6 Chapter 6

6 Willa kept her mouth firmly shut as she swam back up to the surface. She did not want to lose

the precious sea-donkey tear she had trapped in there. She was feeling good. They already had two out of three ingredients for the potion! Sure, the last one was going to be the hardest, but right then Willa felt sure they would find that one, too. The Glitter Dragon Girls could do anything! But before she reached the surface, Willa saw something strange coming toward her. It looked like a storm cloud, billowing and expanding in the water. Willa frowned. An underwater storm? As the cloud moved closer, Willa's stomach lurched as she realized what it was. Shadow Sprites … and more of them than she'd ever seen! The shadowy mass swirled around and around, creating a kind of tornado. Willa watched in horror as anything that came near the whirlpool was sucked into its spinning darkness.

Azmina and Naomi were up ahead. It was clear that they hadn't seen the approaching danger. But Willa couldn't risk calling out in case the seadonkey tear escaped from her mouth. The swirling shadows got closer and closer to her friends, draining the color from the bright water as they went. If Willa didn't do something, Azmina and Naomi would be sucked into the vortex!

Willa really, really wanted to warn her friends. But she kept her mouth firmly shut. It had taken a lot of effort to get that tear. She couldn't lose it now! The shadowy whirlpool was getting closer to Azmina and Naomi. It was moving so quickly, there was nothing Willa could do. Fear gripped her as she watched her friends be overwhelmed by the swirling Shadow Sprites. She saw the surprise on their faces as they were spun around and down toward the depths of the river. Willa shook off the fear that was slowing her down. She was not going to watch her friends be sucked into the vortex! She felt energy ripple through her body, restoring her tired muscles. Willa started swimming harder and faster than she ever had before. She had to get to her friends. She had to save them! With an extra-hard swish of her tail, Willa dove into the seething mass. It was cold and dark and

scary. She heard the whispering doubt. You can't help your friends. You're too scared … Willa froze. The Shadow Sprites were right: She was scared. But it's not true that I can't do it, Willa told herself firmly. She could just make out Naomi and Azmina being whisked around like clothes in a washing machine. She reached out a paw to each of her friends. She couldn't say anything with her mouth, so she let her eyes do the talking. Hold on. I've got this. Naomi grabbed one paw as she whipped past, and Azmina the other. The whirlpool was so strong, Willa, too, was quickly picked up and whooshed around. Willa was feeling dizzy, but she gathered her strength and whipped her tail through the writhing Shadow Sprites, sending them shooting off in all directions. Then, kicking with more power than she knew she had, Willa zoomed her friends up

through the eye of the tornado and toward the surface. The three exhausted Glitter Dragon Girls broke the water's surface, gasping as they pulled themselves onto the riverbank. "That was intense!" spluttered Naomi. "Willa, I have no idea how you managed to save us."