Tales of Aradia The Last Witch Volume (13 page)

Suddenly he was leaning in toward her, eyes closing,
mouth opening.

Oh crap,
Aradia thought,
now
we’re
back to not understanding ‘fast.’

Aradia wasn’t sure whether to be embarrassed or
relieved when the door to the closet burst open. Standing in the
doorway were an eager-looking girl and more-eager-looking Al. His
expression changed, however, as soon as he saw Roy and Aradia. At
first, he just stared at them in disbelief, then his mouth split
into a highly amused smile.

"Oh, sorry Roy," Al said in a smooth silky voice
dripping with sarcasm. "I didn’t know that this make-out spot was
already taken. I didn't mean to interrupt you getting your groove
on."

"Only you would consider a closet a make out spot,"
Roy muttered weakly.

“Um,” Aradia interjected, eyes on the ground, “you
really were trying to use it as a make-out spot.”

Roy took Aradia's hand and squeezed uneasily past his
brother. As they passed, Aradia whispered to the girl, "Whatever
you pay for him, be sure to keep the receipt."

The girl stared open mouthed as Aradia grinned.

She then added, “And remember not to tip him!”

Al and the girl both laughed and closed the door
behind themselves.

Roy hurried the two of them down the hallway, eager
to escape the scene of his failed kiss. They found themselves in
the kitchen. Although Roy's entire extended family was huge, there
were only a few people in the kitchen. Two guys Aradia didn’t know
were munching at the kitchen table, Roy’s dad was washing and
slicing veggies, and a woman was adding some kind of herb to a
steaming pot.

“Hola,” Roy greeted the group. “Aradia, these are my
Uncles Jesus and Timothy and my Aunt Lupe. Everybody, this is my,
uh, friend, Aradia.”

“Hello, Aradia,” Mr. Morales said warmly, putting
down his knife and wiping his hands on a clean towel. He grabbed
Aradia and brought her in for a hug. “So nice to see you outside
the diner!”

“Likewise,” Aradia replied, surprised by the embrace,
but not put off.

“Come!” one of the uncles commanded, gesturing at a
variety of finger food from various plates scattered all over the
table.

"I wouldn’t want to spoil my dinner," Aradia replied,
trying not to sound antagonistic.

They looked at her in silent observation.
Oh
yeah
, Aradia thought to herself, taking the opportunity to
study Roy’s family right back,
they are definitely Roy's
relatives
.

Although they were Hispanic, Guatemalans had a
different body type and build than other Central Americans. Their
skin was more honey brown in their complexion and much more well
built. Aradia's eyes bulged a bit when she saw as they moved about
the kitchen how big they all were.
As almost as big as Roy,
she thought. She stared at all of them observing the facial
structures and even the body language they shared with him. Most of
them, however, the Morales family had an amazing, innocent gleam in
their eyes which made them all more similar to Al.

Apparently one of them, she wasn’t sure if it was
Timothy or Jesus, had more in common with Al than Roy. His voice
was that same silky soft one as he stated, "You should get used to
having all this food around if you’re going to spend time with
Reynaldo. You obviously have no idea how much we werewolves are
capable of eating."

"Plus we are Latino," he added, "we love to
cook!"

"I’m kind of new to all this,” Aradia acknowledged,
“but one thing strikes me as odd, if you don’t mind my saying. I’d
think that because you are known as the hidden race, you would be
more hesitant to use the ‘double u’ word to some random
stranger."

The guy just smirked and said, "We would be. We are.
But you are not a random stranger. I know who you are."

"You do?" Aradia asked, confused.

"We all do. You are Reynaldo's girlfriend,” he
replied, “The last witch."

Aradia knew she would need to adjust to receiving
such a reaction, but for now, it was new to her. She quickly grew
uncomfortable. Aradia half hoped, half expected Roy would say
something to save the day.

When he did not, she took a deep breath, and said,
"With all due respect, sir, I am not Reynaldo...I mean Roy's
girlfriend. I am his friend and a girl, which is very different
than a girlfriend. Two, how do you know the last witch part?"

"I think all the hiddens in Salem know who you are.
You being here, it’s big news. Hearing what you did to that Caradoc
guy, that made you definitely an enigma, but a real witch, here in
Salem? It’s like finding out there’s a dinosaur at the local zoo.
Stories about you have spread like wildfire.”

She lowered her eyes to the ground.

“Timothy,” Mr. Morales chided. “Silencio.”

Abashedly, Roy’s uncle added, “I’m sorry. I didn’t
mean anything. Powers like yours are very, very uncommon. I’d have
thought you’d be proud. You must realize how curious people will
be."

“It’s practically gone viral on Facebook,” Roy added
hesitantly.

“What?” Aradia exclaimed.

“In private groups,” Roy amended, as if that made it
better. “Only to hiddens.”

Aradia briefly considered learning enough computer
science to create a nasty virus.

She sighed heavily, then turned to look at the woman
who was cooking. She’d been so absorbed into the conversation with
Timothy that this was the first good look she had gotten at Lupe’s
face.

She then instantly cried out, "Oh my God!" and
clamped her hands over her mouth.

The woman's eye drooped lazily, and angry red scars
criss-crossed from her brow to her chin like the surface of Europe.
Deep, grotesque teeth marks dotted the woman's left cheek sick and
her lips were torn and ripped like the gristle left over from a
fatty cut of steak. Her right ear was pointy at the top as if most
of it had been bitten clean off. What was left of it limped
desperately to hold the earring she was wearing in place. Perhaps
the most off-putting feature of all was her beautiful, inky black
hair which swirled down past her shoulders magnificently like a
cartoon princess.

Deathly silence claimed the room. Again, all eyes
were on Aradia, this time with great tension.

"That," Aradia said, pausing for dramatic effect.
"Has got to be the most magnificent pair of earrings I have ever
seen."

She then walked right up to the woman and
deliberately reached out to the one that was hanging from the
damaged ear.

The woman smiled, which made her look even more
grotesque.

This time Aradia did not stumble.

"Where on earth did you buy these?" She continued.
"They are so beautiful! I would love to find a pair for my
mother."

The woman chuckled and said, "Actually, I made
these."

"Seriously?" Aradia said with a gasp, not even
feigning her surprise. "Even better! My mom can have a birthday
gift that is not only beautiful, but unique in the world. Do you
think I can buy a pair from you?"

“I never really thought about selling them,” she
replied shyly. “I mostly just make them for fun.”

“I’ll be your first client then,” Aradia
insisted.

"Maybe I will think about it," Lupe teased.

Aradia laughed, and the woman joined in. By now the
uncles had returned to their snacking, Roy’s dad was cooking once
more, and Roy was standing nearby somewhat awkwardly, giving the
girls a degree of privacy.

"I am Aradia by the way."

"I know,” Lupe said with an apologetic smile as she
took Aradia’s hand. “It’s nice to formally meet you. I am
Lupe."

“I know,” Aradia replied back, taking the proffered
hand. With sudden inspiration, Aradia raised an eyebrow and asked,
"Hey, doesn’t Lupe mean 'wolf' in Spanish?"

"No," the woman replied sheepishly. “That’s ‘lobo.’
But it does mean ‘wolf’ in Latin, and my name is actually
Guadalupe, meaning Wolf River.”

"Well in that case... boy! Are you and your husband
written in the stars or what?”

She chuckled. It was a small laugh, but an honest
one, and Aradia breathed a sigh of relief.

All in all, Aradia was having a good time at the
barbecue. After Roy had introduced her to everyone in attendance,
which took about half an hour on its own, she enjoyed joking with
and charming them. Of course, Roy grinned with pride as he watched
her having fun.

Most of the event took place in their giant backyard.
They’d even set up folding tables for food and drink. With how
wonderful everything looked and smelled, Aradia couldn’t resist
digging in.

She even played with Roy's younger brothers Johnny
and Robbie, who were six and nine, respectively. When she asked
Johnny if he liked dinosaurs, he pouted and answered, "I like
bugs."

Robbie was cute too, but in a stranger way.

When Aradia tried to strike up a conversation with
him, the first thing he said to her was, "I see dead people."

“Wow, that’s incredible,” Aradia replied, shocked.
“Is that a normal werewolf thing, or are you a special werewolf?
Or, oh my gosh, are you something else entirely?”

"No," Robbie answered uncertainly, the shadow of a
smirk on his face. "I just say that to freak grown-ups out. Did you
really believe me?"

“No,” Aradia lied. “Okay, yes. I’m kind of new to
this whole hidden thing. For a long time I thought I was the only
one.”

Robbie threw his head back cackling and ran off to
play with his other cousins at the tree line.

"Apparently Al is not the only one in this family who
can be both charming and obnoxious," Aradia observed.

Roy, hearing this, frowned and said, "You think Al is
charming?"

"Yeah," Aradia replied, "I also think he is
obnoxious."

Roy smiled at that while Al, who had just walked into
earshot, did not.

Aradia had to admit she liked hanging out with Roy
and his family, but she couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that
this was their first technical date. Try as she might to just enjoy
herself, Aradia kept analyzing the chemistry between them.

Roy was sweet, no doubting that but she was already
getting tired of his overprotectiveness, though. Even here at his
family's BBQ, if he didn’t have his arm around her, he was holding
her hand or hugging her or doing something to show everyone who saw
them that she was with him. At first she thought it was cute, but
Aradia liked her independence.

Yet, she really did have fun, with Roy and with his
family. She realized it was a bold move going straight for the
family dinner date. If she’d crashed and burned, it would have been
a big hurdle for Roy to overcome. Instead, though, if she broke up
with him now, she’d be breaking up with a whole pack of pretty cool
people.

In spite of all the fun she had, at the end of the
day, Aradia was still confused, even more confused than before. She
had no idea what she was going to do.

Chapter Six

After the cookout, Aradia was tired but happy, not to
mention extremely full. In fact, when Roy walked her to her door
she was still giggling like a giddy schoolgirl.

Roy put a finger to his lips. "Shh! You’ll wake your
parents!"

Aradia cocked her head to the side. "Roy, I went out
on a date today. My parents would have stayed up the entire night
sitting next to the phone."

"Seriously?" Roy asked, sounding perplexed.

"I am their only daughter, you know? And try as I
might to put it behind me, they still remember that party I snuck
off to.”

Roy smiled. “I remember that too. I had fun dancing
with you.”

Aradia winced a little inside. Roy didn’t realize
part of why she’d danced with him was to get under Dax’s skin.

“Anyway, as much as parents would like to, I bet,
they can't take out insurance policies on their kids behavior. I
have to wonder, if my parents can't get over half a million dollars
if I don't come home, then what is the point of having a kid at
all?"

Roy just looked at her and shook his head.

She added, “Besides, it’s only eight o’clock.”

Even walking very, very slowly, by then they had
reached Aradia's front door. She was just about ready to say good
night and goodbye when she looked up into Roy's face, and the world
seemed to stand still.

"Rai-Rai," Roy began with a sigh, "have you ever been
kissed before?"

"Yes," Aradia answered without missing a beat.

Roy looked disappointed, even hurt, but gathered his
courage again and asked, "Who?"

"Promise not to get angry?" Aradia asked
cautiously.

Roy nodded, even though he sensed he would not like
the answer.

"Dax. I kissed Dax," Aradia answered.

Roy wondered if it was too late in the night to find
some heavy traffic so he could throw himself into the middle of
it.

"But it wasn't a real kiss," Aradia explained
further.

"Huh?" No matter how he felt, Roy sounded more
confused than upset or angry. "What do you mean? What is a real
kiss?"

“It was actually your doing, mostly,” Aradia added,
which further confused Roy’s feelings. “After you told me about
finding my blood in the hospital, I needed to know more about Dax’s
true intentions.”

“So you made out with him?”

“I didn’t make out with him! You told me that some
vampires have certain mental powers. I… well, I do too, and I
thought I might be able to get more intel if I caught Dax off
guard.”

"So wait, are you saying you can read minds?" Roy
asked.

Aradia shook her head. “No, not really. But I can
root around in someone’s mind. I don’t always get what I’m looking
for, and it’s hard to make sense of anything inside someone else’s
head. But I can poke around a little, especially if the person’s
off balance.”