Page 88 of Hot Zone

“Where is he now?” Rustam asked quickly.

“Gone. He might have teleported out, or I could’ve just lost sight of him.”

Rustam was silent for a moment. “No. He’s gone. I can’t sense him anymore.”

“The Greeks will report him lost at sea and be none the wiser,” she commented.

She felt Rustam’s wince behind her. “There’s going to be hell to pay for your little display when I get home.”

She turned quickly to face him. “Really? I’m sorry. I didn’t think.”

He grinned weakly at her. “No need to apologize, my love. It’s good for him to meet women like you and Artemesia, who back down to no man.”

Tessa smiled up at him gratefully.

“Go get your piece of the Karanovo stamp. In the bustle to put this ship to rights before the next attack, no one will notice you.”

“Next attack?”

He nodded over her shoulder.

Oh, God. The other Greek ships. They might have lost their leader, but they still outnumbered Artemesia four to one. They would be coming soon.

Tessa turned to have a look at the figurehead. The statue leaned forward, slightly ahead of the prow, as if she were flying. But she appeared sturdy enough. “Block me from view,” Tessa murmured to Rustam.

She climbed carefully up onto the rail using a heavy hemp line for balance. She inched forward and put her hand on the lady’s back. The wood was warm. Vibrating with energy. Tessa shifted her other hand and hugged the statue around the waist. She made the mistake of looking down and saw only water churning beneath the prow. A moment of sick nausea washed over her.

“Steady,” Rustam murmured. He sent her a wave of reassurance, which she gratefully accepted.

She reached forward with her right arm, running her fingers along the smooth bronze spear. The closer she got to the disk, the warmer the statue got. Finally, she wrapped her hand around the triangular piece. A blast of energy tore through her, so intense it nearly knocked her off her perch. She grasped the wedge and gave it a hard twist, bending it to the side. The solid bronze spear shaft bent but did not break. She repeated the maneuver again. It wobbled, but held on. Thankfully, bronze was a relatively soft and pliable metal. One more hard twist, and the spear tip snapped off in her hand.

“Got it!”

“You’d better get down, darling. We’re about to have company.”

She looked up and her jaw dropped as all four Greek ships bore down on them at battering speed. Uh-oh.

Tessa scrambled backward and into Rustam’s waiting arms. He set her down immediately, obviously too weak to support her weight. Wow. He really was wiped out.

“Come about!” Artemesia shouted. “Tell the oarsmen to row for their lives!”

The ship started a ponderous turn, which maybe wasn’t so great an idea. In Tessa’s estimation, they were going to be broadside to the four attackers right about when they got here.

Tessa helped Rustam make his way aft to their little cubbyhole. Artemesia grabbed his arm on the way past. “Give my ship wings, sorcerer.”

“I cannot, my lady.”

Artemesia glared at him furiously. “You must.”

Tessa snapped, “He didn’t say he would not. He said he could not. He’s wiped out from the last time.”

Artemesia turned on her. “Then you do it, witch woman. I command it.”

The queen didn’t need to add that they would all die if they didn’t pull some rabbit out of the hat. And soon. Tessa didn’t have the first idea how to focus the star navigator power into moving this ship forward. And frankly, she had no idea how much of her own power remained after the first spurt of speed. She’d had enough to put on a pretty show for Hippoclides, but that didn’t take much. Nonetheless, the fact remained that they needed to do something.

Tessa thought fast, looking around for what resources were available at hand. The Greek ships were close enough for her to hear their rowing drums, to hear the raucous insults their sailors shouted at the hapless Persian ship they were about to sink.

“Do you have a bow and arrow on board?” Tessa asked urgently.

---