The King Beyond the Gate

18

Tenaka, Subodai and Renya had an hour's start on the tribesmen, but this was gradually whittled back for, despite the strength of the Drenai mounts, Tenaka's horse now carried double. At the top of a dusty hill Tenaka shaded his eyes with his hand and tried to count the riders giving chase, but it was not easy for a swirling dust-cloud rose up around them.

'I would say a dozen, no more,' said Tenaka at last.

Subodai shrugged. 'Could be a lot less,' he said.

Tenaka remounted, casting about for a likely ambush site. He led them up into the hills to a low outcropping of rock which jutted over the trail like an outstretched fist. Here the trail curved to the left. Tenaka stood up in the saddle and leapt to the rock. Startled, Subodai slid forward and took up the reins.

'Ride forward to that dark hill, then slowly circle until you come back here,' Tenaka told him.

'What are you going to do?' asked Renya.

'I'm going to get a pony for my bondsman,' said Tenaka, grinning.

'Come woman!' snapped Subodai and cantered off in the lead. Renya and Tenaka exchanged glances.

'I don't think I shall enjoy being the docile woman of the Steppes,' she whispered.

'I said as much,' he reminded her with a smile.

She nodded and heeled her horse after Subodai.

Tenaka lay flat on the rock, watching the horsemen approach; they were some eight minutes behind Subodai. At close range Tenaka studied the riders; there were nine of them, wearing the goatskin-hide jerkins of the Steppes rider and rounded leather helms fringed with fur. Their faces were flat and sallow, their eyes black as night and coldly cruel. Each carried a lance, and swords and knives were strapped to their belts. Tenaka watched them come, waiting for the back marker.

They thundered up the narrow trail, slowing as they came to the curve by the rock. As they passed Tenaka slid out, drawing up his legs under him; then, as the last rider cantered below him, he dropped like a stone to hammer his booted feet into the man's face. He catapulted from the saddle. Tenaka hit the ground, rolled, came upright and lunged for the pony's rein. The beast stood still, nostrils quivering with shock. Tenaka patted him gently and then led him to the fallen warrior. The man was dead and Tenaka stripped off his jerkin, pulling it over his own. Then he took the man's helm and lance and, vaulting to the saddle, set off after the others.

The trail wound on, veering left and right, and the riders became less bunched. Tenaka cantered close to the man in front, just before another bend.

'Hola!' he called. 'Wait!' The man drew back on the reins as his comrades moved out of sight.

'What is it?' enquired the rider. Tenaka drew up alongside him, pointing up in the air. As the man glanced up, so Tenaka's fist thudded into his neck and without a sound he fell from the saddle. Up ahead came the sound of triumphant yells. Tenaka cursed and heeled his mount into a gallop, rounding the bend to see Subodai and Renya facing the seven riders, swords in hand.

Tenaka hit their line like a thunderbolt, his lance punching a rider from the saddle. Then his sword was out and a second man fell screaming.

Subodai bellowed a war-cry and kicked his mount forward; blocking a wild cut, he swept down his sword, cleaving his opponent's collar-bone. The man grunted, but he was game and attacked once more. Subodai ducked as the tribesman's sword slashed through the air, then gutted the man expertly.

Two of the riders now charged at Renya, determined to gain some spoils. However, they were met by a feral snarl as she leapt from the saddle at the first, bearing man and pony to the ground. Her dagger sliced his throat so fast that he felt no pain and could not understand his growing weakness. Renya came up quickly, letting forth the blood-curdling shriek that had terrified the outlaws back in Drenai. The ponies reared in terror and her nearest opponent dropped his lance and grabbed the reins with both hands. Renya leapt, hammering a fist to his temple; he flew from the saddle, struggling to rise, then slumped to the ground unconscious.

The remaining two tribesmen disengaged and raced from the battleground as Subodai cantered to Tenaka.

'Your woman. .' he whispered, tapping his temple. 'She is crazy as a moon-dog!'

'I like them crazy,' said Tenaka.

'You move well, Bladedancer! You are more Nadir than Drenai, I think.'

'There are those who would not see that as a compliment.'

'Fools! I have no time for fools. How many of these horses do I keep?' asked the Nadir, scanning the six ponies.

'All of them,' said Tenaka.

'Why so generous?'

'It stops me having to kill you,' Tenaka told him. The words moved through Subodai like ice knives but he forced a grin and returned the cool stare of Tenaka's violet eyes. In them Subodai saw knowledge, and it frightened him. Tenaka knew of his plan to rob and kill him — as sure as goats grew horns, he knew.

Subodai shrugged. 'I would have waited until after my bond was completed,' he said.

'I know that. Come, let us ride.'

Subodai shuddered; the man was not human. He gazed at the ponies — still, human or not, he was growing rich in Tenaka's presence.

For four days they moved north, skirting villages and communities, but on the fifth day their food ran out and they rode into a village of tents nestling by a mountain river. The community was a small one, no more than forty men. Originally they had been of the Doublehair tribe far to the north-east, but a split had developed and now they were Notas — 'No Tribe,' and fair game for all. They greeted the travellers with care, not knowing if they were part of a larger group. Tenaka could see their minds working — the Nadir law of hospitality meant that no harm could come to visitors while they stayed in your camp. But once out on the Steppes. .

'Are you far from your people?' asked the Notas leader, a burly warrior with a scarred face.

'I am never far from my people,' Tenaka answered him, accepting a bowl of raisins and some dried fruit.

'Your man is a Spear,' said the leader.

'We were pursued by Pack-rats,' answered Tenaka. 'We slew them and took their ponies. It is a sad thing for Nadir to kill Nadir.'

'But it is the way of the world,' commented the leader.

'Not in Ulric's day.'

'Ulric is long dead.'

'Some say he will rise again,' observed Tenaka.

'Men will always say that about kings of greatness. Ulric is forgotten meat and dusty bones.'

'Who leads the Wolves?' asked Tenaka.

'Are you Wolfshead then?'

'I am what I am. Who leads the Wolves?'

'You are Bladedancer.'

'Indeed I am.'

'Why have you come back to the Steppes?'

'Why does the salmon swim upstream?'

'To die,' said the leader, smiling for the first time.

'All things die,' observed Tenaka. 'Once the desert in which we sit was an ocean. Even the ocean died when the world fell. Who leads the Wolves?'

'Saddleskull is the Khan. So he says. But Knifespeaks has an army of eight thousand. The tribe has split.'

'So, now it is not only Nadir who kills Nadir, but Wolf who rends Wolf?'

'The way of the world,' said the leader once more.

'Which is the nearest?'

'Saddleskull. Two days north-east.'

'I will rest here with you tonight. Tomorrow I will go to him.'

'He will kill you, Bladedancer!'

'I am a hard man to kill. Tell that to your young men.'

'I hear you.' The leader rose to leave the tent but stopped at the flap. 'Have you come home to rule?'

'I have come home.'

'I am tired of being Notas,' said the man.

'My journey is perilous,' Tenaka told him. 'As you say, Saddleskull would desire my death. You have few men.'

'In the coming war we will be destroyed by one or other faction,' said the man. 'But you — you have the look of eagles about you. I will follow you, if you desire it.'

A sense of calm settled over Tenaka. An inner peace seemed to pulse from the very earth at his feet, from the distant blue mountains, to whisper in the long grass of the Steppes. He closed his eyes and opened his ears to the music of silence. Every nerve in his body seemed on edge as the land cried out to him.

Home!

After forty years Tenaka Khan had learned the meaning of the word.

His eyes opened. The leader stood very still, watching him; he had seen men in a state of trance many times, and always it brought a sense of awe, and a feeling of sadness that he could never experience this himself.

Tenaka smiled. 'Follow me,' he told the man, 'and I will give you the world.'

'Are we to be wolves?'

'No. We are the Nadir Rising. We are the Dragon.'

At dawn the forty men of the Notas, less the three outriding sentries, sat in two lines outside Tenaka's tent. Behind them were the children: eighteen boys and three girls. Lastly sat the women, fifty-two of them.

Subodai stood apart from the group, baffled by this new turn of events. There was no point to it. Who would wish to start a new tribe at the dawn of a civil war? And what could Tenaka possibly gain from this shoddy band of goat-breeders? It was all beyond the Spear warrior; he wandered into an empty tent and helped himself to some soft cheese and a loaf of gritty black bread.

What did it matter?

When the sun was high he would ask Tenaka to release him from his bond, take his six ponies and ride home. Four ponies would buy him a fine wife and he would relax for a while in the western hills. He scratched his chin, wondering what would happen to Tenaka Khan.

Subodai felt strangely uncomfortable at the thought of riding away. Few were the moments of original interest in the harsh world of the Steppes. Fight, love, breed, eat. There was a limit to the amount of excitement these four activities could generate! Subodai was thirty-four years old and he had left the Spears for a reason none of his peers could understand:

He was bored!

He moved out into the sunlight. Goats were milling at the edge of the camp-site near the pony picket line, and high above a sparrowhawk circled and dived.

Tenaka Khan stepped out into the sunlight and stood before the Notas — arms folded across his chest, face impassive.

The leader walked towards him, dropped to his knees, bent low and kissed Tenaka's feet. One by one every member of the Notas followed him.

Renya watched the scene from within the tent. The whole ceremony disturbed her, as did the subtle change she sensed in her lover.

The previous night, as they lay together under fur rugs, Tenaka had made love to her.lt was then that the first tiny sparks of fear had flashed in her subconscious. The passion remained, the thrill of the touch and the breathless excitement. But Renya sensed a newness in Tenaka which she could not read. Somewhere inside him one gate had opened and another closed. Love had been locked away. But what had replaced it?

Now she gazed at the man she loved as the ceremony continued. She could not see his face, but she could see the faces of his new followers: they shone.

When the last of the women backed away, Tenaka Khan turned without a word and re-entered the tent. Then the sparks within Renya became a fire, for his face reflected what he had become. He was no longer the warrior of two worlds. His Drenai blood had been sucked from him by the Steppes and what was left was pure Nadir.

Renya looked away.

By midday the tribesmen had seen their women dismantle the tents and pack them on wagons. The goats were rounded up and the new tribe headed north-east. Subodai had not requested to be free of his bond and he rode beside Tenaka and the Notas leader, Gitasi.

That night they camped on the southern slopes of a range of wooded hills. Towards midnight as Gitasi and Tenaka talked by a camp-fire, the pounding of hooves sent tribesmen rolling from their blankets to grab at swords and bows. Tenaka remained where he was, seated cross-legged by the fire. He whispered something to Gitasi and the scarred leader ran to his men, calming them. The hoofbeats grew louder and more than a hundred warriors rode into the camp, bearing down on the fire. Tenaka ignored them, calmly chewing on a strip of dried meat.

The horsemen dragged on their reins. 'You are in the land of the Wolfshead,' said the lead warrior, sliding from the saddle. He wore a helm of bronze, rimmed with fur, and a lacquered black breastplate edged with gold.

Tenaka Khan looked up at him. The man was close to fifty years old and his massive arms were criss-crossed with scars. Tenaka gestured to a place by the fire.

'Welcome to my camp,' he said softly. 'Sit and eat.'

'I do not eat with Notas,' said the man. 'You are on Wolfshead land.'

'Sit down and eat,' said Tenaka, 'or I shall kill you where you stand.'

'Are you a madman?' asked the warrior, taking a firmer grip on the sword in his hand. Tenaka Khan ignored him and, furious, the man swung the sword. But Tenaka's leg shot out, hooking his feet from under him, and he fell with a crash as Tenaka rolled to his right with his knife flashing in his hand. The point rested gently on the warrior's throat.

An angry roar went up from the riders.

'Be silent among your betters!' bellowed Tenaka. 'Now, Ingis, will you sit and eat?'

Ingis blinked as the knife was withdrawn. He sat up and recovered his sword.

'Bladedancer?'

'Tell your men to dismount and relax,' said Tenaka. 'There will be no bloodshed tonight.'

'Why are you here, man? It is insane.'

'Where else should I be?'

Ingis shook his head and ordered his men to dismount, then turned back to Tenaka.

'Saddleskull will be confused. He will not know whether to kill you or make you a general.'

'Saddleskull was always confused,' said Tenaka. 'It surprises me that you follow him.'

Ingis shrugged. 'He is a warrior, at least. Then you have not come back to follow him?'

'No.'

'I will have to kill you, Bladedancer. You are too powerful a man to have for an enemy.'

'I have not come to serve Knifespeaks.'

'Then why?'

'You tell me, Ingis.'

The warrior looked into Tenaka's eyes. 'Now I know you are insane. How can you hope to rule? Saddleskull has eighty thousand warriors. Knifespeaks is weak, with only six thousand. How many do you have?'

'All that you see.'

'How many is that? Fifty? Sixty?'

'Forty.'

'And you think to take the tribe?'

'Do I look insane? You knew me, Ingis; you watched me grow. Did I seem insane then?'

'No. You could have been. .' Ingis cursed and spat into the fire. 'But you went away. Became a Lord of the Drenai.'

'Have the shamen met yet?' asked Tenaka.

'No. Asta Khan has called a council for tomorrow at dusk.'

'Where?'

'At the tomb of Ulric.'

'I shall be there.'

Ingis leaned in closer. 'You don't seem to understand,' he whispered. 'It is my duty to kill you.'

'Why?' asked Tenaka calmly.

'Why? Because I serve Saddleskull. Even sitting here talking to you is an act of betrayal.'

'As you pointed out, Ingis, my force is very small. You betray no one. But think on this: you are pledged to follow the Khan of Wolves, yet he is not chosen until tomorrow.'

'I will not play with words, Tenaka. I pledged my support to Saddleskull against Knifespeaks. I will not go back on it.'

'Nor should you,' said Tenaka. 'You would be less a man. But I also am against Knifespeaks, which makes us allies.'

'No, no, no! You are against them both, which makes us enemies.'

'I am a man with a dream, Ingis — the dream of Ulric. These men with me were once Doublehair. Now they are mine. The burly one by the far tent is a Spear. Now he is mine. These forty represent three tribes. United, the world is ours. I am an enemy to no one. Not yet.'

'You always had a good brain and a fine sword-arm. Had I known you were coming, I might have waited before pledging my force.'

'You will see tomorrow. For tonight — eat and rest.'

'I cannot eat with you,' said Ingis, rising. 'But I will not kill you. Not tonight.' He strode to his pony and climbed into the saddle. His men ran to their mounts and with a wave Ingis led them out into the darkness.

Subodai and Gitasi ran to the fire, where Tenaka Khan was quietly finishing his supper.

'Why?' asked Subodai. 'Why did they not kill us?'

Tenaka grinned, then yawned theatrically. 'I am tired. I will sleep now.'

Out in the valley beyond, Ingis was being asked the same question by his son, Sember.

'I cannot explain it,' said Ingis. 'You would not understand.'

'Make me understand! He is a half-blood with a rag-tag following of Notas scum. And he did not even ask you to follow him.'

'Congratulations, Sember! Most of the time you cannot grasp the simplest subtlety, but on this occasion you surpass yourself.'

'What does that mean?'

'It is simple. You have stumbled on the very reasons why I did not kill him. Here is a man with no chance of success, faced by a warlord with twenty thousand warriors under his banner. Yet he did not ask for my help. Ask yourself why.'

'Because he is a fool.'

'There are times, Sember, when I could believe your mother had a secret lover. Looking at you makes me wonder if it was one of my goats.'