Tales of Aradia The Last Witch Volume 5 (19 page)

"Hey babe! Where you been?"
Saul greeted as she walked through the loft door.

Aradia sighed heavily.
"Listen Saul, we need to talk."

Saul stiffened and a mask of
alarm almost twisted onto his face. Luckily, he managed to recover.
"About what baby?"

Aradia groaned heavily. "For
one thing stop calling me 'babe' or 'baby' okay? You sound like
Austin Powers!"

Saul grinned.

Aradia couldn't help but
smile but still she was determined to ask her question. "This drug
'Rage' where did you get it?"

Saul shrugged. "Around.
Why?"

"Where exactly?"

Saul heaved a heavy breath
and stared at the ground. After running his hand through his hair
he said, "Look I will make you a deal. I will tell you where I got
the drugs and I will even show you where I got them as a well. In
exchange for one thing."

Aradia hoped Saul didn't
hear her gulp. "What?"

Saul's gaze raked her from
head to toe. "You let me take you shopping."

"I cannot believe we are
doing this," Aradia murmured.

Saul didn't answer, he just
pulled Aradia along the dark road. It was past two in the morning
and the streets were eerily quiet. The only light that could be
seen were the ominous beams of light from the street lamps. They
were suppose to be for safety so Aradia thought it was ironic that
the lights made the street seem more spooky. What was also ironic
was that their final destination was the boutique Aradia had been
admiring the previous day.

"Welcome to Selene, one of
the most fashionable boutiques in Salem," Saul
explained.

"Then why is it located
here?" Aradia asked. A tilt of her head towards the trash and rat
infested streets indicated and explained her reasoning.

Saul paused. "Well...I am
guess property prices are up and beggars can't be
choosers."

Aradia didn't looked
convinced so Saul hastily changed the subject.

He turned to Aradia and took
both her hands. "If you are going to be what you want to be you
need to learn a few things."

He looked over at the iron
bars. "Like how to get what you deserve."

He smiled once he noticed
the lock. "Or more appropriately how to take it."

Aradia could see where this
was going. "No way Saul! No way! That's stealing."

"So?"

"So?" Aradia repeated, "so?!
Stealing is wrong! I can't do it."

Saul spun around and said,
"yes you can do it! Furthermore, you can do it and you won't get
caught!"

Aradia raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?"

Saul chuckled softly. "Think
about it Aradia. You can unlock locks, defuse security cameras,
probably melt bullets before they even touch you, and so much more.
Your fingerprints are not in any database. Hell! Since you are
technically not human you probably won't even have any finger
prints. At least none that can be proved in any court. You can even
convince the judge to let you go just by using mind
control..."

"Whoa! Whoa! Hold on there
Saul," said Aradia. She held up hands to stop him. "I know I am
human but that doesn't mean I can't abide by human laws.
Furthermore, I can't control minds I can only read them if and only
if I make physical contact. If I touch somebody and look it into
their eyes than I can read their minds. Other than that there is no
other way for me to do it."

Saul appeared to be
disappointed but it passed after a few seconds.

He just shrugged again and
said, "C'mon Aradia! Let's just do this! This is only one shop and
you need clothes for our trip. We won't take much and we won't take
any money."

"But Saul..." Aradia
began.

"Look!" He suddenly seized
her by the arms and looked her in the eye. "Think about it! You are
not human Aradia. You never were and you never will be. Therefore,
human laws and ethics mean nothing to you. You are a hidden and
hiddens abide by only hidden laws."

"And law number one," Saul
said as he turned towards the lock, "is do what you want when you
want to and we both know what you want to do right now."

Aradia stared at the lock
and took it into her hands.

"Do it baby!" Saul whispered
in her ear. "Be a hidden and obey our laws."

Aradia hesitated.

Saul was beginning to lose
his temper. "Obey me!" he rasped.

Like a reflex, Aradia stared
at the lock and in an instant it unlocked.

Aradia still stood uneasily
at the threshold. Saul just grabbed the bars and pushed them up.
Sensing her hesitation, Saul decided to force his hand. He broke
the door knob off the front door and triggered the alarm
system!

Aradia had been too spaced
out to see him do it but the alarm shocked her back into reality.
She pushed pass Saul and rushed into the store. Her head darted
from left to right for the alarm box but she couldn't find it. At
least not in time to shut it off before the police came
unless...

She spread her feet apart
and held out her arms. She closed her eyes and the tips of her
fingers began to glow white. She was trying to sense the energy of
the electricity in the store. It took her a few minutes but soon
she was able to not only sense but hear it. She could hear it as if
it were a small heart beating. She curved her fingers and the
shrillness of the alarm began to slow until finally it stopped. The
lights to the store then flew on and lit up the store as bright as
day. Aradia opened her eyes and started to breathe heavily. She
felt as if she was going to puke! Luckily, she was able to stop
herself. She spun around, determined to get the hell out of the
store. However, the gleam of the diamond necklace she had been
admiring from before caught her eye. She knew she shouldn't but she
went towards it. She stared at the necklace like a child would
stare at candy.

"Take it," Saul
whispered.

Aradia only hesitated a few
seconds before grabbing it. The next few moments she didn't
hesitate at all. She practically ran through the store grabbing
everything that caught her sight. She became as giddy as a little
girl on Christmas day twirling around with her arms filled with
stuff.

Once they got back to the
loft, Aradia spent the next two hours trying on everything she
stole. Saul just laid down on the couch and watched her as she spun
around in all of her outfits. Until finally she made her decision.
The outfit consisted of a black lacy halter crop top with ties in
the front. Her pants were leathery and had rhinestones on the top.
She wore a belt that also had rhinestones on it but what made it
extra special were the two roses that were attached to the
side.

Aradia didn't know if it was
because she was a hidden or not but her hair always grew back
extremely fast. At least on the top of her head, the rest of her
body Aradia was thankful to say was slower. Although she cut her
hair four months ago it had all grown back by now and hung around
her face like liquid fire. When she stood in the mirror, an
exquisite looking goth girl stated back at her.

"Dear lord," she muttered,
"I don't even look like myself."

Saul said
nothing.

Aradia then tried to put on
the diamond necklace but was having some difficulty with the clasp.
This is when Saul finally got up and went to Aradia. He took the
necklace from her hands and effortlessly fastened it behind her
neck.

"You have such a beautiful
neck," Saul crooned.

"I bet you say that to all
the girls," Aradia murmured, "and it would be no surprise being a
vampire and all."

Saul chuckled as he put his
arms around her stomach. He then slowly put his chin on her
shoulder. Aradia thought it was weird that she could feel Saul and
yet in the mirror she couldn't see him.

"Is it hard?" Aradia asked,
"Being a vampire?"

Saul snorted. "Believe it or
not, it sucks!"

"Why?"

"Because," He said as he
cupped Aradia's chin, "we are forced to be trapped in time and
watch everything we love die. We feel like killers and act more
like animals. Animals have it all well and good but only because
they don't have ethics. Us? The entire time I am eating someone I
am debating should I let her live or not? I mean I could hypnotize
her into forgetting which is what I usually do. But for christ's
sake, I could kill her as easily as one would tear a piece of paper
in half. I don't think you understand how intoxicating it is having
that kind of power."

Saul let go of her and
Aradia turned around to face him. "I mean yeah we stay young and
beautiful but see what it costs us?"

He turned from her and hung
his head. "Every romance we have is doomed. I mean people always
say you will love them forever but I can assure you that that's
bullshit! Eventually, you go your separate ways. Every time!
Sometimes its because you found someone new or you just get bored.
So imagine an eternity of bad break-ups! Not really appealing
eh?"

"It goes without saying we
can never have a family at least not in the traditional sense. We
can never have children or anything. Not even a dog! Because
chances are you might eat it or somebody else will! But what sucks
even more is the power struggle!"

"Power struggle?"'Aradia had
definitely not been expecting that.

Saul chortled darkly. "Do
you know what it really means to be a vampire? It means you have
endless spare time! You have to find something to do for an
eternity so the most bored vampires end up engaged in power
struggles. They build up armies, mobs, and god knows what else.
It's not so bad at least until they decide to start recruiting.
Although I wouldn't call it recruiting when it's more like being
forced. All of sudden you are being threatened or used as cannon
fodder and god knows what else. So that's the kind of life you can
look forward to as a vampire. An eternity alone as a tool or trying
not to become another casualty."

Is that Dax how
lived?
Aradia thought and then shook her
head trying to banish him from her thoughts. She shouldn't be
thinking of Dax. Not anymore. He had used her, played her, and then
broken her heart. He didn't deserve to be in her thoughts. He
didn't deserve her.

Besides Aradia had moved on,
she had started anew. She had to focus on her new life now. Her new
life now consisted of her being here on her own and with Saul.
Aradia stared up at Saul who smiled back at her. There were many
things about Saul that were similar to Dax but it was as if they
were the sun and the day. There had been a time when Aradia could
easily compare Dax to the sun.
Irony is
that I still can because if you are not careful the sun can burn
you.

As for the night, it can be
scary but it's comforting and cool. It can protect you. It can help
you. It can never burn or hurt you.
As if
to prove a point, Saul reached out to touch Aradia's cheek. His
skin felt cold and soothing against her own.

"So beautiful," he murmured,
"so exquisite!"

He moved closer to her as
Aradia enjoyed his caress. "You are so special Aradia. There is
nobody in the world quite like you. You are one of kind. The most
special and beautiful woman of them all."

He took both of his hands
under her chin and tilted her up to look at him. His black eyes
stared into hers like all consuming pools of darkness.

"And you are mine!" This is
what he whispered seductively as he claimed her lips with
his.

In spite of them living
together, their body contact had been limited to Saul touching her
lightly. He would put his arms around her and sometimes kiss her
neck but that would be all. The time at the club had been their
first kiss. However, this was how Saul had planned it. He knew that
Aradia's rape had made her cautious but most of all traumatized.
There's no telling what a man's touch could do to her. In order to
get her to trust him or at least his touch he would have to limit
it.

Gaining her trust had been
easy but getting her loyalty was another matter. Saul, however, was
an expert in procuring female alliances. In fact this had been his
job before he was recruited into Keon's platoon. He had joined the
coup because he wanted more. He had received it when he was
appointed Keon's second in command. He had enjoyed the new power
immensely but that didn't mean he didn't miss his old job
sometimes.

Aradia stood stock still as
Keon thrust his tongue into hers. A part of her wanted to push him
away but...Ever since the rape she had hated a man's touch which
sometimes led to intimacy problems with Dax. She couldn't deny that
that may have been why Dax had cheated on her.

She finally shoved Saul
away. "I am sorry but after what Henry did to me..."

She couldn't finish the
sentence and turned away.

It was hard but Saul was
able to rein in his anger. A part of him wanted to strike Aradia
for denying him but such a move would be counterproductive.
However, Saul knew from experience that the ultimate way to win a
woman's loyalty was to get her to bed. He couldn't afford to put
off winning her loyalty anymore. The Sovereign wasn't known for
extending his deadlines. He had given Saul the end of the summer to
convince Aradia to join their cause. If he wasn't able to do it by
then...