Tales of Aradia The Last Witch Volume (29 page)

"I don't know," Aradia
snapped.

The two of them shopped in silence
until Rhonda finally said, "The reason why you won't is because you
are enjoying it. You like having five guys going after
you!"

"I do not!" Aradia
snapped.

Rhonda just stared at Aradia,
scrutinizing her until Aradia reluctantly added, "You just don't
know Ron. You just do not know what's it like to be bullied most of
your life and then to suddenly be courted by five gorgeous men!
It's intoxicating to go from years of being unwanted to wanted in
the amount of time it takes to snap your fingers!"

"I know what it's like to be
bullied," Rhonda added softly.

Aradia shook her head. "I know Ron
it's just...it's just."

Rhonda held up her hand and said,
"No need Aradia. I get what you are saying."

"You do?"

Rhonda nodded sympathetically but
then she said, "But the sad truth is Aradia, you can't keep
stringing them along like this. You cannot have all of them. You
are going to have to make a choice."

Aradia defended herself by
snapping, "You told me to go out with both Dax and Roy!"

"That was over five months ago! I
would have thought you would have made a choice by now," said
Rhonda.

Aradia just hung her head and
stared at the ground. She knew Rhonda was right, she had to make a
choice and soon.

Chapter
Twenty-One

They had not meant to bump into
Jayce, but that was what happened as soon as they turned the
corner.

"Hey Rai, Rhonda what's up?" Jayce
greeted them.

The girls both froze; Rhonda with
fear, Aradia with nervous anticipation.

"Hey Jay, how is it going?" Aradia
greeted him.

"Okay I guess," Jayce said with a
shrug.

"You guess?" Aradia inquired
raising an eyebrow.

Jayce shrugged again. "Considering
that I am shopping for socks for my girlfriend. Well it's not
chilling at MTV's spring break I tell you what."

Aradia chuckled along with
Jayce.

Rhonda coughed causally in her
hand.

She then said quickly to Aradia,
"I'll see you later" and walked off.

At first, Aradia and Jayce stood
together in awkward silence.

"So you want to get a bite to eat?"
Jayce asked her.

Aradia grinned. "Sure."

"First of all, I want to tell you
thanks for letting me and my friends hang at your club," Jayce said
to Aradia after taking a huge gulp of his soda.

Aradia brushed his thanks aside.
"Hey it's nothing."

"I mean seriously when I heard you
opened a club I figured the first thing you would do is put me and
my friends on the "do not allow in" list," Jayce
explained.

"What do you mean?" Aradia
asked.

"I mean you being...well...and me
being a football player," he said awkwardly just realizing what he
was saying.

Aradia, far from offended, laughed.
"You thought when I opened the club. Me being a geek I would make
it a 'geek only' club and no popular kids would be
allowed."

Jayce smiled sheepishly.

Aradia then sighed. "Jay, do you
know the name of the club?"

"Yeah. Amelioration," Jayce said
with a nod.

"Yes. Amelioration, which means
tolerating others and everyone's social status. Why did you think I
called it that? It's to let people know no matter what or who you
are, popular or not, rich or poor, anyone is allowed to be
there."

Aradia breathed deeply after her
explanation, feeling satisfied.

Jayce said nothing.

Instead, he just smiled at her and
propped his chin on to his hand.

"You know?" he finally said, "I
have never met anyone quite like you before Aradia."

Aradia smiled and wrapped her
finger around a strand of her hair. "You have no idea how true that
is."

"Want to bet?" Jayce
whispered.

Aradia giggled until she locked
gazes with Jayce; that was when she became softly silent. Soon she
slowly felt her lips being drawn to his until they were only inches
away from each other.

Suddenly, they heard a tremendous
boom erupting from outside the food court!

Jayce tore his face away from
Aradia.

"What the hell was that?" He
shouted.

Aradia was just as shocked as Jayce
after hearing that sound. She brushed away what almost had happened
between them to crane her neck over the various shrieking, and
running people to try to see what was happening. Unable to do so,
Aradia pushed her way through the crowds to get to where she heard
the sound. With Jayce in tow, Aradia ran out to the parking lot,
and gasped aloud. In a blaze of smoke, fire, and ferocious smells
of burning rubber and oil, a red truck lay in a heap. Aradia heard
a strange howl coming from her right. She then turned to see Al and
D yelling as several people tried to hold them back. It only took
Aradia a few seconds to gasp and realize that the car that had just
been destroyed was Al and D's truck.

But who would want to do
that
, Aradia thought to
herself,
and why
?

Unfortunately, what had happened to
Al and D's truck was only the beginning. In the weeks that
followed, numerous incidents occurred such as Tristan's jeep being
completely trashed. Someone had also heavily vandalized the
SilverMoon diner from the outside to the inside, spraying paint and
graffiti everywhere. According to Ginevra and Domitilla Dayton,
someone had thrown bricks through the heavily boarded windows in
the middle of the day allowing strong noon sunshine in. Luckily, at
the time they had all been doused in sunscreen but as Domitilla
kept reminding people if she, her sister, Mr. Dayton and his wife
had not had sunscreen on them they would have been burned alive in
their own home! For a while, it seemed so random, but when Lamont's
brother had been jumped and beaten up violently Aradia suspected
that these acts were not random but deliberate. Most of all, they
were directed towards the guys who were courting her. After Aradia
told the guys this, they had all compared notes, and determined
that these were meant to be challenges. However, they had no idea
why and from whom.

Chapter
Twenty-Two

"Dax!" Roy cried out, "what are you doing here?"

Dax looked over his shoulder to see Roy barreling
towards him. He grimaced before retorting, "it's a free country
Roy. I can walk where I bloody well please."

Roy held up his hands and said, "sorry dude. I was
just curious."

Dax narrowed his eyes as he turned to face Roy who
was leaning against a tree. Roy also narrowed his eyes and
straightened up. Like two predators, they circled one another for
five long minutes.

"But you know," Roy said slowly, "I have been meaning
to talk to you."

"About what?"

Roy looked uneasily at the ground. "About
Aradia."

Dax rolled his eyes. "What of her?"

At his tone, Roy's eyes narrowed once again. "Are you
really interested in her or are you just messing with her?"

Dax stiffened. "What the hell is that suppose to
mean?"

Roy sighed. "Look Dax, Aradia told me...everything.
She told me about why you went out with her in the first
place."

Dax looked away. After a few tense seconds is when he
sighed and said, "I am not saying what I did was right but...I can
honestly say I do like Aradia but not because I want to know more
about her. She's the most compassionate, insightful, engaging, and
nonjudgmental person I have ever met. I have never known anyone
like her before. She is so open-minded and its inspiring the way
she just accepts people without even knowing them."

Roy nodded. "Yeah. She's pretty cool and she's a
great friend, which is why I am worried about your reasons for
hanging out with her. She's my friend so I don't want her hurt or
anything."

Dax crossed his arms. "You don't have to worry about
me. I would never hurt her."

"So your father investigating her blood was not for
your own benefit at all?" Roy asked.

Dax's eyes widened. "How did you know about
that?"

Roy didn't answer. He shifted on the balls of his
feet. Meanwhile, Dax's mind raced back to that date and how
unusually quiet Aradia had been.

As if it were a lightbulb going off, Dax shouted,
"holy sweet mother of God! You! It was you! You told her what I was
up to!"

Roy met his gaze but he didn't answer.

Dax clenched his fists. "You freaking fool! How could
you do that?!"

"I was worried about Aradia. She told me that she had
never gone to the doctors a day in her life so when I smelled her
blood I was worried. Before then she had been getting hurt a lot
and I was worried about her safety. What the hell was I suppose to
think Dax?"

Dax opened his mouth to argue but Roy cut him off,
"look I don't know if you really have feelings for Aradia but I
sure as hell as do. Whether the feelings I have for her are
friendship or more it really doesn't matter. I will watch out for
her and I will protect her at any cost!"

Dax tried hard to fight back the urge to leap at Roy
and rip him to shreds. Roy locked his gaze with Dax's and didn't
look away. They met each other's deadly and steely gaze without
flinching.

The whole time Dax processed Roy's words and slowly
he felt his anger reside.

He then sighed heavily and ran his fingers through
his hair. "You are right mate, you had to tell her. I wish I could
defend my actions but truly the only excuse I can offer you is the
fact that after seeing her use her powers I was curious about what
she really was. I know curiosity killed the cat but it sure as hell
didn't help the vampire in this particular situation."

Roy snorted.

Dax shrugged. "You had every right to tell her and I
understand why you did."

"Don't get me wrong Dax," Roy pointed out, "it
doesn't matter to me whether you are a vampire or not. I was just
worried about Aradia's safety."

"Why?"

Roy hung his head and scratched his neck. "Do I
really have to say it?"

Dax raised an eyebrow. "I get the feeling that there
was a subtle hint when you said 'whether its friendship or
more'"

Roy shrugged unabashedly.

"So you like her do you?" Dax couldn't help but
tease.

To Dax's surprise, Roy just sighed. "Yeah I am into
her, but its obvious that she doesn't feel the same way."

"What do you mean?"

Roy looked at him crossly. "You are not going to make
me say it loud are you?"

Dax just chuckled.

For a while, the two of them said nothing and a
feeling of understanding began to fall upon both of them.

"What is it about chicks and vampires?" Roy finally
asked.

Dax laughed aloud. "I'll be damned if I know mate
"

Roy laughed as well but he had to ask, "but do you
really care about her? As a person and not the last witch?"

"Yes," Dax stated without missing a beat.

Roy looked slightly taken back. Eventually, he sighed
and said, "then I guess you won huh? She's all yours."

Dax threw his head back and laughed. "I hate to tell
you this mate but Aradia is not some trophy to be won. She's her
own woman, and she will chose whatever she thinks is best. In the
end, it doesn't matter how any of us feels about her. She is not
anybody's property."

He then exhaled a long breath and sort of chuckled at
the end. "To be perfectly blunt Roy, she's not either of ours."

Roy couldn't help but acknowledge the validity of
Dax's argument but before he could say anything. He smelled a
familiar scent. He turned towards it and inhaled deeply. "Aradia?
What's she doing out here?"

Dax shrugged. "Probably out gathering more herbs for
her potions..."

Roy smiled at that and the both of them would have
parted right then there if they hadn't heard what sounded like
Aradia shrieking.

"Hey there little red riding hood,
you lost?" Dunc whispered in her ear.

Aradia jumped, and tried to back
away. Only to bump into Korrigan who firmly grabbed her in his
arms.

"God how I have been missing this!
Holding you and feeling you struggle," he moaned.

"Feel this perv!" Aradia shrieked,
thrusting her head back and hitting him in the forehead.

Korrigan stumbled and Aradia then
pushed past him and ran. Once again, she collided into someone.
This time it was Tavis who crouched down to meet her eye level In
his hand, he still fondled his beloved switchblade, but instead of
picking at his fingernails, he was slowly waved it in front of
Aradia's face menacingly.

"The last witch I presume?" Tavis
asked silkily.

"Who wants to know?" Aradia
snapped.

Tavis blinked and said, "I am
surprised you are not denying this. God knows how difficult a
position it must currently be."

"Yeah well," Aradia snapped as she
struggled to get up. "If I denied it, it's not like you would
believe me!"

Tavis chuckled as he said, "True.
Very true!"