'Be still, all. I want you to hear this. Hear my sister's request - and hear my answer. She would have me free Blade. Strike the golden collar from his neck! What think you of that?'
Murmurs of puzzlement. None of them knew what to think - the Khad not having yet told them.
The Khad raised his hand again. 'But wait. My sister tells me more, makes another request of me, her beloved brother. Would you hear it?'
Assent from the crowd. They knew what was expected.
The Khad, Blade admitted, was not a bad showman. He waited until the murmurs and whispering died away, then went on: 'Sadda wishes to marry this man Blade! After he is freed, of course, for no Mong princess can marry a slave. And what think you of that?'
Blade, watching for reaction from Rahstum and the dwarf, saw them glance swiftly at each other, then at him. Their blank faces told him nothing.
The tent was buzzing like a beehive. Everyone was darting glances at Blade and Sadda. He got the impression that some of the company were not too much surprised.
And now madness did flare in the Khad's eye. It glittered at Blade and the Khad's grin was that of a carrion ape.
'I will permit this marriage,' the Khad said. 'I will free you, Blade, of your collar. After the town of the Sea Catlis has been taken, and after you play a part in taking it. An important part, my friend, for I would have you in the foremost rank!'
Blade bowed and nodded. 'That is most generous of you, great Khad. I will try not to disappoint you.'
The Khad snarled and pointed to his sister. 'Just be sure that you do not disappoint her! I know you are a great warrior, Blade, or so I am constantly told. And I saw you defeat Cossa, so there may be some truth to it. But tomorrow we will see if your victory over my champion was a freak of luck.'
Rahstum, without looking at Blade, spoke up. 'A wise decision, great Lord. But I would have a favor also. I would have this Blade fight with me and my men, and in the foremost rank as you say. I will give him such a testing as he has never had.'
The Khad nodded shortly. 'So it shall be. And if the city surrenders, as I do not think they will do without a fight, then we will find yet another test for Blade. He who aspires to marry my dear sister must prove himself more than any ordinary man.'
The Khad meant that he should die. Blade was sure of it.
Sadda, taken by surprise, had been battling to restrain her anger. She leaned to the Khad and in a silky voice said, 'You forget something, my brother.'
The Khad glared. The madness was coming on fast.
He mimicked her tone. 'And what do I forget, my sister?'
'The ransom, my Lord. Surely it will come' one day, for the Caths think Blade a great man, and how shall you have the ransom if he is killed in battle?'
The Khad smashed his fist on his knee. 'Bah, sister! For one thing I do not think the ransom will ever catch up with us. For another, when I take this city, the way around the wall will be clear. I will scourge Cath, and plunder it, and leave nothing alive. Who needs ransom then? I will rule Cath! And a third thing, which your woman's brain has not enough of, is that ransom is for a slave, not a warrior and husband of my sister. If he marries you, I will be his brother-in-law, will I not? And who can sell his own brother-in-law!'
His logic, by Mong custom, was impeccable.
A warrior came hurriedly into the tent. He carried something in his hands. To Blade it looked like crumpled folds of parchment, dark parchment. Blood dripped from it into the richly hued rugs.
The Khad looked up and stared at the man. 'What now, man? And where is my courier? I had expected him back long before now.'
The warrior held out his hands and let the parchment unroll and dangle before him.
'The courier has returned, your greatness. This is he - what the Sea Caths sent back of him.'
It was the skin of a man, dripping blood still. The Sea Caths had sent their answer.
Khad Tambur stared for a long time at the remains of his courier. Blade, so fascinated that he forgot his own danger, watched the man who ruled all the Mongs.
The eye began to roll and show white. The bad teeth, were bared in a soundless snarl. The Khad's face twitched, contorted, and a froth of spittle appeared at the corners of his mouth. He twisted his decaying spine and clawed at his chest with both hands.
Blade knew, even before the Khad fell silently forward from his throne, that he was seeing the falling sickness. It was epilepsy. He had forgotten that the Khad was subject to fits.
Only Blade was surprised by the sudden convulsion. The others watched in silence as the Khad lay on the rug, foaming at the mouth, kicking and twitching and making horrible sounds. He picked up a corner of the rug and thrust it into his mouth and began chewing savagely.
Morpho gave Blade the tiniest wink as he hurried past to the Khad's aid. The dwarf carried a small round cylinder of wood, and passed so close to Blade that he could see the teeth marks in the wood.
Morpho deftly inserted the piece of wood into the Khad's foaming mouth. Four huge blacks came forward with a litter and the twitching figure was lifted on it and carried out.
Blade, thinking of the Sea Caths, hoped their sea moat was efficient. There would be no mercy for them now. Then he remembered that he would be in the foremost rank of attackers. He could not afford to waste sympathy on the Sea Caths. He had to think about himself.
Chapter Fourteen
