01 The Shifting Sands

CHAPTER 1 THE SHIFTING SANDS Tag pulled the magical map from his sack. He looked at a glowing spot on the paper. "We need to head west," Tag told his friends Skyla and Blaze. "The next piece of the Ember Stone should be at a place called the Whispering Oak." Blaze peeped.

"We have to move fast to stay ahead of Thorn and his Shadow," Skyla said, looking to the sky for The Shadow's dark cloud. The sun was slowly rising above the trees. Blaze leaned over Skyla's shoulder to look at the map. "Shifting Sands!" she said. "We have to cross that?" Skyla asked, pointing to a large sandy desert. Tag nodded. "Grey once told me that the Shifting Sands are full of swirling sand tornadoes." Skyla shivered. "We're going to have to be really careful?" she warned as Tag put the map away.

The three friends set off. Tag and Blaze flew overhead while Skyla raced through the trees below, zipping up and over branches in a blur of grey fur. The farther west they traveled, the warmer it became. "Phew!" Skyla said as they rested by a small stream. "It's getting hot." Tag's feathers ruffled in the warm breeze. "It's getting windy, too," he said. Blaze pointed her wing ahead. "Shifting Sands," she said. Tag flew above the trees and saw that Blaze was right. The trees thinned out and beyond that, as far as Tag could see, was the desert.

Blaze peeped at Skyla, turning so Skyla could climb onto her back. "Great idea, Blaze," Skyla said as she climbed on. "Yes," Tag agreed. "We can move way faster if we all fly." They took off, soaring over the trees toward the sandy desert. The closer they got to the desert, the stronger the wind blew.

Suddenly, Tag was blown out of the sky, onto the soft sand at the edge of the desert. Blaze and Skyla landed beside him. "The wind is too strong!" Tag yelled, spitting sand from his beak. "We'll have to walk through the sandstorm!" The wind whirled around them, sending sand flying into their eyes and beaks. Tag used the dagger that Grey had given him to cut three strips from the top of his sack. He tied one over his beak to keep the sand out. He handed the other two to his friends, who did the same.

Tag dragged his feet across the desert, pushing against the wind and sand, Skyla and Blaze followed. The wind blew stronger still. The strips of cloth flew from their faces, and the sand shifted beneath Tag's feet. All of a sudden, the sand began to move across the desert like waves. Up and down. Higher and higher.