Chapter 7

7 Carefully, Quinn put the Heartstring Violin back in her bag. Now that it had strings, it felt even more powerful. A nearby spider jumped on its web, playing a happy tune that fit the Dragon Girls' mood perfectly. "We've completed the quest!" Mei said.

"Not quite," Aria said. "You still need the bow." "The bow?" repeated Aisha, wrinkling her snout. "We don't need to put a bow on the violin, do we? Surely all that matters is that we've found it." Quinn shook her head. "Not a ribbon kind of bow. The kind of bow you use to play a violin." Suddenly, she didn't feel quite so happy. Finding the bow might be difficult. The Song Weaver spiders huddled together, chattering softly. Then Aria turned to the Dragon Girls. "We have heard through our webs that the bow is in the Realm of Birds," she said. "We suggest you try there." "Thanks so much!" said Quinn. "How do we find it?" "The Realm of Birds moves all the time," said Aria. "Normally it's easy to find. You simply follow the birdsong. But since the Shadow Sprites have been stealing the forest sounds, the birds

have been very quiet. Your best chance is to ask a bird to lead you there." Quinn smiled. "I know just the bird to help us. Flutterdash!" No sooner had she said the name than Quinn felt a presence at her side. "Follow me!" said Flutterdash. Her voice was still weak, but her flying was as nimble as ever. She rose high into the air. Quinn, Aisha, and Mei thanked the Song Weavers for their help, then flew off after Flutterdash. Once they were away from the

spiders and their music, Quinn was struck once more by the unnatural silence of the Magic Forest. She could see the trees below her moving with the breeze, but she couldn't hear the leaves or the wind! A bee buzzed by her ear… except there was no actual buzzing sound at all. Down below, the rivers made no sound as they flowed along. Even worse, the water didn't seem to know which way to go. It would flow in one direction for a bit. Then the waters would swirl around and go another way. It's like when the band tries to play without a conductor, thought Quinn. Then Quinn had a terrible thought. What if the Magic Forest was silent forever? Quinn shook the worry from her head. We are NOT going to let that happen! she promised herself. Flutterdash flew up beside Quinn, coughed, and pointed down with her wing. Below them was a vast, colorful tapestry draped across the treetops. The tapestry was made of countless brightly

colored birds! The birds were almost completely silent. All Quinn could hear was the occasional bird cough or low twittering. Aisha and Mei were looking down, too. "That must be the Realm of Birds down below, right?" said Aisha. Quinn nodded. "For sure. Let's go!" Together, the three friends and Flutterdash swooped toward the treetops, and then lower until they touched down on the ground. Quinn looked up with amazement. Upon every single branch perched a bird. It was like being inside a kaleidoscope filled with gemstones! Quinn felt Mei nudge her. "What are they doing?" she murmured, pointing to a group of birds on a nearby branch. It took Quinn a moment to work out what she was seeing. Most of the birds looked perfectly normal. But this little group had long and elaborate hairstyles. One had ringlets; another one had a high ponytail. One had a very elegant

French twist while yet another had lots of tiny little pigtails here, there, and everywhere. Quinn stifled a laugh. She didn't want to be rude, but the birds looked so funny! "Are you laughing at us, Dragon Girl?" tweeted the bird with the high ponytail. She sounded huffy, but her voice was raspy and weak, as if she had a bad cold.