Jack followed Annie over the wet rocks to the waterfall. In the moonlight, he could barely make out a hollow space in the cliff behind it.

“That looks like a cave!” said Annie.

“A cave that hides from sight behind a curtain of white,” said Jack.

Yip! Yip! Oki popped his head out of Jack’s backpack.

The little dog kept barking as Jack and Annie slipped behind the waterfall and made their way inside the cave.

The air in the cramped cave smelled of wet rocks and mold. Jack had to bend down to keep his head from hitting the ceiling, and Oki tumbled out of his backpack.

Before Jack could catch him, the puppy dashed off.

“Oki!” cried Annie.

Yip! Yip!

Oki’s barking came from deep within the cave. “We’re coming!” called Annie. She and Jack moved their hands along the cave wall to guide their way. As they followed the sound of Oki’s barks and whines, the cave became more like a tunnel. The ceiling was so low that Annie and Jack had to get on their hands and knees and crawl in the blackness toward Oki’s cries.

Suddenly Jack heard a flapping and squeaking off to the side. “Watch out for bats,” he called.

“Yikes. You think spiders could be in here, too?” said Annie.

“Probably yes,” said Jack.

“Oh, no,” said Annie.

“Keep going,” said Jack. “Just keep your head down.”

Close by, Oki yelped furiously.

Jack felt around blindly for the puppy. But instead of fur, his hand touched a cold, smooth object. He quickly drew back, afraid he might have touched a snake or some other creature.

“Gotcha!” said Annie. “I got Oki!”

“Good,” said Jack.

“Hey, there’s something else here,” said Annie.

“What?” said Jack.

“It’s heavy, but it feels like a plate,” said Annie.

“Actually, I felt something, too,” said Jack. He reached out and touched the cold object again. He picked it up and ran his fingers over it. “I think I found a goblet,” he said.

“I just found something else,” said Annie. “Oh, wow…it’s too heavy to lift with one hand.”

“Where is it?” said Jack, reaching toward the sound of Annie’s voice.

“Here,” said Annie. She guided his hand to the object.

When Jack tried to pick the object up, he almost dropped it. It was very heavy. Jack ran his fingers over its surface….Is that a head? A snout? he wondered. Wings? Claws? “Oh, man, we found it!” he whispered.

“The dragon?” asked Annie.

“Yes, I think so!” said Jack. “Let’s get it outside!”

“Okay, I’ll carry Oki,” said Annie.

Jack stuffed the heavy object in his backpack. Crawling and then crouching, he and Annie made their way back through the cave, until they came to the entrance. The waterfall showered them with spray as they climbed over the rocks to the ground.

Jack set down his backpack and pulled out the object. In the moonlight, the ninth dragon was magnificent. Its golden wings were raised behind its back, and its eyes seemed to be gazing into the far distant hills.

“Your Majesties!” Annie called. “We found the ninth dragon!” She put Oki on the ground, and they all hurried to show Arthur and Guinevere the golden statue. But when they reached the cart, there was no sign of the king or queen.

“Where are they?” said Jack.

Oki yelped and dashed into the shadows.

“There they are!” said Annie, pointing to a cluster of rocks.

Guinevere was kneeling on the grass, holding Arthur in her arms. Oki whined and pawed the ground.

“We found it!” Jack shouted as he and Annie ran to them.

Jack placed the gold dragon statue next to Arthur. “See, we found the ninth dragon!” he said. But Arthur and Guinevere were both still.

“What—what’s wrong?” said Annie.

“The king is dying,” the queen said in a hollow voice.

Oki let out a howl.

“He can’t be,” said Jack. Not now. “What about the water, the healing water from Avalon? Wait!” Jack ran to the cart and grabbed the leather flask and brought it back to the queen.

“There is no more,” said Guinevere.

Jack turned the leather flask upside down. Not a drop of the healing water was left.

“Listen,” said Annie.

Jack heard a faint whinnying sound and the thunder of horse hooves. Peering across the moonlit moor, he saw riders in the distance galloping toward them.

“The robbers,” said Guinevere.

“Oh, no,” said Annie.

“They’re coming back for their treasure,” said the queen.

Jack started to tremble. The king was dying. The enemy was coming.

“There is no hope,” Guinevere said softly.

Jack took a deep breath. “Yes, there is,” he said. “There’s hope.”

“There is?” said Annie.

“Yes. We can save the king,” said Jack.

“We can?” said Annie.

“Yes. We have to keep going,” said Jack.

The thundering of the horses’ hooves grew louder.

“Keep going? How?” said Annie.

“We just have to keep going,” said Jack. “We have to do the next right thing.”

“But what’s that? What’s the next right thing?” said Annie.

“I don’t know!” said Jack.

“Wait a minute,” said Annie. “I just remembered! Our stones from Cafelle!”

“Yes!” said Jack. He and Annie reached into their pockets and pulled out the red stones. “But what do we do with them?” Jack said.

“We use them with hope and strength! And imagination!” said Annie. “That’s what Cafelle told us to do!”

Jack clasped his stone. He stared at the dragon statue and tried to feel hopeful and strong and use his imagination. “Long live King Arthur and Queen Guinevere!” he said.

“Long live goodness! And kindness!” said Annie.

“And courage!” said Jack.

“And patience!” said Annie.

“And never giving up!” said Jack.

As Jack and Annie shouted their words, the gold dragon began to glow as if it were lit from within. It glowed brighter and brighter and grew warmer and warmer. The statue glowed so brightly that it looked like it was on fire.

“Long live Camelot!” said Jack. “And Morgan’s library and all the books!”

“Long live the castle gardens and flowers!” said Annie. “And the Great Hall! And music!”

“Long live myths and legends!” shouted Jack. “From all times and places!”

Jack heard thunder, but it wasn’t the thunder of horse hooves. Jack felt trembling, but it wasn’t the trembling of his body. The rumbling and quaking came from the statue. The very air around the gold dragon quivered.

“Long live Morgan and Merlin and Teddy and Kathleen!” shouted Jack.

“And all the knights and ladies and children and horses and oxen of Camelot!” said Annie.

“Long live Annie!” said Jack.

“Long live Jack!” shouted Annie. “And Oki!”

Hissing, cracking, screaming sounds rocked the night. A mighty explosion and a great blast shook the earth. With a thunderous roll, a billowing cloud erupted from the top of Munith Mor. The cloud burst into flame, and with a deafening roar, a gigantic fire-red dragon rose from the flames and seemed to spread its wings over the world.