Chapter 8

8 The churn of white water swirled around Mei, dragging her down. She held The Forest Book up over her head and kicked with all her might. She was determined to keep the book dry. It would be terrible if it were destroyed by water. But how to get out of the raging current? There was no way

she was strong enough to fly up and out of the water. "We've got you, Mei!" called a voice. The air above filled with blue and green smoke as Quinn and Aisha whooshed down toward Mei. Quinn scooped a paw under her left wing, and Aisha took the right one. Together, they lifted Mei from the water and carried her to the riverbank.

"Is The Forest Book okay?" Mei asked, trying to catch her breath. "It's fine!" said Aisha, taking it from Mei and inspecting it. There were a couple of splashes on the cover, but that was all. "You did great, Mei." Quinn smiled. Mei had never felt so relieved! She was exhausted, but she had enough energy to give her friends the biggest wing hugs ever. "Thanks, guys," she said. "That roar of ours literally blew me away!" "Wasn't it awesome?" said Aisha, her eyes sparkling. "I'm only just getting my head around how powerful we are." "Especially when we work together," added Quinn. "But one thing's worrying me. Did the words end up back in the book?" Mei held her breath as she opened The Forest Book. What if the words weren't there? But looking down, she saw they had succeeded. There

were words on the page, and she could read them! She flicked to the first chapter. The Magic Forest has been blooming since the beginning of time. The magic in the soil is so strong, every single flower, tree, and animal has special powers. "We did it!" Aisha whooped. "Now we just need to—" Aisha was cut short by an angry buzzing sound. Looking up, the Treasure Dragons saw hundreds of tiny gray dots in the air above them. "Are they insects?" Quinn whispered. "I don't think so," Mei muttered back. She had a bad feeling. The feeling got worse as the little dots joined together to form a huge gray streak. It lashed back and forth overhead, like the tail of an angry cat.

"Shadow Sprites!" Aisha yelled. "They're after the book!" "Well, they're not getting it!" Mei declared. She tucked the book back into her bag and the Treasure Dragons rose into the air. The Shadow Sprites whipped around them, making everything darker and colder. For a moment, the familiar doubt began to creep in. You'll never beat the Shadow Sprites. So much for being a Treasure Dragon—you can't even protect an old book!

Mei tried to block out the dark thoughts, reminding herself they weren't true. She opened her mouth and roared, filling the air with red smoke. Aisha and Quinn joined in, and the sound of their roars echoed off the rocky cliff face. It sounded like there were a hundred dragons roaring! The gray, shadowy forms swirling around them were swamped by the colorful, powerful smoke. Before long, the Shadow Sprites had seeped away to nothing. The Dragon Girls landed back on the ground beside the river. "Look!" Quinn exclaimed. Mei looked down at the book. It was glowing, as though it had a light inside. And then she noticed something else that was glowing, too. The silver and gold that decorated their wings and tails! "We really are Treasure Dragons!" Mei sighed happily.