04 The Discovery

CHAPTER 4 THE DISCOVERY The friends raced forward. The temple stood in the middle of a large clearing surrounded by palm trees. The temple's stone walls were old and crumbling, and most of the roof had fallen down. The walls were covered in moss and vines.

"It doesn't look like the firehawks have been here for a long time," Skyla said.

Tag nodded. "Are you sure this is where you last saw the firehawks?" he asked Claw. "It was long ago," Claw said. "But yes, I am sure." Blaze hopped closer. "This temple is in ruins," she said sadly. "Even if my family was here at some point, they've been gone for a long time." Tag patted Blaze on the shoulder, then turned to Claw. "What now?" he asked. "The flrehawks might have left some clues behind," Claw suggested. "Let's split up and take a look around," said Skyla.

Blaze and Skyla went inside while Claw searched outside. Tag walked around the other side of the temple, away from Claw. His tummy twisted as he remembered the storm bugs' warning. He looked for anything that might tell them where the firehawks were. But then, he heard a scream. "Help!" It was Skyla! Tag raced into the temple with Claw following closely behind. He searched for Skyla, but the temple was full of fallen stones.

The floor and walls were covered in more vines. Tag cut through them as he made his way through an open doorway. "Over here!" Skyla shouted. "I'm stuck!" Tag flew over to Skyla. She was wrapped in something silvery. She wriggled and squirmed, trying to break free. "What is it?" Tag asked. "That's a web," Claw said. "A giant web." Tag's feathers trembled. Claw was right. Skyla was caught in a huge spider's web. The silvery threads were almost as thick as the vines.

"Help me get out," Skyla cried, "before the spider comes back!" Tag tried to use his dagger to cut away at the thick, silvery threads. "The web is too strong. My dagger can't cut through it," Tag puffed. "Let me try," Claw said. He used his sharp talons and beak to try to break the web. But that didn't work either. Next, Blaze lit up her feathers and tried to burn through the thread. But no matter what they did, the web would not break. "Um... Tag," Skyla said, her voice trembling. "Something's coming."