Read Online Tales from Dargo Island: The Complete Trilogy by Jerry Hart - Free Book Online Page B

the island?
    A tremor brought me back
from my dark thoughts. I looked at the monitors, wondering if Cormac was
leaving. I did see a giant, but it wasn ’ t coming from the Village; it was coming from the
mountains.
    It was a lot bigger than
Cormac, at least eleven feet tall or more.
    I stepped out of the
gatehouse and watched it approach. This one wasn ’ t as normal-looking as Cormac, who could pass for a really
tall teen. This one had dry, cracked skin, a large head and arms so long the
hands dragged against the ground.
    And it was wearing only a
loin cloth.
    “ Can I help you? ” I asked him.
    The giant stopped suddenly
and looked down at me. It grumbled something I couldn ’ t understand.
    “ I ’ m sorry? ”
    The giant repeated. I
understood it even less than last time. This made the giant mad. I tried to
calm it down, but that only made it worse. I held up my hands, trying to halt
it as it walked toward the gate again.
    “ Stop! ” I yelled.
    I barely got out of the way
in time as the giant tried to step on me. I jumped into the gatehouse, slid the
door closed and grabbed the phone to call Ernie.
    The giant ’ s foot crashed through the
ceiling and crushed the desk. The giant pulled its foot from the hole and
kicked the gate arms as it strolled into the Village. I pulled out my cell
phone and called Ernie. He was there five minutes later.
    The residents were awake
now. Cormac and the giant walked up the hill shortly after Ernie arrived. The
giant was pulling Cormac by his ear.
    “ Oh, boy, ” Ernie whispered. “ It ’ s Cormac ’ s dad. He ’ s never come into the
Village before. ”
    “ Why is he so mad? ” I asked.
    “ I have no idea. ”
    The ground trembled and the
windows rattled as the giants left.
    “Rewan ! ” Ernie called to Cormac ’ s dad. “ Is there a problem I can
help with? ”
    The giant stopped, turned
and spoke in that language again. Ernie nodded.
    “ I ’ m sorry to hear that, ” Ernie said. “ I ’ m confident Cormac meant no
harm. Aneela can be troublesome sometimes, but no one takes her seriously. ”
    Rewan said something else.
    “ Oh, I ’ m sure that ’ s not true. Your son is more
responsible than that. ”
    Rewan sighed and continued
dragging his son away.
    “ What happened? ” I asked.
    Ernie sighed as well. “Rewan claims his son is getting
involved in things he shouldn ’ t. ”
    “ What did he say about
Aneela? ”
    “ Have you met her? ”
    I nodded.
    “ Well, apparently, Cormac has
been seen talking to her, and she ’ s a little...loopy. Rumor has it she ’ s trying to get Rockne
thrown off the island. ”
    For some reason, that
shocked me. “ I
know she doesn ’ t
like him, but throwing him off the island? And what does Cormac have to do with
that? ”
    “ He ’ s Aneela ’ s spy. Allegedly. ”
    “ Then why does Rockne still
let him come in? ”
    “ Because he doesn ’ t believe the rumors. And
Astrid adores Cormac. ”
    “ And Rockne adores Astrid. ”
    “ You got it. ” Ernie winked.
    “ Do you think it ’ s possible for Rockne to get
kicked off the island? ” I asked.
    “ Not a chance. He ’ s been here so long, and he ’ s won the favor of the
majority of the island natives. Booting him off would go against the popular
vote. And... ”
    “ And I would guess a lot of
people would be afraid to anger him, considering what he ’ s capable of? ” I guessed.
    Ernie looked uneasy. “ I suppose that ’ s possible. Well, I think
the rest of your night should be easy. I ’ m going to head back home. Call if there ’ s more trouble. ”
    I watched Ernie leave,
thinking over everything he told me. Why did Aneela hate Rockne so much? I just
couldn ’ t see
it. I had to talk to her.

Chapter
16: A Princess Suffers a Fool
     
     
    On my next day off I
traveled to Dargo Plaza, thanks to Helen, who drove me there in her car. I
couldn ’ t
imagine riding through the waves on a cart. She dropped me off at the palace
and chose to do