Midnight, Thor thought as the bell rang out the start of the middle watch. He stood alone on the forecastle and took a deep breath. He was the captain of a feared and powerful pirate vessel. How far he had come from his beginnings—an orphaned baby, delivered to a home for abandoned boys. Thor looked up into a black, moonless sky, riddled with a myriad of stars. Had these stars foretold this? Thor was not by nature superstitious. But there had been two signs in as many days: the bell that had rung without human hand—a sign of impending death. Could that have foretold the murder of Captain Wyvern? Then there were the swallows that had been sighted at sea—an omen of good luck. That had occurred just after Thor’s election as captain. Could it be this truly had been his fate all along? He thoug
