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

my protection, Mordecai," said Fowley. "Tell me what you know."

"And why should I do that?"

Fowley raised a thin eyebrow. "Remember the last time I bailed you out, Mordecai?"

Father grimaced, but told Fowley what we knew, which was exactly what I'd told him.

"And we're no closer to figuring out who it is," he finalized.

Fowley tilted his head, and then suddenly, white wings burst out of his back. Shocked, Sarah jumped and stepped on my foot. A mistake, as it was her foot that was now injured.

Fowley took off into the air, and then I saw him look around at the surrounding areas. We were secluded, but still in a public area, and I saw a little girl point him out to her mother. Fowley also noticed, and he landed back on his feet on the ground.

"How do you do that without feeling pain?" Sarah asked.

"Practice," he replied, looking at her. I noticed a sadness in his eyes when he looked at her, a longing of some kind. Oh, hell, no.

I was ready to pounce on him, but my control overpowered my instincts, and I stayed put.

I noticed a police car arriving. A beautiful woman stepped out first, and then a not-so-beautiful woman followed her, a dog following close by.

"We got reports of...something," said the beautiful blonde-haired officer. "What's going on here?"

She didn't want to say fairies or angels.

"A murder," Father said. "We are investigating."

"A murder?" That got her interest. "Can I take a look?"

"Yes, we were just finishing up, anyway."

Both officers and the German shepherd went into the temple, where they encountered the rabbi first. He led them into the temple.

"We have to tell the whole community," I said.

"I agree, Reese," Father said. "Have you got your cell phone? Good. Take Sarah home, and then-"

"I need to be with my sister," Sarah argued.

"Your sister is grieving the loss of her mate. Nothing will heal that completely."

"I will take Sarah," Marcus said.

"No, I will," Fowley said. "The children can stay with me while this blows over."

"Not happening," I said, and led Sarah to the car.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - WE ARE REVEALED

That night, I was stunned into submission. Father made an announcement, not just to vampires, but to humans as well.

"I am Prince Mordecai," he said on the local news. "I live here in North Hampton with my son, Reese, and my brother Soren, my nephew Louis, and my father, Eilief. For years I have stayed under the radar, but that is no longer possible. My brother and father and I have discussed, and agreed, that now is the time to reveal ourselves. We are vampires. Vampire royalty, in fact. We came from Denmark, and I moved to North Hampton eighteen years ago to protect my son.

"We do not kill humans, nor do we bite without permission. We drink only donated blood, whether it be cold or fresh. I know that many of you will not believe me, and that is your choice. However, we are real, just as extraterrestrials are real, and I am announcing this for a purpose.

"There have been a series of attacks on members of the supernatural community. A warlock and witch were both found dead, along with a mermaid and two vampires. A street cat was also killed, we believe, as a symbol. If you have any information, please contact the police at the number on your screen. I have informed them of what has happened, and I hope for peace and harmony soon. Thank you and good night."

Sarah stared at the screen before she burst into laughter.

"It's not funny," I growled.

"Sorry!" she shouted, wiping her eyes. "But Mordecai is the last person I expected to hear this from."

"Well, hopefully it helps," I said. My cell phone rang, and then Sarah's buzzed.

"Wow, ten messages," she said, opening the first one.

"Dude, what the hell?" It was Mason. "Your dad just blurted out the news to everyone."

"He had no choice, Mason. It was either that or let him carry on."

"The killer? I know we have to catch him, but really, my dad's pissed that Mordecai said that the first victim was a warlock."

"He was. What was he supposed to do, lie?"

"I don't know, but my dad's furious. Seriously, you do not want to be around him right now. I took off for the library after the announcement. I'm in the car now, as we speak, heading away from my father."

"I'll meet you at the library in ten minutes."

I let Sarah know where I was going, and asked her if she wanted to come with me. She agreed, since we were technically supposed to go together.

We arrived at the library ten minutes after we left, and I saw Mason's car in the parking lot.

I found him in the fantasy section, looking at a Diana Wynne Jones book.

"Diana Wynne Jones is a thousand times better than-"

"Wait, you're not going to say Twilight, are you?" Sarah asked, eyes wide.

"Of course not," I lied.

"Hi, Reese. Hi, Sarah," Mason greeted.

"Hi, Mason," Sarah replied.

She started looking around, and I sat beside Mason.

"My father felt like he had no choice," I said.

"Yeah, well, my father's pissed," Mason repeated. "So there's that. How is she?" he asked, gesturing to Sarah.

"Better. She still has a weak stomach, and gets headaches, though."

He stared at her. "You're so damn lucky," he growled. "She would have been my second choice if Scarlett and I didn't work out."

I snarled at him, baring my teeth.

"Cool it," he commanded. "I know I was wrong about Scarlett and I know Sarah is yours now. But damn it, it should have worked out. It would have worked out, if she hadn't been so damned evil."

"Screw you," I said, getting up. He gave me the finger and went back to his book. I went to find Sarah, and then I heard giggling. Two girls, a redhead and a brunette, were standing near the Grady Hendrix section and looking at me and Mason. One of them, the redhead, said, "He's so cute."

The brunette giggled and looked at me. Sarah came back, her arms full of books, and she gave me a peck on the cheek, and the brunette's smile vanished.

"What did you find?" I asked.

"I found this awesome new memoir about a girl who dabbled in the occult," she said, holding up the first book. "I also found a book about a girl who dies and becomes a ghost. Boy, I'd hate for that to happen."

While she showed me her books, the redheaded girl went over to Mason. He looked up in surprise.

"Hi, I'm Elsa," the girl said.

"Mason," he said, standing up, and offering his hand. Elsa took it and shook it, running her fingers over his.

"I haven't seen you around," she said.

"I don't come to the library much anymore. I have all the books I need at home."

"What about the computers?"

"I have a laptop. I also don't really read magazines, either, or the newspaper."

That was a bold-faced lie, I'd seen him read magazines and the newspaper before.

By now, Sarah was watching, too, looking interested.

"Have you tried the new coffee spot?" Elsa asked.

"No, I haven't," Mason said. "Would you like to go there with me now?"

"Sure," Elsa said, smiling. Mason smiled, too, and he led her to the library cafe.

"What about you?" I asked Sarah.

"I'm supposed to cut down on caffeine," she said, "But some decaf would be nice."

She checked out her books, and I carried them while we found the cafe. Sarah ordered a skinny decaf mocha for herself and some water for me. I started reading one of the books, and Sarah played on her phone.

As Mason and Elsa talked, I finished two books, and Sarah bought a sweet tea.

"Attention patrons: the library will be closing in fifteen minutes. Please check out your items and finish any business you have still."

"Ready to go?" I asked my girl.

"One second," she said, holding up a finger. "This guy on YouTube is trying to go through a muddy riverbed with an old red truck, but the truck got stuck. Now they're trying to pull it out with a big silver truck."

"Here's my number," Elsa said, handing Mason a slip of paper. "Text me."

"Okay," Mason replied, programming her number into his phone.

I said nothing, and neither did Sarah, but we did wave at Mason before we left. When we got in the car, Sarah rummaged in her purse and pulled out a red lipstick, a dark burgundy shade, my favorite color on her. She applied the lipstick first, then applied a clear lip gloss with her index finger.

She looked at me. "You look surprised."

"I...I'm not, I mean...I like that color on you."

"Thanks," she said. "So do I." She leaned over and placed a sloppy kiss on my jaw. "Feel like going and getting mozzarella sticks?" she asked.

"I won't eat them, but I'm sure you will," I reminded her. She smiled and kissed my neck this time.

I started to drive, but then something hard hit my car. Sarah gasped, and I got out and looked toward the front. A ragged man, clearly homeless, was clutching at his chest, and that's when I saw the knife. I got back into the car.

"Call nine-one-one!" I cried. Sarah whipped out her phone and started dialing.

"Nine-one-one, what's your emergency?"

"Hello, my name is Sarah Cresley, and this guy just ran out in front of my boyfriend's car. He's hurt really badly."

"He's been stabbed," I said.

"My boyfriend says he's been stabbed. The guy, I mean, not my boyfriend. We're at the public library on Seventh. Yes, ma'am. Yes. No, we didn't see who stabbed him. We're in my boyfriend's car now. It's a black Nissan GT-R. Thank you. Yes, we'll wait."

Five minutes later, a police car showed up and a police officer got out. He gestured for me to lower my window, so I did.

"Are you the ones who called?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. "He's in front of my car."

The officer went to the front and looked. "He's not there!" he shouted. He turned to us. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"No, check the security cameras," I said. He went into the library, and an ambulance showed up. I explained that the man had disappeared to the paramedics, and they searched the area for him.

Five minutes after that, the officer came back, just as another police car was pulling up. His face was as white as a sheet.

He put on hand on the hood on my car, and doubled over, clutching his chest.

"Officer Willard! What's the problem?"

"Big problem," Officer Willard said. He looked at the other officer. "La Ronda, do you believe in ghosts?"

"Ghosts?"

"I swear, on the camera...the guard said he'd never seen anything like it....these kids phoned it in...a dead guy...."

Instead of a homeless guy being taken to the hospital, Officer Willard was taken to the hospital instead. La Ronda watched the clip, and she came back out, also as white as a sheet.

"Go home," she told us. "The guy, he definitely went in front of your car, but then he disappeared into thin air. I can't explain it. Go home and get some rest, we'll take care of this."

"Um, okay," I said, and drove home with Sarah shaking like an aspen leaf.

"I don't like ghosts," she whispered.

"I know, baby," I said, taking her small brown hand in my huge white one. Her experience with ghosts had not been fun. Michael Nales, even though he was dead, had once scared her so much that she almost swallowed a fork.

When we got back to the house, Louis was with a short man with dark blond hair. I recognized him as one of Louis' friends. Then, to my surprise, Louis leaned forward, and kissed him. On the lips. I stared, then I looked over at Sarah. Her eyes were wide, and she stared at the unusual sight. I had never seen Louis kiss a man before.

He pulled away, then he saw us and walked out of the way, the man following close behind. I parked in my usual spot