Isabel snatched up the smoldering pipe, clutched her skirts, and darted down the stairs, ignoring Kent's beckoning call. Terror raked over her, prodding her forward, a single thought racing through her mind: Hann was injured, possibly dead.

A blackened, smoking hole gaped at Isabel from the starboard bulwark. Spears of charred wood littered the deck. Two pirates grabbed Hann's legs and arms and lifted her. Isabel peered between them to see a blotch of deep red creeping across ...