by L. A. Jones
Aradia found herself saved by the brothers. When his face was mere inches away, Roy noticed something in his peripheral vision and suddenly turned from her. Al and D were still there, of course, and they were watching the two of them. Al had a cocky grin on his face and was looking completely amused. Aradia’s relief turned back to panic when she realized that they must have seen her distress. She knew Al would mock Roy for that later.
"Don't mind us," Al said holding up his hands in a faux peaceful gesture.
Roy buried his face in his right hand. Aradia shrugged his left one off her shoulders. She didn’t mean to cause him further embarrassment, but she was irritated with his behavior.
"C'mon D," said Al, clapping his twin on the shoulder. "Let's leave the two little love birds alone and go find ourselves some company."
"Ok," D said cheerfully.
"We should follow them," Roy muttered to their retreating backs. “It’d be fun to watch them on the prowl.”
"Why?" Aradia asked him.
"Well, I’m sure you’ve noticed by now, Al is the ladies’ man. It’s funny seeing them out together. D wouldn’t recognize an interested girl if she walked right up and flashed him."
Aradia chuckled and said, “Actually, I do think he would recognize a woman if she did that."
"Don't be so sure," Roy warned.
They both burst out laughing.
Roy again put up his best attempt at a seductive smile. "So...now that my brothers are gone, we're all alone. You know what that means, right?"
"There’s actually a lot of people in the diner," Aradia replied, still chuckling, but hoping to dissuade him subtly from his obvious course of action.
"Really?" said Roy softly, as he reached out to cup her chin. “I hadn’t noticed at all."
"Uh...Roy, what are you doing?" Aradia asked him.
His only response was to lick his lips and bring his face forward again. Aradia considered her options. If she pushed Roy away, he would definitely be hurt. If she went along with what he obviously wanted to do, she would give him a false impression.
Yet, as Roy got closer to her and she started to feel the heat from his face and even his lips, Aradia began to wonder if what he wanted would really be wrong at all. She leaned a fraction of an inch toward him.
The bell hanging from the entry door jangled as someone entered. Aradia could feel the atmosphere change, and she jerked her face toward the sound. Her eyes locked with Dax Dayton’s.
He stopped as soon as he noticed Aradia sitting with Roy and Roy's arm around her shoulders. Dax stared at Aradia who met his gaze with fierceness and intensity equal to his. Everything just seemed to freeze, leaving Dax and Aradia entranced, even as Roy’s arm rested on her shoulders.
After what seemed forever, but was only a few seconds, Dax smiled with charming cockiness and winked before turning to the counter. Aradia gulped and felt blood rush to her face. She imagined that with her red hair and flushed face her head must look like a giant strawberry.
After that, Dax went through his regular routine. He purchased his daily Coca-Cola bottle and left the diner without further interaction.
By then, Roy had finally removed his arm and was sulking. Aradia didn’t notice any of it until after Dax was gone. She turned back to Roy and saw the look on his face.
"What's up, Roy?" she asked.
Roy said nothing and did not make eye contact.
She playfully punched his arm. "C'mon, what’s with the sad face?"
Roy grunted.
"What, you want a belly rub?" said Aradia laughing a bit.
She had meant it as a joke, but Roy did not seem to see the humor.
He looked at her with narrowed eyes and said, "I’m not your puppy, Rai, and I’m certainly not a Twilight fan!"
"What?" Aradia asked, sounding completely confused.
“You know what I mean!” he snapped.
“No, I really don’t,” she stumbled, confused. “I don’t read those kinds of books. Um…”
"Talking to you is either the easiest thing in the world, Aradia, or completely impossible.”
“Just tell me what you mean,” she pleaded.
“I mean I don’t understand the idea of a beautiful, perfectly decent girl falling for a vampire!"
"You think I’m beautiful?" Aradia asked playfully.
"Aradia!" cried Roy.
"Sorry!" Aradia exclaimed. The look Roy gave her was so serious it rivaled even her father’s.
Her own face grew stony. "Roy, I really am sorry that you’re upset, but I don’t know what your deal is."
Roy opened his mouth to argue but Aradia cut him off. "Look, you said you don’t understand? Allow me to explain some things. We’ve been through some stuff the last couple days, but neither of us has talked about there being anything between us other than friendship. Until we do, it’s none of your damn business who I date, or don’t date, or find attractive.”
“So you do find him attractive,” Roy muttered.
“Yeah, I do!” she replied emphatically. “I really do. Listen Roy, I do what I want, when I want, anytime, and anywhere I care. You can’t do a damn thing about it.”
Aradia stood up, shoved her books into her backpack, slammed her hand on the table, and concluded, “So there!” She stomped out of the diner.
Chapter Seventeen
Roy let her go without chasing her, and for that Aradia was grateful. If he had pressed the point, she would have admitted that she did have feelings for Roy which went beyond friendship.
“That doesn’t matter, Rai,” she muttered to herself as she hurried away from the SilverMoon. She didn’t have much experience in the romantic department, but she knew it wasn’t fair to be with somebody if you were constantly thinking about someone else.
Roy was sweet, kind, good looking, and fun. They had a connection, and he was obviously crazy about her. No matter how long a list of positive attributes she came up with for Roy, though, she could not stop thinking about Dax.
Aradia groaned in frustration.
She’d left the diner far behind. She had hurried past the school, around the Olde Salem Golf Course, and was now at the edge of the Salem woods. She had discovered a great number of trails and paths through the woods, but that wasn’t what she wanted today. She plunged between the trees, making her own way.
Once she was deep inside the forest, completely alone and isolated, she stopped and stood straight up. She took a deep breath, tasting the clean air and its many different fragrances like pollen, White Pine, wildflower, and rich, fertile dirt. As she inhaled and exhaled, she thought over what she said to Roy. She especially remembered the part where she had said she can do what she wants, when she wants.
Her magic behaved like a sort of nervous energy, which if she bottled up, would only make her feel more stressed. More stressed, or explode, Aradia thought to herself with a snicker.
“To hell with it!” Aradia cried out to the forest. The forest’s only response was the fluttering wings of a woodpecker which was startled by her sudden outburst. “I can show you better than that, Woody.”
She searched in all directions to ensure she truly was alone. When her normal senses confirmed it, she closed her eyes and extended herself into the forest. This sensory power only worked away from civilization and structures, and was most powerful when surrounded by life. So far as she could feel, the only organisms in her vicinity were animals. Eventually, she felt satisfied in her isolation.
She set her backpack into a nook formed between two small boulders. It was a snug fit, and she thought the stones would provide good protection for her things. She then fished out her iPod touch and shuffled through her music library.
“If I am going to show off, I must have music,” Aradia spoke as she searched for the perfect song. Finally, she found one that struck her fancy: an Avril Lavigne song entitled “One of Those Girls.” She held her iPod touch to her belt. After holding her hand over it and concentrating for a minute, she managed to
fuse it to her belt. She pumped up the volume.
Mouthing along to the words of the song, Aradia danced. She did a back flip and smiled at the crunching of leaves and twigs when she landed. With a mischievous smirk she did another back flip, but this time she intentionally landed on a fallen tree, using her power to shear it clean in two.
As the lyrics progressed, she formed jets of fire from her hands, being careful not to set the woods ablaze. She ran as fast as she could through the foliage, and with each step felt deep into the earth beneath her, sensing every living thing burrowing around in the soft soil. Flame licked from her fingers through the swiftly swirling wind and it seemed as if threads of golden silk were being spun from her fingertips.
She waved her hands in circles to alternately form small voids of darkness or balls of light. When Avril Lavigne mentioned being high, Aradia saw a huge tree and grinned. She ran towards it and jumped as high as she could, grabbing hold of a branch at least fifteen feet off the ground. In just a few seconds she climbed to the tree’s apex. The day was clear, and from that height she could easily make out the smokestacks of the Salem Harbor Power Station, and beyond that, the Atlantic.
When the song got to the word die, Aradia turned and held out her arms. Pushing off with her feet, she fell backwards. As she neared the ground, she actually slowed her descent, flipped, and landed on her feet as swift and satisfied as a cat.
Then she turned and darted off in the direction of Quiet Lake. She ran and launched herself off the ground as if to dive into the lake, fully clothed, in the middle of October. Once she reached the water, however, she somersaulted along its surface and ran atop the softly lapping waves. With every step the water underneath her feet froze into thick, solid ice, creating any icy trail behind her.
Aradia managed to maintain her balance. She even kept her shoes from getting wet. Her iPod was now playing “Fighter” by Christina Aguilera. As the song reached the chorus, Aradia stopped and stood on her ice plank. She still stood on the ice, but waving her arms in a rhythmic motion, she made the water around her rise and swirl. Using not only her hands and arms, but her entire body, she danced, and the water obeyed her every motion.
As the song reached its climax, Aradia raced back towards land dragging a soaring tail of water behind her. The wind ripped ferociously at the living waves, and fire erupted from their crests as she ran faster and faster.
The song was ending, and Aradia truly cut herself loose. When her feet touched solid land, the water and flames crashed about her, intermingling, and she rode a wave of sand, dirt, and stone as a surfer would ride an ocean wave on her board. The earth itself seemed to obey her will in a way it never had before.
She wanted her finale to be as grandiose as possible, and so she shot bolts of light and darkness into the sky like ethereal fireworks.
Invigorated from her workout, Aradia went back to get her stuff. She was feeling energized, exuberant, and cheerful.
She had no idea that only a few dozen feet away stood Dax Dayton, with his wavy blonde hair as perfect as always, a completely mystified look on his face, and an iPhone in his hand.
“Well now,” he murmured to himself as he ended the video recording. He continued following Aradia. He watched as she trotted off happily towards the road and dialed her mother on her cell phone. “This just got a whole lot more interesting.”
Chapter Eighteen
That night, Mr. Dayton watched the recording on his PC. Dax had burned it to a DVD for his father. Both vampires’ faces remained impassive together they watched Aradia shoot fire from her hands and not just walk, but dance on water.
“You are quite certain of this recording’s veracity?” Mr. Dayton asked when the screen went blank.
Dax nodded. “I am.”
Mr. Dayton knew Dax’s loyalty, and decided he was in earnest.
He said, “It is a difficult story to believe.”
In exasperation Dax said, “You don’t believe me. You suspect I’ve altered the recording. I guess I’ll just be on my bloody way.”
He turned to go, but his father clasped him on his shoulder. “I did not say I don’t believe you, son. No matter how difficult, I do believe your story.”
Dax smiled. “To be honest, I’m not sure I’d believe it if I had not seen it myself, even with the video.”
“You have no idea what this girl is?” his father asked. “Not even a suspicion?”
Dax shook his head. “No. Nobody does. Not even her closest friends.”
“What about her family?”
Dax shrugged his shoulders. “My guess is they know about her powers, yes, but I doubt even she knows what she truly is.”
“Hmmm,” is all Mr. Dayton said in response.
Mr. Dayton showed very little emotion, but Dax was able to note and read what little did show through. His adopted father knew something, Dax was sure of it. He was also sure that if his father wanted to share his suspicions, he would.
After a while in silence, Mr. Dayton finally spoke. His demeanor was such that it seemed he was merely thinking aloud, but Dax knew it was for his benefit. “This warrants investigation. I think I can learn what she is if I get a sample of her blood and confer with my friends at the hospital. Based on what I’ve seen and heard, I suspect her parents are too wary to take her there.”
He made a curious, “Hmm,” noise as he removed the DVD from his computer, then got up to leave.
“Oh, and Dax, do consult me if you learn anything else.”
“Of course, father.”
Mr. Dayton pulled out his cell phone to make a call as he left the room.
Dax grinned. His father was pleased.
He rose and made for the stairs on the way to his room. From behind him, Xan spoke, “I do hope you don't think that that is the end of it.”
Dax whipped around to stare at his brother.
“What do you mean, Xan?”
Xan shrugged and said, “Sure, Dad can have one of his hematologist buddies look into this chick, but her blood is not going to be enough to explain everything about her.”
“You doubt our father’s judgment?”
“Dax, have you ever heard the expression ‘news straight from the horse's mouth’?”
Dax nodded. “Of course. It’s a bloody stupid one. What are you on about, Xan?”
“My point is, if you really want to learn about this girl, you’ll need a better source than her blood.”
Dax played along. “What better source is there than her blood?”
“Her,” Xan responded with a wicked grin. “If you really want to know what this girl is all about, you should ask her.”
Dax snapped his fingers and said, "Fantastic idea. Tomorrow at school, maybe after English, I’ll saunter up to her and say, ‘Hello statue girl, would you please be so kind as to tell me what kind of hidden you are? Nobody seems to know. How is it you can do all the things I saw you do in the forest when I was spying on you? Don't forget to trust me and answer me truthfully!’"
"You’ll just have to give her a reason to trust you, then I doubt you’ll have trouble."
Dax raised an eyebrow.
His brother went on, "Look, it is obvious she’s interested in you. Give her what she obviously wants. Spend some time with her. Earn her trust. She's bound to tell you all kinds of interesting things about herself. There’s no crime if you’re curious about what she has to say. Girls want a guy who is interested."
Dax said, "You are suggesting I betray her trust, trick her."
Xan shrugged. "It's not trickery if she tells you stuff willingly."
"But I would still be pretending."
"Would you be? From what I can tell, you’re just as into her as she is to you. If you don't learn anything and don’t care to continue seeing her, tell her straight out that you're not interested. It will be true, and that will be the end of it."
“Xan, I’ve been watching her. I doubt she knows what she is.”
“Maybe not, but she knows at
least some of what she can do. Mark my words well, for I won’t say this often. There is more to this girl than just her blood.”
Dax scowled and said sarcastically, "Gee Xan, maybe someday I’ll objectify women as easily as you."
"It is easy once you get the hang of it," said Xan smiling.
“You could rationalize staking our sisters if it suited your purposes.”
“If it suited my purposes, it would be only rational to do so. Just think on it.”
Dax’s only response was to turn back towards the stairs. He was tired, and the sun had worn on him. He locked and deadbolted his door then climbed into his coffin. He doubted sleep would come to him so late in the day, but he needed to replenish his strength regardless.
He bristled at his brother’s suggestion: seducing a girl to get at her secrets. Xan was coldhearted, even for a vampire. Still, the idea did indeed have some merit.
He thought back to the night of Jayce’s party when he watched Aradia dance with the werewolf. He remembered watching her long red hair swirling magically down her shoulders, glowing like molten steel. Her smile had been as wide and as perfect as an angel's, and her body was so pink and correctly proportioned. Most of all, he remembered hearing the music, seeing her body sway with the beat, and wanting her so badly.
He was no prude. He had been with many women since he had become a vampire, and he was not proud of all the circumstances. That was not what had offended him in Xan’s proposal. Out of all the women he had met in his long life, Aradia definitely fascinated him in a way no one else ever had. Dax wanted to believe it was just her secret which enticed him.
Chapter Nineteen
Aradia sat in second period Biology, peering through her microscope, trying desperately to determine what it was she was supposed to be doing. Much of this class came easily to her. Yet, although she loved making potions and could do incredible things with her powers, Aradia was a very poor student. Aradia was used to earning Cs, and considered herself lucky to get a B in any class.