Tales from Dargo Island: The Complete Trilogy (4 page)

I wasn’t
surprised when I dreamed about Nalke again that night. I was worried, however,
about what I might give away to the nature demon. Nalke didn’t know where Dargo
was and I didn’t want to be the one to give away the location.

I was in the
center of the tornado again, with that face staring at me behind the swirling
cloud wall. Nalke’s eyes were large, white and creepy.

“Tell me what
you know,” he commanded. “Have you gone to Dargo? Where is it?”

“None of your
business.”

I could tell at
once Nalke wasn’t pleased with that response. I didn’t care.

“I could kill
you right now—drop a tornado on your house or open the earth beneath your
sleeping form.”

I gulped. “Go
ahead.”

I waited to
die, but nothing happened.

It was hard to
tell, being in a dream, but I was pretty sure I wasn’t dead. And I was fairly
certain Nalke couldn’t do anything to me. Ernie had said himself the demon’s
power was very weak, and he’d expended almost all of it on the day of the
tornadoes. Why do so? Who was he trying to kill? Was it Shae? It had to be; she
knew about Dargo. But, just maybe, he wasn’t trying to kill anyone.

“I have my eye
on you,” Nalke said. His voice was calm. “You think you can hide, but I will
always find you in your dreams. Always—”

I woke up with
my ears ringing. My right hand hurt, and when I looked, I noticed my car keys
gripped tightly there. The key chain Shae gave me swung back and forth, like a
wind was blowing against it. It also looked like it was glowing a little.

I lay back
down, my keys still with me. I didn’t want to put them down, for some reason.

Later that
morning, I grabbed a book from my bookshelf and picked up where I’d left off.
Sadly, I’d been working on this book for a year; it was boring.

Unfortunately,
I have to finish what I start. That includes terrible books. It’s a trait I
wish I could get rid of. I was past the halfway mark of the book but couldn’t
remember anything I’d read.

My phone rang
an hour later and I answered it, grateful for an excuse to stop reading.
“What’s up, Estevan?”

“Wanna catch
The Heifer at noon?” my best friend asked.

I laughed. I
loved the title of the comedy that was just released. “Sure. I’m glad you want
to see it so early; I have to work tonight, anyway.”

“Oh, yeah!”
Estevan said. “I forgot to ask about your job. I was at work during the tornado
outbreak. You start a new one or something?”

“Yeah. The very
next day. I already trained, and I start my first shift alone tonight.”

“What is it?”

I hesitated,
not knowing how to explain my new job. I guard a neighborhood full of
supernatural creatures that are hiding from a nature demon called Nalke.

It just didn’t
sound quite right.

“I work
security for a rich neighborhood.”

“Oh, cool!”
Estevan sounded genuinely impressed. “My grandpa got a job like that, but he
died before he could start.”

I held the
phone to my ear, not sure what to say. He’d never told me that before.
Otherwise, I would’ve remembered when Rockne told the same story in Dargo. Had
it been Estevan’s grandpa who’d died while traveling to Dargo?

“You still
there?” he asked me.

“Yeah. Sorry.
Just thinking.” I looked at my clock to see it was nearly eleven a.m. “I’ll get
ready and meet you at the theater. Wait, which theater are we going to?”

“The Tavern. Do
you even still work at the Movie Castle?”

“I don’t know.
I asked my manager and he said, until the building is repaired, no one is
working there. I couldn’t wait.”

“I see. Also,
this movie better be good or I’m gonna knock you out.”

I chuckled. The
last comedy we saw—A Pig Named Panda—was awful, and Estevan constantly reminded
me of my poor movie choices. He always told me I wouldn’t know a good movie if
it bit me on the back of my neck. I don’t think I’d know what anything was if
it bit me on the back of the neck, but I’m not one to argue.

I took a shower
and was on the freeway twenty minutes later. I parked in front of the theater,
located next to a mall, and walked up the large steps to the entrance. I saw
Estevan standing at a ticket kiosk, scratching his head.

“Can’t figure
out the machine?” I asked.

“I gave it a
try. I’m gonna stick with the human ticket sellers. How would you feel if a
machine took your job?”

I debated
telling him I had the same job his grandfather died trying to get. I just
couldn’t do it, though.

After the
movie, which was great in my opinion, we went to Great Price and bought a
couple of cheap CDs and then grabbed a bite at a Chinese restaurant. I returned
home and took a quick nap before heading to work.

Of course, I
had trouble sleeping. I was nervous about my first solo shift. As it turned
out, I had good reason to be.

Since I
showered earlier, I got to leave the house later than I usually would. I tossed
on my uniform and drove to Dallas. I was the only one on the rail, but since
the trip was only “five minutes,” it wasn’t a big deal.

Helen was
waiting for me, though her shift ended ten minutes before. She said she waited
because she wanted to see me again. She was pretty, a few years older than me,
and nice. I wasn’t looking to date at the moment, though.

She dropped me
off at the gatehouse and returned to the station. Virgil told me the day was
quiet, and that there was nothing to pass on.

He then wished
me luck before leaving. I was alone.

I sat at the
desk, checking the monitors. The sun was down, but the gatehouse had perimeter
lights. The Village had streetlamps, but the land in front of me had only the
moon to light it. I could see the silhouette of the mountain and hill, but that
was it. If someone tried to sneak up on me, I wouldn’t know it until the last
minute.

There was
amazingly little to do. We had cable, so I watched shows and movies. I heard
strange noises inside the gatehouse every now and then but every time I
investigated, I found nothing.

After four
hours, I grew more comfortable. And tired. I wasn’t used to being up this late.
I may or may not have dozed off a few times, so I got up and walked around. Of
course, I made the mistake of sitting down again. I drank a lot of water, which
made me have to go to the bathroom often.

It was around
two in the morning when I saw her.

I jumped from
my chair when I caught her on the monitor. She was coming up the street, from
the Village, and though I’d never met her before I immediately knew who she
was.

I opened the
door and poked my head out. “Ms. Albright?”

She stopped in
place and stared at me. Astrid Albright is indeed around my age, with short red
hair and green eyes. She was wearing a blue dress, which seemed a little tight
on her curvy body. She was eye-catching.

She looked
startled, like she hadn’t expected to be caught.

“Where’s Mark?”
she asked.

I guessed Mark
was the guy I replaced. “I don’t know. No one told me. I’m new; tonight’s my
first shift.”

She nodded. “I
used to come up here to talk with Mark, keep him company.”

“Oh. That’s
nice of you.” I didn’t know what else to say. “I think I’m his permanent
replacement.”

She didn’t seem
to like that news, but she accepted it. “Is Mark all right?”

I shrugged,
remembering that Rockne told me he “vanished.” “Was he okay when you last saw
him?”

“He did seem a
little weird when we hung out last. I think he was thinking of quitting, but he
didn’t say anything.” She grinned suddenly, the right side of her lip tilting
up. “What’s your name?”

“Sorry. I’m
Josh Debelko.”

“Nice to meet
you.” We shook hands. “As you already know, I’m Astrid Albright. Can I come
in?”

I backed up to
let her in. She slid the door closed behind her. “How are you liking it so
far?” she asked.

“It’s cool. I’m
really tired, though.”

“Mark was, too,
when he first started. He got used to it.”

“You really
like him, don’t you?” I didn’t know why I asked; it just slipped out.

“As a friend,
or more?”

“You tell me.”
I raised my eyebrows comically, and she laughed.

“You never met
Mark; he’s in his fifties.”

“Oh,” I said.
And then I grinned; I was surprisingly happy to hear that, though I didn’t know
why.

Not that
anything was wrong with her. She just wasn’t my type, or so I thought at the
time. She had a grunge thing going on. I hadn’t noticed when I first saw her,
but she was wearing calf-high black boots to go along with the blue dress, and
a lot of studs in her ears.

“Your outfit is
interesting,” I said.

She looked down
at herself, and then back at me, rolling her eyes. “This dress, with these
boots? I don’t think so. I usually wear matching things, but Mark dared me to
do something different. And now he’s not even here. I have to waste this
fabulous outfit on a stranger.”

“Are you a
troublemaker?” I found myself asking.

“That’s a weird
question,” she said after a moment. “Do I look like a troublemaker?”

I decided to be
honest. “I was told to keep you inside the Village at all times, but I wasn’t
told why.”

“Oh.” She
didn’t seem surprised. “I’m kind of a precious girl, so to speak. It’s a
dangerous world, or so my mom keeps telling me.”

“Mine too. I
was attacked by a tornado the other day.”

Astrid gasped.
“Really? A tornado?”

“Yep. I even
died for a little while.”

“Oh, my. That’s
awful. We never get tornadoes on the island.”

“My neighbor
saved me; she’s a doctor.”

“That’s great.
My mom’s a doctor, too.”

“She must make
a lot of money to afford a place on an island.”

Astrid
chuckled. “None of us pay to live here. My mom lives off-island. She visits
every now and then, though.”

“Oh. I’m still
getting used to guarding...”

“Freaks?” she
guessed.

“I wasn’t going
to say that.”

“I know.”

“It’s just....
I’ve never experienced anything like this. I feel like I’m dreaming or...”

“Dead?”

“Stop finishing
my sentences,” I joked. “I’m pausing dramatically for a reason.”

We laughed. I
looked out through one of the front windows and nearly jumped out of my skin
when I saw a large figure approach from the mountain. “What is that?” I asked.

Astrid looked,
and then jumped from her chair. “That’s Cormac, a friend of mine. He’s on my
list.”

“He’s huge!” I
said as I checked the one name on her list. It was Cormac, all right.

“Yeah,
he...comes from a big family.”

I watched
Cormac come down the hill. He looked to be more than nine feet tall, and was
very skinny, with long arms. His yellow T-shirt barely fit him, exposing his
stomach to the world.

He had better
abs than me.

“Is he your
boyfriend?” I asked Astrid.

“No. We’re just
friends.”

Cormac
approached the gate and looked at us as we met him outside. Astrid introduced
us. I shook his large hand. Despite his size, he was very gentle.

“Cormac doesn’t
talk,” Astrid continued. “Since you know about the weirdness of this island, I
can tell you he is a giant. A real giant.”

Cormac nodded,
his shaggy brown hair bouncing. His nose was large, but other than that and his
size, he looked like a regular boy.

“Well, we
should go,” Astrid said as she led her friend into the Village. “We’ll talk
later.”

I waved at
them.

Guarding a
gated community full of supernatural creatures is not something many people can
admit to, and it bothered me not being able to talk about it with anyone. I
definitely couldn’t talk to Estevan, despite the fact he is my best friend. I’m
not sure if he would’ve believed me, but I didn’t think he should know I had
the job that killed his grandfather.

On the other
hand, there was Astrid Albright. I could talk to her, even though she is one of
the supernatural creatures. I didn’t know what she was at the time, and hoped
it wasn’t some kind of vampire or goblin. She looked so normal....

And she was
friends with a giant.

After she and
Cormac left me that night, I spent the rest of the shift doing nothing. I kept
my eye open for more giants but none came down the mountain.

Rockne called
me around three in the morning to ask how I was doing. I hadn’t seen him in
days, but he invited me to check out his house whenever I wanted. I value my
time away from any job and couldn’t quite bring myself to go in early to check
out his place before starting my shift, so I told him I would on my day off.

Despite the
fact my job was unique, I still treated it like any other. I think it was
because it was the only way I could deal with the situation. But my job wasn’t
ordinary.

It had been
only a few days since the tornado, and I hadn’t seen Shae since she got me the
job. Her house looked empty. I hoped nothing bad happened to her, but I had no
way of finding out. I worried for my own safety, despite Rockne’s assurance I
would be fine. I didn’t know how he could be so sure, but it made me feel
better.

I didn’t dream
of Nalke that morning, so that was a good sign. I hoped it was true that the
demon needed a lot of time to recharge after his vicious attack. What would
stop him from attacking me again, once he was back at full strength? There was
no reason to. I’m just some random guy, after all; why spend his strength
coming after a random guy?

I just hoped
Nalke never found out I worked on Dargo.

The rest of the
week went by without a hitch. Cormac visited Astrid a few more times, and after
a while I got used to seeing the giant emerge from the darkness. I finally met
Champagne DuBois, who is much older than me, with a very obvious tan. Her hair
is snow white, and she dresses like she’s in her teens. I think she hit on me
when she drove up to the gate, but I’m still not sure.

Victor, the
macho man, came through as well. He is shorter than my five feet nine, and
extremely buff. He wore a tank top, his round shoulders bigger than my head. I
didn’t know how old he was, but he looked like the dwarves I saw in movies.

On my first day
off, I traveled to Dargo for a party at Rockne’s. Ernie let Helen and me
through the gate and she dropped me off at the house. It was after seven in the
evening, and the sun was already setting. There were quite a few people there,
but I didn’t see Astrid.

Not that I came
to the party just to see her, of course.

Most of the
partygoers were natives of the island. They ranged in age, from late teens to
early nineties. Rockne was very popular, which didn’t surprise me.

And wouldn’t
you know it—Champagne was there. I was grabbing a soda from the fridge when she
approached me.

“Hey, Sugar Bell,”
she greeted. She always calls me sugar-something: The day we met, she called me
Sugar Cat.

“Hello, Mrs.
DuBois.”

“It’s Ms.
DuBois...and call me Champagne.”

I nodded. “May
I ask you a question...Champagne?”

She leaned
against the fridge. “Sure thing, Sugar Monkey.”

“What are you?
I mean, I know everyone in the Village is supernatural....”

“I don’t mind
you asking. I can read and affect emotions.”

“That’s a neat
power,” I said, slightly impressed.

“Not very
useful, though. I was born this way, however, so there’s nothing I can do about
it.”

“I hear ya.”

She winked.
“You’re a doll.”

“A Sugar Doll?”

She burst into
laughter. “That was a good one.”

“Does everyone
here have powers?” I indicated the other partygoers.

“No. Most are
the natives. They allowed us to live here, decades ago. Has anyone told you the
island’s history?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Perhaps I’ll
tell you later.” She winked and joined a group near a pool table.

I looked around
for Astrid again. I saw Rockne outside, talking with an older woman by a tree house
in the backyard. Since I was just standing in the kitchen, by myself, I decided
to go out and join the host.

“Dr. Debelko,”
he greeted me. He looked back and forth between his friend and me. “This is my
sister Florence.”

I shook her
hand. Her hair was sky blue and puffy. She was very pretty, and her smile made
her green eyes twinkle. Something about her struck me as familiar.

“How are you
adjusting to life on the island, Doctor?” she asked me.

“It’s
interesting. I met a giant on my first night.”

“Cormac? He’s
quite a character,” Rockne said as he looked at his sister. “He and Astrid are
practically dating.”

“They are not,”
Florence scoffed. “They’re just friends.”

“Where is
Astrid?” I asked Rockne.

He looked up at
the sky. “Oh, she’ll be here shortly.” He grinned. “You like her, don’t you?”

“She’s okay,” I
said.

“Only okay?”
Florence asked, raising an eyebrow.

I looked at her
again. I suddenly realized why she seemed familiar, but decided not to say
anything just yet.

“Well, I should
be getting to bed,” she said. “I’m an old woman, after all.”

“You’re younger
than me,” Rockne said.

“Goodnight,
Rockne.” She kissed his cheek. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Debelko.”

“Call me Josh.”

“Josh.” She
went inside the house.

Rockne
introduced me to a few of the natives. The young ones had black hair, the older
gray. His and her skin were covered in blue and yellow paint, just like Helen,
and their smiles were bright.

After a few
hours, the party died down until there were only half a dozen people left. We
sat at the dining table and enjoyed a feast of chips, salsa, and peanuts.
Rockne then invited us to take advantage of the hot tub.

“It’s
enchanted,” he told us, though I had a feeling everyone already knew that.

“Enchanted
how?” I asked him.

“Hop in and
find out.”

I didn’t bring
my swim suit, but the shorts I was wearing had doubled for swimwear once
before.

“Sorry I’m
late,” a female voice said behind me. I knew it was Astrid before I saw her.

“Take a seat,
dear,” Rockne said. Astrid sat next to me.

“Rockne,”
Champagne said, “you must tell Joshua about the Dargons.”

“Fabulous
idea!” He wiped his hands with a napkin and then linked his fingers together,
placing his elbows on the table. The four remaining Dargons around the table
smiled.