Unraveling Soren by Marisa Maichel (books under 200 pages txt) 📕

If I hadn’t met Sarah first, I’d have definitely gone for Kaz.

Bow’s real name was actually Beatrice, but she hated that name and preferred to be called Bow. Her cat had just given birth to thirteen kittens, and she was excited. I told her about my cats and showed her some pictures. She asked me If I wanted a kitten. I laughed and said that I had enough cats. She asked Sabine if she wanted a cat, but Sarah said that the dogs would probably try to eat it. And anyway, they couldn’t leave their mother yet, they were too young, and we were leaving on Sunday.

Archimedes and Philip were both into superheroes and comics. I told them about all the comics and graphic novels I owned, and introduced them to Saga. Sarah said they were too young to read it yet, and Philip told her that he knew how a vagina worked, that Aunt Caitlin had explained it to him the year before after he stumbled upon a book that badly described a woman’s reproductive organs.

“I swear, some adult men still don’t understand how women’s bodies work,” Sarah sighed, shaking her head.

“Yes, but that particular book was written by a woman,” Aunt Eliza told her. Sarah paused, then shuddered.

Archimedes was convinced I was Dracula in person.

“Is Dracula real?” he asked me. The entire family knew that I was a vampire.

“Yes and no,” I said. “He’s based off of a real person. Or people, rather. Vlad the Impaler and Countess Bathory.”

Sarah gave me a look that said I should stop talking.

“Do you really drink blood? Do you kill people? Do you turn into a bat?”

It was like having an extremely talkative shadow.

“Yes, I drink blood, no, I don’t kill people, and some vampires can turn into animals, but I can’t.”

“How do you drink blood?”

“I drink donated blood. People donate their blood to us.”

At the end of the week, I was packing up my suitcase. Sarah was cleaning out her purse. A knock sounded at the door, and Sarah said “Come in.”

The door opened, and Birdie was standing there, looking sheepish. She was in her true form.

“May I speak to Reese alone, Sarah?”

“If you want to talk to him, I want to be in the room.”

“That’s fair. I just wanted to say, Reese, that I’m glad it was you that my daughter chose, instead of a human or Fae boy.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Cresley. I’m glad she chose me, too.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Going home felt good. Sarah played with an obsidian stone that she’d gotten at the plaza. She and Birdie went into several weird witchy stores and bought books, stones, gems, rings, necklaces, and charm kits. When Sarah told her all about her foray into witchcraft, Birdie laughed and said that she naturally had magic- the other girls didn’t, except for Scarlett and Jordan.

She gave her several books on how to wield fairy magic. Sarah put the obsidian stone in her purse, then got out one of the old books. I stared out the window at the passing clouds. If I looked down, I’d see the ocean. The subject of my recent nightmares. But I was safe in my family’s private jet. Soon, though, I fell asleep, and was no longer safe.

I saw a young boy. He was about fifteen years old, and had black straight hair styled like mine in a goth hairstyle. He wore a black jacket. His eyes were bright emeralds, shining in the night. He looked up at me and smiled.

“Hi, Dad,” he said. Me? I was his father? “Can we talk?”

“Sure,” I said, apprehension crawling in my chest. “What’s wrong?”

“I...I saw….” He hesitated. I searched his mind. It involved his sister, Caitlin.

“Is it about your sister?”

“Dad! I told you not to do that!” But he blushed and ducked his head.

“Tell me,” I ordered.

“Okay, okay. I saw Caitlin kissing a werewolf.”

“Is that it?”

“Yeah. Please don’t tell her.”

“Jojo, I have to talk to her. The wolf pack are our enemies.”

“You said that Grandpa fell in love with a wolf named Faolan.”

“He did, but Faolan became our enemy after I…”

“Dad? After you what?”

I gulped. “I met a wolf girl named Sadie. I had...relations...with her. And then I got back with your mother. Sadie committed suicide.”

His eyes were wide. “I... I didn’t know.”

“Now you do. I have to talk to Caitlin.”

The dream changed.

I was in my kitchen. Caitlin was here. She had light straight blond hair, the rare product of repressive genes. Of course, her mother also had blond in her light brown hair.

“Caitlin, I have to talk to you,” I said. She looked up from her pink iPhone.

“What’s up, Dad?”

“Do you know why we are the enemies of the werewolf?”

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “No.”

“We used to be friends with the local pack. Grandpa was in love with a wolf named Faolan, who was the leader of the pack. He had an adopted daughter named Sadie. While your mother and I were...taking a break, I had relations with Sadie, then went back to your mother, and Sadie killed herself. Faolan has hated us ever since, and it was passed down through the other leaders of the pack.”

“Oh. Too much information, Dad.”

“I know about the werewolf.”

She looked nervous now. “What werewolf?”

“Don’t play dumb. I can’t say I approve, but I won’t stop you.”

“Jojo squealed, didn’t he?”

“That’s a moot point. Just be careful and use protection.”

“Dad! We’re not doing that!”

“I’m serious, Cait. Use condoms, take your birth control the right way. Of course, I’d rather you didn’t do it at all.”

“Dad, I’m serious. Jack and I are not having sex. Mom explained how it all works.”

“Okay, just making sure.”

The dream changed.

I was flying. No, not me. I was being carried by someone who was flying. I looked up, and saw her. Her wings were flapping, her eyes focused on our destination. My eyes strayed over her, and lingered on her belly. It was swollen. She was pregnant again.

I snorted as I jumped awake. I rubbed my eyes and yawned, then looked over at her. She was asleep, her hand closed over the obsidian stone. I kissed her, then saw bits of shore below. I took her hand in mine. I smiled, remembering our children. Our first two children. Caitlin and Joseph.

I slept some more, then woke up as the plane was landing. Sarah had a magazine open in her lap. She was still holding the obsidian stone.

“Do you know what would happen to a witch if she betrayed her coven?” she asked.

“They would kill her,” I answered. “How was your nap?”

“Reese...I saw our children. And I saw you. You were so handsome; I couldn’t believe it.”

“I saw two of our children. Caitlin and Joseph.”

“I saw our two younger girls. I saw a baby, and I saw Cirino as a teenager. He was so handsome, too. He was a bit older than Caitlin, though.”

“Well, of course. He was born, and she hasn’t even been conceived yet.”

“I can’t wait to meet her,” Sarah said, excited. “And Joseph, and Cynthia, and Enna.”

“Enna?” I asked. “Cynthia?”

She blushed. “I saw them. I heard their names. Cynthia said, ‘How is Enna?’ and I looked down…I was pregnant again.”

“I saw you pregnant and flying,” I said. I grimaced. “I wish you wouldn’t do that.”

“I’m sure the baby would be fine,” she said, her brows furrowing. “What do the names mean?”

“Well, Caitlin is your aunt’s name. Joseph is a Jewish and Christian name. Cynthia is a Greek name, the original name for the goddess Artemis, the goddess of hunting and animals.”

“And Enna means ‘light’ in Irish,” broke in Selena, making us jump. “Planning your future children subconsciously, brother?”

“I think they saw the future,” Mother said.

“Their minds are connected,” Alexander said.

I hadn’t realized they’d all been listening. Alexander continued.

“Their soulmate bond at this point is absolute, so their minds have connected, and they shared a dream. The gods told them what to name their children. And the name Caitlin also means ‘pure or clear’, and it’s French in origin.”

“What does my uncle Brody’s name mean?” Sarah asked.

“It means ‘ditch’ in Gaelic,” Selena said, typing away furiously on her phone.

“Attention, passengers, we are now approaching the airport. Please fasten your seatbelts and turn off all electronics.”

While Sarah and Selena discussed the names of her cousins, I pulled my phone out of my backpack and sent Father a text, telling him that I was home.

“Sarah means ‘princess’ in Hebrew,” Selena told her. “It fits you, because you are a princess, or you will be soon. I’m not sure what Sabine’s name means, though. Siri!”

Toby pulled in the limo. Mother buckled Cirino in, who was now frowning around at everybody. He’d cried a little on the plane, but he was quiet now. Mother gave him his teddy bear, and he smiled at the plush toy.

I slid into my seat, and Sarah slid into hers. Her phone dinged, and she looked at it. Her hand flew to her mouth, then she furiously replied to whomever had texted her.

“Who was that?” Selena asked.

“My friend Rachel. Elliot and Britt finally broke up. Good riddance; she’s too good for him.”

“Isn’t she your fat friend?”

“She’s a little heavy, yes. She has a thyroid condition.”

The drive home was quiet, occasionally punctuated by small noises from Cirino. It was nice to see home again. My father was standing out on the lawn, looking anxious and hopeful. Spencer was behind him, looking expectant.

Toby opened the doors, and I knew that Spencer was preventing himself from running up to Toby and embracing him. We all piled out, Mother and Cirino coming out last.

Spencer couldn’t contain himself. He ran up to Toby and kissed him.

“I missed you,” he said, nuzzling his neck.

“I missed you, too.”

“Reese, what all did you do?” Father asked.

“Let’s see…we met her cousins and aunts and uncle, and Birdie Cresley is a fairy, and we went shopping at the plaza- “

“Hold on,” Father said. “Who is Birdie Cresley?”

“Sarah’s grandmother. She’s the mother of Becket.”

“How interesting…what else did you do?”

“We studied fairy magic, and helped out on the farm, What else? Oh, we made dinner a few times. We promised to send them help with the farm.”

“That was nice of you. Who’s paying for it?”

“Alexander and Mother.”

“We promised to have the help arrive next week,” Mother said. Father stared at her. “What’s wrong with you, Mordecai?”

“What’s wrong with me? Nothing of import. I’ve been going over our records. Our financial records. The entire family is worth three hundred billion.”

“Billion?” Sarah squeaked. Her eyes widened, and she looked at me.

“Which means what, exactly?” I asked.

Father smiled. “Most of the Council has seen the error of their ways and saw what Bram has been doing, digging into our finances and our personal lives. They’re holding a hearing for him. To see if he really is worthy to stay on the Council as the Head. We have two weeks to prepare.”

“Sarah and I have school,” I protested.

“Oh, you won’t be involved. I promise. You’re staying home and going to school. You have exams coming up in about two months, anyway, and you must prepare for them. I will have to be present at the hearing, however, and so will Soren and Louis and Grandfather.”

“How is Grandfather?” I asked. “And what does the Council drama have to do with our money?”

“If we disband the Council, we earn another two billion,” Father said. “Louis and I have been crunching the numbers. Not that we need it, but the Council has been nothing but trouble lately, and we don’t like what they’ve done or what they’re doing.”

“Well, I’m getting bitten up,” Sarah said. Mother unlocked the Bugatti Veyron and strapped Cirino in, and Toby and Spencer helped put the bags in the trunk. Alexander appeared, looking ruffled. He glared at Father, who glared