by D J DuMont
Locke glared at Cara, his face nearly purple with rage. “I can’t believe I’m stuck in here with all of you dimwits, especially you!”
He pointed accusingly at Cara, as though he found her very existence offensive. Willow’s eyes widened in surprise. Usually, Locke got along better with Cara than with any of the other Dragon Heart students. But right now, he was so on edge that he was snapping at anything that moved.
“Guys, we need to all just stay calm,” Sylvie said in a soothing tone. “This isn’t a fun situation, but we’ll be out of here sooner or later. Biting off each other’s heads in the meantime isn’t going to help things.”
Sylvie’s words had been directed at everyone, but they had really been intended for Locke. He knew it, and he turned to direct his rage at her.
“Why you—”
Thankfully, he never got to finish his sentence. A purple, swirling glow was starting near the door, indicating that one of the senior Agents was entering the safe room. Locke grunted in annoyance and went to sit at the kitchen table in a huff. He knew better than to yell at one of his fellow students when the senior Agents were around. The Dragon Heart Agency expected all of its Agents, even its students, to always act with a spirit of teamwork. Willow nearly laughed out loud at the thought.
The four of them in this room felt like anything but a team right now.
They’d been trapped in here for seven days, and it had only taken about half a day for Locke to start stirring up trouble. Willow knew that a lot of his anxiety wasn’t due to anything any of them were doing. He was worried, despite the fact that Anjali came once a day to work through their lessons with them, that being stuck in the safe room was going to cause him to fall behind in his magical education. If Willow had to hear him rant one more time about how he was missing out on the quality education he deserved, she was going to throw that teakettle at him, no matter how hot it was.
She looked over at the swirling purple, which was growing stronger by the moment. For the first few days, she’d grown excited anytime she saw that swirling purple. She’d hoped that it meant that someone was coming to finally let them out of the safe room, or at least that someone was coming to give them news about the Birch Point students. But so far, Willow hadn’t heard any news about Birch Point, and she was still stuck in this room. It was maddening, and she’d stopped hoping for anything from the Agents who drifted in and out of the room, seemingly for no other purpose than to spy on the students and make sure they weren’t killing each other.
Fair enough, though, Willow thought. This wasn’t the first time that an Agent had arrived just in time to stop Locke in the middle of an angry tirade. Willow was beginning to wonder if there were security cameras in the room, even though Anjali had said there weren’t.
As the swirling purple stopped, Willow glanced up at the entering Agent with little interest. It didn’t even look like he’d brought any new food with him. Often, the Agents brought pizza, chips, cookies, or other treats to help cheer up the students. This Agent’s hands were empty, but that didn’t stop him from grinning like a fool.
Does he think we’re so bored that just the sight of him is amusing for us?
“Pack up!”
Willow raised an eyebrow as the Agent’s unexpected order reverberated across the small room. “Pack up?”
He nodded. “You heard me. Pack up. You’re all leaving this room today, and it will be completely cleaned out after you leave, so make sure you don’t forget anything. A few of my colleagues will be arriving in a few minutes to help you with the journey through the portal. As soon as the four of you have your things together, we’ll go.”
Willow stared at him for a moment, hardly believing it was true. Then, she let out a whoop. “Finally!”
She ran to throw all of her things in her duffel bag, as did the others. She had so many questions about whether Alexis was alright, whether the traitor had been found, and whether there was any new information on her father’s whereabouts. Maybe, just maybe, some of those questions would be answered once she was finally allowed back on the other side of the safe room’s portal.
The other students were just as excited as Willow to get out of their cramped residence, and within ten minutes, everyone was ready. Willow didn’t wince or pull back this time as a senior Agent gripped her arm tightly to help her through the portal and back to the “normal” Dragon Heart campus. She smiled as the blast of icy air hit her, and relaxed as she began to spin toward the ever-brighter purple light.
When she made it to the other side of the portal, she could have wept with happiness. If it hadn’t been for the fact that she didn’t want to look ridiculous in front of so many senior Agents, Willow would have knelt down and kissed the ground right there. She settled for glancing over at Sylvie and grinning. Sylvie grinned back, looking just as elated as Willow felt.
The Agents were no longer smiling, however. They suddenly looked very serious as they pointed the students toward the main conference room, which was just down the hallway.
“Anjali would like to speak with you,” one of them said gruffly. “We promised her that we’d make sure you all headed directly to see her as soon as you exited the portal.”
Willow and the others exchanged glances, but no one looked too worried. If they’d been let out of the safe room, then things couldn’t be too bad, could they?
“I hope they let us see our dragons,” Willow whispered to Sylvie as they started walking toward the conference room. “I miss Cayenne like crazy.”
“I know!” Sylvie whispered back. “Saffron must think I’ve abandoned her!”
Willow’s heart soared at the thought of seeing her dragon once again. A week was too long to go without a chance to nuzzle against that giant beast’s face. She wondered if she could convince Sam to spare a coconut, so she could take Cayenne a treat.
The smile on Willow’s face froze, however, when she walked into the conference room and saw the serious look on Anjali’s face.
Something was wrong.
Suddenly, Willow wasn’t so sure that she was about to hear good news. With a growing sense of dread, she slipped silently into a seat at one of the long metal tables that filled the room.
Anjali gave them a tight smile as they sat down, and they all did their best to smile back at her. But Willow’s smile felt forced. Her heart had started pounding wildly again, the way it always did when she worried that she was about to hear bad news about her father. She hoped with every fiber of her being that whatever was bothering Anjali didn’t have anything to do with her father.
Who was she kidding, though? All of this had to do with her father. Until her dad was found and rescued, Stein would continue using him to fuel his magical projection abilities in an attempt to take down the Dragon Heart Agency. Willow felt anger burning in her chest at the thought. She wished the Agency would do more to find her father. Why did they move so slowly every time they had a clue about his whereabouts?
“I trust you all are well,” Anjali said in a loud voice, calling the room to attention. Willow and the others nodded, and Anjali nodded back at them. “I’m sorry you had to be cooped up in that room for a week. I know it wasn’t easy, but you all made it through without killing each other, so you should be very proud.”
Anjali chuckled slightly, and Willow relaxed. She didn’t necessarily think that Anjali’s joke was very funny, but it made her feel better to hear at least a small bit of laughter. That had to mean the news wasn’t all bad, didn’t it?
“I know you’re all eager for an update, so I’ll get straight to the point,” Anjali continued. “We have not found the traitor yet. However, we’re convinced that whoever it is did not remain on the Dragon Heart or Birch Point campuses. We’ve had several senior Agents do sweeps of the entire campuses, looking for any indications of continuing foul play, and they’ve found nothing. Additionally, there was another Terraemotus attack yesterday near a Dragon Heart outpost in Europe. We are confident that whoever did the Terrae
motus attack here also did it there, meaning they’ve moved on. It just doesn’t make sense that two different Agents are traitors. Having one traitor is unbelievable enough. But two? Completely unlikely.”
Willow squirmed in her chair, wishing that Anjali would say something about her father or about the Birch Point students. She couldn’t stop worrying about Alexis, and it went without saying that she was terrified of what the news on her father might be. But as Anjali continued speaking, she didn’t have much to say about either of those subjects.
“At this time, we feel it is safe for you students to move about the Dragon Heart Campus at will. However, we will not be allowing you back to the Birch Point Campus.”
Cara gasped, and Willow shot a glance over at her. Cara’s face had drained of color, and her eyes had filled with anger. Despite the difficulty of maintaining close friendships with students who weren’t wizards, Cara had built up a thriving social life in Birch Point. She had made no secret of the fact that she wasn’t happy with that social life being interrupted by being holed up in the safe room, and now, she was being told that she was indefinitely cut off from Birch Point.
Willow herself felt a lump of emotion in her throat. She wasn’t quite sure what that emotion was. Anger? Frustration? Panic?
All she knew was that her hopes of having anything resembling a normal school year had been completely obliterated.
Even Locke looked upset. He scowled in Anjali’s direction, and crossed his arms as he spoke. “And how long are we going to be prisoners here?”
“You’re not prisoners,” Anjali said, a hint of irritation in her voice. “You’re valuable assets that the Agency wants to protect.”
“My parents are going to get an earful about this,” Locke said in an even angrier tone. His face was turning red as he spoke, and Willow found herself slightly amazed at how handsome he was even when he was furious. “Now that I can contact them again, I’m going to tell them that I don’t appreciate being cooped up when I should be getting a good magical education. You know who my parents are! They’re very important people in the Dragon Heart Agency. If I complain to them, they’ll make sure that I’m given more freedom.”
Anjali set her lips in a tight line. “Locke, the orders to keep you on the Dragon Heart campus are not punishment. They’re for your own safety. Not only that, but these orders have been approved by the President himself. Your parents are very important people, yes, and we appreciate their service to the Agency. But they aren’t going to be able to change things. Honestly, I don’t see why they’d want to. We’re trying to keep you safe, and your magical education isn’t going to suffer. I’ll continue to teach as normal, and you’ll get videos of classes from Birch Point.”
“I’m still going to complain,” Locke huffed. “My parents have more influence than you think.”
Sylvie gave Willow a sidelong glance, raising an eyebrow. Normally, Willow would have raised an eyebrow back, sharing a silent moment of exasperation with her friend. But right now, Willow had bigger worries than Locke. She wished Anjali would hurry up and continue talking. Surely, there had to be news of her father, or of the Birch Point students.
But Anjali was wearily closing up the folder that had been open on the podium in front of her. “That’s all I have for you for now. The Agency will have a heavy protective presence here, and I expect you all to stay within the boundaries of the Dragon Heart Campus. If any of you leave, it’s very likely that Dragon Heart leadership will expel you, so please don’t push it. Temporary dorm rooms have been set up for you on the second floor of this building, so feel free to head up there and rest or unpack your things. Meals will be served in the main dining room, and I’ll see you tomorrow for your regularly scheduled classes.”
Anjali gave them a curt nod, and then turned to leave the room. For a moment, Willow watched her in shock. That couldn’t be all, could it? But Anjali showed no signs of slowing down as she headed toward the door. In fact, she seemed to be speeding up. Willow’s face twisted into a scowl. Anjali must know that they all had more questions, and was probably hoping to escape before any of the students asked those questions. Willow wasn’t going to let that happen.
“Wait!” she called out.
Anjali stopped walking, sighed, and turned around. She looked tired, and Willow knew that this must have been a difficult week for her. But no matter how difficult it had been, Willow wasn’t going to feel guilty about asking more questions. She needed to know what was going on. Her heart felt like it might literally burst from all the anxiety filling it.
“What about the Birch Point students? Are they all okay? And won’t they think it’s weird that the four of us have suddenly disappeared?”
Anjali spoke slowly, as though choosing her words very carefully. “Headmaster Damon has informed the students that your guardians decided to temporarily remove you from campus to ensure your safety. This is technically true. We’ve been entrusted with your guardianship, in a sense. And we removed you for your safety. As for the other Birch Point students, there are no known fatalities.”
“No known fatalities?” Willow said, narrowing her eyes at Anjali. “You make it sound like it’s still possible someone has died. Is someone still missing? What about Alexis? Is she okay?”
Anjali looked directly at Willow. “I’m sorry. I’m not sure of Alexis’ condition specifically. But I can tell you that the majority of the students over there are fine.”
“But—”
“That’s enough, Willow. I have a lot of work to do. I don’t have time to be reporting on every single student from Birch Point. I’ve told you what I know.”
The anxious knots in Willow’s stomach twisted up harder. Something was wrong here. Anjali had pledged to keep them updated on the Birch Point students, and she knew that Alexis was Willow’s and Sylvie’s roommate. She would have known that Willow and Sylvie would both be eager for an update on her, so why hadn’t Anjali bothered to get an update?
The look in Anjali’s eyes told Willow that it would be useless to ask for more information on Alexis. In fact, Willow was pretty sure it’d be useless to ask for more information on anything else at all, but she at least had to try.
“What about my father?” she asked in a quavering voice. “Do you have any news on him?”
Anjali’s hard expression softened a bit. “I don’t have any news. But no news isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
Willow sighed. She disagreed. No news was bad. She wanted to hear that her father had been found, and rescued. But she knew that was too much to hope for, so she merely nodded at Anjali and slumped in her seat. She’d been freed from the safe room, but she still felt like her heart was locked up.
“I need to go take care of some things,” Anjali said, again turning to leave. “Your rooms should be easy enough to find, but if you need assistance, any of the senior Agents on campus should be able to help you. Just please, stay out of mischief.”
With that, Anjali disappeared through the conference room door.
Willow stared after her, thinking that it didn’t matter how much they all tried to stay out of mischief. Mischief seemed to be running rampant at the moment, and it was determined to find her.
Had the sinister force behind that mischief found Alexis? Willow couldn’t be certain, but she had a feeling that Anjali knew more than she was letting on. With a heavy heart, Willow stood to leave the room.
There was only one thing that could possibly cheer her up right now. Willow didn’t care how behind she was on homework, or how badly she wanted to take a shower and unpack.
First things first. She needed to see her dragon.
Chapter Thirteen
The path to the meadow where the dragon stables were located wound through a dense forest, and was normally quite deserted. Willow had memorized every step along the rocky pathway, and she usually found a great deal of peace and calm as she made the trek over to the dragons.
Not today.
She couldn’t walk
more than a few yards without running into a senior Dragon Heart Agent. They were everywhere, it seemed, their sharp, serious eyes constantly scanning for threats. Willow should have been comforted by their presence, but instead she found it disconcerting. Every time she saw an unfamiliar Agent, she was reminded that her life was in constant danger. She was reminded that her father was being held prisoner by an evil enemy. And she was reminded that she had no idea what had happened to Alexis.
Willow did not arrive at the dragon stables in a happy mood.
She climbed the ladder that led to a ledge on the side of the enormous stables. Running alongside the ledge were large windows where humans could stand and look down on the dragons, and Willow had stood there countless times over the last two years, searching for the comfort that could only come from a mighty dragon.
Now, she smiled as she looked down at the giant beasts curled into sleepy balls below her. There were eight dragons in the stable at the moment, and all eight of them were indulging in an afternoon nap. Their giant legs and tails were tangled up together, like a litter of sleeping puppies. Willow held back a giggle. It always amazed her how such fierce beasts could resemble a pack of sweet dogs.
For a few moments, she stood and watched them, barely breathing in hopes that she wouldn’t wake them up. She knew that below her in the dragon meadow, at least half a dozen senior Agents were patrolling. She knew that she couldn’t hope to have any semblance of alone time anywhere on campus as long as Stein and the mystery traitor were still at large. But here, at least, she could pretend that all was right with the world.
The moment didn’t last long. Cayenne roused from her sleep, sniffing the air and looking sleepily around. Willow knew her dragon must have caught her scent, or perhaps just sensed her presence. The beast turned her head toward Willow, then fully opened her glittering eyes. When Cayenne caught sight of Willow, her dragon lips turned up into a smile.
Cayenne threw back her head and let out a happy roar, then tumbled to her feet and rushed toward the window where Willow stood. As she stood, the other dragons let out grumbling groans, raising their own giant heads to see what all the fuss was about.