‘For what purpose?’ asked Kzun.
‘Who can read the minds of the gajin?’ said Nosta Khan. ‘They treat us like vermin, to be destroyed at their whim. I care nothing for their reasons, it is enough that they are coming.’
‘What do you advise, shaman?’ asked Lin-tse.
‘You must appoint a war leader, and resist them with all your might. The Shrine must not fall to the gajin.’
‘Stinking round-eyed vermin!’ hissed Kzun. ‘It is not enough that they hound us and kill us. Now they wish to desecrate our holy places. I will not suffer this. The question is, which of us should lead? I do not wish to sound arrogant, but I have fought in thirty-seven battles. I offer myself.’
‘Hear me,’ said Quing-chin softly. ‘I respect every leader here, and my words are not intended to cause insult. Of the men here in this tent only two could lead, myself and Lin-tse, for we were both trained by the gajin and we well know the ways of the siege. But one among us here is a man who understands the strategies of gajin warfare better than any other.’
‘Who is this . . . hero ?’ asked Bartsai. Quing-chin turned towards Lin-tse. ‘Once he was named Okai. Now he is called Talisman.’
‘And you believe this man can lead us to victory?’ put in Kzun. ‘Against a force twenty times our number?’
‘The Sky Riders will follow him,’ said Lin-tse suddenly.
‘As will the Fleet Ponies,’ added Quing-chin. ‘What tribe is this man from?’ Bartsai asked. ‘Wolfshead,’ Lin-tse told him. ‘Then let us go to him. I wish to see him myself before I commit my men to him,’ said Bartsai. ‘In the meantime I will send out riders, for there are many Curved Horn villages close by. We will need more fighters.’
Zhusai had endured a troubled night, with strange dreams filling her mind. Men were dragging her through a twisted landscape, chaining her in a dark, gloomy chamber. Names were screamed at her: ‘Witch! Whore!’ Blows struck her face and body.
She had opened her eyes, her heart hammering in panic. Jumping from her bed she had run to the window, throwing it open and breathing deeply of the cool night air. Too frightened to return to sleep, she had walked out into the open yard before the Shrine. Talisman and Gorkai were sitting there as she approached and Talisman rose. ‘Are you well, Zhusai?’ he asked, taking her arm. ‘You are very pale.’
‘I had a terrible dream but it is fading now.’ She smiled. ‘May I sit with you?’
‘Of course.’
The three of them had discussed the search for the Eyes of Alchazzar. Talisman had checked the Shrine Room thoroughly, scanning walls and floor for hidden compartments, but there were none. Together with Gorkai he had even lifted the stone coffin lid and examined the dried bones within. There was nothing to be found, save a lon-tsia of heavy silver bearing the heads of Oshikai and Shul-sen. ‘He had left it with the bones and carefully replaced the lid.
‘Oshikai’s spirit told me the Eyes were hidden here, but I cannot think where else to look,’ said Talisman.
Zhusai stretched herself out beside the men, and drifted to sleep . . .
A slim man with burning eyes pushed his face into her own, biting her lip until it bled. ‘Now you die, witch, and not before time.’ She spat in his face.
‘Then I shall be with my love,’ she said, ‘and will never have to look upon your worthless face again!’ He struck her then, savagely, repeatedly. Then he grabbed her hair. ‘You’ll never see him this side of eternity.’ Holding up his hand he showed her five small golden spikes. ‘With these I shall put out your eyes, and pierce your ear-drums. The last I will drive through your tongue. Your spirit will be mine, throughout time. Chained to me, as you should have been in life. Do you want to beg? If I cut you loose will you fall down on your knees and swear loyalty to me?’
Zhusai wanted to say yes, but the voice that came from her mouth was not hers. ‘Swear loyalty to a worm? You are nothing, Chakata. I warned my Lord of you, but he would not listen. Now I curse you, and my curse will follow you until the stars die!’