If I Were Brave

[Vera Silvertooth]

The green parrot screeched behind them as Plink grabbed Vera?s injured paw and pulled her through the tunnels. Vera hissed in pain, but didn?t shake the rat off with the burning bird so close on their tails.

?I?ll rip ye to bloody, red ribbons, fox!? the macaw shrieked behind them. ?The both of ye! I'll slice ye down an' make meself a bloody bonnet!"

Plink led Vera back towards the chamber full of pale mushrooms. The fungi were scattered all over the floor, probably by the footpaws of the escaping slaves earlier. Hylan had told her to follow the mushrooms, but if they?d been arranged in any sort of sign, it had been disturbed.

?I hope you know where we?re going,? she said to Plink as she heard the scrabble of claws behind them.

?Blade?s quarters!? the rat said in response. ?Hurry!?

Vera scrambled after Plink as she led her through the tunnels. When she glanced over her shoulder for any sign of Maurick, her footpaw slipped on the sloping tunnel and she had to scramble to keep from falling and burning herself with the torch. Plink helped her back up and they hurried on. ?What?s that crazy beast doing here anyway??

?I?m trying to help Robert!?

They cleared the tunnel and entered a larger chamber that smelled not unlike the slave quarters below. Plink immediately went for a rope dangling in the center of the cave and began to clamber up it. Vera looked back once. She could hear Maurick coming, but the tunnel was a tight fit for his big bulk.

?Vera! Come on!?

Vera dropped the torch on the ground and grasped the rope. She started to pull herself up, using her footpaws to help take the weight off her arms and wounded paw. Even so, it hurt almost as much as when Torin had tortured her. She grit her teeth and kept climbing. Blood began seeping through Hylan?s hasty bandages, staining and slicking the rope.

Finally, she reached the lip of the catwalk, where Plink held out a paw to aid her. Vera nearly lost her grip going from rope to platform, but Plink helped get her there safely.

?Yer bleedin'!? Plink said, noticing Vera?s paw.

?I?m fine. Let?s go before that overgrown wood pigeon gets out of there!?

?Haaark, aye, run ye cowards. Just wait until Maurick catches ye. I?ll line me nest with yer pelts, and use yer tails fer...?

Maurick?s voice trailed off as Plink took the lead once more and they hurried through the empty rooms of Blade?s quarters. When they reached the main door, Vera slammed it firmly shut and grabbed a discarded cutlass, which she wedged between the door and the floor in the hope that it would slow the mad macaw down when he finally got there.

?So tell me,? she said as she caught her breath, ?how exactly is that crazy thing supposed to help Robert??

"I figured I'd lead him around the harbor to keep anybeast from botherin' Robert an' the slaves while they're esc-" The little rat stopped abruptly and clapped both paws over her mouth, watching Vera with anxious eyes. "Don't tell anybeast! You said yerself it ain't right, the way they got treated!"

Vera nodded, and nearly admitted her own role in the slaves? escape. Her paw twinged and she held her tongue, saying instead, ?Did Robert know you had this plan??

The ratmaid gnawed at her thumbclaw and eyed the blocked door. "I left a message, but... what if he didn't see it? They might all still be down there..."

?They?re not. Crue?s plan worked. She got those mongooses in Dead Rock. The slaves have been freed and we?re getting out of here, which is what I was trying to do when I got lost in those tunnels.? Vera began trotting down the hall, wanting to get further away from Maurick.

?It worked? How? Blade said...? Plink stopped and folded her arms tight across her chest, glaring off to the side.

?I don?t know details,? Vera said and hesitated when she noticed Plink wasn?t following, ?but all the slaves are heading to the harbor. Which is where we should go.?

?No!?

Vera looked back. ?Excuse me??

Plink scowled at Vera, then at the floor. "I?m not goin?. I gotta keep Maurick movin'. He's my responsibility."

The vixen stared. ?Plink, this is no place for you.?

"There is no place fer me! I ain't some smooth-talkin' fox who can convince goodbeasts she ain't vermin! I'm a rat! Cap'n Blade made a home fer us, an' I earned my place here! I ain't leavin'!"

Vera threw her paws up in the air, but the action sent a fresh stab of pain through her paw. She looked down at the strips of cloth over her claws, now all soaked with blood. Her paw was streaked red and sticky as well. The sight of it and the dull ache that accompanied it reminded her of just how bad things could get if you got on the wrong side of Captain Blade.

?Listen to me. You have no idea what Blade is capable of doing. He doesn?t care about you, or anybeast else for that matter. That ferret cares only for himself and what he stands to gain. If he ever finds out you tried to help his slaves...?

Plink interrupted, ?He ain?t gonna!?

Vera clenched her wounded paw. ?All it takes is one beast. Sometimes, it doesn?t take much to get someone to talk.? She swallowed down the lump in her throat. ?This is no home, Plink. Trust me. I know. Come with me. We?ll find Robert and the others and we can leave this hell hole behind us.?

There was a splintering crack behind them as Maurick finally reached the door to Blade?s quarters.

?Hurry!? Vera held out her good paw. ?Come with me.?

Plink stared back at her, fists quaking at her sides.

The door banged open with a crash and the green and slightly blackened macaw burst out. Vera and Plink both bolted down the tunnel. Vera took a left turn at the intersection and ran as fast as she could. Then, the sound of only her paws on the stone made her hesitate and she glanced back.

Plink had gone the opposite direction, with Maurick hard on her tail.

Vera swore, turned to follow after Plink, then stopped. What do I do now? She looked down the tunnel that would lead her to the harbor, then down the tunnel Plink had taken. She bit her lip. This was Plink?s plan, after all. She knows Dead Rock. She can lose him. She wanted to bring the bird here and she doesn?t want to leave. I can?t make her.

With a heavy feeling in her stomach, Vera turned and raced down to the harbor, past the bodies of dead pirates, dead mongooses, and an occasional bound pirate.

When Vera reached the harbor, she gazed over a scene of even more chaos. Across the docks, mongooses were fighting with the pirates. She saw more pirates aboard the ships, casting off lines from the dock. On the far right side of the harbor, she saw Captain Blade?s infamous ship, the Phantom. Across it?s decks, she saw the huddled masses of slaves from the sulfur and iron mines. Some of the stronger slaves were climbing the rigging and preparing to set sail.

Vera ducked behind some of the barrels, boxes, and random rock outcroppings that littered the harbor area and began making her way to the Phantom. She stayed low, not wanting to be seen by any of the mongooses or pirates, since either group had reason to doubt her allegiance.

She?d reached the dock that led to the Phantom and was about to make a run for the ship when the thudding of numerous paws on the boardwalk made her duck back down.

A crew of pirates approached, with a fox hollering, ?Cap?n Blade promised us that ship an? no filthy slaves are gonna swipe it out from under us. Feed ?em ta the fishes, mates!?

Vera watched as they headed for the Phantom, then jumped as a familiar otter raced past her hiding place and dove into the water of the harbor. The ripples betrayed his position as Chak sped through the water and reached the Phantom?s hull barely ahead of the fox and his pirates.

Where?s Hylan? She looked back down the way Chak had come from and spotted her friend as he stooped over the body of a dead stoat, pulling off the pirate?s coat.

?Hylan!? She vacated her hiding place and ran to him.

He glanced up and his eyes widened. ?Vera, what are you doing here?? He stood and grabbed her arm, pulling her back out of sight. ?You?re supposed to be somewhere safe!?

?I... I?m here to help.? She jerked out of his grasp. ?If you?re going to fight, then so am I.?

He stared at her, then began tugging on the dead pirate?s coat. ?You?re not a fighter!?

?Neither are you! What do you think you?re doing??

?Disguise.? He began buttoning up the coat. ?I?m going to help Chak hold those pirates off.?

?You?re joking!?

Hylan looked over the harbor. ?I don?t see Robert and the others. They were supposed to be here, and they?re not. We need fighters, Vera. I have to do what I can! Those pirates will slaughter my friends.?

?I...? Vera watched as he buckled the belt. She didn?t want to leave him again, especially seeing what odds he faced.

?Please, Vera! Get somewhere safe until the coast is clear! I can?t protect you and the others at the same time!?

She swallowed the lump that rose in her throat. ?Then, I?m going to find help. Robert, or more mongooses, or... something.?

?I?d rather you hid.?

?No, we?re in this together. I?ll bring you help.? She put her good paw on his shoulder. ?But, please, be careful.?

He patted her paw. ?Don?t worry about me, Vera. I?m not planning on dying until I get a decent meal to make up for all the seasons of mush I?ve been eating.? He grinned and picked up a fallen cutlass and dagger. ?Don?t you take any risks. I want cookies when this is all over with!?

She nodded and backed away, leaving him to turn towards the pirates attacking the Phantom. She ran back up to the tunnel mouth, but stopped and looked back once there. She couldn?t see Hylan anymore and she was left only hoping that he really would be careful. She swallowed back the threatening tears.

Through the tunnels of Dead Rock she ran, looking for Robert and his escaped Waverunners. The stone fortress had gone eerily quiet. She passed by body after body, but there was no sign of anyone who she could count on to help.

An enraged shriek echoed down the tunnel behind her and Vera turned and ran back the way she came. Maybe Maurick had found the Waverunners? She followed the sounds of his cries and curses until she spotted the brilliant green bulk of Maurick in the tunnel ahead. Then she heard Plink scream in terror and her heart dropped.

Vera stooped and picked up a fallen mongoose?s spear. ?Hey! Featherduster!? she yelled, which momentarily distracted the macaw from his prey. She could see now that he crouched in front of a small crevice in the rock, a narrow opening like so many that pockmarked the tunnels. She thought she saw, past the macaw?s groping claws, Plink?s gray jacket.

?I?m talking to you!? she barked and waved her spear. ?Come on! You want to kill somebeast? Try me on then.?

He turned towards her, glaring at her sideways with one of his pale eyes. ?Haarrk! After the rat, vixen!?

?You?re nothing more than a dyed wood pigeon,? she growled. ?Your mother was a sparrow and your father was flightless. Bet they dropped your egg out of the nest soon as it got laid rather than look at your ugly mug!?

The parrot turned back to her, feather?s pinning around his head. ?Ye got a deathwish, don?t ye??

?You?re a coward and a weakling, Maurick!? she taunted as she started backing down the tunnel as an idea formed in her mind. ?I?m going to see you gutted, roasted over a slow fire, and your feathers made into a headdress for the mongooses!?

The macaw rushed at her and Vera yelped and backpedaled quickly, smacking the outstretched beak with the head of her spear. Then she ran.

She heard the scrabble of claws right behind her and felt the flap of the wings breezing against her neck. She dared not look to see just how close the bird was. She just ran, terrified that she?d trip and Maurick would have her.

She burst out of the tunnels into the harbor, where she took in the scene on the docks in front of Phantom. The pirates were now split between fighting a few mongooses on the dock and the slaves on the ship. She saw Chak standing on the gangplank with slaves by his side, but no sign of Hylan. Something brushed her tail and terror gave her one final burst of speed, heading straight for the battle. She dropped the spear and cried out in her best imitation of a maiden in trouble, ?Help! Help me! He?s going to kill me.? A couple heads turned her direction and she shoved through two mongooses and into the mass of pirates. ?That crazy bird?s trying to kill me,? she screamed.

Maurick had stopped and awkwardly fluttered onto a stack of barrels and boxes left on the dock, where he shifted from claw to claw as his head turned this way and that, looking at her with one swollen, bloodshot eye, and then with the other clear yellow one. "Hah harrk! Well don't ye sing a pretty tune when it suits ye?"

?What?s going on over here!? somebeast said and the fox she?d noticed earlier shoved his way through the pirates. ?Keep them away from that gangplank,? he shouted over his shoulder.

Vera moved to grip the fox?s sleeve. ?Oh, please help me. The bird...?

"Dremlak, ye old stoat-skinner!? The parrot crept sideways along the barrels and boxes. "Hand over the vixen..."

?Maurick, ain?t seen ye since ye took some of the Scumcutter?s crew off treasure huntin?. I thought ye were snake bait seasons ago,? the fox said, sounding disappointed that it wasn?t true.

?Oh, please, don?t let him have me!? Vera begged, true fear adding weight to her act. ?The horrid things he promised to do to me...?

?Just shut yer mouth, vixen,? Dremlak snarled. ?I?ve got more important things t? deal with than ye.?

?But I?m supposed to be with the other cooks when Captain Blade sets sail!? she protested, drywashing her paws.

"So, it be true. Blade be leavin' his fortress." The macaw took in the hubbub on the docks and fluffed his feathers. "Har harrk, an' here ye be, Dremlak. Loadin' up th' slaves like the glorified whip-swinger ye always were."

Dremlak jerked his head back towards where a handful of pirates still fought with Chak and the slaves. ?They tried to escape and commandeer themselves a ship.?

"An' a fine job they be doin' of it, especially them that's lyin' about still as death." Maurick chuckled. "Be ye helpin' 'em? Or more... overseein'?"

The fox bristled and Vera started to back herself away while the two talked. ?Cap?n Blade ordered me to retake the ship!?

"No doubt fer lack of alternatives. Ye know as well as I what manner o' beast ye be, Dremlak. Yer a deckhand, plain an' simple. No captain could ever keep his crew rosy with yer strategic abilities... or lack thereof." He clacked his beak a few times and turned a pale eye on the crew around Dremlak. ?Why ye all lettin? this deck swabber throw yer lives away? A couple slaves on a ship an? how many o? yer mates lie dead? Aye, I recognize most o? ye. Loyal crew o? the Scumcutter, ye were.? Maurick climbed to a higher barrel, puffing out his chest feathers and assuming a casual confidence as if he were putting on an old glove ?Ye?ve fought under me, mates. Ye know I value th? lives o? me crew, unlike Dremlak there.?

A shift ran through the pirates. The fighting with the mongooses had been resolved during the chat, though Chak and the others still held, but now some pirates turned to glare at Dremlak.

"Aye, that's right, maties. Look at what Dremlak done to ye. Not even a captain yet an? already he be sendin' ye ta die. Be that the kind o' captain ye want? An' be he what ye deserve?"

A couple beasts muttered out replies and the divide between Dremlak?s loyal pirates and those shifting to Maurick?s side grew.

?Yer a liar, Dirty Trick Maurick!?

"Is that what ye think? Har har hark! Even if I did play ye false, I know how to command a vessel an' keep them that's on it alive an' in good fortune. Best we both stick ta what we know." Maurick cocked his head. "Or maybe we could strike a deal. Ye wish ta be captain? Name me yer first mate an' I'll see yer command go smoothly. I'll even help ye ta clear up that bothersome rebellion ye got there. What say ye?"

?I ain?t making no alliance with a mangy bird like ye, Maurick. I?m Cap?n o? the Phantom and nobeast?ll take that from me.?

Vera felt a paw grab her around the arm and she tried to shove it away. ?Let me go,? she hissed.

Maurick spread his green and blue tipped wings, which would have been more impressive if the feathers on his one wing hadn?t been singed almost to the skin. ?Dremlak?s leadin? ye ta yer deaths!? he screeched.

?Kill the liar,? Dremlak said on the tail of Maurick?s words.

A handful of pirates turned on their mates and the confusion on the dock grew worse.

Now caught between two pirate gangs, Vera looked for an escape. Then the same rotten-smelling arm looped around her neck and pulled her back. She screamed and struggled against the strong grip. A big hat with a ragged red feather obscured the pirate?s face, but she clearly saw the bloody dagger in his other paw.

?Let me go!? she screamed, shoving against him.

?We got bigger problems than th? vixen, you idiot!? Dremlak snarled at his crew member.

Vera got an elbow in her assailant's stomach and winded him. She fought free and, in the process, knocked the hat from his head. She turned back and stared in shock at Hylan?s branded face. Her paws flew to cover her mouth as she realized what she?d done.

As Hylan straighten with a gasp, Dremlak said, ?Serves ye right!? Then he looked again and growled. ?Ye ain?t one o? me crew... I remember ye! That no good slave what were always causin? trouble!?

?Vera, run!? Hylan cried and fumbled a cutlass from his belt.

Dremlak went after Hylan with his drawn cutlass as the marten stumbled back. All around them, pirate fought pirate in mass confusion. Some glanced at her, but she stood unarmed and nonthreatening. Vera turned as she heard startled squawking and a crash as Maurick?s perch was upset. His next screech cut off by a horrid gurgling sound.

Vera turned again and watched as Hylan tripped over a dead pirate and went down, losing his grip on the cutlass. Dremlak closed in.

?I?ll send ye ta Hellgates with all the rest of yer friends!? the fox said.

Vera?s paw went to her throat and she felt the frayed edge of the remains of her red sash. Darting around a pirate and pulling the makeshift shell necklace over her head at the same time, she took an end in each paw and whipped it over Dremlak?s head as he drew back his sword for a thrust at her helpless friend.

Snarling, Vera pulled back, crossing her paws and tightening her improvised garrote. Although pain lanced through her wounded paw, she hung on grimly as Dremlak twisted and struggled. His cutlass fell from his paws as he dug futilely at the strip of cloth at his throat. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a pirate coming to aid his captain, but Hylan had regained his feet and moved to protect her, driving his dagger into the pirate?s back. He dispatched several more pirates while Dremlak?s struggles grew weaker. Then Dremlak fell to the deck and his weight jerked the fabric from her bad paw.

The fox captain didn?t rise.

As she stared at Dremlak with her shell necklace hanging from her trembling paw, Vera heard a cry raised across the harbor.

?Eulalia!?