Chapter 5

5 "That bright flash must have been the Fire Sparks," Phoebe said. Stella nodded. "We have to find them! They can't have gotten far." Rosie agreed. "But which direction did they go? I didn't see a thing!" Phoebe scanned the area. Where had the Fire Sparks taken them? Even with her powerful eyesight, Phoebe couldn't see any sign of the

Dreamlets. It was as though they'd disappeared into thin air. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Phoebe spotted something moving near where the cliffs met the lake. She flapped her wings and leapt over toward the spot. There, snagged in the long grass, was a single pink-and-purple Dreamlet. Phoebe untangled the wriggly little thing and held it carefully in her paw. Stella and Rosie bounded over to her side, followed by a swarm of very anxious Newt Nurses. "If we have no Dreamlets, then none of the forest creatures will be able to dream," one of the Newt Nurses muttered to the others. "And if they can't dream, they will start to get sick." Phoebe raised the Dreamlet to her face. She felt huge compared with the tiny creature, so she tried to speak very softly. "Where did the others go?" she asked gently. The Dreamlet gazed at Phoebe for a moment. Then it leapt from her paw and into the air. It began wriggling over to the cliff face.

"Is it trying to escape? Maybe it's scared of us?" Rosie said. Phoebe shook her head. "I think it's trying to show us something. Look!" Phoebe pointed to a hole in the rock face near where the Dreamlet was wriggling. It looked like the mouth of a cave. Phoebe flew over and peered inside. It was very deep and very dark. Then she saw something that made her gasp. "Something is glowing down there! It HAS to be the Fire Sparks!" she shouted to the others. Stella and Rosie flew to join her. Phoebe would never normally climb into a deep, dark hole without knowing what was down there. She was not that sort of daredevil. But being a Night Dragon made her feel so capable, especially when she had Stella and Rosie with her. "Be careful!" called the newts. "The ground below this place is ancient and holds all kinds of powerful magic. Strange things happen down there. Watch out." Phoebe felt a shiver travel up her long, curved spine. But this did not change her mind. She turned to her friends.

"Ready?" she asked. Stella and Rosie answered in one voice. "Let's go!" Phoebe tucked her wings around her torso and squeezed through the gap. It was dark, but once inside, she could see that the cave was wide enough for her to fly. She spread her wings and began to soar down the passage. Luckily, she could hear Rosie and Stella just behind her. That stopped her from feeling afraid. They flew along a tunnel that sloped downward. The occasional tree root broke through the rocky sides, and sometimes a drip of water fell on Phoebe's wings as they beat in the dank underground air. We're directly below the Moon Lake! Phoebe realized. As Phoebe turned a bend, the tunnel widened and she found herself in a huge open space. She landed softly, and her friends did the same. Phoebe could hear rushing water but could not quite make out where the sound was coming from.

She gave a quick roar. The glowing light from her roar spread out, illuminating the space in beautiful cool blues. What Phoebe saw made her gasp. They were in an underground garden, filled with the strangest flowers and plants she had ever seen. It was both creepy and beautiful. These must be night plants, thought Phoebe, ones that thrive away from the light. Most surprising of all was the river flowing through the garden. This was clearly no ordinary

river. The water was a mass of different colors. Shade of purple, blue, orange, green, and pink twisted and twirled around one another as the water rushed along. "Look!" Stella shouted. There, on the other side of the river, were the Dreamlets! When they spotted the Night Dragons, the creatures whizzed around in big, happy loops. But Phoebe noticed something strange. Every time a Dreamlet flew to the river's edge, they would leap back as though something had stung them. "I wonder why they don't just fly over to us?" Rosie mused. "Maybe they're scared?" Stella suggested. Phoebe heard a familiar voice in her ear. DasherGirl was back! "They can't fly across," she said, settling by Phoebe's side. "There is an electrical current reaching from the surface of the water all the way to the roof of the cave. It forms an invisible barrier. It's impossible to cross the river unless you are surrounded by Fire Sparks.