Chapter 5

5 Grace, Zoe, and Sofia exchanged a look. Shiver Sharks sounded kind of scary. Even the name made Grace… well… shiver! More and more dolphins appeared from the sand-colored buildings of the city. They swam

around, their fins changing from blue to purple to neon pink and back again. "What's going on?" one of the new arrivals asked. "These courageous Sea Dragons are going to battle the Shiver Sharks!" said the flower-swirl dolphin. "Ummm, are we?" Sofia whispered, looking at Zoe and Grace. "I don't remember us saying that!" "You are really brave," said a tiny dolphin, pressing up against Grace's flank. "The Shiver Sharks are sooo big. And they have sooo many teeth! But don't worry. If they eat you, we'll create a dolphin dance in your honor. Or maybe we'll build a sand sculpture for the center of our city." Grace felt her insides tighten. It took a lot to scare her. But battling huge sharks did not sound easy. Or fun! "Don't worry about the Shiver Sharks," said a soft voice from nearby. "They are not nearly as

scary as dolphins say." Grace turned to see FinFin. "You're back!" she said. "Of course," said the little fish. "I will always be here when you need me." Grace felt her nerves slip away. She turned to the dolphins. "We will not get eaten by Shiver Sharks," she said firmly. "But it sounds like we need to go and talk to them." The Diamond Dolphins backflipped again and cheered in their high, squeaky voices. "We'll take you part of the way," said a few of the bigger dolphins. "Follow us!" The dolphins led the way through the sandy buildings of their city. As they swam, streams of bubbles trailed alongside their smooth, shining bodies. More dolphins joined the group, swimming out of the doorways and windows of the city. They were the most amazing creatures Grace had ever encountered!

Gradually, the impressive buildings of Dolphin City thinned out. The farther they swam, the darker and colder the water became. Grace was pleased FinFin was with them. "Am I imagining it, or are we going deeper?" Sofia asked. "I thought that, too," Zoe commented, swimming closer. "Hey, something's bugging me. Why would sharks kidnap a dolphin? Doesn't that seem a little weird to you?" Grace was about to reply when a flash of light streaked past. "What was that?" She blinked in surprise. "I don't know," Sofia said, "but here comes another one!" Another dazzling gleam whooshed by. This time it brushed against Grace's wing. Ouch! "It's those nasty new fish again!" chattered the dolphins. "Be careful, they sting! And they make your thoughts all fuzzy."

Grace shook her head. "They're not fish. They have no eyes or tail! And they are hot, like fire." "Wait," Zoe said, "didn't the Tree Queen say something about waterproof Fire Sparks?" "You're right!" Grace exclaimed, flapping her wings. "That's what they are! How do we fight waterproof fire?"

"I don't know," Sofia said grimly. "But we'd better figure it out soon." A cluster of glowing orbs appeared from the depths of the seabed. More Fire Sparks!