Tales from Dargo Island: The Complete Trilogy

by Jerry Hart

  “No. You cannot give it to another nature demon.”

  “Why not?”

  “Think of two nature demons as two of the same magnetic energy.” He cocked a cloudy eyebrow. “Is that the correct word? Magnetic?” Josh said it was, since he already understood the metaphor. “They repel each other. You must give your negative energy to a positive.”

  “Where can I find a positive?”

  “In a being unlike yourself. One that gives life rather than takes it.”

  Josh shook his head. “What kind of creature does that?”

  Nalke’s father laughed. “Boy, I don’t know. It’s up to you to find it. I’m dead.”

  “So, if I find a being the opposite of me and give it my life energy, Nalke will be okay?”

  “He should recover, yes.”

  “What happens to me?”

  “Perhaps you’ll join us in the nexus,” Crenos chimed in. And then he laughed maniacally. “It’s not so bad here. Unless we’re being called upon, such as now, we don’t even realize the passage of time. We mostly sleep, and to sleep is to be in rapture.” He moaned happily.

  “Josh,” Nalke said, placing a weak hand on the boy’s shoulder, “we must go. I’ve grown weaker since our arrival.”

  “Fair well, son,” Nalke’s father called down. “I hope you succeed in your goal. And if not…I’ll see you again soon.”

  Chapter 9: The Dead Rise

  “Who is that?” Aneela asked, staring at a lone figure on a hill to their left.

  Rhys looked as well. “I have no idea. Do you want me to check?”

  “No.” She stared as her group passed the hill on horseback. The man was fifty feet away, standing at the top of the hill, just watching them ride by. Light cast him in silhouette, giving him an incredibly creepy look. Aneela looked away as a something cold landed on her face.

  “It’s snowing again,” Rhys said.

  They had passed the creepy man on the hill and he was nothing but a tiny image now. Aneela tried to forget him and how familiar he had seemed.

  “Why is the giants’ realm the way it is?” a young soldier asked from the rear of the group.

  Aneela looked back. “Giants are cold-blooded, and the only way they could live comfortably is if they live in an icy environment. Rockne cast a spell on that valley to accommodate them.”

  “That was nice of him,” Rhys said sarcastically.

  “Rockne was a man of questionable character, I agree. He killed many people to meet his own ends, but he was good to this island.”

  They rode the rest of the way in silence. Aneela couldn’t wait to return to Rapatha; she had so many questions to ask the spirit.

  * * *

  Andor had tried catching up with the boy who looked like his son, but somehow lost him in the alley where he’d first been seen. Andor believed his eyes had been playing tricks, knowing his son to be dead and buried in a mass graveyard developed for the plague victims nearly a year ago.

  But the boy had looked so much like Joffey.

  He tried to focus on what he had planned, forgetting about the vision. He wanted Aneela dead. He ran up to the coast a mile away and looked to the small island that had acted as Dargo’s prison for a hundred years. It was the only place Andor had heard Aneela mention in the courtyard. She was much too careless to be queen of anything.

  He saw the burning light of a small fire coming from the island just as it started to snow. He had been locked away when the snow started, and it had been five years since he’d seen it.

  Andor jumped into the freezing water and swam to the tiny island, anticipating Aneela’s protection. She would have a few soldiers with her. Andor was prepared for them.

  Once he reached the shore, he ran to the left, circling the uphill field of shoulder-high grass. He hadn’t seen any soldiers when he got out of the boat, but one could never be too careful.

  He made his way slowly up the hill, making sure not to disturb the grass too much. He saw someone walking the perimeter up ahead, so he stopped moving and waited for the soldier to walk away. When the soldier disappeared from view, Andor moved quickly.

  When he got to the small camp, he saw Aneela and Rhys sitting by the fire, next to a large black stone door that acted as the entrance to Dargo’s prison. The soldier was on the other side of the perimeter, watching the water. Aneela held a hooded red robe close to her to keep away the chill.

  Andor pulled a knife from his pocket and made his move.

  He attacked Rhys first, stabbing him in the head, and then he swung the knife at Aneela as she lunged for him. She fell down, holding her slashed throat. He then threw the knife at the guard, who was just now turning at the commotion. The knife went through his heart and he was dead a moment later.

  The whole attack had taken three seconds.

  He turned back to Aneela, hoping she was still alive. He wanted to watch her die.

  “No,” he said as he saw Aneela lying there. The robe had disguised the petite soldier’s body. There was no woman here, just three men. He’d been set up.

  Aneela was somewhere else.

  “Daddy?” a small voice said behind him. “You killed these people.”

  Andor spun around and saw a little boy staring at him from the tall grass. There was no mistaking it now; it was his son. “Joffey?”

  “Why are you killing people?”

  “Joffey.” Andor could barely speak. His dead son was right there. “I’m avenging your death, son. You…died for no reason, and it wasn’t right. People have to pay.”

  “But, Daddy, I don’t want this.” Joffey watched his dad with tears in his eyes. “I’m scared of you. Please stop.”

  Andor’s heart broke at his son’s words. He shook his head and cried as well. “I can’t, son. I love you too much to let them get away with what they did to you.”

  “What they did to me, or what they did to you?”

  Andor looked at the carnage he created. Three bloody bodies surrounded him. He looked back at Joffey but saw nothing but empty grass. “It’s too late to stop, son.”

  Andor wanted to scream but trapped it in his throat. He retrieved the knife from the soldier’s chest and ran to the boat the three soldiers had used. He feared he was going insane, seeing his dead son.

  Chapter 10: Force of Nature

  Astrid appeared on the wrong cloud and looked around frantically. She’d tried teleporting straight to the home-cloud from the island but miscalculated. At least she’d managed to leave the island; that was progress. She concentrated and appeared on her father’s cloud, though when she got there she knew something was wrong. The cloud was yellow and sickly looking, if a cloud could be called so. It looked worse than before.

  She raced into the palace and called for her father and Josh. She teleported to the tower where she’d left them and found her father on the floor, with Josh cradling his head.

  Josh looked at her with tears in his eyes. “He doesn’t have much time left. It’s all my fault.”

  She ran over to them. Her father’s face was dry and cracked, his beard falling from his face. “Dear, sweet Astrid. I’m glad I got to see you one last time. I feared I wouldn’t.”

  She took his hand. “Dad, I’m here. You’ll be okay.”

  He chuckled. “That’s kind of you, but I’m afraid my time is near. Before I go into the nexus, I must tell you something. You must take over as the nature demon.”

  “What about Josh?”

  “He is not a proper nature demon. He was reborn, but not the way he should have been.” He pointed to a drawer across the room. “Inside you will find a rune. You must take this rune as you pass through the core of the earth. Once on the other side, you will be reborn as a proper nature demon and will be able to take my place.” He looked at Josh. “First, you must unlink Josh from the realm, or you will surely be leached the same as me.”

  “How do we unlink me?” Josh asked.

  “I do not know. But you must find out soon. The moment I’m
gone from this world, the weather will grow hostile and become even worse as more time passes. Without a proper demon in place to control the elements, the world will be devastated by nature itself.”

  “Can’t I just control the elements with my power?” Astrid asked.

  “They will be too much for you to handle, dear one. Only with the full power of the nature demon behind you will you have any hope of gaining control.”

  Astrid nodded as she began to cry. Josh’s tears spawned from guilt, hers from love. She truly loved Nalke. She loved her father.

  “Good-bye, darling,” Nalke said with his final breath.

  And then he was gone, turning to shimmering ash in Astrid’s and Josh’s hands.

  A second later, the lightning began.

  * * *

  Astrid and Josh ran outside, watching the devastating light show around them. The lightning was non-stop, the thunder deafening. Astrid wiped her tears away and examined the rune in her hand. It was the size of a cell phone and dark gray, with an infinity symbol carved in its center.

  “What do we do?” Josh yelled over the noise.

  “What did you learn in the nexus?”

  “They told me I had to give my life to something that also gives life, or something like that. It has something to do with me being a life-taker. I can only give my energy to something that’s the opposite of me.”

  Astrid shook her head. “I have no idea what that means, but I have to do something about this lightning. Look.” She pointed to the city below. Lightning struck the tallest buildings. The people in the streets ran for cover.

  “You can’t become a nature demon until I’m gone,” Josh yelled, grabbing her arm.

  “I have to. We’ll figure it out after I get back.”

  “Back from where?”

  She held up the rune. “Back from the core of the earth.” She smiled reassuringly. Then she jumped off the home-cloud, straight toward the ground. She hadn’t even taken a moment to think about what she was going to do; she just did it. She shot straight for the hard ground like a bullet, closing her eyes. She resisted the urge to fly back to safety.

  Clutching the rune painfully to her chest, she waited for the impact to come. It never did.

  She opened her eyes and saw she was still falling, though she was traveling through the earth. She was reminded of the few times she’d traveled through the ice to the giants’ realm using the ice lift.

  Astrid continued onward, soon passing crystals and fire. She didn’t feel the heat, but she knew she would never forget what she saw when she reached the core. The sight was magnificent.

  Soon, she was past it and traveling back toward the surface feet first. She kept looking up, toward the glowing core. She almost wished she could’ve stayed there for a while.

  The rune was warm in her hands. She looked at it and saw the infinity symbol glowing bright. She assumed that was a good sign.

  Some time later she shot out of the ground and reoriented herself, floating in midair. She didn’t take the time to figure out where she was (she figured she was on the other side of the world), but instead flew up into the chaotic clouds. With her newfound power, she waved her hands and quieted the lightning. The storm died down a little, the lightning becoming bottled up power waiting to explode.

  Astrid felt weak. Some of her control slipped but she managed to hold on.

  Josh had begun to leach off her.

  Chapter 11: Rapatha

  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.”

&nb
sp; “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.”

  Chapter 12: Back to the Island

  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.