Hot Zone

by Cindy Dees

  But when they got to the street, the night was far from quiet, as a gigantic army prepared to move in the morn. “We’ve got to cover your hair,” Rustam murmured.

  Tessa thought for a second, then said, “I’ve got just the thing.” She dug into one of her bags, pulled out a shawl of dark-colored cloth and draped it over her head.

  He reached out to tuck in a strand of loose hair for her. Her fair features glowed like the moon overhead, pale and perfect. No statue had ever been so beautifully carved. But unlike marble, her skin was warm and soft beneath his fingertips, vibrating with life force so strong it danced all the way up his arm. He swayed toward her, drawn to her glorious energy like a moth to flame.

  Her lips parted slightly as she gazed up at him. He knew she would taste like honey and spices. Her lips would be warm and yielding beneath his, her teeth smooth and even. Her tongue would dart around his, driving him out of his mind—

  They had to go. Soon. Before word reached the stables to seize them. He growled, “Stay close behind me.”

  She nodded briskly. He liked that about her. She was no weak and fussy female who fluttered her hands helplessly and feared to do anything new. She just nodded her head and dived in, all business, to do what had to be done.

  He stepped forward onto the wide, paved avenue. These Greeks certainly built good roads. He walked confidently but not so quickly as to draw attention.

  A group of soldiers rounded a corner well behind them, and Rustam melted into the next alley. He sprinted down it flat out, half lifting, half dragging Tessa beside him. He plastered himself against the wall and she did the same beside him. He peeked cautiously into the next street. All clear.

  He slipped around the corner and took off walking again. Tessa breathed deeply beside him but didn’t sound overly winded. Thank the gods. They might make it out of this mess yet.

  “Where is your horse?” he asked under his breath.

  “She’s housed in the small royal barn.”

  Rustam murmured, “Perfect. My steed is housed there, as well.”

  He dodged into another dark, twisting street. This one was narrow and lined with brothels. Usually the resident females flocked to their doors to call out lewd offers to him. But tonight, he was lucky. They were all otherwise occupied, which, now that he thought about it, was predictable the night before a great campaign commenced. He and Tessa made it all the way to the far end of the lane without seeing a soul.

  They emerged into a large, hard-packed dirt square. The south practice yard of the royal stables. Tonight, the space flickered with plentiful torches. Farriers trimmed horses’ hooves while smiths checked and repaired various pieces of equine armor.

  “Try to look like my servant,” he instructed Tessa. “Stay a pace behind me.”

  She nodded and promptly cast her gaze to the ground.

  “Slump your shoulders. Look more downtrodden. And try to think the thoughts of an unattractive woman.”

  That occasioned a quick glance up at him, her eyes dancing with humor, but then she did as he ordered.

  He turned and started across the square. With each step, he expected someone to shout at him, to order him to halt and surrender himself.

  This was madness, of course, to flee on the eve of a battle. Even if the drunk princes never recovered their memory of events to accuse him and Tessa of assault, the two of them could not help but be suspected of spying for the Greeks. Why else would they flee in the middle of the night, hours before Xerxes moved on Thermopylae?

  Rustam sighed. After being stranded in Persia, he’d spent nearly two years in Halicarnassus, and then Susa, with Artemesia. He’d established himself as an intelligent, educated man. A wise advisor. An innovative thinker who was an asset not only to his queen but also to Xerxes himself.

  Now he was going to throw all of that away. And for what? A blond stranger with a violet aura and eyes he could lose himself in forever.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  He didn’t live to chase women. They pined after him. When one caught his fancy, or he needed to slake simple lust, there was always an eager female about. But here he was, chasing after Tessa like a randy colt.

  The sprawling stables before him were a beehive of activity. Soldiers and grooms were hard at work, making sure all was in readiness for tomorrow’s march.

  Rustam was well known among these men for his extraordinary skill when it came to handling the most difficult horses. They often called upon him to help train problem mounts. Thankfully, none of his acquaintances raised an alarm upon spotting him. Word hadn’t reached here yet to stop them, then.

  “Where’s your horse?” he murmured.

  Tessa took the lead, moving quickly to the stall of a big, gray desert-bred mare. “I bought her this afternoon.”

  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 contr
ary 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.”

  She stared at him doubtfully, waiting for him to explain further.

  “A small goat trail winds up the cliff face. Your mare is surefooted enough to do it, and Polaris has done it before.”

  “In the dark?” she asked.

  “Well, no. But Polaris is a fine beast.”

  “And you’re willing to trust your life to him?”

  He answered quickly and without hesitation. “Absolutely. And your Cygna is also an excellent horse. They will look out for us.”

  “Forgive me if I don’t share your optimism.”

  He replied confidently. “You’ll see.”

  They walked quietly until a stone outcropping loomed just ahead of them. True to his word, no sentries or lookouts were posted nearby. Tessa stared up skeptically. He set Polaris’s feet on the first rise of the narrow path, and then turned him completely loose, to choose his steps as he willed.

  “Loosen your reins and give the mare her head. She will navigate the path more safely than you ever could.”

  “You’re sure about this?” Tessa muttered, following his example and dropping her reins all the way to the knot tying their ends together.

  He nodded firmly. “I am.”

  “No. I mean about going with me.”

  He glanced over his shoulder in surprise. She gazed back soberly. “If you want to return to the palace now, you still can. You can tell them I forced you to come with me but that you escaped. You can blame the attack of the eight assho—uh, princes—on me. Artemesia thinks highly of you. She’ll believe you and back you up with Xerxes. You don’t have to throw away your life like this for me. After all, you’re probably not meant to do that anyway.”

  He frowned. Meant to…That was a strange thing to say. “I am the master of my fate. I do not wait upon the pleasure of the gods to dictate my course.”

  “Of course,” she replied hastily. “Ignore me. I’m just babbling. But I’m worried about you going with me. I can manage on my own from here.”

  “The same way you managed against those boys back at the palace?”

  “That’s different. That was eight to one.”

  “And who’s to say you won’t end up facing the same odds or worse out here?”

  “The idea is to avoid bumping into anyone out here.”

  “And how, exactly, do you propose to do that? You’re fleeing before three hundred thousand soldiers, and racing right into the jaws of the entire Greek army. This peninsula is narrow and mountainous. You have limited choices in where to go.” He glanced back at her and caught the frown wrinkling her brow. “You need me. Therefore, I stay.”

  “Doesn’t Artemesia need you? What about Xerxes?”

  He shrugged. “My place is not with them.”

  Her frown deepened, but she did not reply to that. He turned his attention forward as the trail grew steeper and narrower. He continued to leave Polaris completely to his own devices to find the best path up the broken, rocky slope. But he reached out with his mind to strengthen the bond between his horse and Tessa’s, so the mare would unhesitatingly follow the big stallion’s lead.

  Rustam needn’t have bothered. The mare was as in tune with his horse as her rider was with him. Odd. How had that happened? Or had Tessa’s extraordinary aura already affected her horse, as well?

  All of a sudden, the tumbling of loose stone broke the silence, and Tessa cried out behind him.

  Eight

  “Report,” the man sitting behind the desk snapped at his hired guns. These guys were supposed to be the best, but it was taking them an infuriatingly long time to get a lead on Athena Carswell’s research notes, or whatever the hell was in that special notebook of hers.

  The leader replied briskly, “We got a hold of the blueprints for the professor’s house. Turns out a safe was built into the foundation. We believe that may be where she’s storing the copy of the journal.”

  “Excellent. How soon can you break in and get it for me?”

  “Tomorrow morning, sir.”

  “Why not tonight?”

  “The safe is located under her bed. Unless you want us to take out the professor—which will cost you more—we propose to wait until she goes to work. Then we’ll have all day to get into the vault.”

  He hated to wait even another minute. But if he could get his hands on that notebook in the next twenty-four hours, that ought to satisfy his insistent visitor.

  The guy had stopped by his office again this morning, suggesting time was running out before something huge happened—something that would sort out those who would rise to the top of society from those who would fall to the bottom.

  No way in hell was he going to wallow in the pits of society again. He’d clawed his way to the top of the heap for the past thirty years, and he damned well planned to stay there.

  He nodded at his hired guns. “Get me that journal in the next twenty-four hours, and I’ll double your money.”

  Avarice suddenly gleamed in the mercenaries’ saber-sharp gazes.

  “Consider it done,” the team leader said aggressively.

  Tessa had never been so afraid in all her life, not even when those jerks looked as if they might succeed in raping her. The cliff at her left was nearly vertical rock, and open air fell away on her right. The path they trod was literally no more than a foot wide.

  And then her mare slipped. The horse’s right front foot rolled off a loose stone and shot out from under the beast, sending Tessa pitching forward over the animal’s right shoulder. A black abyss yawned before her.

  But then the mare flung up her head, caught herself on her right knee and staggered back to her feet with Tessa hanging halfway off her neck.

  Cygna stopped, obviously waiting for Tessa to right herself before continuing.

  “Are you all right?” Rustam asked quickly. “What happened?”

  No, she was not all right! She’d nearly pitched over a cliff, she felt like throwing up, she now officially hated heights, and there wasn’t even room to turn around and go back down!

  Tessa squeezed her eyes tightly shut. She was absolutely sure that nowhere in the job description for time traveler did it mention dying a horrible death by being dashed to pieces on rocks at the bottom of a freaking mountain.

  She released a shuddering breath and managed to force a reply past her clenched teeth. “Cygna almost went off the cliff. And I almost fell over her head.”

  “Stay there. I’m coming,” Rustam announced.

  “There’s no room for you to get off your horse on this stupid path,” she snapped.

  He said nothing, merely slid backward over Polaris’s rump and to the ground before her mare. He knelt, examining the horse’s legs. “She’s cut her knee. It’s not deep, but it’s bleeding freely. The smell will draw predators, not to mention leaving a trail for our pursuers if they happen to come up here. I’ll need a moment to stop the bleeding.”

  He fiddled with the mare’s leg, but Tessa couldn’t see what he did to it. She felt a brief flare of…something…across her skin. An electric tingle. The mare threw her head up but did not otherwise move a muscle.

  “You’r
e a good girl, Cygna,” Rustam murmured a moment later, massaging the mare’s forehead gently.

  And then he looked up at Tessa. His black gaze was hypnotic. She could lose herself in those eyes. “Be brave a little longer.” His mouth twitched with humor. “And don’t look down.”

  “No way!” she retorted.

  “It’s not much farther.”

  He was lying, but she would pretend he wasn’t. She knew full well they were only about halfway up the cliff. And from here on, a fall would only be larger and deadlier.

  She sighed. “Let’s get on with it. I’m ready to be back on level ground.”

  He nodded and turned, placing his hands on his horse’s rump and vaulting easily back into the saddle. Why the animal didn’t bolt at a stunt like that, she had no idea.

  The nightmare journey up the cliff resumed. Cygna moved more cautiously, testing her footing with each step before placing weight on it.

  There were no more near-death experiences before Rustam murmured from ahead of her, “There’s the top of the cliff. I’m clear of the path. A few more steps and you will be, too.”

  She sagged in relief, sensing that Cygna did, too. Tessa reached down and patted the horse’s neck gratefully. “You’re a fine girl. Well done.”

  They moved far enough from the cliff edge to be safe, then halted the horses to give them a moment to catch their breath after the hard climb.

  The view below was spectacular—the entire Persian army was arrayed at their feet, poised on the brink of history.

  “Shall we be on our way?” he asked quietly.

  “Last chance to back out, Rustam.”

  She still had no idea why he’d chosen to come with her, but she wasn’t about to drive him off if he wanted to come. He’d already proved himself more than handy in a fight. And frankly, he made her feel safe. Tonight’s events had thoroughly brought home to her just how dangerous a world she’d jumped into. But in good conscience, she had to give him a chance to change his mind.

  If she were being really, really honest with herself, she would admit that she had purely selfish reasons for being glad he’d come with her. They had to do with the flutter inside her whenever he looked at her, and the way her toes curled when he kissed her.