In the Mist of Yesterday

[Vera Silvertooth]

The door slammed shut and all sound faded. Vera could hear her heart pounding. Her gasping breaths echoed in her head. Don?t move. Don?t make a sound. Don?t move. Don?t make a sound. Her brother?s final words to her rattled around in her memory.

Sarn wasn?t moving. He lay there by the doorway in a pool of blood. Murdered by the rats because he didn?t let go of Mum?s amulet. She didn?t know what to do.

She stared through the slats of the woodbox, waiting for Sarn to get up. Waiting for him to tell her what to do. Mum and Dad were gone. Bryht, Thall, and Kear were gone. Sarn was supposed to take care of her.

Don?t move. Don?t make a sound. Don?t move.

She curled up in a ball. The few split logs in the bottom of the woodbox hurt to sit on, but Sarn told her not to move. What if those soldiers were waiting just outside? Waiting for her to come out of hiding?

She was hungry. So hungry. Flies buzzed around her, and around Sarn. He still didn?t move. Their house smelled nasty. Her stomach hurt.

Don?t make a sound. Don?t move.

Their den had gone dark and light, and dark and light. Now it was dark again. So dark. Vera couldn?t move. She didn?t dare move.

?Sarn! Vera! We?re home!?

The door to their den banged open and Vera screamed.

?Vera! Shh... Shh... It?s okay.?

Rough paws touched her face. Vera flinched away and screamed again.

?Vera! It?s me! You?re safe! Torin can?t hurt you anymore.?

She blinked and half-choked on a sob. Dim light illuminated the cavern where she sat strapped to a heavy wooden chair. She swallowed, her mouth dry from screaming and crying.

?Hey, Vers. Look at me. Come on. You?re safe now.? Paws were again on either side of her head, gently turning her face towards the voice.

She raised her eyes, and looked at the pine marten who had crouched so he was eye-level with her. ?Hylan?? She began sobbing anew at the sight of him as guilt and relief swarmed over her. I gave Torin his name. I was going to tell him everything. I couldn?t be strong enough to protect my best friend.

?Shh, shh,? Hylan soothed. He smiled and a tear slipped from one eye. ?It?s gonna be okay. Fates, Vers, you gave me a scare...? His eyes closed and he released a slow, shuddering breath. ?I thought he?d killed you...? He let his trembling paws drop from her head and began undoing the straps that held her right arm down.

A dark shadow with an axe moved between her and the light and she cried out, jerking in her bonds once more.

Hylan jumped. ?Whoa, easy, Vera! It?s just Chak. He?s on our side.?

?He is?? she whimpered.

The gruff sea otter nodded and set his axe on the floor beside her. He began undoing the strap on her left wrist. "Air ye a'right?"

Wearily, she nodded, though she felt shattered within. They got her paws free and Vera cradled her injured left paw close. ?What about Torin??

?Dead,? Hylan and Chak said together.

She bowed her head and a whimper slipped out. Maybe Hylan doesn?t know I betrayed him, then...

?What happened, Vera?? Hylan asked, unbuckling the strap at her ankle. ?How?d you end up here??

She used her uninjured paw to wipe the remains of tears from her face. ?Blade said one of the foxes had gotten into his treasure. Then there was something about Ciera. They thought there were things that I knew. I?m... still not exactly sure.?

?Did they know about the mushrooms?? Hylan asked.

She bit her lip and before she could answer, Chak asked, ?What mushrooms?

?Er, the soup Vera gave you yesterday wasn?t exactly... ah... good.? Hylan had a sheepish half-smirk on his face. ?In our defense, we didn?t know you were on our side.?

"Ah," he raised a brow at Vera as he undid the last strap holding her down. "So t'were yer fault Torin were sick yesterday."

Vera nodded, seeing a way around Hylan?s question. ?Were there scones at breakfast? Mushroom and leek ones??

"Dunno. They fergot ta bring me breakfast this mornin' an' that rat were so grumpy 'bout 'avin' ta serve the gruel, I didn' think it'd be a good idea ta bother 'im about it."

Hylan shrugged. ?Well, doesn?t matter now. Let me see your paw, Vers.? He gently took her blood-crusted paw. He examined it and blinked rapidly a few times. ?Well, it could be worse, I suppose.?

She looked at his face, with the three X brands on it. ?I know,? she whispered. And if it were any worse, I would have given Torin so much more... She looked away.

Hylan cleared his throat roughly. ?Torin made Bodvoc look like a blasted Abbeybeast, didn?t he??

Vera thought back to the crook of a weasel she?d been employed to when she?d first met Hylan. The pine marten had helped rescue her from him, too. ?That?s one way of putting it. Worst Bodvoc ever did was give me a black eye.?

?Oh, he coulda done worse.? Hylan pushed himself to his feet and then bowed and held out a paw. ?M?lady??

She let him pull her to her feet, then threw her arms around her old friend, hugging him close, not caring that a couple tears slipped free. Through his tattered tunic, she felt the scars and scabs of the whippings and beatings he?d endured, and she knew worse would have happened had Torin had even just a little longer with her.

Chak cleared his throat roughly as he picked up his axe. ?Ah?ll be upstairs...?

Hylan chuckled as the otter retreated and gently released her. ?We shouldn?t linger long anyway. Let?s rinse this blood off and get moving.?

Hylan kept a paw on her to keep her steady as they walked over to the basin of water. Vera carefully washed her paw. It still ached, a constant reminder of her weakness, and her stubs of claws oozed blood. She whimpered softly.

?Hang on, I?ll be right back.? Hylan trotted up the stairs and after a moment, Vera heard fabric tearing. When he returned, he had strips of cloth from Torin?s bed. ?Ain?t perfect, but until we can get you to somebeast that knows better, it?ll do.?

While he wrapped her wounds gently with the strips, she averted her gaze, afraid to meet Hylan?s eyes. She noticed the shells and Fildering?s picture sitting on the table. After Hylan tied off the last makeshift bandage, she grabbed those and followed him up the stairs, tucking the picture between the shells once more.

Chak was in the main room of Torin?s quarters, where there was a fireplace dug into one wall of the cave. He?d built the blaze up and was solemnly adding the tails from Torin?s collection one by one. He noticed the stares of the fox and marten and shrugged. ?Don?t seem right, leavin? ?em up there like that.?

Vera turned as Hylan went back into the bedroom, where there sat the strange belt and the glossy brown tail attached to it. A sour taste filled her mouth as he picked it up carefully.

He returned to the front room. ?I know how Reedox feels.? he said, voice breaking. ?Worst day of my life. Just wanted to lay down and die. How could I go on?? He smoothed some of the fur down on the tail and stepped closer to the fire.

He hesitated, looking over the apparatus the tail was attached to, then stepped back, slowly turning the belt and getting everything lined up.

He gave Vera a weak grin. ?I could kind of have a tail again...?

Vera stared at her friend with his tail. But it would just look wrong. The fur on the tail was the sleek, smooth, chocolate brown that Vera remembered Hylan always being. The rest of him was dull, more the color of dried mud, still tinged with yellow sulfur dust.

?It wouldn?t look too bad, right?? he asked, sounding hopeful.

As vain as ever. She shook her head and stifled the odd urge to start giggling. ?Some things never change. You?re still a dandy, aren?t you??

The marten trembled suddenly and he took a step away from her, curling his shoulders and chin in a defensive way.

?Hylan? What?s wrong?? What did I say?

For a several very long moments, he was quiet, hunched up on himself. Then he cleared his throat. ?Dandy... That?s the slave name Torin gave me, ?cause I was always so proud...?

She clapped paws over her mouth. ?I?m sorry. I didn?t know!?

He shivered. Then he straightened and stroked his tail one last time. A few strides brought him close to the fire and he gently tossed the tail and it?s apparatus in. He watched them burn for a moment, then turned his back on the flames. ?I can live without a tail. I can live with scars. Won?t be easy, but it can be done.? He picked up a hatchet from where it lay embedded in an end table. ?Right. Chak, let?s get Vera to that tunnel.?

?Aye! Safest place for ?er.? The otter shouldered his axe, which had been sitting against the wall near the fire.

?What about the pirates?? She asked as Hylan gripped her uninjured paw and led her out the door and down the tunnels.

?Crue?s mongooses are taking care of them,? Hylan said. ?And any they haven?t, Chak and I can handle.?

They followed Chak, passing bodies of slain pirates and occasional mongooses. Off in the distance, she could hear sounds of fighting. Hylan?s ears perked forward, wary of danger, a posture she?d seen on him before a few times when she?d traveled with him on her way from one inn to another. He?d protected her then, just as he was protecting her now. She looked down at her wounded paw and felt sick.

Why couldn?t I have stayed quiet? Why couldn?t I be brave enough to hold out even just a little while?

But she knew the truth. She never had been really brave. Whatever it took to protect her own skin, that was always what she?d done. She sighed and saw Hylan glance at her before giving her paw a reassuring squeeze.

She almost pulled her paw away. I don?t deserve a friend like him.

After a while, Vera recognized the path they were taking. ?Why are we going to the slaves? quarters??

?There?s a secret tunnel down there that leads to the harbor. We put all them that couldn?t fight in there, so it?s the safest place for you right now. You should be able to catch up with the rest in no time.?

When they reached the slave cells, Chak picked up a torch and led the way into the foul-smelling enclosure that had once housed the sulfur slaves. Vera balked. ?Hylan...? She swallowed the lump that rose in her throat.

He tightened his grip. ?Trust me, Vera.? He led her deeper into the cell and pushed a tattered scrap of fabric out of the way, pulling her into a small cave that smelled like a privy.

?Tunnel be up thar.? Chak pointed towards the shadowy ceiling. A roughly made ladder sat against the wall.

?Go on up,? Hylan insisted. ?We?ll hand you the torch.?

Vera eyed the ladder, then climbed up carefully. She scrambled onto the ledge and turned around to accept the torch from Chak. Then, the otter and marten pulled the ladder back. ?Wait, what are you doing??

?I?m going to help kill Blade.? Hylan said as he helped Chak lay the ladder on the cave floor.

Vera stared. ?Kill Blade? Hylan, have you lost your mind.?

?Probably,? he said with quick grin that the flickering torchlight made chilling. Then the smile faded. ?Look, this is our chance. It might be the only chance anybeast ever has to stop him. I?d be a fool to not take it.?

Vera stared at him and shook her head. ?He?s got an army!?

?Thanks t? Crue, so d? we,? Chak said. Using his axe, he began breaking the ladder apart.

She stretched out her injured paw towards Hylan. ?Come with me, please! You don?t have to fight Blade!?

?And why?s that?? Hylan asked, lifting his hatchet to help Chak destroy the ladder.

?Because you could die! What am I supposed to do if you get hurt? I thought you were dead once already.? She swallowed down a lump in her throat. ?I can?t go through that again!?

He stopped and looked up at her with a frown, then his eyes widened. ?Of course... It?s all about you, isn?t it? Always has been.?

Vera flinched as if he?d slapped her. ?No, that?s not it!?

Hylan crossed his arms and stepped close to the ledge where she crouched. ?Why are you even here, Vera? I know you didn?t come to save me. How did cautious, careful Vera get mixed up with Captain Blade??

?That?s not important.?

?Yes, I think it is.?

Secrets piled on top of lies threatened to crush her. She glanced into his dark eyes and looked away quickly, ears drooping.

?Fates, Vera... You got yourself into trouble, didn?t you. You did something stupid and had to leave town.? He stared at her, eyes flitting over her face, then his voice dropped to a growl. ?You went to Blackfur, didn?t you??

She cringed and whispered. ?What else could I do??

?Vera, you promised me! You promised! You were going to stay away from Rigal, and Fort Blackfur, and that stupid, bloody amulet! You... you... agh!? He ran a paw through his head fur, then gripped the back of his head tightly, curling in on himself. When he straightened and turned back to her, tears were in his eyes. ?One thing is all I asked. One. Because I wanted you to stay safe.?

?Hylan,? Chak grumbled, as he began shoving the broken ladder bits into the privy pits. ?We need t? go, mate!?

?Hang on.? He dashed a paw across his eyes and asked Vera. ?Why??

?My brother died protecting it. I couldn?t just leave it.?

Hylan sighed and his shoulders slumped. ?You always said that. That was always the excuse. You honestly believe your brother died for a piece of jewelry? I don't, and I think you know exactly what he died protecting. You're just too scared to admit it."

?Hylan. Vera. We ain?t got time fer this,? Chak said.

Hylan sighed and then gave Chak a nod. ?You?re right. Vera, follow the mushrooms. They?ll lead you to the others.?

?No, Hylan. Not without you.?

?I?m not abandoning my friends,? he snapped. ?I promised to help with the pirates, and that?s what I?m going to do. Unlike some, I keep my promises.?

Vera stared down at him, jaw agape, but no words could come. He was right. She had broken her promise and everything that had happened to her over the last season was a result of that.

The torchlight played off the tears that traced dark tracks down Hylan?s fur. ?I?m glad you?re okay,? he said in a softer tone. ?And I?m so, so glad you?re not dead. The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but I have to do this.?

?Hylan, you can?t abandon me like this.?

He backed away. ?I have to. Please, take care of yourself.? He turned his back on her and followed Chak out.

?Hylan? Hylan, wait! Please! Hylan!?

Vera was left alone. Forgotten. Abandoned.

She dropped the torch, leaned back against the wall of the tunnel, buried her face into her paws, and began to cry.

Alone again. With nothing.

But isn?t it what she deserved? A little pain and she?d betrayed her best friend. Hylan was mad that she broke the promise to stay away from Fort Blackfur. How betrayed would he feel if he knew how she?d nearly told Blade everything just to get her amulet back? And if he?d known how easily she?d cracked under Torin?s pressure?

Weak.

Worthless.

She deserved to be left behind.

After a while she reached up to scrub a paw across her face, and remembered she still had the shells protecting Fildering?s picture clenched in her fist. She opened her paw up and looked at them.

I think you know exactly what he died protecting. You're just too scared to admit it. Hylan had said.

Vera closed her eyes and curled up. ?You?re wrong...? she whispered, tears leaking again from her eyes.

?Vera! What are you doing??

The fox kit yipped and hid something behind her back. ?Nothin?.?

Her big brother came over and turned her around in a no-nonsense sort of way. ?You?re not supposed to play with mum?s necklace, VerVer. You know that. It?s special.?

?But it?s so pretty,? she pulled it back around to her front, before her brother could take it. ?And Mum says it?ll be mine someday.?

?But it ain?t yours yet. Let?s put it back.?

The kit ran away giggling, holding the silver and ruby amulet out in front of her. ?Catch me if you can!? she teased.

?Vera,? he laughed and took off after her. Out the door to their den ran the two foxes, one young kit and one in the lanky stages of adolescence. Over the yard she bolted, her big brother right on her tail. She headed up the path that led away from their home.

Sarn caught her eventually, and she squirmed giggling in his grip. He laughed, ?Gotcha, you terror. Come on. It?s going to be dark soon.?

?Aww...?

?Amulet, Vera.? He held out his paw.

She pouted, ?Can I carry it back??

He looked down at her sternly, then cracked a smile. ?Oh, what?ll it hurt? Sure.?

?Yay!? she took his proffered paw in hers and hippity-hopped down the path, the ruby necklace clutched tightly in her other paw.

He continued, ?But you gotta leave it in the hiding place after this. What would Mum say if you lost it??

Halfway back, Sarn suddenly stopped. He looked off towards the sunset, nostrils flaring, ears twitching. Vera froze, knowing, even though young, that danger lurked in the woods.

?Oi, you there!? a strange voice shouted.

All at once, Sarn scooped Vera up in his arms and took off at a dead run back to their den. Vera threw her paws around his neck, amulet still clutched in her paw, and hung on. Looking over his shoulder, she saw dark shapes coming from the woods like ghosts.

Back in the den, he shoved the door closed. ?Gotta hide, Vera.?

But there was no time to hid in their usual cubby where they hid when soldiers came to the den while their parents where away. So Sarn quickly tossed Vera into the woodbox. She lost her grip on the amulet and it clattered to the floor.

Sarn hissed, ?Don?t move. Don?t make a sound.?

Then the door banged open and several burly rats in armor with drawn weapons filed in. Vera cowered in the woodbox, looking at her brother?s tail through a crack in the slats. Words were spoken between the leader of the rats and her brother. She heard her father?s name mentioned.

?What are yew hiding there?? one of the rats suddenly said, looking at Vera?s hiding place.

Sarn hesitated, then moved, grabbing the amulet from the floor. He bolted away from the woodbox and Vera, leaving her alone and suddenly even more afraid.

She watched through the slats at the brief scuffle that ensued when Sarn tried to dart out the open door. Eyes wide, she watched as a rat ran him through with a spear. Sarn cried out, and fell. Blood began pooling beneath his body. The rat stuck him again and Sarn lay still.

The leader bent down and picked up the amulet from Sarn?s clenched paw.

They turned to leave. The door slammed behind them.

Vera gulped down a sob. Off in the distance, she could hear cries and screams. Somewhere in this horrid place, former slaves and mongooses were fighting Captain Blade?s pirates. Hylan was fighting.

She looked back down at the shells. How many of those beasts had little sisters back home? How many had brothers, mothers, fathers, and mates? How many had friends? Beasts that they loved and who they might never see again?

Vera set her shells down carefully, and untied the red sash around her waist. With no apron and no pockets in her tunic, she needed some way to keep the picture safe, and she?d need her paws for climbing. Using her teeth, she ripped a long strip from the sash, which she then knotted around the shells and fashioned into a necklace. She slipped it over her head and tucked it inside her tunic, leaving the rest of the sash laying at the mouth of the secret tunnel.

She picked up the torch and looked up the secret tunnel. Hylan had said the slaves who couldn?t fight were taking the tunnel to the harbor. Knowing the condition some of those poor beasts were in the mine, they would probably need help.

I don?t know what I can do, but Hylan?s right. Blade needs to be destroyed. He?s hurt too many beasts. I?ll do what I can to bring him down and get the others to freedom.

She began to climb up the narrow tunnel, following the sounds of the fighting.