David Gemmell - The King Beyond the Gate

'Then why are you here?'

'The Khan ordered it.'

'So now you are his dog. Sit, stay, sleep outside the tent!'

'Yes, I am his dog. I am proud to be his dog. Better the hound of a king than a king among jackals.'

'Why?' asked Renya.

'What do you mean, why? Is it not obvious? What is life but a betrayal? We start out young, full of hope. The sun is good, the world awaits us. But every passing year shows how small you are, how insignificant against the power of the seasons. Then you age. Your strength fails and the world laughs at you through the jeers of younger men. And you die. Alone. Unfulfilled. But sometimes. . sometimes there will come a man who is not insignificant. He can change the world, rob the seasons of their power. He is the sun.'

'And you think Tenaka is such a man?'

'Think?' said Subodai. 'What do I know of think? A few days ago he was Bladedancer. Alone. Then he took me. A Spear. Then Gitasi. Then Ingis. Then the nation. You understand? There is nothing he cannot do. Nothing!'

'He cannot save his friends.'

'Foolish woman. Still you do not see.'

Renya ignored him and walked away towards the centre of the camp. He followed her discreetly, keeping some ten paces behind. This was no hardship, for it allowed him to gaze at her with undisguised pleasure. His dark eyes lingered on her long legs and the subtle swing of her hips. Gods, what a woman! So young and strong. Such animal grace.

He began to whistle, but the sound died in an instant as he saw the tent of the Khan. There were no guards. He ran forward to Renya, pulling her to stop.

'Don't touch me,' she hissed.

'Something is wrong,' he said.

Her head came up,her nostrils catching the scents of the night. But the stench of the Nadir was all around her and she could detect nothing.

Dark shadows moved towards the tent.

'Assassins!' yelled Subodai, dragging clear his sword and running forward; the dark shapes converged on him. Tenaka Khan opened the flap of his tent, sword in hand, to see Subodai hacking and slashing his way forward. Tenaka watched him stumble and go down under the swinging blades.

He stepped out to meet the killers.

An eerie howl echoed through the camp and the assassins slowed in their advance.

Then the demon was upon them. A back-handed blow sent a man ten feet through the air. A second fell as her taloned hand opened his throat. Her speed was awesome. Tenaka ran forward, parried a thrust from a squat warrior, and slid his own blade between the man's ribs.

Ingis raced in with forty warriors and the assassins lowered their weapons, standing sullen-eyed before the Khan.

Tenaka cleaned his sword and then sheathed it.

'Find out who sent them,' he told Ingis, then strode to where Subodai lay. The man's left arm was gushing blood and there was a deep wound in his side above the hip.

Tenaka bound the arm. 'You'll live!' he said. 'But I am surprised at you, allowing yourself to be overcome by a few night-stalkers.'

'Slipped on some mud,' muttered Subodai defensively.

Two men came forward to carry the injured warrior to Tenaka's tent. The Khan stood up and looked for Renya, but she was nowhere to be seen. He questioned the warriors nearby and two of them claimed to have seen her running towards the west. Tenaka called for his horse.

Ingis approached him. 'It is not safe to go after her alone.'

'No. Yet I must do it.'

He climbed into the saddle and galloped through the camp. It was too dark to see a trail, but he rode on and out on to the Steppes. There was no sign of her.

Several times he slowed his horse and called out, but there was no response. Finally he stopped his mount and sat quietly staring at the land around him. Ahead to the left was a small grove of trees, screened by thick bushes. He turned his horse's head and cantered towards them, but suddenly the horse pulled up, whinnying in fear. Tenaka calmed the beast, stroking its neck and whispering soft words into its ear, but he could not make it move forward. He dismounted and drew his sword.

Logic told him that whatever was in the bushes could not be Renya, for the horse knew her. Yet something other than logic prevailed in his mind.

'Renya!' he called. The sound that greeted his call was like nothing he had ever heard: a keening, sibilant wail. He sheathed his sword and walked slowly forward.

'Renya! It is Tenaka.'

The bushes exploded outwards and her body hit him with immense force, hurling him from his feet to land on his back. One of her hands was locked about his throat; the other hovered above his eyes, the fingers curved into talons. He lay still, staring into her tawny eyes. The pupils had become slits, long and oval. Slowly he lifted his hand to hers. The feral gleam died in her eyes and the grip on his throat loosened. Then her eyes closed and she slumped forward into his arms. Gently he rolled her on to her back.

The sound of hooves on the Steppes caused him to push himself upright. Ingis galloped into sight, his forty warriors behind him, and leapt from the saddle. 'Is she dead?'

'No, sleeping. What news?'

'The dogs would say nothing. I killed all but one and he is being questioned now.'

'Good! And Subodai?'

'A lucky man. He will heal swiftly.'

'Then all is well,' said Tenaka. 'Now help me get my woman home.'

'All is well?' echoed Ingis. 'There is a traitor at large and we must find him.'

'He failed, Ingis. He will be dead by morning.'

'How can you be sure?'

'Wait and see.'

Tenaka saw Renya safely installed in his tent before accompanying Ingis to the place where the assassin was being questioned. The man had been tied to a tree and his fingers had been broken, one at a time. Now a fire was being prepared beneath his feet. Tenaka walked forward and stopped the torturers.

'Your master is dead,' he told the man. 'There is no further need of this. How do you wish to die?'

'I don't care.'

'Do you have family?'

'They know nothing of this,' said the man, fear in his eyes.

'Look in my eyes, man, and believe me. I shall not harm your family. Your master is dead and you have failed. It is punishment enough. All I want to know is: why?'

'I am pledged to obey,' said the man.

'You were pledged to me.'

'Not so. Only my warlord — he was pledged to you, but I broke no oath. How did he die?'

Tenaka shrugged. 'Would you like to see the body?'

'I would like to die beside it,' said the man. 'I will follow him even in death, for he was good to me.'

'Very well.' Tenaka cut the man loose. 'Do you need to be carried?'

'I can walk, damn you!' spat the man. Followed by Tenaka, Ingis and the forty warriors, he led them through the camp until he reached the tent of Murapi where two guards stood at the entrance.

'I have come to see the body,' said the man. The guards gazed at him nonplussed and realisation hit him like a blow.

He spun to face Tenaka. 'What have you done to me?' he shouted.

The tent-flap opened and Murapi stood forth. He was past middle age and stockily built. He smiled thinly.

'Of all men,' he said calmly, 'I did not think you could break this one. Life is full of such surprises!'

The man fell to his knees. 'I was tricked, Lord,' he sobbed.

'It doesn't matter, Nagati. We will speak of it on the journey.'

Tenaka stepped forward. 'You broke a life-oath, Murapi. Why?'

'It was a gamble, Tenaka,' replied the man evenly. 'If you are right the gates of Dros Delnoch will be open to us, and the entire Drenai empire with it. But you merely wish to rescue your Drenai friends. It was just a gamble.'

'You know the price of failure?'

'Indeed I do. Will I be allowed to kill myself?'

'Yes.'

'Then you will not harm my family?'