Tales of Aradia: The Last Witch

by Magnum Opus

  Chapter Nineteen

  "I hear you've been hanging out with Beau lately," Roy remarked as Aradia sat down at lunch in the school cafeteria. They (Aradia's friends and Roy's brothers) had now moved to a better table near the lunch line door. What made it better was what that it was not only cleaner, but the legs did not tilt but most of all Aradia's friends could sit closer to the school populace instead of feeling isolated sitting at a table near the door to the parking lot. They could sit there near the other students without being bothered either thanks to Roy and his brothers who now considered themselves Aradia's bodyguards following her everywhere and protecting her along with her friends. Why they thought Aradia needed bodyguards she did not really know but she had to admit that lately a lot of dangerous things had been happening to her.

  One time while racing at the track after sipping from her water bottle that she always took to gym class, she had been overcome by dizziness and fallen onto the track lane while running completely scrapping her knee raw and bloody. Another time, someone had bumped her in art class while she was holding a pair of scissors in the process of cutting a canvas, missing it, and thus making a thick bloody cut appear across her palm. Such accidents like this had been happening all last week! Aradia had been forced to bandage her numerous cuts so heavily to not only help them heal but to much sure that no one would notice the cuts healing so quickly! Either way it made Roy and his brothers take it upon themselves to "guard" her so to speak. But on the plus side, after being treated so much in one week the school nurse and her had become good friends and whenever she wanted she got free candy from the nurse's candy dish.

  But Aradia did not know if guarding her was meant to clarify Roy's feelings towards her. She did feel touched by Roy's concern for her safety though, however, she still felt that it did not mean that her and Roy were anything more than friends. It was this thought that kept her from responding to Roy's question about Beau. On the one hand she wanted to snap at Roy that it was none of his business but on the other hand the way she felt about Beau after the way he treated her on their last date she almost wanted to spill her guts in order to get Roy to beat the crap out of Beau.

  It was true she and Beau had been hanging out together a lot lately but it was always casual. In fact whenever she tried to be more intimate with him whether it was trying to kiss him or even something as minimal as putting her hand on his shoulder, he would start acting cold and awkward around her and hastily take her home. "It is nothing Roy," Aradia said while taking a bite of her sandwich. Roy just looked at her in stony silence. He slid into the chair right next to her, propped his chin onto his hand, and continued to look at her. Most times Aradia would snap at him for staring at her but right now she could sympathize with how he was currently feeling but still after a few minutes of silent scrutiny she could not take it anymore and got up from her chair. "Where are you going?" asked Roy grabbing on to her hand. Aradia snatched it away and snapped at him, "I am going to get a salad at the salad bar is that okay with you?" She stomped off to the destination she had just mentioned faltering only a little after she heard Rhonda whisper to D, "I thought Aradia hated salads." Aradia groaned as she got to the salad bar looking at the various ingredients it exposed like cold hard powdery yoked eyes, grape tomatoes, lettuce, and various colored salad dressings. Intent on making it seem like she really wanted to do what she had said to Roy, she grabbed a Styrofoam bowl to scoop up some of the things she liked. All the while she was doing this she was thinking about Beau, Roy, and the unsolved murder that had not only been plaguing her conscience but creating tension amongst the hidden community as well. The wolves were always acting hostile to the vampires and vice versa but now because of the murder the hostile feelings in addition to the random attacks that been occurring almost everywhere in Salem was making the situation a hell of a lot worse. She had even complained about this to Tristan who, in addition to revealing himself to being the expert in hidden gossip and politics, had explained to Aradia that gang-like fights between the hidden races were not uncommon in fact because of the law of always remaining hidden from the human world, people being randomly killed and getting away with it was a way of life. Most of all, the only way such a conflict could be resolved was if the culprit was found and put to death. Until that happened the violence would continue and in fact it was not so uncommon for whole clans or packs to kill everyone just so long as they left the humans alone. Aradia did not know what bothered her more; the fact that such things were considered acceptable in the hidden world or the fact that although she had promised to help her father look into this; all she had been able to think about lately were boys specifically Beau and Roy. She did not know whether it was the guilt or the incredibility of the whole situation that made her feel more upset. As if right on cue who should show up at her side but Beau who surprised her by saying, "I would figured you for an apple fan rather than a tomato." "Huh?" Aradia asked so surprised she dropped the Macintosh apple she was holding. Beau using his lightening reflexes yet cleverness so no one could suspect what his abilities really were, kicked the apple right into his hand and held it out to her smiling. Aradia just stared at the apple and said, "I thought it was Eve who offered Adam the apple." Beau smiled and replied, "Yeah she did but look how unpleasant that turned out so I think it's better to switch roles." Aradia hesitantly took the apple staring at it trying to see if the apple was still worth eating seeing as it had hit someone's shoe. "Yeah well," she finally said plopping the apple onto her tray, "I think it's better to be honest or at least be clear about your motives before you start fooling around with someone." Beau’s smile vanished, "what do you mean?" Aradia threw him a sarcastic look and said, "Beau I like you but I am getting the feeling that the reason you are hanging out with me is not because you like me back." Beau tried eagerly to defuse the situation by saying, "you like me?" Aradia was not easily put off and went on to say, “I want you to be honest with me Beau. What exactly do you want from me?" Beau did not reply. After a few minutes of awkward and tense silence Beau finally sighed and said, "Do you really want to know what I want from you?" "Yeah," Aradia replied. "Well," said Beau grinning wickedly as if he had decided on something devious. "The thing is what I really want from you Aradia" he whispered seductively to her as he leaned towards her, "is to know all of your secrets." Aradia stared at him, mouth gaping open completely entranced with him, "you really want to know all my secrets Beau?" "Yes," Beau replied eagerly but careful to maintain his seductive tone."Well," Aradia lowered her voice and leaned in towards him practically bringing her face right next to his chest, tilting her head to look up at him looking as innocent and naive as a lamb, "I do not have many secrets but I do have one that I guard with my life." "What is it?" Brendan asked his voice low but positively tingling with excitement. "My biggest secret is...," Aradia paused for dramatic effect causing Beau to lean in closer. She then rushed on to say, "that I think you have a staring problem." Beau's jaw dropped open while Aradia grinned, extremely satisfied, then turned on her heel and sauntered back to her table.

  "What did Dracula want with you?" Roy asked Aradia as she sat down his voice crackling with disdain and grouchiness. "Nothing important," Aradia muttered. "Sure looked important," Roy muttered back and receiving a warning look from Aradia in response. Aradia picked up the apple that Beau had given her staring at it her mind began to wander. If there was one thing that the conversation with Beau had done it was make her realize how truly trivial the whole situation was with Beau and Roy. It really did not matter about how either of them felt about her in the end, Aradia concluded to herself for she had no time to sit around trying to figure them out. There were more important things to worry about like the unsolved murder. It was weighing heavily on her mind for it had been over three months and they still had not caught a suspect or anything. In fact, according to her father the odds of solving a murder this odd were like a million to one. It wasn't the fact that the poor victim would never be avenged that bothered Aradia the m
ost; it was the sad truth that if this person had gotten away with murder chances are he would kill again. After all he had not been punished for his first crime so what was to stop him for committing another? The thought of another unsolved murder shook Aradia to the core because although most people liked to believe that such things could never happen the truth of the matter is they could and they would. So Aradia decided right then and there as she sat with her friends at their lunch table, she would postpone her troubles with boys and focus all her attention on solving the unsolved murder. The moment she got home she would ask her father to take her to the crime scene and she would use her powers to find out who did this and stop whoever it was once and for all. "You are going to eat that?" Roy asked derailing Aradia's train of thought. She realized that the entire time she had been thinking she had been staring at the apple that had touched Beau's shoe. Blushing slightly she hurriedly put the apple down and said, "No." Surprisingly Roy scowled, "why? Because Beau gave it you?" "Huh?" asked Aradia. "I saw Beau give you that apple, you putting it on your tray, so chances are you are not going to eat it because of that right?!" Aradia shook her head furiously, "no Roy that's not it all!" "Yeah right! The whole reason you’re not eating that apple is because Beau touched it and since you obviously have a thing for him you have taken on the belief that everything he touches is sacred!" Aradia practically saw red but then with a sudden burst of wicked inspiration she held out the apple to him, "why don't you eat it Roy?" "What?" asked Roy completely perplexed. "No seriously here you can have this apple and eat it right in front of me," said Aradia who couldn't help but smile. Roy hesitated until Aradia said, "Unless of course you think Beau's touch is so poisonous that you're too scared to touch it?" "Give me that," Roy snapped snatching the apple from Aradia's hands and munching it greedily. Aradia could not stop smiling. "What’s so funny?" Frank asked Aradia. "Nothing Frank," she responded stretching her hands above her head and folding them behind her head, with a smug and satisfied grin on her face.

  Chapter Twenty

  True to her decisions, the moment Aradia got home she asked her father to take her to the crime scene. Most fathers would either scoff or explain in a parent-to-child way that it was too dangerous. Ross Preston, however, did neither he told her it would be tricky but he thinks they could do it. Ross and Aradia had a level of trust between them. She could tell him everything and had been taught his sense of justice and relentless determination to right the wrongs and punish those who did horrible things. This was one of the reasons he let her participate in his cases. He trusted her judgment and although she was adopted her belief in helping people and keeping the peace was so much like his own that it was hard to believe that they were not genetically related.