Lords of the Bow

CHAPTER 13

T HE TWO CARTS RUMBLED ON over the stone streets until they reached a pair of solid iron gates that opened as soon as they drew up. It took a matter of moments for the carts to enter and the gates to close behind them. Temuge looked back and bit his lip as he saw wooden shutters being unfolded over the bars, blocking the view of passersby.

After the noise and press of humanity, it would have been a relief if not for the sense of being confined. The city had left him dazed and overwhelmed in its complexity. Yet even as it excited him, it pressed too close on his senses and made him long for the empty plains, just to take a breath before plunging back in once more. He shook his head to clear it, knowing he needed a sharp mind for whatever would come.

The carts creaked and jerked as the men jumped off, Chen Yi calling orders to those around him. Temuge climbed down to join Khasar, his earlier nervousness returning in full force. Chen Yi hardly seemed to notice his passengers as a crowd of men came trotting out from the buildings, each pair carrying a roll of silk on their shoulders. It did not take long for the precious cargo to vanish into the house, and Temuge wondered again at the spiderweb of contacts Chen Yi seemed to have in the city.

The home that enclosed the paved courtyard was surely the property of a wealthy man, Temuge thought. It was out of keeping with the shamble of housing they had passed through, though perhaps there were others as well hidden. A single story with a red-tiled roof extended on all sides around him, though the section facing the gate rose in pointed apexes to a second level. Temuge could only blink at the labor that must have gone into so many hundreds or even thousands of tiles. He could not help but compare the building to the felt and wicker gers he had known all his life and felt a touch of envy. What luxury had his people ever known on the plains?

On all sides, the roof extended past the walls, held up with columns of red-painted wood to form a long cloister. Armed men stood at the corners and Temuge began to realize they were prisoners to Chen Yi's will. There was no easy escape from that place.

When the carts had been emptied, the drivers moved them away and Temuge was left standing with Ho Sa and Khasar, feeling vulnerable under the gaze of strangers. He noticed Khasar had his hand inside the roll of cloth that wrapped his bow.

"We cannot fight our way out," he hissed at Khasar, who jumped as his thoughts were echoed.

"I don't see anyone opening the gates to let us go," Khasar whispered back.

Chen Yi had vanished inside the house and all three men were relieved to see him return. He had put on a long-sleeved black robe as well as donning leather sandals. Temuge saw the little man wore a curved sword on his hip and seemed comfortable with the weight of it.

"This is my jia: my home," Chen Yi said, to Temuge's private astonishment. "You are welcome here. Will you eat with me?"

"We have business in the city," Ho Sa said, gesturing toward the gate. Chen Yi frowned. There was no trace of the affable riverboat master in his manner. He seemed to have shed the role completely and stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his face stern.

"I must insist. We have many things to discuss." Without waiting for them to reply, he strode back into the house and they followed him. Temuge cast a lingering look over his shoulder at the gate as he walked into the shadow of the cloister. He repressed a shudder at the thought of the sheer weight of the tiles above his head. Ho Sa did not seem troubled in the least, but Temuge could imagine the massive beams crashing down, crushing them all. He repeated one of Kokchu's chants under his breath, seeking calm that would not come.

The entrance to the main house was through a wooden door layered in polished bronze, punctured many times in decorative patterns. Temuge saw the shapes of bats etched into the metal and wondered at their significance. Before he could comment, he entered a room as ornate as anything he had ever seen. Khasar dropped the cold face over his features rather than look surprised, but Temuge opened his mouth at the opulence of Chen Yi's home. For men born in gers, it was astonishing. The air smelled of some strange incense and yet was subtly stale for men who had grown in wind and mountains. Temuge could not help but glance upwards at intervals, constantly aware of the massive weight above his head. Khasar too seemed uncomfortable and cracked his knuckles in the silence.

Couches and chairs stood against screens of ebony and painted silk that allowed light in from other rooms beyond. At first glance, everything seemed made of rich wood in matching colors, pleasing to the eye. Columns of highly polished timber ran the length of the room, reaching up to crossbeams. The floor too was made of thousands of segments, polished so that it almost glowed. After the filth of the city streets, the room was clean and welcoming, the golden wood making it seem warm. Temuge saw that Chen Yi had exchanged his sandals for a pair of clean ones at the door. Flushing, Temuge returned to do the same. As he stepped out of his boots, a servant approached, kneeling before him to help him don a clean set in white felt.

Temuge saw lines of unbroken white smoke rising from brass dishes at a carved table on the far wall. He did not understand what could merit such a symbol of devotion, but Chen Yi bowed his head to the little altar and murmured a prayer of thanks for his safe return.

"You live with great beauty," Temuge said carefully, striving for the right sounds. Chen Yi inclined his head in the gesture they knew, one habit that had survived the transformation.

"You are generous," he said. "I think sometimes that I was happier as a young man, running goods on the Yellow River. I had nothing then, but life was simpler."

"What are you now, to have such wealth?" Ho Sa asked.

Chen Yi nodded to him rather than reply. "You will wish to bathe before you eat," he said. "The smell of the river is on us all." He gestured for them to follow and they exchanged glances as he led them through into another courtyard beyond the first. Both Temuge and Khasar straightened a fraction as they passed out into the sunshine and left the heavy beams behind. Water could be heard there and Khasar walked up to a pool where sluggish fish stirred at his shadow. Chen Yi had not noticed him stop, but when he looked back and saw Khasar begin to strip, he laughed delightedly.

"You will kill my fish!" he said. "Come further, where I have baths for you."

Khasar shrugged irritably, yanking his robe back over his shoulders. He trailed after Temuge and Ho Sa, ignoring the amusement of the Xi Xia soldier.

At the far end of the second courtyard, they saw open doors with wisps of steam spilling out into the warm air. Chen Yi gestured for them to enter.

"Do as I do," he said. "You will enjoy yourselves."

He stripped quickly, revealing the scarred and wiry little frame they knew so well from the boat. Temuge saw two pools of water sunk into the floor, with steam rising lazily from one. He would have made for it, but Chen Yi shook his head and instead Temuge watched as two male slaves approached and Chen Yi raised his arms. To Temuge's astonishment, the men upended buckets of water over their master, then used cloths wrapped around their hands to rub him with some lathering substance until he was slick and white with it. More buckets followed and only then did he step into the pool with a grunt of pleasure.

Temuge swallowed nervously as he dropped his robe to the floor. It was as filthy as he was and he did not relish the idea of being scrubbed by strangers. He closed his eyes as the buckets were poured over his head, then kept them firmly closed as rough hands seemed to pummel his body, swaying him from side to side. The last buckets were freezing and he gasped.

Temuge stepped gingerly into the hot water. He felt the muscles in his back and thighs relax as he found a stone seat beneath the surface, and he grunted in appreciation. The feeling was exquisite. This was how a man should live! Behind him, Khasar slapped away the hands of the attendants as they reached out with their cloths. They stood frozen at his action, before one of them tried again. Without warning, Khasar snapped a fist into the side of the man's head, knocking him reeling onto the hard tiles.

Chen Yi roared with laughter. He called out an order and the slaves stood back. The one who had been felled rose warily, with his head bowed, as Khasar took up a cloth and wiped at his body until the rag was black. Temuge did not look as Khasar raised a leg onto a stone ledge along the wall to rub his genitals clean. He finished the process by upending a bucket over his own head, all the time glaring at the man he had struck.

Khasar handed the bucket back and murmured something that made the slave tense and set his jaw. Ho Sa endured the process with less fuss and they entered the water together, Khasar swearing in two languages as he lowered himself in.

The four men sat in silence for a time, before Chen Yi rose and plunged into the other pool. They copied him in silent frustration, tired of the routines and delays. In the second pool, Khasar hissed out a breath at the cold, plunging his head under the water and coming up roaring as new energy filled him. Neither of the Mongols had ever known hot water, but a cold dip was no worse than the rivers at home. Temuge looked longingly back at the steaming bath he had left, but did not return to it.

By the time they had settled themselves, Chen Yi was out and being dried by the towel slaves. Khasar and Temuge did not linger and climbed out after him, Khasar blowing like a beached fish. The two slaves did not approach Khasar a second time, instead handing him a large, rough piece of cloth to dry himself. He did so vigorously, his skin showing a fresh bloom. He had removed the string that held his hair, and it whipped around in long black strands.

Temuge looked at the sorry pile of soiled cloth that was his robe and was reaching for it when Chen Yi clapped his hands and the attendants brought in fresh ones. There was pleasure in losing the stink of the boats, Temuge thought, running his hands over the soft material. He could only guess what Chen Yi had in mind for them as they walked back to eat.

The food was plentiful, though Khasar and Temuge looked in vain for mutton among the dishes.

"What is this?" Khasar asked, picking up a piece of white flesh in his fingers.

"Snake in ginger," Chen Yi replied. He pointed to another bowl. "You will know dog, I am sure."

Khasar nodded. "When times are hard," he replied, dipping his fingers into a soup to search for another morsel. Showing no sign of distaste, Chen Yi took up a pair of wooden sticks and showed the Mongols how to grasp a piece of food between them. Only Ho Sa was comfortable and Chen Yi grew slightly flushed as both Khasar and Temuge dropped pieces of meat and rice on the cloth. Once more he showed them, this time putting the pieces onto the plates in front of the Mongols so that they could pick them up with their fingers.

Khasar held his temper. He had been scrubbed, dipped, and given clothes that itched. He was surrounded by strange things he did not understand, and anger simmered underneath the surface. When he gave up on the strange sticks and shoved them upright into a bowl of rice, Chen Yi actually clucked under his breath, removing them with a sharp gesture.

"To leave them so is an insult," Chen Yi said, "though you could not have known."

Khasar found a plate of skewered crickets easier to handle, biting into the line of fried insects with evident pleasure.

"This is better," he said, his mouth working busily. Temuge was prepared to copy whatever Chen Yi did and dipped balls of fried dough into salt water before chewing them. When the crickets were all gone, Khasar reached for a pile of oranges, taking two. After spitting out a piece of skin, he peeled the first with his thumbs and relaxed visibly as he pulled the flesh apart and ate it. He and his brother waited for Chen Yi to speak, their impatience obvious and growing.

When they had all finished, Chen Yi eyed Khasar's efforts with the orange, then placed his chopsticks on the table and said nothing as his slaves removed all evidence of the meal. When they were alone again, he sat back on his couch. His eyes lost their hooded look and gained once more the sharpness of the river master they knew.

"Why have you come to Baotou?" he said to Temuge.

"Trade," Temuge replied immediately. "We are merchants."

Chen Yi shook his head. "Merchants do not carry a Mongol bow, nor shoot one as your brother does. You are of that people. Why would you be here in the lands of the emperor?"

Temuge swallowed painfully as he tried to think. Chen Yi had known for a long time and not given them away, but he could not bring himself to trust the man, especially after so much strangeness and confusion.

"We are of the tribes of the great khan, yes," he said. "But we have come to open trade between our people."

"I am a trader. Make your offers to me," Chen Yi replied. His face gave nothing away, but Temuge could sense the little man's fierce curiosity.

"Ho Sa asked who you were to have so much wealth," Temuge said slowly, choosing the words. "You have this house and slaves, but you took the role of a smuggler on the river, bribing guards and staging a diversion at the city gate. Who are you that we should trust you?"

Chen Yi's gaze was cold as he studied them. "I am a man who is uncomfortable at the thought of you blundering around his city. How long would it take for you to be captured by Imperial soldiers? How long after that before you told them everything you have seen?"

He waited while Temuge translated for his brother.

"Tell him if we are killed or kept as prisoners, Baotou will be burned to the ground," Khasar said, tearing the second orange in two and sucking out a ragged half. "Genghis will come for us next year. He knows where we are and this little man will see his precious house in flames. Tell him that."

"You would do well to be quiet, brother, if we are to get out of here with our lives."

"Let him speak," Chen Yi said. "How would my city be burned if you are killed?"

To Temuge's horror, Chen Yi spoke in the language of the tribes. His accent was rough, but clear enough. He froze as he considered all the conversations Chen Yi had overheard in the weeks it had taken to reach Baotou.

"How do you know our tongue?" he demanded, forgetting his fear for a moment.

Chen Yi laughed, a high-pitched sound that did nothing to settle the men at the table.

"Did you think you were the first to travel to Chin lands? The Uighurs have ridden the silk road. Some have stayed." He clapped his hands and another man came into the room. He was as clean as they were and dressed in a simple Chin robe, but his face was Mongol and the breadth of his shoulders showed one who had been raised with the bow. Ho Sa and Temuge remained seated, but Khasar rose to greet him, clasping his hand and beating him on the back with his fist. The stranger beamed at the welcome.

"It is good to see a real face in this city," Khasar said.

The man seemed almost overcome to hear the words. "And for me," he said, glancing at Chen Yi. "How are the plains? I have not been home for many years."

"They are the same," Khasar replied. A thought struck him and his hand dropped to where his sword would usually lie on his hip. "Is this man a slave?"

Chen Yi looked up without embarrassment. "Of course. Quishan was once a merchant, but he chose to gamble with me."

The man shrugged. "It is true. I will not be a slave forever. A few more years and my debt will be paid. Then I think I will return to the plains and find a wife."

"Find me first when you do. I will give you a new start," Khasar promised him.

Chen Yi watched as Quishan bowed his head. Khasar accepted the gesture as if it was nothing new to him, and Chen Yi's gaze became hard.

"Tell me again how my city will burn," he said.

Temuge opened his mouth, but Chen Yi held up a hand.

"No, I do not trust you. Your brother spoke the truth when he thought I could not understand. Let him tell it all."

Khasar shot a glance at Temuge, thoroughly enjoying his brother's frustration. He took a moment to choose his words. Perhaps Chen Yi would have them killed when he heard. He moved his hand to where he had hidden a small knife in the folds of his robe.

"We were once of the Wolves," Khasar said, at last, "but my brother has united the tribes. The kingdom of Xi Xia is our first vassal, though there will be more." Ho Sa shifted uncomfortably at the words, but neither man looked at him. Khasar sat like stone as he stared into Chen Yi's eyes. "Perhaps I will die here, tonight, but if I do, my people will come amongst the Chin and tear down your precious cities, one by one, stone from stone."

Chen Yi's face had grown tight as he listened. His command of the language was only what he had needed for trade, and he would have suggested a switch back to his own if it would not have looked like weakness.

"News travels fast on the river," he said, refusing to respond to Khasar's deadly intensity. "I had heard of the war in Xi Xia, though not that your people were triumphant. Is the king dead, then?"

"Not when I left," Khasar replied. "He paid tribute and a daughter. A beautiful girl, I thought."

"You have not answered my question, except with threats," Chen Yi reminded him. "Why would you come here, to my city?"

Khasar noticed the slight stress Chen Yi had put on "my." He did not have the subtlety to play with words, or spin a thread of lies Chen Yi would believe.

"We need masons," Khasar said. He heard Temuge let out a sharp breath at his shoulder and ignored him. "We need to know the secrets of your cities. The great khan himself has sent us. Baotou is just a place on a map with no great significance."

"It is my home," Chen Yi murmured, thinking.

"You can keep it," Khasar said, sensing the moment was right. "Baotou will not be touched if we bring back word of your help."

He waited for Chen Yi to finish his thoughts, sweat dripping down his face. One shout and the room would fill with armed men, he was certain. It was true Genghis would destroy the city in revenge, but Chen Yi could not be certain of that. For all he knew, they were boasting or lying.

It was Quishan who broke the silence. He had paled at what he heard and his voice was low with awe.

"The tribes are united?" he said. "The Uighurs among them?"

Khasar nodded, his gaze never leaving Chen Yi. "The blue tail is part of the great khan's standard. The Chin have held us down for a long time, but that is over. We ride to war, brother."

Chen Yi watched Quishan's face carefully, seeing how the news brought an expression of astonished hope.

"I will make a bargain with you," he said suddenly. "Whatever you need you will have, from my hand. You will bring the word back to your khan and tell him that there is a man here he can trust."

"What use is a smuggler to us?" Khasar responded. Temuge almost groaned as Khasar went on, "How can you bargain for the fate of a city?"

"If you fail, or if you lie, I have lost nothing. If you are telling the truth, you will need allies, will you not?" Chen Yi said. "I have power here."

"You would betray the Imperial court? Your own emperor?" Khasar said. He asked the question to test Chen Yi, and to his astonishment, the little man spat on the polished floor.

"This is my city. Everything that goes on here comes to my ears. I have no love for nobles who think all men can be run under their carts like animals. I have lost family and friends to their soldiers, seen loved ones hanged when they refused to give up my name. What do I care for them?"

He had risen as he spoke and Khasar stood to face him.

"My word is iron," Khasar said. "If I say you will have this city, it will be yours to rule when we come."

"You can speak for the khan?" Chen Yi said.

"He is my brother. I can speak for him," Khasar replied. Temuge and Ho Sa could only look on as the two men stared each other down.

"I knew you were a warrior on the boat," Chen Yi said. "You were a poor spy."

"I knew you were a thief, but a good one," Khasar replied. Chen Yi chuckled and they took each other's hands in a firm grip.

"I have many men who answer to me. I will give you what you need and I will see you safe back to your people," Chen Yi said. He sat, calling for wine as Temuge began to talk. He could not understand how the little man had come to trust Khasar, but it did not matter. They had their ally in Baotou.

As evening came, Khasar, Ho Sa, and Temuge accepted the offer of a few hours' sleep before a long night, retiring to rooms off the second courtyard. Chen Yi had never needed more than a few hours' rest since his days running from the soldiers in the alleyways of Baotou-lifetimes ago. He sat up with Quishan and two of his guards, and they talked in low voices as they moved counters of ivory on a mah-jongg board. Quishan was silent for a long time as he clicked the counters together in his hand. He had known Chen Yi for almost ten years and seen a ruthless desire for power come to bloom in that time. The little man had crushed three other leaders of Baotou's criminal gangs, and he had not exaggerated when he had told Khasar that little went on in the city without it reaching his ears.

Quishan discarded a tile and watched as Chen Yi's hand hovered over it. The man he had come to call a friend was clearly distracted from the game, his thoughts elsewhere. Quishan wondered if he should raise the stakes and clear a little more of his debt. He decided not to, remembering other games where Chen Yi had lulled him with exactly the same approach, then won consistently.

He watched as Chen Yi took a different tile and the game went round the table, with one of the guards calling "Pung" and making Quishan swear under his breath.

As the guard showed three matching tiles, Chen Yi put his hand down.

"No more tonight. You are getting better, Han, but your gate duty is upon us."

Both guards rose and bowed. They had been rescued from the worst street slums, and they were strong and loyal to the man who ruled the tong. Quishan stayed, sensing Chen Yi wanted to talk.

"You are thinking of the strangers," Quishan said as he gathered up the tiles on the table.

Chen Yi nodded, staring into the darkness through the screen doors. The evening was already cold and he wondered what the hours ahead would bring.

"They are strange people, Quishan. I have said that to you before. I took them on to guard my silk, when three of my men fell ill. Perhaps my ancestors were guiding me in that." He sighed and rubbed his eyes wearily. "Did you see the way Khasar took note of the positions of the guards? His eyes were always moving. I thought on the boat that I had never seen him relax, but you are the same. Perhaps all your people are."

Quishan shrugged. "Life is struggle, master. Is that not also what the Buddhists believe? On the plains of my home, the weak die early. It has always been that way."

"I have never seen anyone shoot a bow as well as that one. In near darkness, on a rocking boat, he killed six men without hesitation. Are all your people so skilled?"

Quishan busied his hands with the mah-jongg tiles, placing them back in their leather carrying case.

"I am not, but the Uighurs value learning and trade more than any other tribe. The Wolves are known for their ferocity." He paused, his hands growing still. "It is almost too much to believe that the tribes have united under one man, one khan. He must be extraordinary."

Quishan snapped the clasp closed on the leather box, leaning back. He wanted a drink to settle his stomach, but Chen Yi never allowed alcohol when the night needed clear heads.

"Will you welcome my people when they ride to the walls?" Quishan asked softly. He felt Chen Yi's gaze on him, but he did not look up from his folded hands.

"You think I betrayed my city?" Chen Yi asked him.

Quishan raised his gaze, seeing a dark anger in the man he had grown to trust over the years. "All this is new. Perhaps this new khan will be destroyed by the emperor's armies and those who called themselves allies will suffer the same fate. Have you considered that?"

Chen Yi snorted. "Of course, but I have lived too long with a foot on my neck, Quishan. This house, my slaves, all those who follow me are just what the emperor's ministers have missed through sloth and corruption. We are beneath their notice, like rats in their warehouses. At times, they send a man to make an example and he hangs a few hundred. Sometimes they even catch people who are valuable to me. Or loved by me." Chen Yi's face was like stone as he spoke and Quishan knew he was thinking of his son, no more than a boy when he had been caught in a trawl of the docks two years before. Chen Yi himself had taken the body down from where it swung in the river breeze.

"But a fire does not know who it burns," Quishan said. "You are inviting the flames into your home, your city. Who knows how it will end?"

Chen Yi was silent. He knew as well as Quishan that the three strangers could be made to vanish. There were always bodies in the Yellow River, naked and bloated as they floated by. The deaths would never come back to him. Yet something he had seen in Khasar had stirred a thirst for revenge Chen Yi had buried since the morning he had carried his son's limp weight.

"Let them come, these people of yours who use bows and horses. I judge them more by you than the promises of men I do not know. How long have you worked for me?"

"Nine years, master," Quishan said.

"And you have kept honor with me to pay your debt. How many times could you have escaped and gone back to your people?"

"Three times," Quishan admitted. "Three when I thought I would be able to run clear before you heard."

"I knew about them," Chen Yi replied. "I knew of the boat master who made the first offer. He was one of mine. You would not have gone far before he cut your throat."

Quishan frowned at this information. "You tested me, then."

"Of course. I am not a fool, Quishan. I never was. Let the flames come to Baotou. I will stand alive on the ashes when they are done. Let the Imperial officers burn their plumes in them and I will know contentment. I will know joy at last."

Chen Yi rose and stretched, his back clicking audibly in the silent rooms.

"You are a gambler, Quishan, it is why you have worked for me for so long. I have never been one. I have made this city my own, but still I must bow my head whenever I see one of the emperor's prancing favorites ride down the streets. My streets, Quishan, yet I bow and step into the filth of the gutters rather than stand in their path."

Chen Yi looked out into the darkness, his eyes dead in his face.

"I will stand now, Quishan, and the tiles will fall as they please."

GenghisLordsoftheBow