12 Trapped!

CHAPTER 12 TRAPPED! The rat loomed over them. He paced back and forth in front of their cages and grinned a wide grin that showed off his long, yellow teeth. "Who are you?" Tag asked. "Why did you take Blaze's mom?" Skyla added.

The rat smiled. "I am Skull. King of the rats!" he said. "I needed the firehawk to open a portal so we could travel to Perodia," he continued. "But she refused. So instead, we trapped her here. We knew the firehawks would send someone after her." Skull leaned in close to Tag. His eyes were completely red and his rotten teeth were covered in black slime. "My spies waited until you arrived in the Underland. They hid in the darkness and used some of The Shadow's magic to keep the portal from closing. Now we can use your portal. And we have the famous firehawk Blaze and her friends out of the way. You won't be able to defeat The Shadow this time!" Skull said.

Tag held his breath as Skull spoke. The rat smelled like rotting leaves and dead things. "I was born here in the Underland," Skull told them. "Here we have no light, only darkness. And where there is no light, only dark things grow. We live off scraps and dirt." Skull looked over at the dark cloud that swirled around Blaze and Talia.

"Then The Shadow came to me!" Skull continued. "It offered me a powerful, dark magic. It whispered to me in my dreams. It told me that I could live in a land above, where I would have everything I wanted and be king of Perodia!" "The Shadow doesn't care about you!" Tag shouted. "It only wants to use you to gain more power for itself."

Skyla nodded. "It did the same thing to our friend Claw. We are Owls of Valor. We can help you and the other creatures who live here. You don't have to use The Shadow's magic." Skull shook his head. "You can't give me power!" he snarled. "My army is ready. And now there is nothing standing in our way." He turned to his army. "To the portal!" Skull commanded. All around him, his army cheered and yelled. They raised their weapons in the air. Then they started running out of the tunnel.

"You can't leave us here!" Skyla yelled. Skull laughed, and the sound boomed around the room. "I can!" he said. "Now you will see what it's like to live in the Underland!" "The Owls of Valor will stop you!" Tag said. "They can't stop me without Blaze, now that The Shadow is on my side," Skull said. He pointed at the badgers and they opened Talia's cage, pulling her out. "The Owls of Valor will have a choice: Join my army, or join you here under the ground." Talia shook her head at Skull. The dark cloud grew bigger around her until Tag couldn't see her anymore.