Tales from Dargo Island: The Complete Trilogy (10 page)

Before we left,
Rockne called Virgil in to watch over the gatehouse. I told Rockne the shield
failed, but he claimed it would be fine now. I didn’t know what he meant by
that, and I didn’t trust that it would “be fine now,” but I followed anyway.
Taleeno met us near the rubble that had stopped Cormac earlier. He had a squad
of fellow Dargons, all dressed in black uniforms and weapons that looked like
guns mixed with bats. All of their faces were colored completely yellow this
time.

“We can handle
it from here, Taleeno,” Victor said as we approached.

“Nonsense. This
offense occurred on my island. I will see justice done.”

“What if
something happens to you? Aneela would inherit the throne. Do you think she’s
ready for that responsibility?”

“Aneela is
strong and wise. If something happens to me down there, she will be ready to
rule in my place. But I am going.”

“Spoken like a
true leader,” Rockne said with a grin.

Then he turned
to the rubble and waved his hands around. The boulders shot away, clearing the
path. We followed it to the valley with the cherry-blossom trees and the frozen
lake. Rewan’s body was still there, his blood staining the snow around him.

“Poor Rewan,”
Rockne said sadly. “He would have been a powerful ally.”

“How do we get
down there?” I asked.

“Leave that to
me.” Rockne stood in the center of the lake and then began to slowly lower.
“Each of you do as I do. You will be lowered safely into the giants’ realm.”

His head
disappeared beneath the ice right after he finished telling us what to do.
Victor followed him, and then Taleeno and his men. I was last.

It was like
riding an icy elevator. I couldn’t move my body as I went through the ice, but
I could breathe normally. This only lasted ten seconds, and when I was through
I was astounded by what I saw.

I was in a
world covered in ice, and it looked nearly as big as the island above. I saw
hills of snow and trees of ice, even a waterfall, though it was frozen. There
were large white houses that reminded me of igloos scattered about on the
hills.

I looked down
and saw my ice elevator was just that; I was standing on a round chunk of ice
that appeared to be lowered by magic, because I didn’t see it attached to
anything. The “sky” was just rock and ice, hundreds of feet above us. Light
sources were reflected off of specially placed crystals throughout this world.
It was spectacular. I took a picture of it with my cell phone just before the
elevator touched down on the snowy ground.

“Are you all
right, Josh?” Victor asked, grabbing his axe in his hands.

“I’m fine.”

The twenty of
us stood on top of the hill, looking around for any threats. Behind us, at
least a mile away, was a giant, dark ice wall. I guessed that was the end of the
giants’ world.

“Why do they
live down here?” I asked no one in particular.

“Our giant
brethren were born beneath the ice,” Taleeno replied. “We’ve tried to get them
to join us above ground, but they insisted on staying where they are most
comfortable. Some venture out; they used to have to do so through that ice wall
behind us, but Rockne created the lift system for them.”

“Which I will
be closing if things go south for us,” Rockne added.

We started down
the hill, toward a bridge that crossed a dark-blue stream. Well, it was a
stream to the giants but a river to us. This river was not frozen, however, and
appeared to be hot. I saw steam rising from it. The bridge, of course, was
massive, and took a minute to cross. When we did, we were greeted by a group of
giants.

They did not
look happy.

One of them,
the new leader I guessed, said something in the giant language.

“Yes,” Taleeno
replied, “I’m afraid Rewan and his son are dead. Cormac killed his father and
attacked my people. It seems Nalke’s influence has tainted this island.”

The giant
replied.

“It is for me
to decide who is guilty and who isn’t. Cormac attacked with a horde of giants.
I wouldn’t have guessed so many would be loyal to the enemy. I’m afraid I can’t
trust the rest of you until Nalke is stopped. There’s no telling who among you
he managed to turn against us.”

The leader
looked back at the other giants behind him. There were at least seven I could
see. Some had short hair, and I guessed they were women; the men had no hair.

“I hate to do
this,” Taleeno went on, “but it is my right, as leader of Dargo, to detain you
beneath the ice until Nalke is defeated.”

The giants
didn’t like the sound of that at all. They all grunted and beat the ground with
their massive fists. Some of the houses trembled.

Rockne stepped
forward. “If I may, Taleeno, I might just have a way to ferret out any
deceivers among the giants.”

“How?” Taleeno
raised an eyebrow.

Rockne got
closer and whispered just loud enough for me to hear, “I can cast a spell on
them that monitors their emotions. It’s a trick Champagne taught me. I’ll then
ask them if they are loyal to Nalke. If they lie, their bodies will glow
slightly.”

“You and your
spells.” Taleeno chuckled and shook his head in disbelief. “Fine, wizard, do
it. It won’t harm them, will it?”

“Not at all,
Your Highness.” He said the title sarcastically.

The two turned
back to the giants. Rockne waved his hands subtly in front of himself, his
fingertips glowing. The giants didn’t seem to notice.

“My gentle
giants,” he said after his spell-casting was complete, “I have only one
question for you that will help us determine how to handle this delicate
situation: Are any of you loyal to Nalke?”

All seven
giants replied at once.

Then they all
started glowing orange.

The giants were
startled by this reaction. They got violent, pounding the ground again. And
then they charged.

Taleeno’s men
got in front of us and began shooting some kind of energy from their bats. The
shots were so loud and appeared to actually hurt the giants. They were repelled
by the blasts, but not for long. Victor grabbed me and pulled me away from the
fight, toward the bridge.

“Get on the
other side and stay there,” he commanded before rejoining the fight.

I started to
cross the large bridge when a lone giant jumped over the Dargons and landed
behind me. The bridge cracked and I fell into the river. The current was really
strong. I couldn’t get out. I tried grabbing onto the snowy ground on either
side but couldn’t get a hold of anything.

The current
carried me around the town, away from the fight. I didn’t know where I was
going but I doubted I would end up back at the bridge. My question was answered
a moment later.

Ahead of me was
some kind of big, loud mechanism made of spinning crystals. It reminded me of a
sink’s garbage disposal. I tried again to get out but couldn’t. I was headed
straight for my death.

And then I was
scooped out of the blue water by a giant hand. She laid me down on a snowy
street. I stared up at her, waiting to be squashed or something, but she simply
looked at me, her short hair falling over her eyes.

“Thank you,” I
managed, not sure if it was the right thing to do. Had the giant saved me, or
was she planning to kill me herself instead of leaving me to that machine?

I didn’t get a
chance to find out because she was blasted by some kind of fireball. She burned
to death before my eyes.

I looked to the
person who saved me and saw Rockne with anger in his eyes. I’d never seen
anyone as mad as he looked at that moment. He returned to the fight behind him.
The battle only lasted a few more minutes and by the end the other six giants
were dead, as well as half of Taleeno’s task force.

And Taleeno
himself.

The entire
island of Dargo gathered in the palace’s courtyard hours later to crown Aneela
queen. I stood among the islanders, feeling like an intruder. I could see
Aneela at the top of the grand staircase, wearing a white gown with a very
elaborate gold necklace. I’d never seen her in such an outfit, and by the look
on her face, she wasn’t used to dressing like this.

A man
approached her with a silver crown that rested on a yellow pillow. He stopped
next to her as a woman joined them, took the crown, and placed it on Aneela’s
head.

Aneela was now
queen of Dargo. And she did not look happy.

Her face looked
like it was made of stone, and it seemed she was holding back her emotions. I
guessed she’d cried a lot before the ceremony, or was preparing to do so
afterward. I felt so sorry for her and wanted to console her, but considering
what happened hours earlier, figured security would be tight around the new
queen.

I was only
thirty feet away, if I guessed correctly, and for a second we locked eyes. I
might have imagined it, but she seemed relieved to see me. Then that hard look
returned and she stared at her subjects gathered around me.

“As queen of
Dargo,” she called clearly, “I promise to rule with integrity and heart, to
obey the laws of the land, and to never abuse the power granted upon me.”

It was a short
speech, and Aneela must have memorized it a long time ago, awaiting the day she
would have to say it. I couldn’t imagine how she felt, having all this
responsibility thrown at her.

Her father was
dead.

Ernie was dead.

The Belles were
dead.

Though there
was nothing I could have done for Taleeno, I felt responsible for Ernie’s
death. My presence at the gatehouse did nothing to strengthen the barrier
around the Village, like it was supposed to, and I had the chance to save my
co-worker and friend in Rockne’s backyard. Instead, I hid in the tree house
like a coward.

As the crowd
cleared out of the courtyard, I made a decision: I was going to leave Dargo and
never return.

It had been two
weeks since I left Dargo without saying good-bye to anyone. Well, I told Rockne
so he could fill my vacant spot. I decided to find a job off the island and
forget my time in Dargo. So much had happened and I knew I’d never truly
forget, but I could move on. I would miss Rockne, Aneela, Champagne, Victor and
Astrid, but I just didn’t feel safe there anymore.

Rockne was sad
to see me go, but he understood. He said he’d keep my visitation rights open if
I ever wanted to return, but I doubted I ever would. It was good to know that I
could go back without fear of melting the way Tack did, though.

I still had the
necklace that protected me from Nalke, but I rarely wore it. I didn’t expect
him to bother me anymore, especially if he knew I no longer worked on the
island. Estevan and I hung out a lot more, and I could tell he was happy I no
longer had that job. He knew it was the same job that killed his grandpa, even
though I never confirmed it, but we chose never to talk about it again. He’d
made peace with it, partly because he had no proof. Otherwise, the police would
be all over it.

To be honest, I
almost told him everything. I didn’t work on the island anymore and didn’t care
what happened. Being attacked by a melting man and watching a friend having his
back snapped by a giant had that affect on you.

Christy and her
husband got back together and decided it was time they lived alone. Not having
a job definitely hurt my ability to pay rent, so I decided to move out. Luckily
my parents lived down the street.

It only took
two days to move in, and I was glad I lived light. Most of my possessions
consisted of books and Blu-rays, many of which I’d sold off since quitting my
job. Most of my books were on my phone, anyway (thanks to ebooks), and I spent
a lot of time reading them. I even managed to finish that book I’d spent a year
on. I felt more relaxed than I had in months. I kept Palar’s Revenge, even
though it did nothing but remind me of the island where I bought it.

Whenever I got
too relaxed, though, I wondered why the giants were able to enter the Village
so easily. Why had the barrier failed? It was supposed to be stronger with me
there, right? With a human there, I reminded myself.

I set down my
phone, forgetting the book I’d been reading. “I’m human, right?” I asked
myself.

A knock on my
door startled me. I told whoever it was to come in. My mom opened the door and
smiled at me.

“How are you
doing, honey?”

“Good.”

She closed the
door behind her and sat at the foot of the bed. “I’ve been thinking a lot about
what you told me, about the tornado.”

“About dying
and coming back to life?” I guessed. She closed her eyes and nodded. I felt bad
for phrasing it so bluntly.

“I wish you’d
told your father and me sooner, but I’m so happy you’re okay. I know you’re
probably wondering what happened that day.”

“You mean why I
came back and that other kid died?” I asked.

“Yes.”

I sat up
straighter. “Do you know something about that?”

She nodded
again. “There’s something I never told you, about your birth. When I was
pregnant with you, I was also pregnant with another baby.”

That hit me
hard. I couldn’t speak, and I felt my jaw drop. “I was supposed to be a twin?”

“Yes.”

I tried to
think of something to say. I had more questions, but they all came to mind at
the same time. “What…happened?”

She sighed.
“Your sister died before she could be born.”

“How?” I heard
myself whisper. I already knew the answer.

“Well, honey,
you were so weak and the doctor thought we would lose you. Then, suddenly, you
started getting better and your sister got weaker. And then…”

“I killed her,”
I finished.

“No, not at
all!”

“That’s what
happened!” I said forcefully. “I drained her the same way I drained that guy
after the tornado. What am I?”

Mom shook her
head, tears in her eyes. “It’s my fault. It’s something passed down every
second generation. You inherited it from your grandfather.”

“Inherited
what?”

“You’re…an
incubus.”

My jaw dropped
again. “An incubus.”

“Well, some
form of incubus. You have the ability to drain the life force from people. You
don’t have any control of it, and can only do so when your life is in danger.”

“I’m not
human,” I finally managed to say.

“You are
human!” she yelled. Then she covered her mouth in shame. “You’re my baby, and
there’s nothing wrong with you.”

“Mom, I’m
nineteen. You don’t have to protect me. I killed my sister and that guy. I
couldn’t control it, but that doesn’t make it okay. Is there any way to stop
doing this?”

“Not that I
know of, honey.”

The doorbell
rang. “I’ll get it,” I said and quickly left the room. I had to get away from
my mom for a second. She’d kept this secret from me all these years. I was mad.
If I’d known sooner, I would’ve tried not to drain anyone’s life force. That
poor guy would still be alive. I’d had no right to take his life.

I answered the
front door and was shocked to see Shae standing there. I couldn’t remember the
last time I’d seen her. “What are you doing here?” I asked a little heatedly.

“I heard about
what happened on the island. I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine.
Where have you been?”

She grinned.
“Do you really care?”

“I wouldn’t
have asked if I didn’t.” Man, I was pissed and having trouble controlling it. I
felt like I should be better than this, but it was difficult.

“Well,” she
said, “I’ve been spending time with someone I shouldn’t. Someone you’ve spoken
to a few times as well.”

I tilted my
head. “Nalke?”

“Yes.”