“Oh good!” Raina cries. “Heath! I’m coming up first!” She grabs the vine and begins to pull herself up. “Oh!” She grimaces. “This is tougher than it looks, but I…can…do…it!”

“I’m right behind you.” Sasha grabs the vine, climbing behind Raina. “This hole is giving me hives.”

Once Sasha and Raina start ascending, I grab onto the rope, pulling myself hand over hand up toward whatever light I can see above us. I hope this vine can hold the three of us. The narrow passage feels like it goes on forever. Finally, I see the opening. Raina clambers out, then Sasha follows after her. I reach the top and pull myself out of the hole.

“Drooping dragons, that was some climb!” I dust myself off and stand up. “It’s a good thing you found that…vine.” My eyes lock on my friends, and for a moment, I don’t understand what I’m seeing.

Heath, Logan, and my two roommates have been bound together and blindfolded.

This is a trap.

I attempt to run and feel something sharp poke me in my chest. I inhale sharply and look down. A human-sized mouse dressed as a pirate has a wooden cane pointed at my chest. It quickly blindfolds me and ties my hands together. “Wait!” I panic. “This is a misunderstanding.”

“No misunderstanding,” the mouse says. “You’re trespassing in our forest, and it’s time for you to leave.”

Chapter 3

Wings of Fire

We are stumbling single-file through the forest, blindfolded and shackled, and to make matters worse, now Raina is mocking me. “I have a splendid idea: let’s go find Red Riding Hood.’” Raina mocks me as we stumble blindfolded and shackled single file through the forest. “‘She will want to help us!’”

“I didn’t say that exactly,” I argue. Although I did assume. Why would Professor Pierce use the name of Red’s shop in my note if it wasn’t a clue?

Unless it was just a coincidence.

No sense bringing that up now.

“‘Let’s wander around the dangerous woods looking for her!’” Raina adds, doing a terrible impression of my voice.

“Enough, Raina,” Sasha says. “Devin didn’t know she’d lead us into a trap and we’d be captured before we even got my mini magical scroll to work.”

It kind of sounds like Sasha is mocking me too.

“I don’t know why you like adventures, Heath,” Logan says wearily. “This forest is the worst place ever.”

My expert hearing tells me they’re all in line behind me.

I roll my eyes under the bandanna. “Don’t get hysterical. Once this mouse…er…pirate takes us to its ship, I’m sure we can straighten everything out. You’ll see.”

“Pirate?” Logan asks.

“Mouse?” Raina questions. “I didn’t even see anyone! I was rudely blindfolded before I could even ask to wipe the mud off my nose.”

“Whatever! The point is, we’re going to be fine,” I insist. I think it’s important to be a glass-half-full kind of girl.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” the pirate mouse says with a deep laugh.