Tales of Aradia The Last Witch Volume (4 page)

He finally said, "I think his favorite type of food
is young redheads. Females usually and in their late twenties."

Keon shrugged casually. "Everyone has to have a type
I suppose."

"Keon!" General Dickson barked, "what are you doing
here?"

He threw up his hands in a contemplative gesture.
"Can't a guy take a midnight stroll."

General Dickson just snorted. "Well if you aren't
going to do anything really productive then make yourself and grab
the other shovel."

Keon just shrugged his consent and leapt over the
hole. It looked deep, about two feet, and the dirt looked
especially dark in the pitch black night. The field was pretty bare
expect for wild grass and the woods looked to be about a mile
away.

"Well don't just stand there!" Dickson snapped,
"start shoveling!"

Keon picked up the old shovel and heaved more than a
pound of dirt. It may have been pitch black, but with his vampire
eyesight Keon could still the girl laying at the bottom of the pit.
She looked young and and was wearing a brown dress.
Probably a
bar maid from one of the local taverns. Cheap wench that nobody
will miss.
Keon chuckled before the moon came out from behind a
cloud. The piercing white light shone down on to the field and onto
the grave. It was the moonlight shining on her that made Keon
notice her red hair. It was long and lay about her head like a pool
of blood as if someone has smashed her head in.

Keon's good mood quickly dissolved as he heaped a
pound of dirt onto the girl's head.
I hate redheads
, he
gripped inwardly,
they remind me of my mother.
Keon's mood
soured as he thought once again about the one woman he despised the
most.
God I hated her! As if it was my fault she bore me out of
wedlock. If she had kept her legs closed than she wouldn't have
that problem. I didn't ask to be born. Hell! I never wanted to be.
All the insults and the punishments I endured because of that
woman. She hired me out like a goddamn slave and took all my money.
She abused me and treated me like I was less than dirt.
The
last word was what drew him back to his present situation. He
smiled as he turned to stare at Dickson's back who was too busy
shoveling to notice.
And besides,
Keon added gleefully,
I
got my own back. Once I got turned into a vampire I paid the woman
a visit. The look on her face before I ripped her to pieces was
delicious. She begged for her life even pleaded with me to spare
her. Lord! It had been sweet!

He sighed with the memory.

Dickson glanced over his shoulder and snapped, "why
are you stopping? Keep your mind on the task at hand. We only have
one more hour to bury this woman. It was hard enough to find this
field away from the training camps but to also make sure no one saw
me....that had been equally as bothersome." He grumbled as he
turned back to shovel the last mound onto her grave.

This was what reminded Keon that he had to act fast.
Thankful for the tool in his hand, he slowly raised the shovel
above his head. As swiftly as a corn snake he brought the shovel
down on Dickson's head. Dickson spun around in mere seconds before
the shovel hit him.

"Keon! What the hell are you doing?"

Keon grinned as he broke the bottom off the shovel
and stabbed the jagged wooden edge into the General. Dickson gasped
as Keon swiftly yanked the stake back out. His body then slowly
began to crumble and burst into dust.

"Can't say I am surprised," spoke a voice from out of
nowhere, "I figured that guy was about two hundred years old. Most
vampires when they die still retain their human form at least until
you reach the two hundred number. This is when the dust begins to
settle so to speak. Strangest thing really."

Keon spun around and held up the stake. Tavis stood
merely a foot away, grinning.

Damn!
Keon thought,
I didn't want to have
to kill him but...

Tavis sighed before saying, "I can't say I will miss
the jackass but I am sure the others will be surprised when they
find out Recruiter Keon did him in."

Keon froze.

Tavis, however, just kept walking around the grave.
"I am sure they will be surprised to say the least. I bet they were
expecting it to be one of his solders."

Keon thought fast. "No one will believe you if you
say it was me. They will be take your word over mine."

"They will if he has a witness."

Keon spun around towards the new speaker. Jaxon
snickered as he walked to stand by Tavis.

He placed his elbow on Tavis's shoulder and
grinned.

"Where did you come from?" Keon snapped.

Jaxon pointed towards the trees. "I know they are
more than two feet away but to a vampire's eyesight it's easy to
spot someone in the dark. At least someone committing a
murder."

Tavis chortled. "I knew you were up to something the
moment you asked me about General Dick's schedule."

"You knew?" Keon rasped.

Tavis threw his head back and laughed. "Of course I
knew! Why the hell did you think I even told you?"

When Keon didn't answer, Tavis spoke for him instead.
"It's because I knew what you were probably going to do and I knew
I could work it to my advantage."

Keon's ears perked up again. "Your advantage?"

He sighed deeply when Tavis and Jaxon's smiles grew
wider. He threw down the stake and massaged his temples. He asked,
after sighing deeply, "what do you want?"

Tavis didn't even hesitate with his answer.
"Freedom."

"Treason! What do you mean treason?!" The Sovereign
thundered as he sprung from his chair.

Keon, Tavis, and Jaxon remained on their knees and
tried hard to restrain their smiles.

Keon answered, "we found evidence among General
Dickson belongings that he was deliberately fouling up your
attempts to find the last witch. Several parchments of false
reports indicting where the last witch was. When in truth, nothing
even remotely resembling the last witch was found there."

The Soveriegn clenched his fists. "But Why?" He
finally sputtered.

Tavis piped up with the answer, "he was trying to
undermine your authority Sovereign, the further he foiled your
attempts to find the last witch the more he made it seem like you
were wasting your time on a wild goose chase. He was making a fool
of you, my lord!

Keon shot him a nasty glare but Tavis knew that that
last line would help drive the point home.

The Sovereign's black cloak swirled around him as he
spun away from them. He stalked off to the side and slammed his
fist in to the wall. Several broken stones fell onto the flor as a
result.

"Morgan!" The Sovereign bellowed. "Morgan, where are
you?"

A swirl of black smoke emerged from the stones before
the green woman was seen. "Yes?"

He spun around and pointed accusingly at her. "You
are supposed to be my demon seer! Your visions are suppose to warn
me when one of my followers start plotting against me."

Morgan shrugged. "My powers may be at your beck and
call but I cannot force them to protect you. Guarding yourself
against plots and treason is what your suppose to do."

"How can I worry about plots when I am busy
completing my great plan!" The Sovereign thundered. He walked to
his desk and waved his hand over the papers strewn all over it.

Morgan took her time responding, "I know the great
plan has long occupied your thoughts Sovereign, but you must take
care not to grow over confident in your power. You still have much
to do if your goal is to succeed."

The Sovereign snorted as he turned away. He clasped
his hands behind his back and paced in front of the three kneeling
vampires in front of him. He paced twice before finally
stopping.

He stared down at them, his face still hidden in his
dark cloak. "Have you brought this evidence with you."

Keon nodded. "Yes. I have given the files to Morgan.
She can confirm what we have said."

The Sovereign turned to Morgan. "Well?"

She nodded in assent.

The Sovereign chuckled under his breath. "Well thank
you for bringing this issue to me Keon, Tavis, and Jaxon. I believe
rewards are in order."

He raised his hand and placed his palm on Keon's
head. "Arise Keon Dougan, the new Commander of the Night Shadow
clan."

Keon smiled at the thought of now being in charge of
one of the largest vampire clans in the world.

He placed his hands quickly on both Tavis and Jaxon.
"Arise new member as well new members of the Night Shadows. Their
fortunes, their prestige, their weapons, and their very lives now
belong with you."

He spoke after clasping his hands behind his back
again. "To be part of a vampire clan is to be aligned with the
greatest protectors of the realm. No one dares harm or trouble you
as long as you belong to one of my clans. My sovereignty reigns
superior and greater then any other hidden branch of government.
Whatever you demand shall be yours regardless of who it rightfully
belongs to."

He then raised his head and gestured for them to go.
When he turned was when Jaxon spoke. He was still on his knees when
he asked, "if I may ask a boon of you my lord?"

The Sovereign spun around. "What?"

Jaxon gulped. "Rome's pet Henry...although he was
once a witch he was turned into a vampire before the slaughter of
his people. Therefore, he is not the one you seek."

The Sovereign shrugged.

Jaxon took another deep breath before continuing, "I
have long since noticed that the way he treats Henry is nothing
short of disgraceful. With your humble permission, I beg you to
remove him from Rome's custody and give him to me."

Wax dripped from the flickering torches in the room;
the dripping making the tension thicker and thicker.

"Morgan," the Sovereign said, "come with me." He
beckoned her to the next room while gesturing to the trio to
remain.

Morgan limped slowly after the Sovereign's stride and
narrowly missed having her cloak caught in the door. He motioned to
the door attendants to be gone. Morgan snapped her fingers and the
two dark standing shadowy figures evaporated.

The Sovereign chuckled, "is there nothing that you
cannot do?"

Morgan didn't answer instead she just clutched her
crystal ball. "What is it that you wish to discuss Sovereign?"

He sighed heavily. "Are you sure Henry is not the one
you foretold?"

Morgan nodded.

"Damn," the Sovereign swore aloud, "I had hoped that
because he was the only remaining witch in the world that he would
indeed be the one. When I found out he had already been turned I
truly thought the fates were with me." He paused to sigh. "I should
have know that nothing is that easy."

"I had told you that I didn't believe he was the
one," Morgan pointed out.

"But there was an off chance that you could have been
wrong," the Sovereign added, "and judging by the way how fast my
prosecutors went mad after drinking witches's blood I had hopes
that Henry's blood would be a cure."

"Hence why you gave him to Rome," Morgan duly
noted.

He nodded, "Henry being a vampire meant he had an
endless supply of blood to give. Just feed him a couple of humans
or animals and he will be right as rain. However, it soon became
apparent that he was no cure."

Morgan nodded, "especially when all of the
prosecutors went barking mad and actually ate each other. It's
still a miracle that Rome has not followed their fate."

"I once believed that Henry's blood was what kept him
sane but now I know that it is not the case. I gave him to Rome to
keep alive just in case he was the witch you were looking for."

"And as a back up," Morgan added, "because you know
witches cannot attack other witches. They defend themselves against
others but cannot attack or kill their own kind."

"Part of their belief that balance in life must be
maintained," the Sovereign speculated, "or perhaps they were just
to weak to see that killing is necessary."

"Does it matter?" Morgan stated.

The Sovereign chuckled. "You are right, it doesn't.
At least not anymore."

He walked toward the window and stared out into the
starry night sky. "Do you believe if I give them Henry it will be
beneficial in my ultimate goal?"

Morgan smiled with her yellow teeth shining in the
torchlight. "Oh yes Sovereign. It will."

"Good because it will also help me figure out what to
do with Rome" he concluded.

He turned back to the doors and waited for Morgan to
summon her shadow servants. She snapped her fingers and two
promptly appeared.

However, before the servants threw the doors open,
Morgan asked, "do you believe by bringing him here it will help you
find a cure for the madness caused by the witches's blood?"

"Either that or give me a great new opportunity to
see how effective my new torture instruments are," he muttered and
with that the doors flew open.

"I still can't believe it," Henry murmured
breathlessly, "I still can't believe you came back for me." He
stared at Jaxon with big eyes as he rubbed his wrists.

Jaxon just laughed softly as he patted Henry's
shoulder. "I told you remember? We are brothers and brothers stick
together."

Wade,
Tavis thought as he stared at them.
Jaxon and Henry stood a few feet away looking at each other
affectionately.

"Cute huh?" came a voice from behind him.

Tavis groaned. "Still here are you?"

Keon shrugged. "I suppose I should thank you."

Tavis waved away his statements. "It doesn't matter.
In the end we both got what we wanted. You get your promotion and
we get our freedom."

Keon frowned at this.

Tavis stuck his hands in his black pockets and
adjusted his derby hat."I do hope you haven't forgotten a deal. If
you have then perhaps I should go back and talk to Morgan."