by D J DuMont
But Willow’s magical powers had seemed anything but strong. She’d lagged behind everyone in all her classes, and often had trouble getting even basic spells correct. She’d begun to feel infuriated whenever anyone reminded her that she must have exceptional magic powers due to her strong reaction to the virus. It all felt like a bunch of baloney.
“Your strong magical power comes from mental magic,” Anjali said. “If you can learn to control that power, you’ll be one of the strongest wizards of our time.”
“The strongest wizard of our time,” Sam corrected.
Anjali nodded. “Thought magic has more power than spoken magic. When used properly it can enable you to do more magic than you’d ever thought possible. But it must be controlled carefully if you want to use it for good.”
Willow still didn’t exactly understand, but she thought she at least got the basic idea. “Okay. So, I can do magic with my thoughts, and I need to learn to control those thoughts. Does this mean I’m not in trouble for causing the earthquake, since I didn’t know I was doing it?”
“That’s not up to me to decide,” Anjali said. “The Dragon Heart Agency is still planning to send someone to investigate the cracks in the magical shield and what caused them. That investigation has been held up because so many other pressing matters are taking up the Agency’s time. But I’m betting that they will prioritize the investigation now that a second year student has caused a terraemotus spell using mental magic. They’ll want to talk to you and see exactly what happened.”
“I’ve already told you all I know,” Willow said, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. “And it doesn’t seem fair to punish me for something I didn’t know I was doing.”
Anjali’s face had softened toward Willow. For the first time since the school year began, her professor was actually looking at her with kind, understanding eyes—the way she had looked at Willow last year. Willow almost wept at the realization. She’d missed feeling like her mentor was there for her. But when Anjali spoke, the words weren’t exactly what Willow wanted to hear.
“It will be up to the Dragon Heart investigators to decide whether what you did was indeed mental magic. It seems to me like it is, but they have to make that final determination. And then they will decide whether you should have been able to prevent the quake. They might still decide that you were at fault, even though you didn’t exactly know what you were doing.”
“What?” Willow asked, feeling more frustrated than ever. “How could I be at fault if I didn’t know what I was doing?”
“They might say that you should have controlled your temper better,” Sam explained. “You know that they expect all Dragon Heart Agents, even students, to act calmly and professionally at all times. Especially in front of non-wizards.”
“For crying out loud! I’m only fifteen years old and my best friend and I got into a huge fight. How do they expect me to calm down?”
“Willow, stop!” Anjali said in a firm voice. “Losing control of your temper now won’t make things better. If the Dragon Heart investigators do find you at fault, you’ll have to serve whatever punishment they give you and learn from the experience. That’s the only choice you have. Fighting with them won’t do any good. In the meantime, the best thing you can do for yourself is to keep a low profile. Don’t get into any fights, work hard in your classes, and stay away from the dragons unless it’s class time.”
Willow hung her head, fighting back tears. She was being treated like some sort of criminal. It wasn’t her fault she had these strange “mental magic” abilities. Sylvie had been angry during their fight, too. But because she hadn’t had any special magical abilities, she wasn’t going to face any consequences. Willow’s alleged talents only seemed to get her in trouble, and despite her resolve to be calm, Willow felt herself growing angry with Sylvie again. That girl was supposed to be her best friend, but she’d abandoned Willow for Locke and Cara! Willow had understandably gotten upset about that, but was the only one who was going to suffer for it, even though they had both fought.
Willow realized that her heart was beginning to pound with rage again, and she forced herself to settle down and remain calm. She had to stop thinking about it. Fighting back tears, she looked up at Anjali. “I’ll do my best to stay under the radar.”
“Good. In that case, you are dismissed. I need to talk to Headmaster Damon and make sure everything is under control over on the Birch Point side of campus. He’s going to have worried parents calling all night.”
Willow bit her lip. “Is…is everyone okay?” She dreaded asking the question, but she had to know. To her relief, Anjali was nodding.
“There were a few minor injuries, but overall everyone, and everything, is fine. You have your fellow Dragon Heart students to thank for that.”
“I do?”
“Yes, you do. One of them was performing a stabilizing spell. It quickly turned what would have normally been a magnitude eight earthquake into about a magnitude four.”
Cara! Willow thought. It had been Cara doing the stabilizing, following Locke’s instructions. Willow felt her cheeks burning with shame. She had been so angry with Sylvie for hanging out with Locke and Cara, but if it hadn’t been for Locke and Cara, Willow probably would have killed someone today. Even though everything that happened had been an accident and unintentional, Willow didn’t think she could have lived with herself if someone at Birch Point Academy had died because of her.
With a resigned sigh, Willow stood. “Well, I’m glad that there were no serious injuries, at least. I’m going to head back to the Birch Point dorms now.”
“See that you do,” Anjali said. “I can’t stress enough that the less trouble you cause over the next few months, the better things will go for you.”
Willow nodded, then turned to go. Before she had fully closed the door behind her, Anjali and Sam were already beginning to discuss how to deal with any students who might have realized that the earthquake was not caused by natural forces. Willow shuddered, and hurried her steps down the hallway. She hoped no one else had realized that magic was involved. That would make it almost certain that the Dragon Heart investigators would recommend she be punished.
When Willow reached the Birch Point side of campus again, she was surprised at how quiet it was. She had forgotten how late it was, and enough time had passed now that any excitement over the earthquake had settled down. Willow was sure that Headmaster Damon had tried to get everyone to their dorms as quickly as possible. Although he wasn’t a wizard, he knew about the Dragon Heart Academy, and worked closely with Anjali to make sure that none of the non-wizard students suspected that there was another side of campus—a side with dragons and magic.
Willow dreaded going back to her dorm room and facing Sylvie and Alexis, but she had no choice. It was too cold to hang around outside all night, and besides, she had promised Anjali that she would lie low. The best way to do that was to quietly go back to her dorm room. With any luck, Alexis and Sylvie would already be asleep.
When Willow reached her dorm room, though, only Alexis was there. Alexis was in bed, and appeared to be fast asleep. Whether she was actually asleep, or only pretending to be so that she didn’t have to talk to Willow, was anyone’s guess. Willow didn’t exactly want to talk to her either, so she was happy to go along with it. Sylvie’s bed was empty, and Willow suspected her friend had gone to Cara’s room for the night.
Can I really blame her? Willow had caused a lot of trouble tonight, and Cara had been the one to save things. Cara probably seemed like a much more appealing friend at the moment.
It’s fine. I don’t want to talk to Sylvie right now, anyway, Willow told herself. But as she climbed under the blankets of her tiny dorm bed, she couldn’t keep a few tears from rolling down her face. The future felt so uncertain right now, and as much as Willow hated to admit it, she could have really used a friend.
Chapter Nineteen
No one would even look at Willow in class anymore. Sylv
ie, who used to always take the seat next to Willow in every Dragon Heart class, now sat across the room with Locke and Cara. If Anjali noticed this change, she didn’t say anything. In fact, Anjali didn’t say much of anything to Willow. Sam also seemed to avoid her as much as possible. During dragon flying classes, he looked at the other students while giving instructions, never at Willow. He only spoke to Willow when it was absolutely necessary.
Willow had become an outcast. Even on the Birch Point side, other students seemed to avoid her. Willow wasn’t sure why. In theory, no one should know that it was her that had caused the earthquake. But they all seemed to be giving her the side eye. Willow tried to tell herself that it was all in her imagination, but she couldn’t ignore the way everyone looked the other way when she approached. Even Alexis seemed less warm than usual. Alexis, at least, was polite to her, and always said good morning and good night in their dorm room, or hello when they crossed paths in the hallway. But she wasn’t her normal, bubbly self, begging to spend time with Willow.
Marcus still tried to hang out with Willow, but he got frustrated that she couldn’t leave campus, and even more frustrated that she couldn’t explain why. Willow started to spend more and more time alone in a corner of the library. It just seemed easier to hide away than to deal with questions or accusing looks.
One good side effect of all of this was that Willow’s grades started to improve. As another month went by where she had nothing to do but study, her test scores began to rise. Her teachers in her “normal” subjects on the Birch Point Campus complimented her frequently. But if Anjali and Sam noticed that Willow was doing better in school, they didn’t mention it.
Things continued this way until March, and still there had been no word of the Dragon Heart investigators arriving. Willow felt like she was in some strange dream. The President’s assassination was unsolved, her father was permanently missing, she was waiting to be judged for a magical offense she’d committed several months ago, and the Dragon Heart students were still confined to campus, even though the school year was rapidly coming to an end.
Willow was growing tired of hiding out in the library, but she couldn’t stand seeing the other students and feeling their staring eyes on her. Sylvie and Alexis had become experts at avoiding her, and never seemed to arrive in the dorm room until after Willow was asleep. Willow could feel herself going stir crazy, but she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to complicate things with the investigation, but how long could everyone expect her to spend her days holed up in the library, never seeing anyone nor having any fun? How long could they expect her to stay completely calm and quiet?
Willow asked herself these questions several times a day, until, finally, she decided that enough was enough. She would continue to fly under the radar as much as possible, except for one thing: she wasn’t going to stay away from the dragons anymore. It wasn’t fair for Anjali and Sam to expect her not to go see Cayenne and Clove. Those dragons were her friends, and they understood her better than anyone. Besides, even if she did accidentally do magic in front of the dragons, it wouldn’t matter. The dragons already knew about magic.
And so, with her mind made up, Willow decided to sneak out that very night. She went to her dorm room early in the evening, when she knew that no one else would be around, and packed a backpack with her boots, winter jacket, and gloves. Then she hid the backpack in a cleaning closet on the bottom floor of the dorm room, where no one was likely to find it. Willow knew that the janitor cleaned this building early in the morning, so he wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. No one would disturb her backpack, and with everything she needed hidden away here, Willow could sneak out of the dorm as quietly as humanly possible. With any luck, Alexis and Sylvie wouldn’t realize she was leaving.
That night, Willow went to bed wearing clothes instead of pajamas. Alexis and Sylvie, as usual, came in and went to sleep without saying anything to Willow. Willow waited another hour after she thought they’d fallen asleep, just to be sure. When she was finally convinced that her two roommates were indeed sleeping, Willow rose, slowly and quietly, and started creeping toward the door. Inch by inch, she made her way out of the room, hardly daring to breathe until she had shut the door behind her. She listened at the door for a few minutes, worried that Sylvie or Alexis might have heard her and woken up. But there was no sound from within the room, and Willow finally turned to head downstairs to get her things from the closet.
The dorm building was quiet, and no one bothered Willow as she quickly dressed in her winter gear. When she was ready, she took one last look around to make sure no one was watching her, and then headed into the cold night. Heavy snow still covered the ground. There had been no signs of a thaw yet, even though the calendar had been turned to March for two weeks now. But Willow didn’t mind. Something about the crunch of snow beneath her feet felt soothing. For once, she savored the silver-white landscape instead of bemoaning the cold.
Willow didn’t dawdle long, though. Now that she had made her mind up to see her dragon, she could hardly wait to get to the stables. She rushed through the tunnel to the Dragon Heart side of campus, then hurried toward the forest pathway that led to the dragons. She glanced over her shoulder several times, worried that Anjali or Sam had somehow known she was coming and would chase after her. But other than the crunch of snow under her feet and the pounding of her heart, the forest was quiet.
When she finally reached the meadow where the dragons lived, Willow let out a deep sigh of relief. She paused, breathing in the stillness, and the sensation of freedom. If Sam or Anjali caught her here they would be livid. But as long as Willow was quiet, and the dragons stayed quiet, there wasn’t much to worry about.
After a few moments of enjoying the fact that she had made it all the way here without being discovered, Willow again began walking forward. She climbed the ladder that led to the walkway that passed by the windows of the dragon stables, and peered in. These giant windows could be closed, but almost never were. Dragons were hot-natured, and needed fresh air to be comfortable.
The moon outside was exceptionally bright today, so it took her eyes a few minutes to adjust to the darkness of the dragon stables. Willow tried to make out the dragon shapes, but for a short time, all she could see was darkness. Then, as her eyes got used to the darkness, she could see the outlines of the giant beasts below. Their gigantic chests rose and fell with the rhythm of sleep, and every now and then one would let out a happy sigh. They were all curled up together, and reminded Willow of a litter of puppies. She had noticed the similarities between the dragons and dogs so many times, but it still always amazed her that such large beasts could be so playful, gentle, and loving.
Cayenne was sleeping at the edge of the pile, smiling in her sleep. Willow smiled at the sight, and wondered what Cayenne was dreaming about. Beside Cayenne was Sylvie’s dragon, Saffron. Despite the tension between Willow and Sylvie right now, Cayenne and Saffron remained good friends. All of the dragons here were close, and never let the petty arguments of the humans affect their own relationships. Willow sighed. If only things between her and Sylvie could be as simple as they seemed to be between Cayenne and Saffron.
Willow watched Cayenne for a few more moments before letting out a long, low whistle. Cayenne’s ears perked up, but she did not stir otherwise. Willow whistled again. Again, Cayenne’s ears twitched, but nothing else. This time, though, Clove raised his head and looked around. When he saw Willow, he let out a happy little whine and hopped to his feet. He ran over to her, stepping on Saffron’s tail along the way. Saffron yelped, and that was it. Within moments, the whole stable of dragons was awake. They all looked around in sleepy confusion for a moment before seeing Willow standing at one of the windows. With excited grunts, they all started to stand and walk toward her. Cayenne moved quicker than any of them, and reached Willow at the same moment as Clove, even though he had a head start. Both of them started trying to push each other out of the way to have Willow all to themselves.
<
br /> Willow laughed, and felt unexpected tears of happiness springing to her eyes. No one ever seemed happy to see her anymore, but all of the dragons here were, especially Cayenne and Clove. Willow hugged both of their necks, then turned to give the other dragons friendly pats. For a moment, life was good, and Willow forgot about all of the outside troubles.
But then, Clove whined and insisted on shoving his way back to Willow. He looked at her with searching eyes, and Willow understood what he was asking. He wanted to know whether she had any news on her father. Willow’s heart sank. Clove still didn’t know that the search for her father had been called off. Willow hadn’t had a chance alone with him to tell him, and, after a while, she’d begun to think that perhaps it was better if he didn’t know. Ignorance was bliss, wasn’t it?
But now that she was face to face with her father’s dragon, with no other humans around, Willow had no choice but to be honest with him.
“They called off the search, Clove. A few months ago. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but Anjali and Sam didn’t want me to come out to the stables, so I haven’t been able to talk to you.”
Clove hung his head for a moment, then looked back up at Willow with the saddest eyes she’d ever seen. Willow got the sense that he had suspected this news, but had been hoping that somehow he was wrong.
“They said that Stein isn’t paying attention to him anymore, so it’s not worth Agency resources to chase after him.”
Clove let out an angry grunt, and all Willow could do was sigh. “I agree, buddy. It’s horrible that they’ve given up on him. But there isn’t much I can do about it. I’ve had some troubles of my own lately. They think I made the cracks in the magic shield, and I accidentally set off a terraemotus spell. I’m waiting on the Agency to send a team of investigators to see what happened, and decide my fate. Hopefully they don’t punish me too harshly.”
