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

are needed at the police station,” he said gravely. “Leave your bag here.”

He got into his Rolls-Royce, and I followed him. He popped a mint into his mouth, then grimaced at the strong taste.

When we arrived at the police station, we were directed into an interrogation room. Father’s eyes flashed as Emma Greene, and Arastoo Armada entered the room.

“Hello, Mr. Emerson,” Emma began. “Fancy seeing you here again.”

“Under different circumstances,” Father said.

“Not too different,” Arastoo said. “I mean, rape and murder, they’re not much different from each other if you think about it. But you didn’t care when you killed Michael Nales, did you?”

“Yes,” Father said, “I killed Michael Nales. I drank his blood and tore his heart out of his chest with my bare hands.”

“No, Father,” I said, ignoring his warning look. “I asked him to kill Nales. It was my fault, not his.”

“So you confess to murdering Michael Nales?” Emma asked.

“Yes, I killed him of my own volition. And several others who were rapists and murderers. I did my own vigilante justice.”

“Father, stop,” I begged. He put a hand on mine.

“I killed Michael Nales. I killed several others. I stole their cash and cards to make it look like a robbery. I am a vampire. I drink blood. I’ve killed countless humans. I am also a prince of vampires, the second one living.”

Emma Greene and Arastoo Armada stared at him. Then Armada spoke up.

“I suppose now we’ll have to arrest you.”

“Not quite,” Father said, holding up a finger. “I can prove I have diplomatic immunity, even for murder. I can prove that my son has diplomatic immunity. So does my brother, and my nephew.”

“I like to see proof,” said Armada.

Father produced a card from his pocket. Armada stared at the card wide-eyed, then showed it to Greene. She sighed.

“Then you’re free to go,” she said, handing the card back.

“Thank you, officers,” said Father.

When we got home, I tried to go straight to my room.

“Wait a second, Reese,” Father said. “We need to have a family meeting.”

I sat at the dining room table, followed by Father and Uncle Soren. Father called Grandfather and Louis.

“We need to talk,” Grandfather said. “I have proposed to the Council that we let the vampire race decide who they want as leaders. It will be like an election, like it is done here in America.”

“An excellent idea, Father,” Uncle Soren said. He looked weary, I noticed. I wondered how things were going with Mitra Dearwood, his new girlfriend, a beautiful two-hundred-year-old Native American vampire who called herself the guardian of the Lenape tribe.

“I need to speak with the werewolves,” Father said. “I am sure that…well, no, I’m not sure at all that Faolan would be willing to help, especially after Sadie.” I swallowed ashamedly. It was because of me that Sadie, who was like a daughter to Faolan, had killed herself recently.

“We need to discuss laws,” Louis said. “I agree with a few of the Council’s suggested laws, but the rest are Draconian.”

CHAPTER TWO – APOLLO’S MISTAKE

I had not seen Apollo in a while, but now he was in front of me, standing in the door.

“Where is your father?” he asked.

“Dad!” I called out. “Apollo’s here!”

“What does he want?”

“To speak with you.”

Father arrived, a cigarette in his hand. “What do you want?”

“A moment of your time, obviously,” Apollo said tersely, still smiling.

“Come in.” Apollo followed him into the dining room.

“What’s the deal?” I asked, joining them.

“I wish to tutor the boy,” Apollo said.

“My boy? Why?” Father looked suspicious.

“He needs to know what happened many, many, many years ago,” Apollo said. “When Alexander tried to kill me and failed.”

“You killed your wife,” Father said.

Apollo looked sad. “I was angry, because my baby was dead. My only daughter. I have lain with many women and men since then, but none compared to my Kida. I…regret it with great intensity. There are times when I thought of…of ending it all. So to be with my beloved wife and baby. And now Alexander’s brothers.”

“He had brothers?” I asked.

“Aye, seven. But he is the only one left, and he is the oldest. The only family that still speaks to me regularly is Kieran. And that crazed albino, Kellan, keeps pulling him away. I have the feeling that Kellan sees Kieran as more than a friend.” He smiled. “I am happy to have my grandson in my life. I am sure that he feels the same way about me.” He paused. “Of course, you have Sarah, Reese, and Mordecai, you…well, you did have Faolan.”

“Before he dumped me,” Father muttered. “I’m sure that he doesn’t regret it.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” said Apollo. “You never know what someone is truly feeling. Sometimes even that person doesn’t know.”

“I know that my mother and father love me,” I said, “And so does Alexander.”

“A parent’s love for their children is almost always strong and never-ending. No doubt my son sees you as another son. And I have no doubt that Marina and Mordecai love you, as well. Like Marina loves all her children, including Kieran and the humans. And of course you are the apple of your father’s eye.”

“So what did happen thousands of years ago?” I asked.

“Most of it has already been explained. My daughter was stillborn, and I killed my wife in a fit of anger. In retaliation, Alexander and some of his brothers tried to kill me. I think there were five of them in all who wanted me dead. My son Balthazar told me in time, and so I managed to survive the attack. Alexander was already a vampire at this time, but no one knew. He had angered one of God’s angels, and so the angel cursed him. There were already different kinds of vampires at this point, but Alexander was the first human-born vampire.”

“Which angel did he anger?” I asked.

“He won’t say. But it was an archangel, one of the high-ranking ones. Possibly Michael or Gabriel, even.”

“Only Alexander can tell you the whole story,” Father said.

“But he won’t,” I complained.

“Keep pestering him until he does.”

“That’s like poking a sleeping porcupine!”

Apollo spoke up. “I have seen the extinction of many, many animals, Reese. So has your father. The quagga, the dodo bird, the elephant bird, the great auk, and so on.”

“You just named three kinds of birds,” I said.

“Who are all extinct. Anyway, I have seen the rise and fall of many civilizations. Rome, Alexander the Great, China, Persia, Greece.

“Greece and China are still around,” I said. “And Alexander the Great is a person.”

Apollo smacked me upside the head. “Don’t talk back.”

Father let out a warning growl. Apollo ignored him.

Apollo finished his story and got up to leave. He bowed to me and Father, and then headed out the door.

“My lady,” he said. I looked around for Sarah. To my disappointment, it was Selena.

“Little brother,” she said to me. “Mordecai, I need to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“I’m worried about Mom. She’s pale, she’s not eating, and she’s lost weight. She’s trying to be Super Mom, but not everyone can be like that.”

“Why are you coming to me? Why not, say, Alexander?” he asked.

“Alexander is the most insensitive, evil, carefree…I don’t trust him. I trust you.”

“I practically raped her!”

“I know, and she’s forgiven you for that. Well, no, she hasn’t. But she eventually will. It produced Reese, didn’t it?”

“Don’t remind me,” I growled.

“Exactly. Meanwhile, Sarah’s running around like a chicken with her head cut off. Therapy, school, studying and homework, cheerleading, piano lessons, trying to be a good sister, daughter, and girlfriend.”

“My schedule’s busy, too,” I said. “I have the duties of a prince, of a mate, and I have been applying to different colleges. I am a son, a stepbrother, a cousin, a nephew, a grandson, and a half-brother. And I will soon be a stepfather.”

“How do you know?”

“I will ask her to marry me. And she’ll say yes. I know she will.”

“If you say so. Anyway, I just wanted to let you all know how things are going here.”

“Thank you for keeping us informed, Selena,” Father said. “It is important that we are aware of each other’s stresses and duties.”

“That’s what I think, too,” Selena and I said in unison.

“But anyway, I have to practice guitar now, so I’ll bid you adieu.” I gave my sister a salute and nodded to Father before I left and went up to my room, where I grabbed my electric guitar and started playing some random notes. Then I started playing a song by the band Ghost. I’d gotten into them lately, my ears satisfied by their tones, notes, and pitches.

I kept playing until I got blisters on my fingers, then went to bed early.

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

I was busy with watching Sarah practice. Chris was next to me, watching her as well. Sarah’s form was perfect, but her face kept making the odd pained look.

“Sarah, enough with the stinkface!” yelled out Ms. Kent. “You’re a cheerleader! Smile! Show those teeth! Wider! Stella, suck it in! No one wants to see your flab!”

“Okay, I’ve had enough,” I said. Chris grabbed my arm and pulled me back.

“Not yet,” she said. “She hasn’t gotten physical or cursed yet. We must wait. However…..” She pointed to the baseball cap she was wearing.

“A hidden camera?” I asked.

“Several. In different places. Sarah has one, too. On her water bottle. Marina wants all the evidence she can get before the school kicks Cella Kent’s ass to the curb.”

“Clever,” I said.

“Yes.”

Kent continued to yell at the girls.

“Trish, how often do you brush your teeth? They’re yellow! Rebecca, that was a crappy move! Do it again! Hannah, what do you think you’re doing?! That’s the worst herkie I’ve ever seen!”

“Oh, shut up,” I said to myself.

“Why are you crossing your arms like you’re pissed off?”

“Because I am.”

I lit up. That was Sarah’s voice.

“You’ve been nothing but abusive since you came here,” Sarah told Kent.

“No one cares what you think! You don’t matter! I matter! I MATTER! LEAVE NOW! I SWEAR TO GOD, IF YOU LEAVE, YOU’RE NEVER COMING BACK! HEIFER!”

“BITCH!” Sarah yelled out. I heard a loud slap, and I jumped from the stands before I could control myself. The cheerleaders looked at me. Sarah was tearing up and holding her cheek, and Kent looked angry.

“What’s the goth doing here?” she said.

“That’s my girlfriend you just hit,” I growled.

“Girlfriend? Pfft! You don’t have a girlfriend! You’re ugly! All of you are ugly!”

“Sarah’s right,” said Stella. “We’ve had enough of you.”

“YOU CAN’T GET RID OF ME! I AM THE MAYOR’S DAUGHTER! I AM POPULAR AND PRETTY! I’M THE PERFECT COACH!”

“Not according to my cameras,” said Chris, pointing to her cap. “Actually, there are several cameras placed around here, and all of them caught everything. You’re going down.”

Kent knew she was screwed, so she ran. She ran to her car. I started to chase after her, but Sarah called me back.

“Put some ice on it,” said Tiffany Schroeder. “I think I have some in my car.”

After the practice was over, Chris gathered up all the hidden cameras and told me her instructions. Send them to Mother, who will then send them to the school. Hopefully Cella Kent would never show her face again, but if she did, she would be sued.

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

Mitra Dearwood and Uncle Soren were on the porch, talking. Mitra was leaning against him, looking especially tiny next to my large, big-muscled uncle. Hard rock was blaring out of speakers, blowing up my ears. I loved it. Uncle Soren had a half-smoked cigarette in his right hand, and in his left hand was Mitra’s shoulder. She was quiet next to him, her eyes full of tears and her lip bitten to blood.

“It’s not your fault, baby,” said Uncle Soren. “It’s my fault. I should have warned you. I understand that Ellis was your friend. I know what it’s like to lose a good friend. But we’re together now-I have you, and you have me. I can protect you. I can spoil you. I