The White Mountain Read Online Free PDF

himself?
    He hurried back in time to see the servants bring the beast. The Ox-man stood there passively, its three-toed hands at its sides, looking about it nervously, its almost-human eyes filled with anxiety. Seeing it, some of the younger princes laughed among themselves and leaned close to exchange words. Hsiang Wang smiled and moved closer, standing at Chun’s shoulder.At once another girl approached and knelt at Chun’s side, her flank against his leg, one hand resting gently on his knee.
    Chun looked down briefly, smiling, then looked back, studying the girl and the beast, one hand tugging at his beard, an expression of interest on his long, heavily lined face.
    Hsiang raised his hand. At once the servants came forward, tearing the fine silks from the Ox-man’s back, tugging down its velvet trousers. Then they stood back. For a moment it stood there, bewildered, trembling, its big, dark-haired body exposed. Then, with a low, cow-like moan, it turned its great head, as if looking to escape.
    At once the girl moved closer, putting one hand up to its chest, calming it, whispering words of reassurance. Again it lowed, but now it was looking down, its eyes on the girl.
    From the couches to either side of Chun Wu-chi came laughter. Laughter and a low, excited whisper.
    Slowly she began to stroke the beast, long, sensual strokes that began high up in the beast’s furred chest and ended low down, between its heavily muscled legs. It was not long before it was aroused, its huge member poking up stiffly into the air, glistening, long and wet and pinky-red in the half-light – a lance of quivering, living matter.
    As the girl slipped her gown from her shoulders, there was a low murmur of approval. Now she stood there, naked, holding the beast’s huge phallus in one hand, while with the other she continued to stroke its chest.
    Its lowing now had a strange, inhuman urgency to it. It turned its head from side to side, as if in pain, its whole body trembling, as if at any moment it might lose control. One hand lifted, moving towards the girl, then withdrew.
    Then, with a small, teasing smile at Chun Wu-chi, the girl lowered her head and took the beast deep into her mouth.
    There was a gasp from all round. Hsiang, watching, saw how the girl he had assigned to Chun was working the old man, burrowed beneath his skirts, doing to him exactly what the other was doing to the Ox-man. He smiled. From the look of pained pleasure on the old man’s face, Chun Wu-chi would not forget this evening quickly.

    It was just after nine and in the great Hall of Celestial Destinies at Nantes spaceport a huge crowd milled about. The eight-twenty rocket from Boston had come in ten minutes back and the final security clearances were being made before its passengers were passed through into the hall.
    Lehmann stood at the base of the statue in the centre of the hall, waiting. DeVore had contacted him an hour and a half back to say he would be on the eight-twenty. He had sounded angry and irritable, but when Lehmann had pressed him about the trip, he had seemed enthusiastic. It was something else, then, that had soured his mood – something that had happened back here, in his absence – and there was only one thing that could have done that: the failure of the assassination attempt on Tolonen.
    Was that why DeVore had asked him to meet him here? To try again? It made sense, certainly, for despite all their ‘precautions’ the last thing Security really expected was a new attempt so shortly after the last.
    He turned, looking up at the giant bronze figures. He knew that the composition was a lie, part of the Great Lie the Han had built along with their City; even so, there was an underlying truth to it, for the Han had triumphed over the Ta Ts’in . Kan Ying had bowed before Pan Chao. Or at least, their descendants had. But for how much longer would the dream of Rome be denied?
    For himself, it was unimportant.