09 A New Portal

CHAPTER 9 A NEW PORTAL The friends quickly found Claw and returned to the tunnel with Talia. They turned right down the closed path to enter the maze. "Be careful," Blaze warned. "The maze is magical. The walls move, so we must stick together." Talia lit up her feathers, and Blaze did the same. "I'm ready," Talia said.

But as they walked along the twisty, winding paths, the walls stayed still. As they neared the cavern, they saw that the blue light was shining stronger than ever. "I don't think we need our light anymore," Blaze said. Her feathers went dull. They entered the cavern. Talia gasped as she saw the egg. "It's more wonderful than I ever imagined," she said. "Now see if you can open a portal, Blaze," Skyla said. Blaze looked at her friends and paused. "You can do it," Tag told her. "I know you can. You're stronger than ever." He looked to her new magical silver tail feather.

Blaze smiled and held out her wing. Very slowly, she picked up the Ember Stone and then touched the egg. A burst of blue light surrounded Blaze. It turned her feathers sparkly blue. They looked like ocean waves. The magic rippled through Blaze's feathers. Her eyes went wide. "It's amazing!" she said. "I can feel the magic flowing through me." "Concentrate," Talia told Blaze. "Try to control the magic. See if you can open a portal."

Tag watched Blaze. His friend's eyes narrowed as she focused on the egg. "Do you think this will work?" Skyla whispered to Tag. Tag squeezed Skyla's paw. "If anyone can do it, Blaze can," he said. Claw squawked beside them. "It's working! Look!" The wall began shimmering. Tag could see the outline of a door appearing. As the magic began to die down, the door turned solid and golden. This portal was different from the others they had opened. Those portals weren't solid.

Then Blaze's feathers turned back to their normal color, and the egg's blue light dimmed. "You did it, Blaze!" Talia said. She hugged her daughter. "You have opened a permanent portal to Perodia." Skyla whooped and joined in the hug. "Come on!" she said to Tag. Tag joined in too, then grabbed Claw's wing and pulled him into the giant hug. Tag grinned at Claw, and the vulture smiled back. "We can go home," Claw said. "And we can all visit Blaze and Talia whenever we want," Skyla added.

"Maybe I will come to Valor Wood sometime," Talia said. "It's been a long time since I've seen my old friend Grey." "I'm going to come with you to Perodia," Blaze told them. "I'd like to see Grey and the Owls of Valor." Blaze gave Talia a hug. "I'll be back soon," she said. She turned to her friends. "Ready?" "Let's go home," Tag said. He waved goodbye to Talia, then held his breath. The friends held on to each other's wings and paws and stepped through the portal.