AS--To Steal from Pirates

"So?" I flipped my eyes open to Damien staring at me hopefully.

"I... he's..." I trailed off, hoping that I could find something better to say then what I had almost said. "I don't know where he is, Damien."

He stared at me, heartbroken. "But... but you've got to know!"

Suddenly it came to me. "They're going to sell him."

Damien frowned. "What?"

I looked up at him, the whole thing becoming clear. "The sky pirates are going to sell him as a slave. We're got to hurry. Come on!" I grabbed his hand and took off running.

* * *

"Think about it," I started to Damien as we ran, "what's the nearest town that would be most convenient for them to sell Brumby at?"

I, myself, had no idea, since I'd lived in the forest all my life, but surely Damien knew. Surely him and his father would've mapped out all the surrounding towns when they'd first started out their journey for the Lost Locket. Surely he knew.

"Oh, um, it's, um..." Damien frowned to myself, hissing, "Think, Damien!" We kept on running, and suddenly he jumped in the air, shouting joyfully, "It's Coyroy! That's where they would've taken him!"

"Alright," I nodded. "So where's Coyroy? We've got to get there immediately and save Brumby!"

The thought was rather exciting. I'd missed the old man. Damien's father was a lot nicer then himself, and he was rather like a father to me. When he'd disappeared, contrary to Damien's beliefs, I also had felt heartbroken. I was more then horrified when I'd seen him being carried off by the sky pirates on their Sky Ship. The thought had been horrible.

And, though I hadn't admitted this to Damien, it reminded me terribly of the night that my own village had been attacked by Sky Pirates. I was the only one left.

"I don't have enough money to buy him back, though," Damien pointed out suddenly, looking to be in the depths of despair.

"We're not going to buy him back," I smiled, my arms pumping as I ran faster and yelled over my shoulder, "We're going to steal him back!"