by D J DuMont
“Yes. A rather silly name if you ask me, but they all seem very proud of it. Anyway, silly name or not, the Dark Sparks are a serious problem. Stein Viker somehow learned about the Dragon Heart Virus, and the existence of dragons and magic. He organized a group of brutes to try to find out more about how magic works, and to try to steal it.”
“But, that wouldn’t even work, would it? Don’t you have to have the Dragon Heart gene to be able to use magic?”
“Well, yes. But there is a possibility the Dragon Heart Virus could somehow mutate and affect everyone.”
“You mean, it might be possible at some point for everyone to do magic?” Willow’s thoughts immediately jumped to Alexis. Was it actually possible that one day her friend would be able to join her in the Dragon Heart Agency? Alexis would make a great agent, if only she had the ability to do magic.
“Theoretically, it could be possible for everyone to use magic. But the Dragon Heart Agency has made the decision not to make any attempts to encourage the virus to mutate.”
“Why not? Then you’d have so many more agents to choose from!”
“Well, in a perfect world, yes. In a perfect world, the virus would mutate so that we could use it on anyone, and then we would have our pick of agents, in virtually endless supply. But a virus that could turn anyone into a wizard could be dangerous in the wrong hands. So the Dragon Heart Agency has determined that the best course of action is to do everything we can to keep the virus from mutating. Besides, there could be other serious issues if the virus mutates. What if it mutates in such a way that it only allows someone it infects to do dark magic? What if it mutates in a way that turns deadly and kills off whoever is infected with it? So many things could go wrong.”
Willow frowned. I suppose you’re right. But it still seems like a big loss to not at least try to expand the program.”
Anjali sighed. “Well, whether or not I agree doesn’t matter. The leadership at the Dragon Heart Agency is firm on that point. This is one reason the program is kept so secret. They don’t want anyone in the general public even knowing about it, because the less people who know, the easier it is to guard the virus in our Dragon Heart Laboratories.”
“So how did these people find out about it? And how did they capture my dad?”
“Your dad was protecting a high-ranking government official on a diplomatic trip to Africa when Stein captured him. Stein’s original plan was to use your dad as a hostage to try to get money from the CIA. But when he discovered the Dragon Heart Agency, his plans changed. He was determined to learn all he could about the Dragon Heart Virus and magic. The records we uncovered show that he’s been leading his small army of “Dark Sparks” on quests all over the world trying to find more Dragon Heart Agents. Somehow, he discovered the existence of your practice mission. Only he didn’t realize it was a practice mission. He thought you and the other trainees were actually on a mission to get a real, magical sword. So he attacked, which might have turned out to be the biggest mistake he’s made.”
“Why?”
“Because now we know he exists. We don’t know much, but we at least know he exists. And hopefully we can stop the strange attacks that have been happening on Dragon Heart Agents. We thought they were random, but it turns out that Stein has been doing his best to hunt down agents.”
“But how is he finding them? My dad would never tell him about the Agency or where the other agents were!”
“No, you’re right. Your father has refused to give him information. But Stein stole a lot of encrypted information from your dad’s laptop. It took him a long time, but he managed to decode some of it. Not all, it would seem, but enough that Stein has a pretty good grasp on what the Dragon Heart Agency is and what we do. He’s hungry to steal the virus and use it to gain power for himself.”
“Has he been torturing my dad this whole time?” Willow’s lower lip started to tremble. The thought of her father being alone and in pain for the last two years was almost too much to take.
“Not exactly. I won’t sugarcoat it for you, Willow. Your dad has been subjected to quite some torture. But Stein seems to have figured out long ago that your dad would quite literally die before giving up information. So he’s started using your father as a human lab rat instead.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, your dad has the Dragon Heart gene, and he’s been subjected to the Dragon Heart Virus. So Stein has been using his blood to try to learn more about the virus. He’s also performed a number of experiments on your dad to see how a magical being responds differently to illnesses and other stressors than a normal being might.”
“He has no right!” Willow said angrily. “We have to help him.”
“Stein has no right to do any of the things he’s done. We will help your father, Willow, but it’s not going to be easy. We have no idea where Stein’s headquarters are, or if he even has a centralized headquarters. Most of the information we got from him is so old that the locations listed aren’t valid anymore.”
“There has to be something we can do! The Dragon Heart Agency is part of the CIA. Surely, there’s a way someone in one of the CIA’s departments can find my father!”
“Willow, I’m not trying to blow off your concerns. I promise you, we’re doing everything we can. But we have to move slowly and not jeopardize the rest of the Dragon Heart Program. Stein seems to have eyes everywhere. He is ready to pounce on any lead that might have the smallest possibility of leading him to the Dragon Heart Virus. If we are careless, he will find out too much. You know your father wouldn’t want us to risk the lives of others to save him.”
Willow took a few deep breaths and tried to blink back the tears that insisted on spilling over. Anjali was right. Her father would rather sacrifice himself a hundred times over than see someone else hurt because of him. Willow knew if she wanted to help things along, the best thing she could do was to lay low and play nice with the CIA and Dragon Heart Agency. Still, it wasn’t going to be easy to be patient. She forced a small smile onto her face.
“What can I do to help?”
“For now, you’ve done enough,” Anjali said, then raised her hand when Willow started to protest. “I’m serious, Willow. The fact that you got that jetpack to us in the first place is huge. We wouldn’t have known about any of this if not for that. Whatever self-destructive bomb went off at the site of the attack destroyed everything. There was no recoverable information there. What you brought back is it.”
“Locke brought it back,” Willow corrected. If Locke was here right now, he’d be fuming that his great conquest had been attributed to Willow.
“You both brought it back. You worked together, which was the whole point of the practice mission, ironically enough. Which brings me to my next point. You passed. You all passed. Congratulations, Willow. You’ll be moving on to year two of Dragon Heart training.”
Willow should have been overjoyed to hear this news. After all, a day ago all she’d wanted was to be able to pass the practice mission. But now, all she could think about was the fact that her father was alive, and they had a lead—however small—on what had happened to him. She couldn’t just sit here and do nothing. And she certainly couldn’t go home and spend all summer “relaxing.” She wanted to help find her father. There had to be something she could do.
Willow hopped off the bed and stood as tall as she could. “I’m not leaving for the summer. I want to stay here and help find my father.”
“Willow, there’s nothing to do yet. Before we can try to help him, we have to find out more about the Dark Sparks and where they might be hiding. There’s a lot of research and decoding that needs to be done, and I can’t put a trainee on that work.”
“Why not?”
Anjali let out an exasperated sigh. “The Agency wants you focusing on your magical education, Willow. Not on missions to find missing agents. Even if that missing agent is your father.”
“But I don’t have any schoolwork over the summer. Let me at least help duri
ng summer break.”
To Willow’s surprise, Anjali grinned at her. “You’re just like your dad, aren’t you?”
Willow blushed. “What do you mean?”
“Stubborn as can be when you want something.”
Willow shrugged. “This is obviously really important to me.”
Anjali nodded. “I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, you’ve been given the all-clear to leave this room. Sorry for suddenly cooping you up in here. We weren’t sure whether more attacks were coming, and we wanted you all in rooms that we could lock down and easily protect.”
Willow sighed. “You could have at least told me that.”
Anjali shook her head. “It wasn’t up to me. One thing that you’ll quickly learn is that communication isn’t always the best at the Dragon Heart Agency.”
“I’ll say.”
“Look, why don’t you head back to Birch Point Academy and pack up your dorm room. I’ll see what I can do about getting you a job for the summer, but even if they let you stay here and work, you’ll have to move over here. You can’t stay in the normal student dorms over the summer, so you’ll still need to pack.”
Willow sighed. She didn’t want to leave the Dragon Heart building right now. She wanted to stay here and pester Anjali until Anjali agreed to a summer job for Willow. But Willow knew Anjali’s patience was running thin, and she didn’t want to push it too far. Besides, Willow did want to say goodbye to Alexis before her roommate left for the summer.
“Alright. I’ll go pack up. But I’m going to be back here soon, asking for an update on what I can do this summer.”
Anjali laughed. “I’m sure you will be. Now go, so I can talk to some people and actually have an update to give you.”
Willow ran almost all the way back to her dorm room, for no other reason than she couldn’t contain the nervous excitement that filled her.
Her father was alive! She had always believed it, thanks to Clove, but now everyone else believed her, too. And she was determined that she was going to help find him, whether the Dragon Heart Agency gave her a job or not.
Chapter Thirty-Three
“What happened to you?” Alexis asked, her jaw dropping as Willow burst into their shared dorm room.
Willow hesitated. “What do you mean?”
“Your face. It’s all scratched and bruised. Seriously, Willow, what is going on with you and Sylvie and this whole secret society you’ve got going? I’m worried about you.”
Willow reached a hand up to touch her face. She’d completely forgotten about how scratched up she was, and she hadn’t made any plans on how to explain it away to Alexis. But she was tired of explaining things away, anyway. So she just gave a small shrug.
“You already know I can’t talk about it. But don’t worry about me, really. I’m fine. We had a test yesterday that was...physically intense. But we all passed with just a few scratches.”
Alexis didn’t look convinced. She stood uncertainly in the middle of the room, with two large suitcases that must have held all of her things. The room no longer had any of Alexis’ posters on the wall, or books on the desk. Only Willow’s stuff remained strewn about.
Willow sighed. “Looks like you’re all ready to go.”
“Yeah. I was beginning to think I wasn’t going to see you before I left. I have to take the next shuttle out of here or I’ll miss my flight home.”
Willow nodded. She hated to rush goodbyes with Alexis, but she was glad she had at least had the chance to see her once more before she left. She reached out to offer Alexis a hug, which her friend happily accepted.
“Take care of yourself this summer,” Willow said.
“You too. You know you’re welcome to visit any time.”
“I appreciate that. I really do. But I might be busy working this summer.”
Alexis sighed as she stepped back. “You are one mysterious person, you know that? But I’m glad I had the chance to be your roommate. It’s been a fun year.”
Willow smiled. “Yes, it has. And you know, next year we’re allowed to make requests for roommates. What would you say if we requested to be together again?”
Alexis’ eyes widened. “I’d love that! I was going to suggest the same thing, but then I figured you’d want to room with Sylvie, since you guys are doing…whatever it is you’re doing together.”
“I’d actually like to room with both of you, if possible. There are some three person rooms in the dorm. We could all request to be together and hope we got lucky enough to land one of those.”
Alexis grinned. “That’d be great.”
Willow nodded. “I think so, too. I’ll put in my request today. Thanks for everything, Alexis. And have a great summer, if I don’t see you until next fall.”
Alexis grinned. “Thanks. You too. And try to stay out of trouble.”
Willow laughed. “I’ll try, but no promises.”
Alexis rolled her eyes, and then took off with her suitcases to catch the shuttle. Willow watched her go before turning back to look at the room that had been her home for the last two semesters.
“Time to move on to the next chapter,” she said, and then started packing.
* * *
Willow had just finished packing the last of her things when a knock sounded at her door. Without waiting for permission, Anjali stepped into the room.
“I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first?”
“Uh…” Willow wasn’t sure.
“Okay, well I’ll give you the bad news first. Leadership at the Dragon Heart Agency doesn’t want you staying here all summer. They’re worried it will be too hard to explain to your mom.”
Willow’s heart sank. “My mom doesn’t even want me around. I only remind her of my father, and that makes her sad.”
Anjali’s face softened. “Willow, I think she wants you around more than you know. It’s hard for her, but she does love you.”
Willow felt anger rising in her chest. “If she loves me then she’d want me to be happy. And being here this summer would make me happy.”
Anjali smiled. “Well, you haven’t heard the good news yet. And I think you’ll agree it’s a good compromise.”
Willow frowned. “Okay. What’s the good news?”
“The good news is that even though you can’t stay here, the Dragon Heart Agency is willing to offer you a paid internship in D.C. You can go home and see your mother, but also be working on research to help locate your father and bring down the Dark Sparks. We’re not sure exactly what you’ll be doing yet, because we are still figuring out ourselves the best way to track down Stein and his men. But the head of the Dragon Heart Agency has promised me he’ll give you important work to do—work that will make a real difference in finding your father.”
Willow considered this. She still hated to leave Cayenne behind for the summer, and she wasn’t looking forward to being in D.C. around her mom and old friends. No matter what Anjali said, Willow didn’t think that her mom wanted her. But the job would be nice. It would be better than nothing, at least, and once Willow started working, she could prove to everyone that she was able to do much more than they thought she could. She would help them find her father, and when they did, all of the challenges of the last year would be worth it.
Anjali smiled. “So, what do you say? Want the job.”
Willow realized she hadn’t actually said anything to Anjali. “Oh, yes! I’d love it. When can I start?”
Anjali laughed. “Next week, when you’re back in D.C. Before you and the others head off for the summer, though, we have to have the end of year banquet.
Willow slapped her forehead. “I completely forgot about that. It’s still happening, even with all the chaos around here?”
“Of course it’s still happening. You all need a chance to say goodbye to your dragons, and each other, for the summer. And we want to honor all your hard work this year. The first year of Dragon Heart Academy is not an easy year. Think of all you’ve
accomplished. You’ve gone from not even knowing magic exists, to mastering several dozen spells and riding on dragons. I’m really proud of you, Willow. I know you don’t always think you’re making much progress here, but trust me, you are. You have a very strong magical gift, and it’s only going to get stronger with time.”
And then, much to Willow’s surprise, Anjali pulled her into a hug. Willow was tempted to protest, and to tell Anjali that she was mistaken—that Willow wasn’t all that smart or powerful. But for once, Willow kept her mouth shut.
After all, when she really stopped to think about it, she had done a pretty great job this year. She knew her dad would have been proud of her, and really, that’s all that mattered to her.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Two days later, with the early summer sun slowly setting behind the pine trees in a brilliant display of orange, pink, and gold, Willow and her fellow trainees were treated to a delicious banquet. Sam cooked for them, and Willow could see why the dragons were named after herbs and spices. Sam was a master chef.
For a starting course they had mystic mozzarella sticks. This was followed by bewitched beef medallions with a side of pixie dust potatoes. To drink, Sam made fresh Snapdragon Sap that was perfectly refreshing with just a hint of sweetness. Willow had never tasted anything so delicious. That is, she’d never tasted anything so delicious until she tried the charmed chocolate cake that Sam made for dessert. Layers and layers of moist chocolate raspberry cake were covered with a smooth, creamy chocolate frosting, and dusted with powdered sugar on top. Willow couldn’t help taking a second slice. The cake was even better than the fancy ones she’d eaten in expensive D.C. restaurants when her parents had taken her out to dinner there.
The best part about the meal, though, was catching up with Sylvie. Willow had barely seen her since the practice mission, and the two of them made plans for rooming together next year, and for possibly showing up to school a week early to have time to enjoy the beautiful Maine summer.