Page 50 of Hot Zone

“Maybe two more days. They’ll camp overnight to rest, and then attack the pass at dawn the following morn. Many Persians are sun worshippers, and it’s good luck to do things with the rising of the sun.”

She nodded briskly. “We should have plenty of food and water to reach the pass, then.”

Thank the gods.She’d turned her attention to bread and water skins and away from the strange images in his mind.

But then she muttered, “How is it that I can see that stupid medallion when I’m with you, but not when I’m by myself?”

He stared down at her as an awful suspicion planted itself in his head. Was she borrowing more than his thoughts? Was she stealing his actual power? There was only one way to tell.

“Rest now. I have to go check on the horses.” He pushed himself to his feet and moved away from her, walking to the far side of the clearing, near the trees. Polaris chuffed quietly at him.

He scratched the horse’s ears affectionately and murmured, “Go back to sleep, boy.”

Cygna poked her nose at him sleepily, and he gave it a brief rub, too.

He waded quietly across the shallow stream and found a flat spot on the far side. He sat down cross-legged and assumed a comfortable meditation pose. He sank deeply into the nearly unconscious portion of his mind.

It had been a long time since he had done this. Too long.

First, he rendered his naked flesh impervious to the chill around him. Then he released the residual tension of his lovemaking with Tessa from his body. The remains of her pleasure clung to him, bits of violet energy that tingled tantalizingly, seducing him anew, begging him to come back and fly with her again.

That woman could very easily become an addiction in his blood. To do that with her whenever the urge struck, to show her all the variations he’d learned in his extensive travels…

Focus.

Meticulously, he cleared the violet shards of energy from his aura. And strangely enough, lost something in the process. With each bit of her he pulled free and discarded, his mind felt less sharp, his perception muddier.

When his aura was finally clear of her, restored to its usual cobalt-blue for the first time since he’d laid eyes on her, he reached deep inside himself to access that inner wellspring from whence came his power.

It was dry.

Empty.

Dark.

He’d done something wrong.

He started over, even going so far as to stand up and walk around a bit before sitting back down and repeating the entire ritual, clearing his mind, releasing all tension and sinking deep into his unconscious.

And it was exactly the same. Except a little more of the color had faded out of his aura.

Not only had Tessa stolen some of his power, she’d stolen all of it!

For the first time in his adult life, Rustam panicked. Not even when he’d woken from the wreck and realized he was stranded in this remote corner of the world had he completely lost his cool. He’d still had his power. It gave him a weapon of survival among these strangers, gave him hope that one day he would find his way home. As long as he had his power, he would be all right.

But now…

Now he was well and truly lost.

Tessa woke up groggily a little after sunrise the next morning. She felt as if she’d been asleep for days. Her swim toward consciousness was slow and reluctant. She felt weighed down, as if something heavy lay over not only her body, but her entire psyche.

Dang. Her first love hangover.

Lest she entertain the thought that it had all been an incredible dream, her body protested fiercely as she tried to move. She was sore from head to foot this morning. It had been well worth it, however. She doubted she would ever again in her lifetime experience anything that came close to last night.

Where was Rustam, anyway? The horses were grazing side by side not far away. Last night’s fire was dead, and the camp was undisturbed. She bolted to a sitting position in quick alarm. He hadn’t left, had he? While her body punished her for the abrupt movement, she looked around frantically.

There. Beyond the trees. He was sitting on the far side of the sluggish trickle of water that ran through the clearing. She sagged in relief. It looked as if he was meditating. She frowned and glanced down at the bedroll beside her. It was unrumpled. Had he spent all night there?

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