Читать книгу Conqueror: The Complete 5-Book Collection - Conn Iggulden - Страница 52

More than two hundred warriors had been lost in the battle against the Tartars. Before Temujin’s forces left the area, the skies were filled with circling hawks, vultures and ravens, the hillsides writhing with wings as they stalked amongst the corpses, fighting and screeching. Temujin had given orders that no difference would be made between Kerait, Olkhun’ut and Wolves. The shamans of three tribes overcame their dislike of each other and chanted the death rites while the warriors watched the birds of prey gliding overhead. Even before the chanting had finished, ragged black vultures had landed, their dark eyes watching the living as they hopped onto dead men.

They left the Tartars where they had fallen, but it was not until late in the day that the carts began to move back to their main camp. Temujin and his brothers rode in the lead, with the Wolf bondsmen at his back. If he had not been the son of the old khan, they could well have killed him as soon as Eeluk fell, but Basan had handed him his father’s sword and they had not moved. Though they did not exult as the Olkhun’ut and Kerait did, they were steady and they were his. Tolui rode stiffly with them, his face showing the marks of a beating. Khasar and Kachiun had taken him quietly aside in the night and he did not look at them as he rode.

As they reached Togrul’s camp, the women came out to greet their husbands and sons, searching faces desperately until they saw their loved ones had survived. Voices cried out in pleasure and grief alike and the plain was alive with cheering and noise.

Temujin trotted his battered mare to where Togrul had come out and was standing with Wen Chao. The khan of the Kerait had kept some guards to protect the families and those men would not meet Temujin’s gaze as it swept over them. They had not ridden with him.

Temujin dismounted.

‘We have broken their back, Togrul. They will not come south again.’

‘Where is the khan of the Wolves?’ Togrul asked, looking out across the milling warriors and their families.

Temujin shrugged. ‘He stands before you,’ he said. ‘I have claimed the tribe.’

Wearily, Temujin turned away to give orders to his brothers and he did not see Togrul’s changing expression. They could all smell mutton sizzling on the breeze and the returning warriors cheered at the scent. They were starving after the day before and nothing would be accomplished until they had fed and drunk their fill.

Wen Chao saw Yuan riding towards him, a bloody rag tied tightly round his shin. Temujin was heading towards the ger of his wife and Wen Chao waited patiently until Yuan had dismounted and gone down on one knee.

‘We have had no details of the battle, Yuan. You must tell us what you saw.’

Yuan kept his gaze on the ground.

‘Your will, master,’ he replied.

As the sun set, the hills were lit in bars of gold and shadow. The feasting had continued until the men were drunk and sated. Togrul had been part of it, though he had not cheered Temujin with the others, even when the bondsmen of the Wolves had brought their families out to take an oath of loyalty to the son of Yesugei. Togrul had seen Temujin’s eyes fill with tears as they knelt before him and he had felt a simmering resentment start. It was true he had not fought with them, but had he not played a part? It could not have been won without the Kerait and it had been Togrul who had called Temujin out of the icy north. He had not been blind to the way his Kerait had mingled with the others until there was no telling them apart. They looked on the young khan with awe, a man who had gathered the tribes under his command and won a crushing victory against an ancient enemy. Togrul saw every glance and bowed head and felt fear worm its way into his gut. Eeluk had fallen and Sansar before him. It was not hard to imagine knives coming in the night for Togrul of the Kerait.

When the feasting was over, he sat in his ger with Wen Chao and Yuan, talking long into the night. As the moon rose, he took a deep breath and felt the fumes of black airag hanging heavily in his lungs. He was drunk, but he needed to be.

‘I have done everything I promised, Wen Chao,’ he reminded the ambassador.

Wen’s voice was soothing. ‘You have. You will be a khan of vast estates and your Kerait will know peace. My masters will be pleased to hear of such a victory. When you have divided the spoils, I will come with you. There is nothing for me here, not any more. Perhaps I will have the chance to enjoy my final years in Kaifeng.’

‘If I am allowed to leave,’ Togrul spat suddenly. His flesh shuddered with indignation and worry and Wen Chao tilted his head to look at him, like a listening bird.

‘You fear the new khan,’ he murmured.

Togrul snorted. ‘Why would I not, with a trail of dead men behind him? I have guards around this ger, but in the morning who knows how long it will be before …’ He trailed off, his fingers writhing together as he thought. ‘You saw them cheer him, my own Kerait among them.’

Wen Chao was troubled. If Temujin killed the fat fool the following morning, any reprisal would fall on Wen as much as anyone. He considered what to do, very aware of Yuan’s impassive face as they sat in the shadows.

When the silence became oppressive, Togrul drank a huge draught of airag, belching to himself.

‘Who knows who I can trust any longer?’ he said, his voice taking on a whining tone. ‘He will be drunk tonight and he will sleep heavily. If he dies in his ger, there will be no one to stop me leaving in the morning.’

‘His brothers would stop you,’ Wen Chao said. ‘They would react in fury.’

Togrul felt his vision swimming and he pressed his knuckles into his eyes.

‘My Kerait number half the army around us. They owe nothing to those brothers. If Temujin was dead, I would be able to take them clear. They cannot stop me.’

‘If you try and fail, all our lives would be forfeit,’ Wen Chao warned. He was worried Togrul would blunder around in the dark and get Wen killed just as the chance of returning to the Chin court had become real after his years in the wilderness. He realised his own safety was threatened either way, but it seemed a better chance to wait for the morning. Temujin owed him nothing, but the odds were good that Wen would be allowed to go home.

‘You must not risk it, Togrul,’ he told the khan. ‘Guest rights protect you both and there will be only destruction if you risk it all from fear.’ Wen sat back, watching his words sink in.

‘No,’ Togrul said, chopping a hand through the air. ‘You saw them cheering him. If he dies tonight, I will take my Kerait away before dawn. By sunrise, they will be long behind us and in chaos.’

‘It is an error …’ Wen Chao began. To his utter astonishment, it was Yuan who interrupted him.

‘I will lead men to his ger, my lord,’ Yuan said to Togrul. ‘He is no friend of mine.’

Togrul turned to the Chin soldier and clasped his hand in both of his own fleshy palms.

‘Do it, Yuan, swiftly. Take the guards around this ger and kill him. He and his brothers drank more than I did. They will not be ready for you, not tonight.’

‘And his wife?’ Yuan asked. ‘She sleeps with him and she will wake and cry out.’

Togrul shook his head against the fumes of airag.

‘Not unless you must. I am not a monster, but I will live through tomorrow.’

‘Yuan?’ Wen Chao snapped. ‘What foolishness is this?’

His first officer turned his face to him, dark and brooding in the shadows.

‘He has risen fast and far in a short time, this man. If he dies tonight, we will not see him at our borders in a few years.’

Wen considered the future. It would still be better to let Temujin wake. If the young khan chose to kill Togrul, at least Wen would not have to bear the man’s company back to the borders of his own lands. Surely Temujin would let the Chin ambassador leave? He was not certain, and as he hesitated, Yuan stood and bowed to both men, striding out of the door. Caught in indecision, Wen Chao said nothing as he went. He faced Togrul with a worried frown, listening to Yuan talk to the guards outside. It did not take long before they went away into the darkness of the vast camp, too far to call back.

Wen decided to call for his bearers. No matter what happened, he wanted to be gone at sunrise. He could not shake the prickling feeling of danger and fear in his chest. He had done everything the first minister could have dreamed. The Tartars had been crushed and at last he would know the peace and sanctuary of the court once more. No longer would the smell of sweat and mutton be with him every waking hour. Togrul’s drunken fear could still snatch it all away and he frowned to himself as he sat with the khan, knowing he would get no rest that night.

Temujin was deep in sleep when the door to his ger creaked open. Borte lay at his side, troubled in her sleep. She was huge with the child inside her and so hot that she threw off the furs that kept out the winter chill. A dim glow from the stove gave an orange light to the ger. As Yuan entered with two other men, neither of the sleeping pair stirred.

The two guards carried drawn swords and they took a step past Yuan as he gazed down on Temujin and Borte. He reached out and pressed his forearms against his companions, halting them as if they had run into a wall.

‘Wait,’ he hissed. ‘I will not kill a sleeping man.’

They exchanged glances, unable to comprehend the strange soldier. They stood in silence as Yuan took a breath and whispered to the sleeping khan.

‘Temujin?’

His own name called Temujin from troubled dreams. He opened his eyes blearily, finding his head throbbing. When he turned his head, he saw Yuan standing there, and for a moment, they merely looked at each other. Temujin’s hands were hidden beneath the furs and, when he moved, Yuan saw he held his father’s sword. The young man was naked, but he sprang out of the bed and threw the scabbard to one side. Borte opened her eyes at the movement and Yuan heard her gasp in fear.

‘I could have killed you,’ Yuan said quietly to the naked man before him. ‘A life for a life, as you once granted me mine. There is no debt between us now.’

‘Who sent you? Wen Chao? Togrul? Who?’ Temujin shook his head, but the room seemed to lurch. He struggled to clear his mind.

‘My master had no part in this,’ Yuan continued. ‘We will leave in the morning and return home.’

‘It was Togrul, then,’ Temujin said. ‘Why does he turn on me now?’

Yuan shrugged. ‘He fears you. Perhaps he is right to. Remember that your life was mine to take tonight. I have dealt honourably with you.’

Temujin sighed, his pounding heart beginning to ease. He felt dizzy and sick and wondered if he would vomit. Sour airag churned in his stomach and, despite the few hours of sleep, he was still exhausted. He did not doubt Yuan could have killed him cleanly if he had wished. For a moment, he considered calling his warriors from their gers and dragging Togrul out. Perhaps it was simple weariness, but he had seen too much of death and Eeluk’s blood still itched on his skin.

‘Before the sun is up, you will leave,’ he said. ‘Take Wen Chao and Togrul with you.’ Temujin looked at the two men who had entered with Yuan. They stood stunned at this development, unable to meet his eye. ‘His guards can accompany him. I do not want them here after what they tried to do.’

‘He will want the Kerait,’ Yuan said.

Temujin shook his head. ‘If he wishes, I can summon them all and tell them of this act of cowardice. They will not follow a fool. The tribes are mine, Yuan, the Kerait with them.’ He stood a little straighter as he spoke and Yuan saw the wolf’s-head sword glint in the dim light of the stove.

‘Tell him I will not take his life if he leaves before dawn. If I find him here, I will challenge him in front of his warriors.’ His gaze was dark and hard as he regarded the Chin soldier.

‘Every family riding on the sea of grass will acknowledge me as khan. Tell your master Wen Chao that, when you return to him. He is safe from me now, but I will see him again.’

His words echoed Yuan’s own, but the Chin lands were a thousand miles away. Even the tribes gathered in Temujin’s name were a tiny part of the armies Yuan had seen. He did not fear the man’s ambition.

‘The camp will wake as we leave,’ Yuan said.

Temujin looked at him, then clambered back into bed without bothering to respond. He saw Borte was wide-eyed in fear and reached out to smooth her hair back from her face. She allowed his touch, hardly seeming to feel it.

‘Just go, Yuan,’ Temujin said softly. He was about to pull the furs over his body again when he paused. ‘And thank you.’

Yuan ushered the two guards back into the chill night air. When they had left the ger behind, he stopped them again and sensed them turn to him questioningly in the darkness. They did not see the knife he drew from his belt and, even if they had, they were no match for a man who had been first sword in Kaifeng. Two quick blows left them on their knees and he waited until they had fallen and were still. He had disobeyed his orders, but he felt light-hearted and now there were no witnesses to tell Wen Chao what he had done. The camp was silent, frozen under the stars. The only sound was his own crunching footsteps as he returned to his master to tell him that Temujin had been too well guarded. Yuan glanced back only once at the khan’s ger as he walked away under the moonlight, fixing it in his mind. He had paid his debt.

When the moon was dipping down towards the hills, Temujin woke a second time as Khasar entered the ger. Before he was fully alert, Temujin had grabbed his father’s sword and sprung up. Borte stirred, moaning in her sleep and Temujin turned to her, reaching out to stroke her cheek.

‘It is all right, it is just my brother,’ he murmured. Borte murmured something, but this time she did not come out of her sleep. Temujin sighed, looking down at her.

‘I see you have been dreaming of attractive women,’ Khasar said, chuckling.

Temujin blushed, pulling the furs around his waist as he sat down on the bed.

‘Keep your voice down before you wake her,’ he whispered. ‘What do you want?’ He saw Kachiun enter behind Khasar and wondered if he would ever have peace that night.

‘I thought you might like to know that there are two bodies outside on the ground.’

Temujin nodded sleepily. He had expected it. Khasar frowned at his lack of reaction.

‘Togrul and Wen Chao seem to be readying themselves to ride,’ Khasar said, still amused. ‘Their guards have gathered horses and that ridiculous box Wen Chao uses. Do you want me to stop them?’

Temujin placed his father’s sword back on the furs, thinking.

‘How many men are they taking with them?’ he asked.

‘Perhaps three dozen,’ Kachiun said from the doorway, ‘including Togrul’s wife and daughters. With Yuan and the Chin guards, it makes a large group. Togrul has a cart for his bulk. Do you know something we don’t?’

‘Togrul sent men to kill me, but he chose Yuan,’ Temujin said.

Khasar let out a hiss of indignation. ‘I can get the Wolves out after him before he’s gone a mile. They’re closest and they have no allegiance to Togrul.’ He watched in surprise as Temujin shook his head.

‘Let them go. We have the Kerait. I would have had to kill him anyway.’

Kachiun whistled softly under his breath. ‘How many more will you bring in, brother? It was not that long ago that you were khan of a few raiders in the north.’

Temujin did not reply for a long time. At last he raised his head, talking without looking at his brothers.

‘I will be khan of them all. We are one people and one man can lead them. How else can we take the cities of the Chin?’

Khasar looked at his brother and a slow smile spread across his face.

‘There are tribes who took no part in the battle against the Tartars,’ Kachiun reminded them both. ‘The Naimans, the Oirat …’

‘They cannot stand alone against us,’ Temujin said. ‘We will take them one by one.’

‘Are we to be Wolves again, then?’ Khasar asked, his eyes bright.

Temujin thought for a time.

‘We are the silver people, the Mongols. When they ask, tell them there are no tribes. Tell them I am khan of the sea of grass, and they will know me by that name, as Genghis. Yes, tell them that. Tell them that I am Genghis and I will ride.’