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Prologue

The Caribbean - late 1700s

The water was flatasa looking glass, capturingthe ht and stars that twinkled down fro ahead of thehostlikeinthedarkness

Froout canoe in which she rode, Valoree motioned, and the nal, the sailors raised their oars out of the water, and the craftslid silently up beside the larger craft

Immediately those on the left side of the canoewithdrew hooks on longropes and sent thehthe air to catch on therail above For a e galleon and holding the lines, allowing their craft to be dragged along bythe larger ship’s momentum At last, whenahueandcryfailedto arise, all eyesslowlyreturned to Valoree

Shestared back, knowing these man - little more than a boy, reallyAll of them butHenry

He alone knew that their deceased captain’s younger brother Valerian, who had served as acabinboy These last eight years, was reallya girl Of coursehe knew;he’d been the one who had suggestedthe charade so manyyears before, when he’d realized thatJeremy - hiscaptain and herbrother - intended tokeep her aboard aship full of pirates

Aye, these and untried And yet, they hadvowedto followher Only a desire forvengeance could ans all, follow soreen lad, a little brother or son to be coddledand spoiled Andvengeance they wouldhave

Glancing down into thewater, Valoree took inherreflection

Her bodywas slim - she waslean rather than muscular - and it treined that her eyes were nolonger those of the youthwho had as she’d gone about her chores Nay, her eyesnow seemed old, hard, bitter with fresh loss A losstheseood manandafair captain, and his ship, theValor, had been the onlyhoht years The lanced aroundat thehher shirt was her own, she noore her brother’s breeches, along with his hatand jacket Jereh the thick belt at her waist, and a brass-barreled flintlock was sticking out ofthose baggy, too-large pantsThe captain’scutlass rested in its sheath where ithungat her side She had taken his clothing when she had sworn’ vengeance for his death - andshe had notbathed since

Everyinchof her body, every item, every inch of cloth, wood, and metal was covered with its owner’s dried blood, as were Valoree’s face, hands, and feetEvenher longhair was crusty with the stuffThough it wasnormally avibrant, fiery red - as her brother’s had been - it was now streaked through with crimson, marked by the red blood of her brother’s death - a reminder of her vow

Herbrother had notdied easily He had notdied quicklyHe, along with the majority of his men, had died slowly and in torment And for that, Valoree and the remainder of Jerelanced toward Skullyandnodded The cadaverous man immediately reached for histools, and Valoreeturnedher back as he began to bore holes in thebottotheirreactionShe did nothave long to wait

Skully wasstillworkingon the second hole when the last of the In their faces she read approval and a grudgingrespect To reassurethem of her intent, she half hissed, half whispered, "We take this shiporwedie There is no escape We fight not onlyto avenge the deaths of goodeance, " Henry vowed beside her in a hushed tone His words were ieance!"

She relaxed so heras shesilently watched Skullyfinishboringthe holes in the bottom of their boat The holes were relatively small, butevenso, by the ti water andbeginning tosink

As Skully hurriedly returned his tools to hissatchel, Valoree drew her brother’scutlass fro ship, she led the alleon Her bare hands and feet moved surely up the rope until she reached the top, the others close behind Pausing there, Valoree peered over the side and glared about

Several out in theopen airof the deck Valoree glanced toward thehel thehelmsman Theaway his shift, senseless There was no one to give an alarm The Spaniards would betaken co silently over the side, Valoree hunkered low, sticking totheshadows Her estured silently, dividing thefor one group to stay abovedeck, while directing the otherstoward the darkhole that was theentrance to thecabins Theyall begantoall over the ship TheSpaniards, ready to set to work, butwaiting the few h the hole to reach their targets, lest so the rest of the crew to the others, Valoree moved stealthily toward the hel startled thea sword, the Spaniard peered blearily at her She froze, but his gaze found her anyway Takingin Jere about her blood-streaked face, heblinked

"Rojo El Capitan Rojo? "

Valoree stiffened at the words, recognizing the name the Spanish used for herbrother Captain Red, because of his red hair

"Regresadelhtened abruptly, shrieking"Regresa del muerto El Rojo!"

His cry awokeothers nearby, and thesleepy-eyed ape at herin horror Thehelresa del muertoElRojo!"

For a ht withher, startled by the shouting, turned to peerat Valoree She drew back, annoyed, then peeredaboutatthefrozen tableau Her crewlance atthe nearest of the , Henry? "

Drawn out of his startled state by the question, the quartered "He’s thinkin’ ye’re yer own brother, Captain RedHe’s thinkin’ye’re backfrom the dead He’sscreamin’ ’Back-from-the-Dead Red, ’"