10 Under Attack!

CHAPTER 10 UNDER ATTACK! The sun was rising as the three friends made their way up the hill. They walked beneath bare, twisted trees, over the dry grass. Just then, Tag felt something hot against his wing. He opened his sack. The Ember Stone had started to glow purple! It was growing warmer and brighter by the second.

"Our piece of the stone is glowing!" Tag hooted. "We're getting closer." Higher and higher they climbed, keeping an eye out for any of Thorn's spies, or worse—the dark cloud of The Shadow. The air grew colder as they climbed, but inside Tag's sack, their piece of the Ember Stone grew hotter. When they were almost at the top of the hill, Tag heard loud snapping sounds in the air above. CLACK, CLACK, CLACK. "Tiger bats!" Tag yelled, pulling out his dagger.

Skyla loaded her slingshot. Tag looked up. Huge orange-and-black striped tiger bats soared overhead. Thorn's spies' orange eyes shone in the early morning sky, and their long, sharp beaks snapped at the air. CLACK, CLACK, CLACK. "Peep!" Blaze cried. The friends ducked behind a large rock, waiting for the tiger bats to attack. But the tiger bats didn't seem interested in them. They were circling above. Something had caught their attention farther up the hill: the bears' cave.

Tag gasped. "The tiger bats must know the bears have the next piece of the Ember Stone." "Stone!" Blaze cried. Before Tag could stop her, Blaze flew up the hill toward the cave. "Blaze!" Skyla shouted, chasing after her. Tag launched himself in the air, flapping as fast as he could to keep up. Up ahead, he saw the entrance to the bears' cave. A dull purple glow came from inside.

The Ember Stone! Tag thought. He could see their own piece of the stone glowing brightly inside the sack. It felt hotter than ever. "We have to get that stone," Tag told Blaze and Skyla as he caught up with them. The friends hid behind another large rock beside the cave. "How?" Skyla asked, pointing to the cave. The tiger bats were swarming the entrance. They were almost all inside, when— GRRRRRRR!

A big, furry, brown blur charged out of the cave? chasing the tiger bats away. The bats flew into the air, then circled back to attack the bear. A second huge bear raced out of the cave, swiping his paws at the air. The tiger bats snapped at him with their beaks. "We have to help the bears!" Tag said, gripping his dagger. He passed his sack to Blaze. "Blaze, stay out of sight. Look after the map and our piece of the Ember Stone," Tag told her. Blaze put on the sack and nodded. Tag looked at Skyla. "Ready to fight?" he asked. Skyla held up her slingshot and grinned. "Ready!"