Chapter 9

9 "The dolphin leader!" Sofia gasped. "It must be," Grace agreed. "How is he trapped like that? And how are we going to rescue him?" Zoe wondered aloud. Grace had been wondering the same thing. She'd never seen so many Fire Sparks in one

place! The dolphin happily waved a fin at Grace and her friends. Strangely, he did not look worried. He just looked a little… puzzled.

"Don't worry!" Grace called above the hum of Fire Sparks. "We're going to rescue you!" To her friends, she muttered, "We just need to figure out how. Any ideas?" "Maybe we could pull the Fire Sparks away from the dolphin with our sharp claws?" Sofia suggested. "Or swish them away with our powerful tails?" Zoe added. These were good ideas. Carefully, Grace reached out a talon. The Fire Sparks buzzed angrily, making the air crackle with heat and magic. Grace felt a sharp pain in her talon as if she'd touched an open flame. "Ouch!" she cried, nursing her burned paw. "Hmm. I don't think we can touch them." "Well, we have to do something because they've spotted us!" Zoe cried. Sure enough, one group of sparks kept swirling around the trapped dolphin while a second group

broke away. It streaked toward the Sea Dragons like a fiery comet. "Duck!" FinFin cried in alarm. The three friends tucked in their wings and dove under the water. But the Fire Spark comet followed them under the surface! The water bubbled and roiled. Even worse, Grace felt herself getting dizzy and confused again. What were they doing again? Grace tried to clear her thoughts. She was not going to let these pesky sparks confuse her! We're here to rescue the first Sea Keeper, she reminded herself. Then, before her confusion could return, Grace flew up to the surface and surged out of the water and high into the air. Zoe and Sofia followed close behind. In the air, Grace's mind felt clearer. For some reason, the sparks didn't muddle her as much out of the water. But they were still annoying! The horrible things swarmed around Grace's face, stinging her

ears and dazzling her eyes. How could she and her friends beat Fire Sparks that even water could not quench? Grace roared with frustration, and something very surprising happened. Grace could see her roar! It shimmered like a fine, misty, aqua cloud. And as the cloud enveloped the Fire Sparks, they fizzed and disappeared! Excited about her discovery, Grace called out to Zoe and Sofia, who were swatting at sparks with their wings and tails. "I think our roars have special powers! They can smother the Fire Sparks. Try it!" Grace watched as Zoe roared, sending a glorious purple mist into the air. Soon it was joined by Sofia's misty orange roar. Their roars blanketed the Fire Sparks. With a splutter, the sparks vanished. Grace took a deep breath and roared again. But this time, nothing happened. Her roar did not produce a mist, and it had no effect on the

sparks. Grace's mind raced. We are Sea Dragons. Maybe we need to use the seawater! she thought. Grace dove back into the water, then turned and smoothly launched herself up into the air again. This time when she roared, her Fire Spark–squishing mist was back! Zoe and Sofia grinned when they understood what Grace was doing. They, too, dove into the water and came back up with fully charged Sea Dragon roars. "Keep going!" Grace encouraged her friends. "It's working!" Frenzied Fire Sparks zigzagged back and forth, trying to dodge the misty roars. Grace barely noticed. When she was in a race, she always blocked out the sights and sounds around her and stayed focused on her goal. She felt the same way now.