Description of the scene on the cover.

Kevin Murphy was sitting at the desk in his hotel room in Killarney, Ireland making notes about his recent encounter with the Father of Lies and his demons when the point of a well-used sword appeared two inches from his nose. The freezing-cold blade moved up and down just enough to attract his attention. Slowly Kevin turned and looked up to see who was wielding the sword. At first all he saw was the outline of a person. Slowly the outline became solid, revealing the sword was held by an older, yellow-haired woman dressed in a blue cape that partially covered an arsenal of swords, knives, and guns that were strapped to her slender body. It had been that kind of a week for Kevin. In fact, his current situation seemed almost trivial compared to the encounters with the Father of Lies and his demons that he had been recording in his notebook. When the woman was sure she had Kevin's undivided attention, she yelled, "MY NAME IS QUEEN GRACE O'MALLEY. HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF ME, BOY?" Kevin opened his mouth to answer but he couldn't get a word out fast enough to suit Queen Grace. In one swift, fluid movement, she lowered the point of the sword toward the floor and moved her face closer to Kevin's. "Actually, I'm the ghost of Queen Grace O'Malley. When I was alive, my boys and I controlled the entire west coast of Ireland. If someone wanted to cross or fish in my family's waters, they had to pay me a toll or suffer the consequence!" Instead of giving his undivided attention to Queen Grace, Kevin was looking for a way to run out of his room. That was not a good idea. Suddenly, Kevin felt the flat side of her sword's blade come crashing down on the top of his head. "PAY ATTENTION SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCE LIKE THE OTHERS!" To make sure Kevin understood what she meant, Queen Grace turned her attention to the desk in front of him and swung her sword at the hotel directory, cutting it in half. Looking back at Kevin, she continued in a much calmer tone. "You don't want that to happen to your head, do you, boy?" She paused to give Kevin a chance to absorb what had just happened before continuing. "About 450 years ago I realized the English were trying to take over everything in Ireland so I sent some of my ships to Scotland to fetch a thousand mercenaries. Their job was to make sure I was allowed to continue to maintain myself from my enterprises at sea." When she saw that Kevin didn't understand what she was saying, she clarified what she had said, "Maintain myself means that I could make enough money to live respectively befitting my status as the queen of Ireland. Anyhow, because I refused to follow their laws, the English had me and one of my sons arrested, charged with piracy, and thrown into a hellhole of a prison in Dublin. It took me a little over a year, but I got out." Over the next quarter of an hour, she went on to tell him how she became a pirate and some of her adventures at sea and on land. Finally, realizing that she was boring Kevin with too many details, Queen Grace quickly summarized her life and the reason for her being there. "Anyhow, it's a long story, but in 1593 I finally ended up taking one of my ships to London to ask Queen Elizabeth-not the current one but the first one-for a pardon so I could get my son out of prison. Once he was out, I went back to maintaining myself by the sea. When I died in 1603, I found I was stuck between Heaven and the Shadow World. It took me almost 200 years, but I finally figured out that to get unstuck, I needed a second pardon for the new stuff I had done since I was granted the first pardon." Hoping to make a break for the door, Kevin quietly got to his feet so he would be ready when the chance was presented. He didn't understand how her story involved him, but she seemed to be waiting for him so say something, so he asked, "That's a cool story, but why tell me about your needing another pardon?" Moving closer, a slight smile developing on her face, Queen Grace explained, "You're going to get it for me." Kevin knew nothing about pardons, in particular English pardons, so he asked, "Me? Why me? I don't know a thing about English law and, after all, I'm only a kid!" Queen Grace thrust out her hand that wasn't holding the sword and pushed Kevin back into his chair to make sure he gave her his full attention. "I've been watching you since you and your family arrived in Ireland a week ago. When St. Patrick picked you to stop the Father of Lies' breakout, I knew there must be something special about you. Once I saw how you beat him and the demons he sent after you, I knew you were the man....I mean, boy, to get me my pardon."