14 To the Rescue

CHAPTER 14 TO THE RESCUE The feathers scribbled faster and faster until they dropped to the ground. Skyla and Tag peered at the paper. The feathers had drawn a picture. "I see the tall trees," Tag said, "and some nests."

"Blaze!" Skyla cried as the picture changed to show Blaze sitting inside a nest. "Those giant birds did take her!" Then the sparkling lines swirled and changed into a new picture. This one showed Tag and Skyla on one side. On the other side was a patch of tall trees. "I think the feather is telling us that we need to head to those trees. Just like when it showed us we needed to go to the waterfall," Skyla said.

As Skyla hurried to pack away their supplies, Tag glanced at the paper again. The black smudge was back! It was close to where he and Skyla stood. A cold shiver went through his feathers as he thought about the dark figure he had seen on Fire Island and again in the Cloud Kingdom. It made him feel just like he had felt whenever Thorn and The Shadow were close.

"Skyla," Tag said. "I know Thorn and The Shadow are gone. But what if there is something far worse here in the Cloud Kingdom?" Skyla didn't answer. Instead, she held Tag's wing. Tag swallowed down his fear. "The birds flew in this direction," he said, pointing ahead. Tag pulled out his dagger, and Skyla held her slingshot. "Let's go," she said. "It's time to get our friend back!"