chortled Goyuk, interrupting from the other side of the circle. The old man seemed to be in a particularly good mood this morning.
Koja mulled over the old general's words. There was some sense to them, but he still wondered if Yamun had some other reason for his confinement. 'What happened last night? I heard sounds of fighting,' the priest questioned, trying a different subject.
'Are you the khahan's man or Prince Ogandi's man?' Jad interrupted. He stood, watching Koja carefully. The prince's eyes were dark and hard. Finally, the priest broke the stare, stealing a look toward Yamun.
The group fell silent, waiting for Koja to answer. Yamun settled back on his stool, fingering a small knife while he watched the priest carefully. Goyuk did a poor job of pretending to be interested only in his tea, but he, too, watched the nervous lama from the corner of his eye. Only the wizard looked away, seemingly unconcerned. Still, Koja could see the mage flexing his wrinkled hands, the long fingers practicing the motions needed to cast a spell.
Koja tried to consider his choices carefully, but his mind was filled with memories that tugged and pulled against each other. There were the oaths of loyalty he swore-to Ogandi, to the Red Mountain Temple, to the god Furo. There was his father, sitting next to the fire in wintertime, then Yamun bending over his pallet and Chanar's hate-filled glare. Overriding all these images was the dream of his old master standing in the darkness, building walls.
'I have no lord,' he whispered. The memories faded from his mind. Jad relaxed, but showed no pleasure in the priest's words.
Yamun stirred and stepped forward. He laid one hand on his son's shoulder and the other on Koja's. 'My historian is an honest man. 'Liars never say no, fools never say yes,'' he quoted, looking at Jad.
'Ai!' agreed Goyuk. He raised his cup high and then took a long noisy slurp.
'Ai! To our success today,' pronounced Yamun, letting the two go. Jad found his cup and raised it in a toast. Koja fumblingly found his own cup and raised it up.
The men sat and drank another cup of the hot tea. Even Koja was thankful for the salted brew. It soothed his tired, tense nerves. The priest had no idea what was to happen this day, but for now he was content to wait.
Finally, Yamun spoke. 'It's time to get ready.' Jad and Goyuk nodded in agreement and stood. 'Goyuk, take command of the right. My son, you lead the left. I'll take the center. You, Afrasib,' he commanded, pointing at the wizard, 'will stay with me. As will you, Koja.'
'Where are we going?' the lama asked hesitantly, hoping that he might now get an answer.
'It is time to put my plans in motion,' was all that Yamun would say.
9
Yamun Khahan paced along the bottom of the dusty gully, kicking at stones and scraping little patterns in the dirt with his toe. Occasionally he stopped and marched up the slope and stood at the edge of the tree line to gaze across the plain. To his left and right, sheltered in the gully, were two thousand horsemen, huddled below the level of the plain.
In preparation for the coming conflict, Yamun wore his battledress-a glittering steel breastplate engraved and chased with flowers, a leather skirt sewn with metal plates, and a golden pointed warhelm. A coif of chain mail hung from the back of the helmet, covering his neck. The metal draped on Yamun's body clinked as he walked.
For the last three hours or more, the khahan, Afrasib, Koja, and a host of troopers had waited, more or less patiently, in the gully. The dry wash ran a jagged course, coming down out of the hills to the north and then angling to the southwest, where the mouth of the valley opened into the broader fringes of steppe. A thin stand of willows and tamarisk lined the banks, giving shade to the weary men. Koja, tired of watching Yamun pace and tired of waiting, sat against the base of a tree. Sechen stood nearby, never letting the priest get far from him.
Even in the shade, Koja was sweating. The big wrestler had found a suit of armor for the priest, a heavy thing of metal plates stitched to leather, in the style common to the Tuigan. The armor was ill-fitting, with absurdly big shoulders and long, droopy sleeves, but Sechen had insisted that he wear it. 'You might be hit by an arrow,' the guard warned. The helmet Sechen had produced fit little better than the armor.
Koja watched as the khahan turned from the plain and came back down the embankment. Yamun fretted back and forth, impatient for something to happen.
'Why do we wait here, Khahan?' Koja asked as Yamun ventured close.
Yamun, stopped short by Koja's question, scowled at the priest and almost snapped a sharp reply. Then he relented. 'We wait here to capture Manass, historian. At least that is the plan.'
'Manass?' Koja asked, amazed. He struggled to his feet, the armor scraping against the tree trunk. 'Here? But how?'
'They're going to enter the trap,' Yamun answered, marching back to the gully's edge. Koja noticed that the khahan spoke with less than his usual absolute conviction. The warlord looked to where Koja stood. 'Come here, priest.'
Koja joined the khahan, walking awkwardly in the heavy armor. Yamun pointed toward the upper end of the valley, where the land rose to a low pass nestled between the mountains to the east. The trail to Manass crawled over the pass.
'Look there,' Yamun instructed, pointing to a spur that ran down into the valley floor from the north. 'See the dark line? That's Jad and his men.' Koja squinted, barely able to see the line Yamun indicated. Years scanning the emptiness of the steppe had sharpened the khahan's eyesight far beyond Koja's.
'Goyuk's men are across the valley, near those trees,' Yamun continued as he swept his hand across the plain, stopping on a wooded slope.
'If you say so, Khahan,' Koja responded, unable to see any sign of troops there. 'But, you are here and Manass is far away. I do not understand how you plan to conquer the city by fleeing from it.'
'Manass will come here, if all goes as planned,' the khahan murmured, his head sank to his chest. Lifting his chin, he continued in a stronger voice, 'We will bring Manass here, historian.'
'How?'
'You told me how the lord of Manass acted. He calls us bandits,' Yamun answered, turning away from the plain. 'So I act like a bandit.' He looked at Koja. The lama's expression showed he was still confused.
'Yesterday I attacked and lost-on purpose.' Yamun held up his hand, stopping the startled outburst Koja was about to make. 'Not many men died. Their orders were to make it look good and then flee. This morning I left one troop near Manass, to lure the garrison out, make them pursue. I just hope Shahin Khan can do the task. If Chanar were here, I know they'd follow. There's nobody better for baiting the enemy.' He gave the lama a wan smile.
'But why should the garrison leave the city walls?' Koja asked. He shrugged the oversized armor back into place.
'Their commander is foolish. Yesterday, when Shahin retreated, the Khazari left their walls and chased our men. They did not have to, so last night I made a feint. My 'bandits' attacked Manass and failed.' Yamun pointed toward the ridge. 'This morning the Khazari see a retreating enemy. They will chase Shahin, hoping to destroy him.' Yamun stopped and look off his helmet. Sweat ran down the back of his neck. 'If that's not enough, Shahin has orders to burn whatever he comes across near the city, 'That will force the lord of Manass to come out. He must protect his herds and his people.' Yamun wiped the sweat from his forehead. 'He would be disgraced if he hid behind walls of stone. From what I've seen, he'll want to fight. After all, we're only bandits.' Yamun set his helmet firmly back in place.
'And then?' probed Koja.
'Then Shahin lures the Khazari here,' Yamun stated calmly. 'Shahin will ride past us, and we will stay hidden. On the signal, my men strike the Khazari on the flank while Jad and Goyuk close in from behind.'
'And if no one chases Shahin?' Koja asked.
'Then I've guessed wrong about the lord of Manass,' Yamun answered. 'He would be wise to stay home, but he will come.' The khahan scanned the horizon as he spoke.
