by L. A. Jones
Aradia shook her head and said, "No, what I meant was, why do you think I hate you?"
"You were polite and all at the track, but the next day you didn’t want to have lunch with me."
"Roy," Aradia argued, "I was sitting with my friends."
"Friends," Roy scoffed. "Sure.”
“I know you’re thinking something. Go ahead and say it.”
“If you didn’t want to sit with me, you could have just said it. That crowd, they are so not your friends. They are geeks, they are…” Roy trailed off when he caught the look Aradia was shooting him. “I’m not helping myself here any, am I?"
"Roy," Aradia said sternly, "I do not say bad things about your friends, so please don’t say bad things about mine. The guys are smart and sweet. They’re a little icky, at times, I’ll admit that, and I’m already sick of Felix telling me about all the different colored Lantern Corps, but they’re good people. And Rhonda’s cool! She’s a bit nerdy, but so am I. They’re wonderful people and unlike you, they don’t judge others so superficially. I mean, that’s what is wrong with America. You can’t just–"
“Alright! Alright!” said Roy, holding up his hands as if admitting defeat. “Chill, Oprah Winfrey! Chill!”
Aradia grinned and tucked a strand of her red hair behind her ear. Eventually, she shrugged and asked him, “Look, let's just start over, okay?”
“Only if that means you forgive me for being kind of a jerk,” Roy said as he smiled in response.
“Okay, so who is that?” Aradia asked.
Roy squinted in the direction she was pointing. “That’s Amber O’Shay. She’s part of the Salem High marching band. She’s also Crystal’s best friend since pre-school.”
After a bit of chit chat, Roy had started giving Aradia the lay of the land on who was at the party.
“And who’s Crystal?”
“Jayce’s girlfriend. They’ve been together for a while now.”
Aradia nodded, trying to learn as many of the personalities as she could as quickly as she could. A tall kid with dull red hair walked past them precariously carrying five beers. Aradia asked, “Who was that?”
“Oh, that was Connaer.”
“Irish?”
“Scottish. Family moved to America about six years ago, I think. Cool accents. Connaer’s a senior. He’s been trying to set up a Salem male derby league since his freshman year. So far, it’s just him. He keeps trying though.”
“Gotta give him an A for effort, I suppose. What about that guy?” she asked, pointing at another student.
Roy gulped back the last of his soda, and crushed the can in his hand. “That is Dylan Warner. He’s the captain of the track team and Amber’s new boyfriend.”
“Everybody seems to have a boyfriend,” Aradia grumbled.
Roy shifted his gaze awkwardly towards the pool.
Aradia shrugged. “Oh well. If they are happy, then I guess I’m happy. However,” she leaned in and whispered into Roy’s ear, “somebody better tell him that the hickey on his neck is pretty conspicuous.”
“What do you...” Roy then narrowed his eyes and noticed the purplish bruise shining on the boy’s neck.
“I suppose it should be no surprise to me that the girl has got a great grip with her teeth. Being part of a marching band, she must get plenty of practice biting long hard objects.”
Roy chortled loudly while Aradia rushed on, “But somebody better remind her that giving your boyfriend a hickey is a completely different experience than playing the French horn.”
Roy’s laughter grew even louder and seemed to cut clear across the entire backyard. Indeed, it was so obnoxious that a couple people even turned to stare at them. Aradia always enjoyed it when people laughed at her jokes, but not when that laughter earned her annoyed stares. Eager to distract Roy and his loud laughter, she pointed out another random person. “Who is he?”
Almost instantly, Roy's laughter died away. “That’s Tad Levy.”
“What’s so serious about Tad Levy?”
Roy explained, “Nothing, really. It’s just that he works at Stanley Hardware. Or he worked there, I guess, for the murder victim.”
Aradia’s eyes widened. “Murder victim... you don’t mean...?”
“The Vampire Murder,” Roy finished for her. “Yeah.”
“Hmm,” Aradia replied.
“Hey, you hungry?” Roy asked. He turned and made for the kitchen. Aradia hurried to catch up with him.
“You know, everybody in Salem has been talking about it,” Roy said grimly as he grabbed a Granny Smith from a bowl and began to chomp on it. “The Vampire Murder.”
“Yeah,” Aradia replied, pouring herself a glass of water. “You know, what I find weird is that everyone is talking about it to each other, but no one is willing to talk to the authorities.”
“It’s kind of obvious why,” Roy swallowed the chunk of apple he’d been chewing.
“Oh? Why’s that,” Aradia asked.
“Well, according to the victim’s business partner, I think his name is Dereck Carringock or Dereck Carrot Top or something like that–”
“Caradoc. Dereck Caradoc,” Aradia replied. She’d also seen him on the news.
“Well, he was on TV saying the business was failing and Mr. Stanley was deeply in debt. And Tad,” he pointed at Tad Levy, who was now grinding on the dance floor, “told me once that he suspected Mr. Stanley was involved in something shady.”
Aradia wasn’t quite sold on this explanation.
“So, naturally, if someone talks, then dirty secrets come out and people start to lose money. No one wants to do that, am I right?”
Aradia raised an eyebrow. “So you think his murder had something to do with his business.”
“That’s my guess,” Roy admitted with a shrug.
“Then why hasn’t anyone said so?” Aradia pointed out. “People have been murdered for things like that before, and in more bizarre ways. Yet no one here in Salem has been willing to say anything to the police. Surely, it can't be just because they want to avoid losing money.”
Roy didn’t answer her. He just looked away, trying to avoid her interrogative stare. Attempting to look casual, he tossed his apple core into the open trash can set in the center of the kitchen. He knows more than he’s letting on. Something weird is going on here, Aradia thought as she peered at the boy. Something really weird.
The two quickly changed the subject after that, and ended up hanging out together in the kitchen for a while. Even in that room, the music was loud, so Aradia imagined it must have been positively blaring in the living room where her fellow students were dancing.
Finishing her water, she turned to place the glass in the sink and nearly bumped right into Dax.
“Oh, hi,” Aradia said, obviously flustered.
“Hello,” Dax responded.
He only spoke a single word, but his voice was deep and bold and grabbed hold of Aradia as if she were hypnotized. She knew from class that he spoke with a British accent, but he sounded entirely different now that his amazing voice was directed at her.
Aradia stared up at him, absorbed by his presence. He looked as handsome as Aradia had ever seen him. He wore a dark gray shirt with three buttons at the collar and a black leather jacket over it, dark blue jeans, and low, black boots. Even in the dimly lit kitchen, his wavy hair shone like gold.
With his golden hair and pale skin, he looks just like an angel, Aradia thought.
Aradia was taken from her reverie by the arrival of a newcomer. Another boy, this one with a black crew cut and a dark goatee, appeared next to Dax.
He draped his arm on the object of Aradia's affection and asked, "Hey Dac, what’s up?"
Dax responded, "Oh, nothing. I was just talking to statue girl here."
Aradia's time on cloud nine seemed to be up.
Her expression hardened and she snapped, "What do you mean by ‘statue girl’?"
Roy hung back for the moment, but stayed near.
&nb
sp; "When I noticed you staring at me, my first inclination was ‘stalker girl.’ I thought 'statue girl' seemed a bit more pleasant."
"Staring? No way. I’m not the one who’s been staring," Aradia protested.
"Well," Dax explained, "since day one in Algebra you have done nothing but stare at me. It’s okay. Really, I could do far worse as stalkers go. I felt I owed you a deservedly unique moniker."
"My name is Aradia," she said defensively.
"That’s a lot prettier than statue girl," Dax admitted. Aradia hoped that her cheeks were already flushed enough from anger that her blushing was not too obvious. Dax took a step to his side and the new arrival took his arm off his shoulders. "Xan, meet Aradia, the statue, or stalker girl, take your pick. Aradia, this is my dear brother Xan."
Aradia practically saw red. She was frustrated that again she had found a complete jerk so attractive.
Roy stepped up to Aradia’s side, and she was glad to have a comforting person involved. Like a dog sensing a predator, his eyes narrowed as he shot the brothers a venomous glare. Dax and Xan responded in kind.
They way Roy was tensed, she suspected he was either barely holding himself back or about to pounce. She was still angered by Dax’s comment, but definitely didn’t want a fight to break out, especially over her. Aradia shouted, feigning excitement, "Oh, I love this song! C'mon Roy, let's go dance."
She grabbed Roy's hand and dragged him toward Jayce's living room turned dance floor.
Xan chuckled and said, "I think she likes you."
Dax shifted his shoulders slightly in a shrug and thoughtfully repeated, "I could do worse."
“Could?” Xan asked playfully.
Dax grinned his acknowledgement at having been outplayed. “Have, Xan. I have.”
Dax broke off the conversation and turned away from his brother, but began to wish he’d maintained the verbal sparring when his gaze quickly shifted back to Aradia. She had succeeded in pulling Roy onto the dance floor. Dax fought to keep his fangs retracted.
By now Aradia was hardly even concerned over her staring peers. She felt like they were being more obvious at this point as well, or maybe she’d just gotten better at spotting them. Specifically, the Too Perfectly Freaky people, as Aradia had decided to call them, watched as she and Roy started dancing to the early nineties song “Connected" by the Stereo MC's.
She was dancing with Roy, but she was still thinking of Dax. She turned her head to the left and saw him staring as well, and he definitely made no effort to conceal it. Grinning wickedly, she began to dance more provocatively with Roy. Roy grinned and danced awkwardly along with her, not noticing where she was directing her gaze. She watched with surprising pleasure as Dax mouthed along with the song, “I see through you.” She got closer to Roy, so close that her body rubbed against his. Roy, much to his own dismay, blushed. Aradia threw her head back and laughed.
As they danced, Aradia grew less and less comfortable. Dax was not the only of the too-freaky-perfect people puffing out his chest. Nearly all the freaky boys stiffened and eyed her and Roy, less like kids at a party and more like predators calculating a kill. The girls, too, had steel in their eyes, looking lethal like lionesses defending their babies.
Aradia found the atmosphere growing tense.
Apparently Roy did too. He grabbed Aradia's hand and said, "Let’s get out of here."
Aradia, however, planted her feet firmly, and despite Roy’s strength, she did not budge.
"After this song," she said.
Roy looked back at her and grinned sheepishly.
They did not leave after that song. Eventually it was just the two of them on the dance floor slow dancing to “Smooth Operator” by Sade. Roy's head was tilted down, and his forehead pressed against Aradia's.
"So are you having a good time?" Roy finally asked her.
"Since I started hanging with you? Yeah," said Aradia, grinning broadly.
Roy smiled back in response.
Dax stood statuesque at the entryway to the kitchen. He had not moved from the spot since Roy and Aradia started dancing, and he had not for a moment diverted his gaze.
Xan was across the room flirting with Jayce's girlfriend. He kept most of his attention focused on his flirting tactics, but he was cognizant enough of his surroundings to note his brother’s unusual behavior. Xan was perfectly perplexed by why Dax was acting so strangely.
Aradia was something exotic, that much was obvious; she was therefore interesting. She was not, however, to Xan, fascinating. Yet, Xan knew his brother well enough to know that Dax tended to notice details which others might miss. Xan decided that as long as Dax was focused on Aradia, he’d remain focused on his brother.
Chapter Eleven
“You seem to be enjoying yourself,” Keon commented.
Saul shrugged and said, “When in Rome,” before throwing back the last of his beer.
"Please tell me you have kept a close watch on the girl," Keon said.
"What does it look like?" Saul asked sarcastically.
Keon thought of a thousand things to say, but shook his head after thinking better of it. Besides, the more his lieutenant looked like a drunken fool, the better he’d blend at the high school party.
“Report,” Keon commanded.
“She gets around,” he replied.
“Around?”
“Socially,” Saul explained. “Recently she’s been dancing with the dog there for a while now, and that one,” he nodded in Dax’s direction, “has taken an interest.”
Keon digested that information. “What else have you learned?”
“She’s a courageous one, gotta respect that.”
“Courageous how?” Keon asked suspiciously.
“I tailed her here,” Saul replied. “Did my best monster-in-the-woods routine. Thought I could provoke her into revealing what she was.”
“And you did not engage her directly, right?”
“Right, just like you said,” Saul replied defensively. “Just a little growling and shaking bushes is all. She strode right up to where I was like she was going to take me on. She seemed to just get more curious, the scarier I got. She didn’t see me though. She is very interesting.”
Keon was less than thrilled at the report. Saul was right though, at least, about Aradia being of interest.
“Anyway,” he said, leaning against the wall next to Saul and doing his best to look like a normal, human teenager. “I reported our findings to our Sovereign.”
Saul's ears perked up. “And?” he finally prompted, just as Keon knew he would.
“He wants us to get a sample from her,” said Keon. He went on to describe the particular requirements.
“As the Sovereign commands,” Saul replied with perfect, stilted formality. More casually, he added, “Though that’s a pretty weird command.” Seeing his Solo cup empty, Saul grabbed a half-full cup of beer off the beer pong table. He smirked at the protesting players.
Keon scowled. “Well, according to the Sovereign's demon Seer, that,” he tipped his head in Aradia's direction, “scrawny, smelly little girl might actually be a witch.”
Saul spat his beer out.
Not bothering to compose himself, he asked, “What?”
“You heard me,” was all Keon said in response.
Saul looked from Keon to Aradia. He let his eyes linger for a while on the girl before turning them back to his superior.
“Yeah, I heard you, but… you’re kidding!” Keon did not respond. “A witch? A hidden witch? That is impossible! They were wiped out centuries ago.”
“Apparently we missed one,” Keon said sarcastically.
Saul stared again at Aradia. “But how?”
“They don't know,” Keon said. “The Sovereign and Morgan, that is. Either way, it matters not. What does matter is obeying our Sovereign's order: acquire the item to prove her identity.”
“This is big news,” Saul said. “Every hidden in the world would want to know about this.”
&
nbsp; “I can think of three in particular,” Keon mused. “But for now we will remain silent on the matter. Understood?”
Saul stared silently at Aradia, looking awestruck, until finally he said, “Understood. If she is truly a witch, then wouldn’t that mean that she’s...”
“The last of her kind?” Keon finished for him then turned to look at Aradia as well.
After a while, he finally answered his own question by saying, “Yes.”
Aradia clutched her forehead. Her frontal lobe exploded into excruciating, mind-searing pain. Images danced and swam before her eyes of cops rapping on the door, panic, confusion, disorder, and drunken teens either taking off into the night or being handcuffed and shoved into the back of a squad car.
"Hey Aradia, are you alright?" asked Roy.
Aradia opened her eyes to see Roy staring at her with concern in his eyes. She didn’t know how long she’d been catatonic.
"Yeah Roy, I am alright," she croaked. "This is going to sound random. Do your parents know you’re at this party?"
Roy shook his head and said, "Course not."
"Would they be ticked if they found out you were here?"
Roy laughed. "Yeah, my dad would probably put me on dishwasher duty at the diner for about a month!"
"Yeah, that’s about what I thought,” Aradia replied. “Where is your car parked?"
Roy raised an eyebrow.
"If you brought your own car, I suggest you get to it like about five minutes ago."
"Aradia, what’s this about?"
"In about twenty seconds, cops are going be at Jayce's door, and neither of us wants to be here when they start arresting people."
Roy looked utterly amused. He was still getting used to her odd sense of humor. Thinking he was playing along, he grinned and asked, "Now Aradia, how could you possibly know that?"
“Enough of this,” she threw her hands up, exasperated. Grabbing his wrist Aradia yanked Roy toward the back yard. She was careful to avoid the route through the kitchen, where Dax was still being creepy.