Chapter 9

9 The air rushed past Phoebe's scales as she and the others whooshed up through the night sky. Higher and higher they soared. Soon the clouds loomed large up ahead. "This is amazing!" Stella whooped. She was soaring along, holding tight to her moonbeam and smiling from one dragon ear to the other. Not far behind was Rosie, who had wrapped the moonbeam around her middle and was doing twirls like a circus performer.

DasherGirl fluttered beside Phoebe. "The Dream Clouds are just ahead," she reported. Phoebe could see a thick layer of silvery cloud. It looked like it had been sprinkled with glitter. "Once we pass into the clouds, let go of your moonbeam," DasherGirl said. "I'll tell you when." Phoebe closed her eyes as they entered the silvery clouds. She got a whiff of lavender. When she opened her eyes again, Phoebe and her friends were on the other side of the clouds. "Okay, Night Dragons. Let go of your moonbeams now!" instructed DasherGirl. Phoebe took a deep breath and let go. She and the others stopped zooming up, and for a moment were suspended in midair. Then they floated down toward the layer of clouds just below. The clouds were puffy and beautiful except for the reddish glow cast on them by the Fire Moon. "We can't fly up here, right?" asked Stella as they drifted lower. "No, but look! We can use our wings to glide." Rosie stretched out her elegant twilight-colored wings.

Phoebe and Stella did the same, and together, the three friends landed on the huge Dream Cloud. They were suddenly surrounded by little cloudlike creatures. "Are they Sky Skimmers?" Stella whispered. "They look a bit like the ones we met on our last quest." "Hmm, these are different. They're more wispy and see-through," Rosie said. "We are cousins," one of the little cloud creatures explained. "But there's no time to chat about family resemblances. What has happened to these Dreamlets?" "They are so thin and weak," cried another Sky Skimmer, sounding outraged. "Who has been looking after them?" Phoebe knew that the Sky Skimmers did not mean to be rude. But the Dragon Girls had been through so much to get the Dreamlets here. A thank-you would be nice! Suddenly, a gasp went up among the Sky Skimmers. "NOOOO! How did THEY get here?"

Phoebe's insides lurched. Fire Sparks! The Sky Skimmers whooshed back and forth in a panic. "Fire Sparks have NEVER been this high before!" DasherGirl said. "The Dream Clouds have always been a safe space for the dreams of the forest. This is very serious!" As DasherGirl was speaking, Phoebe smelled something. Something awful. Whirling around, she saw that wherever the Fire Sparks were buzzing, the clouds were smoking! Would they catch fire? The angry feelings in Phoebe's chest grew. How dare those sparks do this? Looking across at her friends, Phoebe could see they were angry with the Fire Sparks, too. But the angrier they got, the more Fire Sparks appeared. And the brighter and hotter they became!

"We must stay calm," Phoebe called, as much to herself as to the others. The Fire Sparks rose up in one big, buzzing cloud. They hovered above the Night Dragons. "I've got a bad feeling about this," muttered Rosie as the Fire Sparks began to dive-bomb them. The Night Dragons hurried to shield all the Dreamlets from the Fire Sparks with their wings. Luckily their thick scales meant the Dragon Girls did not get hurt, but the attacks weren't fun. More and more Fire Sparks appeared.

"I am really trying not to get mad," Stella said through gritted teeth, "but it's tough. I feel like someone terrible is throwing sparklers at me." "I know what you mean!" Rosie groaned. "And the Dreamlets look weaker than ever, poor things." By now, Phoebe was feeling so worked up that it was hard to think straight. Come on, she urged herself. There HAS to be a way to beat the Fire Sparks. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, blocking out all the blazing lights. It was odd how, even though she hated the dark, she often did her best thinking with her eyes closed. It was the opposite of what you'd expect. The opposite? Phoebe's mind whirred on that one word, opposite. Opening her eyes, she looked over at her friends. "Instead of trying to squash our anger, let's let it out. In a roar!" she whispered. "We need a roar that's big enough to drown out all these sparks AND cool down the Fire Moon." Getting really mad was going to be MUCH easier than trying to squish the feelings down!