Tales of Aradia The Last Witch Volume 5 (27 page)

Aradia shook her head. "I
will explain later."

Agrippa looked dissatisfied
but didn't say anything. He then looked back at the door and
noticed its hinges. He let go of Aradia as she got her bearings and
seized the top hinge on the door. With a massive grunt, he pulled
off the heavy peg and then the other.

Aradia smiled as Agrippa
pulled the door open. She stopped, however, as soon as she saw him
starting to follow her inside.

"No Agrippa, you can't come
with me."

Agrippa was stunned. "Why
not?"

Aradia tried to phrase it as
best as she could. "If you come in with me, you will be noticed.
What's the whole pointing of sneaking in when someone could notice
us?"

"She has a point," Cato
reluctantly agreed.

Agrippa glared at Cato
before turning back to Aradia. He sighed heavily and said, "half an
hour. If your not out in half an hour than I am coming after you
understand?"

Aradia nodded but before she
went in, Agrippa grabbed her arm. "Be careful," is what he
whispered just as he let go.

Aradia glanced one final
time before she walked down the ominous staircase into the dark
hall of the factory.

After using her crystal ball
power, Aradia was able to deduce exactly where the office was and
how to get there. It wasn't easy though because in addition to the
guards outside there were guards patrolling inside usually two of
them at a time. Nevertheless, Aradia was determined to get to
there. Pacing herself, and placing a hand on the wall she was able
to determine what halls were being currently patrolled. This was
how she avoided the sentries, and get to the office. Luckily, the
door did was not padlocked from the inside so Aradia could unlock
it. The moment she snuck in, she looked around
fervently.

Her heart sank, however,
when she saw all the files lying around.
Apparently these people don't believe in organization or even
computers.

Then again having all this
stuff on computers would make it more difficult
, Aradia realized. She thought about going through every file
one by one but that would take too long. Then she brightened and
resisted the urge to smack herself in the head.
Duh! My summoning power!

She held out her hand but
then she remembered that the summoning often expunged a lot of
bright white light. If such a thing occurred and someone saw
it...

Anxiously she checked her
watch and saw that she only had twenty minutes left. Aradia sighed
heavily before deciding.
To hell with
it!

She then held out both her
hands and closed her eyes.
I need to find
documents that will explain and prove what is going on. I need to
find documents that will show what's in the drug Rage. I need to
find solid and legitimate proof why Roy's uncle was
murdered.

Those words are what she
chanted inside her head over and over again as her hands began to
glow. White light then steamed up from both her palms. Aradia kept
her eyes closed even though she heard the flutter of papers around
her. She still kept her eyes closed when she felt papers and files
float into her hands. When the spell seemed fulfilled is when the
light exploded like a supernova. Aradia then clutched the papers
close to her, hoping to God they really were the ones she was
looking for.

She sighed heavily as she
steadied herself against the wall. After a few deep breaths, she
tucked the files under her arm. She then went straight to the door
and opened it. She would have walked right out of the office if
there hadn't been someone standing right in front of her.
Specifically, a vampire guard dressed in black with an odd Tudor
rose symbol on his shirt.

For a few awkward seconds,
they just stared at each other until finally the vampire seemed to
realize she wasn't suppose to be in there.

"Hey," he began but wasn't
able to finish his sentence due to Aradia punching him hard in the
face. Just enough to knock him out, and then she dragged him back
into the office. She then placed her hand on the door and sensed
the locking mechanism. After locking it is when she dashed down the
hall.

Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh
crap!
Aradia thought to herself as she
raced up the stairs. This time she wasn't being so subtle so
needless say one of the sentries spotted her.

"Hey!" he shouted after her.
"What are you doing in here?"

Instead of reply, Aradia
summoned a small fireball.
May not be as
big as I used to make him but hey beggars can't be choosers. At
least beggars who want to get the hell out of here!

She didn't stop running as
she threw the fireball at the guard pursuing her. She didn't pause
when she heard his shrieks of burning pain. She just kept on
running until she finally came to the stairs leading to the roof.
She pushed the broken door aside with a loud boom.

"Hey are you alright?"
Agrippa asked.

Aradia waved his questions
away. "No time! We got to get out of here! Like now!"

As if it were to illustrate
their need to leave quickly a loud shrill alarm started to erupt
from inside the building.

Agrippa didn't waste another
moment before seizing Aradia in his arms and running towards the
edge. He took off and soared through the air. By then however the
vampires were bellowing out orders and shooting at them.

Agrippa tried to soar as
high as he could into the sky and clutched Aradia close to his
chest. She winced as a few bullets hit Agrippa in the arm and legs.
Amazingly, he only faltered a little even when his wing was shot.
He still kept himself up in the air and soared out of
sight.

"There they are!" Aurelius
shouted as he pointed with one of his long claws. Shayde, Whisper,
and the other gargoyles stood on top of the roof of their new
apartment building. Kaiser was there too and his anxiousness around
the gargoyles seemed to have faded. It returned however as soon as
Aradia and Agrippa were seen flying towards them.

Cato's nose twitched
erratically. "Oh dear lord! Agrippa's hurt!"

Shayde, and Whisper both
gasped while Kaiser tensed up. The entire group grew anxious and
waited as Agrippa began to lower themselves. At first the descent
seemed smooth until they got closer thats when the group got the
impression that Agrippa was coming in too fast. Almost as if he was
a jet about to crash and burn!

Agrippa's strength was
starting to leave him so much so that he began to doze
off.

"Agrippa, no! Don't go to
sleep!" Aradia shouted but it was too late. His eyes closed but
luckily it was just as they reached the building. The gargoyles
caught the wounded Agrippa by his wings while Aradia flew out of
his grasp. Kaiser realizing this raced forward and caught Aradia in
mid-air.

"You okay?" he
asked.

At first Aradia just feebly
nodded. Until she gathered up her dignity and pushed herself out of
Kaiser's grip. "Yeah I am okay I mean considering I got shot at and
all."

Kaiser couldn't help but
smirk. Aradia smiled too but then noticed Agrippa's
wounds.

"Agrippa," she cried and
rushed to his side. Several bullets seemed to be lodged in his arms
and legs and there was a huge hole in his wing.

She gasped and covered her
mouth with her hand. "Please let me help you."

"No," Agrippa
moaned.

"What?" Aradia couldn't
believe what he said.

"No I will be
fine..."

"Agrippa, you got
shot!"

"I will be fine I
promise."

"But..."

"Look," Cato thundered, "he
will be fine."

Aradia threw him a dark and
bitter look. "Oh? And how do you know smartass?"

Cato, although puzzled at
the insult, just pointed out on to the horizon. "That's
why."

Aradia turned around just as
dawn was breaking. Shayde and Whisper shrieked before rushing into
the elevator.

I guess they forgot to take
their sunscreen today
, Aradia thought to
herself.

She stifled a chuckle before
turning back to look at Agrippa. Her eyes widened as his skim began
to change color. She jerked back and fell on her behind. She
crawled backwards as she saw the other gargoyles begin to change
skin color as well. As the sun rays hit the gargoyles their skin
seemed to harden as well.

Like stone,
Aradia realized and sure enough the gargoyles
eventually became stone statues.

At first, Aradia just stared
in shock and then saw the bullets on the ground.
How?
She pondered,
how did those get out of Agrippa's skin.
She sat contemplating for a few moments before she
snapped her fingers.
The stone! As his skin
turned to stone it forced the bullets out! Maybe this will be like
the Disney Gargoyles tv series where after a good day's sleep they
will be fully healed.

Aradia slowly got up and
brushed the dirt off her outfit. Kaiser just hung back with his
hands in his pockets.

"So?" he eventually
inquired, "did you get the files?"

Aradia nodded but as she
began to open the folder a yawn escaped her mouth.

"So you want to look over
them?"

Aradia yawned a second time.
"Maybe tonight."

Aradia tried but she
couldn't get a fitful rest. In spite of her yawning, her mind was
too plagued with questions. She had kind of hoped that by clutching
the files she would feel somewhat comforted. Yet she still felt
restless and eager to find out what was going on.

"Are you going to keep
tossing and turning?" Kaiser inquired, "or do I have to have hit
you with something?"

Aradia just stared at him
sarcastically until he said, "oh God I am sorry."

Aradia just shrugged. "Hey
it's alright I kind of deserve it. I mean after I am the one who is
making you sleep on the floor."

Kaiser glanced up with a
sneer on his face. He was indeed lying flat on his back on the hard
wooden surface right below Aradia who lay on the couch.

"Hey now I am the one who
insisted on it," Kaiser argued.

"I still don't know why,"
Aradia remarked. She propped herself on her elbows, still clutching
the files. "I mean I am sure Shayde and Whisper have a guest room
you can use."

"Look!" Kaiser snapped, "the
fact that I am willing to bed down in a vampires' apartment should
make you happy."

Aradia just
stared.

"Besides," he added as he
turned to face the ceiling. "I have dealt with worse
conditions."

Aradia couldn't retort to
this so instead she lifted her elbows and let herself fall back
onto the couch cushion.

"Is it tough having your
life?" Aradia asked after a moment of awkward silence passed
between them. Almost immediately she regretted it.
Oh god! What am I? Some sort of moron?

Kaiser just chuckled and
said, "no more than anyone else's."

He exhaled a breath through
his nose. "I won't pretend that I don't wish I could have a
different life but I learned a long time ago that wishing don't do
jack shit! It's action that changes things! It's action that makes
things better. Moreover, bitching and moaning about my life won't
change nothing. Yeah I never asked for any of this but no one ever
does. Hey I bet you never asked to be the last witch did
you?"

Aradia couldn't deny it so
instead she looked away.

Kaiser nodded. "I thought
not."

He then turned back to face
the ceiling. "But like I said no one ever asks to be weird and a
drug dealing werewolf is definitely weird. Yeah I sometimes hate
being what I am but...oh well what are you going to do?"

Another long pause came
between them before Aradia spoke again, "do you have any
regrets?"

"Sure I do," Kaiser
admitted, "but then again who doesn't?"

Aradia couldn't argue with
that.

"One thing for sure
though."

Aradia turned to look at him
just as Kaiser sat up and stared into her face. "We didn't break
into a factory and steal important documents last night jus to lie
here and talk about my past."

Aradia chuckled while Kaiser
folded his hands under his chin.

"We did all this to find out
what the hell is going on in Salem." His eyes shifted to the files
that Aradia clutched to her chest. "And possibly more."

Aradia laughed softly as she
slowly drug herself up from the couch. She turned her legs to set
them down on the floor and slowly opened up the vanilla folders.
Kaiser got up from his seat on the floor to sit next to
Aradia

"I thought you preferred the
floor," Aradia remarked.