Horselords (29 page)

“Why is Jad afraid?” shouted Chagadai, turning his back to the door so he could address the couralitai. Caught up in the excitement and straining to see, the nobles were on their feet. “Let us see the khahan’s body!” shouted many from the crowd.

“Then see it you will,” said a voice behind Chagadai, echoing from the doorway of the tent.

The khans in the crowd stopped their cries and froze in disbelief. Standing in the doorway was Yamun Khahan. He was dressed in coarse robes of blue serge cinched with a belt of leather and gold. His hair was undone, shaped in a halo around his shaven pate. He leaned against the door-jamb to steady himself.

“The khahan!” whispered the big, crude khan next to Koja. The assembly echoed the man’s words like the breath of a wind spirit. Several of the men abruptly knelt, bowing their heads toward their risen leader. Chagadai turned slowly toward his lord, his eyes wide with shock and fear.

Yamun ignored the wolfish khan. Pushing past Chagadai, he slowly but steadily walked into the center of the couralitai. Yamun’s color was still pale, and it was clear that every step drained away a little of his strength. His brow glistened with sweat from the effort of each footstep. Nevertheless, the khahan never flinched. At last, Yamun reached the center of the circle, swaying slightly on his feet. He turned and scanned the faces of the khans in attendance. “Now, who will be khahan?” he demanded, as if he were some vengeful apparition.

No one answered. No one, it seemed, could tear his eyes from the khahan.

Koja looked toward Bayalun. She was once again smiling the same faintly triumphant smile that had crossed her face earlier. Next to her, Jad was watching the khans, his smile equally triumphant as he searched out the slightest sign of opposition.

“None shall be khahan but you, dear husband,” Bayalun said diplomatically. “But some, believing you dead, were eager for a new khahan.” All eyes turned toward Chagadai. His thin face grew pale. “They forgot what is proper and called for Chanar to be khahan, ignoring your own sons. They did not even wait the thirty days of mourning that tradition demands.” Bayalun tapped the ground with her staff for emphasis.

Chagadai nervously walked down the path, trying to discreetly return to his place. Those khans who had applauded his words sat very quietly in their seats, doing nothing to attract attention to themselves. Yamun turned toward the trembling Chagadai, fixing the man to the spot with his fierce stare. Those between the two men slid out of the way. “These words are true,” the khahan growled.

“Great Lord,” Chagadai sputtered, falling to one knee and bowing his head. “I did these things for the good of your people. Hubadai attacks Semphar, while we fight the Khazari. We need guidance.”

“And my son isn’t fit to rule. This is treason.”

The nobles whispered in fearful concern. None, however, dared raise his voice in protest.

“Husband and son,” Bayalun interjected, “he acted for the good of the Tuigan. If Chagadai knew you lived, he would not have spoken so.”

” ‘Only a foolish man holds the pecking hawk close to his eyes,’” Yamun angrily retorted, using an old proverb to make his point. “Like the hawk, Chagadai attacks me. He has betrayed me.” Yamun strode to where the khan cowered.

Before anyone could object, Yamun drew his sword and thrust it forward. The sword pierced the khan’s chest. There was a choked gasp of surprise from Chagadai, then he flopped to the ground, blood spurting from his wound. The dying man twitched and jerked, but finally lay still. Yamun, exhausted by the effort, leaned on the sword, its tip in the dirt, blood running down the blade.

For a moment, no one spoke. The khans, so vocal before, were unwilling to draw Yamun’s ire. The khahan, as he regained his breath, grimly scanned the assembly, looking for anyone who might challenge his actions. Servants hurried forward and dragged the body away, sweeping dirt over the dark stain of blood on the ground.

“You have been told I died in battle,” Yamun finally said to his apprehensive audience. “This was a lie, you say: the khahan did not die.” Yamun wiped the bloody sword on his robe. “I remained hidden by my own command. I wanted you, my faithful khans, to think me dead.”

“Why, Great Khan, why?” one of khans sitting on Jad’s side asked hesitantly.

“I was attacked by assassins. I was wounded, but I live. Teylas protected me from this evil attack.” He stopped to recover his strength. Suddenly everyone could see his weakness.

“Who did this to our khahan?” Bayalun called out. She looked around, waiting for an answer.

“The Khazari!” answered one from Jad’s side of the couralitai. Koja suddenly felt uncomfortable, exposed. The commander next to the priest swiveled slightly, one hand on his sword. On the other side, the belching khan slid back, not wanting to sit too close to the lama.

“No, not the Khazari,” Yamun snapped. “It was a Khazari who saved me from the assassins. The lama, Koja, fought to protect me from my attackers. For this I’ve made him my anda.” The khans on either side of Koja eyed him with surprised respect.

“Who then?” asked a khan.

“Do you want to see my assassins?” Yamun asked, feigning reluctance. Weakened by the effort of speaking, the khahan closed his eyes. The wave of shouted approval from the khans rocked him slightly. Slowly, he took the empty seat between Jad and Bayalun.

“The bodies! Yes, we will see the bodies,” the commander next to Koja shouted, urging the khans around him to add their voices to the cry. It quickly swelled and grew as khans from both sides expressed their outrage. Yamun settled back, confident that the khans still followed him.

“The bodies, bring the bodies!” went up the chant.

Yamun raised his hand, commanding silence. “Loyal khans,” he shouted over the dying rumble, drawing deeper on his reserves of strength. “You shall see them. Sechen, bring the assassins here.”

In the brief moments it took to fetch the grim bundle, Yamun sagged back in his seat. The khahan, Jad, and Goyuk conferred quickly amongst themselves.

Sechen returned, carrying the bloodstained rug, and dropped it with a thud at Yamun’s feet. A wave of anticipation rippled through the nobles.

“Now, see who attacked your khahan,” Yamun solemnly announced. “An unclean creature and a man!” With the tip of his boot, the khahan carefully pushed a fold of the rug aside. A visible wave of pollution and decay, marked by a cloud of flies, rose up from the rotting bodies. A gasp of astonishment came spontaneously from the assembled group. “A beast!” hissed a voice filled with disgust. “They send beasts to kill our khahan!”

There were two bodies in the rug: the hu hsien and the wizard. The once-bright fur of the fox creature was stiff and dull-colored. Its wounds, more fearsome in death, were sunken, the edges soft and black. Dark patches of decay spread from these, mottling the skin beneath the bristling fur. The eyes were gone, pecked out by birds. A purplish tongue, dry and cracked, lolled out of its mouth. The human next to it was equally decayed, the slashed throat gray and crusted.

Bayalun choked, “Afrasib!” She quickly clamped her mouth shut and avoided Yamun’s gaze. Her face was pale. Leaning over, she whispered a word to one of the khans beside her. He nodded and slid back out of sight.

“Who are they?” cried out a thin, pock-marked khan, pushing his way through his fellows to get a closer look at the corpses. The other khans surged forward behind him.

“The beast is a hu hsien, a creature of Shou Lung,” Jad explained. “The other is the wizard, Afrasib.” The prince stopped, letting the khans form their own conclusions.

Eyes, suspicious and hard, started to turn toward Bayalun. She met their gaze firmly, not showing any fear. Slowly and regally, the khadun stood and walked to the dead bodies. She studied the corpses, poking at them with her staff. The khans stepped back, creating a circle around her. She rolled Afrasib’s head to the side. “Traitor!” she hissed. Leaning over, she spat onto the dead wizard’s face.

“He has betrayed the khahan. The Shou emperor must have bought his loyalty,” Bayalun announced, turning back to her seat.

“But who sent these killers?” the pock-faced khan asked, his questions still not satisfied.

“Who, indeed?” Jad asked, looking toward Bayalun.

“The emperor of Shou uses things like the hu hsien as spies,” Bayalun countered as she stiffly sat down. “Ask Yamun’s priest if this is not so.”

“It is true,” Yamun said. In the crowd, Koja started at the statement. He didn’t see why the khahan was siding with the khadun. He must be must be planning something, the lama decided.

“This is what Shou Lung thinks of us,” sneered Yamun, still talking. “Their emperor fears us, so he sends evil spirits to kill me. Do we fear the dogs of Shou?”

“No!” came the cry. Even Chanar seemed roused by the khahan’s passionate boast.

“Shall we sit here while they send killers—like this—” Yamun jabbed a finger toward the dead hu hsien. “He sends beasts to stalk us. Are we deer before the hunter?”

“No!” came the shout again. The khans were gripped by rage. Koja was amazed; Yamun showed no sign of the wounds that weakened him only a few minutes before. The khahan stood tall, his legs spread and set solidly.

“Do we wait for them to destroy us all or do we act?” Yamun demanded, raising his arms to the sky. His eyes were fiery, energetic, and powerful, filled with a blaze of blood-lust. Koja gaped. He’d seen the khahan like this only once before, during the great storm at Quaraband.

The khans responded with an inarticulate roar, too many voices trying to shout out their answer all at once. There were those who dissented, but their words were drowned out by the furious outrage of their fellows.

The flood of rage and anger seemed to invigorate Yamun even further. He surveyed the khans with pride, reveling in their fire and adulation. He let the warriors have their way for a while, then raised his hands for silence. Reluctantly, they hushed to hear his words.

Yamun pushed the khans back from the bodies, clearing himself some space. “This Shou emperor has declared war on us. What shall we do?”

“We must teach them a lesson!” roared out one of the khans, Mongke by name—a thin, bony man with a powerful voice that belied his meager frame.

“How?” demanded Koja, boldly stepping into the circle. “What about the Dragonwall, the great fortification that protects their border? It has never been broken. How will you get through that?” Irritated at the priest’s outburst, some of the khans began to shout down his concerns.

“We will conquer Shou because the emperor fears us,” Yamun stated with utter conviction. “If this Dragonwall was invincible, the emperor would not fear me. Teylas must have spared me to become a scourge on the emperor, to break his unbreakable wall!”

“A raid!” suggested one of the Kashik khans.

“No, not a raid,” Yamun answered coolly. “More than a raid. We’ll teach this emperor to fear. We will conquer Shou Lung! I, Yamun Khahan, will be the Illustrious Emperor of All People!” The khahan roared out the last words to the sky, threatening as much as promising. “It is our destiny.”

Yamun’s eyes blazed. He panted, lustful for the challenge. His heart longed for the fury of battle and the greatness conquest would bring to him.

The excitement of the khans formed into a chant. It was as if Yamun’s vision of conquest spread from him to them. It leaped to the khans, took possession of their spirit. Even Koja felt the wild passion, the lust to act that flowed from Yamun.

The khahan stepped back to his seat and surveyed the khans. They looked to him in anticipation: some eager, a few fearful. “Who will go to war with me? Who will share in the riches of Shou Lung?” he shouted to the masses.

The response came in a tumult of yells and clapping from the khans. Koja, in their midst, was almost deafened by the warriors’ frantic shouts. Yamun stood before his seat, clearly enjoying the frenzy. His eyes were wild, and his face was flushed and pulsing with energy. It seemed to the priest that the khahan had found his own cure, Here again was the man who could withstand the might of a god’s thunderbolts.

“By the will of Teylas, my khans, we will ride to victory!” proclaimed the khahan. “The Dragonwall must fall!”

Yamun growled at his bodyguards, ten Kashik warriors who circled him at a respectful distance. One of them had clumsily bumped into an armor stand, sending Yamun’s gilt mail sprawling. Fumbling to correct his error, man made still more noise. Yamun snarled impatiently for the mortified soldier to stop fussing.

It was one thing to have a bodyguard of ten thousand men who would make camp, patrol at night, and charge boldly into battle; it was quite another thing to have an arban of soldiers hovering around you wherever you went. The Kashik, however, upon learning that morning that their khahan still lived, were determined to protect him at all times. It was a great honor for the men chosen to guard the khahan, but it was going to take time for Yamun to get adjusted. Still, the khahan knew better than to argue with the devotion and loyalty of his own men.

The guard finally finished straightening the gear and quietly took his place along the wall of the Great Yurt. The other guards stood silently in their positions. Satisfied that there would be no more disturbances, Yamun resumed his conversation.

Sitting at the foot of Yamun’s throne was his anda, the grand historian, Koja. “Well, anda,” Yamun said to him, “soon there’ll be more to write in your histories, if you have the time. There’s much to be done before we march on Shou Lung.”

The priest looked at Yamun sharply, still puzzled by the events of the couralitai. “Why have you done this?” he finally asked. “You attack Shou Lung and ignore Bayalun. Is this wise?”

Yamun scowled. “Anda, I did what I must.” He held out his fists. “Someone seeks to kill me: Bayalun—” He closed one fist. “And Shou Lung.” He closed the other. “I will not ignore this insult.”

“But Shou Lung is the mightiest of nations!” protested Koja. “Why them and not Bayalun?”

“Bayalun is one of my people. If I strike at her, there will be dissension among the khans. They will demand proof and the wizards will turn against me,” the khahan predicted. “Then my empire would be nothing.” He lowered his fists. “But, if I attack Shou Lung, my people will stand united in battle, and I will be rid of one enemy. Better one foe than two. That is ruling, is it not?”