04 The March

CHAPTER 4 THE MARCH The Shadow became darker and darker. It filled the sky. Tag could see flashes of lightning within The Shadow. "We can't fly now," he said. "The Shadow destroys everything it touches." "What are we going to do?" Skyla asked.

"We will have to make our way out of The Shadowlands on foot," Tag said. Another noise filled the air. Loud squawks and snapping beaks. "Tiger bats!" Blaze cried. "They are not alone," Tag said. Locusts were flying beneath The Shadow, among the orange-eyed tiger bats. "The locusts must have already told Thorn we are here," Skyla said. "We need to hide. Now!"

The friends ran as fast as they could, staying close to the thorny bushes and beneath the twisting, dead trees. Tag could hear a strange marching sound in the distance. "In here!" Blaze shouted. Tag and Skyla followed Blaze to a huge old tree. Tag took off his sack and the friends squeezed into a hole in the bottom of its hollow trunk. The ground seemed to rumble as the marching sound came closer. "Quick! Climb up into the tree," Tag said. "If Thorn's spies are on the ground, they could spot us hiding in this opening."

Blaze climbed up inside the tree. Skyla quickly followed, with Tag behind her. They climbed up as far as they could. The marching sound was now very loud. Tag peeked out through a small hole in the tree. "What is that noise?" Skyla whispered. "Can you see anything, Tag?" Tag peered down out of the tree hole. It looked like the ground was moving—like a red-and-black river was flowing across the land. But it wasn't water. It was thousands of tiny prickle ants and crag beetles. They marched together.

"I see more of Thorn's spies! There's an army of prickle ants and crag beetles outside! And it looks like they are all headed for the same place," he said. Tag looked into the distance. "They're marching toward Valor Wood!"