13 Spies

CHAPTER 13 SPIES? The spider monkeys hurried up the mountain. Tag, Skyla, and Blaze followed. The higher they climbed, the smokier the air became. When they reached the top, Tag saw why... "Fire Island is a volcano?!" he cried.

"That must be why it's called Fire Island," said Skyla. Her tail twitched. "It's not going to blow, is it?" Tag paused. "I hope not!" "Do you think the monkeys are Thorn's spies?" Skyla whispered as they continued to chase them. Tag shook his head. "I don't think so. They don't have orange eyes." All of a sudden, Blaze peeped and hopped back and forth. The monkeys had stopped to catch their breath. "Hey!" Skyla called. She shot a stone into the trees above. The monkeys jumped. They dropped the map as they scurried away.

Skyla picked it up. Beside it was a long, golden feather. "Look at this," she said, holding up the feather. "That looks like one of Blaze's feathers, but bigger," Tag said. Maybe there are firehawks on the island after all? Tag put the feather into his sack as Blaze peeped behind him. Tag and Skyla turned around to see a large, red rock painted with bright, colorful birds—birds that looked just like Blaze.

Tag stepped up to the rock. Some of it was covered in black sand. He brushed it away with his wing. "Firehawks!" Tag said. "It looks like these pictures tell a story." There were four paintings. The first showed so many firehawks that Tag couldn't count them. A large firehawk with golden feathers on his head stood in the middle. He must be their leader, Tag thought. The leader held a large purple stone. "The Ember Stone!" Skyla whispered.

She pointed to the next painting. It showed the Ember Stone glowing purple. Tag moved over to the third painting. He tried to brush the sand away, but it was stuck. "I wish we could see this picture." The fourth painting showed Thorn, surrounded by a dark swirly cloud.

"Thorn!" Tag shuddered. Even in the painting, Thorn—and The Shadow—looked scary. "We need to find that stone," Skyla said. "Where should we look?" Tag said. "The paintings show the stone. But there are no clues about where it is hidden." "We'll just have to search the whole island," said Skyla. The friends searched all day. Tag looked behind every rock.