Tales of Aradia The Last Witch Volume 1 (25 page)

They’d made it outside
the movie theater and into the cool of the night air when a loud
angry voice came from behind them. "Hey!"

With a start Aradia let
go of Dax’s hand and spun around to face the speaker, terrified
that it was Roy. Thankfully, it was not Roy confronting them.
Unthankfully, the voice belonged to Kaiser, the alpha of a werewolf
pack Roy had warned her about. He and several of his cronies were
advancing upon the two of them. He was several inches shorter than
any of his cohorts, and not nearly as impressive in build. Roy had
warned her not to be deceived by his appearance. “He’s one of the
meanest, nastiest mutts you will ever meet. Don’t cross him,” Roy
had warned.

Oops
.

The pack looked
threatening and mad as hell.

Dax turned to them. If
he sensed their intentions, and Aradia had to assume he did, he did
not show it. Politely he replied, “Yes, can I help you?”

Kaiser marched straight
to Dax and stared up at him with murder in his eyes. Incidentally,
that was precisely the topic he wished to discuss. “I don’t know
why you leaches targeted my dad, but you’re going to either tell me
who did it, or pay for it yourself. I think we’re pretty much all
tired of taking crap from you vampires. Aren’t we boys.” His goons
growled their assent.

“I honestly don’t know
what you are talking about,” Dax answered nonchalantly.

“Like hell you don’t!”
snapped Kaiser.

“You’re talking about
the Vampire Murders, aren’t you?” Aradia asked.

The werewolf and his
crew whipped to look at her warily. Dax immediately intervened.
“Relax, gentlemen. Whatever else is going on here, she knows about
us. She is hidden.”

Aradia noticed the
werewolves’ noses flaring as they took her scent.
I will never get used to
that
, she thought. Despite the
circumstances, she was relieved that they did not push the issue of
her lineage. They seemed satisfied that they were not violating
hidden code by having this candid argument in front of
her.

"Yeah," Kaiser replied,
“yeah we’re talking about the fact that one of your boyfriend’s
clanmates killed my father.”

“There are actually
several clans active in the vicinity of Salem,” Dax replied as if
he were standing at a chalkboard. “Unlike werewolves, vampires are
not territorial. The vampire you seek could hail from any of them,
or he could be an unaffiliated rogue.”

“You say that like I
care. One of your people did it, and unless they confess to the
crime we are going to make every vampire's living death in Salem
hell!"

Aradia watched the two
males stare each other down for a while. Finally, as if caught by a
sudden realization, Dax said, "Oh. I am sorry but is this the part
where I am supposed to be intimidated by you?”

That was
dumb
, Aradia thought.
Kind of hot, in a cocky way, but really
dumb.

She didn’t need
mind-reading to know what was about to happen. Before Kaiser could
lunge, she jumped to plant herself firmly between them. She held up
her arms and pleaded, "C'mon you guys, chill out, okay?”

"Stay out of this,
bitch!" The werewolf snapped as he angrily shoved Aradia's hand
away.

Dax moved like a
spider. From the moment the confrontation had begun, he’d known how
it had to play out. He would firmly, but carefully, nudge Aradia
aside. She would be disoriented, but would easily catch herself. He
would quickly engage Kaiser, before he could shift into his wolf
form. After subduing their leader, he would threaten the pack. They
would disband, and he and Aradia would leave, unharmed.

However, he never got
the chance to execute his plan.

In swatting at Aradia,
Kaiser had left himself precariously balanced. Aradia grabbed
Kaiser’s outstretched arm and twisted it so swiftly and viciously
that before he had a chance to react, he was on the ground. His
friends were taken just as by surprise as he was. Aradia knew she
only had moments before this erupted into an all-out brawl, so she
pressed her edge while she had it. She flipped the pack’s leader
onto his belly and jammed her knee into his lower back. She took
hold of a handful of his scruffy hair and yanked his head as far
back as she dared. He would be in pain if he struggled, but more
importantly, he was facing his crew and his ear was right next to
her mouth.

"Now listen up, you
thug!" Aradia whispered angrily. "I wish I could say something to
help you feel better. The truth is I can’t possibly understood what
you are going through, so I won't insult you by saying I
do.”

“You–” he interrupted
her, but she gave his head a yank and with her other hand squeezed
at his throat. “When it’s time for you to talk, I’ll tell you. I do
realize the magnitude in how you want to find the guy who killed
your dad and make him pay."

She surveyed his pack,
making eye contact with each one before going on. "But that is no
excuse for vigilante justice that is why we have laws to prevent
crimes in the first place. When they fail, we have laws to punish
the perpetrators. Now it’s time to talk. Do you
understand?"

The werewolf nodded
feebly. He hadn’t strictly obeyed her command, but she him
go.

The werewolf's face
reddened as he got up rubbing his shoulder where he’d slammed into
the pavement. He glared at Aradia murderously.

"C'mon Aradia, let's
go," Dax said casually as he threw his arm around her shoulders and
steered her down the street.

“Not yet,” she
said.

Dax broke from his
normal stoicism enough to reveal that he was nervous about where
she was going with this.

She said to Kaiser,
“I’ll help you get justice, real justice. You find anything or hear
anything that can help us find who did this, you come to me first.
I can be your ally. You keep up your macho bigotry, though, and I
swear I’ll be your worst enemy. It’s your choice.”

At this point Kaiser
had all but completely forgotten Dax. Now he stared Aradia down.
She returned his stare. Finally he gave a brief, sharp
nod.

Aradia was satisfied by
that. “Alright, Dax. Now we can go.”

Aradia was quiet for
most of the walk home. Dax did not know her well yet, but he knew
her well enough to realize that silence was completely out of her
character.

"You are pensive," he
finally stated.

Aradia shrugged Dax’s
arm off her shoulders. She walked two steps in front of him with
her eyes on the ground and her mind deep in thought.

She then turned to look
at Dax as somberly as she’d ever looked at him. "Tell me neither
you nor anyone you know did it."

"Did what?”

"You know what I mean,"
Aradia responded coldly.

“You’re asking if I
killed that boy’s father,” Dax replied. “Given what I thought I
knew about you, I am surprised by your lack of trust.”

“I’m asking you to
remove any doubt from my mind. Tell me you don’t know who did it
and I’ll believe you. If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t bother
asking.”

He seemed about to say
something, but then stopped.

With the hints of a
smile at the corners of his mouth, he replied, “I affirm on all
I’ve ever loved, I know nothing of the responsible party’s
identity.”

She chewed on that for
a moment before saying, “Look, just tell me you don’t know who
killed Kaiser’s dad.”

He shrugged. “I don’t
know who killed Kaiser’s dad.”

Her demeanor towards
him warmed about twenty degrees. “Okay, good. Look, that guy and
his friends and probably everyone in Salem think that a vampire
killed that poor man, but that's not true. A vampire is not
responsible."

Dax raised an eyebrow,
which for him represented utter bewilderment.

“If you are confident
of this, why did you suspect me?”

“It doesn’t hurt to
double check,” she said.

“Do you have knowledge
of who did it?” he asked. In truth, he did not care much about the
murder for its own sake, but he was curious about all things
Aradia, and she clearly felt passionately about this
subject.

"No."

"So," Dax argued, "you
can't say for sure that it was not a vampire."

"I think I can," said
Aradia.

Dax’s eyebrow climbed
higher. “How?”

“I’m new to this whole
hidden thing, but I’ve picked up a lot already. Vampires are slick
and egotistical. You’re one of the few I like, and even you’re kind
of a douche sometimes.”

Dax smiled like nobody
had ever smiled at being called a douche before. “You are
unique.”

He was obviously
amused. Aradia couldn’t help but find his expression damned
sexy.

“How old are you?” she
asked.

“I have lived many
lives,” he replied without missing a beat.

“I guess we’re not
there yet,” she replied. “Okay, that’s fine. Here’s how I see it.
Roy says he doesn’t know of anybody ever being turned into a
vampire from personal experience, but there’s a ton of you around.
I figure most of you have to be pretty old.”

“A fair assessment,”
Dax granted. “By human standards.”

“Well I don’t think you
get that old by being sloppy. You’d get caught by the law, either
human or hidden.”

“Go on,” Dax
replied.

"Vampires are
overconfident," Aradia teased.

Dax played along and
pulled a face.

"But they aren’t
stupid. Look, I’m still learning, so you tell me. How many vampires
do you know who would be stupid enough to feed on someone, a
werewolf at that, and leave a body with two puncture wounds lying
about?”

“There are those who
would do just that,” he replied. “Though few would feed on a
werewolf. They taste worse than wet dog smells.”

She rolled her eyes and
continued, “The real point of committing a crime is getting away
with it. You don’t leave obvious evidence and expect to get away
with murder."

"True, in general," Dax
agreed. "But you oversimplify the scenario. The killing could have
been committed with the intention of sending a message. Or the
assailant could have intentionally left evidence, knowing people
such as yourself would overthink the situation. Or maybe it was
simply a fledgling."

Those are good
points
, Aradia had to admit.
I hadn’t thought of that
. Still, her gut instinct was that she was onto something. She
was curious about the last bit. “A what?”

“A vampire which has
just been turned,” Dax explained.

Aradia nodded her
understanding. Then she argued, "According to my father, there was
no sign of forced entry, and the police believe the perpetrator
entered through the front door. At eleven at night, I doubt the
victim would have opened his door to a fledgling."

"He would if she were a
woman," Dax stated simply, earning a nasty glare from
Aradia.

“Or,” he went on, “if
the fledgling were formerly a mortal the victim had known. The wolf
could have inadvertently issued an invitation without realizing the
change.”

“The relationship
between the two victims suggests a non-random nature to the
murders,” Aradia argued. “It seems thought out, so I doubt the
fledgling hypothesis. So far no one has taken credit, though, so if
they’re trying to send a message, we haven’t received it
yet.”

“Vampires are patient
beings, Aradia.”

“Look, are you trying
to convince me it was a vampire that is responsible? Because if you
are, I might have to rethink this whole dating thing.”

“Perhaps I am merely
testing your open-mindedness.”

“Stop being so contrary
and agree with me!” She playfully stomped her foot for
emphasis.

Dax chuckled. He was
amused by Aradia's thinking and wasn’t nearly as confident of her
conclusions as she was. Still, he had to admit that what she said
made sense.

“In truth, the
alternative conjectures I offer are less than likely.”

“There we go, that’s
closer to agreement,” she said, sliding her hand back into
his.

The two of them just
stood looking at each other in silence on their deserted, windy
road. They forgot their debate about murder and suspects, and they
stood again completely entranced. Aradia leaned in closer and
raised her head up to his. He leaned in toward her, but at that
moment Dax remembered exactly why he had asked her out.

He quickly shifted his
face away from hers.

Aradia looked at him in
shock. “Dax, what's wrong?”

He sighed, looked at
her out of the corner of his eye, and said, “We must get you
home.”

They walked the rest of
the way in silence.

Chapter
Twenty