11 Herbert and Hank

CHAPTER 11 HERBERT AND HANK SCREEECH! Suddenly, Blaze ran out from behind the rock with her mouth open wide. Her wings glowed brighter than the Ember Stone. The tiger bats held their wings over their ears. Thorn's spies quickly flew away—up into the darkening sky.

"Peep!" Blaze stared up at the sky, her feathers still burning brightly. "Blaze, I told you to stay hidden," Tag said, crossing his wings over his chest. Blaze's head drooped. "But... I'm glad you helped us," Tag said, giving her a big grin. "Are Thorn's spies gone?" a low voice boomed behind Tag. Tag and his friends turned to look at the bears. "I think so," Skyla said, worn out from the fight.

"I'm Tag, and this is Blaze and Skyla," he said, pointing to his friends. "Thank you for helping us," the bigger bear said. "I'm Herbert, and this is my brother, Hank."

Skyla's tail twitched. "The tiger bats will be back," she warned. "They wanted our Ember Stone," Hank said. "But they can't have it!" "Shadow!" Blaze peeped. Everyone looked to the sky. Dark clouds had started to gather above two hills. "Thorn will be on his way soon. The Shadow is already forming," Tag said. "We have to hurry."

Skyla turned to the bears. "We need your piece of the Ember Stone," she told them. The bears growled. "It's ours!" Herbert said. "The grumblebees gave it to us! You can't have it." Blaze pulled their glowing piece of the Ember Stone from the sack to show it to the bears. "Blaze is the last firehawk, She is the only creature who can find all of the pieces," Tag said. "When the stone is complete, we can stop Thorn and The Shadow and we can save Perodia."

Hank and Herbert narrowed their eyes at the three friends. They whispered to each other in gruff voices. Then they turned to face Tag. "Why should we trust you?" Herbert asked. Skyla huffed. "We just helped you fight the tiger bats!" she yelled. "Peep!" Blaze nodded. Herbert scratched his head. "Hmmm. That is true," he said. He whispered into Hank's ear again.