Willow's Perfect Storm

by D J DuMont

  Willow nodded, trying to look pleased. She didn’t like it when anyone mentioned mental magic in front of Locke. He could never seem to hear about her mental magic abilities without making some sort of rude comment, and it looked like today wasn’t going to be an exception. He coughed loudly, and sneered in Willow’s direction.

  “A lot of good having a tutor has done so far,” he said. “Willow still can’t control her abilities in the slightest.”

  Willow ignored him, taking deep breaths and telling herself that he only said those things because he was jealous. She did still have a ways to go in mastering her mental magic abilities, but she had made progress.

  Sam ignored Locke’s comments as well, and Willow took comfort in that. Even the dragon trainer was tired of hearing Locke’s whining, and he generally stayed out of the students’ way—as long as they didn’t bother the dragons.

  “Anyway,” Sam said, still smiling broadly. “I actually stopped by to let you know that Anjali is going to be a few minutes late. She asked me to let you know that she’s caught up on a call with Agency Headquarters, but it should be done soon. She said to review the assigned reading from last night until she gets here.”

  With that, Sam tipped his charcoal gray newsboy cap at them and disappeared back into the hallway. None of the students opened their books to review the reading, however.

  Sylvie looked over at Willow and whispered, “What do you think the call is about? I wonder if there’s news on the traitor.”

  Her question had only been intended for Willow, but in the quiet of the room, everyone heard it. Cara huffed and threw her fiery red hair over her shoulder. “I hope there’s news on the traitor. I hope they find whoever it is soon. I’m missing out completely on a normal high school experience by being trapped over here with all of you.”

  Willow didn’t bother to point out that none of them were ever going to have anything close to a normal high school experience, even when they were allowed back on the Birch Point Campus. Magic was a great privilege, but a heavy responsibility.

  Even if Willow had wanted to say anything, she wouldn’t have had much of a chance. Locke had thrown back his head to let out a long, obnoxious peal of laughter. Then he stood and started pacing the room.

  “Oh, there’s news alright. I heard all about it from my parents, who are, as you know, quite well-connected in the Dragon Heart Agency.”

  Cara frowned. “My parents are also Agents, but they told me that they’ve been forbidden from discussing the traitor or surrounding events. Due to heightened security risks, we are only supposed to be discussing these things with our direct superiors, which in our case would be Anjali.”

  Locke laughed again, stopping his pacing right in front of the podium where Anjali normally stood to lecture the class. He leaned against the podium and shook a finger at Cara.

  “I suppose your parents are too timid to say things to you. But my parents know that no one in the Agency is going to challenge them on sharing information with their own son.”

  Sylvie leaned back in her chair and rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, Locke. What could your parents possibly know that everyone else doesn’t? If there’s any real news on the traitor, it’s going to make its way through the Agency ranks with lightning speed. No matter how much everyone is told to be quiet, that sort of news travels fast.”

  Locke smirked. “Is that so? Then I guess you’ve already heard about Alexis.”

  Willow felt her blood turn to ice in an instant. Any pretense of acting like she didn’t care about whatever Locke had to say fell away as she leaned forward, dread spreading to every last cell in her body. “Alexis?” she choked out. “You heard something about Alexis?”

  Locke nodded, looking very proud of himself. “Yes. But I don’t suppose I should tell you. I wouldn’t want to cause any security risks by passing on classified information.”

  Willow stared daggers at Locke, and spoke to him in a deadly serious tone. “Tell me what you know. Is she alive? Injured?”

  Locke wagged a finger at Willow, smiling and clearly enjoying the fact that he had information that no one else did. “I can’t say anything. I have to follow protocol, and—”

  “Tell me!” Willow roared, standing to her feet and pointing her magic ring in Locke’s direction. She barely had to think the words of the spell before Locke was thrown backward by a giant gust of wind. A loud thud rang across the room as his back collided with the wall behind him, and he looked up at Willow with shock and genuine fear in his eyes.

  “Jeez, Willow. Take it easy,” he choked out.

  “I will not take it easy! Not when Alexis’ life might be on the line. Tell me what you know!”

  “Willow, easy,” Sylvie warned.

  But Willow ignored her, never taking her eyes from Locke’s. “Tell me what you know.”

  Locke stood, brushing dust off his pants and trying to regain some semblance of composure. “I see you’re interested in what I have to say, after all. You always try to act like you don’t care, but I’ve obviously struck a nerve.”

  “You’re going to strike another one if you don’t hurry up and tell me what you know.” Willow shook her magic ring threateningly in Locke’s direction. A hint of worry passed over his face, but he managed to push it away almost as soon as it appeared. He jutted his chin out in Willow’s direction and his face took on its signature sneering look. Willow figured he was trying to save face, and act like she hadn’t just thrown him up against the wall with a tiny flick of her magic ring.

  She would let him save face, as long as he hurried up and spit out whatever it was he knew about Alexis. Her heart was pounding, and hot blood was roaring and rushing in her ears. The world felt like it was standing still as she waited to hear what Locke knew about her Birch Point roommate’s fate.

  He paused, trying to gain the upper hand again by making her wait. Willow held her breath, telling herself not to react. She would let him have his moment of feeling superior, if that’s what he wanted. She didn’t care. She didn’t need to prove anything to him, or to anyone else in this room. She just needed to know what had happened to Alexis. If the news was bad, then so be it. She would deal with the pain, but at least she would have some sort of closure.

  After a few more seconds of waiting, Locke leaned forward casually on the podium and smiled. For a moment, that smile gave Willow hope. Surely, he wouldn’t be smiling like that if he had good news to share, would he?

  But then, his face turned serious. Even Locke could not pretend to be happy about whatever the news on Alexis was. Willow felt her chest tightening as he began to explain.

  “My parents told me that Stein captured Alexis during the Terraemotus earthquake. No one is sure exactly how he managed it, but he must have sent someone in to grab her in the midst of all the chaos. They dragged her out and ran off with her before the earthquake had stopped and anyone could realize that she was missing.”

  Willow felt like she was going to throw up, and she took a few deep breaths to try to steady her stomach. “Is she still alive?”

  “No one knows for sure,” Locke said. “As best anyone can tell, Stein stole Alexis because he thought she had magical abilities. It wouldn’t have taken him long to realize that she didn’t, but no one can say for sure what he would have done once he realized that. Would he have killed her in anger? Or would he have just dumped her somewhere to find her own way back?”

  Willow had a feeling that Stein would lean more toward the killing end of that equation, but she didn’t want to think about that. Instead, she focused on another part of this whole scenario that was bothering her. “Why in the world would Stein think Alexis had magical powers? He knows for sure that you and I do, and that Sylvie and Cara do. He knew all four of us were on that island under Agency protection this summer. So why go after an unknown like Alexis?”

  Locke furrowed his brow, all traces of snarkiness gone. Now that he was immersed in the conversation, he was too interested in the intellectual
challenge of figuring out what had happened to Alexis to worry about being rude to Willow. Willow herself thought, for just a moment, that she wished Locke could always be like this. She could admit that he was a smart guy, and a talented wizard. He would be such a great friend, if only he wasn’t so intent on proving to everyone that he was better than them.

  For the moment, at least, he was focusing more on answering Willow’s questions than on making fun of her. “There are a lot of theories floating around on why Stein took Alexis, but the one that makes the most sense is that he thought Alexis was one of us because she hangs out with you and Sylvie so much.”

  Willow felt her stomach turn again. “How would Stein know that?”

  “He must have some sort of surveillance going on over at the Birch Point Campus,” Cara said, speaking up for the first time since Locke had started explaining Alexis’ fate.

  Locke nodded. “That’s what everyone at Agency Headquarters thinks. They can’t figure out how he’s doing it, just like they can’t figure out who the traitor is. But somehow, he’s watching Birch Point. Here on the Dragon Heart Campus, with all of the shields and protective spells, it would be difficult for anyone, even a traitorous Agent, to spy for very long without someone realizing what they were doing. But Birch Point is far easier to infiltrate, and Alexis would be far easier to kidnap than any of the actual Dragon Heart students.”

  “You’d think Stein would have realized that Alexis wasn’t a wizard since she wasn’t under any sort of protective spells like we all are,” Sylvie observed.

  “You’d think,” Locke agreed. “But perhaps he thought that she just wasn’t as valuable of an Agent. Who knows what his reasoning was. All we know is that he captured Alexis. We don’t know whether he still has her, or where she is now. But my parents said there are serious talks of a rescue attempt being made.”

  Willow’s eyes widened. “Really?”

  She had mixed feelings about that bit of news. On the one hand, she desperately wanted Alexis to be rescued and brought safely back to Birch Point. On the other hand, she couldn’t help feeling furious that talks were being made of a rescue attempt for Alexis when the Agency had continuously dragged its feet at attempting to rescue her father.

  “When is this rescue attempt supposed to happen?” Cara asked.

  Before Locke could answer, Anjali cleared her throat from the back of the room.

  “Today.”

  The four students turned around, guilty expressions on all of their faces. Locke coughed nervously, probably feeling guiltier than any of them. They weren’t supposed to know about this. No matter how much Locke bragged that his parents could say whatever they wanted, everyone knew that they had broken protocol by sharing news of Alexis with him. The displeased expression on Anjali’s face only confirmed this.

  And yet…Anjali had actually answered Cara’s question.

  “Today?” Willow repeated, not caring much in that moment if Anjali got angry at her for pushing the issue. “They’re going to rescue Alexis today?”

  “They’re going to try,” Anjali said in a tight voice. “There are no guarantees. Locke, sit down.”

  Locke slunk back to his seat, not making eye contact with anyone as he did. The room was as silent as the forest after a heavy snow as Anjali walked stiffly toward the front of the room. She went to stand in front of the podium where Locke had been only moments before, her face unreadable as she looked at each student in turn. After a long silence, she took a measured breath and started speaking.

  “I suppose Locke has already informed all of you that Alexis has been kidnapped. This is classified information, so I’m not sure how he learned of it, although I could take a few guesses.”

  Willow wanted to laugh when she saw Locke out of the corner of her eye, sinking lower into his seat. His bravado had withered under Anjali’s anger.

  “Since you all already know what’s going on, I won’t try to keep the news from you any longer. I know Alexis is a good friend to many of you, and that you’re worried about her. I’m sorry for not telling you about this sooner, but I had orders to stay silent on the matter. Orders that some Agents have apparently ignored.”

  Anjali glanced at Locke again, but he stared down at the desk in front of him, refusing to meet her eyes. With a sigh, the professor continued speaking.

  “The rescue attempt will be dangerous, and isn’t guaranteed to work. We aren’t even sure that Alexis is at the location we’ll be storming—we’re only guessing. But we must do what we can to recover her. The fact that a civilian has been captured and exposed to the world of magic is deeply concerning. Needless to say, the President is not pleased. He’s making all sorts of threats against the Agency. I’m sure those threats would only escalate if he knew that classified information had leaked.”

  Anjali gave Locke another sharp look, but he continued staring down at his desk. With a sigh, their professor reached for her tablet and swiped at the screen. “I expect you all to keep quiet about this news. Even many of the senior Agents on campus are not aware of what’s going on, so don’t go blabbing about it to them. The last thing we need right now is for the President to realize that information has leaked and go into a rage about that. Now then, we should get started with class. We have a lot to cover and we’re already getting a late start. I apologize for my tardiness, but I was on a call with Headquarters about Alexis that took longer than expected. Please pull up your Practical Magic textbook on your tablets and turn to chapter four.”

  For a few moments, Willow didn’t make a move to grab her tablet from her bag. Instead, she stared at Anjali, wishing their professor would say more.

  When would they know whether the rescue attempt had been successful? And what would happen to Alexis? Even if she was rescued, her ordeal was far from over. The Dragon Heart Agency would probably insist on performing a memory wipe on her to remove all memories of magic, which was probably for the best. Willow had wanted for so long to share this secret side of her life with Alexis, but now Alexis had seen the truth in a horribly frightening way. Her dear friend must be terrified for her life right now—assuming she was still alive.

  “Willow! Open your textbook please.”

  Anjali’s sharp voice cut through Willow’s thoughts, and with a deep sigh she reached for her tablet.

  How were any of them supposed to focus on their classes right now? Willow knew she had to make an attempt, if only to keep Anjali off her case. But she also knew that she wasn’t going to be able to breathe easy until she knew whether the rescue attempt had been successful.

  It was going to be a long, long day.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Hours passed, with no word on how the rescue attempt was progressing. Anjali was on edge, and none of the students dared ask her for an update. Willow thought more than once that perhaps the worst part of this whole situation was the way that their normally easygoing professor became a tighter ball of nerves with every day. Anjali had always been a bit strict, but she’d also been jolly. She used to laugh more. She used to take time to have fun with the students more. These days, she walked around with a hollow, desperate look in her eyes, and Willow feared that if Alexis wasn’t rescued, Anjali would take out her frustration on the students, assigning more and more coursework until no one had time to think about anything other than school.

  Telling herself not to worry about problems that had not yet appeared, Willow nevertheless felt relieved when classes with Anjali were done for the day. The students still had one more class left—dragon flying—but that class was led by Sam.

  Willow hoped that Sam would still be in a good mood as he had been earlier that morning. She didn’t want to deal with one more grouchy teacher. Luckily, Sam was grinning and whistling to himself when the students arrived for class.

  “I hope you’re all ready for a great class,” he bellowed out as the students approached. “Today we’re starting our unit on acrobatic dragon flying.”

  For a moment, Willow and the oth
ers all forgot to be worried about Alexis. Cheers broke out, and the dragons, which were waiting in the meadow for their riders, roared happily as well. Acrobatic flying was notoriously difficult, and students were advised not to attempt any sort of acrobatics on their dragons until they’d officially been trained to do so. That official training didn’t take place until students were in their third year at the Academy, and it was considered something of a rite of passage to master the tricks that Sam would soon be teaching them.

  “Mount your dragons,” Sam said with a grin. “We’ll be starting with a very simple barrel roll. I expect you all to pay close attention and to take things slowly. These tricks can be dangerous, but if you do exactly as I instruct, you should be just fine.”

  The next hour was the happiest hour that Willow or any of the other students had had in a long time. Sam hadn’t been kidding when he said the tricks were dangerous—one wrong move and any of the students could have plummeted hundreds of feet from the sky to the unforgiving earth below. But it was hard to make a wrong move under Sam’s tutelage. He patiently explained everything, not moving forward with the next step until he was sure that each student had mastered what he’d already taught them.

  The first step in learning barrel rolls was to learn sideways flying. Sam patiently explained how to instruct the dragons to roll onto their left or right sides while in the air, and how to keep a firm grip when flying that way. Willow started out feeling quite nervous, but by the end of the class she was getting the hang of things. Breathless and sweaty, but feeling genuinely happy for perhaps the first time since the Terraemotus earthquake, she came in for a landing in the meadow beside the dragon stables.

  Sam and the other students looked just as happy, and they all laughed and excitedly discussed how long it would take them to get the full barrel roll down. Sam warned them not to be frustrated if it took a while, but of course they ignored him and kept right on making plans to make the fastest progress in acrobatic dragon flying that the Academy had ever seen. The dragons stomped their feet happily, making delighted little grunts as the students dismounted, and Willow realized that the giant beasts were probably quite bored by the tame flying the students normally did. The dragons had been just as eager to get to this point in flying lessons as the students had been.