Conn Iggulden - Empire of Silver

'What do you want, Temuge?' she snapped. 'I have a thousand things to do this morning.'

It was not a time for words, but he spoke to cover the moment as he reached for the knife under his deel robe.

'My brother Genghis would not want a woman to rule his lands,' he said.

She stiffened and he brought out the blade. Torogene gasped and took a step away, already panicking. Sorhatani's eyes widened in shock. Temuge grabbed her with his left hand and drew back his arm to drive the dagger into her chest.

He felt his arm gripped with such strength that he stumbled and cried out. Yao Shu held him and the man's eyes were cold with disdain. Temuge yanked at his arm, but he could not free himself. Panic spread through his chest, making his heart flutter.

'No,' he said. Spittle had gathered in two white specks at the corner of his mouth. He could not understand what was happening.

'You were right after all, Yao Shu,' Sorhatani said. She did not look at Temuge, as if he had ceased to matter at all. 'I'm sorry to have doubted you. I just never thought he would truly be so stupid.'

Yao Shu tightened his grip and the dagger fell with a clatter on the stone floor.

'He has always been a weak man,' he replied. He shook Temuge suddenly, making him cry out in fear and astonishment. 'What do you want done with him?'

Sorhatani hesitated and Temuge struggled to find his wits.

'I am the last brother of Genghis,' he said. 'And what are you? Who are you to sit in judgement of me? A Chin monk and two women. You have no right to judge me.'

'He is no threat,' Yao Shu went on, as if Temuge had not spoken. 'You could banish him from the khanate, send him far away like any wanderer.'

'Yes, send him far away,' Torogene said. She was shaking, Temuge saw.

Temuge felt Sorhatani's gaze on him and he took a long, slow breath, knowing his life hung in her hands.

'No, Torogene,' she said at last. 'Such a thing should be punished. He would not have shown mercy to us.'

She waited while Temuge swore and struggled, allowing Torogene the decision. Torogene shook her head and walked away, her eyes brimming.

'Give him over to Alkhun,' Sorhatani said.

Temuge shouted for help, suddenly desperate as he writhed against the grip that kept him helpless as a child.

'I was there when we found you in the forests, monk!' he spat. 'It was I who brought you back to Genghis. How can you let my nephew's whore rule over you?'

'Tell Alkhun to make it quick,' Sorhatani said. 'I can do that much for him.'

Yao Shu nodded and she walked away, leaving the pair alone. Temuge crumpled as he heard footsteps approach and saw Alkhun come out of the sunlight into the shadowed cloister.

'You heard it?' Yao Shu said.

The minghaan's eyes were furious as he took his own grip on Temuge's shoulders, feeling the thin bones of an old man through the cloth.

'I heard,' he said. He had a long knife in his hand.

'Damn you both,' Temuge said. 'Damn you both to hell.'

Temuge began to weep as he was dragged back into the sunshine. By the second day after the night attack, Bela's men had repaired the sandbag walls with broken carts and saddles from dead horses. His archers were on permanent alert, but they were already dry and gasping. There was barely enough water for a single swallow in the morning and evening for each man. The horses were suffering and Bela was desperate. He rested his chin on the rough canvas of a bag, staring out over the Mongol army that had camped nearby. They of course had access to the river and as much water as they could drink.

As he gazed out across the grassland, Bela struggled with despair. He no longer considered the reports from the north to be exaggerated. The Mongol general had far fewer men, but they had routed the superior force in a display of manoeuvre and tactics that made him burn. For the rest of that appalling first day, Bela had expected an all-out assault on the camp, but it had not come. He felt trapped there, crushed in among so many men and horses that they could hardly move. He could not understand why they had not come, unless they took some perverse pleasure in seeing a king die of thirst. They were not even threatening the camp and had moved back far beyond arrow range. Bela could just make out their movements in the distance. It gave a false sense of security to see them so far away. He knew from reports and his own bitter experience that they could move at incredible speed if they wanted.

Von Thuringen left a conversation with his knights to approach. The man had shed his armoured breastplate, revealing scarred arms and a quilted jerkin, stained and filthy. Bela could smell the sweat and blood on him still. The marshal's face was stern and Bela could hardly meet his eyes as Von Thuringen bowed stiffly.

'One of my men thinks he's found a way out of this,' Von Thuringen said.

King Bela blinked. He had been praying for salvation, but the answer to prayers seemed unlikely in the huge bearded man before him, still matted with someone else's blood.

'What is it?' Bela said, standing up and squaring his shoulders under the knight's scrutiny.

'Easier to show you, your majesty,' Von Thuringen replied.

Without another word, he turned and pushed his way through the mass of horses and men. Bela could only follow, his irritation growing.

It was not a long journey, though the king was buffeted among the men and barely avoided being knocked down as a horse reared. He followed Von Thuringen to another section of wall and looked in the direction the marshal pointed.

'See there, three of my men?' Von Thuringen said flatly.

King Bela peered over the wall and saw three knights who had removed their armour, yet still wore the tabards of yellow and back that marked their order. They were standing in full view of the sandbag walls, but Bela saw how the land dipped before rising to the Mongol camp. There was a ridge there that ran west. Hope leapt in him as he considered the possibilities.

'I couldn't risk horses in daylight, but in darkness, every man here could ride out below that ridge. With a bit of luck and if they keep their heads down, the Mongols will find an empty camp tomorrow morning.'

Bela bit his lip, suddenly terrified of leaving the fragile safety of the camp.

'There is no other way?' he asked.

Von Thuringen drew his brows together, so that his eyebrows met.

'Not without a supply of water. Not without a much larger camp and materials for the walls we need. We're crammed so tight in here, we'd be worse than useless if they attacked. Be thankful they haven't yet realised our weakness, your majesty. God has shown us the way, but it is your order to give.'

'Can we not defeat them in battle, Von Thuringen? Surely there is room to form up on the field?'

The marshal of the Teutonic Knights took a breath to control his anger. He was not the one who supposedly knew the lands around the Sajo river. His men could never have predicted a ford just a couple of miles downstream. The blame for the appalling losses was at the feet of the king, not his knights. It was all Von Thuringen could do to remain civil.

'Your majesty, my knights would follow you to death. The rest, well, they are frightened men. Take this chance and let us get away from this damned camp. I will find another place where we can take revenge on the goatherders. Forget the battle, your majesty. A campaign is not lost because of a single bad day.'

King Bela stood, working a ring on his hand round and round. Von Thuringen waited impatiently, but eventually the king nodded.

'Very well. As soon as it's dark enough, we go.'

Von Thuringen turned away, already issuing the orders to the men around him. He would organise the retreat, hoping that no Mongol scout wandered too close to the ridge that night. As soon as the sun set, Von Thuringen gave the order to leave the camp. The final hours had been spent wrapping cloth around hooves to silence them, though the ground was soft enough. The Teutonic Knights supervised the first men who crept out in darkness and began to walk their mounts beneath the ridge, their hearts pounding at the thought of a shout from the enemy. It did not come and they moved quickly. The knights were the last out of the camp, leaving it abandoned in the moonlight.