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The servant came back and ushered the lama in. The khahan was alone,
enjoying a late dinner of boiled horsemeat and curd porridge, chomping
noisily on the simple food. He looked up from his meal and nodded for Koja to
take a seat. Finishing the mouthful, Yamun wiped his face on the silken
sleeve of his robe, leaving a greasy swipe on the fine blue fabric. "Welcome,
priest. Will you eat?"
Koja nodded, although he wasn't hungry, especially not for the
unappetizing dishes set out in front of him. One small advantage of being in
Khazari was that he had found some proper food: roasted barley and
vegetables. Still, not wanting to insult the khahan, he gingerly took a scrap of
meat and a small bowl of the porridge. Chewing broadly, he made a great
show of eating. Neither man spoke during the meal.
Finally, Yamun slurped down the last drops of the porridge and then wiped
the bowl clean with his fingers. He set it aside and waited for the priest to
finish. Koja wasted no time in pushing away his own meal, barely touched.
"They've accepted my terms for peace," Yamun predicted, scratching at the
stubble of his thin beard.
"Mostly," corrected Koja. "They still have some reservations."
Yamun looked carefully at the priest. "Such as?" he asked, a steely edge in
his voice.
"Of course, they agree to surrender," Koja hurriedly explained, to avoid
provoking the khahan. "They are only ambassadors and will have to go back
and present your terms to Prince Ogandi. However, they find them generally
acceptable."
"What are their problems?" Yamun demanded, cutting through Koja's
stalling. He gulped a ladleful of kumiss and waited for Koja to get to the point.
"They want to negotiate the amount of tribute "
"Haggling?" Yamun shouted in astonishment. "I offer them peace or
destruction, and they want to haggle about the price?"
"I'm sure it's only a formality, Yamun," Koja interrupted, speaking as quickly
as he could.
The Illustrious Emperor of All People snorted in disgust. "You said there
were problems, not just one."
"The governor and his men are a problem, too. The ambassadors want to
know if you intend to keep these men as hostages. The demand for the Shou
envoys has them concerned." Koja rubbed his temples, trying to make his
rising headache go away.
"My intentions are clear. I'm going to kill them. It is this or total destruction.
Didn't you make this clear?" Yamun looked away in vexation.
"Naturally. I stressed it to them," Koja assured the squat warlord. "They are
confused."
"Why's that?" Yamun scratched his head, picking for a louse that had
crawled out of his hat.
Koja discreetly chose not to notice the khahan's preening. "Taking Khazari
hostages they understand, but they don't see why you want the men from
Shou Lung. They are afraid this will make the Shou emperor angry with them."
Yamun ignored the comment. He set aside his kumiss and asked, "Does
this governor have any use as a hostage?"
The priest thought for a minute. "I think he is a cousin of the prince."
"Good. What about the other man, the wizard who killed my men?"
Koja hesitated. He knew the man was no relation to Prince Ogandi, but if
he revealed that, Yamun would certainly condemn the dong chang to death.
That would make him, a priest of Furo, responsible for the murder. Still, if he
lied, the khahan would learn the truth sooner or later and would kill the man
anyway and Koja would be in trouble.
"He is not related to anyone I know of, Yamun," Koja finally replied.
"Then he must die. The jagun of the men executed in Manass will want
vengeance," explained the khahan. "It is known the wizard still lives. This is a
great shame for their jagun, and it will be worse if he is allowed to escape.
Therefore, the wizard will be turned over to them for punishment."
Koja cringed. He knew that the men of the jagun would not just kill the dong
chang, they would make the wizard's death prolonged and agonizing. The
only argument to save the wizard's life Koja could think of was that it was
wrong, but it wasn't wrong to Yamun. For him, it was the correct thing to do.
"What of the governor?" the lama asked weakly. "Can I promise the
Khazari that he will live?"
"Only if they also turn over the wizard and the men of Shou," Yamun
stressed. "I'll keep the prince's cousin as hostage, but the others will die."
Koja pondered the offer, judging whether the Khazari would be likely to
accept it. It was clear from the meetings today that the Khazari were
frightened by the power and savagery of the khahan's men.
"I think they will accept that," the priest decided sadly. He felt unclean. He
had managed to save the life of one man, but only at the cost of the other
three.
Yamun suddenly yawned. "I am tired now, Koja, and so are you. It is time
to rest. Go now." With a nod, he dismissed the priest.
The audience over, Koja returned to his yurt and quickly went to bed.
Already tired, Yamun's yawn had seemed to drain him of his last energy
reserves. Ignoring the cold meal Hodj had laid out, Koja went straight to bed.
At first, exhausted though he was, the priest could not sleep. He kept
thinking of the day's events, particularly the wizard's fate. Koja felt responsible
for Yamun's decision. Fretting and guilt-ridden, he fell into an uneasy slumber.
A noise penetrated the gray fog enclosing the priest. It was the grinding
clink of stone against stone. He was outside, still dressed in his sleeping
robes. The wind was blowing, but he did not feel the cold.
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