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"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 swung
behind the cabin before he saw me. As Kristof wheeled, the guard yanked his cutlass from his belt. He
parried Kris's first thrust, but missed the second and danced out of the way seconds before being
slashed.
The two men sparred for a minute. Kristof was obviously the better swordsman, but the smaller man had
an easy agility that kept him out of sword's reach. Finally, when the guard's back was to me, I slid from
my hiding place and pressed the tip of my cutlass between his shoulder blades.
"Take another step and I'll skewer you like a shish kebab," I said. "Won't hurt, but it could be damned
uncomfortable."
He glanced over his shoulder, gave me a slow onceover, and smiled.
"Always was a sucker for a girl who can take care of herself," he said. "Let me guess, you two want this
boat."
"Yes," Kristof said. "And either you let us or "
"Take it."
When Kris hesitated, the man shrugged.
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