Tales of Aradia The Last Witch Volume 5 (31 page)

"Roy!" She shrieked,
"Roy!"

Hearing the pain in her
voice, he almost paused. He wanted to look back but he couldn't
lest he lose his resolve completely. He kept his head bowed as he
moved forward. Slowly, he removed his shirt and pants revealing his
specially made werewolf boxer shorts. With some difficultly, he
shifted into his werewolf form. D stood up and the two began to
circle each other. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a
knife. Adolfo still kept his face grimly set as he raised his hand
in the air.

D and Roy stopped circling
each other and growled. A horrible and intense pause happened until
Adolfo sighed. He then brought down his hand swiftly and said,
"begin!"

Roy and D lunged at each
other while Melina screamed and struggled harder.

Suddenly from out of nowhere
a huge ball of fire landed straight into the circle. Roy and D
leapt back and so did Adolfo. The fire seemed huge but once it hit
the center of the circle it died down as if it were nothing more
than a signal flare.

Everyone looked around in
confusion until Aradia jumped down from her hiding spot and landed
straight into the circle. She straightened up and stared at the
shocked and wounded faces around her.

She sighed deeply.
I could have prevented this
, she thought,
I could have prevented
all this pain and suffering.

She then sighed again and
prayed silently for strength. She then pulled out the files from
her satchel and said in a very loud voice, "we need to
talk!"

At first everyone just
stared at her but Adolfo recovered his wits quickly. His face then
twisted into an angry scowl.

He marched up to her and
said, "what the hell do you think you're doing? You have no right
to be here!"

"Not even if I have proof
that these tournaments to chose the next alpha of the Silver Moon
pack are unnecessary?" Aradia inquired.

Adolfo's anger now turned
into shocked rage. "What? How dare you?! These tournaments are a
time honored tradition amongst the werewolves. Passed down from
generation to generation. Used as proof of leadership and strength
as demonstrated by our ancestors. Tests of who is worthy and who is
not capable of becoming a great Alpha."

"Well do those traditions
apply if the previous Alpha was assassinated?" Aradia cocked her
head and raised an eyebrow.

Everyone in the crowd
gasped.

"What?" Adolfo cried
out.

Aradia thrust the files in
front of his face. "This is proof! Proof that Adrian was poisoned
in a deliberate attempt to provoke these tournaments."

Adolfo sputtered, "how dare
you..."

"Read these files!" Aradia
cried out as she shoved them into his hands. "I have already sent
them to the press, and the other High Hidden council members. These
files and the arrest of Ricky Bauer proves that the drug Rage being
distributed as a street drug was a cover for its real purpose: to
kill certain hidden leaders!"

Adolfo looked through the
files.

"Don't you see?" Aradia said
as she looked at everyone staring at them in the circle. "This was
all part of a plot! With the drug being sold on the streets, no one
would suspect that it was being smuggled in as medical drugs as
well. It was meant to kill your leader thus weakening you all. Of
course, that was only half of it! The drug was being so widely
distributed that half of you and the other packs got hooked! It was
plan to make the packs of Salem vulnerable! Most especially, the
Silver Moon pack by killing your Alpha and provoking these
tournaments it was meant to fully break you!"

"How do we know this is all
true?" Adolfo demanded, "how do we know you are not
lying?"

Aradia stared at him
incredulously. "A thirty nine year old man dying of what seems
nothing doesn't seem odd to you at all? Looking at the state of
this pack is proof that their tactics have worked so
far."

"I mean look at them!"
Aradia said and thrust an arm out towards the entire crowd. "Look
at all these victims! Do you believe that if they were attacked
right now they would have a shot in hell of protecting
themselves?"

Aradia left the question to
fester in the air. It didn't stop her from adding though, "and
besides do you know what the drug Rage is made out of?"

Predictably no one answered
her. Aradia looked around once before saying, "Us! The drug is made
out of us! Vampire, werewolf, fae, and shape-shifter DNA! Blood
from us and our kind is used to make this drug! No other chemicals
are used at all! The drug is nothing more than a goddamn means of
cannibalism! And we are all taking it!"

The looks of horror and
gasps were enough to startle even Aradia.

"Furthermore," Aradia
pointed to the top file, "I have actual proof that Adrian was
targeted and there is another target intended. We the hidden people
of Salem are being manipulated and used!"

Needless to say, the
tournaments were postponed and put under further scrutiny once an
emergency High Hidden Council meeting was called. The target that
been marked for death next was Tristan's father King Rian. After he
and the other council leaders, the remaining Alphas Adolfo and
Castel as well, went through the mountain of evidence that Aradia
had gathered things definitely changed. A rehabilitation center was
established to help the recovering addicts, and dozens of fae
soldiers were sent out to confiscate every single Rage pill they
found. Aradia convinced the council to turn them over to the
narcotics division in Boston. With so much hidden DNA in the drug
it wouldnt affect the humans at all. Since the entire police
departments in Boston were human the hiddens wouldn't dare try to
steal any of it. Exposure nowadays meant instance death sentence
and no hidden dare risk that.

After she successfully
convinced them was when Aradia learned that her title and position
on the council had been revoked.

"Why?" She asked as close to
rudeness as she dared.

King Rian stared straight at
her. "Over the last year you have neglected your duties on the
council and acted in an a very unacceptable manner. Being a hidden
council member is not something you can shirk off. It is a huge and
great responsibility! Humans may be allowed to neglect their
responsibilities but we hiddens are not! Therefore, if one does not
meet the standards of council duty then they must be
exiled."

Aradia struggled to
speak.

"But...but," she sputtered,
"Saul...he...I didn't mean to..."

King Rian waved away her
protests. "Whether you meant to or not makes no difference. As in
reference to this 'Saul' character your love life is none of our
concern. However, it doesn't excuse neglecting your duties. Hell!
Neglecting your duties in favor of partying with your boyfriend as
the Witch Queen just proves what we suspected all along. You lack
the emotional maturity to perform your council duties."

"But then why did you give
me the title in the first place?" Aradia demanded.

Brannon sighed. "When you
opened the club we were led to believe that you were on an
emotional level that you could help positively influence the hidden
community of Salem. However, the way you have been acting lately
proves that you are not what we thought you are."

"The truth is Aradia," said
King Rian, "we gave you the title as a chance to prove
yourself."

He sighed heavily and
averted his eyes. "And you disappointed us," he muttered,
"miserably."

Shortly afterwards Aradia
was asked to leave, and finding no sympathetic eyes in the crowd
she turned and left. No sooner did she slam the lodge door's shut
when she heard someone running after her. Her good sense argued
against it but she couldn't help but feel hopeful. The feeling
ended however the moment she turned and saw who it was. Hopefulness
was than replaced with curiosity.

"I'm sorry Rai," Tristan
said as soon as he caught up with her, "but my father had no
choice. I tried to stick up for you really I did but..."

He sighed as while Aradia
just stood there with her eyes downcast.

All Tristan could add was,
"I am sorry that this happened Aradia really I am."

"Don't be," she
muttered.

Tristan's eyes grew wide
with shock. "What?"

"It's my own fault," Aradia
murmured, "it's my own fault for not thinking with my head and
letting my heart dictate my actions. There is a reason, you know,
why we have minds in the first place. We need minds to help make
logical decisions but I didn't do that. I threw caution to the wind
and you can't expect to do that without consequences. All that
matters now is making things right."

"It wasn't your fault,"
Tristan tried to argue, "it was Saul's."

"He used me," Aradia
muttered, "he tricked me, and he turned me against my own family
and friends. He did all of it."

Tristan opened his mouth to
say something but Aradia cut him off, "but the thing is I let him.
I let him do all that. Yes people can influence you but they can't
make you do anything. I never had to listen to him. I never had to
do what he said. I never had to neglect school and everything but I
did."

"Yes he ruined my life, and
quite possibly my future" Aradia sighed, "but the thing is I let
him. I let him do all that and now I have to make it
right."

"How are you going to do
that?" Tristan inquired, "and do you think you can?"

Aradia sighed and ran her
fingers through her hair. "I can try."

"But first," she added,
"there is something else I got to do."

Scared was just a mild way
of putting it, Aradia also felt apprehensive and intimidated. She
knew she had many mistakes to make up for. However, this was
definitely at the top of her list. She slowly climbed the stairs to
the front door, hanging her head the entire time.

What if they don't forgive
me?
Aradia thought?
I mean I wouldn't. After everything I did, I would totally
understand if they didn't forgive me. I hope they do though. God! I
really hope they do.

After opening the screen
door, she lifted her hand to knock but she couldn't make her hand
move. She just stood there without budging a muscle with her hand
hanging in humility. After a few minutes she sighed
heavily.

I can't do this,
she thought,
I can't ask
them to forgive me. Its not that I don't want them to forgive me. I
just don't deserve it. I don't deserve their forgiveness. I don't
deserve a second chance not with my family or my friends. I don't
deserve anything.

She sighed heavily and
dropped her hand.
For Christ's sake I hit
my father I have no right to come back here and ask for them to
help me.

She sighed once again and
turned to leave. Just then the front door swung open and there
stood Ross dressed in his usual black suit with his briefcase in
his hand. He had been anxiously glancing at his watch but stopped
as soon as he saw Aradia.

He gasped and froze while
Aradia just stared at him. For a few agonizing minutes the two of
them just stood staring at each other.

Until finally Aradia took a
deep breath and said, "I don't suppose it would help if I said I am
sorry?"

Ross dropped his briefcase,
and for a few moments he stood there quaking. Aradia braced herself
for her father to hit her. She wouldn't blame him considering the
circumstances. When he began to lunge towards her it seemed to
confirm her suspicions. So needless to say, she was very surprised
when her father wrapped his arms around her.

He pulled her close and
hugged her.

"Oh God Aradia," he
whispered, "I have missed you. I have missed you so
much."

Aradia broke down and sobbed
in her father's arms. "Oh God Daddy, I am sorry. I am so sorry! I
am so sorry for the way I acted. I am so sorry Daddy! I am so very
sorry."

"Shhh," he whispered in her
ear, "Shh it's alright sweetie. It's alright."

They slowly drew apart and
stared into each other's eyes.

"Welcome home Aradia," Ross
said as he lifted his hand to brush tears off Aradia's cheek.
"Welcome home."

She began sobbing again but
much harder this time. In fact she was sobbing so hard that
Marietta overheard.

"What the hell is going
on..."she started to say but stopped the moment she saw
Aradia.

Aradia smiled weakly at her
while Marietta just stared. Aradia didn't know what to make of her
reaction at least until Marietta lunged forward and seized Aradia
as well.

"Oh Rai," she cried, "you're
home. You're finally home!"

Aradia sighed happily and
content.
No matter what I have to do I will
make things right. My family is proof that it's worth
while.