Page 78 of Hot Zone

Nineteen

Rustam woke up abruptly, not sure what had disturbed him. A wordless mental pressure intruded insistently upon his rest. Not human. Polaris. He’d set the horse the task of guarding them and watching the sea.

Rustam reached for his short sword, which he slept with ready at hand, while he flung his awareness outward. With Tessa plastered against him, it was an easy matter to channel their combined power and determine that no intruder approached by land.

But the sea was a different matter entirely. A massive, unending flow of humanity covered the Aegean like an enormous algae bloom, choking out all other signs of sea life. It approached from the east and was nearly upon them.

“Tessa, wake up! The fleet is coming.”

She jolted up beside him and he scrambled for the first signal pyre, using his fire-starting stones to light the tinder. He blew on it carefully, fanning the blaze. It caught the dry wood quickly and flared up. Soon Tessa had the second fire lit and was fanning it gently. He moved to the third and repeated the process.

When all three fires were burning strongly, sending columns of flames and sparks up into the endless halls of night, he commenced packing. “It won’t take them long to come investigate. The entire sea is covered with ships. We should practically be able to walk deck to deck until we find your map.”

“What about the horses?”

Regret stabbed him. “They have served us faithfully and true. They have earned their freedom.”

He was no stripling lad to mourn the loss of a horse. But Polaris had been one of the few familiar entities in a foreign world, a loyal friend in a place and time where precious few souls could be called that. Although Rustam had been accustomed to the swirling intrigues of a palace—Persia and Centauri Prime were not so different in that regard—he’d grown lonely from time to time. And Polaris had always given him affection without reservation.

Would that Tessa would do the same. He felt her holding back on him all the time. Whenever the topic of the map came up, she mentally pulled away from him. And whenever he tried to talk about the two of them, she shut down completely. But maybe she had cause. Maybe she’d caught an inkling of the Centaurian directive in his turbulent thoughts and knew that nothing good could come of their relationship.

His mind rebelled, roaring in silent frustration. No way could he kill her. He’d planted his child in her, for star’s sake. There had to be another ending to this story. If only he could find it! Time was running out on them. As soon as she found that blasted map of hers, he had no doubt she would activate her retrieval signal and leave him. There had to be a way to bind her to him. A way to neutralize her star navigator talent without killing her. A way to be with her forever…

Her voice, quiet and tense, interrupted his chaotic thoughts. “I think a small boat has broken away from the fleet.”

He held out his hand at the same time she did. Their palms connected, and he reeled, startled. Apparently, both of them had been accessing their respective powers simultaneously, he to search for an approaching boat and she to scan for the map. The result was a burst of energy that ripped through him, burning like lightning across his skin.

“Oww!” she yelped.

“Sorry,” he rasped. “You first.”

She frowned for a moment, and then her brow cleared. “Got it. The map’s still off to our left by a half-mile or so. Your turn.”

He reached out with his mind. Six men. Coming this way quickly in a shallow-bottomed pole barge. Armed. Cautious. Prepared to kill.

“Let me do the talking,” he muttered under his breath as they stood waiting for the landing party in the flickering shadows of the fires. The heat warmed his back but not enough to make up for the night’s chill on his front. He channeled a thin stream of energy into rendering his body impervious to the weather.

Tessa fingered her belt pouch nervously, but otherwise was still. She was a brave woman. As the waiting stretched out, a realization broke over him. He admired this Earth female. Respected her. Which was probably a good thing. After all, she was the mother of his child. His consort. His woman. He would do whatever it took to protect her, even if it meant taking on the entire Persian fleet.

“Who goes there?” a voice called out in Persian.

He replied in the same tongue. “Rustam of Halicarnassus.”

“The sorcerer?” another voice squawked in surprise.

“Aye,” Rustam answered evenly. “Queen Artemesia’s man. I have important information to relay to her right away. Can you give us passage to her vessel now?”

“I dunno,” the first man answered. The shallow boat scraped the sand, and the soldier jumped out, steadying the prow without pulling it ashore. “Who’s that with you?”

“The pale foreign woman. Her highness sent the two of us out on a scouting mission for her.”

“Why would the queen send a stranger—and a female, no less—to do such important work?” the man demanded.

Rustam grinned. “Don’t say that in front of Artemesia if you value your life. She’ll flay the hide off your back for suggesting that a woman isn’t the equal of a man in all things.”

Snorts of agreement floated from the back of the boat.

Rustam took a casual, nonthreatening step forward. “Time’s passing, and our news won’t wait. Let’s get going.” He pitched his voice in a tone of persuasive command. He backed it with a mental wave of willingness to do his bidding.

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