Until the Sun Falls
Page 54
Psin was on his own doorstep, and Tshant went quickly over to him. Mongke rode up, leading twenty-five men of his guard; his banner, stowed all through the campaign, floated wrinkled over his head. “I’ll see you in Karakorum,” he said. “Batu is coming this way. Tshant, are you leaving now?”
“As soon as my men are together.”
“I can’t wait. Try to catch up with me.” Mongke galloped away.
“Can we hold Hungary?” Tshant said.
Psin shook his head. “The Altun will pull their tumans back to the Gobi. Without them Batu won’t have the men.”
Batu trotted up and turned his horse sideways so that he had to twist to face Psin. He looked hard at Tshant, frowned, and said, “Psin Khan, stay here. Stay with me—I’ll make you a prince.”
Psin shook his head. “I have my own people, Batu.”
Batu’s face contorted. “Damn you.” He whirled his horse and rode off. Tshant shifted from foot to foot.
“We won’t be home before the late summer,” Psin said. “When I get the clan settled I’ll come to Karakorum.”
Across the camp a banner streamed, decked with black horse tails, and beneath it rode Kadan. Tshant bellowed to him, and Kadan waved. He charged away to the east.
“I’m going,” Tshant said. “There’s Arcut with my horses. I’ll see you in Karakorum.”
Psin nodded. Tshant rushed off across the dusty, pulsating camp. Baidar cantered by, waved, and called, “Until the Gobi.” Psin waved back. He saw his own banner through the dust: Tshant was riding out.
Artai said, “Are we going home?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” She went back inside.
The camp was almost empty. The dust began to settle into a patina over everything. Across the way from Psin one of Chan’s cats clung mewling to the side of a yurt. In his mind’s eye Psin saw the deep forests around Lake Baikal, the grass under the wind in the meadows.
Sabotai said, “What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing much.”
“We could have taken Europe, you know.”
Psin shrugged. “I doubt we could have held it.” He wasn’t interested anymore. He went across and got Chan’s cat off the yurt and started back. Sabotai was smiling at him, and together they went inside.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Epigraph
Author’s Note
Asia Map
Eastern Europe Map
Family Tree
PART ONE – Quyuk
Ye Lui met Psin at the door…
The Black Merkits wintered at…
Psin and Mongke reached Bulgar…
They wont’t come to us…
He whipped the horse out of range…
PART TWO – Tshant
Sabotai stood in the middle of the floor…
How much help can we expect…
The storm struck them…
Wake up…
Now, Vladimir…
The Khan is awake and up…
Like this…
Jouncing along on the driver’s seat…
The vanguard of Sabotai’s army…
We lost a huge number of men…
Two days later…
PART THREE – Psin
Ana stabbed the awl…
They reached the Volga camp…
Rijart was taller even than Tshant…
Well…
The dun horse snorted…
Quyuk is gone…
PART FOUR – The Mongol Generals
Djela squirmed…
The snow had stopped falling…
Sabotai said…
Baidar said…
Tshant said…
How far is the river…
The days shortened…