Chapter 6

6 The Treasure Dragons waved goodbye to the bunnies, who were too busy admiring their new roof and chomping on carrots to wave back. "Fly straight ahead," instructed Squeaklet. "You'll know when you're in the right place."

With a swish of fur, he disappeared into the treetops. Mei patted The Forest Book in her bag and they zoomed off, weaving around trees laden with jewel-like fruit. They whooshed across a field of wildflowers growing on the edge of a mountain, flying so low that the blooms brushed against Mei's scales. "You're covered in pollen!" Aisha laughed, copying Mei until she, too, was dotted with pollen. "It looks like gold dust," Quinn called. "We're Treasure Dragons, so that fits!" Mei called back. A few moments later, the Dragon Girls found themselves flying through some sort of storm cloud. A thick grayness surrounded them. Mei coughed, and her eyes felt gritty. She couldn't see her friends anywhere. Even worse, Mei felt confused. What are we doing again? she wondered. Where are we going? She shook her

head, trying to clear her thoughts. Keep it together, she told herself sternly. We're going to find the Book Butterflies. But now Mei felt unsure about their plan. What if there was no such thing as a Book Butterfly? Then she wondered if the book they'd found was the right one. She desperately needed to clear her throat again, but she hardly had the strength to cough.

Mei's stomach dropped. Wait! This is no storm cloud. These are Shadow Sprites! As Mei watched, the gray shadowy particles joined together until they formed bigger, even more sinister shapes. Soon the air was filled with menacing shadows, shifting in strange snake-like patterns. Mei knew what she had to do. Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth and let out a ROAR. A red flame erupted from her mouth and cleared a bright, sparkling path in the gray cloud. Mei could see her friends! They, too, were blinking away the shadowy confusion caused by the Shadow Sprites. "We have to get away from here!" Mei roared to Aisha and Quinn. "Follow me!" Mei began to fly along the path her roar had created. Aisha and Quinn stuck close behind. As she charged past the Shadow Sprites, Mei felt a breeze on her face. It smelled like sunshine. We'll get through this, Mei told herself. The thought made the last of the shadowy doubt

disappear. Mei felt confident and strong once more. "Phew! That was horrible!" Quinn groaned. "The worst! Hey, where is that breeze coming from?" Aisha called. Mei saw movement in a meadow down below. Were they flowers blowing in the wind? No! It was the fluttering of thousands of butterfly wings in every possible color. Each butterfly wing was streaked with gold. "Yes!" Mei cried. "That's where we're headed!" A moment later, the three Treasure Dragons landed softly. The meadow was near the side of a cliff, and down below raged a wild river. The Dragon Girls were a little dusty, but more than anything, they felt relieved to be away from the Shadow Sprites. Butterflies perched on a log nearby. They read from tiny books made from leaves and flower petals. A soft, papery scent rose from their fluttering wings.

An orange-and-gold butterfly glanced up from her book and smiled. "You must be Dragon Girls!" she said in a soft, flittering voice. "I've read about you." "Yes, we're Treasure Dragon Girls," Mei said proudly. "And you must be the Book Butterflies. We're so glad to find you. We really need your help."