Special Chapter: Sami’s Assassination Mission

“Fuck me,” Sami said under her breath. Between the village and the prefect’s plantation, she must’ve uttered at least twenty fuck mes.

Her mission was simple, make a few kids flinch, drag the special ones to the institution. Move on. She’d done a lot of simple missions in her life, and this was just about the easiest mission she’d ever have to do, and yet, she’d allowed the one thing she shouldn’t allow to get in her way: sentimentality. You do the job to the letter, you follow the rules, you get paid. It’s a very straightforward life, but it’s better than the helpless monotony of a village miner. Somehow, she’d let herself be convinced to do the right thing, and who could say if this was really the right thing. What if that little girl turned into a monster; she wouldn’t be the first one to come out of the institution like that. In fact, Sami’s ability to compartmentalize the horrors of animist’s life was about as good as you could expect, so what were the odds Bite-Sized would lead any better a life than she did?

“We’re here,” the villager said.

She nodded solemnly and entered through the held-open door.

“Animist! Aren’t you in a rush?” the prefect said.

The prefect’s eyes were wide, round, yellow, and overwhelming. Instead of finding Sami’s, they found Nip’s eyes. They stared at each other for too long, with sparingly used blinks. Sami quickly understood that he must have merged with some sort of owl subspecies from one of the inner worlds. All her training at the institution, and still she stood little chance against these prefects.

“Don’t be nervous! Have a seat, have a seat. Does your friend care for a snack?”

“I’m sure she’d appreciate it,” Sami said.

The prefect nodded to a servant who promptly left.

“I know you’ve got greater worries at the moment, but I have a proposition that will be mutually beneficial.” The servant returned with a piece of dried meat and placed it on the ground next to Nip. She tossed the other one the prefect’s way and he caught it in the air mouth-first. He took his time chewing through it and happily sighed once he finished. “Let me cut to the chase, I can see your impatient. You understand you’re not supposed to be here. My responsibility is to punish you. Yes,” he said in mock horror, “I’m supposed to punish you for having a heart. Absurd. But that’s the state of our world.”

“A sad state.”

“Indeed. Indeed. To be quite frank with you, animist. Most of us prefects have no interest in being so far from home, but here we are. I, myself, still have children, grandchildren even, back home. It’s my responsibility to ensure they are taken care of as the head of my family. From time to time, I like to take a share of the profits I work tireless to earn for my country, and send it to mine own. Alas, I do it without alerting my superiors, and that can carry with it very, very dangerous consequences.”

“Where do I fit in to all of this prefect?” she asked quite carefully. She already felt the vise around her feet. He’d told her a secret that made him vulnerable. He had no intention of letting her live.

“Perfect question. They have sent an inspector to ensure that everything is above board. I want him dead.”

“You know very well I will be executed for killing a Buffoneese,” she said carefully.

“I have no intention of telling.”

“Would you trust you, in my position?”

He sighed. “Would you like me to convince you?”

“What’s the point? You’ll kill me if I refuse, won’t you?”

The prefect smiled.

“I have only one question: what makes you think I can kill him.”

“Oh, don’t you worry. This inspector isn’t anyone special. You see, my superiors have greater concerns than this. Sending an inspector, it’s a warning. But if that inspector finds evidence, well that could be dangerous. I could kill him, but then they’d know, and the punishments would be worse. Look, trust me, I wouldn’t send you to kill someone you couldn’t kill. You’d just give me up.”

She cast a measured glance. “Alright. I’ll do it for a price.”

“A price? I hadn’t realized we were negotiating.”

She ignored him. “A caravan. A horse. I want it prepared and left at the plantation exit. I don’t intend on returning here after I finish the kill. You’ll know when it’s done. That’s the only way I get those kids to the institution on time. Otherwise, it’s all pointless.”

If Sami was being honest with herself, she doubted she was getting out of this alive. She was trapped, and she could feel the four walls closing. He would attempt to kill her; he wouldn’t leave a loose end. She wasn’t sure if he’d stop there. Perhaps she’d resigned Bite-Sized, Cautious, Magic Boy, and Silent to a similar fate now that they were involved with her. The smart thing would’ve been to take the mission, and not ask a question. The less you know, the safer you are. No, the truly smart thing would have been to high tail it to the institution, damned whoever isn’t strong enough to survive. They were long past smart decisions. There wasn’t any sense in regretting it now.

He grinned. “Fine. Do not disappoint me, animist. I’m sure you’re well aware that there are fates worse than death.”

She nodded, and left the house.

“That is where the inspector is staying," the village who had brought her here said. "There is a couple that live there, with three children. The prefect will not be bothered with any casualties so long as the inspector dies.” He looked away, and in a near whisper added, “They’re foreigners, animist. Do not feel any qualms about killing innocents, you won’t be doing so tonight.”

“Associating yourself with prefects is a dangerous game.”

“I didn’t have a choice, just like you do not. Though, it appears to me that you have greater control over your destiny than I do over mine.”

“If you’re smart, you will disappear one night, and no one in this village will ever see or hear from you ever again.”

“And do what? Become a bandit? Mine for a different prefect? Sure, he could kill me on a whim, and no one would do a thing about it; but at least I’ll have tried to do something of myself. I’m not going to wait for a savior, animist, none is coming. I will save myself, and I will not regret it if I die in the process.”

She groaned. “Return where you found me, and bring the children to the caravan. This will not be long.”

He nodded and left. She started for the house, pulling out a scarf from her backpack to hide her face.

There were plenty of ways to kill a man. Given time, it would be a simple matter of hiding out until the inspector was isolated. A more merciless animist would burn the house down and be done with it. Alternatively, smoke to get them out of the building and throwing knives for every head that emerges from it.

“What are you doing here?”

She whipped around, short knife in hand, before realizing that she wasn’t the one being talked to.

“Wait!” the voice yelled.

It came from the plantation’s stable. She did not need the entire plantation on alert. She started towards it, and saw Silent sprinting out of it, a stablehand after her.

“Nip.”

The owl flew off of Sami’s shoulders and charged straight for the stablehand’s torch bearing hand. The torch fell to the ground before the stablehand could get a good at either Silent or the owl. Fearing fire in the plantation, the stablehand quickly put it out. Sami grabbed silent, hand over mouth. The moment the light disappeared, she too disappeared.

“What the-” The stablehand looked around. “Where’d you go little one?”

“What the hell is going on?” someone asked from the inspector’s temporary abode. She had to imagine that was the inspector's host. One of the foreigners, but he dressed like he was used to the climate.

“A girl was trying to steal a horse, sir. I’m so sorry to disturb you.”

“A child?”

“I don’t know sir. That’s what I saw. Must have been from one of the villages. I didn’t recognize her.”

“And where’d she go now.”

“I reckon she’s running further away with every word we exchange.”

“You got a smart mouth on you.”

“No, sir.”

“I’ve got a guest over at my house, and I’d quite like it if he had a good time here, you understand. Screaming about little kids and missing horses in the middle of the damn night, isn’t conducive to a good time.”

“I understand, sir. Won’t happen again.”

“It better not. And I better not hear that we are in fact missing a horse tomorrow morning.”

“I just counted them sir. All accounted for.”

“Good. Good.”

He shook his head and began making his way back to the house.

“Are you alone?” Sami whispered to Silent. She felt her nod. “Trying to make it to the institution on your own? They wouldn’t accept you without an animist, you know?” She didn’t react. “I’m going to need you to live up to the name Magic Boy gave you. Stay quiet. Don’t get seen. I’ve got a job to do, and then we’ll head off to the institution.”

She did not wait to see if she’d listen. Sami let go of Silent, and in a burst of speed, crossed the distance to the inspector's host. The host reached for his neck, blood seeping through, and fell over. The last sight he saw wasn’t of Sami, but of himself, not looking remotely worse for wear, and throat entirely intact. In his last breaths, he was terribly confused, as dying people often are.

Sami wiped her knife on his shirt and made her way to his house.

The house was mostly dark but for a lamp sitting on a table. A board game sat on it. The inspector sat on one side of the table and had settled on a book while waiting for his opponent to return. Everyone else must have already gone to sleep, and in their great fortune, avoided being bothered by the sound outside.

“What was it?” the inspector asked.

“A little girl trying to steal a horse,” Sami replied in the voice of the inspector's host.

He did not look up. “One of ours?”

“No.”

He shook his head. “Was she punished?”

“The stablehand lost track of her when I came out.”

“Should cut his hands off as punishment.”

“Wouldn’t be much of a stablehand without them.”

“Wasnt much of one to begin with.” He chuckled to himself. “Come on, sit down, let’s cont-” The moment he raised his head from the book to look at her, Sami slit his throat in the same manner she had done the man whose identity she stole.

He fell over holding his neck, crawled for a second, then died. She bent over to make sure he was indeed dead.

“Honey, what’s going on-” The host’s wife screamed her throat hoarse when she saw her husband covered in blood, and the inspector dead on the ground.

Sami left the house just as the kids left their room to discover the same horrors their mother did. She undid the transformation and disappeared into the darkness. When the mother stepped outside and looked around, eyes puffy with tears, she saw a body sprawled on the ground not far away. It was her husband’s body. Somehow, she managed to scream even louder that time.

“Stay quiet,” Sami whispered as she grabbed Silent from where she’d left her. The girl hadn’t moved an inch from the spot.

She made for the road leading towards the village she came from and found a caravan and a horse waiting there. The villager who'd brought her to the prefect was there.

“You didn’t get those from the stable?” she asked.

“No, this is the prefect’s own.”

She looked inside the caravan and found all three kids there. Cautious glared, Bite-Sized could barely open her eyes, and Eil grinned faintly. She rolled her eyes and stepped out of the caravan and began feeling it around. She ignored the villager’s confusion. “Shit.” She walked over to the horses, and did much the same, her hand drifting across the horse’s belly. “Gods fucking damn it.”

“What’s the issue?”

“The issue is you’re dead.”

“What?”

“And, unless I figure out a way out of this, I’m dead, and so are all four of those kids.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Shut up. Just shut the fuck up. I need to think.” She paced only momentarily, in truth, she did not have much time to think. “All three of you out.”

“Out?” Cautious asked.

“No questions. Nip, transform.”

The owl grotesquely morphed into something that resembled more tiger than owl but retained both wings and head.

“Get on it,” she demanded. “You too, Silent.”

They must have finally understood the gravity of the situation because they did not question it. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a thick envelope that she handed over to Silent.

She brought her forehead to Nip’s own. “Do not stop until you reach the institution.” She turned towards the kids. “They will allow you in once you present this. Good luck.”

Any questions they might have had would not be answered by her. She smacked Nip from behind and the owl-tiger began sprinting into the far distance.

“What about us?” the villager asked.

“You said you wouldn’t regret dying if you’d made an effort to be more.” She hopped on the carriage and ignored his dismay. “Let’s go, now." He made to talk, but the look in her eyes shut him up.

The carriage pulled away from the village, though not nearly as fast as Nip was going.

“Please tell me what’s going on.”

“Never trust a prefect. Never trust a Buffoneese. To make a deal with them is to sign your own death warrant.”

“You’re saying the prefect’s going to kill us?” he asked, horror rising in his voice.

“He will not leave loose ends.”

“Gods. He chose me, I couldn’t say no.”

“No, you couldn’t. You should’ve disappeared, just like I told you.”

“Is it that hopeless? Can’t you fight back?”

“The prefects are dangerous, insane people. They weren’t shipped here because they’re good at their job, they were shipped here because the Kingdom of Buffon could not keep control of them. As much as the institution has taught me, the prefects are a league of their own.”

She felt the overwhelming energy bursting towards them minutes after they’d pulled away. The energy only grew stronger with every passing second.

“He’s here.”

“There isn’t a horse that fast in the plantation.”

She chuckled. “He’s not using a horse.”

The prefect’s eyes were the first thing she saw. The sun’s rise was a blessing. Sami had a feeling the darkness would not have inhibited the prefect at all.

“Animist, I must credit you on a splendid job.”

“The carriage was enough,” she yelled back. In a lower voice, “When I give you the word, jump onto the horse.” The villager nodded. “What do you want prefect?”

He laughed. “To kill you, of course. You know what the institution has taught you, no loose ends.”

“Typically, that does not include the client.”

“You’re right. And quite frankly, I do trust you, but those kids, you know. There’s only so many exceptions I can make.”

The prefect brought his hands together in a unique gesture. “Now!” Sami and the villager jumped off the carriage.

Sami landed easily on the horse, simultaneously cutting through the ropes that tied the horses to the caravan. The villager did not have similar fortune. He slid off the horse without ever catching his balance and was trampled at once by the horse and the caravan exploding in a burning shower of debris. She heard him scream and roll around, but he stopped moving and stopped screaming before the fire was ever subdued. The prefect frowned but did not spare another look for the flaming corpse he ran past.

“Where are the kids, animist?”

“I sent them ahead to the institution. I did not trust you.”

“You’re hurting my feelings.”

“Fuck off.”

“You first,” he said.

He brought his hands together in the very same gesture. Sami jumped off the horse with such power that the horse’s legs folded onto themselves and nearly collapsed it. The horse exploded in a shower of gore before it could entirely lose its balance. Sami pirouetted in the air and landed effortlessly on both feet. She had two daggers in hand the moment she hit the ground. Before she could use either one, she was kicked viciously in the stomach and rolled away a distance. She lay flat on her back.

The prefect’s thunderous run came to an end and he stopped on top of Sami. He frowned; they weren’t far off from the institution which meant the children had made it.

“Good job. You know, it won’t be too hard for me to get them in there. You know how the institution is. People die all the time.” He placed a clawed foot on her neck. “I can’t help it but this very perverse part of me wishes you’d be there to see them die.”

“I hope your people catch you and lynch you, prefect.”

“Here’s why you never stood a chance animist. You never stopped being afraid. That’s the problem with all of you Leonisians. You grew content. Look at what we do to you people.” He laughed heartily. “And you never resist. You never get angry enough. That’s why you’re all destined to suffer under people like me forever. Good bye, animist.” He raised his feet and made to put it down on her neck but he stumbled to the side instead. “Huh,” he said. He reached out to his head and found that there was a long stick coming out of one end. Blood dripped down both sides of his head. “Huh?” He turned around and saw Nip, and the four children standing.

“Why isn’t he dead?” Cautious asked. “You should’ve aimed for his heart.”

Eil shrugged. He pulled out another spear from the ground, balanced it, and launched it at the prefect’s heart. The prefect caught it, laughing with blood flying from his mouth.

The kid’s mouth hung open, his confidence shattered at the sight.

“I’ll tell you all something. When I woke up yesterday morning, this was not at all how I expected my day to go.”

Eil pulled out another spear. He launched it towards the prefect’s heart a second time. Once more, spear lodged in his head be damned, the prefect caught it.

“Similarly, I can’t imagine any of you ever believed you’d be trying to kill a prefect one day.”

“Actually, it’s something I’ve dreamt about from the very first time I saw one of you monsters. I thought to myself: how would your head look on my wall? Technically, my uncle’s wall. I asked myself this after I saw our prefect cut a man’s head off, nail it directly onto a plank, and hook it right onto his own wall for my whole village to watch,” Magic Boy barked.

The prefect yawned. “Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?” He dropped both spears, and then reached for his head, and easily pulled that spear out too. Blood, gore, and brain matter remained on it.

Sami did not care for the children’s reactions, a mix of horror and the most genuine fear they’d ever felt. Doing her best not to make a sound, she walked right behind the prefect, knife in hand. The prefect, for all his bravado, wasn’t immortal, but maybe he’d convinced himself he was. If the prefect had any sense left, she’d already be dead. It turned out the prefect had enough sense to turn around, but he changed his mind when Nip began barreling forward. She took her chance, grabbed her knife and hacked at his neck. She hacked at it until it began giving way. He did not react after the first hack but she continued until his head was halfway off, then she kept going until his body keeled over and she held his head in hand. She tossed it aside.

Nip caught her before she fell over. She frowned at the spear sticking out of her abdomen. “Fuck,” she muttered. He’d had enough sense for that. “We don’t have time for this,” she said, eyes closed. She could tell the children were around her.

“We can get you help if we bring you to the institution,” Eil said.

“I killed a prefect. I helped you. They’ll just make me suffer before I die.”

“You’re saying they won’t do the same to us?” Cautious asked.

“No. You'll be safe there, trust me.” She spat blood. “Stop sitting around here waiting for me to die. You’re making me feel like an ass.” She took a deep breath. “It wasn’t supposed to end up this way,” she said, lastly.

“I’m sorry,” Silent said.

She heard their footsteps fade away. Nip shifted back into her figure and softly lay by her head. “It really wasn’t supposed to end up this way,” she repeated. “I’m sorry, Nip.”