The Great Khan Ch. 05

The ger had been crowded, with no small amount of muttering and perhaps frayed nerves, but mostly this was on the part of the Uyghur scribes. Toragana couldn't have cared less, however. Having everyone in one ger served a few practical purposes - it was defensible, in case they were attacked. It was also warm, because of the number of bodies crowded inside. More than that, though, it pretty much quashed any chance of private conversations happening.

It wasn't that she had any particular reason to distrust Mai and the scribes, nor Khorijin and her guard, for that matter. But Toragana felt like she had a better handle on things if she could hear people speaking, something they were not likely to do in such crowded environs. The ger was for rest. Secret conversations would simply wait for the bumpy and chilly rides through the night.

They were greeted by horsemen of the Sukh, who received them readily. They were brought to the small cluster of gers, maybe twenty of them. The family elder, a man Toragana had met once before, bowed low as she entered the ger, followed by Solongo, Mai and Khorijin.

"My khan," he said humbly. "We welcome you. Our meagre homes are at your disposal."

Toragana knew a plea when she heard it, even when disguised as an offer of hospitality. Life had not been kind to the Sukh following their defeat at Boldbator's hands. Other clans had begun to prey on them, and aid from the Tengger had been slow in arriving, to make sure they had learned their lesson.

"Thank you for receiving us, Ergil," she replied, settling across from him beyond the hearthfire. "We shan't trouble you for long, I am set to a task by my husband, lord of the Tengger."

"We live to serve the great khan," Ergil intoned humbly, bowing his head. "How can we assist you, my lady?"

"Merely allow us to rest for a day or so, anonymous amongst others of our clan, before we continue," she answered. "We are well-supplied, so we should prove no burden on your resources. How safe is this area, generally?"

Ergil considered. "We have had to fight off the occasional raid by the damned Khoton, to our south, but we have suffered no great predations recently. Wolves after our yaks are more of a concern, admittedly. The grass is beginning to thin, it will not be long before we must move them elsewhere."

Toragana nodded. "I have an arvahn of warriors with me, led by my very capable sister, the lady Khorijin. You are under my protection while I stay with you."

"We are indebted to you." Ergil said, bowing his head.

"If possible, I would have you set up an extra ger or two, allowing my associates and I to spread out a little for a night, since we have shared one small space for days now," she added. "Once we have moved on, we will return to that arrangement."

"It shall be as you ask. Will you take koumiss, my lady?" he asked.

She smiled. "A cup or six of Sukh koumiss would be welcome, my friend."

***

Toragana had to admit, she'd missed the koumiss. She wasn't sure what her own clan had done to make it so much more wonderful than those she'd had from other clans, but there was simply no comparison. The koumiss drunk by the Tengger clan was made strong, certainly, and often very bloody. But something in the way the Sukh concocted it set it apart. Even Khorijin had readily remarked on the subject, and Mai had become thoroughly drunk after two cups.

In their own ger now, Toragan and Solongo were naked, rolling back and forth, arms wrapped around one another and kissing heatedly. They had not made love since leaving on their mission, and the sisters were very much in need. Tongues tangled, and hands groped eagerly. The small fire in the middle of the ger cast the sisters in an orange light, their bodies now glistening with a sheen of sweat. Need was coupled with relief as the made love.

Solongo had clearly drunk more than her share of koumiss, because she was being remarkably uninhibited - she panted and squirmed in delight as Toragana slid a finger in and out of her ass, something she was normally not fond of. Her own fingers were fluttering over Toragana's clit or pushing through her black hair and inside her wet pussy. She loved the way her older sister moaned into her mouth, their lovemaking a dance they had shared for years. There was such comfort in each other's touch.

Toragana pulled her sister over top of herself, her slender thighs above her face. She used her thumbs to pull Solongo's pussylips apart and then slid her tongue inside, causing her sister to shudder and moan in ecstasy, her eyes fluttering. Solongo churned her hips in small circles while her hand snaked back and found Toragana's womanhood, massaging it. Toragana sighed into her sister's pussy and flickered her tongue around her clit. In her life full of tumult and turmoil, of extreme danger and peril, these moments of warmth and comfort with her sister were what she craved most. Toragana might come to revere her husband, possibly love him, but there was only Solongo and Bolorma in her heart.

Solongo's need must have been great, because she jerked and shuddered suddenly, trying to not cry out. She pumped her hips against Toragana's face eagerly, leaving cum shining on her face in the flickering light. Her fingers snaked into and gripped the older girl's black hair while pleasure juddered through her.

She caught herself on her hands and she sagged forward, panting heavily, her eyes glazed. She felt her tongue still slithering inside her, her creamy pussy squeezing gently. She undulated slowly, letting Toragana coax the last of the pleasure out of her, thighs fluttering around her face.

She finally crawled down her sister's body, and they wrapped their arms around one another, kissing lovingly. Solongo shivered as she tasted her essence on her sister's lips and tongue. They whispered words of love to one another, wishing this moment did not have to end. When wrapped in one another's embrace, the unfair world seemed a little more bearable.

Solongo moved down her sister's body now, and Toragana smiled as she spread her legs to make room for the younger girl. Solongo wasted no time in pushing her tongue through the curly hair and deep inside her sibling's wet slit, making her moan in pleasure. Her thumbs slowly and gently stroked up and down Toragana's pussylips as she licked and probed, delighting in the taste. The older sister gasped and felt her toes curl, tingling delight blossoming through her.

Come what may, she always had Solongo's love. That would be enough for her.

***

The couple panted and hissed in pleasure as they writhed against one another- Khorijin was straddling Mai, their legs entwined as they ground and undulated their slick pussies together. Mai sighed and strained beneath her, while she pressed down hard, trying to control their tempo, to show the Chinese whore that she was, in all things, dominant over her.

But damn Mai if she didn't use her expert subservience as a weapon, one that made it obvious that her submission was a choice, something that Khorijin had to reply to and compete against, to match this magnificent humility so freely offered to her.

Lust surged in the Mongol girl and her eyes blazed as she reached down and wrapped her hands around Mai's delicate throat, as if to strangle her. Mai's eyes fluttered, looking back into Khorijin's unflinchingly, even as she flexed her ass cheeks with exquisite rhythm and matched her lover-tormentor's tempo.

"How easy it would be to break your neck," Khorijin said in a voice somewhere between a pant and a hiss, her body warm and tingling with building pleasure. It would not be long now. "To snap those tiny bones and watch the life drain out of you."

"Yes, it would," murmured Mai, still fucking her pussy against Khorijin's without missing a beat, in spite of her seeming mortal peril. "You could kill me now, my sister. End my life even as we reach a zenith of pure bliss."

"Even the threat of death does not stay your pretty tongue or flowery words," Khorijin replied, trying to hide both her frustration and her building arousal. Mai always made her cum so hard, perhaps in ways even Boldbator could not. "You do not fear death at my hands?"

"No, sister," whimpered the Chinese beauty, her eyes glistening with tears. "I need never fear you again, and I love you all the more for it."

"I will kill you..." Khorijin pressed, trying to assert herself, and squeezing harder. Mai squirmed under her grip.

"No, my love," she gasped, still holding her Mongol lover's gaze. "I now have your measure. You fear me even more than you fear our husband, the khan, your brother."

"What?" Khorijin snapped, a flair of wrath inside her at these unexpected words. Her grip tightened further, but not enough to keep Mai from speaking. She had to know what the Song whore meant.

"You know all too well... that Boldbator would kill you... for allowing me to die, whether it was at your hands or not," Mai whispered, shivering in perverse delight as Khorijin's powerful fingers threatened to squeeze the life from her. "That in itself bothers you, but..."

"But what?" Khorijin demanded, almost shaking Mai by her neck, wanting to hear the answer before she came. They still ground against each other, the fucking taking on a heaving, churning need.

"You have seen me kill," Mai gasped. "You have seen what my poisons do... and it terrifies you to know that I have never considered you a threat to my life up to this point... because if I had... oh, my love, how beautiful and terrifying your death would be..."

Mai's hands squeezed Khorijin's breasts and they both strained desperately before shuddering and sighing loudly, cumming together. Unbidden images rampaged through Khorijin's mind, of her own death at Mai's hands, the poison she unwittingly ingested killing her- panic suffusing her body, her face turning blue, her tongue swelling and bulging obscenely from her mouth as she tried to breathe, her hands and feet puffing up and tingling with pain.

She gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, the intense climax of their lovemaking driving their chilling thoughts from her, at least for now. Her breasts stung as she felt Mai's nails digging into them, and she realized she was squeezing the concubine's neck harder than ever. She released the girl's neck hastily and Mai gagged and coughed violently, even as she came, her frothing pussy smearing Khorijin's shamelessly.

Mai was whimpering and stifling her sobs while Khorijin drew deep breaths, trying to control her tumultuous emotions. Terrified and elated all at once, enraged at the accusation of fear, yet surrendering in relief to the simple truth of this knowledge. She did fear Mai, more than even her brother. She did not fear Boldbator's blade, swiping her head off if she allowed his favourite concubine to die.

But the cold, unrelenting horror of what's Mai promised, if she ever felt truly threatened by Khorijin...

Khorijin would rather get pulled into the ground and devoured over many moons by a Death Worm than suffer the death Mai had promised.

Her warrior composure returned and she sighed heavily, sinking down on top of Mai and holding her close. Mai put her arms around Khorijin, tears glittering on her cheeks in the flickering light of the hearth fire. The time for fear was past. For now.

"You nearly killed me by mistake..." Mai murmured, her eyes looking distantly at the small hole in the ger's roof.

"So certain?"

Mai nodded solemnly, the mingled bliss and sadness she felt filling her to bursting. "Yes. Your fear is palpable, my sister. I feel it in you. But do not despair, for it strikes a balance between us."

The Chinese girl now reached up and removed a tiny, black pin from her hair, barely longer than her index finger. She gently traced it along the skin of Khorijin's exposed neck. It was all the warrior-woman could do to not keep from rearing back in fright.

"I am far from home," Mai said softly. "And my death at the hands of a Mongol, virtually assured. But whoever they are, I have sworn by all my gods, that they shall come with me to Hell. As weak and defenceless as I am, I can at least accomplish that."

Her eyes welled over with tears now. "And I do not know if I hope that it will be you who kills me, Khorijin, or another. To die in your arms, and to feel you die in mine, or to spare you that supreme blackness and terror. I do not know wherein would lie the greater beauty."

And for the first time, they cried together.

***

Toragana listened quietly, her expression grim, as the elder told her of what had come to pass in the time since her captivity and marriage to Boldbator. The Sukh seemed different to her, changing slowly. But it was only obvious to one who knew them already, as she had.

The total defeat at the hands of the Tengger had seemingly broken something inside of them. Perhaps this was understandable, since Boldbator had slain fully three quarters of her people, but it was not as simple as their spirits being crushed, no - it was more subtle, and the elder was reticent to tell her what it was. But enough was enough.

"Ergil, I am still khan of our people," she said firmly, her tone brooking no argument on the subject. "You are holding something back from me. Whether you do this to protect me, or out of some defiant resentment for my failure to protect us, I know not, but it does not matter. You are my people, and you will tell me."

The old man looked at the fire as she sat across from him. They were the only two inside the ger. Once she had the information she need, it was her intention to depart. But this could not wait.

"Your clan lives on, my khan, although it is changing," he said quietly. "Our defeat, which seems inevitable at the hands of your husband, turned many of us away from the Tengri, looking for other sources of strength where they had so plainly failed us."

"Meaning..."

"There are those of other faiths among us, my lady," he continued. "The servants of the Buddha, priests of the so-called Tao, even Vedics and desert dwellers who follow a god called Allah. But chief amongst these influences are people who follow the Christ-god. They call themselves Nestorians."

"I remember them well," Toragana replied, nodding. "More than a few were fixtures in my father's settlement. Are you telling me that our people are turning to this faith?"

"Many have, seemingly," Ergil murmured.

"And what effect has this on their willingness to follow me?"

He considered for some time. "None, my lady, so far as I can tell."

"Then I care not what faith they cleave to," she announced, sitting tall. "As long as the Sukh can ride a horse and draw a bow, I care not what spirits we pray to. If they wish for the Christ-god's mercy in the hereafter, that is their business. I merely remind you, and them, that I command their obedience now. The Sukh will not perish from this earth while I rule, Ergil."

He gazed at her now and she could see a sense of wonderment in his eyes. He nodded slightly as he observed her. "Yes, you are indeed the daughter of Delger. There is a strength in you, and a will of iron, such as even he did not possess. Maybe we were fated to fall before the Tengger, but you are right, we yet live, and you are our khan."

"Then carry these words throughout the families," she said, her voice commanding. "We are vassals to my mighty husband, yet we are still proud, though we were brought low. That which the Tengger are, they could not be without us. We will ride proudly and hold our heads high, where others fall and never look up again."

"Of course, my khan." Ergil said, bowing his head.

"My course takes me westward, and I would have our borders secured, to make sure my passage goes unmarked," Toragana continued. "Such riders as each family can spare will act as my screen and eyes, searching for enemies. This is our first labour in the service of the man who will one day be the Great Khan-of-Khans."

Ergil bowed low, unable to keep from trembling in fear at the potency of her words.

***

"What is it like in the South, mother?" Bolorma asked as she sat beside Sarantuya, watching while she stretched and scraped at the pelt of an old ewe, toughening the hide and preparing it for use in a del.

"Do you mean the Song, the land of the Chinese?" queried the woman, not pausing in her task. "Because I do not rightly know."

"Is Galina-mother not from the Song?" asked the girl. This gave Sarantuya pause now, because of how Bolorma had referred to Mai. More than unusual, it was perhaps dangerous, in ways she could not suspect. If Turkina had been nearby to hear the child speak...

But Bolorma referred to them all as mother, even if it was Solongo who had birthed her. They were all responsible for her upbringing, which was infinitely preferable to leaving her in Chambui's clutches. The child would never be safe, then. Bolorma knew who her actual mother was, yet she accepted the other women in the role easily, including Mai.

She put down her tool and turned to smile at the girl. "Listen to me, Bolorma. I know that you mean well, but it might not be good to refer to Galina as your mother."

"Why?"

"Precisely because she is from the Song," explained Sarantuya, not exactly sure what she meant to say as yet. "She is not a Mongol, like us. The lands under the eternal blue sky are not her home."

"But she is here, and she is kind to me, she treats me like a daughter," Bolorma reasoned with a child's innocence. "She is warm and soft to sleep next to."

"Solongo has left you in her care?"

The girl nodded.

Sarantuya allowed herself to think about the dynamic this presented. She wanted to trust Mai. But could it be that her kindness toward Bolorma was a ploy, yet another way to guarantee her own safety?

Was there any way of truly knowing?

"Listen to me, my love," she continued. "Many, many people do not like Galina, and they would harm her if they could. Allow me to speak to my husband, your father's brother, about the matter. But until I do, promise me that you will not refer to Galina as 'mother'. It is for her safety. Do you understand?"

The girl frowned but nodded. "I don't like it, but I'll do as you ask, mother."

"I am glad, Bolorma," Sarantuya said now, smiling and resuming her task. "We are all safer if there is no threat to Galina."

She didn't dare explain why and was loath to admit it even to herself. She stropped the skin for several more minutes before putting it aside. The hide would be boiled in yak urine at least twice more before its final distressing and boiling in oil. Her task complete, she led Bolorma out of the wives' ger and sent her to play with some other children. The midday sun was warm, and there was no danger in letting her run for a bit. She drew a breath and approached the ger at the center of the settlement. Two bahatur on either side of the door nodded as she went inside.

Boldbator was sitting in a chair on a small dais, studying a map that lay on a low table in front of him. He seemed thoroughly engrossed in whatever he was looking at, not even acknowledging her as she entered. She folded her hands in front of herself and walked forward slowly. The hearth fire flickered, and the flames glinted off the blades and burnished armour that stood around the space. His presence always sang of glory and danger.

"Forgive my intrusion, my khan," she said humbly, bowing her head as she approached. "I can return if you are occupied and -"

"That won't be necessary," he muttered, without looking up. "There is only so long one can stare at ink scratches on a roll of vellum. I have gained no new insights for some time now. Come, speak. What is on your mind, my wife?"