Quest for Lost Heroes (30 page)

'I shall go there. And find her.'

'She was given to Jungir Khan.' The words struck Kiall like knife-blades and he closed his eyes, his head bowing. 'So you see,' she said tenderly, 'there is no point to this quest. Ulrickham is a fortress city. No one could enter the Khan's harem and spirit away one of his brides. And even if you did - where could you go to escape his vengeance? He is the Great Khan; he has half a million men under his command. Where in all the world could you be safe from him, or his shamen?'

Kiall looked at her and smiled. 'Still I must make the attempt. And somehow it is worse now - not because of Jungir, but because of you."

'I do not understand you.'

He stood and shook his head. 'I cannot say it. Forgive me. Do I have your permission to leave?'

For a moment it seemed as if she would speak, but she merely nodded her head. He bowed and walked from the hall.

His thoughts were many as he rode from the town and a great sadness filled him. He knew now that he did not love Ravenna; she was the dream of an adolescent, the unattainable beauty. But what could he do? He had made his promise. And, though it cost him his life, he would keep it.

He heard the sound of hoof-beats and turned in the saddle.

Harokas cantered alongside him and drew rein. 'May I ride with you?' he asked.

Kiall reined in his horse. 'I do not desire your company, sir. But if you wish to meet with Chareos, then I will not stop you.'

'Then that must suffice,' said Harokas. Kiall spurred his horse into a run and the beast was blowing hard by the time they reached the hill-top. Harokas followed at a more sedate pace. Chareos, Beltzer and Okas were seated in the clearing, but of Maggrig and Finn there was no sign. Kiall dismounted and he started to tell Chareos about Ravenna, but the Blademaster waved him to silence. 'I know,' he said, his gaze fixed on the rider following Kiall.

Harokas slid from the saddle and bowed to Chareos. 'I have searched for you for a great length of time,' he said. 'I have a message from the Earl. You have been cleared of all charges - and would be welcome at any time in the city of Talgithir. Captain Salida told the Earl of your valiant assistance at the Tavern Town.'

'Is that all?' asked Chareos coldly.

'Indeed it is. Now will the bowmen show themselves?'

'I find it hard to believe in the Earl as a forgiving man,' said Chareos, 'and I am wondering why he should send a warrior in search of me. Could it be that you are an assassin?'

'All things are possible, Chareos,' replied Harokas, smiling.

'I think we should kill him," said Beltzer. 'I don't like the look of him.'

'And I do not like the look of you, you fat oaf!' snapped Harokas. 'Now keep silent before your betters.'

Beltzer pushed himself to his feet and chuckled. 'Let me break his back, Chareos. Just say the word.'

Finn emerged from the undergrowth. 'Chareos!' he called. 'You'd better see this: there's an army of Nadir warriors moving towards the town - I don't think they're here to visit.'

*

Tanaki watched the young man leave the hall and then rose, stretching her arms over her head, and arching her back. Her feelings were mixed as she wandered back into her living area. Kiall's innocence was both appealing and surprising - like finding a perfect flower growing on the edge of a cess-pit. She poured herself a goblet of wine and sipped it. A young man in search of his love; a dreamer. Her eyes narrowed.

'The world has some savage shocks in store for you,' she whispered. A cold breeze rustled the heavy hangings, touching the bare flesh of her legs. She shivered.

'I miss you, Father,' she said, picturing again the tall lean warrior, seeing his slow smile, watching it soften his cruel face. Tanaki had been his favourite - despite her birth being responsible for the death of her mother, Kenya. Tenaka Khan had lavished all his love on his only daughter, while his sons fought for a kind word - or even a nod which might be interpreted as praise. She thought of her eldest brother, Jungir. How he had longed to be accepted by his father.

Now Jungir was the Khan, Tanaki's other brothers murdered, and she was merely living out her life awaiting the inevitable.

She smiled as she remembered her last meeting with Jungir. He so wanted her dead. But the Khan's generals would never accept the complete obliteration of Tenaka Khan's blood-line and, as everyone knew, Jungir Khan was sterile. Not one of his forty wives had conceived. Tanaki chuckled. Poor Jungir. He could ride the wildest horse, and fight with lance or sword. But in the eyes of the Nadir he was suspect, because his seed was not strong.

Tanaki pressed her hands to her belly. She had no doubt that she could conceive. And one day, perhaps, when Jungir grew desperate, she could be back in favour and wed to one of the generals. The face of Tsudai leapt into her mind and she recoiled. Not him! Never him. His touch was like the feel of lizard skin, and the memory of his tomb-dark eyes made her shiver. No, not Tsudai.

She pushed him from her mind and thought of Jungir as she had last seen him, sitting on the throne and staring down at her. 'You are safe, bitch - for the moment. But know this . . . one day I will see you humbled. Live for that day, Tanaki.'

So instead of death Tanaki was banished here, in the desolate wastelands of the south. There were few pleasures to be found in this land, save for the heady joys of alcohol and the succession of young men she took to her bed. Yet even these pleasures soon palled. Bored with her life, she had watched the inefficiency of the slave trade - alternating between glutted markets, with the price low, or no trade at all. Added to this, there was no central point where slaves could be auctioned and prices guaranteed. It had taken Tanaki less than four months to establish the market town, and within a year she also coordinated all raids into Gothir territory. Prices had stabilised, the new, improved, market was buoyant and enormous profits were being made. The gold meant little to Tanaki, who had spent her childhood surrounded by the wealth of conquered nations. But the trade kept her agile mind busy, and away from thoughts of Jungir's revenge.

No matter how great the pressure from the generals, she knew there would come a time when Jungir would feel strong enough to have her killed. So strange, she realised, that she did not hate him for it. It was so easy to understand what drove him. He had yearned for his father's affection and, failing to win it, had come to hate that which his father loved.

Tanaki pulled aside a velvet curtain and gazed out of a narrow window.

'He left you nothing, Jungir,' she whispered. 'He conquered most of the world; he united the tribes; he founded an empire. What is there left for you?'

Poor Jungir. Poor sterile Jungir!

Her thoughts turned to the young man, Kiall. His face loomed in her mind, the grey eyes gentle, yet with a hint of steel. And there was passion there too, raw and unmined, volcanic and waiting.

'It would have been pleasant to swallow your innocence.' She smiled, and her expression softened. 'No, it would not,' she realised with sadness.

'Princess! Princess!' yelled Chellin, running the length of the hall. 'Nadir warriors!'

She stepped out to meet him. 'What of it?' she enquired. There are always Nadir warriors near here.'

'Not the Royal Wolves, Princess,' said Chellin. 'And Tsudai is leading them.'

Tanaki felt her mouth go dry. 'Is the gate shut?'

'It is, lady. But there are three hundred of them, and we have less than fifty. And most of those will run, given the chance.'

Tanaki moved to a chest of dark oak and lifted the heavy lid. She took out a wide belt, from which hung two short swords. 'We cannot fight them, lady. Why are they here?'

She shrugged and did not reply. So, she thought, the day has come. No more to see the blue of the sky, the eagle riding the wind currents over the mountains. No more men to possess her, and in possessing her to give away their souls. Anger flared. Ignoring Chellin she walked from the hall and on to the wall, climbing to the ramparts to watch the approach of the Khan's Wolves. As Chellin had said, there were more than three hundred warriors, their pointed silver helms ringed with wolfskin, their silver breastplates edged with gold. They rode seemingly without formation and yet, at a single order, they could wheel and charge in a flying wedge or break into three units. Their discipline was incredible. Tenaka Khan had formed the royal guard a quarter of a century before, and trained them to a degree never before experienced among the Nadir. Among the tribesmen it was still regarded as a badge of honour to be accepted into the Wolves. For every hundred applicants, only one was given the helm and the Wolfhead embossed breastplate.

And there at the centre rode Tsudai, a fighting man without equal, a general without peer.

Men gathered around Tanaki. 'What shall we do?' asked one.

'Why are they here?' asked another.

They are here to kill me,' said Tanaki, surprised that her voice remained calm.

'Will they want to kill the rest of us?' asked a burly warrior.

'Shut your damned mouth!' roared Chellin.

Tanaki raised her hands for silence. 'Get your horses and leave by the iron gate. Do it swiftly! They will kill all they find here.' Some of the men ran from the ramparts but Chellin stood firm.

'I'll not let them take you while I live.'

She smiled and placed her hands on the old warrior's bearded cheeks. 'And you cannot stop them. But it would please me to see you survive, Chellin. Now go!'

For a moment only he stood, then he cursed and ran for his horse.

The Nadir were closer now and the face of their general could be clearly seen by Tanaki. Tsudai was smiling. He raised his hands and riders swept out on either side of him in a skirmish line.

'What do you want here?' Tanaki shouted.

'We want you, whore!' called back Tsudai. 'You are to be brought to Ulrickham for trial.'

Tanaki's anger rose, but she fought for calm. 'By what right do you call a daughter of the Great Khan a whore, you who were suckled by a scabrous goat?'

Tsudai chuckled. 'I have here three hundred warriors,
Princess
. Each one of them will use your body between here and Ulrickham. Now the journey will be sixty days. Even my simple mind tells me that five men a day will get to enjoy the pleasures you bestow so freely on the foreigners and scum you surround yourself with. Think of it,
Princess
, three hundred men!'

'Why warn me, you foul-mouthed whoreson?'

'It could be that you will not wish to suffer such humiliation. Surely someone of the blood of the Great Khan would sooner take her own life?'

Through her fear Tanaki forced a laugh. 'My esteemed brother would like that, would he not? No, Tsudai. Come and take me. I'll survive. And when the generals hear of my treatment at your hands, I will live to see the skin flayed from your foul body.'

He spread his hands. 'As you wish,
Princess
, but do not expect too much support from the other khans. The Lord Jungir will shortly be celebrating the birth of an heir. All the omens say it will be a boy.'

'You lie! Jungir is sterile.'

'I never lie, Tanaki! You know that. One of the Khan's wives is pregnant.'

Then she had a lover,' snapped Tanaki, before she could stop herself. But her heart sank. The Khan's concubines and wives were kept in a walled palace, patrolled by eunuchs. There was no way a man could infiltrate such a fortress. And even if by some miracle he did, the scores of spies among the concubines would carry word to the Khan.

'Will you come out - or will we come in after you?' shouted Tsudai.

'Come in!' she yelled. 'Why not come yourself?'

Tsudai chuckled and waved his arm and twenty riders raced for the walls, hurling ropes which looped over the pointed stockade timbers. As the Nadir leapt from their saddles and swiftly clambered up the walls, Tanaki drew her swords. The first man to show himself died, his throat ripped open. The second fell, his lung pierced. As the others came in sight Tanaki waited, blood dripping from her silver blades as they advanced from left and right. She leapt and spun, killing a man with a reverse sweep across the neck, then jumped from the battlement into a wagon loaded with sacks of wheat. Scrambling clear, she ran for the hall. Four men moved to cut her off but she swerved into an alley, then doubled back and waited. Six warriors raced into view. She charged into them, cutting and cleaving, breaking through their line.

On the battlements knelt a warrior holding a sling. He whirled it round his head and let fly, the small round stone cracking into Tanaki's temple. She staggered and almost fell. A man ran at her . . . spinning, she hurled her right-hand sword. It punched into his chest and he fell back, scrabbling at the blade. A second stone screamed past her. Ducking she stumbled to a barn, pushing her back against the door. Her head was swimming and a terrible dizziness overcame her. Two more Nadir warriors came into view. She half fell and they leapt at her. Her sword came up, part severing a man's arm. A fist cracked against her skull and her swords were torn from her grasp. Twice more the fist pounded at her face. She fell to her knees. Men were all around her now, tearing at her clothes. They dragged her into the barn, hurling her naked to the straw-covered floor.