“I’m not sure no one’s around,” Suhonen called. “Look at this.”
We joined him beside the stream. In an open patch of mud, there was a bare human footprint. None of us but Dietz had removed our boots, and his feet were much broader.
“Fresh, all right,” I said. The sharp edges and imprinted skin detail told me that. “Made since this morning.”
Jane looked around for additional prints and quickly found them. “Here. And here. And look, he pushed through that tangle of vines. He’s headed toward the beach.”
“But he didn’t take the trail,” I said.
“Why?” Duncan asked.
“We spooked him,” Suhonen said. I nodded.
“So either he went somewhere else on the island, or else he’s probably watching us right now,” I said.
Jane nodded. So did Clift. Duncan clenched his jaw in frustration. I leaned close to him and said, “I don’t think Black Edward would be running around barefoot and hiding from every little noise.”
I wasn’t as quiet as I thought, because Dietz said, “Unless he’s gone crazy here all by himself. All this heat, the bugs, might drive anyone seal-shit nuts.” When we all glared at him, he demanded, “What?”
I shouted to the jungle, “Hey! We’re not here to loot or fight. Angelina Dirnay sent us to find Black Edward Tew. Can you help us? We can pay you.”
We stood very still, but there was no response. In fact, there were suddenly no sounds at all, no birds or insects or wind. Even in the bright sunlight it was spooky.
“I knew it,” Clift said as he drew his sword. “I had a feeling.”
“Hey,” Duncan asked softly, “is this an ambush?”
Before he could reply, there was a loud hiss from the jungle to our right. It sounded like an old man clearing his throat. A very, very large old man.
Instantly we were all armed. Jane and I reflexively stood back to back, to cover all sides. I glanced at Duncan, but he showed no sign of panic. Except for Dietz frantically putting on his boots, no one spoke or moved.
The sound came again. I watched the undergrowth for any sign of movement.
Jane whispered, “Thar she rustles.”
I followed her nod. At the edge of the undergrowth, something blue, forked, and as big around as a child’s arm snaked out, touched the ground in a couple of places, then drew back. A moment later it reappeared and repeated the motion. It was far too big for a snake’s tongue, even the huge tropical ones you might reasonably expect here.
“What the fuck?” Dietz barked, hopping up and down to settle his boots on his feet.
“Quiet!” Clift rasped.
Suhonen drew both his swords and took a step toward the strange sight.
“Wait!” I whispered urgently. The image had suddenly clicked into place. “We might consider running.”
“No,” Suhonen said, and spread his feet. “What ever it is, I’ll face it.”
“Yeah,” Jane said, drawing her own enormous weapon. “It’s just some animal. How bad can it be?”
Only Clift took my warning seriously. “If LaCrosse thinks it’s bad enough to-”
I looked behind us and saw another blue tongue flash in and out of the jungle shadows. “The one in front will get our attention,” I interrupted. “The one in back will attack first.”
“There’s one in back?” Dietz cried, and tried to watch all sides at once.
Then the first one emerged, and even Dietz fell silent.
It was a lizard. It had gray-black skin that seemed to be the same color and texture all over. Four squat legs lifted the upper body off the ground, while the tail dragged behind it, deceptively limp. The blue tongue continued to check its environment, and its black eyes showed no interest in us at all. Its thick, goopy saliva trailed in strings along the ground, collecting bits of dirt and leaves.
And it was fifteen feet long.
And it wore a metal collar.
“Holy shit,” Dietz whispered, mesmerized.
I knew Jane watched for its companion, so I kept my eye on the one in front. The collar threw me: who would keep this sort of animal as a pet? Even right out of the egg, they’d snap a chunk out of you. But pet or not, its casual stalking behavior told me it was far from tame.
It turned its huge head and looked right at us. Then it opened its mouth and hissed. I saw the hole in its lower jaw where the tongue retracted, and rows of even, very sharp teeth. The saliva in its mouth made a wet smack when it closed.
“Get ready,” I said. “This one’s just for show.”
As I predicted, the one behind us burst from cover hissing like a newly forged lance head dropped in a bucket of water. It undulated side to side as it ran straight for Duncan, who yelled in terror but stood his ground. The problem was that from head on, the lizard presented virtually no target. It would be on the boy before he could get into position for a blow. I yelled, “Duncan! Run!”
Fortunately, Suhonen covered the distance between them in two steps and, coming in from the side, brought both swords down on the lizard’s spine.
One blade bounced off. The other broke.
I caught this peripherally, because the one in front now had my complete attention. It moved slowly toward us, not giving away until the last moment that I was its target. It lunged between Clift and Jane and snapped sideways at my legs. I jumped back, simultaneously jabbing my sword toward that open mouth. I hit some of the soft tissue, because it hissed and arched its back in pain. Clift swung at it and sheared a layer of skin and flesh off one shoulder. The muscle beneath it was white and ropy.
“Nice,” I said gratefully.
“There’s a reason I sharpen my sword every night,” he said.
The one Suhonen whacked had turned and charged him, and he now lay on the ground beneath it. His legs were locked around its belly and those huge hands dug into its throat, holding the jaws just out of reach of his face. It snapped all around his head and tore at him with its claws, leaving great deep scratches. “Is that all you got?” Suhonen screamed at it. “Is that it?” Then man and lizard began to roll around the clearing, neither releasing its hold on the other.
Jane looked for a vulnerable spot while Duncan tried to stab the thrashing tail. That was a mistake: suddenly the tail cracked like a whip and knocked him ten feet through the air.
The one I’d stabbed saw this and rushed for him. I dropped my sword, leaped, and grabbed its tail. It was cool, dry, and the muscles inside it were hard as stone. I dug in my heels. At first it didn’t realize what had happened, and kept straining toward Duncan.
Dietz stuck his sword in the ground and drew his knife. “Well, I said I wanted a goddamned fight,” he snarled, then jumped on its back and drove the knife deep into it. Duncan scrambled out of range, still trying to catch his breath.
Clift and Jane rushed over to help, since against all common sense Suhonen was strangling the life out of the second lizard. Just then mine realized I was there and swung back to snap at me. It snagged part of my tunic and tore away the fabric, its teeth stroking but not breaking my skin. But that was nothing compared to the flash of silver as Jane used the huge sword Suhonen had given her to slice off the lizard’s head, and a lock of my hair as well.
The sword buried itself in the ground and the head rolled, jaws still snapping. The body began to thrash; Dietz and I let go and scrambled away. Jane yelled at it, “You’re a pair of boots now, ya bastard!”
I got to my feet and checked to make sure she hadn’t also gotten an ear. “A little close there, wasn’t it?” I yelled, my voice higher than normal. I’m sure it was just the exertion.
Jane wrenched her blade free of the ground and said, “Close only counts in venereal disease, LaCrosse.”
With a great roar, Suhonen heaved the now-lifeless lizard off his body. He lay there gasping, his arms and legs bloodied but a huge grin on his face. “Now that… was what… I needed. Worth breaking a sword for.”
“Not your third one, I hope,” Jane said, and the big man began to laugh.
I knelt to examine the collar on the strangled lizard. It fit snugly, as it would have to, since the creature’s head was about the same diameter as its neck. There was a lone loop welded onto it for a leash or, more likely, a
