Empire of Silver Read Online Free PDF Page B

Genghis, even when everything in me cried out that he was wrong? I will not fail his memory. I will see Ogedai as khan, on my word.’
    Once again, he thought of a young man who had believed his promise of safe passage. Tsubodai knew his word was worthless, where it had once been iron. It was an old grief, but on some days he bled as if he had just been cut.
    ‘You had me worried,’ Khasar said.
    Tsubodai did not smile. He was younger than both the brothers, but they waited patiently for him to speak. He was the great general, the master who could plan any attack on any terrain and somehow snatch victory. With Tsubodai, they knew Ogedai had a chance. Kachiun frowned at the thought.
    ‘You should look to your own safety as well, Tsubodai. You are too valuable to lose.’
    Tsubodai sighed. ‘To hear such words while I sit by the ger of my khan. Yes, I will be careful. I am an obstacle to the one we all fear. You should be sure that your guards are men you trust with your life, who cannot be bribed or threatened without them coming to you. If a man’s wife and children go missing, will you still trust him to watch you as you sleep?’
    ‘That is an ugly thought,’ Jebe said, with a wince. ‘You truly think we are at that point? On such a day I can hardly believe in knives in every shadow.’
    ‘If Ogedai becomes khan,’ Tsubodai went on, ‘he could have Chagatai killed, or simply rule well or badly for forty years. Chagatai will not wait, Jebe. He will try to arrange a death, an accident, or he will try to take it by force. I cannot see him sitting idly by while his life and ambition is decided by others. Not the man I know.’
    Somehow the sun seemed less bright after such cold words.
    ‘Where is Jelme?’ Jebe asked. ‘He told me he would be here.’
    Tsubodai rubbed the back of his neck, making it crack. He had not slept well for many weeks, though he would not mention it to these men.
    ‘Jelme is loyal; don’t worry about him,’ he muttered. Some of the other men frowned.
    ‘Loyal to which son of Genghis?’ Jebe said. ‘There is no clear path in this, and if we do not find one, the nation could be torn apart.’
    ‘Then we should kill Chagatai,’ Khasar said. The others grew still and he grinned at them. ‘I am too old to be guarding my words,’ he said with a shrug. ‘Why should he have it all his own way? Why should I check my personal guards, to be sure no one has turned them against me? We could end this today and Ogedai would be khan at the new moon with no threat of war.’ He saw their cold expressions and spat once again. ‘I won’t dip my head at your disapproval, so don’t expect it. If you prefer to watch your backs for a month and make secret, clever plans, that is up to you. I could cut right through it and see an end. What do you think Genghis would say, if he were one of us, here? He’d walk right in and cut Chagatai’s throat.’
    ‘He might,’ Tsubodai admitted, who knew better than most how ruthless the khan had been. ‘If Chagatai was a fool, I would agree with you. If there could be surprise, yes, it could work. I’d ask you to test it, but you’d get yourself killed. Instead, take my word on this – Chagatai is ready for such a move. Any group of armed men approaching his tuman is met with bristling weapons and warriors ready to charge. He plans murder every day, so he fears it as well.’
    ‘Between us we command enough men to get to him,’ Khasar said, though less confidently.
    ‘Perhaps. If only his ten thousand responded, we could still reach him, but I think it has already gone further than that.Whatever game Ogedai has been playing, he has given his brother two years to whisper and make promises. Without a khan’s shadow, all of us were forced to rule the lands around us, to act as if we were the only voice that mattered. I found I enjoyed it. Did you not feel the same?’ Tsubodai glanced around at the others and shook his head. ‘The nation is falling apart