The Lost Soul Read online

  The Lost Soul

  Book 1 of Enchena

  K. S. Marsden

  Printed by CreateSpace, an Amazon.com Company

  Copyright © K.S. Marsden 2015

  Cover art by Jatin775

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted be any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without prior permission of the author.

  Available from Amazon.com and other book stores

  ISBN-13: 978-1514832240

  ISBN-10: 1514832240

  One

  The annoying drone of the alarm clock blared, breaking through the peaceful illusion of sleep. Samantha groaned and blindly reached out to hit the snooze button. Her aim was misjudged and she winced to hear the thud of her alarm clock hitting the floor. But the good news was that the jolt had magically switched on the radio.

  Samantha lay cocooned in her warm duvet, listening to the latest release of last year’s X Factor rejects. The song was another blur of pop that Samantha wouldn’t remember in five minutes.

  Her older sister Terri had auditioned last year; she had considered it a rite of passage, to try for quick fame and fortune. She hadn’t even made it onto TV, being neither amazing nor entertaining in that reality TV, cringe-worthy way.

  Samantha honestly didn’t see the appeal; she would never do that, or anything else that would put her centre stage. No, it was much better drifting through life as something unnoticed. Especially at school. That was Samantha’s first rule for survival – be a nobody.

  Speaking of school, she stretched languidly, building herself up to the momentous achievement of moving and getting up. God, she hated Tuesdays. And not just because of a double Maths and Chemistry whammy – honestly, what was the point of Tuesdays. Monday got to be the start of the week, and by Wednesday it was downhill to the weekend. In Samantha’s opinion, Tuesday and all its associated torture could take a-

  “Sam!”

  Her mother’s voice broke through, somehow managing to sound stressed in that one easy syllable.

  “Yeah.” Samantha shouted back, before dear mum felt the need to burst in.

  She pulled on her only-slightly-rumpled school uniform and headed downstairs.

  Samantha helped herself to some instant coffee, pulling a face at her baby brother as she did so. Malcolm had turned two, but as far as Samantha was concerned, there was nothing terrible about it. He saved his temper tantrums for the daytime when Samantha was at school, and was always ready to laugh and play when she got home. After making Malcolm giggle, she grabbed her hairbrush and took the time to tackle her dull brown hair while the kettle boiled.

  “You need a proper breakfast inside of you.” Her mother chided, looking at her daughter with that familiar worry.

  Samantha tsked. “I told you, eating early makes me feel sick.” She sighed as she caught her mother’s expression in the mirror. “We’ve been over this, I’m not trying to lose weight.”

  It wasn’t her fault that she was naturally skinny. Ever since her growth spurt at thirteen, her friends had been envious of her ‘slender’ frame. At sixteen, Samantha still hated it. No matter what she ate, she couldn’t lose the jutted hipbones, the noticeable ribs and the frankly repulsive knobbly spine. Most days she hid under baggy clothing.

  Even now, she cringed when she saw her bony wrists in the mirror as she tied her hair back. Samantha hurried to pull her sleeves back over her hands and shuffled back to the kitchen.

  “I’ve got to take Malcolm to the doctors this afternoon, so I might not be home when you get back from school.” Her mum said, swiftly getting to business. “Your dad won’t be back until six, so don’t forget your key this time.”

  Samantha rolled her eyes, she still internally corrected it to ‘step-dad’, but wouldn’t dare say it out loud. It was more of an acknowledgement of fact than any real angst. Steve had been part of their family for years now. He was alright as far as father-figures went. He didn’t pretend to be Samantha’s bestest friend, or any other embarrassing traits. The worst that she could accuse him of was hogging the TV and watched golf and snooker for hours on end.

  “Sam, did you hear me?”

  “Yeah. Doctors, key, dad at six.” Samantha reeled off, to prove that actually, for once, she was paying attention.

  *****

  Samantha managed to get her stuff together and leave on time. Until she realised that her house key was still on the coffee table. Swearing beneath her breath, she ran back to the house to get it, before having to run the whole way to the bus stop. So much for being on time. Samantha took up her place at the end of the queue, knowing that she would have drawn the short straw for being last.

  And sure enough, when the crowded bus pulled up and they all filed on, Samantha was left with the last empty seat. Next to the slightly pudgy boy that didn’t know the meaning of deodorant.

  As the rest of the bus was filled with chatter and laughter, Samantha pulled her coat collar higher in defence and stared resolutely ahead.

  The bus ride was only twenty minutes, crawling through the Leeds city traffic, before finally delivering its students to the school. It was more like a high-security facility than a school, Samantha mused as they passed through the high metal gate, complete with guards. Well, not exactly guards – the school groundsmen had been given a few extra responsibilities, to ensure safety. Hm, some people really didn’t suit authority.

  When Samantha shuffled off the bus, she made her way to ‘the spot’. The spot her friends hovered at every morning, waiting for the school bell to ring.

  The girls hardly acknowledged Samantha as she approached, Nissa had them all captivated by a wild (and probably exaggerated) story. Her hands flapped along, trying to pass her experience on to her friends.

  Samantha half-listened, and smiled when she thought she was expected to. The only person in the group that looked how she felt was Lucy, who tried to stifle a yawn as she patted down her pockets.

  The redhead glanced at Samantha hopefully. “Got a light, Sammy?”

  Samantha gave a bitter smile. “You’re on your last warning. If they catch you smoking again, you’ll get kicked out.” Samantha dutifully dug through her rucksack and found a couple of lighters. She handed the one with some fluid still in to Lucy.

  Her friend gave a short bark of laughter. “This pathetic excuse of a school can’t kick me out, I’m keeping up their grade averages.”

  Lucy paused to spark up, it was true that as one of the few straight-A students their school had managed to knock together, Lucy got a little more leniency than most. As a lacklustre C-average student, Samantha didn’t want to think what her punishment would be.

  Lucy offered Samantha the cigarette, which she promptly refused. The redhead shrugged and took another hit of nicotine. “Besides, I need to take the edge off before double Chemistry with Clarke – I swear, one of these days I’m gonna tell that arrogant, patronising git exactly what I think. I mean, you’d think that even this school would have standards – the man can’t even do basic maths, and they’ve got the nerve to have him teach us in our GCSE year.”

  Samantha grimaced, and nodded along in support of her friend’s rant, knowing that she was only getting started. Hanging out with Lucy was always the perfect antidote for a nobody like Samantha. She wasn’t expected to contribute, Lucy could keep the one-sided conversation going as long as she had a listener.

  The electronic bell was followed by a groan and the unhurried filing into the school buildings. Once inside, the corridors became clogged with contradicting traffic as students made their way to class.

  Samantha dug through her rucksack as she walked, double-checking she had remembered her books this time.

  There was a shout above the din of the students, and several Year 11 boys ran through the masses, laughing. Samantha felt her shoulder jolted and her books spilled onto the floor. She muttered away to herself about the immaturity of boys as she knelt down to pick them back up.

  One of the lads stopped in his tracks, turning back to Samantha. He bobbed down and grabbed one of her books.

  Samantha hovered, half-terrified that he was going to lob the book down the corridor to further embarrass her; and half-hypnotised by his perfect features. David Jones, the school’s star rugby player and all-round ladies-choice, with his golden-blond hair and dimples, was actually in the same personal space as her.

  Samantha nervously glanced away when his rich brown eyes met hers, but she still caught the apologetic smile on his lips as he handed her the book.

  Samantha’s fingers stiffly took it from him. She opened her mouth, before she realised that she had completely forgotten how to say ‘thanks’. One simple syllable, but she couldn’t for the life of her, make it come out.

  Samantha blushed bright red, but at least David didn’t seem to notice, he was already jogging away after his friends.

  Speaking of friends, Lucy sniggered at the interaction, reminding Samantha that people had been watching.

  “Sammy and David, sitting in a tree…” Lucy sang softly, before laughing again.

  “Oh yes, today a smile; tomorrow exchanging actual words.” Samantha replied, trying to go along with the humour. With only a little bitterness, she accepted that tomorrow would go straight back to being invisible.

  For now, she pulled her coat collar up to hide the annoying red flushed skin that would take an age to disappear. She followed Lucy into the classroom and slid into the seat next to her, taking care to pull at the sleeves of her already baggy
jumper.

  Lucy let out a weary sigh. “Y’know, I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with covering up all the time. You’re bloody stick thin and – who knows, you might even be pretty under all that. Stop hiding and you might even have a chance at a boyfriend.” Lucy paused and looked at Samantha critically. “Maybe not David Jones standard, but definitely a boyfriend.”

  Samantha gave her a withering look. “Gee, thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.” Lucy returned with a winning smile.

  Samantha twisted the cuff of her sleeve, watching as their least favourite teacher made his entrance. Mr Clarke started to prattle on about something Chemistry-related, but Samantha’s attention drifted and she glossed over the details.

  Samantha didn’t want a boyfriend. They seemed like hard work and far too much effort. Besides, she might as well wait until college, the boys at school were far too immature.

  Samantha grimaced as she flashed back to her run-in with David. OK, she was physically attracted to him, her reaction had pretty much proven that; but there was no way she was going to entertain any fantasy where he was concerned. Definitely not.

  Chemistry ticked by ridiculously slow, but the two hour torture was finally over. It was pretty easy after that with English and History. Soon enough, the bell rang for dinner and Samantha joined the rest of her friends on the stone benches outside the art block. Being early March, it was cold, but at least it was dry. Even though they sat hunched in their coats, it took more than a chilly wind to drive them away from the prime seats that were the perk of Year 11s, in that unspoken rule of high school evolution.

  Samantha picked at her sandwich, drifting in and out of paying attention to the others. She tossed a chunk of bread to the ravens that always came down at this time of day. She watched them hop about awkwardly, as they hustled over the crumbs.

  “Sammy?”

  Samantha glanced up to see Lucy looking expectantly in her direction.

  Realising that her friend hadn’t been listening, Lucy rolled her eyes. “Have you decided what you’re doing next year?”

  “Dunno.” Samantha replied, with a shrug. “Sixth form?”

  Samantha always felt uncomfortable when the others spoke of the future. They all seemed to know exactly what they wanted to do, and were all pretty excited about it.

  Lucy had been planning to go to vet school since they were five years old and had her A Levels firmly set; Nissa wanted to travel and volunteer in third-world countries; and the inseparable Rachel and Sally were both already signed up to a hairdressing course at the local college.

  Samantha envied them all. She just hoped that in two years, she’d have her A Levels and half a clue of what to do with the rest of her life.

  Apparently satisfied with her minimal response, the rest of the group wittered on, leaving Samantha to her own thoughts.

  Two

  “So what are you up to tonight?” Lucy asked, as they packed their things away at the end of Maths.

  “Nuthin’.” Samantha replied, her eyes fixed on her scuffed workbook. “I’ve got the house to myself for a few hours… I’ll probably catch up on TV.”

  “Well, Danny asked me to go ice-skating with him.” Lucy grinned, excited to share her news. “He just texted me. Now I’ve just got to try not to embarrass myself and look cute.”

  “That sounds awesome, you’ll have to fill me in tomorrow.”

  Lucy’s expression dropped. “Oh, I mean, we could make it a group thing if you wanted to come. We could ask the girls, he could bring a few of his mates…”

  “No!” Samantha replied before Lucy could get into party-planner mode; the last thing she wanted was to get dragged to some social gathering where she’d feel awkward all evening. “No. Enjoy yourselves, I know you’ve been wanting to date him for ages. Honestly, I’m looking forward to a few hours at home; no baby brother, no stepdad hogging the TV…”

  Samantha shivered as she stepped into the cold March air. It was rare that her mad house was quiet. A burgeoning thought occurred to her – that with her stepdad working and her mum dragging Malcolm to the doctors, it was the perfect opportunity to secure a pizza dinner. A break from that health-kick diet her mum was torturing them all with.

  “I’m gonna nip to Tesco. See you tomorrow, Lucy.” Samantha waved and made a quick exit through the school gates.

  Samantha held her rucksack tightly against her shoulder as she navigated the busy pavement. It was so frustrating getting stuck behind the dawdling students that seemed in no rush now that they had been released from the daily torment of school. Samantha glanced up as she caught movement above, there was the black shadow against the sky, the lone raven looking much more graceful in the air than on the ground. She was envious of the bird, able to glide above all this nonsense; they didn’t get stuck behind stupid slow walkers.

  Samantha ducked into the equally busy shop, with so many students crowding around the sweet section. She sighed and pushed through to the chilled section, at least there was room to breathe in front of the tall fridges. Her eyes scanned over the limited selection of pizzas.

  “Hey.”

  Samantha heard the male voice, clearly not speaking to her, and proceeded to ignore it.

  The guy coughed. “Sorry about earlier.”

  Samantha stiffly turned to the side, to see David Jones standing there. As she was the only person in the aisle, he had to be speaking to her. Samantha told herself that at this point it would be polite to say something. To say anything.

  David’s smile wavered at her distinct lack of response. He took his time to pull out a pepperoni pizza and tried again. “You’re Lucy’s friend, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah.” Samantha answered. Well, that was a start. Unfortunately nothing followed.

  David seemed to sense that social interaction was a lost cause and gave her an awkward wave. “Well, see you around.”

  Samantha watched him retreat, then felt a blush flare across her skin. Well there was a bonus, at least she didn’t turn bright red in front of him. Muttering curses to herself, Samantha pulled a couple of pizzas out of the fridge, hardly noting which she had picked.

  By the time she had queued and paid, Samantha had already decided that this day, and her life, were swiftly going back to normal. Talking to a cute boy wasn’t going to change that. Of course, she wasn’t going to mention this little interaction to Lucy or the others. Lucy would take this tiny insignificant blip in Samantha’s comatose social life and turn it into something huge. No, that definitely wasn’t worth the drama.

  Samantha pulled her coat collar tighter about her neck as she stepped out into the grey, British spring world. Because of her diversion, she had missed the school bus home. But it would only take twenty minutes to walk it, which was no problem as long as the rain held off.

  Laden with her Tesco bag and rucksack, Samantha took the most direct route, cutting away from the main road and going through the estates. Her mum never liked her taking the shortcut home, she worried about the safety of the area. But as far as Samantha was concerned, it was fine. They were just streets after all, just houses, just alleyways that receded into shadow…

  The sound of scuffling made Samantha turn before she could tell herself not to look.

  “I said get off. What the hell do you want?” A familiar voice echoed up the ginnel.

  Samantha moved closer, fear catching in her throat. She saw David, but didn’t recognise the man that stood with him. Her first thought was a street thug, picking on students for sport. But he didn’t look like a thug. His black hair was longer than most guys, and his dark clothes made it hard to notice anything about him.

  The strange man was only as tall as David, but suddenly threw the boy back against the wall with a sickening crunch.

  A flash of black feathers made Samantha jump. She pressed back against the wall, watching a bird flap and fly drunkenly up to perch on the opposite roof.

  Samantha glanced back down the ginnel to see the strange man staring her way. ‘Run!’ She tried to tell herself, but nothing happened. Her feet no longer belonged to her. Her heart pounded and she had to remind herself to breathe.