Chapter 8

8 The ground began to shudder. Phoebe looked around. Was that an earthquake? But then she noticed a glowing blue-and-purple mist. She watched as the mist gathered around her bleeding leg. Strangely, the throbbing seemed to fade a bit. As the mist settled, it also looked like the bleeding was slowing down. A huge grin stretched across Phoebe's dragon face. This was no earthquake. This was the roar of her friends!

"That's so smart!" DasherGirl said, shaking her antlers in delight. "They're roaring, and because they're such good friends, their roar is healing you!" The Dreamlets let out a happy cheer. If they'd had hands, Phoebe was pretty sure they'd be clapping them. Phoebe tried to wriggle her foot. Her leg still hurt, but it was better than it had been a few moments ago. Maybe it will help if I roar, too? she wondered. It was worth a try. She filled her lungs and roared. It billowed up, illuminating everything in a moonlight-colored fog. A moment later, she heard her friends joining in. The Dreamlets tried to roar as well. It was more like squealing than roaring, but Phoebe appreciated the effort. Phoebe watched in delight as the roar gathered like a healing bandage around her wound. The throbbing stopped, and when the mist cleared, Phoebe gasped. Not only had the bleeding stopped, but the gash had disappeared entirely!

Even better, the power of their roar caused the rocks all around her to crumble. Dust swirled, joining the glow of the Night Dragons' roars. With a loud groan, the earth seemed to split open. The Dreamlets squealed in delight. There was now enough space for Phoebe to stretch out her wings. "Hold on, Dreamlets," she called. "It's time to fly!" Phoebe flapped her wings and flew up the last little way to the surface. It was wonderful to land on the soft grass and feel the night air against her scales. The Dreamlets jumped off her back and quickly wriggled over to a patch of moonlight. Phoebe watched as the magical rope shrank to its normal size and floated back to join the ball of thread suspended from her necklace. Up in the sky, the Fire Moon was living up to its name. It looked like it could catch the sky on fire.

She hoped the moonlight would be cool enough to recharge the Dreamlets, even if it was fiery moonlight. There was something else on her mind, too. Her friends! How was she going to get them out of the underground cave? They had helped her get out of a tight spot. Now it was her turn to help them. But happily, this was one thing Phoebe did not have to worry about. Stella and Rosie burst out of the hole and flopped onto the grass beside her, breathless but laughing.

"So it turns out that I am not very good at flying straight up!" Stella said, rubbing her head with her wing. "Yeah, I figured that by the way you kept headbutting my tail!" Rosie chuckled. Phoebe was SO happy to see them! All the tension she had felt down in the cave had disappeared, and the three friends hugged. "That was amazing," Phoebe said, shaking her head in disbelief. "How did you know that your roar would heal my leg?"

"We didn't! We just wanted to roar our support," Rosie said. "There's not much our roars can't do," Stella said proudly. "Hey, look who's here!" She pulled out of the hug. Behind them, the Newt Nurses had appeared and were busy fussing over the Dreamlets. "Are they okay?" Phoebe called. "They're not hurt," reported one of the nearby newts, "but they are weak. The Fire Moon is not giving them the nourishment they need. They need to get closer to the moon. Can you take them to the Dream Clouds?" Phoebe and her friends looked at one another. On their last quest they had gone to the Hope Clouds. Were the Dream Clouds similar? As usual, DasherGirl seemed to know what the Night Dragons were thinking. "The Dream Clouds are a layer higher than the Hope Clouds," she explained. "Do we go back to the sunset ray station?" Rosie asked. "Or can we fly?"