05 Into the Maze

CHAPTER 5 INTO THE MAZE Tag woke early the next morning. He checked that the stone was safe inside his sack. Then he woke Skyla and Blaze. "Time to go," he whispered. "We should make a plan," Skyla suggested, "to make sure we don't get lost in this ice cavern just like that little seal named Coralie." "Peep!" Blaze agreed.

Tag pulled out a wingful of Skyla's acorns from his sack. "We could use these to mark our way." "I might need those for battle—if Thorn's spies show up," Skyla said. "Can we use berries instead?" "Okay," Tag said, jumping over a sleeping seal. "So, if we get turned around, we'll just follow the berries back to the exit." "Dark!" Blaze cried, looking up. "Dark! Dark!"

A black cloud filled the sky. "The Shadow!" Tag shouted. As The Shadow moved slowly toward them in the distance, the sparkling white ice below turned black. "Let's go!" Skyla yelled. Blaze stood still. "Peep!" she cried, pointing her beak at the sleeping seals. "They will be safe hidden beneath the snow," Tag told her.

The three friends ran inside the largest cavern. As they walked, Skyla placed berries on the icy floor to mark their route. "It's like we're in a giant maze of mirrors!" Tag said, walking along the shiny hallways. He could see his reflection in the floor and in the walls. The friends stopped at the end of the path. It split into two. "Which way, Blaze?" Tag asked.

Blaze hopped along one path, then shook her head. She returned to hop down the other. "Is it this way?" Skyla asked. Blaze nodded. "Peep!" Tag and Skyla followed Blaze down the winding path. Twisting and turning, up and down, left and right, until Tag stopped suddenly. "Wait! We've been this way before," Tag said. He pointed to the berries on the ground. Skyla sighed. "Maybe Blaze doesn't know the way after all?" Blaze stamped her feet. "Peep!" she cried.

Tag patted Blaze on the wing. "I'm sorry, Blaze," he said. "This can't be the right way." They turned around to head back the way they came. Tag paused. "There are already berries on this path, too," he said. "Peep!" Blaze said, holding up a berry in her beak. They walked until they found another path that split into two. "There are berries here, too!" Skyla said. "How are there berries on every path?" Tag frowned. "I think we've been walking in circles! We must be lost." "Lost!" Blaze peeped. Skyla hugged her. "How will we find our way out?" Skyla asked Tag.