Tales from Dargo Island: The Complete Trilogy (26 page)

Aneela
approached the glowing green light that was the heart of the island. She wished
she could find some way to get closer to it, but she saw nothing in the cavern
of green and purple crystals that would help.

“Make way!” a
voice called from the tunnel on the other side of the cavern. The hexl
slithered through with Victor on top. He pulled on the reins and looked around.
“Aneela?”

“Over here.”
She waved from the bottom of the path, separating herself from the chest-high
crystals.

Victor steered
the giant weed toward her. “There are strange happenings on the surface, my
dear. We have to talk.”

“Tell me. But
first, get me closer to the green light.”

“Certainly.”
The hexl lowered its head and Victor helped Aneela climb aboard. Then they
lifted a few dozen feet into the air.

“What’s
happening?” she asked the dwarf.

He sighed. “I
just saw a few more of the walking dead. They stood right in front of me, as
real as you are.”

Aneela didn’t
know what to say to that. She stared at him, her eyes wide. The glow from
Rapatha warmed her, but with this news she nearly forgot why she’d come here in
the first place. “How is this possible?”

“Champagne said
it was because of what’s happening to the island. The dead are rising and
migrating to the people that meant the most to them in life.”

“He speaks the
truth,” Rapatha said.

Aneela looked
to the light. Now that she was closer, she could see the form of a woman, but
only barely. “How did this happen?” she asked Rapatha.

“Magic made me
what I am. Perhaps only magic can heal me.”

Victor stared
at Aneela, and she could tell he was uncomfortable with the conversation.

He nodded.
“Perhaps Rockne would know; he was our resident wizard.”

Aneela shook
her head. “Rockne’s dead.” She jerked to attention. “Oh, no.”

Victor nodded.
“He may be walking around as well, I’m afraid. I looked for him on the way
here.”

Aneela’s heart
raced. “Who did he love the most on this island?”

“I have no
idea.”

“I may have the
answer to that,” Rapatha said. Aneela heard a smile in her voice. “I knew
Rockne before I became what I am today.”

“You mean, you
used to be something else?” Aneela asked. She glanced at Victor, who kept his
mouth shut and waited.

“Yes,” Rapatha
replied. “I used to be a nature demon. Do you know what that is?”

“Yes. I have a
friend who’s a nature demon. His name is Nalke; he’s Rockne’s brother.”

“I’ve heard of
Nalke. Rockne and I were kindred spirits, cast out by our families. I didn’t
want to be a nature demon. I ran away from my realm, not realizing by doing so
that I put into motion the extinction of my race.

“I broke the
link of magic when I left the realm. I was the first—and last—to do so. Rockne
told me much later that he and his family had been asked to take over as nature
demons because my family was dying out.”

“I’m so sorry,”
Aneela said. “I can’t imagine how you must have felt learning that. I lost my
father…because of Rockne.”

“Rockne is
responsible for a lot of terrible things, though he used to have a heart.”

“He turned you
into this island?” Aneela asked.

“No, it was
someone else. Rockne loved me, but not as much as he loved his plan for revenge
against his father and brother. I didn’t support his war, and I ran away from
him the way I ran away from my home.

“His hatred
frightened me. Everywhere I ran, he found me. I went to a man I was told could
hide me by using powerful magic. He told me he could cast a spell that would
ensure Rockne would never find me again.

“He turned me
into an island.”

Aneela had been
so caught up in the story that she forgot to breathe. To Rapatha, she said,
“But Rockne found you anyway.”

“He didn’t know
it was me. He was fleeing his brother after a battle. But he was drawn to me
somehow. Dargo hid the island with his magic, but Rockne saw right through it.
I think it was because of our connection.

“I hear and see
most on the island. I watched Rockne for a hundred years, plotting and
manipulating. But I could do nothing without revealing myself. I called on the
waves that surround me in hopes that I could wash him away forever.”

Aneela grinned.
“So, you’re the one we can thank for the waves.”

“Before Dargo
found me, I was able to drift around and pick up animals from other lands.”

“You were like
a ship,” Aneela reasoned.

“Dargo’s spells
locked me in place. I contemplated letting him know I was here, but I was too
afraid of revealing myself. And then Rockne showed up….”

“Dargo!” Aneela
suddenly shouted. “If the dead are rising, he might be among them. Won’t he?”

“Can you find
him?” Victor asked Rapatha. “You said you see and hear most around the island.”

“Yes. I know
where he is.”

“Where?” Aneela
asked.

“Where you
buried him.”

Astrid returned
to the palace, which she now realized belonged to her. She couldn’t believe she
was an official nature demon. Thinking of that simple truth reminded her that
her father was dead and gone. She walked slowly through the doors, feeling the
effects of Josh’s power and knowing he would be devastated when he found out
what he was doing to her.

“Josh?”

Her voice
echoed through the long hallways. The wind whistled through the open windows
throughout the palace. Calming the weather had taken a lot out of her and she
valued the lessons her father had taught; if he hadn’t done so, there was no
telling what the world would look like after the devastating storms. She felt a
rumble in her head and knew it had something to do with the weather, though not
any weather near her. Those clouds were still calm, so this had to be in some
other part of the world.

“Josh?” she
called again.

He appeared at
the end of the hall directly in front of her, leaning against the wall. “You
seem different,” he said quietly.

“I’m a nature
demon now. I went through the change.”

His eyes grew
wide. “Oh, no. Am I hurting you?”

Astrid tried to
hide her discomfort. “Only a little, but I’m fine.”

“I have to get
out of here. Maybe if I go back to Dargo Island or something…”

Astrid could
tell he was desperately grasping at ideas, whether they made sense or not. She
didn’t blame him. “We can try,” she said.

He stumbled
over to her, and she took his arm to help him outside. The large cloud that
made up the front yard seemed less solid than usual and Astrid wondered if they
would fall straight through. She looked down and saw the island below them.

“Ready?” she
asked Josh.

He nodded, too
tired to speak.

They fell off
the edge of the cloud.

*
 
*
 
*

They floated
over the landscape, and Josh was startled by the amount of snow covering the
island. He had never seen this much snow on Dargo before besides the valley
above the giants’ kingdom.

Josh and Astrid
couldn’t touch the ground now that they were nature demons (Josh still didn’t
understand the logic behind that), but they could still interact with regular
people.

“We’ll find Mom
and Victor,” Astrid said. “Maybe one of them will let you possess them for a
little while.”

Josh nodded
again. He felt very sleepy, and by the sound of her voice, Astrid wasn’t doing
too well either. They were passing the cemetery when Josh noticed someone
inside a mausoleum at the top of a hill. The familiar figure stole the very
little breath he had left.

“Astrid, look!”
He pointed.

When Astrid saw
it, she noticeably gasped.

*
 
*
 
*

Aneela rode her
horse up the snow-covered hill, her guards surrounding her. Victor rode his
hexl a few feet ahead of the group, gliding over cracks in the ground that
hadn’t been there before. Aneela glanced around the island, taking note of
Rapatha’s deteriorating health.

Rapatha. Aneela
still couldn’t believe the island was
alive
, despite the fact she’d seen
proof. Rapatha said she could sense things going on around the island, that she
knew Dargo was back. He had nearly destroyed the outside world, as well as
nearly killed everyone on the island, and though he died trapped inside Josh’s
body, he was still a dangerous individual.

Aneela didn’t
know what she would do when she caught Dargo. They’d already killed him by
poisoning Josh’s body with hexl venom. They’d planned to administer the
antidote once Dargo fled the body and vanished into the ether, but it hadn’t
worked out that way.

If Dargo was
walking around, Aneela couldn’t allow him to go back to his old ways.

And then there
was Andor. All these problems felt like a physical weight upon Aneela, but she
couldn’t give up. She wouldn’t fail her people or her home.

“Queen Aneela!”
Victor called from ahead, pointing toward the cemetery.

Aneela wasn’t
sure what to make of what she saw. There were two floating figures, and they
appeared to be talking to someone inside Josh’s mausoleum.

“What am I
seeing?” Rhys asked Aneela, leaning in from his horse.

“I think it’s
Josh and Astrid, hovering a few feet off the ground and talking to a zombie.”

*
 
*
 
*

Andor walked
down the hill of the neighborhood that once housed Rockne and his band of
strange creatures. Rockne once had the community guarded by humans, as if the
residents were more special than the other islanders. Andor had always hated
this neighborhood and he took joy in walking among the once-restricted
mini-mansions. After Rockne’s death, the community became open to all, but no
one had ever come near the intimidating homes. They’d grown too used to staying
away.

As far as Andor
knew, he was the first non-resident to enter the community after Rockne’s
death.

He laughed as
he walked down the street. He’d seen the doctor, Shae, walk into the house that
belonged to the old woman Champagne. He stayed hidden for a while to make sure
none of the guards accompanying her noticed they were followed. Shae had
Aneela’s baby with her, probably thinking him safer with her than with his
mother.

Andor laughed
again as he walked up to the house’s front window. A large guard paced the
living room, a large sword in the scabbard on his back. Andor wasn’t worried;
he’d already killed three other guards on the tiny island. He could take out
one man, especially if he caught the guard by surprise.

Andor ran to
the side of the house and climbed up the fireplace. Ever since he was a child,
he’d been able to climb things with very little handholds. He dug his fingers
into the bricks’ creases until he got to the roof, where he tried every window
for an unlocked one.

He found such a
window and snuck into the house, where the unsuspecting guard met his untimely
end downstairs.

After Andor
killed the guard, he searched the house for Shae and the baby. The house was
completely empty, save for him and the dead guard. Andor couldn’t figure out
where they could possibly be.

During his
search, he found a large panic room. He looked inside, thinking perhaps Shae
and the little prince were hiding out there. Empty. Andor yelled in frustration
and leaned against a wall.

The panic room
suddenly lit up.

When the light
faded, he realized he was somewhere else. The room outside was darker and
smaller.

“Parker,” a
female voice called, “is something wrong?”

Andor stepped
out of the panic room, where a window looked out into the street. He realized
he was at a house at the end of the street, that the panic room transported him
from Champagne’s house to this one.

He was greeted
by a wonderful sight once he stepped out of the panic room. Shae and the baby
were on the floor, the woman putting a fresh diaper on the other. The terrified
look on Shae’s face was priceless.

Josh floated
there with Astrid, staring at the creepy dark figure hiding inside the
mausoleum. The door was open, but the walking corpse refused to step outside.
Josh knew it was his body—it was still wearing the red robe in which it had
died—and he was tempted to fly closer. At the same time, he didn’t want to see
how much he had decomposed.

The sound of
horse hooves drew his attention to the bottom of the hill. Aneela and her
entourage approached them, with Victor riding a large weed creature. Josh
assumed this was the creature that provided the poison that killed his body.

“Josh?” Aneela
called warily. “How? What?” She was clearly speechless. “I mean, Astrid told me
you were back, but with everything going on, I didn’t…”

“I’m a nature
demon now,” he replied. “So is Astrid.”

“Hey,” Astrid
greeted them.

“Hello,” Aneela
greeted back. Then she looked at the figure inside the mausoleum. “Hello,
Dargonius.”

“Please,” his
voice replied in a creepy groan, “call me Dargo.”

Josh shivered
at the sound of that voice. It still sounded like his own, only rotten. He
could barely see the whites of his eyes as they peered out at them.

“Hello, Josh.”

“Dargo.”

“Why am I
walking around?” Dargo asked. “If I recall, you people poisoned me at a feast
held in my honor.”

“Rapatha is
injured,” Aneela said, getting off her horse and approaching the mausoleum. “A
meteor struck her and now she’s dying.”

Rapatha? Josh
recognized the name, but couldn’t remember where or when he’d heard it before.

“Rapatha?”
Dargo paused for a moment. Finally, he said, “She’s on the island?”

“She
is
the island.”

Dargo laughed.
“How is that possible?”

Thunder
cracked, startling everyone.

“She was hiding
from Rockne and her family,” Aneela said. “She went to someone who happened to
have something that turned her into a rock. Unfortunately, she kept changing
until she became a whole island.”

“Amazing. I
knew Rapatha, long ago.” Josh thought Dargo sounded somewhat happy speaking of
this Rapatha person. “I helped her get away from her family, away from Rockne.”

“How?” Astrid
suddenly asked. Josh had forgotten she was there.

“I made a
necklace for her. It suppressed her powers, gave her a mortal shell so she
could walk on land. I didn’t know about the transformation.”

“There’s a
necklace that can suppress the powers of a nature demon?”

“Indeed. It
isn’t a cure, mind you.”

“Josh, we can
use that to suppress your powers,” Astrid said, excitement in her voice.

“What do you
mean?” Aneela asked her.

“Now that Josh
is a nature demon, he’s leaching my energy.”

“Nalke is
dead,” Josh blurted out. He couldn’t stop himself. “I killed him by becoming a
demon, and now I’m killing Astrid.”

No one said
anything for a moment. Then Dargo said, “It may be in your best interest, Josh,
to find the necklace.”

“Where is it?”
he asked.

“I have no
idea. If Rapatha was wearing it when she transformed, it may be somewhere on
the island.”

“I can help
with that,” Victor called from atop the hexl. “I’m quite good at finding things
on this island.”

“You sure are,”
Astrid said with a smile. Josh knew she and Victor had gone on a quest to retrieve
the poison and antidote from the hexl in order to kill Dargo. “Unfortunately, I
can’t go this time,” she added.

“You could if
you possess someone,” Aneela said.

“Are you
offering?”

Aneela laughed,
but before she could reply, more thunder rumbled. The ground quaked a little as
well.

“I should
handle that,” Astrid said. “Josh, you and Victor should find the necklace. The
sooner you find it, the better off we’ll both be.”

“Okay,” Josh
said, still staring at Dargo. He stared back at Josh.

“Dargo,” Aneela
called, “can we trust you won’t try any mischief?”

“I am
powerless, I assure you.”

“Good.” Aneela
turned her horse around, her guards following. “We should return to Rapatha.
Dargo, do you know of any way to help her?”

“She needs to
be healed.”

“Duh.” Josh
laughed at the queen’s use of that word; he’d taught her that. “How do we heal
her?”

“I don’t know.
I would suggest giving her some kind of energy. I won’t know unless I see her.”

Aneela appeared
uncomfortable with that suggestion. “If you behave, we will take you with us.”

“I will behave.
I promise.”

To Victor,
Aneela said, “Can he ride with you?”

“I suppose,”
the dwarf replied reluctantly.

“I have to
handle the weather,” Astrid said. “Can someone take Josh? He can’t touch the
ground until he gets that necklace.”

“Why is that?”
Josh asked. “I mean, ‘nature’ includes the earth, right?”

“We’ll discuss
this later!” Aneela yelled. “We have very little time.”

“He can possess
me,” Rhys said.

Josh was
grateful to Aneela’s husband. Astrid guided him toward the large man. He and
Rhys stared at each other, and Rhys smiled. Josh leaned forward until their
foreheads touched. Josh felt like he was walking through a waterfall.

A moment later,
he was staring out from atop a horse. He looked at Aneela, who looked back at him.

“Josh?” she
asked.

“Yes,” he
replied with Rhys’s voice. He then looked back to the mausoleum, where Dargo
emerged and walked toward Victor and the hexl.

Josh could’ve
gone the rest of his life without seeing his corpse shambling across the
cemetery. His face had rotted a bit, and he looked like a walking skeleton. If
Josh survived his predicament, he would have nightmares for the rest of his
existence.