by D J DuMont
When April came, spring finally started to show up in Northern Maine. The snow was still piled on the ground, but the piles were growing smaller. The sun shone brighter and longer every day, and the tree branches had tiny buds everywhere, indicating that soon leaves would be filling the landscape once again. Willow had never endured a winter as long as this one, and she could hardly wait to ditch her jacket and gloves for short sleeves and bare hands.
But before she could hope to enjoy the warmer weather, she had to pass a multitude of exams. She had exams in her regular subjects at Birch Point, which would take up plenty of studying time. But she also had exams for her Dragon Heart classes. Everything she’d learned about magic this year was about to be put to the test. She’d need to show that she’d mastered the basics of alchemy, charms, potions, divination, and more.
The biggest test was the practice mission with her dragon. This test would be the final determiner of whether she would be able to continue on with another year of Dragon Heart training next fall. Willow, along with her fellow trainees, would be given a mock mission assignment. They would have to find an object and bring it safely home, or protect a pretend government official. Sam and Anjali would be setting traps for them along the way to simulate the types of challenges they might encounter in the real world. The practice mission would test not only the trainees’ magical abilities, and their abilities to work with their dragons, but also their abilities to work with each other. Dragon Heart Leadership valued teamwork, and Willow and her fellow trainees would need to prove that they could play well together.
This teamwork aspect of the mission worried Willow the most. She knew she could get along great with Sylvie, but Cara drove her crazy. Cara acted so cowardly sometimes, and yet tried to tell everyone else that she was a better Dragon Heart than all of them just because she came from a family of Dragon Hearts. More than once, Willow had been tempted to tell her to stop bragging about what her family had done and start focusing on what she herself was actually doing. So far, Willow had managed to hold her tongue, but would she be able to stay so calm in the high pressure situation of a practice mission?
And then, of course, there was Locke. Locke was as bad as Cara about bragging, but he actually had the bravery and skills to back up most of what he was saying. Willow already knew that Locke would try to run the whole practice mission himself, and would likely throw a fit if everyone else didn’t agree with what he wanted to do. He was also determined to win the Golden Dragon Heart award for himself, and Willow had no doubt that he’d throw her or any of the other trainees under the bus if it meant he could secure that prized award.
Willow had a bad feeling that she wasn’t going to manage to make it through the practice mission successfully. Anjali assured her that in all the years during which practice missions had been taking place, only one student had ever failed. Willow didn’t necessarily find that comforting. It just made her worry that she was going to be the second failure. After all, if the missions had been failed before, they could be failed again.
All these thoughts turned Willow into a ball of nerves, which affected her ability to study for both her Birch Point Academy and Dragon Heart tests. The only time she felt calm was when she was riding on Cayenne, but unfortunately dragon training was only an hour long class each weekday. Willow found herself one Sunday evening thinking that she would never make it until dragon training the next day. She needed to see Cayenne right then and there.
Alexis, who was studying with her in their room, noticed her restlessness.
“Willow, did you swallow a bee or something? Because you can’t sit still for more than two seconds.”
Willow sighed. “I’m just worried about exams.”
Alexis narrowed her eyes at her. “We’ve been over your flashcards at least a half dozen times already. You know all of the study material like the back of your hand.”
“I know. But I’m still worried.” Willow couldn’t exactly tell Alexis that she was worried about magic tests. Even though Alexis knew that at least one dragon existed, she didn’t know about magic. When Willow had used magic to open the gate the night of the blizzard, the weather had been too dark and snowy for Alexis to realize that Willow was using magic. And Willow had been extra careful since the night of the snowmobile incident to keep her Dragon Heart and Birch Point Academy worlds separate. Still, Alexis must have guessed that Willow’s worries had something to do with Willow’s “secret life.” Willow watched as understanding dawned on Alexis’ face.
“You’re taking extra classes of some sort, aren’t you?” Alexis said, sounding excited. “And you have exams for those classes, too, and that’s why you’re so worried.”
“Alexis, you know I can’t talk about all of this!”
Alexis waved her away. “I know, I know. Don’t worry. I’m not going to ask you for any details. I just wish you could tell me what’s going on though. It all seems so mysterious, and, I don’t know…magical.”
Willow felt alarm bells going off in her head. “Alexis, please. Can we change the subject?”
Alexis sighed. “Of course. But I hope that one day you’ll be able to tell me what all of this is about.”
Willow sighed. She didn’t have the heart to tell Alexis that those hopes would never be fulfilled. So she just smiled at her friend and shrugged. “I hope so, too.”
Willow shut her textbook and got up to look out the window. Night had fallen, but the moon was bright tonight. It lit up the few piles of snow that remained on the campus ground, and made the mud from the melted snow glisten.
“It’s crazy how beautiful even mud can be in the light of the moon,” Willow said.
Alexis laughed. “What a poetic thing to say.”
But Willow ignored the good-natured jab and went to grab her boots and jacket. “I’m going for a walk.”
“Right now? It’s nearly midnight.”
“I know. But it’s so beautiful outside, and I need to clear my head.”
Alexis sighed. “Fine. I would tell you to be careful, but I know you won’t listen to me, anyway. At least I know now that you have a dragon looking out for you.”
Willow gave Alexis a sharp glance, but Alexis only laughed.
“Right, right, I’m not supposed to know about the dragon. But I have to say it makes me feel better to know you’re not alone out there. I care about you, Willow.”
Willow sighed. “Thanks. It’s nice to be cared about. And don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”
Willow made her way out of the dorm building and slowly crept across the campus toward the building with the tunnel that connected the Birch Point side to the Dragon Heart side. She was tempted to use an invisibility spell to hide herself from any curious onlookers, but she was afraid that she’d be in even more trouble if Anjali caught her using magic on the Birch Point campus. The use of magic outside of the Dragon Heart campus was strictly regulated for anyone who hadn’t yet graduated from the program. Magic was only allowed in situations where using it was necessary to save a life—whether that life was your own or someone else’s. Wanting to sneak off to see the dragons was definitely not an emergency situation. And so, Willow crept along without an invisibility spell, doing her best to stay in the shadows. When she finally stepped into the tunnel, she breathed a sigh of relief. The long passageway was quiet and dark, and odds were good that Sam and Anjali had both long ago gone to bed.
About fifteen minutes later, though, things were not so quiet. Willow was creeping up to the dragon stables, intending to come say hello to Cayenne. But Cayenne and the other dragons weren’t sleeping. A series of growls, grunts, and roars could be heard, and an occasional blast of fire or ice appeared in the windows.
Her heart pounding, Willow started running. What was wrong with the dragons? Why weren’t they all asleep? Was Cayenne okay? Willow couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to Cayenne. That dragon had become one of her best friends. Perhaps some would think it strange to consider a dragon to be such a g
ood friend, but Willow didn’t care. Cayenne understood her in a way that no human had ever been able to.
As Willow got closer to the stables, though, and could hear the dragons better, she slowed down. The dragons didn’t sound distressed. In fact, they sounded almost like they were laughing. Curious, she crept up the stairs to the walkway that looked down into the giant stables, and tried to see what was so funny. When she saw, she almost laughed out loud herself.
There, in the middle of the stables, Locke was riding on Yarrow. He was spinning in giant circles, and trying to perform an invisibility spell. Invisibility spells were basic, easy spells when you only needed to hide yourself. But when you needed to cast an invisibility spell large enough to cover you and a dragon, things got a lot trickier. Locke, who had not struggled with any magical spell throughout the entire year, had been having trouble mastering the invisibility spell while riding his dragon. In dragon training last Friday, he’d lost his temper when he had only managed to hide half of Yarrow while they flew giant loops above the dragon stables.
Willow watched him for a few minutes, barely peeking around one of the stable’s wooden posts so that she would not be seen. Normally, Cayenne would have noticed her by now, but Cayenne was too busy snorting in laughter at Locke and Yarrow to notice that Willow had arrived.
Yarrow seemed to be taking the ridicule from his fellow dragons in stride, but Locke did not look amused. Locke tried over and over to cast the spell, yelling out the words “Concelo! Concelo!” over and over. Sometimes he hid Yarrow’s front, and sometimes Yarrow’s back. Sometimes, he barely even hid Yarrow’s head. And with each failure, Locke became angrier.
Willow watched closely, trying to see what Locke was doing wrong. The invisibility spell while on a dragon had come easily to her, so it was hard for her to understand why Locke was having such a hard time. He flicked his wrist and moved his magic ring just as Sam had taught them, but still the spell didn’t work. And then, suddenly, Willow saw what the problem was. Too excited to worry about how Locke would react to her sudden appearance, she popped her face into one of the giant window-like openings and called down to him.
“You need to reverse the way you’re casting the spell. Start from the head instead of the tail.”
The whole stable fell silent for a moment. All the dragons stopped their laughter and looked up at Willow in surprise. Locke looked up at her with burning red cheeks. Whether the red was from embarrassment or anger, Willow couldn’t say. But Locke clearly wasn’t happy that she’d caught him in his lousy attempts to cover Yarrow and himself with an invisibility spell.
“No one invited you, Willow.”
Cayenne chose that moment to let out a squeak of delight. Willow had to laugh. Before she’d come to Dragon Heart Academy, she never would have guessed that dragons could squeak. But they could, and when one of these mighty beasts let out a happy squeak, it was too adorable not to smile. Locke, however, wasn’t paying attention to Cayenne and her squeaking. As Cayenne nuzzled against Willow’s face, Locke sneered in their direction.
“What do you know about spells, Willow? You’re the one who has constantly been behind this year. You’ve blown up at least half a dozen cauldrons in potions class, and couldn’t even turn a stone into a flower in alchemy. Now you want to tell me how to do an invisibility spell?”
Willow crossed her arms. She was tempted to turn around and leave him alone to figure things out on his own. If he was going to be such a jerk then he didn’t deserve her help. But then she remembered that they all had to work together for the practice mission. There was a good chance that they were going to have to perform invisibility spells on their dragons during that mission. If Locke couldn’t do it properly, he might ruin the mission for the whole group. And Willow needed to pass this mission. She needed to be able to return next year and finish her Dragon Heart training. Her father was somewhere out there, depending on her to somehow figure out this whole mess and bring him home.
And so, Willow gritted her teeth and forced herself to smile at Locke.
“I know I haven’t been that great at a lot of stuff this year. But you have to admit I’ve done a pretty great job in dragon training class. I can show you how to do the spell correctly. Do you want my help, or do you want to sit there failing over and over on your own?”
Locke considered her words for a moment, then finally grunted his agreement. “Alright, Willow. Show me what you’ve got.”
Willow felt a strange rush of happiness in her chest. Locke Nash was actually going to listen to her for once. He actually thought that she, Willow Ember, with her sore lack of Dragon Heart ancestors, could teach him something. It felt good to be acknowledged for once.
“First things first, let’s get out of the stables.”
Locke looked doubtful. “Why? So Sam can catch us sneaking around out here.”
“Sam is in bed. And besides, being in here doesn’t mean you’re hidden. These dragons are all making such a racket that I could hear them well before I could even see the stables.”
Locke looked horrified by this statement. “You could?”
Willow had to laugh. “Yes, but don’t worry. Like I said, Sam is asleep. Come outside. You’ll be able to concentrate much better without all the other dragons laughing at you.”
Locke looked doubtful, but after a moment’s hesitation he shrugged and followed Willow outside. Cayenne and Yarrow came as well, and Willow heard Clove letting out a small whine behind her. She turned and shook her finger at the dragon.
“Stay inside Clove. I know you. You’re a rascal and will cause such a ruckus that Sam or Anjali are sure to hear. I promise, I’m working on getting better at all of my magical skills so I can find my dad and bring him back. Once he’s reunited with you, I’m sure he’ll take you out flying all the time.”
Clove grunted and looked displeased, but he did turn around and settle back down in the stables.
“You really think your dad’s alive?” Locke asked as they walked toward the middle of the giant clearing. For once, Locke’s voice held no animosity. Only genuine curiosity.
Willow shrugged. She didn’t want to have this discussion with Locke. Talking about her father was painful, even with Sylvie. Willow definitely wasn’t interested in hearing whatever snide comments Locke had about her father. “Clove thinks he’s alive, so I’m keeping hope alive that he is. But enough about that. Let’s work on your invisibility spell.”
Locke did not protest, so Willow jumped right into the lesson. She hopped onto Cayenne’s back, and Locke hopped onto Yarrow’s. Over the last few months, all of the Dragon Heart trainees had gotten good at pulling themselves up onto their dragons’ backs without needing the dragons to kneel. Willow’s arm muscles were strong now, from hundreds of practice attempts at hopping up onto Cayenne’s back. Locke, too, had impressive biceps. He had been a muscular guy beforehand, but now he looked like he spent half his days at the gym—even though all he did was spend time with Yarrow. Working with a dragon could have that affect on you. Flying around on such a mighty beast was a harder workout than anything a fitness center could offer.
“Okay, so what you need to do is cast the spell from front to back instead of back to front,” Willow said.
Locke gave her a doubtful look. “But Sam said it works better when you go from back to front and cover the dragon’s tail with the spell first.”
“Right. For most dragons that’s true. The reason is that the hardest part of a dragon to hide is spikes or horns. So if you don’t hide the most spiked area first, your spell quickly runs out of steam when you hit the spiked part.”
Locke still looked confused.
“Look at your dragon, Locke. Yarrow’s tail has a few spikes, but his neck is absolutely covered with them. He’s really different from the other dragons. See? Cayenne doesn’t even have spikes on her neck at all. They’re all on her tail. So it makes sense to cast the invisibility spell starting with her tail and moving toward her head. Her head is easier to
hide. Yarrow is just the opposite. You need to hide his spiked head and neck first, and then the spell will have covered the most difficult part already. Your magical invisibility power will easily adjust to cover the tail.”
Locke still looked doubtful, but he raised his magic ring, anyway. “Might as well give it a try. Nothing else is working. Concelo!”
This time, instead of pointing his ring toward Yarrow’s tail first, he pointed it toward Yarrow’s head. Instantly, Yarrow’s head disappeared from view. Then, as Locke swept his ring backwards, the rest of Yarrow’s body, along with Locke, went invisible. In the end, only a small portion of Yarrow’s tail was visible. Locke still needed to perfect his use of the spell, but this was much better than any of his previous attempts. Locke ended the spell and instantly he and Yarrow came back into view. Willow let out a whoop of excitement without even thinking about it.
“That was great! You’re getting the hang of it. Try it again, and this time move your ring a little slower. If you move too fast then you run out of steam before you hide the whole dragon. Getting the speed just right is kind of an art form, but once you get it, it’s so easy!”
Locke couldn’t hide his excitement. He tried again, and this time he managed to do the spell a little better. Willow cheered. On his third attempt, Locke managed to hide Yarrow and himself completely. Not even a tiny bit of tail stuck out from the invisibility spell.
“Yes! Yes, you’ve got it!” Willow said. “Now, come on, let’s practice doing it while flying.”
Willow gave Cayenne a gently nudge to urge her into the air, and Locke and Yarrow followed behind them. Soon, the four of them were soaring above the forest in the silvery moonlight.