The Tiger-Headed Horseman (19 page)

The memory of Odval's initial doubts flooded Tengis's mind. He recalled the humiliation he experienced as a result of his loved one's words. He fought to keep his anger hidden. Bile poured up his throat into his mouth as his chest clenched
around his ribcage. In his cramped heart Tengis knew that Lily's words adhered to the same logic he had lived his whole life by but he also knew he was Chinggis Khaan. He was sure that he simply had to be.

‘A shaman is nothing more than a witch,’ announced Tengis. The crowd gasped in horror. Shamanism had long been the sacred religion of ancient Ongolium and, although rarely, if ever, practised in Baatarulaan, was still held in high esteem. Tengis's words were nothing short of sacrilege. If he knew anything, though, Tengis knew how to turn a crowd his way. ‘You are a witch and that is why you are trying to undermine me. You know full well that the Ten Recommendations are the true words of the people but still you decry them. Why?’

‘You lie!’ shouted Lily. ‘A shaman is a holy person and you know that full well. Don't you dare try and twist things.’

‘My dear,’ said Tengis, ‘what can I say? Men and women sleep on the same pillow but they have different dreams. I am clearly a man; you are not yet even a woman. Your word counts for nothing. In case you haven't noticed, we don't believe in religion any more. The Khadists saw to that hundreds of years ago. The only thing we people of Baatarulaan worship is the right to be ourselves; the right to freedom and the right to live life according to the Ten Recommendations. We call it New Chinggism; it's a way of life not a religion. Religion is all mumbo-jumbo. Religion is the silly stuff of people that believe in magic and we know what people who believe in magic are, don't we?’ Tengis turned to the crowd looking for their answer.

‘WITCHES!’ yelled the crowd. And before long most of the crowd were pointing at her and some were even asking for her to be burned. Lily was learning quickly just how inconsistent people in Baatarulaan really were.

‘Hush, please, hush,’ said Tengis. He raised his arms to calm the mob. ‘Let's see what the little witch, I mean little girl, has to
say. We are not barbarians here.’ With each moment Tengis's reflux began to move back down inside his throat as well-spun snake oil made its way out.

In contrast, Lily's blood was boiling. She tried to break free of the guards but they held her firmly.

‘Speak up, the people want to hear what magical spells you have to cast.’

The crowd eagerly awaited her words.

‘If you are so just,’ said Lily. She hurriedly tried to find a different tack and recalled the words of Millie. ‘If you are no despotic dictator in waiting; if you are a true democratic leader of people; if you truly believe that the people believe in you; if your New Chinggism is so robust; if your Ten Recommendations really have won hearts and minds, why don't you
prove
it?’

‘What would you have me do, witch?’ said Tengis.

‘If you have faith that people have faith in you,’ said Lily, ‘if you honestly believe in a future fair for all, why have you avoided talk of an election? I know that people around you have discussed it, why don't you even mention it? Surely it is the one and only way of finding a leader for Ongolium who truly represents the people?’

Tengis felt the bile in his stomach rising once more as he struggled to hold the smile on his face. He knew a smile was important.

‘Are you trying to cast some spooky spell over us?’ said Tengis. He theatrically pretended to be scared. People in the crowd laughed in support. ‘Are you trying to summon up some long-forgotten evil demon? Is that how you get in contact with your so-called spirit friends, by telling lies? No? I think I know what it is you are doing. You are indeed casting a spell. You are spreading words of mass deception. I can't quite pinpoint which words they are but I know they are in there somewhere. When
I find them I will prove beyond all doubt that you are a witch. And what do we do when we find a witch?’ Tengis turned histrionically towards the crowd, holding one hand to his ear.

‘BURN HER!’ shrieked the crowd, ‘BURN HER! BURN HER! BURN THE WITCH! BURN THE WITCH!’

Lily was terrified. She tried once more to shake free of her fearsome custodians but to no avail. The crowd chanted louder and more fanatically as Tengis began to work it into a frenzy. Lily desperately sought a way out. Her future suddenly looked particularly bleak . . . and hot. She frantically looked for support among the crowd. Delusional eyes glared back at her deeply drunk on Tengis's fanaticism.

Towards the back of the seething throng Lily suddenly spotted movement. Six heavily set figures were slowly but firmly making their way towards her through the crowd. They wore large hats and shook their fists in the air in time with the chanting. The crowd was undeniably in favour of turning Lily into carbon. The hefty men were apparently strong supporters of burning witches. Lily watched them advance, petrified that they might be the last people she ever saw. The six men approached.

As she watched six arms pumping the air rhythmically, one of the men's cloaks fell back. The arm beneath it was far hairier than Lily had expected it to be. The men reached the front of the rabble and advanced upon Lily. Tengis, who had been busily playing the people, suddenly noticed the intruders making their way towards his captive. Lily was close to fainting with fear. The intruders suddenly threw off their hats and cloaks. Standing abreast of one another, they beat their chests and roared into the darkening sky. As they did so, one of them, a particularly stocky broad man, cast a look towards Lily and winked. She noted with joy and relief that his roar had a particularly unique sing-song lilt. The tall boy made his way over to her and shoved
her captors out of the way pushing them all a little harder than was actually necessary. Picking her up effortlessly, he placed her on to his wide, warm shoulders. His fellow guerrillas continued to roar at the crowd, who scattered despite their number. Tengis stood watching on dumbstruck. Within a minute there was no sight (or sound) of the guerrilla, or of Lily.

Rushing along at dizzying speed atop the tall boy's shoulders, Lily tried in vain to figure out where they were headed but they were moving too fast. Presently they slowed and finally stopped. The group stood in the middle of Danyal's yard. Breathing hard, the men and boys began to slap one another on the back and laugh raucously. Even Lily began to giggle as her nervous system rebooted. Danyal and Millie came rushing out of the house to greet her. Drudger walked out of the stable holding Lucky's reins.

‘My girl,’ said Millie, ‘I don't know whether you are brave, stupid – or both!’

‘Imagine taking on Tengis when he is with his henchmen and in front of a mob of his frenzied supporters,’ said Danyal. ‘Lass, you really must have a death wish for yourself and for Tengis. Trying to attack him single-handedly, brilliant!’

‘It wasn't like that,’ pleaded Lily. ‘I was just out walking when . . .’

‘When you decided to have a go at Tengis,’ said Drudger.

‘Nudge-nudge, wink-wink,’ said the Hairy Hordes in unison as they nudged one another heavy-handedly and blinked wildly at one another. It wasn't long before they were a jumbled mass of dusty, playful fighting.

‘Honestly,’ implored Lily. ‘I didn't want to cause any trouble. But when I saw Tengis something came over me. I wasn't in control of myself. I couldn't help trying to attack him. It was weird. It felt as though he had somehow unstopped all of my hatred and was pulling it towards him. I could see in his eyes
that he felt the same way. There was an awful and frightening connection of some sort. I really don't remember.’

‘It doesn't matter what you do and don't remember,’ said Millie. ‘You are now very much on Tengis's agenda. The question is: are you happy being on his agenda? Would you be willing to take this battle further? From what I have heard he has already unleashed the entire Leggie to find both you and the Hairy Hordes. He has issued a shoot-to-kill mandate to all archers throughout Baatarulaan. Like it or not, you have started the fight. He will probably be forging a coalition with the Khadists, promising that, so long as they give him overall control, he will not banish or execute any of them. We are but a few, but now we have a talisman, or should I say taliswoman?’

‘What?’ said Lily. ‘Battle? I only wanted to find my father. I really don't know what to do but Tengis can't be allowed to continue. He is evil – I will willingly do anything it takes to stop him.’

‘You are not alone,’ said Danyal. ‘People wanted change. They will soon begin to realise that Tengis was never really offering change. There is nothing new in his New Chinggism and there is certainly nothing to do with Chinggis, not that we could see. He does have powerful friends but in time I think we will find that so do we. Unless we act soon, there is a grave danger that Tengis will take full control of Ongolium. If we let that happen, the world in which we will find ourselves is likely to be a lot more severe than it is now. As for your father, if Tengis realises who he is, I fear he will never be found. He is a clever man and a devious orator, but he has blackness in his soul.’

‘Tengis has no soul!’ said Lily. ‘He is consumed by his greed for power and position. He appears to be so sure that he really is Chinggis Khaan. Listening to him talk was terrifying.’

‘That as may be,’ said Millie, ‘but whereas the meat-biting tooth is in the mouth, the man-biting tooth is in the soul. You
have a stronger soul and spirit than Tengis will ever be able to understand. As for now, it's not safe for you to stay here. You must leave Baatarulaan. The Leggie will be turning over every stone as they search for you. Here, Lucky is ready for you. He will know his way out of here and back across the Steppe. Wear this disguise, it may be dark but everyone will be looking for you. Good luck and rest assured, we will meet soon, I promise.’ Millie leaned over and kissed Lily on the forehead. Lucky nuzzled up next to her happy to be with his mistress again.

‘I have packed your belongings,’ said Danyal. ‘There is enough food for both of you for a week. I have also left a note explaining how to contact us in emergency. There is a map – we will meet at the point marked X ten days from now. Be safe: you are an important young woman now.’ Danyal ruffled her hair and hastily walked back inside.

‘He's not very good at goodbyes,’ said Drudger. ‘Anyways, it's more of an
au revoir
, innit?’ Drudger followed Danyal indoors, wiping a tear from his misshapen face.

‘Wait. What about you and the Hairy Hordes?’ asked Lily, as she climbed up on to Lucky's back. ‘They're not safe either. They are in as much danger as I am. They can't stay here either.’

The Hairy Hordes stood and looked at Lily. No one had really ever cared for their wellbeing before. They tried to show how touched they were by the empathy of this young woman but instead replied using the only means they knew how – they snorted loudly, guffawed and gave the fellow nearest them a jolly good kick up the behind. Wiping his shorts comically, the man with the interesting accent wandered over casually and gave Lucky a heavy slap on his rump. The horse reared up and galloped off into the darkness. Lily turned and shouted to the Hairy Hordes: ‘Keep safe and may your moustaches grow like brushwood!’

18

For the first time in over a week Lily found herself alone with Lucky. A good deal had taken place since that had last happened. She was thankful of having an opportunity to take stock and think about everything that had taken place. Sitting up in her saddle, Lily wiped the sleep from her eyes. She had no idea what time it was or how long she had been riding. As she looked around her, Baatarulaan was nowhere to be seen. Even if she wasn't certain where she was, Lily knew that she was safely back on the Steppe. She bent over forwards and gave Lucky as big a hug as was possible from her saddle. People had always said he was a very fortunate horse.

Lily stretched widely and yawned heavenwards. Although they had been travelling for some time, Lily knew that Lucky would simply stop when he needed a rest; she didn't have to worry about
his
fatigue. Reaching behind her, Lily opened the pannier saddlebags that contained her provisions and meagre belongings. She pulled out the letter that Danyal had left with her and untied the string that bound its scroll:

Lily finished reading the letter, rolled it back up and replaced it in the saddlebag. Although she had experienced more excitement in the past month than in the rest of her life put together, she was exhausted both mentally and physically. The last thing she wanted was anything that would cause her adrenalin levels to rise anything over ‘just awake’. She looked around at the flat rocky Steppe. She counted how many birds she could see – eleven in total. In short, Lily was bored. After the excitement of Baatarulaan and the future challenges that lay ahead she didn't know what to do with herself until the next full moon appeared. It was too far for her to head back to her herder group. She also didn't want to go back until she had actually achieved something. To date she had been given a box she didn't understand yet; gone in search of her father but not found him; met some people she wasn't one hundred per cent sure she trusted; and inadvertently started a battle with somebody she utterly abhorred but wasn't sure why. Lily was rather confused. Lucky kept plodding further on into the Steppe. Neither of them was sure where they were heading but both of them wanted to get there.