Tales of Aradia The Last Witch Volume 5

by Jones, L. A.

  What I mean is with your powers you don't need a job. You can just take whatever you want, Aradia remembered Saul's voice in her head ringing and repeating as loud as a cathedral bell. You can just take whatever you want. You can just take whatever you want.

  She looked back at the club, reminding herself she had an appointment, and then back at the window.

  There are so many lines I am crossing, Aradia thought to herself, is this going to be one of them?

  "Hey baby," Saul said as he wrapped his arms around Aradia, "where have you been?"

  Aradia just shrugged. Shayde, Whisper, Thorne, and Eventide were already sitting at their special table.

  Let's hear for it slaves to routine, Aradia thought and then chuckled darkly.

  Saul's arm was draped around her shoulders as he steered her straight towards the table. They didn't even say hello before Saul dropped another bag of pills.

  Aradia groaned inwardly. While the others greedily took their share.

  "You know," Thorne remarked, "the strangest thing happened tonight."

  "Ah here we go," Eventide said as he rolled his eyes.

  "I bumped into one of our fellow Night Shadow members who looked like he had taken one hell of a beating," Thorne explained as he powdered the pill with the back of a spoon. He went on as he began mixing it with water. "He was covered in blood and bites. I was like 'dude! What happened to you?' And he was like "nothing' and I was like 'it sure don't look like nothing!' He was like he didn't want to say nothing but I was like I wanna know so I got it out of him eventually. He was patrolling the streets with his crew when they smelled a werewolf. A werewolf on vampire territory! Thought it was pretty weird a werewolf walking on vampire turf but his chick said they were looking for someone and..."

  "What did they look like?" Aradia interrupted.

  The others looked at her, stunned.

  Aradia, however, maintained her look of seriousness. "Was it an African American girl with long braids and a Hispanic boy?"

  Thorne grew quiet for a few moments. "I think it might have been."

  "Are they hurt? Are they okay?" Aradia demanded.

  The group stared at her in surprise.

  Thorne, however, shrugged and say, "I don't know."

  "Why are you asking? What's up baby?" Saul asked.

  Aradia didn't reply. She just raised her beer to her lips and drank.

  As the party went on, more of the drug was passed around. Aradia pretended to take some of it by slipping the pills into her sleeve instead of swallowing it. Saul already took a heap so by the time they got back to the loft he was hanging off Aradia's shoulders like a common drunk. Somehow she was able to help him into his grey coffin located behind the iron stairs. She paused long enough to use the crystal ball summoning power.

  She then dashed out the front door muttering, "Roy's house, duh!"

  Melina lay in Roy's bed, wearing one of his oversized shirts. She snuggled next to him while Roy's arms wrapped around her protectively. They looked so peaceful together at least until a loud ring tone of Be Remembered by Kat DeLuna pierced the darkness. Although Roy winced at the sound, he made no sign of waking up. In the end, Melina was the one who looked over at the two cell phones that lay at the beside table. Hers was the flip-top job and was currently ringing. She then grunted and slowly reached out to pick up the phone.

  "Hello?" she muttered.

  "Melina? Are you okay?"

  The voice was like jolt of electricity being shot through her system. "Aradia!" Melina practically shouted as she sat up, "is that you?"

  "Well it ain't Sabrina the teenage witch."

  It took every ounce or self control for Melina not to scream into the phone. "Where are you?"

  "Look outside."

  Melina jumped up and rushed to the window. She quickly pulled up the windowsill and stared down at Aradia who waved sheepishly.

  Melina quickly threw down the phone and raced out of the room. A few minutes later, she was out the back and flung herself into Aradia's arms.

  "Oh Aradia, how I've missed you!" Melina cried.

  Aradia hung back, looking embarrassed.

  Melina didn't seem to notice as she hugged her tighter.

  "So," Aradia started awkwardly, "what's up?"

  Melina eyes shot open as she drew back. At first she glared at Aradia in anger but she forced a smile.

  "Nothing much," she finally managed to say through gritted teeth.

  Aradia didn't seem to notice her anger in the first place because the first thing she did was say,"what the hell were you thinking Melina? Going into vampire territory?"

  "How did you know it was us?"

  "Who else could it be?" Aradia pointed out, "what other Hispanic werewolf has a black girlfriend that would be reckless enough to go into vampire territory?"

  "Well we wouldn't have gone if you had returned any of our phone calls," Melina snapped.

  Aradia sighed. "I just...don't want to come home Melina. I am sorry but no matter what you say I am not coming home."

  She then turned to leave but stopped as soon as Melina said, "that's not why we were looking for you."

  Aradia paused. "Then why?"

  Melina sighed heavily. "Aradia, we need your help."

  Chapter Twenty-One

  "Roy's alpha is dying but they don't know why," Melina explained, "what's worse is in order to choose another Alpha they will force the Morales family to fight each other."

  "What?" Aradia slowly managed to gasp.

  "And I am not just talking about Al and D. Roy in addition to Robbie and Johnny and even their father will be forced to fight each other until they practically pass out from exhaustion."

  "Well," Aradia started to say, "I see nothing wrong with that..."

  "You know what it's like when werewolves fight! Whether it's the full moon or not they can't always control themselves. Roy told me that in the last leader tournament several of his relatives actually died!"

  Aradia's eyes widened.

  "But that's not the worse part," Melina continued, "sometimes the death can be a blessing. You of all people know the magnitude of a werewolf's strength they could very easily tear off limbs and things. All quite by accident but it would make no difference and such injuries cannot be undone. What's worse is this is all happening this summer! In two months's time, Roy and his entire family will basically be forced into a Hunger Games fiasco!"

  "Well what do you want me to do about it?" Aradia demanded.

  Melina's jaw dropped. "What do you mean?" She sputtered.

  "What I mean is...well what do you want me to do about it?"

  Melina struggled to speak but her rage and shock was practically choking her. "Aradia, what the hell is wrong with you?! This isn't the girl I know! This isn't the girl who once wanted to promote tolerance among the hidden races and was willing to protect a werewolf from her evil abusive husband. What the hell is wrong with you?!"

  "The girl you know is dead Melina!" Aradia shouted back. "She is dead! She is never coming back. She spent most of her life helping people and what she did get in return? Nothing! Nothing except harassment and heartbreak!"

  "Oh for the love of God! Are you still upset about what Dax did to you?" Melina cried out.

  Aradia didn't reply.

  Melina took a few deep breaths before speaking again. "Aradia, I know he hurt you sweetie but you can't let that ruin your life."

  "What do you know?!" Aradia demanded, "you don't know anything about me!"

  Melina's laugh was cruel and bitter. "Of course I do! You stupid bitch! I know more about heartbreak then you can imagine!"

  "Oh screw you!" Aradia shouted, "screw you Melina! I don't have to justify myself to you! I don't have to do anything for you!"

  She too sighed and quickly spoke before Melina could. "Face it Melina! The girl you knew is dead! Furthermore, she never should have existed! She is the absolute last survivor of a forgotten people and has nothing left but bitter memories. She is the
heir to a legacy of death. She has no one and nothing left! She is alone!"

  "Moreover," Aradia continued, "she is done pretending to be something that she isn't. She is not human. She can't and will never be human. A family, an education, a life, and a future that is all human folly and I am not human!"

  Aradia then spun on her heel in an effort to leave.

  Frantically, Melina said, "if you leave now Robbie and Johnny might get hurt. Worse! Roy might get hurt. I know you don't care about Dax anymore but what about Roy? Don't you care about Roy?"

  A tense silence filled the cricketing woods.

  "And what about me Aradia?" Melina asked softly, "Don't you care about me?"

  Aradia looked back at Melina who was standing barefoot in the darkness pleading silently with her eyes.

  For what seemed like ages, Aradia just stared over her shoulder.

  "Oh go put on some pants!" She snapped.

  She then raced off into the woods and didn't look back.

  Aradia couldn't sleep. No matter how much she tossed and turned she couldn't stop remembering Melina's pleading expression.

  I don't care about her. I don't. Aradia kept arguing with herself. She hates me. She stole Roy from me. She gloated when I got punished last year. She is a selfish, and self-serving wench! She doesn't care about me. Hell! The only reason she contacted me in the first place was because she wanted something from me.

  Aradia lay on her side with her eyes shut. Yeah that's right. She only contacted me because she wanted me to save her boyfriend. She doesn't care about me. She only cares about Roy. She only cares about keeping him safe and she wants me to do it for her.

  All those arguments seemed solid in her mind. They seemed to help her make her decision. However, she couldn't erase the nagging feeling of what Melina said about the tournaments. Would it really be that serious? Would they really force Roy to fight his own brothers and father?

  It was this thought that kept her up. She knew werewolves could heal themselves but only she was able to heal the very serious injuries. But what really nagged her was the fact that Roy's alpha was dying. The man is thirty-nine! What on earth could possibly make him so sick?

  She had seen Roy's alpha only a year ago, she couldn't really believe that in one year's time he would be dying. Unless, Aradia started speculating, there's foul play afoot.

  Whether it was to help Melina or Roy, Aradia didn't care, come sun up she was going to go to the Alpha's house and find out what was going on.

  Although she had put off her research there was still some stuff Aradia knew about her powers. She knew how to meditate in such a way that she could survey the entire East Coast to find one specific person. More importantly, the person's home. The only catch was she needed to know what the person looked like. First, she practiced a few breathing exercises which according to one of the books would help her balance her energy. She then drew pentacle in a circle around her. She sat in the center, cross-legged. Clearing her mind, she concentrated on finding Roy's alpha. Suddenly, a huge gust of imaginary wind pushed her head back. In the back of her mind, Aradia saw herself flying over Salem and through the woods. She sped towards an almost completely hidden house in the woods, straight through the door, up the stairs, and right into a bedroom. However, a blinding flash of light stopped her from seeing what was in the room.

  Aradia started gasping and clutched her chest. It felt like someone had punched her right in the gut. Twice! There was pain and there was breathlessness.

  At least it didn't sap me of my energy, Aradia bemused to herself as she slowly stood up up. I don't get it though. If all of the witches' energy now resides in me shouldn't that make me stronger and not able to get so weak? I just don't understand.

  Sighing, Aradia realized that Saul might know why but she could put that off for another day.

  Right now, she knew where to go and what she had to do.

  Aradia jumped from one branch to another. All of this in an effort to get to the house as quick as she could. She wasn't really in a hurry but she was eager to find out what was going on.

  Perhaps if she had been in a hurry, there might have been a chance to avoid the sight that greeted her.

  There, parked in front of the house, was an ambulance still flashing it's lights. People outside stood sobbing as three blue jacketed men left the house solemnly. Aradia could hardly believe her eyes as they shut the body into the ambulance. Grim faced amongst the sobbing spectators, the men got back in the car and drove away. Aradia quickly recovered her senses just in time to jump from her hiding spot on the branch to land squarely on top of the ambulance. She hoped that no had heard her as she slid down onto the back door. She clung the edges of the ambulance as she concentrated on the lock. She placed on her hand on top of the lock and began to sense the locking mechanism in it. Closing her eyes for a few seconds was all it took for her to get it open. She slid in and quietly slammed the door shut. She was thankful that this was one of those ambulances that had a panel separating the drivers from the back of the truck. Still, she knew she had to be quick.

  Aradia took a deep breath and tried to stifle her feelings of nausea. After finding and putting on some latex gloves she slowly unzipped the bag. Whether her reaction was shock or revulsion, Aradia couldn't tell. Either way she couldn't believe what she was seeing. What had once been Roy's uncle now lay an old withered corpse that almost seemed mummified.

  Aradia gasped. "Dear Jesus! What happened to you?"

  She slowly looked at the body and tried to examine it. However, she didn't really know where or what to look for. Then she remembered that she had been reading in one of the books that it was possible for a witch to be a medium. Otherwise known as a person able to communicate with the dead.

  All I need is a personal possession, Aradia thought and thats when she noticed his rings. But if I take his wedding ring they will definitely notice. Instead, she took his class ring located on his middle finger. She knew it was risky, but she had no choice. After slipping the ring into her pocket, Aradia zipped the bag back up. She then tip-toed silently back to the door. Opening it a crack, she looked around and hoped that they were not in the city yet. It didn't look like it but Aradia had to take the chance. The ambulance stopped and yet the motor was still running so Aradia assumed that they had stopped at a red light. It's now or never.

  She slipped out the door, clung to the edges like spider man, and locked the door from the outside. She then looked up, hoping to see a branch. It was her lucky day because there hanging above her was a branch. She balanced as best as she could before levitating high in the air and grabbing the branch. She then swung her legs around so she could stand straight up on it. It was after watching the ambulance drive away when Aradia put her hand in the pocket and pulled out the ring.

  She thought she would include Saul in the ceremony but thought better of it. In the end, she decided to follow her own advice and fly solo. Therefore, after grabbing one of the seance books from the Coven library. She went to the town hall and sat down in the center of the floor. It had been hard dealing with the emotions of this place. At first, Aradia had hated it and felt as though this was a wound left to hang open and fester. Yet eventually, she began to realize that this was truly her only real clue to her past. This place, in spite of what happened, was still her birthplace. This is how she grew to accept this cave and it's backlash but most of all how she was able to find the strength to venture into the buildings. The town hall had been the hardest. In spite of Saul burying everyone, Aradia could still vividly see the images of her people hanging from the rafters like puppets on strings.

  Yet this was the place where they performed most of their rituals, or so the chronicle said, and this was the place where her magic could be the most potent.

  She took out a piece of chalk and drew a circle in the floor. She then drew two crescent moons on each side. The symbol of my namesake, Aradia thought to herself, the symbol of the goddess Aradia and who I really need to help me wit
h this.

  Aradia had been raised a Christian so she didn't know if she really believed in Goddesses. However, several of the books had stated that just because you have one faith doesn't mean you must abandon the other. The biggest witches creed was to maintain balance in the world after all. Aradia shook her head banishing her thoughts of philosophy. I got more important things to worry about.

  She then sat cross-legged in the center of the circle and placed the ring right in front of her. Once again she cleared her mind and remembered that in order to perform such powerful magic she must use the ancient tongue of the first real witches. Namely, the ones who were descendants of the Roman goddess Diana.

  In other words I have to use Latin. Aradia smirked before chanting. "Ego dico super dea of veneficus Diana's filia Aradia iuvo panis gaps inter is universitas quod in ceterus. Volo ut defero per silenti etc quod teneo refero ut meus questions. Sic may is exsisto."

  I call upon the goddess of the witches, Diana's daughter, Aradia to help breach the gaps between this world and into the other. I wish to communicate with the dead and know the answers to my questions. So may it be!