him.

Samuel also had another reason for asking the question. He hadn’t failed to note that while the leaders of the other territories were called Masters, his own title was Head Master. Lairus had been the head of the Operational Security and Alliances organization. Samuel thought that it was possible that he now held a critical position whether he understood it or not. If that was the case, he had a role to play. He wasn’t about to appear mild or weak.

He sensed the other man’s hesitation.

I’m the Staff Officer for Master Nelson and have held that position for twenty years. I’m career military and at the end of the first generation, I dedicated my life to the service of Territory Five. I’ll be honest, though. In my entire life, I haven’t seen anything like what’s happening here in your territory.

It seemed inevitable that the conversation circled back to the soulless ones. Samuel picked up on the difference in nomenclature around the events of the past as well as the levels of service within Master Nelson’s administration. It made sense. At the end of Before, Lairus offered each of the men involved their own territory to run as they saw fit. The thing that Samuel didn’t know was how well-versed Lairus was about what was happening in the other territories. But if he knew Lairus at all, he could assume his old mentor had known a lot.

I intend to address the issue as soon as I find my traveling companion, Samuel said. You said that the signal reappeared a few days ago?

Thomas nodded. We lost all communications with the Head Master nine months ago.

Why didn’t you come to our assistance before now? If Territory Five had a trained military force, Samuel thought they might stand a chance. He, Cameron, and the remaining survivors of the Territory of Malm at Outpost Alanstown wouldn’t be outnumbered anymore. He just needed to determine if Master Nelson’s entrance into the territory was to help them or to attempt a coup.

It hasn’t been uncommon over the years for communications between the Masters to go dark for a period of time. When the signal reappeared, and it was clear that a new Head Master had been chosen, we knew that something had to have happened.

Samuel sensed that Thomas wasn’t telling the whole truth, not that he expected him would. Nine months ago, Samuel would have been much less skeptical, but after everything he had seen, he knew that he couldn’t take anything at face value. His life might depend on it.

Lairus’s untimely departure was a sad day for all of us, Samuel said. He knew that Thomas was fishing for information, and he wasn’t going to give it to him. He hadn’t told the story of what happened in the Soul Garden to anyone yet for one very good reason.

Cameron.

Before he died, Lairus called to the Light to send a special soul to the Fountain. That soul was ensouled within Cameron Lowden. He had only to point to her accelerated growth as a sign of her uniqueness. She grew from an infant of six months to an eighteen-year-old woman during their interim in the underground bunker.  She had abilities that went beyond anything Samuel had seen before. Those abilities somehow connected her to the soulless ones. If there were a way to turn the monsters back into the humans they had once been, it would be by Cameron’s hand. Samuel was sure of it.

Two creatures stood in the way of that. How the two soulless ones living inside the Soulless Asylum managed to escape Lairus’s watchful eye was beyond Samuel, but they had. The imp, Chim, called forth a spell that turned his companion Marius into a soul vessel and then they began a rampage through the territory ripping souls from the residents and turning them into aggressive, flesh-eating soulless ones. In order to make things right, Samuel and Cameron would have to deal with Chim and Marius.

Chim and Marius had last been seen at Outpost Alanstown. Samuel felt the familiar clench of his stomach muscles as he thought about the fact that he was going to be delayed yet again in his journey.

Something wrong, Head Master? Thomas asked.

Did you see anyone else around the building where you found me? Samuel loathed calling attention to Cameron at all, but he had to find out where she had gone. I think my traveling companion may have been out looking for supplies. She’s going to be worried about me.

Samuel and Cameron’s relationship was complicated. Although it had started out as teacher and student, recently feelings had emerged that made him believe that they may be something