Chapter 2

2 Quinn opened her eyes as she landed back on the ground. She was surrounded by trees dripping in shiny, ripe fruit. Vines curled around tree trunks, dotted with bright flowers. The ground was covered in mossy green grass, soft as velvet.

Quinn sighed happily. She had been to the Magic Forest a couple of times now, and it never stopped being exciting. In fact, it seemed more exciting every time! One of the best parts was turning into a dragon. In the real world, Quinn was often nervous. But when she was in the Magic Forest in her powerful dragon body, she felt like she could do anything. Of course, when she was a Dragon Girl, Quinn couldn't play her trumpet. But that was a small price to pay for the joy of soaring above the treetops with her friends! Quinn looked down at her shimmering green legs and paws. And I can roar! Quinn reminded herself. To prove it, she let out a loud roar. Flickering jade-green flames leapt from her mouth, and the air filled with a bright and wonderful sound. It just felt so good to roar. Quinn laughed as she fluttered her elegant, powerful wings, lifting gently off the ground. It felt good to be able to fly, too!

One of the things Quinn loved about the Magic Forest was how it sounded. It reminded her of an orchestra. There were the low, rustling noises of the grasses and the reeds as the breeze blew through them. Then there were the chirrups of insects and the croaks of frogs. Above this rose the melodies of the birds and the whispering treetops. And around all that swirled something that was more like a feeling than an actual sound. It was a

kind of happy, humming feeling. Quinn wondered if this was the energy of the forest itself. But when the sound of Quinn's roar faded away, she noticed the forest was almost silent. Quinn couldn't hear any of the usual sounds. No frogs, no insects, and definitely no birds. It was like the forest soundtrack had been muted! All that was left was an annoying buzzing noise, like static. "The forest sounds wrong, doesn't it?" said a voice nearby. Quinn tilted her head to see a little bird hovering in the air. It looked a bit like an owl, but Quinn knew the animals in the magic forest were all different and utterly magical. The bird was green, and under each wing shone a brilliant flash of hot pink. "I'm Flutterdash," twittered the little bird softly. "My voice is normally much louder, but the Shadow Sprites have been stealing all the forest sounds. So I'm losing my voice."

"That's terrible!" Quinn gasped. "Why are they doing that?" The little bird flew even closer. "Without our sounds, the harmony of the forest is weakened," she explained in her tiny voice. "The bees can't hear the flowers calling to them. The birds can't listen for currents of warm air to lift them higher. The fish can't hear the warbling of the water, guiding them safely through the rivers. And that's only the beginning. It's a disaster!" The little bird began to cough. Quinn had never heard a bird cough before! "Better not talk anymore for now," said Quinn. She didn't want Flutterdash to lose her voice. "Just nod or shake your head. Are you here to guide me to the glade?"

The bird fluttered her wings madly and nodded. Then she flew off, weaving her way between the trees. Quinn quickly launched herself into the air and followed. She didn't want to lose sight of Flutterdash. Flying through the Magic Forest was strange this time. It looked and smelled just the same, but it felt different somehow. Worse, the deeper Quinn flew into the forest, the louder the static sound