Unraveling Mathias by Marisa Maichel (reading women TXT) 📕

I smirked as I thought of it. Sarah would love to work there; she loved books as much as I did, albeit different genres. Recently, she'd gotten into cozy mysteries, and had accumulated quite the collection. She kept some of her books at my house for when she stayed over. Our books were always getting mixed up, and I had a sneaky suspicion that she stole of my V.C. Andrews novels.

I went back to the register as I heard the bell jingle. A man I recognized as a problem customer grabbed about a dozen DVDs.

"One hundred and twelve dollars and seventy five cents," I said two minutes later. He immediately turned red.

"Since I spend so much money here, I should probably get a discount."

"We appreciate that you spend a lot of money here, but it's still a hundred and twelve dollars and seventy five cents."

"Make it fifty."

"Sir, I must ask you to pay the full price or leave."

"Listen here, punk!" He grabbed my shirt, only to be wrenched away by Toby.

"Sir, please leave!" I ordered. He swung at me, and I ducked. I felt a huge presence behind me. It was Father, of course. He grabbed the man's arm and twisted it. I could hear a bone break, and the man cried out.

"Leave, asshole, and don't come back!" The man left, clutching his broken elbow. "Thank the gods you were here, Toby! I owe you a huge debt."

"It was nothing, I was glad to do it," Toby said, brushing off my father's gratitude. Father brushed my hair with his nose and pecked my head.

"My sweet boy. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," I said. "Thank both of you."

"Poppycock. I'm your father. I'm supposed to protect you. So far, I've failed miserably." He went back into his office. Toby stood off to the side, obviously wondering where he should be.

"Come here and stand beside me, Toby," I said. "You know, I don't know much about you."

"There's not much to tell," he said. "My favorite color is red, my favorite book is Journey To The Center of the Earth, and I'm pansexual."

"What about your past? Are you a human vampire or...?"

"I changed myself." I gaped at him. He smiled gently. "First off, you should know that I'm a descendant of African slaves. When my parents were brought over in the 1850s, they were teenagers. They were in a relationship from the time my mother turned fourteen up until the day my father died. My parents' American names were Elizabeth and Clyde.

"They lived on a pepper plantation. I was born about two years after they were sold to the land owner, a man named Samuel Scabs. My parents were worked to the bone, barely eating, barely drinking enough water to sustain themselves. Anyway, after I was born, an old cook named Harriet started watching over me while Mother worked in the garden. The lady of the house had a huge rose garden, and she liked it to be perfect. I felt so sorry for Mother, always coming home with splinters and scratches on her legs and hands.

"My father worked in the pepper fields. He picked them faster than any of the others. He always seemed to pick the best peppers. The hottest peppers were touched by his hand. He often came home complaining of burning, though. When I was about four, my mother gave birth to my sister and named her Rose. She always said that Tobias and Rose were the best names for children."

"Tobias?" I questioned. He smiled.

"My real name is Tobias. I always hated it, though, which is why I ask everyone to call me Toby instead. Anyway, I grew up with two other sisters, who both died when they were babies. Mother and Father were so heartbroken. I wanted to make them proud, so I worked hard from the time I could work up until I left. I kept my hair short, worked in the kitchen with Harriet, helped Father pick peppers, helped look after Rose and worked in the garden. When I was eighteen, I was chopping wood nearby. I remember it was around October or November.

"I was hacking away at the wood when I saw him. I remember thinking he was gorgeous, but he was white, and a guy, and therefore off-limits. He had a beautiful woman with him. I remember thinking she was just as beautiful, all dark hair and creamy skin. Well, I stared at them so long that the overseer noticed, and he smacked me with that damned whip. I let out a loud curse, which I got whipped for again.

"The man said 'Stop that immediately!' and the overseer paused. The woman said 'How much?' Samuel Scabs said 'How much for what?' 'That young buck over there,' the woman said. She was pointing at me. Scabs laughed and said 'Lady, you're out of your mind. He's not worth five dollars.' The man said 'We'll pay any price for him.' Scabs said 'Okay, five million.' To everyone's surprise, including mine, the couple handed over the cash on the spot.

"Minutes later, I was in their wagon, sitting next to the woman." Toby paused. "They had a house just outside of New Orleans. I remember thinking it was the biggest house I had ever seen, almost a castle, or at least, what I'd heard about castles. The couple took me inside and put me in the guest room. They ran a bath for me and found new clothes for me. That first night, I slept better than I'd ever slept in my life.

"The man's name was Howard, and the woman's name was Margaret. I remember I was fed well for the first few days. They got to know me, and I got to know them. But then one night, Margaret and Howard led me to a secret room. I was confused. I'd heard horror stories about dungeons and wondered what I'd done. Howard pushed me onto the bed and said 'Take your clothes off.' I followed his orders. That's when he told me 'You are our newest toy. Don't worry, we won't bite you that hard.' I remember asking him what he was going to do with me. For an answer, he bit my chest. Margaret said 'Now now, dear, save some for me.' And then she bit me around my navel.

"For months, it was the same thing. I was abused, emotionally and sexually. They never said anything about turning me, but they did admit to being vampires. The strange thing was, I liked it. I liked and relished the abuse. I remember thinking it was better than what I'd had before. My mind was being twisted into something vile, and I started to hate myself. I thought there must be something wrong with me, that I deserved all the abuse. Finally, I'd had enough. When Howard bit me one night, I bit him right back. He cursed and called me something too foul to even mention. Margaret said 'Stop being a dog, Howard, and kill him!'

"In response, I grabbed a knife, which I later realized was made out of vampire bone, and stabbed both Howard and Margaret. While they were incapacitated, I thought about how if I became immortal, I would be able to defend myself better. I would be stronger, faster, smarter. I took a big gulp of Margaret's blood and ran off. Halfway to New Orleans, I collapsed and crawled into a forest to escape the hot sun. Twenty four hours later, I woke up as a vampire."

"What happened afterwards?" I asked.

"I went back to the plantation, and was devastated to discover that my father had died, and that Mother was on the brink herself. Rose was pregnant wth my niece, and she hid me until she died in childbirth. My niece was given to another black family, and I was heartbroken. I blamed myself for everything. I wandered around for a while, hiding, feeding off of people that society wouldn't miss. I never fed from fellow minorities, always white people. I was angry at the entire white population for the mistakes of the few, which I later realized was a mistake in itself. One day, I spotted Uncle Soren following another vampire. I was curious, so I followed him. I never found out why he was following the other vampire around, but he complimented me on my stalking skills and asked me join the guard. Here I am today."

"You've been through a lot," I said.

"All right, Reese," Father said. "Go home. I'll close up. Toby, take him home."

"Yes, my lord."

Bed felt good after a long hard day. I wasn't even hungry, just exhausted. I could hear Mathias crying out and yelling from the dungeon. Finally, he became quiet. As I slipped under the covers, I checked my phone for messages. Two from Alexander.

Alexander: I will be by tomorrow with some news. I will also visit you tonight around midnight. If you are asleep, that's fine. I really only need to talk to your grandfather.

Alexander: Good night, Reese. I love you.

That was odd. He never told me when he was going to show up, and he certainly was never that affectionate. I wondered if it was really him.

I had an answer around midnight. I was awoken from a deep sleep by my window opening. It was him. He slipped through the wood, and then crawled into bed with me. I was so tired that I drifted off again almost immediately after mumbling something that I couldn't remember two seconds later. I heard Alexander chuckle as I went back to sleep.

Sunday was a lazy day. I stayed in bed until one, then went downstairs to grab lunch.

"We are going to interrogate Mathias at six," Father said. "Your uncle and grandfather think that you should be there to witness it. Also, Louis is back."

"Really? Where is he? And yes, I want to be there."

"It is not a question of what you want, but rather, what you need. I don't know if I'll be around forever, and I need you to take my place when and if I am burned."

I pretended to ignore him. I looked around for my cousin, and finally spotted him petting Catniss and Remy.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," he greeted me. "I heard about everything that's happened. I can't believe I was so stupid."

"It wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, it was. But it's in the past, and right now, we are experiencing both the present and the future."

"The future?"

"Right now, I said that ten seconds ago. That is in the past."

I was surprised to hear Louis say something so profound. He normally avoids the deep and profound. I gave him a quick hug, then picked up Remy and Belle. Belle promptly scratched me, while Remy crawled onto my back.

"What's he doing?" I asked.

"He's climbing onto your back because he thought you were going to drop him," Louis said. "Hey, kitty cat, no claws."

The cat jumped off my back and landed in front of Shadowfang. Shadowfang sniffed Remy, then brushed against my leg.

"Did you know that he can talk?" I asked. Louis' mouth opened, then he chuckled.

"Yeah, I knew. He's spoken to me as well. You and who else?"

"My father."

"Of course."

I never really explained who I am. These are my biological kittens, Shadowfang said.

"What? You mean Remy and-"

And Belle, Frodo, Anakin, and Catniss. Mishka is my mate.

I was so confused, and I could tell that Louis was, too.

"You were only in Denmark a few days."

Where do you think I came from?

Louis and I looked at each other. "Shadow, what do you mean?" Louis asked. The big cat lifted his leg and started licking himself.

"Did...did a god send you?" I asked.

Not a god, but rather, a seer. The only reason why I'm not in Sarah's house is