Chapter 9

9 Quinn froze. The Shadow Queen and the Tree Queen were sisters? She turned to her friends, seeing that they were as amazed as she was. "Hard to believe, isn't it?" said the Shadow Queen, hovering in midair and narrowing her eyes. "My sister has always acted like she's better

than me. But soon I'll be in charge. Everyone in the forest will do as I say." Quinn did not like the sound of this at all. And neither did the Heartstring Violin! Quinn felt it shudder inside the bag. It wants to get out! thought Quinn. But is that a good idea? Flutterdash whispered in her ear. "We don't have much time left! You must act!" "But what should I do?" Quinn whispered in her raspy, weak voice. "Just trust your feelings," twittered the bird. The violin jumped around in the bag even more strongly. The Shadow Queen fixed her cruel, glittering eyes on Quinn as she pulled it out. "I see you've stolen back the Heartstring Violin! Why don't you just return that to me?" purred the Shadow Queen. "If you do, I may even let you help me rule the Magic Forest. I could use a strong creature like you to keep everyone in line. Don't worry about your friends. They will just hold you back."

Mei's face darkened and Aisha looked like she was about to explode. Quinn shot them a reassuring look. As if she would leave them and help the Shadow Queen! But strangely, Quinn's arm wanted to hand the violin over, even though her head knew it was a bad idea. The Shadow Queen's magic was truly powerful. Luckily, Aisha and Mei saw what was happening. They grabbed ahold of the violin, too, and dragged it back from the Shadow Queen. Quinn smiled gratefully at her friends. Then she held up the violin and positioned the bow above the strings. Warmth spread from the honey-colored wood of the violin up Quinn's arm and throughout her entire body. The violin clearly liked the idea of being played again! The problem was that Quinn had no idea if she could actually play the violin. So far she'd made only a single note on it. She knew that much more was needed this time.

She glanced across at her friends, who were both smiling and nodding excitedly at her. They think I can do it, Quinn thought. So maybe I can! "Don't you dare try playing that violin, Dragon Girl!" yelled the Shadow Queen as the sprites twisted and tumbled around Quinn, tugging at her tail and wings and doing the same to Aisha and Mei. "You'll regret it!" But Quinn paid her no attention. She closed her eyes and focused on the violin. Carefully, she

pulled the bow across one of the shining silver strings. A note floated up, simple but clear. Then Quinn pressed down on two strings to form a chord. It was strange, but somehow she knew exactly what to do. Quinn felt like she was being guided by the violin. Quinn continued to play, teasing out one note and gliding into the next. The more she played, the more confident she became. A strange and beautiful song began to flow from the violin. The music sounded like the wind in the trees. Like babbling water flowing over smooth stones. Like insects humming and bunnies playing. Like a mother bird returning to her nest to feed her chicks. It's music from the heart of the Magic Forest, Quinn realized. "Stop playing that horrible racket!" bellowed the Shadow Queen. She looked angry, but Quinn saw something else in her eyes, too. She was worried!

A strong wind picked up around the Shadow Queen, blowing her long hair into messy tangles. She lunged at Quinn with her impossibly long, thin fingers. Quinn darted away, but the Shadow Queen managed to grab ahold of the compass dangling around her neck. With an angry shout, the queen broke the compass chain and flung the precious object into the air. With a slow, perfect arc, the compass dropped into the lake far below them. Quinn wanted to shout in dismay, but without her voice, all she could do was keep playing the violin. So that's what she did. And finally something wonderful happened: The red and blue and green roars that the Shadow Queen had stolen broke free of her shadowy clutches! "Come back!" shrieked the Shadow Queen, lunging at the colorful roars. But the roars blew up out of her reach, like ribbons in a storm. They circled through the air before floating down toward Mei, Aisha, and