by D J DuMont
A split-second before Willow herself realized what was happening, Locke yelled out, “He’s run out of magic power! His gun is useless!”
Stein roared in anger and turned to try to flee. As he whirled around, though, Willow saw Cara give him a sharp jab in the ribs with her elbow. The punch had been quite unexpected, and Stein’s gut reaction was to howl in pain and loosen his grip on Cara. This must have been exactly what Cara intended. She took advantage of the moment and pushed herself completely free from Stein.
Of course, this meant that she immediately started falling toward the ground. But Willow and Cayenne were still hovering below where Stein had been, and Cayenne deftly swooped to the left to break Cara’s fall. Cara landed on Cayenne’s back behind Willow and let out a loud “oof” sound. Willow crawled over, reaching out a hand for Cara to grab on to and hold herself steady. Tears were streaming down Cara’s face, and her hands were shaking, but otherwise she seemed alright.
“Cara, you’re safe now,” Willow said in a soothing tone. “Don’t worry. Stein’s magic gun ran out of power. He’s helpless against us now.”
Cara only sobbed harder at Willow’s words. Not knowing what to do, Willow pulled her into a hug. Cara didn’t resist, and cried against Willow’s shoulder. Cayenne hovered in the air, and looked back at Willow to let out a low whine. The dragon wanted to know what she should do next.
Willow looked around as Cara cried. After his gun ran out, Stein had taken off as fast as he could, and Locke and Sylvie had followed. Willow could still see them in the distance, and she figured the best thing to do was follow them.
“Cayenne, chase them down,” she called out. Cayenne roared, and started flying forward. Willow smiled. Cayenne did not like to sit still, and was happy to have a job to do, even if that job was only to chase down the other Dragon Heart students.
Cara pulled back then, still trembling as she wiped at her eyes. “What…what happened to Nutmeg?” she asked.
Willow shook her head sadly. “I don’t know. The last I saw of her, she was falling toward the earth.”
“Wouldn’t the magic shield have stopped her, like it did me?”
“I’m not sure. I think dragons might be able to go back through it.”
Cara choked back another sob. “If she doesn’t make it I’ll never forgive myself.”
“You can’t blame yourself, Cara. Nutmeg is a dragon. She knows that when she goes on a mission that it will dangerous, and she chooses to take that risk. No one is forcing these dragons to do anything. They choose to work with us. Besides, let’s not jump to conclusions. Nutmeg might be okay. She probably had to land because she was weak from being hit, but she probably just needed to rest.”
“I hope so,” Cara sniffed.
Willow gave Cara’s shoulder a friendly squeeze, then turned to look at whether Cayenne was getting any closer to Locke and Sylvie. To her surprise, the moment she looked up she saw Stein diving downward. Locke and Sylvie followed him on their dragons, quickly disappearing below the tree line.
“What just happened?” Cara asked. Apparently, she had seen it too.
“I don’t know. Stein is landing somewhere, I guess. But that doesn’t make much sense. He’s safer in the air, trying to outfly the dragons. Unless his jetpack ran out of fuel.”
Cayenne flew even faster. Willow almost laughed at the sudden burst of speed. Cayenne hated to be left out of anything, and no doubt she was feeling a little left out right now. As they got closer to the spot where Stein had disappeared, Willow saw that there was a large, circular clearing in the middle of the trees here. In the clearing, Locke and Sylvie had landed with their dragons. They were pointing at something and having an animated conversation about it, but Willow couldn’t see what they were pointing at. She strained her eyes and ears, trying to see or hear what their conversation was all about. Stein had disappeared, although Willow had no idea where he’d gone. There didn’t seem to be anywhere to hide here. It was all just grass and trees. It wasn’t until Cayenne landed that Willow could finally understand what her friends were saying.
“It’s gotta be a secret password.”
“No, it was opened by someone on the inside, I swear it. I saw a hand in there.”
Locke and Sylvie were so intense in their arguments that it took a few seconds for them to notice Willow and Cara.
“Cara!” Sylvie shrieked. “You’re alright! You are alright, aren’t you? I can’t believe Stein captured you and then you got away like that.”
“I’m fine,” Cara said, her voice sounding a little less shaky than it had ten minutes ago. “Stein didn’t hurt me, unless you count the bruises I’m sure to have on my arms from where he was gripping me so tightly. He was using a good deal of his magic power in that gun to restrain me from using my own magic power, but that didn’t stop him from physically holding onto me as tightly as he could as well. He’s awful.”
“What’s going on here?” Willow interrupted impatiently. “Where’s Stein?” She didn’t want to downplay what Cara had been through, but they would have plenty of time later to hear the details of that. Right now, the most important thing was to capture Stein.
“He disappeared,” Sylvie said.
“Disappeared?”
“Yeah, he flew downward toward this clearing, a hole opened in the ground, and then, poof! He was gone.” Sylvie shook her head in bewilderment. Willow looked around at the ground. It looked like a normal, grassy meadow. There was nothing here that looked like a hole.
“It’s a secret tunnel of some sort, obviously,” Locke said in a weary tone. “But I don’t know how to make it open. It probably doesn’t matter anymore, anyway. That tunnel was an escape route, I guarantee it. He’s long gone by now.”
Willow slid off of Cayenne’s back and went to inspect the spot on the ground where Locke and Sylvie said Stein had disappeared. It looked exactly the same as the rest of the ground. The grass was thick, with no lines or breaks. Whoever had designed the tunnel had done a good job. Willow kicked at a clump of grass in frustration. “We were so close to catching him!”
“I know,” Sylvie said, sounding dejected as well. “But at least we’re all okay. And we should have some good photos of Stein using that magic gun. That’s what we were really after, anyway.”
Willow nodded. “True. But it would have been nice to capture Stein.”
“It would also be nice if everyone remembered that we are not all okay,” Cara said. “Nutmeg is missing, and possibly wounded. Or worse…” Cara’s voice trailed off into a strange squeaking noise as she attempted to suppress a sob.
“We’ll find Nutmeg, I promise,” Willow said. And they would. She would help Cara track the dragon down if it took her the rest of the year. She just hoped they would find the dragon alive.
Cara opened her mouth to say something else, but she was so emotional that she was having trouble talking. Before she could say anything, Locke blurted out. “Uh-oh. Incoming.”
Willow’s heart instantly started pounding as she followed Locke’s gaze up to the sky. A cloud of black could be seen in the distance, and she strained to see what it was. Were more Dark Sparks coming after them? Had Stein recharged his magic gun and returned?
But no, Willow realized a few moments later that the incoming cloud of black was formed by dark-colored dragons. A group of Dragon Heart Agents was riding toward them at top speed. Willow had never felt so relieved in her life. They would be safe, now. No Dark Sparks would try to mess with them if there was a crowd of Dragon Heart Agents this large protecting them.
But in the next moment, Willow’s relief turned to dread. If the Dragon Heart Agents were out here, did that mean that Anjali had discovered that the students were all missing, and sent a group of Agents to rescue them?
“We are in so much trouble,” Locke said. Apparently, he’d had the same thoughts as Willow.
“How did they find us?” Sylvie asked.
“Our uniforms,” Locke said. “After Willow’s dad went m
issing, they started installing tracking chips in all Dragon Heart uniforms. If an Agent goes missing, they can be tracked down. Assuming, of course, the chip isn’t destroyed, or the Agent isn’t forced to change clothes by their captors. It’s not a perfect system, but it’s better than nothing.”
“I had no idea,” Willow said.
“Yeah, it’s a new technology. I don’t think they made a big announcement about it because they want to make sure all the kinks are worked out before they start touting it as a security feature on our uniforms. But my parents are both Dragon Heart Agents and they were part of the task force that came up with the idea.”
Locke’s chest puffed out with pride, as it usually did when he was talking about his parents. Willow looked away. She tried to act like she was intensely interested in the Dragon Heart Agents flying toward them, but really, she was trying to hide her anger. She felt like she should have been told about the chips in the uniform, if they had been added as a safety feature after her father was lost. But the Dragon Heart Agency didn’t seem interested in admitting to her that there was anything more they could have done to have helped her father. They tried to act like they had done the best they could, but Willow knew better. The Agency needed to revamp its security methods, and it knew that.
And the fact that Locke knew about the chips when she didn’t felt like a double insult to Willow. Thanks to his parents, who seemed to have their fingers in everything over at the Dragon Heart Agency, Locke always knew about everything at the Agency first. He acted like a total know-it-all because of this, which irritated Willow to no end. He might have a lot of Dragon Heart Agents in his family line, but Willow had the best Dragon Heart Agent. Her father was the best. Everyone said so.
So why didn’t the Agency work harder to bring him back?
For the first time, Willow began to feel a bit of doubt. Had her father really been as great as everyone said? Or was that just a story they’d made up to make her feel better about the fact that he’d been lost? Willow felt sick to her stomach. Some days, she didn’t know what was real and what was just a story.
She didn’t have much time to ponder the question, though. The squadron of Dragon Heart Agents had arrived, and were landing all around them in the meadow. A dozen dragons surrounded the students’ dragons, and Willow felt herself cowering a bit. By the looks on the Agents’ faces, it was clear that Willow and her friends were in big trouble. A big, burly Agent stepped forward. He looked like he was in charge, and judging from the number of badges on his uniform, he had accomplished quite a bit during his time in the Agency.
“All of you are to head back to the Dragon Heart Campus,” the burly man said. “We’ve been sent to escort you and keep you out of trouble. Although you’re going to be in quite a bit of trouble anyway, once you’re back on campus. Anjali is not happy.”
The burly man laughed, like the fact that Anjali was angry at them was the funniest thing in the world. Willow chewed her lower lip to keep from making some sharp retort, but Locke was not going to hold his tongue.
“For your information, sir, we’ve been tracking down Stein Viker, and we have some information I think the Agency is going to be very interested in hearing.”
Willow would have rolled her eyes, if not for the fact that she was worried about getting in even more trouble than she already was. Locke had his chest puffed out in pride as he always did when he thought he had inside information, but Willow knew it wasn’t likely that the burly Agent in front of them was going to be impressed by Locke. The Agent laughed, and waved Locke away. But Locke either didn’t understand the gesture or chose not to. He stood his ground and pointed to the spot where Stein had disappeared.
“There’s a secret tunnel down there, right under our feet. Stein disappeared into it. I don’t know how it opens or where it leads to, but it’s there. I think the Agency should investigate.”
The Agent laughed. “A secret tunnel, eh? You’re crazy if you think making up stories like that is going to get you off the hook. The four of you have committed some major conduct violations, and you’re going to have to answer for them. You, especially.” The Agent pointed at Willow, who cringed as though the man’s gaze alone could hurt her. She looked over at Sylvie, whose face had gone completely pale. Sylvie hated to be in trouble, so this whole situation was probably making her panic. Locke’s face was the opposite of Sylvie’s. It was red with rage. Part of Willow wanted to leave him on his own to suffer the Agent’s derision. After all, pride comes before a fall, and Locke had far too much pride in him.
But Willow realized that this was much bigger than just her dislike for Locke. This was about helping her father, and bringing an end to the torment that Stein Viker was causing. If there was anything Willow could do to help find that awful villain, it was her responsibility to do it. Besides, she was the Captain of this group of students. Whether she liked it or not, it was her responsibility to step up to the plate and lead. And so, she cleared her throat, and with as much authority in her voice as she could muster, Willow yelled out to the Agent.
“Locke is telling the truth.”
The Agent paused and looked at Willow with narrowed, amused eyes. “Oh, look. The little rebel thinks she can get away with anything. Cracking magic shields, setting off earthquakes, and even making up stories about secret tunnels.”
“I’m not making up stories,” Willow insisted. “It’s true. And if you care about the safety of the Dragon Heart Agents and the future of the Agency, then you’ll listen to us.”
The Agent rolled his eyes, but before he could make another rude comment to Willow, another Agent spoke up. “I think she’s right. If they’re saying there’s a secret tunnel, the least we can do is check it out. If we don’t find anything, we’ve only wasted a bit of time. But if Stein does have a secret tunnel here and we find it, that could be a game changer. We’ve been trying to track down his hideouts for ages. We can’t give up the chance to find one.”
The burly Agent in charge rolled his eyes at the second Agent. “Fine, Tom. If you’re that interested in searching for the tunnel, you can stay behind with a couple Agents and look around. But I’m escorting these kids back to the Dragon Heart Campus right away.”
The Agent named Tom seemed happy with this. “Works for me.”
The next thing Willow knew, she, Cara, Sylvie and Locke were all being ordered to start flying. Willow would have liked the chance to talk to Tom and see what his plan was for finding the secret tunnel, but she didn’t want to tick off the first Agent and have him change his mind about letting Tom stay. Reluctantly, she gave Cayenne a nudge so that her dragon would begin flying.
The flight back to the Dragon Heart Campus was long and uneventful. The sun was rising high in the early afternoon sky as the group approached the magic shield. The lead Agent shouted out some sort of password or magic spell, and a wide opening in the shield suddenly appeared. The whole crew of dragons, Agents, and students flew through and circled down to land in front of the dragon stables, where this whole strange mission had begun less than twelve hours ago.
Only this time, the dragon stables were not deserted. Anjali and Sam both stood by the stable’s door, and the looks on their faces said they would have been happy to expel all four students right then and there. Perhaps it was a good thing that no one could be expelled without first having a hearing in front of Dragon Heart leadership.
“All of you students! Go with those Agents to the holding room. I need to talk to Jim,” Anjali shouted out. Apparently, the big burly Agent in charge was named Jim.
“Anjali,” Willow said, trying to use as repentant of a tone as possible. “I know you’re angry, but—”
“No talking!” Anjali interrupted her. “Go to the holding room and pray that my anger has cooled a bit by the time it’s time for me to come get you.”
Willow didn’t dare attempt to say anything else. Anjali’s tone of voice left no doubt that this was not the time to argue. Wordlessly, Willow and the others fo
llowed the Agents to the holding room. Willow wasn’t even sure what the holding room was, but she had a feeling that being in there was not a good thing.
All she could do for the moment was wait for Anjali to calm down enough to give Willow and her friends a chance to explain—and hope that the explanation would be good enough. Otherwise, Willow and her friends were looking at certain expulsion from the Dragon Heart Academy of Magic.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The holding room turned out to be a large, windowless room on the very top floor of the Dragon Heart’s main building. The Dragon Heart Agents threw the students in there with great relish, making comments about how it served them right, and that kids these days didn’t know their place.
The door slammed shut behind them, and Willow heard a lock clicking. The room was lit by one small light bulb, and it suddenly felt like nighttime in the dim room, even though Willow knew that it was a bright, sunshiny day outside. It seemed almost unfair that the clouds had cleared just as Willow and her friends were finishing their long night of trying to help the Dragon Heart Agency. There was no way to enjoy the sunshine in here. There was no way to enjoy anything in here. They couldn’t even brighten the room with light from their magic rings, because the Dragon Heart Agents had confiscated all of the students’ rings.
The room had a small bathroom attached to it, but a quick check revealed that the bathroom had no window either. In fact, the bathroom didn’t even have a light.
“I guess we have to pee in the dark,” Sylvie said as she peered into the bathroom after Willow. The rest of the holding room was sparsely furnished—a rustic wooden table with two chairs, an old, overstuffed couch, and randomly, a footstool. Locke sat down on the footstool and let out a long sigh.
“Well, that didn’t go exactly as planned,” he said.
Willow shrugged. “At least we’re all alive and safely back on campus. How bad can things get from here?”
Sylvie groaned. “Don’t ask. We could all get expelled and have to have our memories wiped. That sounds pretty bad to me.”