Willow's Perfect Storm

by D J DuMont

  Stein clucked his tongue. “They’re joining the winning side, and you should, too. This elitist, secretive Dragon Heart Agency cannot stand. Its leaders are trying to keep magic from the masses, but it will never work. I’m working on a way to mutate the Dragon Heart virus that will allow anyone to use magic. Once that happens, my army will be unstoppable.”

  “You fool!” Locke said hotly. “You have no idea what could go wrong if that virus mutates. For all we know, it could completely destroy humanity!”

  Stein waved a dismissive hand. “Those are lies the Agency tells you to keep you in line. Join your parents, and I promise you’ll know great power like you’ve never known. I don’t plan to allow any more former Dragon Heart Agents to work for me, but I promised your parents I’d make an exception for you, since they’ve been so helpful to me.”

  “Never!” Locke said without a single breath of hesitation. “If my parents have betrayed the Dragon Heart Agency, then I’m dead to them.”

  “That’s easy enough to arrange,” Stein said with a shrug. He signaled to one of the enemy guards holding a magic gun, and the guard raised the gun in Locke’s direction.

  “Locke, no!” his mother cried out. “Think about what you’re doing!”

  “I’ll never betray the Dragon Hearts!” Locke yelled. Willow saw him concentrating hard, and she knew he was trying to strengthen the shield spell that surrounded him. Would it be enough to stop the blast from the magic gun?

  It was. The magic gun’s laser beam rammed into Locke, sending him backward with its force. He knocked Willow backward as he fell, and she ran into Kent, who had moved to try to catch them. They would all have bruises, including the still-unconscious Alexis, but other than that they were unharmed.

  They might not be so lucky with the next blast, though. As chaos erupted around them again, and everyone started fighting everyone, Willow knew she had to do something drastic. The Dragon Heart Agents were stronger than the Dark Sparks, but there were so many Dark Sparks. It was taking too long to fight through them all, and now that fight would be even harder since Locke’s parents apparently had no intentions of backing away from the fight, even with their son refusing to join Stein. Willow watched as Locke’s father launched an attack spell directly at Anjali. Thankfully, Anjali was an expert at protective shields. Even so, the attack still sent her tumbling backward.

  Willow turned to Locke, who was still sprawled across the ground beside her. “Here,” she said. “Take Alexis.”

  “What are you going to do?” Locke asked. The anguish in his eyes was almost unbearable to see, but Willow didn’t have time to stop and feel sorry for him right then.

  “I’m going to hold back Stein and the Dark Sparks. Take Alexis to the dragons and go. Don’t wait for me or anyone else. She’s in bad shape, and we’ve got to get her out of here.”

  “But what about you?”

  “I’ll be fine. You just take care of yourself and Alexis.” Willow glanced at Kent, who had stood and was firing his magic gun at a crowd of enemy guards. “And Kent. Take Kent with you, too. He’s a pretty decent shot with that thing, and he’ll help protect you.”

  “But, Willow—”

  Before Locke could argue any further, Willow hopped to her feet and rushed off. She ignored Locke’s protests, knowing that he would have no choice but to listen to her and rush out with Alexis, now that Alexis was in his arms instead of Willow’s. Willow only hoped that all the other Dragon Heart Agents would follow him out. Even if she didn’t make it out, if everyone else did, then this would be worth it. At least if she died, she’d die nobly, defending her fellow Agents. Surely, her father could be proud of that.

  Willow ran directly toward where Stein and Locke’s parents stood, keeping her magic ring raised high. Here went everything.

  She didn’t speak the words of the spell. Instead, she thought them. The mental magic Tempestas spell was the most powerful spell she could think of. If she could cast it properly, aiming the hurricane-force winds at Stein and Locke’s parents, she could bring them down quickly. If the enemy guards saw their leader fall, then they would probably scatter in fear, and Willow could escape and try to catch up with the other dragons.

  Tempestas, Tempestas, Tempestas.

  As Willow focused on her mental magic, she felt the air in the tunnel start to move. A cyclone was coming—a cyclone under her control. From behind her, she heard Anjali yelling.

  “Dragon Hearts! Everyone out! Willow’s starting a cyclone. Everyone out, now!”

  Willow felt her chest tighten. She was glad Anjali was getting everyone else to safety, but it was hard not to feel completely abandoned.

  But there was no time for regrets right now. Willow needed to focus on the task ahead. As the cyclone grew in strength, Willow found herself alone in the tunnel with the enemy, and she found herself excited for the opportunity.

  Time to teach Stein a lesson.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  So this is how I die.

  That was the only thing Willow could think as the battle between her, Stein, and Locke’s parents intensified. The majority of Stein’s guards had been blown away by Willow’s mental magic cyclone, but it didn’t matter. She couldn’t manage to blow away Locke’s parents, and she didn’t know how much longer she could withstand their attacks. If she hadn’t been able to do mental magic, she would have been dead by now for sure. But even mental magic wasn’t enough to overcome Mr. and Mrs. Nash. Locke hadn’t been kidding when he said his parents were talented wizards. They were the most talented wizards Willow had ever seen. Too bad they’d decided to use their talents for evil.

  Willow decided to just hold them off as long as she could. She’d accepted that she wasn’t going to make it out alive, but at least she could keep Stein occupied long enough to give the other Dragon Heart Agents a head start. If all of the other Agents made it home safely with Alexis, then Willow’s sacrifice today would not be in vain.

  “Willow!”

  Willow’s heart tightened as the sound of her name cut through the storm. That voice had sounded like her father, but it couldn’t be, could it? She didn’t dare hope. Stein had tricked her using her father’s voice before, and he was probably tricking her now, trying to make her lose her concentration.

  “Willow!”

  The voice was too real, too close, for Willow to ignore. She took a chance and looked away from Stein for a moment, feeling foolish for falling for this trick again. But how could she not look, when there was a chance, however small, that she might see her father one last time before she died. She glanced over her right shoulder, looking in the direction the voice had come from.

  To her shock, there he was. Her father. Her father, whom she hadn’t seen for one thousand four hundred and eighty-nine days. Not that she’d been counting.

  He looked horribly thin, as though Stein had only been feeding him the bare minimum to keep him alive, and his hair had grayed slightly. But despite everything he’d been through, his eyes still twinkled the same way they had for as long as Willow could remember.

  “Daddy!”

  She ran to him, dropping the cyclone spell and forgetting to care about the fact that there were three very angry people behind her who wanted nothing more than to kill her. Or perhaps they wanted to capture her and torture her. Either way, they would have happily taken advantage of Willow’s break in concentration, but before the cyclone and her own protective shield had fully dissipated, her father was raising his right hand, his magic ring high in the air.

  “Contego!”

  It was the first time Willow had seen her father perform magic, and her jaw dropped in shock and awe. The shield spell, one of the most difficult shield spells to perform, fell in place easily. Willow felt the protective energy go up around her, and her father didn’t seem to be breaking a sweat. No wonder everyone always told her that he was one of the best modern wizards. His powers alone were enough to stand against the combined power of both of Locke’s parents, as we
ll as the attack coming from Stein’s magic gun. A surge of pride raced through Willow as she threw her arms around her father, tears streaming down her face.

  “Oh, Willow,” her father choked out. “I wasn’t sure whether I would ever see you again. But look at you! You’re so strong, and so brave. Was that mental magic you were using?”

  Willow looked up at her father, her heart full and her eyes shining. “Yes. I’m still not very good at controlling it, but I have mental magic abilities.”

  Her father shook his head in amazement. “My own daughter, the only modern wizard who can perform mental magic.”

  Willow marveled at how calm her father was. He held the protective shield around them and spoke to her as though they were the only two people there in the tunnel—as though they weren’t being attacked by deadly magical forces.

  “How is Clove?” he asked. “Please tell me he made it back to the Dragon Heart campus.”

  Willow nodded. “He did. And he knows you’re still alive. He hasn’t given up on you, and he’s refused to let anyone else ride him. He’s been waiting for you to come home. Speaking of which, we should go! My dragon is right outside the tunnel, and she can fly us both home.”

  Willow could hardly contain her joy. Not only was she not going to die today, but she was also bringing her father home. She could hardly wait to see the look on everyone’s faces when she flew up with the great Sigmund Ember. Of course, it wouldn’t be fair to say that she’d rescued him. It was more like he’d rescued her. Either way, it didn’t matter. The important thing was that they were together again, and her father was finally going to be free from Stein’s oppression.

  But to her shock, her father was shaking his head. “No, Willow. I’m not coming.”

  The world felt like it had stopped turning, screeching to a halt as she stared up at her father’s earnest face. “What do you mean, you’re not coming? Why would you stay here?” For a brief moment, she feared that he had somehow gone over to the dark side to support Stein, like Locke’s parents had. But that didn’t make sense. Why would they be angrily attacking him if he was on their side?

  “I’m too weak to fly all the way back to the Dragon Heart Campus. Stein barely feeds me to keep my body weak so I won’t escape, and the guards regularly beat me just because they can. I usually don’t even have my magic ring, so that I can’t focus my magic well enough to attack anyone. I only have it now because the guard who was holding it left to fight in this battle, and I used a magic spell as best I could to get the ring from the shelf where it was stored near my cell. It took a while, weak as I was. And as you know, without the ring magic is harder to use. But I finally got it, and here I am. I heard the battle raging and wanted to help. But now I see that my talent is best used holding back Stein so you can escape.”

  Willow shook her head violently. “No way. I’m not leaving you! You can make it out of here. I know you can! How can you say you’re not strong enough? Look how well you’re holding back Stein right now.”

  Her father smiled sadly. “I’m using what little energy I have left to do this. Stein continuously drains my magical energy from me, so I don’t have much left. I shouldn’t even be standing here talking to you. I should be forcing you to run now, before I can’t hold this shield up any longer. But seeing you…oh, Willow. It’s been so long. I wanted to hug you just once before you leave.”

  Willow choked back tears. “Are you crazy? I’m not leaving you. I’ll die defending you if I have to. Just come with me. Just try. We can do this together.”

  Even as Willow spoke, she could see that what her father had said was true. He was weak, and his shield was already weakening. If they tried to escape now, and Locke’s parents chased after them, they would never make it.

  But they had to try. She couldn’t just leave him here. Not after searching for so long for him. She would take him back with her, and hope for a miracle. Maybe more Dragon Heart Agents would fly back to look for her, and would help her and her father.

  But even as she desperately tried to figure out how to save her father, he was shaking his head at her. “Willow, listen to me. You have to go. You can’t allow Stein to capture you. If he does, he’ll torture you and use your magic for evil. Don’t worry about me. I’m used to him by now. I’m used to the torture. And he won’t actually kill me, because then he wouldn’t be able to steal my magic anymore.”

  The protective shield around them flickered a bit, and Willow knew they were running out of time. “What kind of daughter would I be if I left you? I’m not doing it!”

  Her father placed a hand on her shoulder. “What kind of parent would I be if I expected you to stay and face being captured by Stein? Go, Willow. Get on Cayenne and fly like the wind. I’ll hold Stein and the Nashes back as long as possible. That should give you enough of a head start to get away. You’ll do more good back at the Academy than you will here. And I promise you we’ll see each other again.”

  “How can you promise that? You don’t know if it’s true!”

  “I know Stein doesn’t dare to kill me, and I know you won’t give up on trying to rescue me. That means that we will see each other again. But for now, you need to go.”

  Willow shook her head. She knew she was losing valuable time, but she couldn’t stand the thought of leaving her father. “No. I won’t leave you.”

  “You must. I want you to save yourself, and besides, I need you to carry a message for me.”

  Willow blinked. “A message?”

  “Yes. Tell Anjali that Stein is planning an attack on the Q7 station. I don’t know the exact date, but it will be soon. The Agency must direct all resources to defending the Q7 station.”

  Willow frowned. “The Q7 station? I don’t even know what that is.”

  “It will make sense to Anjali. It’s imperative that you tell her as soon as possible. Now go. You’ll be saving a lot of lives if you can deliver this message.”

  Willow hesitated only one more moment. This wasn’t how she’d wanted things to end today. She couldn’t believe that she was about to leave her father behind. But that’s what he wanted, and he was right. She couldn’t allow Stein to capture her and use her magic for his evil plans. Besides, whatever this Q7 station message was about sounded important. Taking a deep breath, Willow made her decision. She threw her arms around her father one more time, memorizing the way his heartbeat sounded as she pressed her face against his chest.

  “I’ll be back, Daddy. I’ll deliver this message, and then I’ll be back to rescue you. Don’t worry. We’re going to get you out of here.”

  “I know you are, Wills. I’m not worried about it. What have I always told you? Be brave, be kind, and remember that you have magic inside of you. You can do anything. Now go.”

  He squeezed her tightly and kissed the top of her head, then pushed her toward the exit. She ran as fast she could, looking back only when she’d reached the exit. He must have sensed her looking at him, because he turned and winked at her before turning back to focus on holding back Stein and the Nashes.

  Willow could see him faltering already in trying to hold up the magic shield that was preventing Stein from coming after her. But there had been no fear in her father’s eyes, only hope. He truly believed that this was all going to work for the best in the end.

  Willow trusted her father more than anyone else in the world. If he had hope, then she did, too. She sprinted out into the meadow, where Cayenne was anxiously pawing the ground and looking around. When the dragon saw Willow, she let out a fiery roar.

  Willow smiled, despite everything. “Thanks for waiting for me, girl. Let’s get going. I need you to fly faster than you ever have. Take us back to the Dragon Heart campus. Take us home.”

  Cayenne roared again as Willow leapt onto her back, and then beat her mighty dragon wings to rise quickly into the air. Within moments, the wind whipped violently at Willow’s face. Cayenne had taken Willow’s admonition to heart, and was flying faster than Willow had ever seen her
fly. Willow breathed a little easier, relieved to know that they should make it home safely.

  That relief didn’t stop sadness from filling her at the thought of just how close she’d come to saving her father. It felt surreal to leave him behind, but she knew it was how things had to be for the time being. It was what he wanted, and it was for the best.

  But it was not the end.

  Willow glanced back over her shoulder at the spot where the entrance to Stein’s hideout had been.

  “I’ll find you again, Daddy, and soon. You’re right that there’s magic inside of me, and I can do anything.”

  The only answer was the howling of the wind, but that didn’t matter. Willow knew her father was alive, and that he had hope.

  And that meant that Stein’s days were numbered.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The Dragon Heart campus was dark and quiet when Willow finally made it back. She had no idea how long her father had managed to hold back Stein and the Nashes, but it had been long enough that they had never even come within sight of her. She’d never felt threatened on the flight home, and once she passed through the protective shield into the Dragon Heart Campus, she knew nothing could hurt her. Half of the Dragon Heart Agents in the world must have been there, silently standing guard all over the place. There were so many Agents that most of them hadn’t even been able to bring their dragons with them, because there just wasn’t space on campus for that many dragons. Even Locke’s parents, strong as they were, would have to have been crazy to attempt an attack on this place.

  Sam was at the dragon stables when Willow landed, and to her surprise, he greeted her with a giant hug and tears in his eyes.

  “I thought…I thought the worst,” he said in a shaky voice. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you. Anjali assured me that you’d make it back, but I worried that she was wrong. I should have known. You’ve always been stronger than you seem.”

  Willow’s eyes widened. “Anjali said I’d come back?” She’d thought that her teacher had abandoned her because the situation was truly hopeless and Anjali hadn’t wanted to cause any more unnecessary casualties. But Sam was saying otherwise.