by Jerry Hart
He stumbled over to her, and she took his arm to help him outside. The large cloud that made up the front yard seemed less solid than usual and Astrid wondered if they would fall straight through. She looked down and saw the island below them.
“Ready?” she asked Josh.
He nodded, too tired to speak.
They fell off the edge of the cloud.
* * *
They floated over the landscape, and Josh was startled by the amount of snow covering the island. He had never seen this much snow on Dargo before besides the valley above the giants’ kingdom.
Josh and Astrid couldn’t touch the ground now that they were nature demons (Josh still didn’t understand the logic behind that), but they could still interact with regular people.
“We’ll find Mom and Victor,” Astrid said. “Maybe one of them will let you possess them for a little while.”
Josh nodded again. He felt very sleepy, and by the sound of her voice, Astrid wasn’t doing too well either. They were passing the cemetery when Josh noticed someone inside a mausoleum at the top of a hill. The familiar figure stole the very little breath he had left.
“Astrid, look!” He pointed.
When Astrid saw it, she noticeably gasped.
* * *
Aneela rode her horse up the snow-covered hill, her guards surrounding her. Victor rode his hexl a few feet ahead of the group, gliding over cracks in the ground that hadn’t been there before. Aneela glanced around the island, taking note of Rapatha’s deteriorating health.
Rapatha. Aneela still couldn’t believe the island was alive, despite the fact she’d seen proof. Rapatha said she could sense things going on around the island, that she knew Dargo was back. He had nearly destroyed the outside world, as well as nearly killed everyone on the island, and though he died trapped inside Josh’s body, he was still a dangerous individual.
Aneela didn’t know what she would do when she caught Dargo. They’d already killed him by poisoning Josh’s body with hexl venom. They’d planned to administer the antidote once Dargo fled the body and vanished into the ether, but it hadn’t worked out that way.
If Dargo was walking around, Aneela couldn’t allow him to go back to his old ways.
And then there was Andor. All these problems felt like a physical weight upon Aneela, but she couldn’t give up. She wouldn’t fail her people or her home.
“Queen Aneela!” Victor called from ahead, pointing toward the cemetery.
Aneela wasn’t sure what to make of what she saw. There were two floating figures, and they appeared to be talking to someone inside Josh’s mausoleum.
“What am I seeing?” Rhys asked Aneela, leaning in from his horse.
“I think it’s Josh and Astrid, hovering a few feet off the ground and talking to a zombie.”
* * *
Andor walked down the hill of the neighborhood that once housed Rockne and his band of strange creatures. Rockne once had the community guarded by humans, as if the residents were more special than the other islanders. Andor had always hated this neighborhood and he took joy in walking among the once-restricted mini-mansions. After Rockne’s death, the community became open to all, but no one had ever come near the intimidating homes. They’d grown too used to staying away.
As far as Andor knew, he was the first non-resident to enter the community after Rockne’s death.
He laughed as he walked down the street. He’d seen the doctor, Shae, walk into the house that belonged to the old woman Champagne. He stayed hidden for a while to make sure none of the guards accompanying her noticed they were followed. Shae had Aneela’s baby with her, probably thinking him safer with her than with his mother.
Andor laughed again as he walked up to the house’s front window. A large guard paced the living room, a large sword in the scabbard on his back. Andor wasn’t worried; he’d already killed three other guards on the tiny island. He could take out one man, especially if he caught the guard by surprise.
Andor ran to the side of the house and climbed up the fireplace. Ever since he was a child, he’d been able to climb things with very little handholds. He dug his fingers into the bricks’ creases until he got to the roof, where he tried every window for an unlocked one.
He found such a window and snuck into the house, where the unsuspecting guard met his untimely end downstairs.
After Andor killed the guard, he searched the house for Shae and the baby. The house was completely empty, save for him and the dead guard. Andor couldn’t figure out where they could possibly be.
During his search, he found a large panic room. He looked inside, thinking perhaps Shae and the little prince were hiding out there. Empty. Andor yelled in frustration and leaned against a wall.
The panic room suddenly lit up.
When the light faded, he realized he was somewhere else. The room outside was darker and smaller.
“Parker,” a female voice called, “is something wrong?”
Andor stepped out of the panic room, where a window looked out into the street. He realized he was at a house at the end of the street, that the panic room transported him from Champagne’s house to this one.
He was greeted by a wonderful sight once he stepped out of the panic room. Shae and the baby were on the floor, the woman putting a fresh diaper on the other. The terrified look on Shae’s face was priceless.
Chapter 13: Speaking with Dargo
Josh floated there with Astrid, staring at the creepy dark figure hiding inside the mausoleum. The door was open, but the walking corpse refused to step outside. Josh knew it was his body—it was still wearing the red robe in which it had died—and he was tempted to fly closer. At the same time, he didn’t want to see how much he had decomposed.
The sound of horse hooves drew his attention to the bottom of the hill. Aneela and her entourage approached them, with Victor riding a large weed creature. Josh assumed this was the creature that provided the poison that killed his body.
“Josh?” Aneela called warily. “How? What?” She was clearly speechless. “I mean, Astrid told me you were back, but with everything going on, I didn’t…”
“I’m a nature demon now,” he replied. “So is Astrid.”
“Hey,” Astrid greeted them.
“Hello,” Aneela greeted back. Then she looked at the figure inside the mausoleum. “Hello, Dargonius.”
“Please,” his voice replied in a creepy groan, “call me Dargo.”
Josh shivered at the sound of that voice. It still sounded like his own, only rotten. He could barely see the whites of his eyes as they peered out at them.
“Hello, Josh.”
“Dargo.”
“Why am I walking around?” Dargo asked. “If I recall, you people poisoned me at a feast held in my honor.”
“Rapatha is injured,” Aneela said, getting off her horse and approaching the mausoleum. “A meteor struck her and now she’s dying.”
Rapatha? Josh recognized the name, but couldn’t remember where or when he’d heard it before.
“Rapatha?” Dargo paused for a moment. Finally, he said, “She’s on the island?”
“She is the island.”
Dargo laughed. “How is that possible?”
Thunder cracked, startling everyone.
“She was hiding from Rockne and her family,” Aneela said. “She went to someone who happened to have something that turned her into a rock. Unfortunately, she kept changing until she became a whole island.”
“Amazing. I knew Rapatha, long ago.” Josh thought Dargo sounded somewhat happy speaking of this Rapatha person. “I helped her get away from her family, away from Rockne.”
“How?” Astrid suddenly asked. Josh had forgotten she was there.
“I made a necklace for her. It suppressed her powers, gave her a mortal shell so she could walk on land. I didn’t know about the transformation.”
“There’s a necklace that can suppress the powers of a nature demon?”
“Indeed. It isn
’t a cure, mind you.”
“Josh, we can use that to suppress your powers,” Astrid said, excitement in her voice.
“What do you mean?” Aneela asked her.
“Now that Josh is a nature demon, he’s leaching my energy.”
“Nalke is dead,” Josh blurted out. He couldn’t stop himself. “I killed him by becoming a demon, and now I’m killing Astrid.”
No one said anything for a moment. Then Dargo said, “It may be in your best interest, Josh, to find the necklace.”
“Where is it?” he asked.
“I have no idea. If Rapatha was wearing it when she transformed, it may be somewhere on the island.”
“I can help with that,” Victor called from atop the hexl. “I’m quite good at finding things on this island.”
“You sure are,” Astrid said with a smile. Josh knew she and Victor had gone on a quest to retrieve the poison and antidote from the hexl in order to kill Dargo. “Unfortunately, I can’t go this time,” she added.
“You could if you possess someone,” Aneela said.
“Are you offering?”
Aneela laughed, but before she could reply, more thunder rumbled. The ground quaked a little as well.
“I should handle that,” Astrid said. “Josh, you and Victor should find the necklace. The sooner you find it, the better off we’ll both be.”
“Okay,” Josh said, still staring at Dargo. He stared back at Josh.
“Dargo,” Aneela called, “can we trust you won’t try any mischief?”
“I am powerless, I assure you.”
“Good.” Aneela turned her horse around, her guards following. “We should return to Rapatha. Dargo, do you know of any way to help her?”
“She needs to be healed.”
“Duh.” Josh laughed at the queen’s use of that word; he’d taught her that. “How do we heal her?”
“I don’t know. I would suggest giving her some kind of energy. I won’t know unless I see her.”
Aneela appeared uncomfortable with that suggestion. “If you behave, we will take you with us.”
“I will behave. I promise.”
To Victor, Aneela said, “Can he ride with you?”
“I suppose,” the dwarf replied reluctantly.
“I have to handle the weather,” Astrid said. “Can someone take Josh? He can’t touch the ground until he gets that necklace.”
“Why is that?” Josh asked. “I mean, ‘nature’ includes the earth, right?”
“We’ll discuss this later!” Aneela yelled. “We have very little time.”
“He can possess me,” Rhys said.
Josh was grateful to Aneela’s husband. Astrid guided him toward the large man. He and Rhys stared at each other, and Rhys smiled. Josh leaned forward until their foreheads touched. Josh felt like he was walking through a waterfall.
A moment later, he was staring out from atop a horse. He looked at Aneela, who looked back at him.
“Josh?” she asked.
“Yes,” he replied with Rhys’s voice. He then looked back to the mausoleum, where Dargo emerged and walked toward Victor and the hexl.
Josh could’ve gone the rest of his life without seeing his corpse shambling across the cemetery. His face had rotted a bit, and he looked like a walking skeleton. If Josh survived his predicament, he would have nightmares for the rest of his existence.
Chapter 14: Giving Back
Josh didn’t know what he was looking at when he entered the cavern. There were green and purple crystals everywhere, reminding him of some crazy garden. But the most remarkable thing was the green light set between a stalactite and stalagmite. He could swear he saw a woman’s silhouette in that light.
“That’s Rapatha,” Aneela told him. She stared at his face, a sad expression on hers. Josh knew she uncomfortable with the idea of him taking over her husband’s body.
How are you doing? Josh asked Rhys.
I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.
“Rhys says he’s fine,” Josh told Aneela, and was relieved to see her relax a little.
Dargo made his way through the crystal garden. Josh shivered at the sight; Dargo moved like a zombie from a horror movie. “Rapatha? Is that truly you?”
“Yes, Dargo.” The pleasant feminine voice echoed throughout the cavern.
“Remarkable.” Dargo turned to Victor and the hexl. “May I ask to be lifted up to her?”
“You may,” Victor replied in a gruff voice. He clearly didn’t like the idea of helping the man who killed Champagne, who tried to destroy the rest of the world.
“Victor, please,” Aneela said quietly.
Victor looked down at her from atop the hexl’s neck. Finally, he steered the giant weed with the flowery face toward Dargo, where the zombie climbed aboard. The hexl lifted up to the shining light of Rapatha.
“You really didn’t want to be a nature demon, did you?” Dargo asked with a laugh. “You went to great lengths to hide yourself.”
“I didn’t know I would be turned into an island. I didn’t know I would be turned into anything. I just thought I would be hidden from my family. And from Rockne.”
“Well, mission accomplished.” Dargo laughed again.
Josh watched the scene from below. As much as he hated Dargo, watching the conversation made him feel better than he had in a while. At least someone was happy.
“We must heal you,” Dargo told Rapatha. “Is there any way to do so?”
“Not that I’m aware of,” she replied.
Josh suddenly remembered where he’d heard of Rapatha before. The conversation with the dead nature demons slowly came back to him. One of them had mentioned a daughter named Rapatha, hadn’t it?
With that memory came another, but he couldn’t quite remember exactly what he’d been told. He put it out of his mind for now.
“Wait!” Rapatha said suddenly. “I gave some of my essence to the one who did this to me. His name is Wesonger, and he’s an incubus.”
That caught Josh’s attention. He listened intently.
“In exchange for his help, I gave him my life force and he kept it in a jar. Maybe that will help.”
“Where is this Wesonger fellow?” Dargo asked.
“In a town called Lacey. It was the last safe haven for creatures that wanted no part in the war between wizards and nature demons. It was so long ago, though, I don’t know if it even exists anymore.”
“It’s worth a shot, I think. Do you remember how to get there?”
“Not from here, no.” Rapatha said nothing for a moment. Then she said, “But Rockne may know.”
There were a few noticeable gasps. Josh looked around and saw Aneela and a few of her guards looking uneasy.
“Rockne is still buried in his grave,” Rapatha said. “Only a few people were brought back after I was wounded. I had no control over who was chosen. I cannot bring him back to ask unless some of the energy leaked out is returned.”
“Can’t the energy that is returned heal you?” Aneela asked.
“Only a little, but, to put it in terms Josh may appreciate, it would be like putting a bandage on a shark bite.”
Josh laughed. “Do you know me?” he asked.
“I’ve watched your exploits since you first came here. You seem interesting.”
“So the only true course of action would be to get your essence from Wesonger and return it to you,” Aneela said.
“I truly believe so.”
“Then that is what we shall do. Even if it means bringing Rockne back.” Aneela didn’t sound at all pleased with this plan.
“How do we bring him back, though?” Josh asked.
“I can return your energy to you,” Dargo said from Josh’s true lips.
The cavern grew quiet once again. Josh was impressed with the offer. Dargo was willing to return to the grave in order to help Rapatha.
“I would appreciate that, Dargo.”
Dargo turned and looked down at the others. “I don’t apologize
for what I did. I had my reasons, and if I could do it again, I would. I love Rapatha, and I once helped her when she was in need. I shall do so again. I do this, not to help you, but to help her.”
Aneela nodded. “Thank you, Dargo.”
He turned back to the glowing green light. “Take what you will of me.” He raised his arms.
Golden light slowly rose from Josh’s body and disappeared into Rapatha. Josh, from Rhys’s body, watched in wonder. After a moment, the golden energy vanished and the body collapsed. Victor barely managed to catch it in time. The hexl lowered to the ground and Josh was given the horrible sight of his dead body. He turned away.
“I’ll re-bury him—uh, I mean you,” Victor said quietly.
Josh simply nodded, still looking away.
“Rapatha,” Aneela called up. “Dargo told of a necklace that made you mortal. Do you know where it is?”
“Yes, I believe so. Why?”
“Josh needs it. He is now a nature demon, and he and Astrid are at war with each other, so to speak. Josh is leaching off her, and she may die if we don’t bind Josh’s power immediately.”
“I understand. The necklace is not far. If you journey through the cave behind me, you should find it.”
Josh looked at the mentioned cave on the far side of the cavern. It sounded easy enough.
“I should warn you,” Rapatha said next, “there is a race of creatures that treasure the necklace, and they may not give it up easily.”
“What kind of creatures?” Aneela asked. “I know of no race other than the giants that live belowground.”
“They are fairies. I encountered them early in my transformation. They are like lice, and I’ve never liked them.”
“Fine,” Aneela said with a sigh. “Victor, you dig up Rockne and bring him here. Josh and I will get the necklace.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Josh said, nudging Aneela lightly. She smiled, but it didn’t seem genuine.
“The sooner I get my husband back, the better,” she said in a tone Josh recognized. It was the way she’d first spoken to him, a know-it-all, authoritative sort of speech. It was one of the things Josh liked about her.