Page 33 of Hot Zone

As Tessa backed her out of the simple tie stall, he looked the horse over quickly. Not heavy-boned enough for a warhorse but deep-chested and sturdy. This mare would go all day without faltering. Tessa had chosen well.

He asked quietly, his gaze fixed on the mare’s intelligent brown eyes, “What’s her name?”

“Uh, I don’t know. The guy I bought her from didn’t tell me.”

Rustam reached out with that wordless part of himself he reserved for communicating with horses. “She looks like a Cygna to me.”

“Cygna it is.”

The mare nodded her head several times, as if to approve the choice. He smiled knowingly at her.

He ran his hands over Cygna’s legs, checked her teeth and felt the strength of her heartbeat. A fine mare, indeed. In another time, another place, she might even be worthy of his personal band of horseflesh.

“How did you pay for such a fine animal?” he asked Tessa.

“I had some gold in my pouch when the ship wrecked. I figured that if my life was going to depend on my horse, I’d better invest in a good one.”

“You did well. She’s a noble beast. Now go get your saddle. And hurry.”

Tessa returned soon, carrying saddle and bridle. Between the two of them, they had the mare ready for travel in no time.

She glanced across Cygna’s back at him as he tied down the last saddlebag, abruptly looking uncomfortable. “Uh, you go on ahead and get your horse. I’ll meet you outside.”

“We shouldn’t be apart.”

“Yeah, well, I need to change into riding clothes, and I’m not exactly crazy about stripping in front of you. It’s bad enough that I’ll have to do it with all those men milling around out there.”

He realized belatedly that his nose was all but pressed against a man’s saddle. For riding astride. And she was currently wearing a long dress. “Ahh. I’ll meet you outside in five minutes. No more.”

She nodded, and he strode down the aisle to where his mighty black stallion, Polaris, was stabled. He had turned down a king’s ransom for the beast more than once. Quickly, he saddled the horse and led him outside.

True to her word, Tessa was waiting beside the barn, already seated astride the mare, who in the midst of the chaos, was rock steady. Rustam grinned as he took note of her riding breeches and tunic. The woman had magnificent legs. Long and lean, but well-muscled.

Grinning, he commented, “You look like a boy.”

“Well then, I guess I’m about to wreck your reputation for being a ladies’ man.”

“I’m afraid my preference for females is rather well documented,” he replied dryly.

As she rolled her eyes, he urged Polaris forward. Cygna fell in beside them. He glanced down at Tessa. “You’ve heard of my reputation, have you? Tell me more about it.”

“How can you joke at a time like this?” she retorted under her breath.

“Because if we don’t smile and talk and look relaxed, we’ll draw far too much attention to ourselves. We haven’t a care in the world, you and I. We’re off on some small, but urgent, errand before the morrow, and nothing more. Now smile.”

She looked faintly startled but did as he instructed. For a contrary woman, she’d thankfully chosen to listen to him at all the right moments this evening.

He guided his horse around the edge of the main camp, which was quieter than usual. Whether the common soldiers had already drunk themselves into a stupor or merely retired early, he couldn’t tell.

Polaris’s hooves thudded quietly on the dirt as they headed for the far side of the camp.

“How are we going to get by the sentries?” Tessa asked as they passed the elephant enclosure. “Surely Xerxes has some posted.”

He snorted. “He is nothing if not a competent military commander. He was trained by Greeks, after all. Actually, I was thinking in terms not of passing the sentries but rather going around them.”

“How do you plan to do that?”

“Not far from where we walked earlier, there is a cliff. It is not guarded, for it is impassable.”

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