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Prologue

Then

Abby didn’t knohy she awoke; she ht Whatever it was, she’d gone froreat tenth birthday party she was going to have at her grandparents’ tavern, the Dragonslayer, to being pulled out of her dream, as if she needed to be awake And aware

There was soht So down at her, eyes filled with great concern

Then the face was gone and she was instantly wide-awake

And scared

She slipped froonslayer, running to the door in the little hallway that led to her grandparents’ suite Neither of therandparents weren’t in their bed

She instantly knew she should be quiet The fear she felt was instinctive, and she tiptoed in bare feet down the curving round floor

Halfway there, she stopped Her heart seemed to squeeze and her whole body froze

She wasn’t afraid of the tavern, she never had been It was filled with old ships’ wheels, countless figureheads, paintings, etchings, ons and azed down at her froe

No, she wasn’t afraid of anything in the Dragonslayer, but

So at the entry, looking through the cut-glasson the front door, and it wasn’t her grandpa Gus

He was tall, and beneath his tricorn hat, his rich black hair fell down his back in curls He had a neatly ht on his calves over tan breeches He wore a criant buttons that matched those on his vest, and a white shirt with lace at the throat and sleeves He see could pass by him She couldn’t see his eyes in the darkness, but she knew their color

Just as she knew hi over her

She’d seen ies of him dozens of times He’d been loved--and hated He’d sailed the seas on a constant quest for adventure, so to others He’d never killed asevere thrashings He’d kidnapped a wealthy hter and held her for a fortune, but when she was rescued, the girl had wanted to go back to her captor He never broke his word

Of course, despite his sense of honor, he’d been hunted He had been the pirate, Blue Anderson He was her ureat-uncle

Had been

He was dead He had been dead for more than two hundred and fifty years

But there he was--standing in the darkness, watching whatever was happening outside the door Watching with intense interest

He looked up at her suddenly, as if he realized she was there

He studied her for ahis head curiously and nodding

He could tell that she saw him

If she’d been able toback to her room to hide under the bed

But she couldn’t move She could hardly breathe, lanced outside one more time and then slowly disappeared

As he did, she heard the door open Her eyes darted to it with fear

It was her grandparents co But it had to be about four in the o out at 4:00 aed to hts in the parking lot

Flashing lights The kind police cars had

"Not to worry They got hirandotten in" Her grandrandmother--different from most, perhaps; she wasn’t much of a cookie baker But she came to all of Abby’s school events She loved to dress up, she read stories and acted out all the characters She was sli bike ride

"Hey, so what? He would’ve stolen what little cash we have in the register But he didn’t get in We woke up, we called the police, all is good," Gus said He looked up then--just as Blue had done, but of course, she couldn’t really have seen Blue That would’ve been seeing a

A ghost

"Hey,up?" Gus called to her