Tales from Dargo Island: The Complete Trilogy (8 page)

I hung out with Estevan on
my last day off. We went bowling at the alley down the street from our houses,
which was a pretty beat-down place in a bad part of town. He and I were just
too lazy to go to the better alleys.

“
How long have you been at
your new job?
”
he asked me as he went up to the lane to bowl his turn.

“
Almost a month.
”

“
And you like it?
”

“
It
’
s...interesting.
”

“
Why are you grinning?
”
he asked.

I didn
’
t realize I was grinning
until he asked.
“
I
’
ve met crazy people. It
’
s the most interesting job I
’
ve ever had.
”

“
Oh.
”
He bowled, getting a strike
(his third in a row
—
a
turkey).
“
Are
they hiring? I
’
m
thinking about quitting my job.
”

“
Why?
”
I asked. I couldn
’
t imagine him working with
me on Dargo. Especially after what happened to his grandpa.

“
I hate my job. Working at
Magic Burger isn
’
t
exactly a dream job.
”

I got up to bowl my turn. I
was nervous, but figured out a way to change the subject. I knocked down seven
pins.
“
I took
the last available shift.
”
I grabbed another ball from the rack instead of waiting for the one I bowled
with.

“
What company do you work
for?
”

I nearly dropped the ball on
my foot.
“
Rockne
Security Services.
”
It was the first thing that came to mind. Even though I got my first paycheck
last week, I didn
’
t
work for an official company.

I knocked down the remaining
three pins and turned around. Estevan was staring at me.

“
My grandpa said he was going
to work for a man named Rockne....
”

My eyes grew wide.
“
Really?
”

He nodded, still staring at
me.
“
He said he
met a guy in Dallas named Rockne who offered him a job. A week later, he was
found dead near that rail you take to work everyday.
”

The pins were reset but
Estevan didn
’
t
take his turn.

“
What do you mean he was
found near there?
”
I asked.

“
He was found on a bench,
dead.
”

Found on a bench? I
’
d been told he died on the
way to Dargo, I assumed on the rail itself. Did someone bring him back and
leave him on that bench? I couldn
’
t imagine Rockne or Ernie doing that to him. That was just
wrong.

“
Do you work for the same
company my grandpa did?
”
Estevan finally asked.

He is my best friend, and I
couldn
’
t
imagine lying to him about something this important. If I told him the truth,
however, he would bring hellfire on Dargo. He would contact the police, and
they would make me take them to that island.

“
No. I don
’
t work for the same company.
I haven
’
t met
anyone named Rockne. I think it
’
s just a coincidence.
”

Estevan studied me for a
moment before taking his turn. He rolled the ball so hard the pins fell with a
thunderous clap.

Later that night, I tried to
sleep but of course dreamed about Nalke. This time, I was standing in the
middle of the Village on Dargo. The sky was red and menacing, and the ocean
’
s waves towered over me.
They surrounded me, just waiting to crash down and wash this neighborhood away.

The setting of the meeting
wasn
’
t the only
thing that was different: Estevan appeared in front of me. At least, I thought
it was him. Then he spoke:

“
Your friend isn
’
t happy with you,
”
he said in Nalke
’
s voice.

“
How do you know about that?
”

He laughed.
“
I
’
ve seen a great many things
lately, thanks to you. I now know where Dargo is.
”

“
I know; you killed an
innocent man in order to do that.
”
I was angry.

“
Rockne killed that man, not
me.
”

“
It doesn
’
t matter. He told me you
would forget where the island is because you
’
re still weak.
”

Nalke shook his head slowly.
“
That
’
s what he thinks, but he
doesn
’
t know me
as well as he likes to claim.
”

“
I know what you want,
”
I said.
“
You need your daughter to
regenerate the power you lost fighting Rockne years ago.
”

Nalke did something I didn
’
t expect: He said,
“
What?
”

“
Rockne told me everything.
”

He looked even more confused
than he did a moment ago.
“
And
how could my daughter possibly help me regain my strength?
”

“
I don
’
t know how you guys work,
”
I said.
“
Magic or something.
”

“
Do you always blindly
believe everything someone tells you?
”

“
I don
’
t believe anything you tell
me. Does that answer your question?
”

Nalke chuckled.
“
That
’
s a start, but I
’
m not the villain in this
story.
”

I shook my head.
“
Why do you want Astrid?
”

“
Because she
’
s my daughter and was stolen
from me by Rockne and that witch Shae.
”

“
You tried to kill Shae.
”

“
She tried to kill me!
”
he yelled.

“
And you hurled a curse at
her while she was pregnant with your daughter!
”
I yelled back.

Nalke looked sad now, the
anger draining from him quickly.
“
That was a mistake,
”
he said quietly.

I didn
’
t know what to do with this
information. The more I heard, the more I questioned everything I thought I
knew about everyone I
’
d
met recently. In a moment of vulnerability, I told Nalke this and hoped it wasn
’
t a mistake.

He spread his hands.
“
That
’
s the way life works, my
friend. You
’
ll
have to trust your instincts. When you finally make a decision, I hope you will
help me set things right. I
’
ve
tried, but Rockne is a formidable foe. I can
’
t get on the island with his spells in force.
”

“
Is Astrid being held against
her will on that island?
”
I asked.

“
If she
’
s with Rockne and Shae, then
yes.
”

“
I
’
ll have to think about all
of this,
”
I
said.
“
If I
find out you
’
re
telling the truth...I
’
ll
help you.
”

“
Sounds fair enough, but know
this.
”
He
paused.
“
If
Rockne finds out you
’
re
going against him, he won
’
t
hesitate to kill you.
”

“
Why would he want to hide
Astrid from you?
”
I asked.

“
I think there may be some
truth in what he told you about her, that she
’
s a means to an end. Just not for my end.
”

Nalke/Estevan backed away
just as the waves crashed down on me. I woke up sweating.

I didn’t want
to think of Rockne as a bad guy, and I definitely didn’t want to take Nalke’s
word for anything, so I decided to learn more about Rockne from people who knew
him. On my next day off, I visited Victor the dwarf, telling him I wanted to
know more about the island. Rockne was in the city, on the mainland, so I
didn’t have to worry about him for a while.

When I got to
Victor’s, he greeted me and showed me to an awesome game room with a pool table
and a home-theater system that actually looked like a movie theater. There were
a dozen comfortable-looking seats arranged in front of a large silver screen.
We sat at a bar near the pool table and he gave me a glass of clear soda since
I was only nineteen.

Even on a
mysterious island miles away from any cops, he followed the law.

He stayed
behind the bar, mixing himself a drink when he said, “So, what would you like
to know, my friend?”

“Well, I lied
when I said I wanted to know more about the island; I think I already know as
much as there is.”

He chuckled.
“You can think that all you want, but you’re wrong.”

I laughed too.
“Well, what I really want to know is more about Rockne.”

Victor stopped
his mixing and stared at me. “Like what?”

“I don’t know.
Just more.”

“Why don’t you
just ask him?”

I took a sip of
my soda to stall. “Well, after what happened with Tack, I wondered how someone
could put a spell like that on the island.” I felt bad for lying, but I didn’t
think telling Victor I was having conversations with the alleged enemy was a
good idea.

“That spell
causes unwanted guests to leave. No one has ever stayed on the island for that
long with the spell in effect. It wasn’t Rockne’s fault. If you want to blame
someone, blame Nalke. He was the one possessing Tack. He killed him, not
Rockne.”

I nodded. “I
know.” I could tell Victor was offended. “How long have you two known each
other?”

“Oh, I’d say
about two hundred years.”

I felt my eyes
go wide. “Wow, that’s a long time. Do your people always live that long?”

“No. We live as
long as you humans. Rockne gave me the gift of extended aging. It’s a spell he
grants to only his most loyal friends.”

It sounded like
he was hinting at something, and it made me feel even worse about my suspicions
of Rockne. “Were you there when Shae tried to kill Nalke?”

“Yes. Well, I
was up there with them, but I didn’t see her try to kill him.”

I nodded. “So,
you didn’t see him curse her?”

“No. Why?”

I sighed,
feeling like I wasn’t accomplishing anything. I changed tactics. “I keep
dreaming about Nalke, and he told me some things. I’m worried about what I’m
being dragged into.” I didn’t care about Nalke’s warning of what Rockne did to
enemies and didn’t care if Victor told him. “I’ve been told two different
versions of the same story.”

“What did he
tell you?”

“He told me he
wasn’t the bad guy, and that he wasn’t trying to find Astrid in order to regain
his strength. He said he wants to find her because she’s his daughter.”

Victor shook
his head, taking a sip of his drink. “And you believed him?”

“It sounds
believable, but I don’t know. I believed Rockne because his was the first
version I heard. I just don’t know what to believe anymore.”

“Well, if
you’re having doubts, I suggest you quit before Rockne finds out about them.
Otherwise, things will get extremely awkward between you two.”

“Are you going
to tell him?”

“No. But he has
ways of finding things out.”

“I like this
job,” I said, a little sad.

“Then you
should trust Rockne. I’ve known him for a long time and I trust him. Nalke is
evil; he’s killed so many people, including most of my race. Hell, he killed
the Belles. Champagne is the last of her race, thanks to him. Rockne’s trying
to rid the world of Nalke and save you and everyone else. If Nalke gets his
way, you and your friends and family may die.”

“Is there some
kind of war coming?” I asked. “This sounds a little like the books I read.”

“Rockne and I
have been preparing for one. We don’t know when it will happen, but it will
happen. Nalke has been subtle about his actual intentions, and we all know he
doesn’t have many followers to help him. He only has a handful of vampires and
a werewolf or two. That’s why he needs Astrid.”

“How do you
know he needs her?” I couldn’t help but ask this.

“Well, Rockne
and Shae told me. Shae is Astrid’s mother, after all. She knows more about
Nalke than I do.”

“Did you hear
about Cormac and his dad coming into the Village?” I asked.

Victor laughed.
“Yes. That must have been a sight. I’m sorry you had to deal with that.”

“Is there any
chance Nalke is recruiting the giants to help him?” I hoped I wasn’t getting
Cormac into trouble.

“The giants are
neutral, so I can’t imagine them helping anyone—us or Nalke.”

I shrugged. “That’s
good. I’d hate to fight them if they did side with Nalke. I have another
question: Why do you guys hire normal people to guard the whole Village? We
can’t really do anything to stop anyone, obviously.”

“Sounds like
you’re trying to talk your way out of a job.” He laughed. He seemed to do that
a lot, and it was an infectious sound that made me want to laugh as well.

“Yeah, I guess
it does sound like that. Seriously, though, why regular humans? I wasn’t able
to stop Tack or Rewan from coming in here.”

“You’ve been
here for a while, so I’m not too surprised you’re so curious. You ask good
questions. I’m guessing you met Aneela.”

“Yeah. She’s
really good at making me doubt everything.”

“She must have
given you the whole ‘you can’t stop us if we decide to swarm the Village’
speech. She’s just worried Rockne wants to take control of the island. She
gives this speech to all the new guards. She even got Mark before he
disappeared suddenly.

“The reason we
hire regular humans is to show that not all of our friends are magical
creatures. The Dargons are human too, and it helps to have a familiar face.
Human guards at the gate actually add extra protection to the Village, believe
it or not. Nothing that poses a true threat can get in when you guys are there.
Rewan and Cormac are harmless; if they hadn’t been, they would have been pushed
away by the barrier that surrounds us. It’s something Rockne came up with to
reinforce the barrier, since most of his power is tied up in the protection of
the rest of the island.”

“What about
Tack?”

Victor
scratched his hairy chin. “Well, that was weird. He shouldn’t have been able to
come in either.”

“Maybe he
didn’t pose a threat,” I offered.

I shouldn’t
have. Victor looked at me, a little insulted. I was reinforcing the doubt I cast
on Rockne and he didn’t like it.

“He killed the
Belles! Like I said earlier, if you don’t like the job you should quit. Rockne
and I don’t take kindly to people who doubt our intentions. We’re fighting for
you and your people. To doubt our work is to cripple us. We can’t have that.”

I nodded. “I
understand. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t mention
it. Anything else I can do for you?”

I finished my
soda and shook my head. “Thanks for the chat. I feel better now.”

“Good.” He
finished his drink. “What do you have going on for the rest of the day?”

“Nothing.”

“Want to check
out my theater system?”

“Hell yeah.”

We watched an
action movie with the sound turned way up. The subwoofer almost made my heart
explode. After the movie, I returned to Dallas. I did feel a little better
after my talk with Victor, and decided to trust in Rockne. I slept with my
necklace on and made sure to keep it on at all times until this war was over. I
didn’t want Nalke putting more doubts into my head.

I wondered if
quitting the job would save me from any more dreams. If I never returned to
Dargo, there would be no reason for Nalke to contact me again. I didn’t want
any part in this supposed war. I just hoped the good guys won.