10 It's a Trap!

CHAPTER 10 IT'S A TRAP! Tag swooped into the air before he was pulled underwater by the crumbling ice. He ducked and dove as ice chunks fell all around him. "Watch out!" Skyla and Coralie yelled from the water. Tag thrust his right wing into the slushy cave wall, then used his sharp talons to grip the stone.

"It's stuck!" he cried. "Hurry!" Skyla shouted. Tag pulled as hard as he could. Finally, the stone came free, but then it slipped from Tag's damp wing! The stone fell onto a floating chunk of ice. It was out of Tag's reach. The stone slowly slid toward the freezing water when—

Skyla leaped up, dove onto the ice, and caught the stone in her paw! Tag gasped. "That was close!" "Let's go!" Skyla told Tag. Tag jumped onto Coralie's back. They all took a deep breath and ducked under the water. Soon, the four friends were back where they'd started. "Are we safe now?" Skyla asked. They looked around. The walls looked as solid as ever.

"We should be," Coralie said. "I think Blaze only melted the hidden cave." Blaze's head drooped as she gave a small peep. "Don't be sad," Skyla said, giving Blaze a hug. "You did a great job!" Tag showed Blaze the new piece of the Ember Stone. "Look! We couldn't have gotten this without you—and your fire power." "Peep!" Blaze cried. She danced around the ice cavern. Tag held up the two warm pieces of the Ember Stone. He could see where they fit together, but there was a large jagged edge where more pieces would fit.

"Let's get out of here," Tag said. "I can't shake the feeling that we're being followed." "I hope it's not Thorn," Skyla said. "Who is Thorn?" Coralie asked. Skyla shuddered. "You don't want to know." "Thorn is an evil vulture," Tag told Coralie. "He is using dark magic called The Shadow to destroy Perodia. The stone may be the only thing that can stop him." "I hope I never meet him!" Coralie said. "We'd better hurry," Skyla said. "Which way should we go?" "Let's follow the berries," Tag said. "If we pick up every single one, they should lead us back outside." Skyla grinned. "Good plan!"

"Berries!" Blaze said. She hopped over to pick up a berry in her beak. Tag led the way along a narrow icy path, dropping berries into his sack as he went. But soon the friends came face to face with a wall of ice. "How did berries get here?" Tag muttered. "It's a dead end." "Lost!" Blaze peeped. "We're not lost," Tag told her. "We're just..." "Um... Tag," Skyla interrupted, tapping Tag on the shoulder. Tag turned around and gasped.