'I hope you know what you're doing.'
'Cali, our backs are against the wall.'
She made a face, ignoring my justification. 'Well, I guess we'll find out one way or the other, won't we?'
'If the Goddess of War even shows up.'
Butland smiled, his lips forming a tight line. 'Dio will turn up if for no other reason than curiosity. As you can probably guess, people rarely demand an audience with her.'
'You didn't think this through, Jake. What if she rips through the ship's hull like she did last time?'
'Where would be the fun in that?'
Standing at the centre of a temporal anomaly, a distorted bubble, was a woman resembling a human, minus the face. Her skin was rugged, almost stone-like, and her expression one of mild amusement. Her golden hair was fixed in place by a crown of shimmering jewels and allowed to droop free to her lower back. The way she swayed with every stride was mesmerising, yet I couldn't help but wonder where she was hiding her weapons.
'Dio?'
