Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  What kind of Dragon Girl are you?

  Pop Quiz

  Meet the Questies!

  Sneak Peek

  About the Authors

  Copyright

  Rani’s sister, Anjali, stood in the middle of the stage, her silky dress floating like a cloud around her. Rani was watching from the side of the stage, her heart beating fast. Her family ran the Magic Star Theater, so Rani saw most of the plays over and over. But it didn’t matter how many times she saw this one—she never grew tired of it. Anjali was a great actor, for one thing. And for another, Anjali was moving to another city to study acting in a few weeks. Rani was going to miss her, and wanted to spend as much time with her big sister as she could before she left.

  Onstage, the golden spotlight made Anjali glow. “The dawn is coming. I must fly!” she said, stretching up her arms. The audience gasped as she leapt into the air and flew—she actually flew!—across the stage.

  Rani hugged herself. This scene was so spellbinding. She knew how the flying trick worked, of course. Rani had watched the stage technicians put the harness, attached to wires, on Anjali. But somehow, whenever she saw it onstage, it looked truly magical.

  With a little jolt, Rani remembered she had a job to do! She flicked the switch on the machine next to her. Smoke curled out and billowed across the stage like a cloud. Rani wiggled her fingers, pretending that she had made the cloud with her magic powers. Being able to do spells would be so amazing!

  Slowly, the cloud turned pink and orange. This was thanks to Rani’s mom, who was in the lighting booth at the back of the theater. Hidden high above the stage, stagehands scattered tiny pieces of shiny paper, which floated down like shimmering raindrops.

  Next came the highlight of the scene, in Rani’s opinion. Anjali floated into the middle of the stage and hovered.

  Rani held her breath, waiting.

  Anjali clapped her hands and disappeared in a cloud of stars!

  Of course, Anjali didn’t really disappear. The stunt was a combination of clever lighting and a pulley system.

  The audience clapped and cheered loudly as the red curtain fell.

  “Well done, everyone!” the director called. “Quick, take your places for final bows!”

  The clapping grew steadily louder. Rani watched as the entire cast hurried onto the stage, whispering excitedly to one another. But underneath all the noise, Rani could hear something else. It sounded like singing.

  Magic Forest, Magic Forest, come explore . . .

  Rani looked around. Had someone turned a radio on? Was it someone’s ringtone? No one else seemed to have heard it. Onstage, Anjali and the other actors held hands as the curtain rose.

  The audience roared with delight and Rani joined in. Sometimes, Rani felt a tiny bit jealous of Anjali. She was so talented and got so much attention. But other times, like now, Rani felt so proud of her sister she could burst.

  Despite all the applause, Rani heard that strange singing again.

  Magic Forest, Magic Forest, come explore . . .

  How odd! The voice seemed to be swirling above her somewhere. I bet it’s Dad, thought Rani. He’s probably working on some cool new sound effect.

  A smile twitched on Rani’s lips. This might even be a little test her father had set up to see if she could figure out what was going on.

  While the audience continued to cheer and clap, Rani snuck into the area behind the stage. She had a feeling this was where her dad would be. It was where all the scenery and props for their plays were stored.

  Rani ducked around a cardboard lamppost, a stack of chairs, and a row of wooden trees with fabric leaves. She strained her ears, listening for the song. It seemed to have faded, but excitement buzzed through Rani. It was like the feeling she got on the opening night of a new show.

  “Dad? Are you there?” she half whispered.

  There was no reply. The noise from the stage seemed very far away. Rani kept going, walking between the fake trees. Her hand brushed against one of them and she yelped. The painted bark felt real—not like a prop at all. And since when had the backstage area gotten so big?

  Magic Forest, Magic Forest, come explore . . .

  The singing was louder now. And Rani had the weirdest feeling that it was being sung just for her. Or just to her.

  “Who’s there?” Rani called. “You know, this area is out of—”

  A layer of fog curled around her feet. Oh no! She must have forgotten to turn off the smoke machine! But this smoke was different. It swirled with colors—aqua, pink, and purple. Also, it smelled of flowers.

  Rani’s fingers began to tingle. If this was a special effect that her dad had created, it was his best yet. But as the colored smoke continued to build, Rani realized this was not her dad’s work.

  Something very unusual was going on. When she heard the mysterious song again, Rani felt like the words were already inside her.

  Magic Forest, Magic Forest, come explore.

  Magic Forest, Magic Forest, hear my roar!

  Rani took a step forward. Her pulse was very fast, but she wasn’t afraid. She knew she was being called upon to play an important role. But not a role on the stage, like her sister. Something bigger, and maybe a little dangerous.

  “I’ll gladly come and explore,” she called into the darkness. “Just show me the way.”

  A single beam of light fell from above, lighting up a spot on the floor. Rani stepped onto it. The fog curled tightly around her like a blanket. She was surrounded by streaks of swirling color. Then came a burst of stars!

  Rani closed her eyes against the brightness as the floor dissolved beneath her feet.

  Even without opening her eyes, Rani knew she was no longer backstage. She could feel it! The air smelled like a lush garden on a summer’s night. A gentle breeze tickled her face, and she could hear the sound of rustling leaves.

  Rani opened her eyes and looked around. She was in a forest at twilight! Could this possibly be real? Rani had always hoped something magical would happen to her. Had it finally? But Rani had grown up in the theater, so she knew this could all be a fancy set. The trees and grass might be props. The breeze could be a wind machine, the chirping insects the work of a sound artist.

  Rani looked up. Overhead, ripples of color moved against a darkening sky. As she watched, the colors split apart and danced away.

  If this was done by a lighting expert, then they were very talented!

  I’m going to explore, Rani decided. But after a couple of steps, she stopped. What was going on with her body? It felt different. Like, really different. She glanced down and nearly fell over in surprise.

  Her sneakered feet had become massive paws, each with a set of curved talons. And her legs were covered in gleaming scales . . . and so was the rest of her body! Looking over her shoulder, Rani saw a tail dragging behind her. Best of all, on her back was a pair of powerful wings.

  “I’ve turned into a dragon!” Rani said. She shook her head, feeling dazed. “No, that’s impossible. I must be in a costume. And this place can’t be real.”

  From a nearby bush came a whispered conversation. “Did you hear that? The Dragon Girl doesn’t believe she’s a dragon!”

  “And she doesn’t think the Magic Forest is real! Even though she’s standing right in the middle of it!”

  “I wonder if that happens with all Dragon Girls when they first arrive?”

  Rani froze. Maybe there were dangerous animals lurking? She shook the thought away. Animals couldn’t talk. Besides, the voices sounded friendly.

  Rani knelt down—a little awkwardly in her powerful dragon form—in front of the rustling bush. “Hello!” she said. “Who’s in there?”

  Rani heard frantic whispers. “She heard us!”

  “We’re going to be in soooooo much trouble!”

  “Quick! Let’s go before she sees us.”

  Very carefully, Rani reached out and parted the bushes. Three tiny creatures tumbled onto the grass. Rani stared at them. She had never seen animals like them.

  The first one looked like a very small, very fuzzy lion cub with big green eyes. On her back sprouted a pair of blue-and-green butterfly wings. She growled in surprise as she rolled to a stop.

  The second one was a pale blue puppy with flecks of gold through her fur. She also had wings. Her bright blue eyes were fixed on Rani.

  The final creature looked like some kind of penguin, except that she was purple and her webbed feet (which were currently waggling in the air) and eyes were gold.

  “Hello! What kind of creatures are you?” Rani asked softly, not wanting to scare them away. She’d never seen anything so cute in her life!

  “We’re Questies,” said the butterfly-lion cub in a soft, purry voice. “My name is Flittercub.”

  “Questies is short for Quest Friends,” explained the puppy, wagging her tail and flapping her wings all at once. “Our job is to help Dragon Girls on their quests in the Magic Forest. I’m TrustyPup, by the way.”

  “And I’m Splishi,” the tiny penguin said, finally righting herself and standing up. “Also, we’re not big Questies yet. We’re just juniors. But we� �ll be real Questies one day. We just need everything to go back to normal so we can finish our training.”

  “That’s why we are SO excited you’re here!” Flittercub purred. “There are some big problems in the Magic Forest right now. You’ll fix them for us, right? That’s what Dragon Girls do, after all.”

  “Umm . . .” Rani had no idea what to say. How could she fix anything? Her brain was still struggling to accept that she was a Dragon Girl, whatever that meant.

  It was funny. Whenever Rani couldn’t sleep at night or concentrate at school, magic was what she daydreamed about. But now that something magical was definitely happening, Rani wasn’t sure how she felt about it.

  TrustyPup gave a little bark. “Where are the other two Dragon Girls?” She looked around. “There are always three, aren’t there?”

  “Maybe things are different this time,” Splishi suggested, scratching her beak with a wing. “The whole forest is topsy-turvy.”

  Rani felt like she’d been dropped onstage halfway through a play. She had no idea what was going on.

  “What are the problems?” she asked finally. That felt like an important first thing to understand.

  The creatures’ eyes widened nervously. “There’s bad magic in the air,” Flittercub whispered. “It’s like the forest has been put under a spell.”

  “And all the trained Questies have disappeared,” TrustyPup added, her tail drooping. “Including my big brother.” She gave a sad little howl.

  “Plus, the forest is full of weird, scary lights,” Splishi said in her high voice.

  “You mean the ones up in the sky?” Rani asked. She was surprised. The colorful swirls had looked beautiful to her, not scary.

  “No, those are Sky Swirls,” Flittercub said. “They’re good.”

  “The swirls come every year,” Splishi explained. “They get bigger and brighter for a few days, then they rain their colorful magic over the forest.”

  “This gives all the plants and creatures their magical power,” Splishi said. “The Sky Swirls are very important.”

  “But this year, they’re not getting brighter.” Flittercub growled softly. “In fact, they’re already fading.”

  Rani tilted her head. “So what are the weird, scary lights you mentioned?”

  “We don’t know. They move through the forest like shadows,” TrustyPup said.

  “But they are bright and glowing,” Splishi added with a shudder. “We don’t trust them at all!”

  Rani could understand why. A bright, glowing shadow sounded all wrong. Right then, Rani made a decision. She had no idea what was going on, but it was clear that these adorable creatures needed her help. The only problem was where should she start?

  “You must go to the glade,” Splishi said suddenly.

  Rani stared at her in surprise. “Did you read my mind?”

  “Not exactly,” Splishi said. “But Questies are good at sensing what Dragon Girls are thinking and feeling. The more time they spend together, the better they get.”

  “Shows that we are natural Questies!” Flittercub said proudly. She turned to Rani. “You must go to the glade,” she explained. “That’s where the Tree Queen lives. She’ll tell you what to do.”

  The Tree Queen! Rani felt a ripple of excitement. This Magic Forest was getting more and more interesting. She tried to imagine what a Tree Queen would look like. And what would she say?

  Flittercub did a loop in the air. It was slightly wonky but still impressive. “Have you ever flown before, Dragon Girl?” she asked.

  “Not really,” Rani said. She had tried out the harness with wires at the theater. But that probably didn’t count as real flying.

  “Go on, then—give it a try!” Splishi flapped her own little wings furiously, rising off the ground.

  The three Questies looked expectantly at Rani.

  Feeling like she was in a dream, Rani gave her huge wings a flap. Nothing happened. She tried again. Still nothing. Her wings were surprisingly heavy. Flapping them took a lot of strength.

  “Don’t give up, Dragon Girl!” Splishi called. “Flying was hard for us at the start, too.” As if to prove this, Splishi suddenly plummeted downward, just managing to stop before she hit the earth.

  I can do this, Rani told herself as the other two Questies copied Splishi, taking turns at diving toward the ground and stopping at the last moment. Maybe I need to pretend I’m in the flying harness at the theater?

  Rani pictured herself onstage, slipping on the harness. She imagined the long wires attached to the harness lifting her up.

  This time when she flapped her wings, she rose smoothly into the air.

  A huge smile stretched across Rani’s face. Zooming across the stage in a harness was very fun. But it was nothing like this! She felt all her muscles working as she flew to the top of the tall trees. The leaves rustled wildly as she flapped. Her wings were so powerful!

  For a moment she hovered in place, looking around the forest. It was beautiful, bathed in the light of early evening. Then, pressing her wings against her body, Rani dove toward the ground. She felt like a comet streaking through the sky. As she neared the ground, she swerved high again.

  The Questies flew up to meet her. “Flying’s the best, isn’t it?” Flittercub said.

  “But it’s also really hard,” TrustyPup said. “Especially in a group.”

  “Group flying isn’t hard,” Splishi said, just as she crashed into the other two. The three little creatures tumbled down onto the soft grass. They jumped to their feet and flew back into the air.

  Rani got the feeling it wasn’t the first time this had happened.

  “So, should we go and meet this Tree Queen?” Rani was feeling a little nervous. She had never met a queen before—especially not one who was also a tree! “Can you lead me there?”

  The three creatures exchanged a look.

  “You do know the way, don’t you?” Rani asked.

  “I have no idea!” Splishi admitted cheerfully.

  “I am pretty sure it’s that way,” Flittercub said, pointing a paw.

  “I went past the glade once with my brother PlushyPup,” TrustyPup said. “But I was only little then.”

  Rani fought back a laugh. It was hard to imagine TrustyPup being any smaller than she already was.

  “Well, I’m sure we’ll figure it out together,” Rani said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. “Come on, everyone. Let’s go!”

  Flapping her wings strongly, Rani began flying in the direction Flittercub had pointed. The Questies hurried to overtake her so they could lead.

  Rani could hear them whispering.

  “Are you sure this is the right way?”

  “I’m sort of sure.”

  “We can’t get the Dragon Girl lost. That would be bad.”

  Back home, Rani was always the youngest and the smallest. The one everyone else protected. But here, she suddenly felt like the big, responsible one.

  “You three are doing great,” Rani called. “You’ll get me there, I know it.”

  She just hoped this turned out to be true!

  As she grew more confident flying, Rani started to look around. The sun had now fully set, but the forest was far from dark. The swirling colors overhead illuminated everything in soft pinks, greens, and oranges. Down below, Rani saw little bell-shaped flowers that glowed like fairy lights.

  Something caught her eye. Deep within the thick trees ahead, Rani saw a strange shape. It was flat like a silhouette but made of light. It was very bright but also seemed cold somehow. A bad feeling gripped Rani’s chest. There was something dangerous about that light. She watched it moving through the forest, sliding over the grass and across fallen leaves. Everything it touched instantly curled up or withered away.

  What would happen if it touched an animal?

  “Watch out!” squeaked the Questies, banging into one another in their panic. “It’s a Bright Shadow!”

  Every instinct in Rani’s body told her to fly away as quickly as she could. But then she would never get to the glade. She also hated seeing the Questies so scared. Fighting that instinct, Rani instead lunged toward the strange, glowing shadow.

  “Go away!” Her voice sounded very loud. In fact, it was a roar! It echoed through the forest. The Bright Shadow stopped, then slipped off the way it had come, leaving a burned trail behind it.

 

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