Tales of Aradia The Last Witch Volume 5

by Jones, L. A.

  Aradia stared at him in confusion. "You think drugs are the cause?"

  Bane shrugged. "It would be my guess. The trouble is what drugs are they and why would someone be dealing them."

  Kaiser might know, Aradia thought to herself. The idea seemed to have some merit but then Aradia realized that before he left he had forgotten to give Aradia his number.

  It sucks not having connections, Aradia concluded bitterly, but maybe I can ask Dax. She quickly shook her head, rejecting that idea. He would be no help. He thinks I am crazy to try to promote tolerance in the first place furthermore he would hate the thought of my putting myself in danger.

  She sighed heavily, which was what Bane chose to comment on. "What's the matter?"

  "Nothing," she grumbled, "or everything if you really think about it."

  "What?"

  Aradia shook her head. "Nothing."

  Bane, however, smiled. "I guess the rumors are true. There is trouble in paradise."

  Aradia felt frustrated because for months she had bottled up her feelings of anxiety, insecurity and so much more. She couldn't talk to Dax, Rhonda was busy with D, and Melina practically spent every waking moment with Roy. She wanted to talk to her parents but ever since they found out that she had to repeat her junior year there had been animosity growing between them. Her father had been pressuring her about school work, college, and so much more. Her mother had nagged her about money, listening to her father, and making the right choices. Throughout the summer she had felt pressure everywhere she went from her home, to the club, and the rest of Salem.

  She hated it but most of all she hated not having someone to talk to.

  "Trouble in paradise?" Aradia snorted, "More like trouble everywhere I go."

  "What do you mean?" Bane asked.

  "For God's sake Bane, I am swamped with work, and stress. In fact it's a surprise to me that I haven't had a mental breakdown by now."

  "Do you want to talk about it?"

  Aradia stared at Bane in shock but then her eyes narrowed. "Why do you want to talk to me of all people?"

  "Because," Bane stated, "you need to talk to someone so it might as well be me."

  Aradia's good sense screamed at her to leave right now and avoid Bane like the plague. However, her desperation for conversation and companionship kicked in.

  She sighed heavily and sat down on a nearby piece of equipment. "I don't know where to start..."

  Bane just smiled, walked closer to her, and sat cross legged on the floor. "How about at the beginning?"

  Chapter Four

  Aradia should have expected it, but finding out that Bane had blabbed about all her troubles was still very hurtful. The stares she got at school had always been bad but come Monday they were now enough to make her want to crawl into a hole and die. It wasn't just the stares though, the pointing and the whispering worried her as well. In fact some people even glared at her maliciously while others smirked.

  After slamming her books inside her locker, she leaned in and pressed her head against the cool metal. It felt good to ignore the harshness of the world if only for a few seconds.

  "That's it." She moaned under her breath.

  As much as she wanted to ignore the whispering and what it was about, Aradia knew she had to find out the truth. Not just what Bane had told people, but what everyone had been saying before as well. So with a heavy sigh, she decided that after school she would go to the one person she knew would tell her everything and enjoy how much pain it caused her.

  It was at the mall when she finally cornered Tristan. Titania was sitting in his lap and nuzzling his neck while he sat nonchalantly.

  It was him, however, that spoke first. "Ah Aradia, I was just thinking about you."

  Titania paused until Tristan went on, "I was just thinking of contacting you and wondering if the horrible rumors about you were true." She then continued her nuzzling.

  Aradia sighed. "Depends on what the rumors say exactly."

  Tristan raised an eyebrow. "You don't know do you?"

  Aradia sighed again. "If I did why the hell would I be talking to you in the first place?"

  The next day, Aradia sat very still in her math class, so still that with the look on her face and the paleness of her complexion one would think she was a walking corpse. In the whole of one hour, Tristan had explained in vivid detail what people were saying about her. The fights with Dax were just the mild ones, the rumors about her repeating her junior year were worse. Some said it was because she was in rehab, others said it was because she had a mental defect. Then there were the stories about her being the Witch Queen and using her influence to usurp the other members on the council. Some even blatantly said she was trying to take over Salem entirely!

  However, the worse rumors (if that were possible) were of her cheating on Dax. Ironic when Aradia had been worrying about Dax screwing around people had been swapping stories about her stepping out with other guys. Some said they had seen her kissing other guys, freak dancing, and even going into the back room of the club. One horrible rumor was that seen someone had seen her having sex in the woods!

  Aradia wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, and she wanted to die. Once again she felt pressure but by now it wasn't just that. She felt humiliated, scandalized, and discouraged. She thought she had been trying to do the right thing by choosing a consort. However, that had not even satisfied everyone's demands. The past few years, she had tried so hard to please everyone but it never seemed to be enough.

  "I give up," Aradia muttered, "I just give up entirely."

  Chapter Five

  "What do you mean you give up?"

  Aradia sighed and glanced back at Melina. Ever since she had announced at the dinner table that she was giving up the club and everything else involving the hidden world, Melina hadn't stopped interrogating her.

  "What do you think I meant?" Aradia demanded.

  Melina just stared at her in surprise, and then slowly shook her head. It had been a very unnerving couple of days not only had Aradia been acting weird but now she was acting downright mean. Melina knew that a lot had shaken her in the past years but she had never seen Aradia act so surly. It was almost as if her personality had completely changed.

  Case in point, Melina noted as she stepped into the rundown house. It was a party with Enter Sandman by Metallica being played in an unseen sound system but it was not like the parties Aradia usually went to. People wearing black clothing were hanging around everywhere staring at them in animosity. Smoke completely filled the room, drugs were passed around as freely as the booze, and couples openly had sex to an eager cat calling audience.

  It had surprised Melina to say the least that Aradia had decided to come to this type of party located in the shabbiest suburb of Salem. What had surprised her even more was that Aradia had not even bothered to tell their folks or anyone else for that matter. It had been a sheer miracle that Melina had seen her while she was waiting for Roy. They had been planning a date but that had been before he backed his truck into his father's van.

  Although it was an accident, his father had sentenced him to dishwasher duty for the next six months starting that very night. Melina had just found all that out a few hours ago when Roy called her. Not wanting to go home, Melina had been debating what else to do and that was when she saw Aradia stepping off a bus. She remembered the shock she felt when she saw Aradia out on a Monday night but most of all what she was wearing.

  Melina then glanced back to stare at Aradia and once again marveled at how different she looked. She was wearing black lipstick, hair woven into a long braid tied behind her back with a black ribbon, a black mini skirt, fishnet stocks, a leather jacket, a black crop top, and thick black boots which Melina suspected were actually her's. After getting over the shock, Melina had confronted Aradia in the street who just shrugged. Melina had then followed her to the party, all the time pestering her with questions. Aradia's temper was already hanging by a thread so having Melina around wa
s not helping. She had been surprised to say the least to see Melina but after finding out that why made her just plain irritated.

  "I don't see why it should really concern you," Aradia snapped. "After all the only reason you are here is because your boyfriend is a no-show so basically, I am just a second choice to you like always!"

  Melina scowled but only for a second. "Is that you have been acting so weird lately? Have you and Dax been fighting?"

  "Only for the past four months," Aradia muttered.

  The song that was now being played was Angels Take A Soul by Fuel. Aradia's mood lifted a little because she liked this song, but it didn't distract her from her goal. After realizing Bane had blabbed, and finding out from Tristan what people had been saying Aradia's anger had reached a pinnacle point. Too many times she had ignored Bane and his constant taunts, now she was going to teach that bastard a lesson. She had been crying in the bathroom earlier that day when she overheard that he was going to this party. She knew that since it was a school night there was no way in hell she could ask her parents' permission so she decided to forgo the whole process.

  As for the clothes, Aradia glanced down at herself, if Bane is anything to go on these people dress in black so I couldn't show up wearing pink now could I? Besides, she shrugged to herself, I was feeling depressed anyway so I might as well dress to suit my mood.

  Closing her eyes, she used her summoning power to sense Bane. A few seconds later, she found him in a corner with his boys smoking a joint.

  "Game on," she smirked.

  "Hiya Bane," Aradia said as loud as she possibly could.

  He coughed loudly before turning to look at her in shock. "Aradia! What the hell are you doing here?"

  Aradia shrugged casually. "It's a free country, I can go anywhere I want."

  "And," she added, "I can do what I want to people who piss me off. People like you!"

  "Me?" Bane sputtered, "What did I do?"

  "It's funny," she said, "guys like you are suppose to hate snitches and yet that is exactly what you did. I told you stuff and you blabbed it all over the damn school!"

  He grinned with satisfaction at least until Aradia said, "the thing of it is though, for years I have been suppressing the need to smack you down. Well guess what? I am done with suppressing anything."

  "You can't do anything to me..."

  Aradia wove her fingers together and cracked her knuckle bones. "Watch me."

  She started to move dangerously close to him. His gang instinctively jumped up to defend him, but Aradia was ready. She grabbed Gunther by the throat and pushed him against the others. Without any hesitation, Aradia lifted her leg and kicked Gunther in the stomach with such force his entire crew flew across the entire room. Several people were also caught and flew backwards as well, but Aradia hardly lifted an eyebrow. She then turned back to Bane who started cowering.

  "Now, now, Rai," Bane started to say, "we can talk this out..."

  "Want to bet?" Aradia growled.

  However, it was as she reached out her hand with smoke steaming from her palm when Bane's look of worry started to turn into a smirk.

  "What the hell are you smiling about?" Aradia demanded.

  "It's funny," said Bane, "that you are mad at me when there is someone else who really deserves your wrath."

  "What are you talking about?"

  He didn't say, instead he nodded in its direction. Aradia then swiftly spun around. There in the next hallway was Dax with another girl.

  Her arms around his neck and his lips upon hers.

  Aradia's eyes grew wide with shock and rage while Bane used this moment to sneak away. Furious denial was racing through her mind until she heard the girl he was holding break the kiss and moan, "oh Dax."

  "Hesper, me amorè," Dax seemed to croon as he took both her hands and pressed her body against the wall. He trailed kisses down her neck as she wrapped one of her legs around him. Aradia still wanted to deny that it was really her Dax, but when she saw the golden watch upon his wrist she could no longer deny it. It was the very watch that she had bought him for his birthday. The one that she had saved up to buy for three whole months.

  The anger and humiliation seemed to radiate off her like UV rays from the sun so much so that several things around her began to shake. Dax didn't seem to notice until a nearby hall table began to shake as well. He then lifted his head, curious.

  "What is it?" Hesper asked.

  He shook his head, but before he could return to kissing her he swung his head around. His eyes then met Aradia's.

  "Oh god," he whispered. "Aradia! I can explain."

  She didn't even wait, she just spun around and marched away. Dax tried to run after her but with a tilt of her head Aradia managed to move several couches and tables in his way. He tried to jump over them but there was no way in hell he could possibly clear them all in time to catch her.

  "Aradia!" he called out, "Aradia!"

  Tears blurred her vision as she stomped outside. Her anger and her energy reaching its peak made things explode as she walked by them. Car alarms began to sound off as she passed, and then the cars themselves burst in to flames. Fire hydrants also began to combust and shoot off gusts of water. Aradia hardly noticed the destruction her powers were causing because as far as she was concerned her world had already been destroyed.

  Chapter Six

  The days that followed were nothing short of torture. Since she had snuck out of her house she couldn't tell her parents what was bothering her. She had to bottle up her anger once again. It also didn't help that Melina wasn't talking to her. Melina had stated that since Aradia had abandoned her at the party she deserved nothing more than the cold shoulder. The fiasco with Bane was enough to make her feel like she couldn't trust anybody. She was completely alone. Whenever she walked in the school hallways she had to do her best to restrain her urges to make everyone around her spontaneously combust. Dax had tried calling several times but she ignored him.

  One day, however, she went to the woods to gather some fleawort seed for a prophesying potion and that is when he finally managed to corner her. He stood behind her as still as one of the trees but he knew Aradia could sense him.

  "What do you want?" she snapped.

  "I want to explain..."

  "Why you were cheating on me?" Aradia cried, "Why I caught you with another woman? Why you lying to me has become such a natural habit for you?"

  "Aradia..." Dax began.

  "Shut up Dax! Just shut up!" Faint hot tears started to prick the corners of her eyes, but she refused though to let him see her cry. She didn't know if it was that subtle, but she turned and quickly blotted her eyes with the back of her sleeve.

  Dax slowly shook his head. "Aradia, I am sorry. It wasn't suppose to be like that. It wasn't suppose to lead to anything."

  "What the hell is that suppose to mean?"

  Dax sighed and kept his eyes on the ground. "Please just let me explain..."

  "Fine! Go ahead but I can promise you it won't change anything."

  Dax sighed again. He then slowly circled her, shaking his head sadly. "I hadn't seen Hesper in centuries. I was surprised to say the least when she turned up."

  "Is she an old girlfriend?" Aradia sneered.

  Dax ran his fingers through his hair. "Yeah."

  Aradia scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Why did the two of you break up?"

  "She left me for another vampire..."

  "So what? You were kissing her out of gratitude?"

  "No!" Dax shouted. "No!"

  He sighed once again heavily. "After Jack and I went our separate ways, I was very lonely and it wasn't until five years later when I met Felton..."

  "Felton?" Aradia interrupted.

  "Mr. Dayton," Dax clarified before going on. "Anyway, it wasn't until five years when I met him. Having been betrayed and used by my best friend after being turned into a monster...I don't think you could ever understand how horrible I felt."

  "Boo hoo sucks for you,
" Aradia couldn't stop herself from muttering.

  Dax didn't even hear her, he was too lost in his unpleasant memories. "I felt vulnerable and alone. I needed someone to love me..."

  "And along came Hesper," Aradia bitterly concluded.

  Dax nodded slowly. "She was so beautiful, and so confident. I had never met anyone like her before and her hair.. It reminded me of my mother's."

  Aradia clenched her fists and resisted the urge to strangle him.

  "It was the only thing she had in common with my mother though. Everything else...she was selfish, cruel, and mean. She used me and lied to me numerous times."

  "So you were basically the tortured partner," Aradia concluded, "and when she showed up you went back."

  Dax couldn't look at her. "I am sorry Aradia. I really am sorry."

  A moment of pure painful silence passed as Aradia still stood with her back to Dax. Slowly, however, she turned to face him. He smiled a little with a shimmer of hope in his eyes.

  It was quickly extinguished though as soon as Aradia said, "I told you before it wouldn't change anything."

  She inhaled a deep and angry breath and exhaled through her nose. "You have betrayed me for the last time Davignon Dayton. It is over! Do you hear me? It is over between us for now and forever! You are no longer my consort! You are no longer my boyfriend! You are no longer anything to me! I never want to see you again! Never!"

  Aradia then quickly turned away from him with the intent of storming away.

  Dax, however, rushed forward to grab her arm. "Aradia, wait I..."

  Almost instinctively, Aradia snatched her arm from his grasp and raised her fist. She then quickly and swiftly clocked him! Dax flew back and collided into a tree. His hand immediately went to his eye while Aradia looked at him with pure contempt.

  "If you ever touch me again," Aradia spat, "I will kill you!"