Tales from Dargo Island: The Complete Trilogy (28 page)

Once Josh and
Aneela reached the ice lake above, they met a gruesome sight. All six guards
were dead. Their blood coated the lake and surrounding snow. Aneela covered her
mouth in disgust. Nearly her entire army was dead now. All because of Andor.

“Come on,” Josh
said, urging her away from the scene.

They ran up the
trail between the mountains and met Victor a few minutes later. He was riding the
hexl, and Aneela saw decayed arms wrapped around his middle. She already knew
who was behind the dwarf.

“Andor attacked
us,” she said quickly before anyone could interrupt. “He said he has my son.”

“Where is he?”
Victor asked, his face turning red with rage. “I’ll tear him apart.”

“The fairies
stopped him, but I need to find Joshua. Rockne?” she called. The figure behind
Victor tilted his head to the side so she could see his face. She cringed at
the sight of the long-deceased wizard. “I need you to take Josh to Lacey, to
the incubus’s shop, to retrieve something. Do you remember where it is?”

Rockne, brother
of Nalke, smiled down at her. His face looked like a skull with a paper-thin
layer of skin on top. His white hair was mostly gone. He wore a reflective suit
made up of tiny pieces of glass. He’d claimed it help hide him from Nalke.
“Nice to see you too, Aneela. And, yes, I remember. What’s going on?”

“I don’t have
time to explain. The island is dying, and we need Rapatha’s essence to heal it.
The incubus took it—”

“Rapatha?”
Rockne interrupted, his smile vanishing. “Rapatha is here?”

“Rapatha is the
island! Now listen to me! Take Josh to that shop and retrieve the bottle with
her essence. Can you do that?”

“I suppose so,”
he said quietly. “When I get back, I’ll have a lot of questions.”

“Duly noted.”

“How are we
supposed to get there?” Josh asked. “I never thought of it until now.”

“We’ll take the
train,” Rockne suggested.

“I thought the
train only went to Dallas.”

“You forget who
built the train, Dr. Debelko,” Rockne said, his smile returning. Aneela noticed
Josh shiver at the title of
Doctor
. It was a private joke between the
two, back when Josh thought of Rockne as a friend rather than someone who
wanted to kill his own brother in order to become sole nature demon.

“Fine, then,”
Aneela said. “Take the train. I have to find my son.”

Victor lowered
the hexl’s head to the ground so Rockne could dismount. Then Rockne and Josh
got on two horses offered by a couple of guards and made their way to the
coast. A train awaited them.

“I’ll go with
you to find your son,” Victor said to Aneela.

“Thank you,”
she replied.

When they
reached the house, they found Shae tied to a chair in the kitchen. Victor
untied her, and she immediately hugged him and then Aneela.

“Andor took
Joshua,” she said quickly. “I couldn’t stop him. I’m so sorry, Aneela.”

“It’s all
right. Do you have any idea where he could’ve taken him?”

Shae shook her
head.

“We can start
by searching all of these houses,” Aneela suggested. “If we can’t find him
here, then we’ll search this whole island.”

Josh and Rockne
stepped aboard the silver-blue train, Rockne heading straight for the control
console. Josh had ridden this train plenty of times, when he worked on the
island. It had only gone to and from Dallas in “five minutes.” The thought of
it going anywhere else seemed hard to believe.

But Rockne had,
indeed, built and powered this train with his magic.

Josh still
couldn’t believe Rockne was back, if only temporarily. During the battle for
Nalke’s power, Rockne had accidentally torched Josh with his wizard’s fire. As
Josh lay dying, he leached Rockne’s life force to heal himself.

Before Rockne’s
betrayal, he and Josh had been friends. The fire had been meant for Nalke, but
Josh intercepted it to save the nature demon. Though Josh knew he couldn’t die,
the pain of the fire had still been almost more than he could handle.

“Here we go,”
Rockne said from the front of the train. “Off to Lacey.”

They smoothly
glided out of the station and crossed over the massive waterfall that separated
the island from the rest of the world. Josh saw a large Navy ship just on the
other side of the waterfall, floating there and pointing toward the island.

“Can they see
us?” Josh asked Rockne.

“No one can see
us. Who are they?”

“When the
meteor crashed on the island, it brought the attention of the outside world.
They’re probably trying to figure out where the meteor went.”

“Well, I wish
them good luck finding it,” Rockne said with a laugh. “The island, like this
train, is invisible. The waterfall acts as a deterrent to anyone who comes
close. It messes with their equipment and their minds, makes them want to turn
back. It’s a little magical suggestion I implemented.”

“You must be so
proud of yourself.”

Rockne looked
at him. “I take it you’re still mad at me.”

Josh didn’t
answer.

“I’m sorry I
almost killed you,” Rockne said.

“And I’m not
sorry I killed you,” Josh finally said with a satisfied grin.

Rockne laughed.
“I deserved it, I know. You did the right thing, and I’m actually…proud of
you.”

Josh looked at
him. “You’re proud of me for stopping you?”

“In a way, yes.
It took a lot of guts to do what you did, and you did it to protect someone
else. That’s why I knew you were right for the job of protecting the Village.”

Josh hated to
admit that Rockne’s words made him swell with pride. “When I took that job, I
never imagined I would end up having to protect it from you.”

“Indeed.”
Rockne laughed again and sat down across from Josh.

The train
glided across the ocean, to some unknown territory Josh couldn’t imagine.
Rapatha had gone to the town of Lacey centuries ago. To think it still existed
made him want to chuckle.

“How can the
train take us there?” Josh asked.

“I can take the
train anywhere, as long as I know where it is. If I knew where your house was,
I could take it straight to your front door.”

“How long will
it take to get there?” Josh asked, looking out at the calm, dark sky.

“I’ll give you
one guess,” Rockne said.

Josh turned to
him. “Five minutes.”

*
 
*
 
*

Andor dropped
into the crystal cavern with the green, glowing thing. He was bleeding from his
head, and he felt dizzy and nauseated, but he managed to push himself to his
feet once again. Escaping the fairies had been difficult, but clearly not
impossible. Once he got back out into the tunnel and returned to normal size,
he was able to crush under his boot the fairies idiotic enough to follow.

“Stop!” a
familiar voice called from above.

He turned to
look up at the green figure. “Why should I?” he asked it.

“What you’re
doing is wrong.”

“Says who? I
don’t know you, and you don’t know me.”

“I know you
lost a very special person, and that you blame Aneela for it.”

“How do you
know that? Did he tell you?”

Just then, a
small figure stepped out from behind a large purple crystal. It was Joffey.

“Revenge won’t
bring him back,” the green light said.

Andor looked up
again. “He’s back now.”

“Only in your
mind. He can never come back. You do his memory a disservice by killing
others.”

“I never wanted
to hurt anyone,” he said to Joffey, tears falling down his cheeks.

“Then stop,
Daddy,” the boy said, his voice echoing throughout the cavern.

Andor instantly
stopped crying, his face transforming into one of pure hatred. “If you’re not
real, then I don’t have to be haunted by you.”

“I didn’t say
he wasn’t real,” Rapatha replied. “I said he wasn’t alive.”

“Same thing in
my book.” Andor spat on the ground. “What am I to do? Waste away in some cell
while Aneela lives happily ever after and I spend the rest of my days thinking
about my son? I think not!”

He turned,
leaving the cavern—and his son—behind.

Josh stared out
a window as the train approached a large fog bank. Once inside the fog, he
could see nothing.

“We’re here,”
Rockne said.

“Where?” Josh
asked, still looking out.

“Lacey.”

As soon as he
said that, the fog lifted and Josh was treated to a view of what looked like a
tiny island. Only, instead of resting in the middle of an ocean of water, this
island looked to be resting in space. Josh looked down and saw nothing but
stars. If he were still alive, he imagined his nose would be bleeding the same
way it did when he first arrived at Dargo Island. It always did when he was
truly afraid.

“Are we in
space?” he asked Rockne.

“No. We’re
still on Earth, just in a strange place.”

“It’s
beautiful,” Josh whispered.

He noticed for
the first time that the elevated tracks seemed to appear before the train, as
if coming to exist seconds before the train passed over them. He looked out the
back window and saw those tracks disappear, no longer needed.

“Rockne, you
may have been a misguided s.o.b., but you sure can work wonders.”

“Thank you,
Doctor.”

The train
circled the tiny island as Rockne looked for a place to make land. The island
truly looked like it was floating in space. Josh had seen many amazing sights
in his day, from Dargo Island to Nalke’s castle in the clouds, but this place
had to be the most wondrous of all.

Rockne stopped
the train at the end of a cobbled street that lowered into the water. It seemed
like a better place than any other. Josh and Rockne stood at one of the train’s
doors, looking down.

“Are we
supposed to jump into the water or something?” Josh asked. He couldn’t imagine
jumping down; it would feel like jumping off a cliff and into the universe.

Rockne pushed a
button on the console and the train lowered. He then stepped onto the cobbled
street. Josh followed him up the street and into what appeared to be a town
filled with dark shops and a lot of alleys.

This must be
the town of Lacey. And it appeared empty.

“Is there
anyone here?” Josh asked.

“I haven’t been
here for centuries. Back then wasn’t much better. This place crawled with
giants and other disgusting creatures.”

“You don’t like
giants?” Josh asked, remembering the giants on Dargo Island the old man
massacred nearly single-handedly.

“Let’s just say
I tolerated them. You know, this incubus we’re visiting reminds me of you.”

“Because we’re
both incubuses—incubi?”

“More than
that. When I last encountered him, I scared him badly enough to make his nose
bleed.”

Josh looked at
him.

“In fact, when
you first came to Dargo Island and your nose bled from the shock, I immediately
thought of him. Maybe you’re related.”

“Maybe.” Josh’s
step quickened with anticipation.

“Wait for me,”
Rockne said with frustration as he climbed up the steep street. “I’m a walking
corpse, remember?”

“Don’t remind
me.” He went back and helped Rockne up the hilly street.

The old wizard
in his shiny suit walked through alleys, turning this way and that, looking for
the shop the incubus owned. In all that time, Josh hadn’t seen a single living
soul in this town. It truly was empty.

“Ah!” Rockne
said. “There it is.”

He pointed to a
sign that said “The Narrow Shoppe.”

Josh was taken
aback by how warm the shop was. He understood the name, as well, because the
place was, indeed, narrow. On either side were clothing racks that lined the
two walls, forming a closed-in path to a counter. At the counter sat a young
man with greasy, spiked blond hair.

The man looked
up at them slowly, as if he’d just awoken from a deep sleep. “Welcome to The
Narrow Shoppe in the Land of Constant Starlight. May I help you?”

Rockne took a
step forward, and the man jumped up in surprise. “Remember me?” the old wizard
asked.

“How could I
forget?” The owner backed away, his eyes wide. Josh could see from where he
stood that his nose suddenly started bleeding. “I still haven’t seen your
lovely friend. Is that why you’re here?”

Rockne laughed.
“Centuries later, and you’re still protecting her? You’re loyal to the end,
aren’t you?” He walked up to the counter. Josh could see no way to get on the
other side short of jumping over it. He followed Rockne.

“Centuries?”
the owner asked, incredulous. “Has it been that long?” He looked over his
shoulder, at a nearly empty shelf. A single jar, filled with a golden mist, sat
upon that shelf.

“Haven’t you
noticed this town is empty, Wesonger?” Rockne asked.

Wesonger looked
shocked. He nodded. “I had noticed, but I didn’t think much about it.” He wiped
the blood from his nose.

Now that he was
closer, Josh noticed Wesonger’s eyes. Though his face looked like that of a man
in his mid-twenties, his eyes looked dull and gray.

Wesonger
suddenly looked at Josh with those old eyes. “Who are you?”

“I’m Josh.
I’m…I was an incubus too.”

That seemed to
intrigue the shop owner. “Really? I haven’t seen another in…centuries. Are you
not still an incubus?”

“No. I’m a
nature demon.”

Wesonger jumped
again, startling Josh and Rockne. “Get out! I’ll not have nature demons in my
business.”

“Hold on,” Josh
said calmly, pulling the necklace from under his shirt. He made sure Wesonger
saw it. “While I’m wearing this, I don’t have any powers. I’m not here to hurt
you.”

Wesonger’s eyes
widened at the sight of the necklace. “I remember that….”

“I figured you
would,” Rockne spoke up. “It belonged to my
friend
, Rapatha.”

At the mention
of her name, Wesonger’s attention snapped from the necklace to the wizard.
“Rapatha. Is she all right? You found her, didn’t you? You hurt her and took
the necklace?” He sounded angrier by the second.

“I didn’t hurt
her,” Rockne said, “but she is ill. That’s why we’re here. I know you turned
her into an island and—”

“An island?
What are you talking about?”

“She’s an island
now. Because of the magic you gave her.”

“She wasn’t
supposed to turn into an island.”

“What was she
supposed to turn into, then?”

“A rock. That’s
all. And it wasn’t meant to be permanent; she was supposed to be able to change
at will, whenever she needed to.” Wesonger raised an eyebrow. “What is
Rapatha?”

“She was a
nature demon, as well.”

The owner
suddenly clapped his hands and laughed, scaring Josh. The young nature demon
had been falling asleep due to the warm air and mild smell of spices in the
shop, but now he was fully awake.

“Wait!”
Wesonger said, as if he just remembered something. “You said she’s hurt?”

“Yes. She was
struck by a meteor and—”

“A what?”

Rockne sighed.
“A rock from the sky. She’s fatally wounded and she needs the life essence you
took from her in exchange for the magic.”

Wesonger
started to turn his head toward the shelf but stopped himself. “I’m afraid…I
don’t have it anymore.”

Rockne stared
at the lone jar. “Is that so?”

“It is.”

Rockne leaned
on the counter, close to Wesonger’s face. “The way I see it, the product you
sold her was defective. That should render the transaction void. I think it’s
only fair you give her a refund.”

Rockne had
spoken so quietly that the threat in his voice was unmistakable. The two men
stared at each other for a few silent moments, and Wesonger’s nose started
bleeding again.

“It’s my last
jar,” he whispered. “After that, I will surely die.”

“Rapatha will
surely die as well if she doesn’t get it back.”

Another quiet
moment. Josh couldn’t stand it anymore.

“Why do you
want to live any longer?” he asked Wesonger. “You’re alone in a dead city, with
nothing to show for it. Is it really worth it?”

“How long have
you been alive?” the owner asked.

“Nineteen
years.”

Wesonger’s eyes
widened. “That’s all?”

“It’s been too
long. I…killed my twin sister when our mom was still pregnant. I leached her
life away to save my own.”

“Oh. I’m sorry
to hear that.” Wesonger sounded genuine. “Have you harmed any others?”

“A few. Almost
all of them were accidental.” Josh’s voice choked up, but he managed to keep
himself under control.

Wesonger
nodded. “The life of an incubus is lonely and dangerous. You’ll most likely
never meet another who can understand what you go through.” A thought seemed to
occur to him. “In fact, I haven’t seen another our kind in…centuries.”

Josh nodded. “I
think we’re related. My nose bleeds— used to bleed whenever I got really
scared, the same way yours does.”

Wesonger
grinned. “Is that so?” He looked over at the jar again. Finally, he sighed and
grabbed it. “The last time I saw Rapatha, she asked me if I ever did anything
important with my life.” He handed the jar over. “Tell her this is it.”

Rockne took the
jar. “Thank you, Wesonger.”