by Jerry Hart
She leaned back in her chair, studying me. “Really? Why now?”
“I’m just interested. He seems like a nice guy, and I’m having a hard time believing what you told me.”
“That’s how he works,” she said. “He earns your trust before twisting the knife.”
I waved that away. “Whatever. Can we talk?”
She looked at the rest of the room behind me. There was only one other customer left, and two other windows open. “Charlie, going on a break.”
“Going on a break,” the grumpy old co-worker repeated absently.
Aneela closed her window and met me by the entrance to the room. We went outside and walked along the cliff that lay just behind the palace. The waves didn’t come anywhere near us, luckily.
“What do you want to know?” she asked me.
“Why don’t you trust Rockne?”
“Because he’s a devil,” she replied casually.
“Okay.... Do you have any proof, or, you know, anything at all?”
She shook her head, like she was suffering a fool. “You just don’t know him. He put a spell around this whole island to keep outsiders away.”
“I know that,” I said.
“Did you know the spell kills the outsiders if they don’t leave immediately?”
“Yes. It happened a few days ago.”
Her eyes grew wide. “Really? We weren’t told anything about this. See? He’s keeping secrets from us.”
“Maybe your dad knows but didn’t tell you. Ever think of that?”
“My dad tells me everything; I’m next in line to inherit this island.”
I looked at the palace. “Then why do you work here? It seems like a normal job for normal people.”
“I’m normal,” she said, a little offended.
“Sorry. You know what I mean. It doesn’t seem like the job a princess would take.”
“That’s part of the reason I like it.”
“Please don’t tell me it keeps you grounded—“
“It keeps me grounded,” she said at almost the same time I’d started my sentence. We looked at each other and then laughed.
“Back to Rockne,” I said. “Why do you hate him so much?”
“I just get a bad feeling when I’m around him. My mother did too before she died.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said, because I didn’t know what to say. I’ve heard most people who’ve lost someone don’t like to hear “I’m sorry.”
“Thanks,” Aneela said. She sounded genuine. “My suspicions got stronger after she died.”
“Why?”
“Because I think Rockne killed her.”
I had to take a moment to process this. “What makes you think that?”
“She was investigating him. She didn’t trust him or that Village. She didn’t like the fact he’d brought trouble with him and locked it away on some part of her island.”
“Do you know why he created the Village?” I asked. I wasn’t sure I would tell her if she didn’t.
“Yes. He’s hiding from some demon named Nalke.”
“There you go, then. Why would a demon hide from another demon.”
“I didn’t call Rockne a demon, I called him a devil.”
“What’s the difference?”
“I think of demons as some mindless drones, whereas devils are cunning.”
“Okay....”
“Don’t patronize me,” she said, suddenly angry. “You haven’t known him as long as we have. He’s up to something. I think he wants to replace my father as ruler of Dargo.”
“You have nothing to base that on but your feelings.”
She shook her head, fool-suffering again. “Do you ever ask yourself why he would hire humans to guard an entire village full of creatures like himself?”
“A few times, yes.”
“If the entire island decided to rebel and storm the place, do you think you could stop them?”
“No.”
“Then why are you here? Think about that.”
She turned to leave, but I stopped her. “Do you know why I was hired?”
“No, but I doubt it’s to do the job you think.”
Suddenly, a flock of birds flew at her and she lost her footing and slipped over the edge of the cliff. I caught her hand just before she could fall to her death. When I pulled her up, I noticed my nose was bleeding again.
She wiped the blood away. “Did I hit you?” she asked, breathless.
“No. My nose bleeds when I’m really scared. I think it’s the reason my mom always babied me when I lived with her.”
“I hope you don’t get scared often. Otherwise, you’ll die from blood loss.” She walked back toward the palace, grinning.
Chapter 17: Estevan Learns Stuff
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:
&
nbsp; “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.
Chapter 18: I Do Some Digging
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—u
s 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.”
