Tales of Aradia The Last Witch Volume (6 page)

“This high school drama sickens me,” Keon muttered.
“Besides, our assignment is not going to last much longer. I can
assure you of that.”

Saul straightened up immediately. "What do you
mean?"

Keon chuckled. “You’ve done well in recent days,
watching the last witch. I had my own orders from the Sovereign,
and I’ve done well too.”

“What did you do, Keon?” Saul dared to ask.

“Precisely what the Sovereign asked. I spread the
word about the last witch.” Keon's grin grew wider and more
sinister. “There is a definitely an upside to working for the
Sovereign as long as I have.”

“What upside is that?” Saul inquired further, certain
he wouldn’t like the answer.

“The opportunity to meet… interesting individuals,
individuals with desire for power and who are willing to do
anything, including truly reckless shit, in order to acquire it,”
Keon answered.

"Morning everybody!" Mr. Gillard shouted as he
barreled into class. He slammed his briefcase onto the table and
hurriedly shrugged off his dark brown coat.

Mr. Garibaldi Gillard had been at Salem High for more
than four years. He was short with light brown skin that hinted at
a Hispanic origin with a graying beard and a cropped head of hair.
His every day clothes consisted of different colored polo shirts,
khakis, and brown loafers. Today, he wore a light green polo shirt,
and clean light brown khakis.

"Sorry I am late," Mr. Gillard semi-shouted out of
the corner of his mouth as he dug through his briefcase, "but my
car got stolen." "Again!" He added bitterly.

Aradia covered her mouth to hide her smirk. It was no
secret that Mr. Gillard lived in a very sketchy neighborhood and
his car getting stolen seemed like an every day occurrence.
Nevertheless, he always made it to class ready with their
assignments and his materials much to Aradia's and the rest of the
students' disappointment. Mr. Gillard brandished papers as he
boomed to the class, "today we will be discussing the governments'
problem of unsolved crimes."

He explained the assignment as he passed out the
papers, "you will all work in pairs, and find one unsolved crime
that has occurred recently. The crime must have occurred in America
in the last two years. After finding documented proof of the crime,
you will write a two page essay, double spaced with information
properly cited, of why you think the crime has gone unsolved. Do
not forget to discuss what we have learned on class so far. For
example, discuss topics such as federal and state laws and
jurisdiction."

A hand shot up from amongst the sea of students just
as Mr. Gillard faced them. "Yes Rhonda?"

"What does federal law have to do with unsolved
crime? I thought the Feds only deal with international stuff."

Mr. Gillard hung his head heavily. "Are any of you
aware of the Natalee Holloway case?"

Many of the students nodded while others just rolled
their eyes.

"Although she was an American citizen she disappeared
overseas and there was rumor of foul play. There were those who
argued that because it happened in Aruba, the United States
Government held no jurisdiction therefore they had no authority to
go in and investigate her disappearance. Many argue that if
Holloway's case had been declared a federal crime there was a
possibility that the investigation would not have been botched and
her body may have been found."

"Didn't they arrest some guy for the crime?" Aradia
squinted to try to see the student who just spoke.

Mr. Gillard nodded. "However, most of the evidence
the Aruba officials collected were substantial and it wasn't until
he was arrested for killing another girl at a casino when they
finally threw him in jail."

"So wait," Rhonda argued, "you mean if this guy
hadn't killed another person he would have gotten away with
Natalee's murder?"

Mr. Gillard sighed. "Yes."

Aradia tried her best to act normal in spite of
feeling depressed about the latest information in her life. The
last thing she needed, or so she thought, was her best gal pal
being worried about her.

"So what case should we pick?" Aradia asked Rhonda
cheerfully who, in turn, just shrugged nonchalantly.

Their government class had been their first class of
the day and at Salem High the first class was always followed by a
twenty minute break. Mr. Gillard had allowed them to pick their own
partners by the end of class. It was a no-brainer that Aradia and
Rhonda would chose to be each other's partners. What hadn't been
was the unsolved case they would chose for their assignment. It was
no surprise Aradia wanted to get a head start on their assignment
and suggested they spend the break in the library. It was due in
two weeks and she was eager to improve her G.P.A. In fact, besides
her goal to find out more about her people, her other goal was to
pass her sophomore year with straight B's. Judging by the grades
she got in her freshman year even her parents would tell her that
such a goal seemed unrealistic. Nevertheless, Aradia decided to try
and for the last minute and a half she and Rhonda had sat in the
library researching topics. Aradia at the computer and Rhonda
looking through their textbook.

Rhonda, however, with her 3.0 GPA didn't seem too
involved or concerned. She kept staring out the window of the
library at the gloomy weather gathering outside.

Aradia reached over and tapped her friend on the
shoulder. "Hello? Earth to Rhonda! Come in Rhonda!"

"Hmm?" Rhonda, with her chin in her hand, turned
slowly.

Aradia rolled her eyes and turned to face her.
Thank god for rolling chairs.
"Okay what is it? You have
been acting all mopey since class ended? What's up with you Ron?
What's the matter?"

At first, Rhonda didn't say anything but then she
sighed and said, "I am thinking about the Natalee Holloway
case."

Aradia groaned and slapped her palm against her face.
"I don't think Mr. Gillard will allow us to chose the example he
gave for our assignment."

Rhonda hastily shook her head. "No! No! That's not
it. That is not what I am talking about."

Aradia raised her face and an eyebrow.

Rhonda pressed her hands together and lowered her
head. She said, taking a deep breath and sighing, "don't you think
it's disgusting that a guy could kill a girl in cold blood and get
away with it?"

Aradia shifted her gaze to the left. "It happens Ron.
You should know that. Hell! You would be surprised how often such a
thing occurs."

"What do you mean?"

Aradia inhaled and exhaled a breath through her nose.
"Need I remind you I am a D.A.'s daughter? I know for a fact that
over a hundred cases appear in every state that go unsolved for
years. Many of them involving young women like us. There are over a
dozen cases in the state of Massachusetts alone where young women
disappear never to be seen again which also means there are over a
dozen people who get away with murder. It's sick I know but it's
true."

Rhonda just stared. After taking off her glasses and
massaging her temples she said, "but doesn't it upset you?"

"Of course it does," Aradia stated, "but just because
I am not okay with something doesn't mean it will never
happen."

"Yeah but don't you wish you could change that?"
Rhonda put her glasses back on and stared up at the ceiling with a
dreamy expression. "Wouldn't you like to have the power to change
the world? Especially for the better? Wouldn't that be so
tight?"

Aradia didn't answer, and turned back to the
computer. While she typed in more searches, her mind began to
wander.
Technically, I already have that kind of power. I mean I
can read minds (through physical contact of course) and control the
power of nature with a mere thought. However, would that kind of
power change much? Most of all, do I want to take on that kind of
responsibility? I mean I couldn't stop murders from happening could
I? I couldn't stop crime...could I?

Aradia pushed herself away from the desk. She crossed
her legs and lightly tapped her foot against one of the wheels.
You know when you think about it I did help solve a murder and I
am sure if I explore my power a bit maybe I can predict a murder
before it happens. As for crime...well I could do the same.

However,
she blew a strand of hair out of her
face,
I can't prevent all crime from happening. I can't become
the supernatural police force for Salem especially all by myself.
Furthermore, I promised myself a long time ago I would never become
a vigilante. I mean I am a fan of Batman as the next person
but...if you ever watched the flick Batman Begins then you could
see he had no choice. He had to act because the Gotham police force
was so corrupt but the Salem police force is not corrupt.
Furthermore, my dad is an assistant DA what would he think if he
found out? He would of course, parents always found out. It's just
one of those things like why the sky is blue and why fish swim.
But...

She tucked the very same strand behind her ear.
Rhonda does have a very good point. If you have the power to do
something then you should use it. However, excluding the Vampire
Murders, not much happens here in Salem at least nothing crime
related. Unless of course you count the discrimination in the
hidden race but they don't consider that a crime.

Aradia snorted and tossed her head but then a wave of
thoughtfulness came over her.
However, just because they are
okay with discrimination doesn't mean it's right. I mean years ago
people were okay with treating blacks like dirt but that doesn't
mean it was right. In fact people knew it wasn't right which is
what started the civil rights movement.

"Hello? Earth to Aradia," Rhonda joked as she tapped
on her left shoulder.

Aradia turned, almost like a reflex, to her right to
see Rhonda smiling over her shoulder. "Hello? Personal space
here."

Rhonda chuckled as she backed off. "Fine. Fine. Have
it your way."

Aradia smiled over her shoulder. "If I had it my way,
there would be world peace, free ice cream, and MTV would stop
showing crap like Teen Mom.
"
.

Rhonda had to clamp her hand over her mouth. After
swallowing her fit of laughter, with some difficulty, she once
again leaned in towards Aradia.

"Well you better hurry up with finding our case for
our assignment because break is almost over." Rhonda looked at her
slapstick digital watch to prove her point.

Aradia snorted angrily as she typed in yet another
search. This time something finally caught her eye.
FIFTH VICTIM
FOUND IN SERIAL KIDNAPPING CASE.

"Hello? What's this?" Aradia asked out loud.

"It appears to be a serial kidnapping case Aradia,"
Rhonda stated.

"No duh Sherlock!" Aradia muttered.

Rhonda squinted. "Okay I have heard of serial killers
but serial kidnappers? As D would say eso es tan raro."

Aradia raised an eyebrow.

"It's Spanish for 'that is so weird,'" Rhonda
explained.

Aradia then nodded and turned back to the screen. She
scanned the first few lines which read, "after missing for five
months, Nika Azarov was found in a furniture warehouse in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her wrists had been bound along with
her legs with thick ropes to one of the couches stored in the
warehouse. The poor sixteen year old girl was found cold, almost
half dead, oddly dressed in an expensive lingerie dress. Babbling
incoherently and starving, the girl was taken to a nearby
hospital..."

The warning bell rang and Rhonda muttered, "shit!"
under her breath. She quickly went to the table where stuff lay and
scooped them all.

"Hey Aradia," she said without looking, "you think
you can handle the article. You know highlighting it and stuff. You
can come over on Friday and we can compare notes."

"Don't you need a copy?" Aradia said over her
shoulder.

"Email me the link," Rhonda stated before walking out
of the library. Almost as if it were an afterthought, Rhonda turned
and said, "bye Rai!"

"Bye Ron," Aradia said and batted her fingers at
Rhonda. The moment the printer started making printing sounds was
when Aradia sprang to her feet. She shrugged on her coat and threw
on her backpack. She still held her binder so she could stuff the
newspaper article in the folder clearing marking it as the
Government section of her classes. She too then raced out of the
library.

However, as focused as she was on improving her
grades it still managed to take a back seat to her other goal.
Hence why the next day Aradia sat in the Salem High School central
quad eating sunflower seeds. She didn’t actually care for sunflower
seeds, and she wasn’t sure where she’d come across the bag. Someone
had probably left it out on a bench, maybe. She’d always thought
sunflower seeds were more trouble than they were worth, but then
again, she wasn’t really that hungry.

The internet results the other day had been
absolutely no help. It told her a great deal about the human part
of history, but that wasn’t where she’d find the answers she
needed. Who was she? What were the witches like? Why, really, had
they all died?
Had
they all died?

Great,
she thought to herself, as a small
group of thuggish looking types sauntered her way,
I can’t even
be alone right
.

There were three of them, and they looked and dressed
like your typical late-teens bad guys: leather jackets, tight
shirts, sadistic grins. Two of them were clearly subservient to the
third, following him around like a frightening Pied Piper. She
actually recognized one of the lackeys: he’d thrown eggs at her and
Rhonda from the back of a pickup truck when they were out for
Halloween.