Chapter 108: The Pirate's Son, Part 1

Isabel bolted down the stairs, stubbed her toe on a pew, and dashed from the church into the night. Save for the sliver of a moon that grinned at her from its perch atop the trees, no light graced the dirt pathway. Mud oozed icy between her toes.

"Frederick!" she screamed.

A baby's cry pierced the humid air. "Frederick!" She bounded down the street. Tangles of vines and shrubs clawed at her, clutching, slapping her face. Palm fronds quivered in the night breeze. Mist rose from the ground, crept over her feet and up her nightdress.

The black outline of a man darted around a corner up ahead. "Bring my baby back!" she cried. "Frederick!" Gathering all her strength, she rushed forward, the sounds of the night fading beneath the heaving of her breath. She must not stop. She must get to her son!

Laughter echoed across the wooded path. She rounded a corner. Tavern lights flung a hellish glow over Kingston Bay. Several ships dozed idly on the wave-tousled water as if nothing were amiss.