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

he simply flicked the hair tie at me. I snatched it out of the air and tied my hair back into a man bun. “That was mean.”

He shrugged. “Sorry, but I couldn’t resist.”

“You’re acting like Louis,” I told him.

“Hey! I’m right here,” Louis cut in.

I got out my phone from my pocket and scoured Facebook. Sarah had uploaded a video of her singing. I wondered how she had the time, with her cheerleading, her study group, her obligations to her sister, her relationship with me, and her obligations to her friends. Not to mention her two jobs.

I clicked on the video. Her high soprano voice was beautiful, full, and rich. She was singing “Angel’s Song” from the movie Rock and Rule. I’d introduced her to the movie a few weeks before, and she’d become fascinated by Angel and Omar’s relationship.

Already, she was getting all sorts of comments, mostly compliments on her voice and asking who sang the original. Some of them were comments on her looks, and to my relief, most of them were from girls who complimented her makeup or her eyes or her hair.

I scrolled around, and then I noticed Mason’s status. I called him.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me. What’s up?”

“What do you mean?”

“Someone help me. What the fuck does that mean?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Don’t lie to me.”

“Fine. My dad’s been acting weird. He’s been getting up at night when he thinks I’m asleep, and then he leaves for hours. He usually comes back just before I wake up, and then he comes into my room and sits on my bed. I can feel him looking at me. Would you be scared?”

“My father’s a predator and overprotective. A helicopter parent.”

“Hey, I’m right here,” Father cut in.

I put my finger to his lips. He licked me, and I wiped my finger on Louis’ shirt.

“Hey!”

“My father’s never acted this way,” Mason continued. “I mean, when I was little he’d be gone for days at a time, but that was before, when he had a coven. Now he’s single and alone, and he’s taking his anger out on me. I thought he was going to hit me more than once. Our fights have gotten out of control. I’m ready to cut him out of my life.”

“Don’t do that. You’ll regret it.”

“Speak of the devil. I have to go.”

“Be nice, Mason.”

“I will if he will.”

He hung up.

“It’s nice that you check in on your friends,” Father said. “Louis, no one wants to see your belly. Put your shirt back on.”

I looked over. My cousin was in the middle of taking his shirt off. Scowling, he put it back on.

“Drama queen,” I said. He flicked my ear.

“I like the fact that you two act more like brothers than cousins,” Father said. “Especially since, as we know, Louis is seeing a girl again.”

“No, I’m not,” Louis denied, looking embarrassed.

“Fibber,” Father teased.

“What’s this?” Uncle Soren asked, coming in through the front door. He smelled like gasoline.

“You stink, brother,” Father said, holding his shirt over his nose.

“I know; I’m going to take a shower. Louis, just tell us her name.”

“No, no. Last thing that I want,” he replied. “You guys will tease and torture my…my paramour.”

“Come on, cousin,” I teased, grinning. “I’m sure she’s not that bad.”

“It’s not a she,” he said after a pause. “It’s a he.”

Surprise flittered across my uncle’s and father’s faces.

“Your new paramour is male?” Uncle Soren asked, sounding both surprised and unsure.

“Yes. I didn’t tell you, because you’re a pain in my ass. His name is Blaine. He’s a shapeshifter who usually takes the form of a wolf.”

“Louis, I…”

“I know, Dad. You’re always disappointed in me, what’s one more disappointment going to do?”

“Louis, that is not true. I will support this endeavor, if I approve of him. Mordecai, what should my rule be?”

“The same as if he was dating a girl,” Father said. “The rule didn’t change much when Reese switched to a female love interest.”

“Rules, schmules,” Louis snapped. “I’ve been an adult for over three hundred years. I’ll date whoever I want.”

“Young vampire, I am still your father, and you’ll do as I say.”

“Watch me,” my cousin said, giving his father the finger and walking out the door.

“Nice going, Soren,” Father said. “That’s one way to get your child to hate you. I know, I have a child.” He put his hand on top of my head.

“Screw you, Mordecai. I’m going to take a shower. I was on my motorcycle when I ran out of gas on the highway. I had to carry it half a mile up to the nearest gas station. You should have seen the clerk’s face. He looked impressed.”

I looked over at Father. He glared at his older brother. Uncle Soren clomped up the stairs, and minutes later, I heard the water running. I glanced outside, and saw Thought and Memory. They stared at me with their little black bird eyes. Father noticed them, too. He stared at them, and Memory hopped over to the window and clicked her beak on the glass.

I went over and opened the window, and she hopped in. Then she flapped her wings and flew away, seconds before Shadowfang grabbed her.

“Shadow! Bad cat!”

“It was a bird! A tasty snack!”

“It was Memory! One of Odin’s ravens! You probably scared her away.”

Ignoring me, he stared at the birds, his tail swishing, a deep purr coming from his throat. Memory and Thought glared at him. Then Thought flew in and landed on the mantel. Shadowfang’s eyes flew from him to Memory and back. He licked his lips, and the birds flapped their wings at him.

“We’re all familiars here,” Shadowfang said. “I simply happen to be a cat.”

The birds continued to glare at him. Then Memory flew in, and she began changing. Thought stood beside her, and he began changing as well. Before long, instead of ravens, there stood two people in front of us. Father and I gaped.

Memory’s human form was a beautiful, black-haired, black-eyed woman, and Thought’s human form was a black-haired man with a triangular beard. Both of them wore black clothing.

“Hello, sons of Eilief,” said Memory. She gave us an odd three-fingered salute. “Followers of my master, Odin, and believers in the old gods.”

“We have been trying to tell you,” said Thought, “Something that will affect your future. Things are not going well in the world of the Gods. The Christian God Himself is not thrilled with the human race.”

I stared. I wondered if I was dreaming. Odin was watching out for us, or at least, Thought and Memory were.

“What’s going on?” Father asked, leaning forward.

“Your family is in great danger,” said Memory. “You need to watch over your nestling, Mordecai.”

“I already watch over him,” he said. “He’s my only child.”

“Rosales is back,” said Thought. Father paled, if that was possible, at the name.

“And Soren,” said Memory. “Nice towel, by the way.”

I glanced back. My uncle was behind me on the stairs, a towel wrapped around his waist.

“The book is in danger,” she continued. “You must destroy it, or risk it being stolen.”

“I planned to send it on to the Vatican,” Uncle Soren said.

“The Vatican is a good choice,” said Thought. “You need to watch over your nestling, as well. Both of your nestlings are in danger.”

“Is this a message from Odin?” I asked.

“It’s a message from us,” said Memory. “My brother and I are looking out for the Chosen.”

“Chosen?” Uncle Soren snorted. “What is this, a crappy teen novel?”

“No, this is so much more,” Memory replied. “Your father is slowly losing himself, Soren and Mordecai. You will lose him before long.”

“Why are you giving us cryptic messages?” I asked. “Don’t you know the whole story?”

“Of course we do, but it’s not for us to tell, young Seer.”

“Seer?”

“You have been having dreams of your future with the girl, have you not?”

I thought about all the dreams I’d had, the ones I’d shared with her.

“Are…are you saying…I have a gift?”

“My son has a gift?” Father was aghast.

“I’ve been seeing the future?” I asked. “I saw…well, I never thought about it…but I saw my two oldest children. Caitlin and Joseph. I even know their names. Sarah’s already chosen their names, hasn’t she?”

“You would let her choose their names?” Thought asked.

“Of course. She’s their mother. I’d let her choose whatever she wants.”

“That’s all we can tell you,” Thought said, looking at Memory. “We’ve already told them too much, sister. We must go now.”

The two familiars turned back into ravens, then flew out the window. Shadowfang jumped onto the coffee table and watched them fly away sulkily. Father went over and shut the window, wincing as sunlight hit him. He pulled the drapes.

I thought about what I’d learned. I had a gift. I could see the future. I was gifted. I was a seer. Psychic. I had psychic abilities, like my father. He could only see the present. I could see the future. I made a noise in my throat as he put his hand on top of my head.

“Who’s Rosales?” I asked.

“No one,” he quickly answered.

“He has to be someone,” I argued.

“Tell him, Mordecai,” Uncle Soren said, putting his hands on the couch. “Or I will.”

Father reached back and twisted one of Uncle Soren’s nipples. Uncle Soren squeaked and covered the sensitive area with his large hand. He glared at my father, who glared back.

“Rosales was a fledgling I had,” Father said.

“That’s it?” I knew Father had fledglings; I’d met a few. Some of them were jealous, as they saw him as a sort of father figure. Others thought he could be their mate. There were a few who hated him for turning them-some of them had never forgiven him for that.

“Rosales was more than a fledgling,” Father continued. “He was like a son to me. Like Toby and Uncle Soren.”

“Toby and Uncle Soren? Toby told me he changed himself?”

“He lied,” Uncle Soren said. “It was true that the couple who bought him were sexually abusing him, but I was occasionally a part of their games. When they introduced him to me, I knew it wasn’t right, so I turned him.”

“Rosales was like a son to you?” I asked. “Have you had children other than me?”

“Well, no, you’re my only biological child. Other children I’ve had were fledglings.”

“Were? Is Rosales dead?”

“Yes, or so I thought. I’d heard he was dead back in the forties, just after I met Faolan.”

“What’s he like?”

“Rosales? A lot like you, I suppose, only a bit more conceited. Like I said, he was like a son to me.”

To my shock, I was jealous. Father smiled and kissed my hair.

“No need to be jealous, baby. He could never compare to you. No one can, not even Faolan.”

“How sentimental,” Uncle Soren teased.

“Go put a shirt on before I give you another purple nurple,” Father warned him.

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

I hadn’t been to Rainbow Alley in a while. I parked my GT-R. A girl with a shaved head called out “Nice car!”

I smiled and nodded to her and edged my way inside. In the room, it was stuffy. A guy with a green mohawk was smoking a cigarette. He saw me and flicked it away. It hit a girl’s arm, and she squealed and glared at him. The girl looked familiar. I knew I’d seen her somewhere, but where? Here, maybe.

She looked over at me. “Oh, hey. You’re Reese, right, Ariella’s friend?”

“Yeah. Iris, right?” I replied.

“Got it in one.” She smiled. “Ignore Todd. He’s just…stupid.”

“I will fucking cut your throat,” Todd threatened her.

“That’s your second and third warning,” she said, crossing her fingers.

“So? I don’t see no chaperones around.”

“What was your first warning for?” I asked.

“He called an Asian girl ‘ching-chong’,” Iris said.

“Was it you?” I asked.

“Nah, it was another girl. And for the last time, I’m not Chinese,” she said, as he made a crude gesture. “I’m Japanese.”

“Same thing,” Todd said, then spit on the carpet. Iris gave him a disgusted look and took my hand.

“Come on, I’ll show you where the real action is,” she encouraged. She dragged me over to the center of the room,