Tales of Aradia The Last Witch Volume (33 page)

Yet another silence until Roy's
uncle thundered, "Look you may think that just because you are now
considered the most powerful hidden in all the world we all have to
cater to your needs and demands but..."

"That’s not what I think at all,"
Aradia interrupted him.

"Oh?” Roy’s uncle sputtered, "Then
what do you think?"

"I think we should compromise,"
Aradia stated.

Everyone stared at her, some in
awe, others in admiration and their mouths wide open.

"Compromise?" Roy's uncle
repeated.

"Yes," Aradia continued to explain.
"You see all I am asking is being able to have the option of
throwing these parties. I do not insist on anyone attending them.
My parties are for people who want to go to them, and if anyone
does not want to then fine! However, if you allow the option of
continuing these parties I promise not to interfere with any other
type of hidden politics."

"What's that supposed to mean?"
Tristan's father snapped.

"I mean I will keep my nose out of
your business. I will not give my support to anyone or participate
in any leadership wrangles or anything at all. All I ask is to be
allowed to do my own thing," said Aradia.

"Your own thing?" the vampire
repeated.

Aradia nodded. "Yes allowing me to
do my own thing as long as it doesn’t involve any of your people’s
politics.”

"What if forbid our subjects to go
to your 'promoting amelioration' parties?" Tristan's father
asked.

Aradia shot him a very nasty
expression. "Then you would be acting not like a king, but like a
petty tyrant!"

"Look," she thundered at everyone
at the table. "All I am asking is being allowed to throw my
parties, and for your people to have the option of going to
them."

"If no one comes..." the silver
haired alpha wolf began.

"Then no one comes. It is their
choice. Look, I know that you are all part of the hidden race, and
therefore governed by different laws. But this is still America
people and rule number one about living in America is having the
freedom to make your own damn choices!"

After seeing everyone stare at her,
Aradia fought the temptation to stomp out of the lodge in
frustration.

Instead, she remained seated
waiting for their response.

A long dramatic silence filled the
air again that seemed to last forever until finally the alpha wolf
that sat in between the silver haired one and Roy's uncle said,
"Well I don't know about the rest of you guys but I really don't
care whether or not she throws these parties."

"Why?" Roy's uncle
inquired.

"Because," he pointed out. "She
maybe the last witch, but she's still a teenage girl. How much
damage to our society can one teenage girl do?"

Aradia struggled with the
temptation to punch his lights out.

Ironically, this changed the
attitude of the other leaders. After whispering amongst themselves
for a few minutes, they voted unanimously to let Aradia throw her
parties. Aradia swore she could feel herself stop breathing.
However, they did set out a rule for Aradia to abide by to honor
her promise of not interfering with any of their hidden policies or
politics. Aradia heaved a sigh of relief.

However, as she leaned back in her
chair she heard Tristan speak. "There is still one issue that we
need to address."

"Is it necessary to involve the
last witch?" his father asked him.

Tristan chuckled. "Of course. The
issue involves her after all."

Aradia's ears perked up a bit as
she thought to herself that this could not be good.

Chapter
Twenty-Seven

Tristan smiled as he looked right
at Aradia. "As you all well know Aradia is the last witch, and
whether we choose to acknowledge it or not she is technically the
most powerful hidden in the world."

Aradia shifted uncomfortably in her
seat while Roy began cracking his knuckles, and Dax started
throwing Tristan dirty looks.

Tristan, however, ignored them
both. "As the most powerful of the hidden race, I think it is only
naturally that she chooses herself a consort, and aligns herself
with a particular race..."

He was interrupted by Roy's uncle
who said, "But we already established that she won't interfere with
hidden politics..."

"And she won't be," Tristan stated,
"By choosing a consort she is only making an alliance, which is a
far cry from interfering with politics. Look my point is this,
unless she chooses a consort from a hidden race then we will never
know where her true loyalties lie. This will cause unrest amongst
all of us so I find it best that she chose a consort and establish
which hidden race has her support!"

"You know what Tristan?" Aradia
snapped at him as she shot up from her seat. "I do not get involved
in your love life so don't you even think about getting involved in
mine!"

"He's right you know,” Roy pointed
out once all three of them left the lodge. "You have to chose a
consort, Aradia. You have to make your alliances known."

"Who asked you?" Dax snapped as he
slipped his arm around Aradia's waist and steered her towards his
car.

Aradia had barely any time to say
goodbye to Roy before Dax slammed her car door shut, and drove
off.

Once they were on the road, Dax
heaved a huge sigh. "Since when did Salem turn into the inspiration
for the next issue of People magazine?"

He currently had one hand on the
wheel while another was holding his chin up, propped up against his
window. Aradia just sat staring out her window with her arms
folded.

When they pulled into Aradia's
driveway and Dax turned off the car; he looked over to Aradia and
asked, "You okay?"

"Do you think they are right?"
Aradia asked him.

"Right about what?"

"You know what Dax," said Aradia
almost irritably.

Dax sighed, and rubbed his hand
over his face.

"Aradia" He said and taking both of
her hands in his own. "I won't deny that what Tristan said did have
some truth to it. However, take it from someone who knows having
someone else making choices about your life is never a good idea.
In the end, if they mess up your life it is no big deal to them
because they got their own life to spare. Your life is your own
always, never anyone else's. Always remember that."

Dax started breathing
heavily.

"I get the feeling there is
something more to this." Aradia observed

Dax sighed, and turned out to look
out the window of his car. He could not see his reflection, but he
could see Aradia staring at him.

Slowly, he turned to face her.
"Before I was turned into a vampire, I was the only son of a member
of parliament. I grew up privileged, happy, pampered, and given
everything I could ever want."

He rested his head on the steering
wheel before he went on. "But I was also very miserable. My father
was cruel, harsh, and demanding whose only reason for having a son
was to meet the expectations of his peers. He tried to control me
at every turn. He told me how to dress, talk, how to eat, who to
talk to, who to associate with, everything! He ruled my life like a
bloody puppet master!"

Dax slammed his fists into the
dashboard.

Aradia was stunned. "How on earth
did you cope?"

He turned his head to smile at her
weakly. "I had my mother."

His eyes glazed over as if he was
remembering something too wonderful to describe.

"My mother was the kindest, most
beautiful, and wonderful person in the world. I loved her more than
I could possibly say. She was the one who really took care of me,
comforted me, and raised me. Basically, she was the only one who
truly loved me."

He sighed heavily. "Everything was
worth enduring if it meant being with my mother. No one was more
important to me than she was. No one!"

Dax's mood then shifted to a darker
one as he closed his eyes. "But then one day a vampire came to my
house. I tried to protect my mother
but...I...couldn't..."

He sighed as if what he wanted to
say was something he had to painfully extract. "She pleaded with
him to spare my life. She did not care what he did to her just so
long as I was safe."

He then pressed his forehead
against the wheel, and chuckled softly. "He kept his promise, but
in his own sick twisted way. He spared my life, but he turned me
into a monster. He turned me into the very creature that killed my
mother, and then left me."

"When I was first turned I was so
hungry, and sick. I truly felt like I was dying, but unless it is
by a wooden stake driven through my heart, or being burned to death
by the sun, or any other typical vampire voodoo crap I cannot die.
I could not starve myself to death even though I tried. Finally, I
began to feed on anything that moved whether it be human or animal.
Anything that had blood I devoured it brutally and for years I
lived like this as I wandered the streets of London."

He then turned to stare out the
window of his car.

"As if I had not committed enough
sinful monstrous behavior, I became so lonely that I took three
drinks from my best mate and turned him into a vampire."

Aradia gasped, and clutched her
hands to her mouth.

"In order to turn someone into
another vampire you must drink the person's blood after three
nights. The man who killed my mother kept me a prisoner in my own
house for three nights so he could turn me, and then tossed me out
into the street. After two years of wandering the cold street, in
three nights I turned my best mate, Jack, into a vampire! Yes I was
no longer lonely, but Jack who in spite of being my best mate in my
human life despite my privilege and power was a completely
different person once I had turned him. Now all of sudden he had
power, and he misused it horribly!"

Dax took a shuddering breath. "I
could not accept responsibility for it so I ran away like the weak
little coward my father had always said I was."

Much to Aradia's surprise, Dax now
began to smile. "But then I met Mr. Dayton. Do you have any idea
what meeting him for the first time was like for me? Meeting a
vampire who tried to live amongst the humans? I was in complete
awe."

He straightened up at this point,
but still kept his grip on the wheel. "I had nowhere to go, and he
took me in. He showed how to control the demon within me. The beast
buried deep inside what is left of my soul that sleeps until it
desires blood. I met his wife, Xan, Ginevra, and Domitilla. For the
first time in my entire life, I was truly happy. I had a family,
and I loved it!"

He was now grinning at Aradia,
expecting her to be pleased.

Aradia, however, still looked as
shocked as she had when Dax began his story.

For a few minutes, she looked from
the left to the right in complete silence.

Until finally she asked, "What did
he do to your mother?"

"Who?" Dax asked.

"The man who turned you into a
vampire, what did he do to your mother?” Aradia stared at him
intensely, expecting an answer.

Dax exhaled a deep depressing
breath. "He drank her blood slowly in front of me. He made me watch
as I saw the life drain from her eyes."

Dax lifted his head and looked
straight ahead of him; fiercer and more enraged than Aradia had
ever seen him.

"The entire time he was draining
her she was reaching out to me, but the bastard had broken both of
my legs so I could not even crawl to her. When he was finally done
though, I tried to get to her by digging my hands into the carpet
and pulling myself towards her."

He shuddered, and clenched both of
his fists.

"She was just laying there. My
beautiful, wonderful, and loving mum. She was lying as still and as
stiff as...as..." Dax broke off.

Aradia opened her mouth to protest
his continuation of his story, but he cut her off. "I did not even
have a chance to tell her how much I loved her. How important she
was to me. But most of all I never got to tell her
how...how…”

He pressed his hand against his
face.

Somehow he managed to mutter
tearfully through his fingers. "I never got to tell her how much I
was going to miss her."

"Oh Dax!" Aradia cried out, and
then threw her arms around him.

He clung to her, locking them
together in a warm tender embrace in the darkness of Dax's car with
the moon shining down upon them. Slowly the two of them drew apart,
and stared deep into each other's eyes. Dax, mesmerized by Aradia's
eyes that were as green as summer grass in the sunshine. While
Aradia was pulled in by Dax's romantic jet black eyes that dazzled
like black diamonds. Soon Dax captured Aradia's lips with his,
making her feel like she had died and gone to heaven.

Their kiss lasted longer than
Aradia had ever imagined a kiss could last.