"I said I was going home, Ho Sa. You are not. This city is too far from here to fear my army. They will have their gates open and merchants will come and go as they please."

Ho Sa saw Arslan and Khasar were grinning at him and he forced himself to concentrate. Genghis clapped him on the shoulder.

"A walled city like Baotou will have builders, masters of their trade, will it not? Men who understand every aspect of the defenses."

Ho Sa did not reply and Genghis chuckled.

"Your king would not give them to me, but you will find them there, Ho Sa. You will travel to this Baotou with Khasar and my brother Temuge. Three men can enter where an army cannot. You will ask questions until you find these men who build walls and know so many clever things. And you will bring them to me."

Ho Sa saw they were all smiling then, amused at his appalled expression.

"Or I will kill you now and ask for another from your king," Genghis said softly. "A man must always have the final choice in life and in death. Anything else can be taken from him, but never that."

Ho Sa remembered how his companions had been killed for the horses they rode, and he did not doubt his life hung on a single word.

"I am bound to you by my king's order," he said at last.

Genghis grunted, turning back to the map. "Then tell me of Baotou and its walls. Tell me everything you have heard or seen."

The camp was quiet at dawn, but the light still flickered gold in the ger of the khan, and those who lay close on the cold grass could hear the murmur of voices like the distant drums of war.

GenghisLordsoftheBow

T HE THREE RIDERS APPROACHED THE EDGE of the dark river, dismounting as their ponies began to drink. A heavy moon hung low above the hills, casting a gray light that illuminated the expanse of water. It was bright enough to create black shadows behind the men as they gazed out at the shapes of small boats at anchor, rocking and creaking in the night.

Khasar pulled a linen bag from where it sat under his saddle. The day's ride had softened the meat inside, and he dipped his hand into the fibrous mush, pulling a piece of it out and putting it in his mouth. It smelled rancid, but he was hungry and chewed idly as he watched his companions. Temuge was weary enough to sway slightly as he stood by his brother, his eyes hooded as he longed for sleep.

"The boatmen stay well away from the shore at night," Ho Sa murmured. "They are wary of bandits in the dark and they will have heard of your army to the west. We should find a place to sleep and go on in the morning."

"I still don't understand why you want to use the river to reach Baotou," Khasar said. Ho Sa swallowed his anger. He had explained half a dozen times since leaving the tribes, but the Mongol warrior's attachment to his pony was proving difficult to overcome.

"We were told not to call attention to ourselves, to enter Baotou like merchants or pilgrims," he replied, keeping his voice calm. "Merchants do not ride in like Chin nobility and pilgrims would not have a horse between them."

"It would be faster, though," Khasar said stubbornly. "If the map I saw was accurate, we could cut across the bow of the river and be there in just a few days."

"And have our passing noted by every peasant in the fields and every traveler on the roads," Ho Sa snapped. He sensed Khasar stiffen angrily at his tone, but he had endured his complaining long enough. "I do not think your brother welcomes the thought of riding a thousand li across open land."

Khasar snorted, but it was Temuge who replied.

"He has the right of it, brother. This great river will take us north to Baotou and we will be lost in the mass of travelers. I do not want us to fight our way through suspicious Chin soldiers."

Khasar did not trust himself to reply. At first he had been excited at the thought of stealing among the Chin peoples, but Temuge rode like an old woman with stiff joints and was no fit companion for a warrior. Ho Sa was a little better, but away from Genghis, his fury at the task he had been given made him a surly companion. It was worse when Temuge had Ho Sa chattering in the language of bird clucking and Khasar could not join in. He had asked Ho Sa to teach him curses and insults, but the man had only glared at him. Far from being an adventure, the journey was turning into a bickering contest, and he wanted it over as soon as possible. The thought of drifting slowly up on one of the shadowy boats made his mood sink even further.

"We could swim the horses across the river tonight, then…" he began.

Ho Sa hissed out a sharp breath. "You would be swept away!" he snapped. "This is the Yellow River, a full li from one bank to the next, and this a narrow point. It is not one of your Mongol streams. There are no ferries here and by the time we reached Shizuishan to buy a place on one, our progress would have been reported. The Chin are not fools, Khasar. They will have spies watching the borders. Three men on horses will be too interesting for them to ignore."

Khasar sniffed as he worked another piece of old mutton into his cheek and sucked on it.

"The river is not so wide," he said with a sniff. "I could send an arrow over it."

"You could not," Ho Sa replied immediately. He clenched his fists as Khasar reached for his bow. "And we would not see it land in the dark."

"Then I will show you in the morning," Khasar retorted.

"And how will that help us?" Ho Sa demanded. "Do you think the boatmen will ignore a Mongol archer firing arrows over their river? Why did your brother send you for this work?"

Khasar let his hand fall from where he had grasped his bow. He turned to Ho Sa in the moonlight. In truth, he had wondered the same thing, but he would never admit it to Ho Sa or his studious brother.

"To protect Temuge, I imagine," he said. "He is here to learn the Chin language and check you are not betraying us when we reach the city. You are only here to talk and you have proved that enough times today already. If we are attacked by Chin soldiers, my bow will be more valuable than your mouth."

Ho Sa sighed. He had not wanted to broach the subject, but his own temper was barely in check and he too was weary.

"You will have to leave your bow here. You can bury it in the river mud before dawn."

Khasar was rendered speechless at that. Before he could express his indignation, Temuge laid a calming hand on his shoulder, feeling him jerk.

"He knows these people, brother, and he has kept faith with us so far. We must take the river and your bow would raise suspicions from the start. We have bronze and silver to buy goods along the way so that we have something to trade in Baotou. Merchants would not carry a Mongol bow."

"We could pretend to be selling it," Khasar replied. In the gloom, he rested his hand on the weapon where it was tied to his saddle as if that touch brought him comfort. "I will turn my pony loose, yes, but I will not give up my bow, not for a dozen secret river trips. Do not test me on this, my answer will be the same no matter what you say."

Ho Sa began to argue again, but Temuge shook his head, tired of them both.

"Let it rest, Ho Sa," he said. "We will wrap the bow in cloth and perhaps it will not be noticed." He dropped his hand from Khasar's shoulder and moved away to free his pony from the burdens of saddle and reins. It would take time to bury those and he could not risk falling asleep until the work had been done. He wondered again why Genghis had chosen him for the task of accompanying the two warriors. There were others in the camp who knew the Chin tongue, Barchuk of the Uighurs among them. Perhaps that one was too old, Temuge thought. He sighed as he undid the ropes on his mount. Knowing his brother as he did, Temuge suspected Genghis still hoped to make a warrior of him. Kokchu had shown him a different path and he wished his master were there to help him meditate before sleep.