by S J Crabb
Falcondell
The Devil’s Son
By S J Crabb
Also By S J Crabb
The Diary Of Madison Brown
Premier Deception
The One That Got Away
(Part 1 of The Hardcastle Saga)
A Matter Of Trust
(Part 2 of The Hardcastle Saga)
Payback
(Part 3 of The Hardcastle Saga)
Copyrighted Material
Copyright S J Crabb 2016
S J Crabb has asserted her rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
This book is a work of fiction and except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Chapter One
“I am not sure that this was such a good idea. Don’t ask me why but I’ve got a bad feeling about this place.” Laughing to myself I look at Aunt Sarah as she fiddles with her hands looking extremely worried. Placing my hand on hers she visibly relaxes. “That’s not fair Grace, you’re cheating.” She admonishes me, but I notice the sparkle in her eyes as she looks lovingly at me. I am staying with Aunt Sarah because I am running out of options. I have moved schools several times and I need to find somewhere to settle down in time for my final exams. Aunt Sarah’s son Gabe goes here so it was decided that I would be better off in their care. He would act as my protector and I would make sure that I kept my head down and worked hard.
We are interrupted by the door to the Principal’s office opening and I am interested to see an older lady bearing down on us, her hand outstretched. Looking at her she is just what I would have expected from a Principal, two piece tweed suit with a silver bun in her hair and glasses. Her features are severe but I notice a tell tale twinkle in her eyes and I instantly relax. She shakes hands with Aunt Sarah and then as she turns to me her smile falters and she looks immediately worried. Coughing nervously she extends her hand to me and I shake it smiling warmly at her. Clearing her throat she ushers us into her office and we wait for her to take her place behind the desk before we sit down. As she looks at us it strikes me that she looks worried and I wonder why. However she appears to shake off whatever is bothering her and proceeds in a businesslike fashion.
“Welcome to Falcondell High, Miss Gray, my name is Principal Adams and I am sure that you will be happy here. I can see that you are a grade A student and have a string of accolades that have followed you from your other schools.” She then looks directly at me, her dark green eyes piercing right through me. “You will need to keep a clean sheet and work hard to catch up though. I notice that you haven’t studied for a few months now, is there a reason for that I should know about?” Aunt Sarah once again fidgets nervously beside me. “Grace fell ill and was in hospital. It was the result of a nasty accident but she is fully recovered now and keen to get back to the books.” Looking thoughtful the Principal says, “I am sorry to hear that Miss Gray. If at any stage things become too much for you then you must seek me out immediately.” I smile at her and once again she looks flustered. I am trying to tone it down but I always have this affect on people. Grabbing hold of the locket around my neck I wonder if it will be strong enough. Aunt Sarah sees me and once again visibly pales. She tried everything to talk my Guardians out of this placement but they were adamant. It was the best place for me and they would ensure that I was well protected. Feeling sorry for her I smile reassuringly at her and once again she frowns. Sighing I sit back in my chair. There is nothing more that I can do. I will just bury myself in my studies and keep myself occupied in my spare time. The time will pass quickly enough and then I can move on, away from Aunt Sarah and Gabe so that they can relax again.
Principal Adams passes a form across the desk for Aunt Sarah to sign. “Whilst you complete the formalities Mrs Rivers I will assign some students to take care of Grace and show her how things work here. If you will excuse me I will ask my secretary to send for them.” I watch as she exit’s the room. Aunt Sarah starts filling in the form so I take the time to study my surroundings. As I look around me I feel quite at home already. Falcondell High is a good school with a good record. Gabe has always been happy here and I love living with them in their cosy home. I love Aunt Sarah dearly and she is everything that I would imagine a mother to be. My eyes mist over as I think about my own mother. I miss her so much, even though I can’t actually remember much about her, it’s all just a distant memory to me. I was very young when she was taken from me and I was raised by a nice couple who were assigned to be my guardians. Even though they are kind and caring I have spent most of my life at school and haven’t really had a normal upbringing. I expect that is why I was looking forward to coming here so much. I will do whatever is necessary to fit in and stay here as I don’t want to have to move on again, it’s too lonely. As soon as I settle in and make new friends something happens and I am moved again. This time I will make sure that I am not discovered.
The door suddenly opens and Principal Adams returns with two girls about my age. They are dressed in the usual trademark jeans and sweaters and have huge rucksacks slung across their backs. One of the girls has the biggest pair of glasses on and her brown hair is pulled back into a ponytail. The other one has blonde hair that is held back by an Alice band and she looks quite pale with the most terrible acne on her forehead. However as I look at them my heart sinks as I see the horror on their faces. They are looking at me as if frozen to the spot and once again I wonder just how good this locket is.
Principal Adams clears her throat and then looks kindly at me. “Grace allow me to introduce Cally Miller and Piper Young. They will show you how it all works here and will help you and look after you. If you have any questions at all they should be able to answer them. Now as the time is getting on you had better get off to lessons.” I smile at the two girls and then turn to hug Aunt Sarah. She clings on to me as if for dear life and I see tears come into her eyes. She whispers, “Be careful honey. Find Gabe as soon as you can. He will look out for you.” Shaking her head as if to clear it she says, “Anyway, I’ll pick you up later as Gabe has practice. Have a good day.” Hugging her once again I turn towards the two girls and smile weakly. I don’t want to alienate them so resolve to keep my eyes lowered and say little.
Following them outside they turn to me and just stare. Feeling uncomfortable I wonder if the jeans and white top that I wore is ok. I haven’t put on any make up and my blonde hair is braided into a plait that hangs down my back. The two girls look incredulously at each other and then Cally narrows her eyes as if assessing me. “You need a serious make under girl. I think the first stop should be lost property. We can’t let you out there loose on the school like this, you won’t survive the day.” Piper looks at me her eyes shining. Suddenly she laughs. “This is going to be an interesting year that‘s for sure.” Then to my utter surprise they both link arms with me, one on either side and march me off to what I assume is the lost property office.
Chapter 2
Luckily it isn’t far and we soon reach a door with a sign outside saying - Lost Property Office. The two girls drag me inside and then moving away once again stare at me in fascination. Cally is the first to speak. “You are probably the most beautiful girl that I have ever seen and so all of the other girls will instantly hate you.” Looking at her in alarm I go to speak but Piper interrupts her. “Stop it Cally, you’re scaring her.” Turning to me she looks apologetic. “Look don’t worry it’s not that bad. Just dress down like us and keep away from the cool kids and their hangouts. If we do a good enough job on you they won’t give you a second look. They are all so self obsessed anyway we all may as well be invisible.” She then
turns and starts rummaging through the various boxes on the shelves behind us. Cally joins in and they pluck a variety of outfits from the confines of the boxes. Mumbling to themselves they soon have what they think is a passable outfit. Cally comes over with a huge checked shirt and tries to put it over my head. The fact that I am close to 5ft 9” in flats doesn’t make it possible so I put her out of her misery and haul it over my head. Piper thrusts a beanie hat at me. “Here pull this down over your head.” Then she turns and grabs some glasses off the counter. “You will have to make do with these until we can get you some with clear lenses. If you tuck your hair into the hat and then with the glasses you may just pass as invisible.” Both girls step back to view their handiwork. They grin at each other in triumph and high five each other. “Right then Grace; let’s get you to the first lesson. Do you know what it is?” Bemused I consult the schedule in my hand that I have just been given by Principal Adams. Squinting through the glasses I can just make out that it is English. “Um, it says English, room 310.” Letting out a breath Cally says, “Good, you’re in my group, I’ll take you. We’ll find your locker later, I think there’s one on our block but we’ll have to wait until first break otherwise we’ll be in trouble with Miss Peters.”
As I follow them out of the room I wonder what on earth I’m going to find here. They make it sound awful and I vow to try to shrink into the walls and not stand out. The last thing I need is trouble.
Cally takes me to room 310 and I follow her inside. I can feel several pairs of eyes regarding us but I keep my head down and follow her lead. Going up to the teacher Cally hands her a slip of paper and Miss Peters looks at me and smiles warmly. Clapping her hands she addresses the class. “Listen up guys, we have a new student. This is Grace Gray, everyone say hi.” I hear a few mumbled greetings and just smile weakly and wish for a vacant chair that I can sink into. Cally pulls me down beside her and I am grateful that the lesson carries on. Luckily nobody seems bothered by me and I soon settle into the lesson. English is one of my favourite subjects and I am pleased to learn that we will be studying Tess of The D’Urbervilles. This is one of my favourite books and I look forward to reading it again. Because I am keeping my head down I don’t look at my fellow classmates and hope that I can get through the day without any problems.
In no time at all it seems the bell rings and Cally pulls me quickly from the room. She whispers, “Let’s go and grab you a locker and then we can go outside for a break.” Grabbing my schedule she studies it. “Ok, maths next. Looks like you’re in Piper’s class for that. Mr Matthews is the teacher. He’s ok but doesn’t like any talking and is quite strict. Anyway come on before the others spill out.” I run after her as she appears to be on a mission. Reaching a set of lockers she stares thoughtfully up and down the rows. Finally it seems that she finds what she is looking for and looks triumphantly at me. “Here you go; I knew there would be a vacant one here. Jessica Parker moved schools last week so hers is free. Do you want to put anything in it?” Shaking my head she grabs the key and hands it to me. “Here take this, mine and Piper’s is in the next bank along. Come on let’s go and find her.” Before we can leave though I hear her mumble something under her breath. “Too late, cool patrol heading this way. Don’t say anything just follow my lead and with any luck they won’t even notice us.” Keeping my head down I walk beside Cally and we soon go to pass the girls. We almost succeed when one says, “Hey, Cally, whose your friend?” Cally’s shoulders sag and pasting a smile on her face she turns to face the girl. “Oh hi Skylar, this is Grace, she’s just started.” Keeping my head down as low as I can I raise my eyes to look at the girl standing in front of me. She has long jet black hair and flashing green eyes. She is extremely beautiful and looks really hot in tight skinny jeans and a black strapless top. I can see that she is appraising me and obviously coming to the conclusion that I am no threat she just waves her hand dismissively saying, “Oh Hi.” Seemingly bored already she turns to her friend and nudges her and they both snigger and move away. Cally lets out a deep breath and leans back on to a neighbouring locker. “Well that’s the first test passed. Hopefully the rest will be as easy.” As we go to find Piper I say, “Who was she?” Cally raises her eyes. “Skylar Banks. Self obsessed doughnut with a brain to match and queen of the cool gang.” Giggling at her description I say, “I’ve met her type before.” Cally looks at me with a serious expression. “I doubt that very much. Nobody crosses Skylar. All the time you are invisible to her, no problem, but as soon as she thinks you’re a threat or cross her in any way, well I wouldn’t want to be that person, that’s all I’m saying.” Mystified I say, “She can’t be that bad.” Cally stops suddenly and looks at me with a worried expression. “No I mean it Grace, she’s evil personified. Keep away from her and her cronies. They all form part of a group that dominates this school. It’s why the rest of us try to fade into the background. You cross their path and you always come off worse. Steer well clear of her and her friends and don’t even look at their guys and then you’ll be ok.”
Thinking about her words I follow her outside where we find Piper talking to a group of guys. They all look similar to them, dressed down and unobtrusive. Piper waves and smiles as we approach. “Grace come and meet the gang. This is Cameron, Owen and Pax. We are all self confessed nerds and officially the Invisibles.” Smiling at them I see their eyes widen and colour flood to their cheeks. Damn this locket, I am definitely getting it checked out. Shaking themselves the boys look at me with curiosity. Before we can say anything though the bell rings and we head off to our next lesson.
The morning passes fairly quickly and soon it is lunch time. Piper drags me to a shady spot underneath a tree where there is a picnic table. “Come on we have our lunch here away from trouble.” I wonder what she means but don’t have long to think about it before the rest of the Invisibles join us. They seem a great bunch and I am enjoying being part of their gang. With any luck my days will all be like this, free from problems and drama. Half way through lunch a shadow crosses the table and I see the others look up in surprise. Following their gaze and much to their surprise I jump up and hug the person standing there. “Gabe, I wondered when I’d run into you.” Gabe is my cousin and the Captain of the school football team. He must be 6ft 5” and is a huge mass of blond hair and muscles. He is also extremely good looking and appears to have a different girlfriend every week. Cally looks at us in amazement. “Well well. Do you two know each other?” Laughing I hold on to his arm. “Gabe is my cousin.” Piper sniggers and says, “Well that explains a lot.” Gabe looks around and I notice that he looks extremely cross. Pulling me to one side he says, “Didn’t you think to come and find me straight away? It’s taken me ages to track you down. How on earth am I supposed to look after you if you’re hanging out with these kids?” Pulling away I feel cross. “These kids have been really kind to me.” Staring at me he snaps, “What on earth are you wearing?” Giggling I say, “I’ve had a make under courtesy of Piper and Cally. What do you think?” Looking thoughtful Gabe says slowly, “Actually I think they may just be the right people for you to hang with. They’ve done a good job. Nobody has mentioned you so you have obviously managed to stay well hidden. This might just work.” I can see the others looking at us in amazement and whisper to Gabe. “Look don’t worry. I’ll find you if I need you. Just leave me with them. I’ll keep well hidden and nobody will give me a second look. I’m more likely to draw attention to myself if I hang out with you and your friends anyway.” Nodding in agreement Gabe says gruffly. “Just stay low and keep the locket close to you. Don’t go anywhere near Ash and his gang and you’ll be ok.” Before I can ask who Ash is he strides purposefully away. Watching him go I wonder what on earth can be so bad about this person Ash if Gabe is worried about him.
Chapter 3
As the day wears on I settle down into life at the school. Luckily one of my new found friends is in every class with me and they have well and truly taken me under their wing. I feel
relieved to have met such a great bunch of people and feel optimistic about my new situation. Mostly I am ignored by everyone else and I soon realise the hierarchy of the school. There are the cool kids who apparently are presided over by the mysterious Ash and Skylar. Their friends are mostly avoided by everyone else as they appear to intimidate the others. Then there is the sporty set which Gabe sits at the head of courtesy of being the Captain of the football team. They are the Jocks and their group also consists of the Cheerleaders and any other sporting groups. The group that I appear to have joined is the Brainiacs. These kids just try to blend into the background and not draw attention to themselves. This clique suits me fine as I am not searching for any more drama in my life. Pushing the thoughts away of my turbulent year at my last school I vow to keep my head down and not to draw attention to myself.
When the final bell rings I make my way to my locker with Piper and Cally. As we put our books away they shout over to me. “Hey Grace do you fancy getting a coffee at Violet’s?” Looking interested I say, “What or who is Violet?” They laugh and come over. “It’s our local diner. Most of us head there after class to catch up and arrange our study sessions. Are you in?” Nodding happily I suddenly remember that Aunt Sarah is picking me up. Sighing I say, “I would love to but my Aunt is picking me up. Maybe tomorrow though.” Cally smiles. “No problem. We go there every day so it won’t matter.” I walk beside them to the main entrance and wish that I could go with them. It would be much more fun than going home with my Aunt.
As we go to leave somebody pushes past us sending Cally flying. Her bag falls to the ground and she lands with a thud on to the concrete step outside. Looking up in surprise I see a large body clad in a leather jacket turn around and laugh at us. His lip curls up in a sneer and his eyes flash as he laughs. Feeling extremely angry I shout, “Hey watch who you’re shoving.” I hear Piper draw in her breath and see Cally pale in fright. Turning around the leather clad brute moves towards me menacingly. “What did you say?” Piper pulls on my arm and says fearfully, “She didn’t say anything Jace, its ok no harm done.” From the look on his face I know that I’m in trouble. He moves until his face is within an inch of mine and hisses, “Watch who you’re talking to nerd. I don’t like kids like you thinking they’re something their not. Talk to me again and you’ll suffer much worse than a push to the ground.” Before I can respond I see his eyes narrow as he looks at me. He stares as if trying to place something. Then almost immediately I hear a deep voice behind me say, “Come on Jace, Principal Adams is coming. She’s not worth it and the others are waiting.” Throwing me another evil look he storms off and I turn to see who intervened. I watch as Cally’s face lights up and then as I turn I see an extremely handsome guy behind me. He has the most velvety brown eyes that I have ever seen and his dark hair curls up at the ends as it hit’s the collar of his leather jacket. He looks at me with a worried look and then turns to Cally who has struggled to her feet. “Keep her away from him for all your sakes and I’m not just talking about Jace, understand?” She nods and he walks off after his friend. As I watch them go I can see that they join a similar group of guys all wearing leather jackets congregating around a bunch of motorbikes. I can also see Skylar and her friends waiting for them and one by one they jump on to the backs of various bikes and soon the hum of exhausts fills the air as they move away.
