Tales of Aradia The Last Witch Volume 5 (18 page)

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 with 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!

She chanted this five times
before opening her eyes. There, as if he were still alive and well,
stood Adrian.

"Holy crap!" Aradia cried
out.

It was all she could do from
leaping back in fright.

"What's wrong?" the
apparition said.

He looked just as he had
when Aradia had first met him. He even wore the same outfit: a dark
blue polo shirt, jeans, and brown loafers. In spite of his illness,
the apparition appeared tall with broad shoulders, a thick goatee
on his round face, thick glasses, with curly black hair.

Aradia's eyes grew wide
while he just raised an eyebrow.

"I know you don't I?" he
inquired.

Aradia didn't say anything
because the back of her hand was still clamped firmly to her
mouth.

"Oh yeah now I remember,"
Adrian realized, "you're Roy's ex-girlfriend: Arcadia."

This seemed to snap Aradia
back to reality.

"My name is Aradia," She
snapped, "and I am not Roy's ex-girlfriend. I am his
friend."

Or at least I used to
be
, but she kept that to
herself.

Adrian just stared at her.
"So what do you want from me?"

Does he know he's
dead?
Aradia wondered but decided not to
push it. "I wanted to talk to you about the last year."

"What of it?"

"Did anything weird happen?"
Aradia asked while trying to sound casual.

Adrian shook his head.
Aradia sighed heavily.

However, after a moment
passed Adrian lifted his head again. "Actually, now that you
mention it there was something..."

Aradia's ears perked up.
"Yes?"

Adrian shrugged. "I don't
know if it is important or anything but a few years ago one of my
doctors started giving me this new medication. I started feeling
weird ever since."

"What new medication?"
Aradia asked.

Adrian shrugged. "It was for
my...drinking problem."

Aradia's eyes widened. "You
drink?"

He sighed, "it's where I met
my wife. A drinking rehab center. I know people advise against
it...but you can't stop yourself from falling in love can you? No
matter how inopportune the timing."

"Do you think your wife had
something to do this?" Aradia inquired.

"Do with what?"

Should I tell him he is
dead? I mean he has a right to know.

However, staring at the man
and how innocent he looked made Aradia think twice.

"To do with you getting
sick," Aradia explained tentatively.
That's
a compromise right?

Although
Adrian nodded and then shook his head. "No, I don't think so.
It's like I told you my doctor gave them to me."

"What was the new medication
anyway?" Aradia asked. "What did it look like?"

Adrian shrugged. "They
looked like small white pills..."

Aradia felt her heart
stop.

Luckily, Aradia had read in
the same book how to sever the tie between the spirit called. The
last thing she needed was a ghost haunting her. All she had to do
was close her eyes and chant in Latin five times, "Mea quaestiones
respondit. Gratias ago ob auxilium dea monstrante viam. Requiem hoc
anima in pace. Ita ut sit!"

My questions are answered.
I thank the goddess for her help in showing me the way. Rest this
soul in peace. 

So may it be!

A gust of wind blew in from
nowhere and in a swirl of misty smoke the apparition disappeared.
Aradia started breathing heavily and even had to bend her head to
prevent herself from throwing up.

I think I am getting a
little better at this
, Aradia thought to
herself,
I mean before I would just pass
out for weeks but now I can actually stay awake.

However
, she couldn't help but add as she wobbly got to her
feet,
it still drains me quite a bit. Ah
well even Superman had a weakness I suppose.

Aradia was still breathing
heavily as she thought about what she just learned.
Is it possible? Is it really possible that Adrian
was taking Rage and that is what killed him? But how? More
importantly, why would his doctor have it? Furthermore, why would
his doctor give it to him? Didn't he realize what it
was?

Whether it was to help
Melina or not, Aradia decided that there was something strange
going on and she needed to find out more.