Soul Enemy

By Jennifer lee Peak

Soul Enemy takes you into a world of fantasy where all sorts of freakish creatures are found. It is a story of a family that gets broken due to an unfortunate turn of events where Saber, the only daughter of Joyce, gets taken away by the Sandman, whose evil plan to capture and end all the covid souls comes to fruition.
Joyce, who is already struggling with drug addiction, knows that Scythe, her son, is the only one who can bring her daughter back to Earth.
Join Scythe as he takes it upon himself to bring his sister’s soul back and attempts to reunite his family with his newfound partner in Hell, Katana. It is a story that depicts the strength of a mother’s love and resilience in the face of a corrupt leader who is drunk on his power. Dive into a world of fantasy and fiction and Scythe’s fight against the Soul Enemy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jennifer lee Peak
• Release date: May 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005993603

Book preview

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my Great Aunt Jackie Paul. And the rest of my family and friends without whom this book would not be possible.

About the Author

The author was born and raised in South Georgia and lives in Florida with her pets.

Table of Contents

Dedication iii

About the Author iv

Chapter I 1

Chapter II 8

Chapter III 14

Chapter IV 25

Chapter V 34

Chapter VI 46

Chapter VII 53

Chapter VIII 61

Chapter IX 67

Chapter X 76

Chapter XI 81

Chapter XII 88

Chapter XIII 93

Chapter XIV 99

Chapter XV 109

Chapter XVI 116

Chapter XVII 123

Chapter XVIII 130

Chapter XIX 139

Chapter XX  147

Chapter XXI 154

Chapter XXII 159

Chapter XXIII 165

Chapter XXIV 171

Chapter XXV 176

Chapter XXVI 180

Chapter XXVII 187

Chapter XXVIII 191

Chapter XXIX 197

Chapter XXX 200

Chapter I

2003

She looked down at the strip again, her hands shaking, barely able to hold the pregnancy test that had completely and utterly turned her world upside down. The two red lines on the surface stopped her heart when she saw them. 

Now, twenty minutes later, she was still sitting on the cold, hard tile of the bathroom floor and staring at the results, as if the more she looked at it, the more she could make it false. 

It’s not the end of the world, Joyce. You are practically an adult, and it’s your life, your decision.

But the thought of her mother’s reaction frightened her. And she might have spent twenty more minutes contemplating her dilemma had her mother not banged on the door to ask if she was OK. 

She heaved a heavy sigh and sat up straight. She closed her deep blue eyes, braced herself for her mother’s response, and slowly turned the knob. The look on her mother’s face froze. Joyce was solid, and when she opened her mouth to speak, no words came out. She decided right then that she would consult a doctor. There was no cause for alarm until I had confirmed the pregnancy.

Two days later, she came home with definitive results. Twins. Now, this would bring her mother’s wrath upon her, she thought.

Her mom was sitting in her room watching an old sitcom when Joyce knocked on the half-open door and went inside. She never had a good relationship with her mother, so she decided there was no need to beat around the bush. She told her in plain, simple words.

The backlash she got was similar to what she anticipated, but it did not make it less terrifying. Her mother started screaming at her for being careless and not telling her sooner. She threw the ‘what to expect when you’re expecting’ packet at the wall and shook Joyce so hard that tears welled up in her indigo eyes. She asked her mother to calm down, but there was no reasoning with her.

You are seventeen, Joyce! You stupid, reckless child! She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Mom, please. I will do just fine. Don’t worry about me. She tried to keep her voice from shaking.

Don’t worry about you? You had your whole life before you, Joyce, and you destroyed it by getting knocked up! Who's the father?"

I don’t want to talk about that right now.

Get rid of it, she said harshly.

What? No! I want to keep them.

Then I don’t want anything to do with you or your children. I cannot watch you ruin your life.

Joyce crumbled. She said, in a broken voice, You are my mother; you’re supposed to support me.

Support you for getting knocked up? You have lived with your grandmother for a year, which happens? I should have kept a better eye on you. You are not to be trusted, She yelled at her once again, then left the room, slamming the door behind her.

Joyce ran to the safety of her room, tears streaming down her pretty face, and gently closed the door. She did not come out again until the following day when she had resolved to tell Jake, the father of her children. She expected him to back her up, but their conversation shook Joyce.

Jake came from an upper-class family with both parents at home. He was the youngest of two boys and was intelligent, handsome, and would undoubtedly go places if given a chance. He had peanut butter blonde hair and a brilliant white smile with perfectly placed teeth. His dad wanted him to follow in his footsteps and become a lawyer. Jake wasn’t sure what he wanted yet, but he knew he wanted to leave this small town.

Joyce had asked to meet with him and stressed that it was urgent. She was waiting in a roadside cafe, her favorite spot because that is where her first date with Jake had been. She was still thinking about her mother when she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see Jake smiling and looking casually handsome in his faded jeans and Polo. 

She stood up and hugged him, his warmth a familiar comfort. She sat back down across from him, and after a few pleasantries, Jake took her hand in his and stared at her expectantly, his eyebrows slightly raised. Joyce stared back into his incredibly blue eyes and took a deep breath. She had been wholly devastated after last night, but she knew Jake would be there for her. He was a good guy.

I’m pregnant. She confessed in a soft voice. Joyce thought he had not heard her at first. For a few seconds, Jake did not move. Then his body went rigid, and he removed his hand from Joyce’s and pulled away. Joyce started again, but he held a firm, slight edge to his voice.

You’re not planning on having it are you? 

As Joyce was about to answer, a waitress came up to their booth, took one look at them, and said, I’ll give you two another minute. 

Of course I am, she quivered after the waitress left.

Don’t be ridiculous, Joyce. You don’t expect me to support you, do you? We have our whole lives ahead of us, and we are just seventeen,

He was beginning to sound exactly like her mother. And she was not in the mood to have this conversation again. She was a wreck. The one person she thought was on her side had deserted her too. She felt so scared and alone. She started to stand up and leave, not wanting to look at his face any longer, but he grabbed her by the arm and asked her to sit back down. 

I was going to tell you sooner, my parents are getting divorced, and I’m leaving to study abroad. I have made all arrangements. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I can’t pass this up. You understand, don’t you?

This was news to her. Her heart broke into a million pieces at his admission. She was emotionless as she stared back at him, her pride not letting him see the turmoil that simmered beneath the surface.

I understand, she said as she grabbed her purse and marched out of the restaurant. Her face had become hot, and her body burned with despair. 

After meeting with Jake, Joyce had taken to bed and cried herself to sleep two nights in a row. Her heart clenched at the thought of raising twins alone. She was panic-stricken and had no soft place to fall. She felt like the only person in the entire world, completely and overwhelmingly alone.

The next day, her grandmother came to visit. She always found solace in her presence, but after the problematic encounters with the people she was closest to, she had zero expectations from anyone to ease the pain.

My dearest Joyce, have you thought about adoption? 

Joyce rubbed her swollen, puffy eyes and sighed. No, grandma. This is not up for debate. I am keeping my babies.

You are very young, my child; you need to consider yourself too. She tried to speak in a neutral tone to convince Joyce, but her granddaughter was stubborn and had already made up her mind.

I will raise them alone if I have to. She spoke with great conviction in her usually soft voice that her grandma started to believe, despite her doubts and anxieties.

You won’t do it alone. I will be with you. Her grandma took her face in her hands and kissed her damp forehead. Joyce was so overcome with relief that she broke down. She buried her face in her grandma's lap and cried her heart out.

Months went by, and Joyce had gotten BIG. Her round, pregnant belly was growing every day. She had gone to the doctor and discovered she had a boy and a girl, who were healthy and robust. 

Since she had moved back into her grandma’s small, tidy two-bedroom home, Joyce made sure to take care of herself, with her sweet grandma fussing over her daily.

Initially, she was worried about becoming a burden. Still, her grandmother had made her feel welcome and comfortable. Not once did she complain about Joyce’s strange pregnancy cravings. 

Joyce HAD to have a banana, pineapple, and mango juice one day. Her grandma went to three 

different stores to accommodate her before realizing they made no such drink. She would have to get the juices separately and combine them herself, which she did. And the concoction she made became a house favorite for years to come.

The days flew by, and to Joyce’s surprise, the time to give birth was drawing near. She was anxious and stressed about the process and asked her grandma for advice. Her grandma, who was cutting up fruit for her, told her to remain calm during the birth and everything will work out fine.

Stay calm, Joyce thought, and everything will work out fine.

She recited a mantra on the way to the hospital a week later when she was taken to the labor room in a wheelchair. Her contractions had taken a nasty turn and were excruciating. She could not contain her screams any longer. 

She reminded herself to take big, deep breaths and stay calm. It will all be over soon, and then she could bring her babies home.

Her darling babies, she thought. She couldn’t believe she loved them so much already before she had seen them. But she felt like she knew them; after all, they had been growing inside her for nine months. She was ready to meet them finally.

The hard part, her grandmother had warned her when she was five months pregnant, does not end after giving birth. It will begin when you have those babies in your arms.

Joyce knew it would be life-changing. She knew there would be times when she would want to give up. But as Joyce laid down on the crisp, white sheets of the hospital bed, Joyce knew that her twins would be just fine despite her troubles. And then she started to push.

Chapter II

2020

A rhythmic hissing surrounded Scythe in the hospital room occupied by his unconscious twin sister, Saber. He could not concentrate on anything except her chest's steady rise and fall as she lay trapped, attached to a machine that was barely keeping her alive.

The ventilator kept making that whooshing sound Scythe had come to loathe. It was a daily reminder of his helplessness against the nightmare that had taken over the world a little more than a year ago.

He let out an exhausted sigh and eyed his mother seated beside him, staring blankly at her defenseless daughter with a fixed gaze. Her once vibrant auburn hair, now dull and lackluster, made her porcelain skin look pale in comparison. She wore a black dress and hid her thin body in a stole that protected her against the harsh November wind. She looked miserable, and Scythe wanted to say anything that would comfort her, but his words got stuck in his throat, so he said nothing. 

Silence hung heavy in the still air, and Scythe couldn’t take it anymore. He stood up from his chair suddenly and slogged towards the window that provided him some escape from the somber atmosphere of the tiny hospital room. 

He scrutinized his reflection in the glass and realized he looked worse for wear. His sandy blonde hair looked ruffled, implying he had just gotten out of bed. A thought that produced a lame smile from Scythe since he had not slept in three days. He's tired, and his silver-blue eyes clearly showed his passive state. He shook his tousled bed head and spun around toward Joyce.

"We CAN