“Shhhh,” she scolded. “Mom and Dad are asleep.”

His ears flattened. “Sorry.” He wasn’t very good at being quiet. Dragon voices weren’t designed for libraries or midnight clandestine activities.

“You shouldn’t be here. Someone might see you.”

“Nobody’s gonna see me. I’m the same color as night.” He stuck his head into the bedroom. So much steam wafted from his nostrils that Pearl’s room started to feel like a sauna. “Do you wanna play fetch?” He spat a yellow tennis ball onto the carpet. The ball glistened with spit.

Playing fetch was one of Metalmouth’s favorite activities, along with welding metal into pieces of art, but there was no time to do either of those things. Pearl glanced nervously at her door. If her parents saw the fairy, she could easily pretend it was some sort of bug. But there’d be no way to pretend that a dragon was anything but a dragon! “Metalmouth, did Dr. Woo read my note? Does she know I found a fairy?”

“Yup, she knows. That’s why I’m here.” Metalmouth scratched his chin on one of Pearl’s bedposts. “Dr. Woo wants to see you right now. And the fairy, too.” His ears flattened again. “I don’t like fairies. They bite.” It was funny to think that a creature as big as a dragon could be afraid of an itty-bitty fairy. But Metalmouth wasn’t your usual storybook dragon.

“Did you say right now?”

“Uh-huh. I already got Ben.”

“You got Ben?”

“He’s on the roof.”

“How’d he—?” Pearl narrowed her eyes. The Dollar Store building was two stories high, plus a basement, but there was no fire escape ladder. If Ben hadn’t climbed to the roof, then that meant… “You flew him up there?”

“Sure I did. And I’ll fly you to the hospital if you want. Or you can walk. But Dr. Woo said you gotta come now.” His tongue darted out and grabbed the tennis ball.

Fly or walk? Why had he even bothered to ask such a ridiculous question? Pearl walked every single day of her life. Forget that!

She could sneak out. But if she did, and her parents woke up and looked for her, they’d panic. And she’d get into the biggest trouble ever. “I can’t leave without telling my mom and dad. Give me a few minutes. Then I’ll meet you on the roof.”

As she hurried down the hall, she had no idea what she’d say. Too bad she didn’t have time to talk to Ben. He was way better at making up stories. She knocked on the door, then opened it. “Hey, Mom, Dad, you still awake?”

Mrs. Petal bolted upright and flicked on the bedside lamp. “What’s going on? Are we having an earthquake?” Mr. Petal, who wore earplugs to bed, kept snoring.

Pearl fidgeted in the doorway. “Uh, Dr. Woo just called. She needs my help.”

Mrs. Petal glanced at the clock. “At this hour? But it’s the middle of the night.”

“It’s an emergency. A bunch of worms are sick. They have… uh…” She’d watched Ben tell some weird stories. But no matter how crazy the story sounded, Ben always acted as if it made total sense. “It’s a worm disease… and it’s called… ringworm. Yep, they’ve got ringworm.”

“That’s odd,” Mrs. Petal said, rubbing her eyes. “I thought ringworm was something that people got.”

“Well, worms get it, too. And if it’s not treated, it could spread to all the worms in Buttonville. And that would be a disaster of epic proportions,” Pearl said with a dramatic sweep of her arms. “So I’m going to help, okay? Because I’m her apprentice and she needs me.”

“I don’t want you walking in the dark alone,” Mrs. Petal said.

“I won’t be alone. Ben and Dr. Woo’s assistant are waiting for me.” Metalmouth was kind of like an assistant, she figured.

“All right. I guess it’s okay, as long as you go with them. I’m very proud of you for being so dedicated to your job.” She blew Pearl a kiss, yawned, then turned out the light.

Back in her room, Pearl opened the closet and grabbed the saltshaker. The fairy popped her head out of the toilet paper cocoon and started yelling again. Even after a nice sleep, she was still cranky. “Calm down,” Pearl told her. “I’m taking you to Dr. Woo. And guess what?”

The fairy fell silent. Pearl smiled.

“We get to go by dragon!”