Tales of Aradia The Last Witch Volume 5 (30 page)

He laughed again.

Aradia got to her feet and
they slowly circled each other.

"I didn't want it to be this
way Aradia," Saul murmured, "I swear."

Aradia didn't say
anything.

Saul ran his fingers through
his hair. "I love you sweetheart. I want us to be together that's
why I did it. That's why I did it all."

Aradia clenched her fists.
"You are such a freaking liar!"

She threw a punch at him
which he easily dodged. "I never lied about my feelings to
you."

"Then why did you kill Roy's
uncle? Why?" Aradia demanded as she threw him a right
hook.

Saul stayed silent until he
grabbed her forearm.

He then pressed his face
right to Aradia's and hissed, "that was none of my doing. His death
was part of a grander scale and part of a bigger plan. He didn't
understand what was best for his kind. He didn't understand that in
order to achieve progress one must make a few
sacrifices."

"What the hell are you
talking about?" Aradia demanded as she grabbed him by the back of
his shirt and flipped him over.

He didn't hesitate as he
landed flat on his back. In one second he jumped up and faced
Aradia.

"I am talking about the
future Aradia. A glorious future full of order and structure.
Imagine the hidden world no longer plagued by chaos and death. The
hidden race fully integrated with the humans and living together.
United as one people under one government."

"Oh? And what government
would that be?" Aradia demanded.

"Ours!"

Aradia locked gazes with him
and they stopped circling one another. For a few seconds, they just
stood facing each other.

"Who are you working for?
What are you up to?" Aradia finally demanded.

Saul chuckled. "That's for
me to know and for you to come with me now!"

"Never!"

Saul threw his head back and
laughed. "Never say never my sweet! Never say never!"

Saul lunged forward with his
claws and fangs extended and curved. This time Aradia was ready for
him. The weeks she had stayed with Whisper and Shayde they had
taught her some fighting techniques. It was to help her get off the
drugs and to defend herself against Saul should he ever try to hit
her again. Most of all, it was to make sure her revenge was
sweet.

Saul hadn't expected this
from Aradia so when she dodged he had been surprised. Aradia took
this as an advantage and kicked him once again in the back. Saul
turned and lunged again. Aradia attempted to dodge him but his hand
caught her hair.

Before she realized it she
was on the floor and he was on top of her. He hissed as Aradia
struggled. She stared at him straight in the eyes before thrusting
up her arms and pushing them against his own. She raised herself up
enough to head butt him and then kicked him from under his chin.
Saul fell but quickly got up.

In spite of her winning the
fight so far Aradia thought to herself,
I
will never be able to stop him with just brute strength. I could
hold out until sunrise but I don't know how long that will
be.

Saul lunged again and Aradia
spun out his way.
If I want to end this
fight on a winning note and with all my limbs still enact I need an
advantage.

While she dodged Saul's
blows her eyes glanced around for a weapon. She knew she could
conjure a piece of wood out of thin air but that would take too
much of her energy. Besides Saul knew she could do that so he would
be expecting her to make such a move. This would easily give him an
advantage and an opportunity to use her own power against
her.

I have to do something that
he isn't expecting.

Aradia's eyes kept darting
around until she saw something sticking out of Ricky's back
pocket.
Could it really be what I think it
is?
She doubted but then she decided it was
well worth the risk.

She threw a kick at Saul
which temporarily threw him off balance. Aradia then raced forward
to get to Ricky. Saul chased after her. She had barely reached
Ricky's pocket before Saul grabbed her leg and yanked her back.
Aradia fell with a loud and painful thud. She winced as the pain
hit her knee hard. Saul tried to yank her back but Aradia semi
turned and using her free leg kicked Saul right in the
face.

He cried out and leapt back
but only for a moment. A second later he lunged once again right at
her throat. Aradia was on her knees right in front of him and
amazingly all she did was throw up her hand to stop him.

Saul hand's were almost at
Aradia's throat when he stopped. He looked down as Aradia pulled
her hand away. There, sticking out of Saul's chest, was a small
piece of wood with a tiny red eraser on its end.

"A number two pencil?" Saul
gasped.

"In an age where everybody
uses pens," Aradia muttered with a smile, "Go figure
huh?"

Saul fell backwards still
gasping in pain. Aradia got to her feet and stood over him. Slowly
she raised her leg and stepped lightly on the pencil.

Saul gasped once
again.

"You know," Aradia remarked,
"it's a damn good thing I didn't hit your heart but don't think for
one moment that wasn't my intention. After all, if I move the
pencil like this,"

She used her foot to move
the pencil at an angle and Saul cried out in pain.

"It would go straight toward
your heart," Aradia went on but then she lowered her voice, "and if
I tap it ever so slightly it would kill you."

For a few tense seconds,
Aradia just stared at him. "You know I should kill you. You played
me, manipulated me, and you tried to destroy my own home right
behind my back! I should kill you for everything you have
done."

She stared fiercely in his
eyes, her thoughts heavily concealed. Another few tense seconds
passed before Aradia lifted her foot from the pencil. "But you
haven't corrupted me that much. There a bunch of lines I have
crossed but there is one that I never will. I will never ever be a
killer. Justified or not. I will not kill Not even for
you!"

"Oh and by the way," She
added as she turned to leave, "I want you out of Salem by tomorrow.
If not I will tell the Morales family what you have done and unlike
their Uncle they are healthy and fine. Meaning if they were in
their wolf forms they would love taking a bite out of your hide. I
won't kill you but I can't vouch for the others."

She then started to walk out
of the center, only stopping to gather up the papers, and without
one glance backwards she left.

She did, however, pause to
shout at Saul, "as for the pencil stuck in your chest...Get it out
yourself!"

Aradia immediately made an
anonymous tip to the police and waited on the rooftop of a nearby
building. This was to make sure Ricky got arrested but most of all
to help her rejuvenate. She had used her powers in good proportions
during the fight. However, unless she rested or at least sat still
for the next hour she would collapse as the energy left her
body.

Two hours later, she saw
Ricky get led out in handcuffs. She didn't see Saul but that didn't
surprise her. She did feel a bit sorry for Kaiser especially once
he found out Ricky had been arrested. But there was not much she
could do about that except be his friend. She sighed heavily as
Ricky was shoved into the back of a police car. She stared at the
car as it sped away.
Daylight is coming
soon,
She realized while staring after
it.
So Saul won't get far at least not
without getting burned.

She knew she could have used
her power over fire to end the fight with Saul quickly. However,
the man had humiliated and abused her so an easy out was not
something Aradia wanted. Furthermore, if she had used fire she
would have risked burning the evidence. Namely the Rage, and the
files. Aradia glanced down at the papers in her hand. She knew she
shouldn't have removed evidence from the scene of a crime but she
figured the Rage was enough to put Ricky behind bars.

Most important of all,
Aradia realized as she thumbed through the files she needed them to
stop an even bigger disaster from happening. She snapped the folder
shut and tucked them in her coat. She pulled out her phone and
dialed Shayde's number while thinking
I
only hope I am not too late.

"One more week," Roy
muttered through gritted and bloody teeth, "one more week until the
tournaments are over."

Melina now thinner than ever
just glanced around. She had arrived with Roy at the beginning of
the fights two hours ago and so had been forced to sit and watch
the Morales family rip each other apart. What she saw, like any
fight scenario, were a bunch of people shouting and cheering.
Currently, the two wolves fighting in the ring were D and their
second cousin Alita. They were both bleeding and wobbling around
but like the proud people that they were neither one of them
refused to back down.

Her stomach churned with
nausea and so to avoid throwing up Melina turned her head away. Of
course, the sight on the left was not much better because it was
where the wounded sat wallowing in their misery and pain. Several
of the little kids were crying and screaming. The healers worked as
fast as they could but there were so many of them. Some of the
elderly injured couples hung in the background staying so quiet
that made it seem as if they were hoping to fade away. The younger
and the middle age had the more serious and obvious wounds. Several
chunks of flesh were missing from their body, and long claw marks
could be seen all over their skin. Some were missing big chunks of
their hair, and others were actually missing limbs. The lucky ones
were missing things like ears, fingers, and toes.

If you can call it
lucky
, Melina thought sarcastically.
Yeah they might be things that nobody will miss
but you still can't call it entirely lucky.

She was so lost in her
gloomy thoughts that it was only Alita's loud yelp that got her
attention. In an act of trying to end the fight quickly, D had dove
and seized Alita's paw. He sink his teeth in, hence the loud yelp,
and pulled her off her feet. He then spun her around three times
and let her go. The crowd parted and watched as Alita hit one of
the trees with a loud horrible crack. Alita slowly shifted into her
badly battered and bloody human form. Huge bruises appeared all
over her face and body and one of her eyes were starting to swell.
D looked reproachful but made no move to help her.

Two weary looking healers
moved towards her and helped the poor girl to her feet. After
quickly bandaging her torn and bloody hand. D remained in his wolf
form and turned his head away.

Adolfo walked into the blood
stained circle and looked around at the spectators. They all
watched him in hostile silence.

He sighed and raised his
hands. "The declared winner of this tournament is Diego
Morales!"

The crowd cheered while D
just hung his head.

As if their family didn't
have enough issues
, Melina thought
grimly.

"Now," Adolfo went on, "In
one hour he will be allowed to heal while his competitor is chosen
for the next tournament."

"Jesus! How many more
tonight?" Melina lamented while Diego limped away.

He stayed in his wolf form
while he licked his bloody wounds.

Roy stared at him while
muttering, "the tournaments last until dawn so I suppose ten more
at least."

"Ten more?" Melina repeated.
She looked like she was about to faint.

The hour passed as if it no
more than minutes and Adolfo once again stepped into the
circle.

"The next competitor to
fight with Diego Morales will be," he paused. Melina couldn't tell
whether it was for dramatic flair or because he found it too
painful to speak.

The second assumption proved
to be false when Adolfo cleared his throat and announced, "Roy
Morales!"

Melina felt like she was
going to die. Diego also looked heartbroken, and Roy certainly
didn't seem too stoked by it. Nevertheless, he slowly got to his
feet and tried to walk to the circle. In an instant, Melina threw
her arms around his waist and pleaded, "No Roy! Please
don't!"

Roy tried feebly to brush
Melina off but she refused to let go.

"Please don't do this Roy!
For Christ's sake please! I beg you don't do this! You've haven't
fully healed yet since your fight last night! You can't fight
anymore! You can't! Please I can't bear to watch this again! Please
I beg you!"

Roy heaved a heavy breath
before finally shoving Melina away. She fell backwards as Roy
walked towards the circle. She scrambled to get up and chase after
him but unseen hands seem to come out of nowhere. They seized
Melina to stop her from rushing to her beloved's side. She fought
as hard as she could but she couldn't break free.