15 The Ember Stone

CHAPTER 15 THE EMBER STONE Blaze dropped to the ground. She was covered in ash. Skyla brushed Blaze off. "I'm so glad you're okay!" she said, hugging Blaze. "How are you okay?"

"Blaze's feathers must have protected her," Tag said. He fed Blaze sips of water from the water pouch. "Remember what Grey told us—her feathers are stronger than any armor. Besides, firehawks are born in flame. I guess lava can't hurt her." "That's why only a firehawk could find the Ember Stone—it was hidden inside a fiery volcano!" Skyla said. Blaze gave a little peep and smiled. "And it turns out you can fly!" Tag said.

Tag and Skyla crowded around to examine the Ember Stone. Skyla squinted. "It's smaller than I thought it would be." "Yes," agreed Tag, remembering the rock paintings. "This stone is small with sharp, jagged edges. But the Ember Stone in the painting was large and round."

"Thaddeus knew the firehawks. Maybe he knows something about the Ember Stone, too?" Skyla suggested. The three friends rushed to the shoreline. "Thaddeus!" Tag called across the water. Blaze joined in. "Peeeep! Peee—eeep!" "There he is!" cried Skyla, jumping up and down. A large green head rose from the water. "Hullo," the old turtle said.

"We're hoping you might know something about this." Tag held up the Ember Stone. "Have you seen it before?" Thaddeus scrunched up his eyes. He stared at the stone for a long time. "The Ember Stone," Thaddeus said, finally. "The firehawks wanted to keep it hidden from Thorn. They tried to destroy it so that he couldn't use its powerful magic. But the stone could not be destroyed. Instead, it broke into pieces. The firehawks hid the pieces far and wide, so that Thorn would never find them."

"That's why this stone is so small," Skyla said. "It's just one piece of the Ember Stone!" "How many pieces are there?" Tag asked Thaddeus. "The only animal who might know that is a flrehawk," Thaddeus said. Tag, Skyla, and Thaddeus all looked at Blaze.