by D J DuMont
“Potentia!” Anjali called out. Willow recognized the spell immediately. Anjali had discussed it just this morning in their Practical Magic class, so it seemed rather ironic that the students were making actual use of it so soon. The spell converted magical energy into electrical power, and if a wizard was talented enough, the spell could generate enough electricity to power a lockdown room for days with just one flick of a magic ring. Anjali, of course, was powerful enough. Sometimes, Willow forgot just how formidable of a wizard Anjali was. Their professor was so down-to-earth, and often treated them as such equals, that it could be easy to feel like she was just another student of magic who happened to be a tad bit more advanced than they were.
But Anjali was more than just a “tad bit” more advanced. She was one of the strongest Dragon Heart Agents alive. She didn’t flaunt her power or insist on the high-profile assignments that many of the most talented wizards demanded. Instead, she remained humble about her abilities, and chose to use her prowess to instruct the next generation of wizards.
Willow watched in awe as the electricity Anjali had generated brought the small room they were in to life. Several lamps hanging from the ceiling instantly turned on, sending swaths of warm light across the room. Willow saw that the shapes that had looked like furniture were indeed couches and armchairs. Warm, cozy looking throws were draped across the couches, and next to the couches stood several bookshelves. Gleaming spines from dozens of books shone in the lamplight, and one of the shelves looked like it also held a stack of board games. On the other side of the room, a table and several chairs stood next to a small kitchen. A refrigerator and several cabinets stood against one wall, and just past the corner of that wall stood an oven and a sink. More counter space held a microwave, and a teakettle, which was already steaming. Anjali must have filled it with water when she first arrived, and now it was warming quickly thanks to the sudden burst of electricity.
“I’m so glad to see all of you are okay,” Anjali said, looking meaningfully into the eyes of each Dragon Heart student in turn. “When I realized that a Terraemotus spell was going off, I feared the worst.”
Willow squirmed uncomfortably, wanting to shout out that the Terraemotus quake had not been her. Even though Anjali hadn’t accused her of anything, she could feel the eyes of her fellow students burning into her. They all thought she was responsible, and no doubt they were wondering when Anjali was going to get around to blaming her.
But when Cara coughed and spoke, Willow was surprised to find that her questions had nothing to do with the earthquake. Perhaps Willow had sold Cara short, and was viewing all of her fellow students through a skeptical lens. Maybe Cara and Sylvie—especially Sylvie—weren’t as upset with her now as she had been assuming.
“What is this place?” Cara asked, her voice holding a hint of wonder.
Willow was glad Cara had asked the question. She wanted to know, too. They had entered some sort of secret room, and Willow could only assume it was a hideout or safe room of some sort. But she wanted to hear the details.
Before Anjali could answer, Locke snorted. “Isn’t it obvious? It’s a secret safe room on campus. Didn’t you hear the Transire spell?”
“I did hear it,” Cara said defensively. “But I’m not familiar with it. Not all of us spend every waking moment studying every random spell in existence. Some of us actually have lives.”
“Some of us actually take our responsibilities as Dragon Heart Agents seriously,” Locke retorted.
“Enough!” Anjali interrupted. “This isn’t the time for petty arguments or ill-advised displays of strength. This place is indeed a secret safe room. Most Dragon Heart Agency buildings have at least one room like this. The Dragon Heart Academy has several, but they are kept a secret even from students in an effort to avoid any leaks of their location. They are only accessible by a Transire spell, which is a difficult, dangerous spell to execute. My compliments to Agent Buckley here for getting you all safely through the magical portal that leads to this room.”
“Thank you,” Agent Buckley said, grinning. “I tried not to give them too crazy of a ride.”
“Wait a minute,” Sylvie piped up. “Are we in some sort of parallel world?”
“Sort of,” Anjali said. “The Transire spell creates a fourth dimension. Where most people would see just a normal Dragon Heart Classroom, this safe room hides just beneath the surface of ‘reality.’ It’s not easy to access, even if you do know it’s there. As I’ve already said, almost no one knows it’s here. Add that to the fact that the Dragon Heart Academy itself is protected by several magic shields and cloaking spells, and you, my young friends, are standing in one of the safest places on the planet. If anyone gets to you here, then the entire earth is probably doomed, anyway.”
“That’s great,” Locke said, not sounding at all like he thought it was great. “But what good does it do us to be hiding out in here if she’s in here with us, too.” He jabbed an accusatory finger in Willow’s direction. “She’s liable to set off a Terraemotus earthquake at any moment, and when she does, we’re stuck in here with her.”
“Enough, Locke,” Anjali said, her tone furious. As she spoke, she swiped her magic ring in his direction and sent a trail of hot fire shooting toward his feet. He jumped back, startled, to avoid its heat, and a few of the senior Agents in the room couldn’t hold back their snickers. Willow herself would have liked to snicker, but she didn’t want to draw any more attention to herself.
When the fire that Anjali had shot out had simmered out a moment later, she turned to look at Willow, her eyes full of sadness. “Willow did not cause this Terraemotus earthquake spell. I almost wish she had, for all of our sakes. A Dragon Heart student who accidentally sets off mental magic spells can be dealt with easily enough. But this earthquake? It was set off by an unknown individual. We have no idea who did it, or why. All we know is that they clearly intended to cause harm to you students.”
The room fell silent. When the teakettle started whistling a few moments later, one of the Agents quickly stepped over and turned it off. He didn’t bother pouring the water into the teapot that waited nearby. No one was interested in tea at the moment. Not when Anjali had just dropped such a shocking piece of news.
Locke, as usual, was the first to speak. Even he, however, seemed duly shocked. “That can’t be. How? The only ones capable of Terraemotus spells are…”
“Very advanced Dragon Heart Agents?” Anjali finished for him. “Yes, I know. It seems we have a traitor in our midst.”
Willow put her head in her hands, her stomach tightening into a nervous knot. She had suspected this the moment that she’d realized that she wasn’t the one causing the Terraemotus spell, so the news didn’t surprise her. It did, however, make her feel uneasy on a whole new level. Whoever was leaking information to Stein was interested in harming the Dragon Heart students. But why? Was it because of Willow’s father? Did Stein think that if Willow was in danger that it might be easier to get Sigmund to divulge Agency secrets, or use his powers against the Agency?
The other students gasped loudly when they heard the news. This was the first they’d heard of the traitor, and they were predictably shocked. They had many of the same questions that Willow had initially had when Anjali had given her this bit of news.
“But who would do such a thing?” Sylvie asked.
“What are they after?” Cara wanted to know.
“Hasn’t Agency leadership done lie detecting spells?” Locke demanded. And then, Willow saw his face change as understanding crossed it. He turned to look at her, his eyes accusing. “You knew! That’s why you were studying all those books on lie detection spells!”
Willow winced, and purposefully didn’t look in Anjali’s direction. She might not be in trouble for the Terraemotus spell, and thank goodness for that. But she was still going to have some explaining to do now that Anjali would realize that she’d been looking into lie detection spells. Willow could only hope that the urgency and d
anger that filled the current moment would be enough to distract Anjali for the time being. Thankfully, when Anjali started speaking, that seemed to be the case.
“Of course Agency leadership has done lie detecting spells,” Anjali said. “But nothing has been found. Whoever this traitor is, they’re good. That’s made even more obvious by the fact that they managed to get past our magical shields and do a Terraemotus spell. Since we’re dealing with someone on the inside who is out to get you students, we’ve decided to move you to this safe room for the time being. The four of you will remain in here until the senior Agents here have determined that the Dragon Heart Campus is secure.”
“How long is that going to take?” Cara asked, a note of panic filling her voice. “I don’t want to remain in here indefinitely. I have a social life outside of this…this…world of magic.”
Willow watched as Anjali turned to give Cara a sharp look. “Whatever social life you have outside of the Academy must take second place to your responsibilities here. You knew that when you agreed to join the Dragon Hearts. If this reality no longer suits you, let me know and we can strip you of your magic, wipe your memory, and send you over to Birch Point Academy to live a ‘normal’ life. Is that what you want?”
Cara hung her head. “No. Not at all.”
“Good.” Anjali let out a long, frustrated breath. “I know that being cooped up in a safe room isn’t ideal, but we will do our best to have you out of here as soon as possible. I can’t promise how soon that will be. I can only promise that we won’t leave you down here any longer than necessary.”
“What about our classes?” Sylvie asked. “If we’re stuck down here several days, we’re going to miss several days of classes.”
Anjali nodded. “I know. I’ll be coming here to teach you your magical classes. As for your regular academic classes from Birch Point, it will be a few days before classes there resume, anyway. One of the main classroom buildings suffered severe damage in the quake, so Headmaster Damon has cancelled classes for a few days so that a schedule can be worked out with new class times and room numbers in the buildings that weren’t damaged. Once Birch Point classes do resume, we’ll record videos of those classes for you to watch. And you’ll have plenty of time to do homework, all cooped up in here. It’s not ideal, I know. But it’s necessary.”
Thinking of Birch Pont made Willow think of Alexis, and she felt a fearful lump rising in her throat again. “Was everyone at Birch Point okay?” she asked, her voice trembling.
Anjali’s expression turned very serious. “So far, we’ve only had reports of minor injuries. However, I won’t sugarcoat things for you. There are still several students who have not been accounted for, so that could change. I know you’re worried about your fellow students over there, so I’ll keep you updated as best I can. I’ll be over there quite a bit over the next day or so. I’ll need to do some ‘damage control’ and explain away where this earthquake came from. I also need to have a look around and see if there are any clues that might lead us back to the traitor who did this.”
“We can help you!” Locke insisted. “We know the students and campus over at Birch Point quite well. If you let us help you with your search, you’ll probably find what you’re looking for much quicker.”
Anjali shook her head. “I can’t let you leave this safe room. The President has given orders to keep you ‘Fearless Four’ in here until the area around campus can be secured. He considers you an invaluable resource, and, to be honest, so do I.”
Willow had been so worried about being in trouble for the Terraemotus spell or for studying lie detection spells, that it hadn’t hit her until that moment what being stuck in the safe room would mean. She was going to be cooped up in this small room with Cara, who was annoying at best and a stereotypical mean girl at worst, and Locke, who could only be described as insufferable.
She could already see that tempers were going to flare on all sides. Even Sylvie, who tended to be as easygoing as they came, would likely be pushed to her breaking point. How long could they all endure down here before they were on the verge of harming each other? The search for whoever had set off the earthquake wasn’t going to be a quick one. If this person could resist lie detecting spells, then they were a strong, smart wizard. They had no doubt taken careful precautions to make sure that they weren’t going to be caught for the earthquake they’d set off. It could very well take the rest of the school year—or longer—to track them down.
As if reading her mind, Anjali looked at Willow with a sympathetic expression. “I know this isn’t going to be easy for all of you, but it’s necessary. And we don’t necessarily have to find the person who did this before we let you out of this room. We just need to make sure that they aren’t on campus anymore, and aren’t in danger of breaking their way back on campus. The senior Agents you see around you are only a fraction of the Agents that Headquarters will be sending over. This place is going to be crawling with Agents soon, and with the combined strength of so many Agents, it’s unlikely that any traitor is going to be able to break through our defenses.”
“As long as the traitor himself isn’t already in our midst,” Locke pointed out, looking suspiciously around.
Anjali shrugged. “You make a fair point, but I don’t think he—or she—is here. We have some evidence to suggest that whoever did this fled as soon as the earthquake stopped.”
“What evidence?” Sylvie asked.
“Another earthquake, far away from here. But you shouldn’t be worrying about it. You four should worry about your studies. Leave finding the traitor to us, and we’ll get you out of here as soon as we can. Some other senior Agents have been sent to your dorms to gather up your things for you, and they’ll be here shortly. If there’s anything else you need or want from the Birch Point Campus, just ask them and they’ll get it for you. I hope it goes without saying that none of you are to make any unauthorized attempts to leave the room.”
She gave them each a meaningful glance, and then nodded in satisfaction. She must have seen the resigned acceptance in all of their eyes, and without another word, she turned to leave.
As soon as Anjali was gone, Willow crossed the small room and flopped down onto the couch. She didn’t particularly feel like talking to anyone, and no one else in the room seemed interested in talking, either.
The whole situation stank. Willow thought of her books on lie detection spells, which she had carefully hidden in her dorm room. It was unlikely that the senior Agents would find them and bring them over, and she worried that if she asked for them specifically that they would tell Anjali. For the moment, Anjali had been too preoccupied with other things to worry about Willow’s extracurricular research project. But as the dust settled on the day’s events, Willow knew Anjali would be watching her closely. Besides, if Willow asked for the books, she’d have to reveal her hiding place in her dorm to the Agents. It wasn’t some huge secret, but still. Willow felt like she had so little privacy these days that the thought of revealing her one good hiding place made her stomach twist up in anxious knots.
With a sigh, she sank deeper in to the couch, and wished she knew how to cast a teleportation spell. She wanted to be anywhere but here.
But “here” was where she was likely to be for the foreseeable future. The trouble plaguing the Dragon Heart Agency was intensifying by the day, and Willow and her fellow students were the prime targets of that trouble.
So much for trying to enjoy a somewhat normal junior year. Things had gotten weird, and Willow had a feeling that they were only about to get weirder.
Chapter Twelve
“Fervefacio,” Cara said lazily, pointing her sapphire magic ring lazily at the tea kettle across the room. Within a few moments, the teakettle was whistling wildly, sending plumes of steam up in a steady stream.
“Glacio,” Cara said in a voice that sounded just as bored. The steam that had been rising instantly froze in the air, and the teakettle’s whistling stopped. Willow absentmindedly
admired the intricate, swirling design the ice made. Steam frozen in an instant was actually quite beautiful. And it looked slightly different every time. Willow would know, since this must have been at least the twentieth time in a row that Cara had frozen the steam.
“Fervefacio,” Cara said. The frozen steam instantly melted, splashing onto the counter. A moment later, it evaporated into steam again. Another moment after that, the teakettle was once again whistling, sending up fresh plumes of steam.
“Enough!” Locke roared suddenly. He crossed the room in three giant steps and swiped at the teakettle. It went clattering across the floor, spilling its hot water everywhere. In his anger, Locke had failed to realize that the metal teakettle was quite hot at the moment, and had burned his hand. He howled in pain, and started spewing curses at Cara.
She sighed tiredly, and raised her magic ring in his direction. “Medeor,” she said, her voice holding the same bored tone that it had when she’d been alternately heating and icing the water in the teakettle. Cara had a knack for medical magic, and the healing spell she’d spoken instantly wiped away the burn on Locke’s hand.
It didn’t, however, wipe away his anger.
“You can’t just sit here making a teakettle whistle on and off, on and off! The sound is maddening.”
“Sorry,” Cara said, not sounding sorry at all. “If it bothered you that much you should have just asked me to stop. Burning your hand was a little unnecessary.” She pointed her magic ring at the water that had spilled all over the floor where the teakettle had fallen.
“Fervefacio!” The water heated and evaporated in an instant. It made a small hissing sound as it did, and then all was quiet for the space of several heartbeats.