David Cook - Horselords

Bayalun was even more surprised than Chanar when a shadowy shape rose in front of them. At first she thought it was a Shou soldier sent to escort them. Then the figure spoke. "Stop!" the shape commanded, speaking perfect Tuigan.

Bayalun jolted to a halt, Chanar almost crashing into her.

"A sentry!" she hissed under her breath. "Quickly, speak to him." She pulled Chanar ahead of her.

"I'm Chanar Khan. Do you challenge me?" the general demanded. "Advance and name yourself." Behind the general, Bayalun slipped off to the left, disappearing into the darkness.

The sentry came forward cautiously, his sword drawn, until he was close enough to recognize Chanar's clothes. The man was only a common trooper. Flustered and nervous in the presence of a khan, the sentry finally remembered his place and dropped to one knee, bowing his head. "Do not be angry, Chanar Khan," he stammered. "I was only following the instructions of my commander."

"Good work, soldier ... What lies beyond?" Chanar was at a loss for what he was supposed to do now. Bayalun left him stranded there, and he was beginning to think that she'd used him for a fool.

"General, this leads—" Suddenly a black shape sprang out of the darkness onto the sentry's back. The attacker struck with a knife. The guard gave a muffled, bubbling gasp. The two bodies crashed to the ground. Chanar sprang back, drawing his saber, ready to strike. The bodies thrashed about, and then the guard stopped moving.

"Help me up," commanded Bayalun from on top of the sentry. Chanar started, then recognized the black shape as the second empress. He was amazed she could move so quickly and with such strength.

Chanar pulled her up. Her hands were warm and slippery. Panting from the exertion, the khadun leaned against the general to catch her breath. The sentry's blood dripped from her fingers onto Chanar's gleaming mail.

"Help me find my staff," she said weakly.

"You killed him," Chanar said, still disbelieving the speed with which she had struck. He found Bayalun's staff and handed it to her.

"He saw us. Now drag his body into that ravine, out of sight," Bayalun commanded, pointing ahead into the darkness.

Startled into motion, the general grabbed the dead man's heels and pulled the body, facedown, through the dirt, leaving a trail of blood behind. There was a thud and then a clatter of rocks as the body slid down the slope into the gully. Rubbing the blood off his hands with a fistful of dust, Chanar stood at the top of the gully. He was looking into the thick shadows when Bayalun joined him.

"This is a bad omen," Chanar cursed as they wound their way along the bottom of the gully. He fumed quietly. "The guard's death'll be noticed. It's certain to betray us."

"Listen," Bayalun said, her fiery spirit rising, "they'll think the Shou did it. No one knows we are here."

Chanar's tension eased, seeing the wisdom of her words. "It's too bad that man had to die," he finally allowed, "but it was his fate."

Bayalun said nothing, carefully picking her way through the stones. The tumbled slopes of the ravine widened, creating a small, level circle of ground, free of broken rocks. The weak moonlight cast a dim radiance at the center of the clearing, leaving heavy, dark shadows along the edges. Bayalun stopped in one of these shadows, holding Chanar close alongside her. He could tell the second empress was excited; she trembled slightly and her breath came in rapid gasps.

They stood still, waiting. The air was chill, threatening to leave a heavy frost. Chanar thrust his hands into the wide sleeves of his robes to keep them warm and shifted uneasily, trying to maintain his patience.

A whispery voice sounded from the deep shadow on the other side of the clearing. "Welcome, Second Empress Eke Bayalun of the—"

"Enough greetings," the widow interrupted with a sharp thump of her staff. "I've come. Is Ju-Hai Chou here?"

"I speak for the Minister of State," answered the shadow, speaking with the shaky voice of an old man.

"Then know that if Ju-Hai Chou seeks our help to destroy the khahan of the Tuigan he must come himself. We do not deal with kharachu," Bayalun noted angrily. Chanar doubted the speaker on the other side knew he'd just been called a slave by the khadun.

"The second empress and her general seek our help to gain the throne of the Tuigan. She will talk to whomever Ju-Hai Chou sends," the voice whispered back in icy tones. Although softly spoken, the words were clear. Bayalun's first demand had failed, and she now considered her next course of action.

"Ju-Hai Chou's representative is acceptable," she conceded, abruptly changing to a gentler tone. "We will stay."

"Ju-Hai Chou will be greatly honored," the voice said politely.

"Listen then," Bayalun began once more, seizing the initiative. "Soon the khahan will ride against the Dragonwall. Perhaps your wall is strong, but he might break through."

"Unthinkable," the old man's voice replied in utter confidence.

"Perhaps, but he is wily and has many men. The unthinkable might happen—especially if the wizards were to help him."

"Their help will make no difference. No one can break the might of the Dragonwall; it is made of more than simple brick and mortar," the voice boasted. "Do you think your khahan is the first to crash himself against it? Other armies have tried and failed."

Bayalun raised her eyebrow in interest as she listened. The Shou hinted at secrets concerning the wall she did not know. Choosing her words carefully, she tried to goad him into revealing more. "Secrets can always be discovered," the khadun suggested ominously, thumping her staff again for emphasis.

There was a sharp hiss from the other side of the ravine. The meaning of her words was not lost on the speaker. "You know?" the Shou snarled.

"I have many sources, kharachu," Bayalun lied. She knew nothing of the wall, except what the Shou had let slip. Still, she paused to let the man worry. "Even if the khahan cannot break through, he will forever raid your caravans and strangle your trade with the western lands. All you can do is hide behind your wall until he goes away. You must get rid of him."

"The second empress has some plan?" whispered the voice, somewhat rankled by her observations.

"Indeed. The armies of Shou Lung will destroy the khahan and his bodyguards."

"What will you do while we risk all?" the speaker snapped.

"We will aid you, but we cannot act so directly. We cannot be suspected, or the throne will fall to one of the khahan's sons. If that happens, nothing will be gained," Bayalun explained patiently. "You must attack the khahan."

"Very well. I will," the hidden speaker across the clearing agreed. "What is your plan?"

"You will bring your army out of the Dragonwall and defeat the khahan. In the battle, he will be killed."

"That is all?" the voice asked sarcastically. "And how are we to defeat him?"

"Chanar, explain the khahan's plans," Bayalun commanded, seating herself on a rock.

Chanar stepped forward, standing on the edge of the light. "Yamun Khahan will bring part of his army in front of the Dragonwall. He will attack with this group and then seem to retreat in great confusion. We've done this many times," explained the general. "You must not pursue him. It's a trap. When you don't follow he'll return to attack again. That's when you must be ready to charge."

"He outnumbers the troops we'll have available. To attack then will be suicide," whispered the Shou speaker.

"Only if you attack alone," countered Chanar, "and you won't. Send your army out onto the plain in front of the wall. The khahan won't be able to resist. He will charge. When he does, break to your flanks and let him pass through toward the wall. My men will fall upon him from the rear, and you can strike from the sides. Trapped between the wall and our men, he'll be destroyed."

"And you will become khahan," the voice concluded with a trace of sarcasm.

"And, if the tribute is paid to the khans, there will be peace between the Tuigan and Shou Lung," Bayalun pointed out.

"The bribe will be paid. I will tell Ju-Hai Chou of your plan. You will not hear from us again until after the battle," the voice said flatly. There was a scraping noise from the shadows as the stranger prepared to leave.

Bayalun called out, "Hold one moment, speaker for Ju-Hai Chou. A request."

"What?"

"Send us one of your men to be a runner in case we need to communicate."

"Can't you use spells?" inquired the Shou.

"The runner will be an extra precaution, should I be unable to use my spells. Give us a man. We have clothes ready for him at the edge of our camp." Chanar looked at Bayalun, knowing full well they'd made no such preparations. She met his gaze sharply, warning him to keep quiet.

"It is agreed." There was a pause, then a small man stepped out of the shadows. He wore the dress of a common soldier of Shou—a long padded coat stitched with quilted squares, slipperlike shoes, and a simple metal cap. The runner carried a spear, and a sword hung in a scabbard at his side. In the darkness the colors of his clothes were impossible to see. Nervously, the man, barely more than a youth, moved across the clearing.

"Success to the second empress and the illustrious general," said the shadowed figure across the ravine.

"Indeed. Chanar," Bayalun whispered very softly, "be watchful and ready to use your sword on my signal." She tilted her head slightly toward the Shou soldier. "Quickly now, we must be back before it grows too light," she said in broken Shou, her voice loud enough that the warrior could hear her.

The three set out, following the trail back to the camp.

Bayalun took the lead, then came the Shou warrior, while Chanar brought up the rear. They wound their way along the ravine until they reached the spot where Chanar had hidden the sentry's body.

"Now," said Mother Bayalun without turning around. Chanar instantly took the cue and, before the unfortunate soldier could react, the general's sword bit into the man's neck just below the ear. There was a soft snap as the blade sheared bone. The guard's severed head went tumbling down the slope. There was a quick jet of blood, then, legs and arms still flailing, the body toppled to the ground.

Chanar wiped his blade on the dead man's sleeve, then tore off a piece of the cloth to wipe his mail shirt clean. He retrieved the head and set it closer to the sentry Bayalun had killed earlier.

"Good. Leave the body where it is," the khadun said from the top of the ravine. "When the guards find the bodies in the morning, they'll decide the sentry was attacked by Shou enemies. No one will suspect us. Now, we must get back into camp."

15

The Dragonwall

The excited jabber of men's voices echoed throughout the royal compound just before sunrise, even before dawn marked the horizon. The noise interrupted Koja's bath. What was normally a luxury, though unappreciated by Hodj, was today an icy ordeal. The air was cold and the water was melted from the snows outside. The commotion in the camp was a welcome excuse to get dressed.

Shivering, Koja quickly pulled on his new black robes, foregoing his normal careful inspection for vermin. He couldn't see how the Tuigan could stand it, lice-ridden as their clothes so often were. Putting the thought aside, he hastily pulled on the soft boots Hodj had found to replace his worn-out slippers. The priest made an incongruous figure—a bald, gaunt man, hardly a warrior, dressed in the rich black kalat of Yamun's elite bodyguard.