Jessie

The city of Bryre suffers under the magic of an evil wizard. Because of his curse, girls sicken and disappear without a trace, and Bryre's inhabitants live in fear. No one is allowed outside after dark. Yet night is the only time Kymera can enter this dangerous city, for she must not be seen by humans. Her father says they would not understand her wings, the bolts in her neck, or her spiky tail--they would kill her. They would not understand that she was created for a purpose: to rescue the girls of Bryre.

The young Oliver is orphaned practically at birth, and when he grows up, he is passed off to several people who simply put him to work without really caring for him. Oliver escapes after being put to work by a coffin-maker, yet his new found freedom leads him right to a few individuals who do not have his best interests in mind. They're so-called friends who take him in, yet they have the intention of priming him to be a pick-pocket. But with each downturn in his life, there is a corresponding up-swing for Oliver.

To escape from a life of petticoats and politeness, Hilary answers a curious advertisement for a pirate crew and suddenly finds herself swept up in a seafaring adventure that may or may not involve a map without an X, a magical treasure that likely doesn't exist, a rogue governess who insists on propriety, a crew of misfit scallywags, and the most treacherous - and unexpected - villain on the High Seas. Will Hilary find the treasure in time? Will she become a true pirate after all? And what will become of the gargoyle?