5 Chapter 5

5 "Okay! What's the next ingredient?" asked Naomi.

"A tear from a sea-donkey." Willa shrugged. "Whatever that is." "There's a sea-donkey family that lives not far from here," said the Worrying Waterfall Bird, stroking one of her eggs. "Great!" said Azmina, ready to get going. "But he might not be very helpful," said the bird. "He doesn't need to be helpful," Naomi pointed out. "He just needs to cry." "How do we find him?" Willa asked the bird, who was now scurrying around the cave, rearranging her eggs. "Oh, that's easy," she said. "Just slide down the waterfall." Willa felt a shiver of excitement. Sliding down the waterfall sounded like a lot of fun. Naomi clearly felt the same way. "Let's go!" she said, flapping her wings. But Azmina was frowning. "Are you okay?" Willa asked.

Azmina nodded. "It's just, I'm not great at holding my breath." "That's one thing even I wouldn't worry about," called the bird, dashing past with an egg under each wing. "Most dragons can breathe underwater for ages." Naomi smiled at Azmina. "Hear that? If even a worry bird is telling you not to worry, you'll be fine." Azmina nodded, but she didn't look completely convinced. Willa put a wing around her. "We'll do it together, okay? We Glitter Dragons are a team." Azmina nodded. "Thanks. And I guess I have flown into a volcano. Sliding down a waterfall can't be more difficult than that, right?" "Exactly." Willa grinned, really hoping that was true.

Thanking the bird, the Glitter Dragons flew out of the cave and around to the front of the waterfall. It seemed even more powerful than before. Down below, the water churned fiercely. In the "normal" world, there was no way Willa would slide down that waterfall. Much too dangerous! But we are Glitter Dragons here in the Magic Forest, so everything is different, Willa reminded herself. She saw Azmina looking nervously at the raging water. "Let's slide together," Willa suggested. "Great idea," said Naomi. "Azmina, you go in the middle." They flew to the top of the waterfall. "On the count of three, let's slide!" roared Willa over the noise of the water. "One, two, three … SLIDE!" Whooshing down the waterfall was like riding on the fastest, splashiest waterslide ever. "Whoo! This is fun!" yelled Azmina.

Willa grinned. She was glad Azmina was enjoying it. "Get ready to dive!" she roared as they plummeted down. Together, the Dragon Girls took big breaths as they flipped around and dove nose-first into the river. Below the surface, the water had a delicate blue light to it. But right away Willa saw shadowy shapes moving like eels through the water.

Wherever the shapes wriggled, the water turned a murky gray. Underwater, Willa could hear their whispering even more clearly than she had in the forest. You'll never finish this quest. You don't have what it takes. The words made Willa feel like she was losing her sparkle. "We have to hurry," she said. Hang on, she could talk and breathe underwater! Willa had always dreamed of being a mermaid. "Would you mind getting out of the way?" asked a tired voice, pulling Willa out of her daydream. "I'm picking up my kids from school. You'll make me late." Willa turned to see a very strange-looking creature. It had tall, pointy ears, a horselike nose, and the curly tail and round stomach of a seahorse. "You're a sea-donkey!" Willa gasped. "Just who we're looking for! We're on a quest, and we need your help."