canine. “Haven’t heard that in a while. They still use that up there?”
I shook my head. “Only the humans.”
“Well, blessed be, sister.” She patted my hand. “Been a long time since I saw a witch, too.” She glanced at Kristof. “So that’s all over, then? The feud?”
“Between witches and sorcerers? Nah. They’re just as arrogant and nasty as they ever were.” I smiled at Kristof. “But sometimes you can make an exception.”
She poured our drinks.
I looked around the tavern. “Have you…been here long?”
She let out a long whoop of a laugh. “You mean, what the hell am I doing in a shit-hole like this?”
“I wasn’t going to say it.”
She leaned over the bar, lowering her voice. “You wanna know why I’m here, hon? Take a look around. See the male-to-female ratio? This place is Alaska without the snow.” She capped the bottle. “So are you folks visiting? Or passing through?”
“Passing through. We were hoping to visit someone over on Roatan, but…” I glanced around. Most patrons had either scurried off into the night or were still finding a place to sit, free of broken glass and splintered chairs. No one was paying any attention to us. “Seems we’ve run into a problem renting a ship. I don’t suppose you know any way we could rent—or ‘borrow’—one.”
“Borrowing’s your best bet.” She lowered her voice and set about wiping the counter. “Not easy, but there’s one possibility. The Trinity Bull. Owned by Pierre, the half-demon with the wandering hands. He keeps it in a bay west of here, down the coast a bit. Secluded spot. Usually only one guard—a new guy.”
We thanked her and she slipped away to tidy the bar, conjuring up a fresh stock of rum and making the broken bottles vanish.
As anxious as we were to get that ship, we couldn’t seem to be in too much of a hurry to leave. So we hung around for a half-hour before slipping out. We headed down to the wharf, this time giving a wide berth to the triple-parked galleons at the main dock, and instead slinking through the empty huts lining the beach to the west. We cut through a stand of tropical forest. On the other side, we found the bay the barmaid had mentioned. In it was a boat, not much bigger than Kristof’s houseboat. Didn’t look much like a galleon. More like a yacht…with a Jolly Roger flag on the mast. I sharpened my sight and read the name on the side. The Trinity Bull.
The bay was a pretty place to dock your boat, if you didn’t mind the security risk. As I scanned the deck, I bit back a laugh. There was indeed only a single guard, a slight red-haired man sitting on a chair on the deck, his feet propped on the rail, a bottle at his side.
“Easy pickings,” I murmured to Kristof.
We advanced on the boat, sticking to the shadows. When we drew close enough to see the deck without Aspicio-boosted vision, we both stopped short. The guard was talking. I saw no sign of another person. Kristof motioned for me to listen.
“…weeks in this fucking town and I’m still guarding this fucking ship,” the guard was saying. “‘Sorry, Danny-boy, them’s the rules.’ Danny-boy.” He let out a snarl.
“Next son-of-a-bitch who calls me that…”
The rant fell to a mutter. There was no one else on the ship, just one very bored, very angry, slightly drunk guard. So much for any hope of a sword fight.
Danny-boy leaned back in his chair, tipping the front legs off the deck, and closed his eyes. Kristof and I crept along the shore, keeping out of the guard’s sight in case he opened his eyes. I considered blinding him, but if he did open his eyes, he’d panic and know something was wrong.
We reached the dock. The slap of the waves against the boat’s hull covered our footsteps as we trod across the wooden boards. We made it all the way up the gangplank and the guard didn’t so much as twitch.
“Asleep?” I mouthed to Kristof.
He waggled his hand, giving it fifty/fifty odds. Then he motioned for me to circle around and approach the guard from the rear. I had taken one step in that direction when the guard let out a soft sigh.
“Are you guys almost on deck?” he said, eyes still closed. “Take much longer and I really will fall asleep.”
Kristof charged, sword raised. The guard sprang to his feet and feinted out of Kris’s path. I