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

The shock of seeing him sent me over the edge.

“Who the fuck are you?” I asked.

He turned and glared at me. “The better question is, who the fuck are you, and are you holding my daughter hostage?”

“No, Daddy,” Sarah said. “He’s my boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend? Your boyfriend is a bloodsucker?!”

“Did he stab Soren?” I asked.

“No,” Uncle Soren breathed. “I stabbed myself. Don’t cry, Mitra, I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Well, Mr. Cresley, I’m Reese Emerson,” I said. “I am the youngest of the Four Princes of the Vampires. I met Sarah at school, and I’ve loved her for years.”

“I don’t give a damn at this point. Where is Alicia?”

“Mom’s dead,” Sarah explained, still crying. “Are you really my father?”

“I am, baby girl,” he said, his voice softening. “I’m sorry, but I had to pretend to be dead.”

“He’s lying,” Alexander growled. “He’s a zombie. I can smell his corpse.”

“So can I,” Soren said, ripping the piece of wood from his stomach. “Don’t worry about me, love. No fussing. I will survive.”

“Go back to Heaven, zombie,” Alexander said.

“As amazing as Heaven is, my girls come first,” he said. “An angel named Adriel knows where I am. He helped me do this.”

“I know Adriel,” Sarah said. “I didn’t realize he was an angel. Long blond hair, blue eyes, pale skin?”

“That’s the one. He said he knows you. He’s your guardian angel, in fact. He’s hiding from you right now, but he’s here. You can call him anytime you want.”

“Adriel? Are you here?”

A vision of beauty appeared from a copse of bushes. He had pale silky strands that brushed his shoulders, startlingly crystal-blue eyes, similar to my mother’s, and indeed, he had porcelain, almost golden skin. He was almost as beautiful as Sarah, and yes, I’m totally biased. If I wasn’t, I’d say he was just as beautiful.

“Why didn’t you say something? Did you…”

Her words trailed off.

“I’m sorry, Sarah, but I cannot help unless I am called into action by either you or God. I’ve never forgiven myself for not helping you that night. But your son is a precious gift, and you were meant to have him.”

“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! TWO YEARS OF THERAPY! NINE MONTHS OF PAINFUL PREGNANCY! THE GAS DIDN’T HELP! GETTING A C-SECTION DIDN’T HELP! MY PARTS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME! I WAS RAPED!”

“Raped?! By who?!” Beckett demanded.

“Michael Nales. Don’t worry, my father already killed him,” I responded.

“Good,” Beckett growled.

“Stop fussing, Mitra,” Uncle Soren insisted. “It’s already healing. No guts have been spilled.”

Mom finally arrived, covered in blood. She saw Beckett and gasped, then ran over to Sarah and embraced her.

“Beckett, my wife, Marina,” Alexander said. “My love, this is Sarah’s biological father. He’s now a zombie.”

Mother and Beckett sneered at each other. Beckett spoke up.

“Well, clearly, I’m not wanted. If you need to contact me, talk to Adriel.”

“Where are you going, Daddy?” Sarah asked.

“Back to Heaven, sweetheart. We wouldn’t want some religious group to see me and panic.”

Slowly, he fell down, and his body began to rapidly decay. Adriel picked up the body and sent it back his grave. It was odd, watching a rapidly-decaying human body floating seemingly by itself.

“He’s going to find Michael Nales’ spirit,” I said. “He’ll want revenge on Sarah’s behalf.”

“I think the boy is right,” Alexander replied. “Soren, are you all right?”

“It’s just a scar now,” he said, lifting up his shirt to reveal his heavily-scarred abdomen.

“I think Beckett was also embarrassed to be caught,” Mother broke in. She bent down and licked Sarah’s eyes. “Alexander, I want you to mark our territory.”

“As you wish, my love,” he said, then stalked off to the woods. I noticed that he walked with a slight limp.

“What’s wrong with his leg?” I asked.

“I asked him this morning,” Sarah said. “He told me to mind my own business.”

“Your stepfather is a very powerful man,” Mother said. “He has many enemies, many of whom would like to harm or kill him. One limp will not kill him.”

“One of whom is Apollo,” I said, thinking hard.

“Apollo does not want Ambrogio dead. He betrayed him, yes, but Apollo deserved it after he killed your stepfather’s mother. A stillborn is not the fault of the mother.”

Her eyes looked sad, and she blinked, her eyes shining with fresh tears.

“There’s also Kieran,” Sarah said. She looked at me. “You should have seen the fight they got into the other day. I thought my ears were going to explode from their shouting.”

“I had to remind them that we have a baby in the house,” Mother said. “I’m so glad Zie was at the grocery store. She suspects what we are. But Kieran does not want Alexander dead, either, despite his past actions and bad attitude today. You forget that Kieran recently lost his mate, Thomas.”

“There’s Kellan,” I said. “But I don’t know much about him.”

“Neither do we,” Mother admitted. “He is not around a lot. He is albino, that is all I know. Oh, and he is a friend of Kieran’s, and he clearly loves him.”

“Loves him?”

“You’d have to be blind not to see it,” Sarah said. She cocked her head. “Or male. Kellan is mad about Kieran. Or just plain crazy.”

“He is a bit mad, yes,” Mother said. “What was the point of saying he’s Soren’s son? Or was it Louis?”

“Speaking of Soren, where did he and Mitra go?” Sarah asked.

“They slipped away while we were talking,” Mother said. “She was worried about him.”

“A Socotra stake was in his belly,” I reminded her. “I’m amazed he survived.”

“Your uncle is the strongest vampire I know,” Mother said. “Both in mind and in body. The day has been long, and my Sarah is tired.”

“I’m not tired,” Sarah argued.

“Still, I think it would be best if you ate something and went to bed. You are in shock from your father’s abrupt arrival back from the dead.”

“In shock, yes,” Sarah agreed. “Come with me, Reese?” she asked.

“Of course,” I said.

A few minutes later, we were in her room, which had been painted pink. She raved about the new bubblegum color and the perky rainbow decorations. Her bedspread was now a pastel green, reminding me of her favorite mint-chip ice cream. The desk had been sprayed black and held her laptop and other supplies. Her bookshelves had also been spray-painted black and held her vast collection of books, CDs, and art books. She’d been gifted a bigger TV, which took up half of the wall. Next to it was a gigantic DVD rack full of DVDs.

I noticed a few touches that looked like something I’d do. For example, she had all of the Halloween DVDs, along with the Leprechaun, Chucky, Wrong Turn DVDs. I pointed them out to her and she blushed.

“I thought we could have a movie night sometime. I tried to watch one of the Wrong Turn movies, but I lost my appetite when a guy blew up.”

“Really, you didn’t throw up during the scene where a girl gets her arm ripped off, or during a cannibalism scene, or when the mother gave birth to the mutated inbred baby?”

She turned green.

“Sorry, babe,” I said, grinning a little. “I know that’s not your scene. Your scene is even more disgusting. Kissing and confused virgins and twenty-year-old lost love. It’s revolting.”

“I had another dream about our kids,” she said. “Our future kids, I mean. I saw Jojo. He’s gorgeous. He looks so much like you, except his eyes. They were green. But he had your hair and nose and chin.”

“He sounds ugly as sin,” I joked. She punched my arm lightly, then winced and shook her hand.

“You’re not ugly, silly. You’re actually quite handsome. It’s a wonder more girls don’t crush on you!”

“It’s the way I look and dress,” I said. “And the vibe I give off. No one likes the sulky Goth guy who is quite possibly a vampire.”

“But you are a vampire.”

“And you’re a fairy/human hybrid.”

“You make me sound like a dog.”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“Right, a poodle/collie mix.”

“What a strange mix.”

“Fact is stranger than fiction, lover. And we’re definitely a strange couple.” She leaned forward and pecked my lips. Then my pants vibrated, and I answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Reese?”

“Toby? What’s up?”

“Where are you?” he demanded.

“I’m with Sarah at her house. Is something wrong?”

“I can’t find Spencer anywhere!”

“Isn’t he always with you?”

“Not today! I’m worried.”

“Spencer’s tough; I’m sure he’s fine. Where were you when I needed you earlier? I gave you a call.”

“You did? I didn’t hear it.”

“You’re starting to lag, Toby,” I warned cautiously.

“I will do my best to remedy that. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to find my soulmate.” Then he slammed the phone down on me.

I looked at the phone, amazed at his attitude and tone. He’d never spoken to me that way before.

“Babe, I’m sorry, but I have to deal with something,” I said. She pouted. “I know, but I’ll be back later. I promise.” I kissed her, then started the run home, almost tripping over Spunk, who was laying in the middle of the hallway.

When I got home, though, I was shocked by a sight. Toby was laying on the ground, blood spurting from his chest. His heart, by the looks of it.

“That wasn’t me on the phone,” he coughed.

“Don’t speak just now,” I said.

“Reese,” he grabbed my hands, “You’ve got to go back to Sarah. She’s in danger!”

“Where’s Spencer?”

“I don’t know…” Toby trailed off. I picked him up and carried him into the garage, where it was safer for him than the warm sun. I took my jacket off and pressed it against Toby’s heart. The blood flow ceased almost immediately.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I should have been here, I should have been more suspicious…who did it?”

But just then, his eyes closed, and he did not respond.

Uncle Soren came back less than a minute later, with Mitra, and was stunned to see me still with my jacket against Toby’s heart.

“Nice to see you again,” I crooned.

“Cut the sarcasm, kid. What the hell happened?”

“I don’t know, he was attacked; he didn’t say who did it, and Spencer’s missing.”

“I’ll take over from here,” Mitra said. She placed her hands where mine had been, causing the wound to gush, then lie still. “How the fuck did you survive a Socotra attack, when he most likely won’t?” she asked.

“A Socotra stake did that?” I asked, licking the blood off my hands. It was very rich, but very cold.

Uncle Soren leaned against the garage door, denting it. “It’s all my fault,” he muttered. “I shouldn’t have left.”

“Damn it, worst time ever not to have guards,” I said. Uncle Soren looked torn. “We’ll be fine,” I told him. “Go find Spencer.”

“You and her are what is most important to me right now. And Toby, of course. Damn it, damn it, damn it! Some creator I am!”

“Creator?” I hedged. “Toby told me that he changed himself.”

“He lied. I actually changed him. Did you never wonder why he and I have been together so long? He’s my fledgling…I taught him to read, how to work a computer, how to fix a damn car. I love him like a son.”

“What about Spencer?”

“What about him?” he asked, coldly. “I don’t care for Spencer, truth be told. He’s way too old for Toby.”

I stared at him pointedly and pointed at Mitra. He ignored me.

“Well, the blood flow is contained,” she said. “But it must be dressed immediately, and he needs rest.”

“No…what I need is Spencer,” Toby whispered, so low that I almost couldn’t hear him. He slowly looked over at my uncle. “Please, find him. He’s my soulmate. I can’t live without him. There’s no point in saving me if he’s not around.”

Uncle Soren huffed, but didn’t respond. “Siri,” he said, “Text Ethan Potter.”

Within a few minutes, Ethan was there, and he took over for Mitra.

“I am going to find the son of a bitch who did this,” Uncle Soren raged.

“I’ll go with you,” I said.

“Fuck no. Stay here; you’ll be safer here.”

“He’s my friend, too,” I argued, and my uncle frowned at