The Tiger-Headed Horseman Read online

  Lily sat and stared into the fire, huddling against the chill wind. There had to be a reason. There had to be an answer. But she felt powerless. She began to sob gently. It was the first time she had shed a tear since her father had been taken prisoner. The gentleness of her tears gave way to a heavy outpour.

  Presently Lily stopped weeping. She dried her eyes with a corner of the blanket and focused on the flames in front of her. Throughout her life she knew there was only one place where she could find refuge when life became too complicated. However, her last visit to the spirit world had proved less than fruitful. She may have left there feeling confused, but all the same it was time to go back. Weeks had passed since her last visit. Her world had exploded. Her life was in danger. If she was to fulfil the destiny everybody seemed to have in mind for her, she needed to find strength from somewhere. The spirit world had always been that place. It was to the spirit world she needed to return.

  She placed more fuel on the fire, hoping that it would keep her warm during her inner journey. As she settled into a comfortable position, she looked behind her. Lucky had woken up and was peering at her from the tent. He nodded knowingly and winked. Lily knew that horses weren't supposed to wink, so she put it down to the bad light. Lucky seeming approval, however, had given her confidence that he would protect her while she was away. He was the only friend she could rely upon. Lily crossed her legs and lifted her face to the sky. Closing her eyes, she cleared her mind of all thoughts. Inhaling through her nose, she began to steady her breathing. Exhaling through her mouth, she found long, measured breaths. She could feel an invisible ethereal shroud surround her, enveloping her in a mysterious warmth. Clapping her hands, Lily began to beat out a regular rhythm. Opening her voice, she began to chant: ‘Oohhmmmmmmmmmmmmm . . .’

  Opening her eyes Lily lifted her hands to shield them from the white glare that flooded them. It was several moments before her sight adjusted itself. Her hearing had not caught up yet and all that sounded was her steady heartbeat and deep breathing. The ground was covered in crisp icy snow, although it was not at all cold; Lily seemed to be wearing little more than light clothing. As she stood up, blood coursed through her body. Lily had never quite got used to the physical rush that came with entering the spirit world. It always gave her a sensation of great elation. She lifted her arms and turned her hands in the air. Everything seemed different here – lighter and somehow fluffy.

  Once all of Lily's senses had been restored, she looked around her. As usual, she was standing near the large gate that always began her visits here. She walked along the riverside road to the half-finished bridge. Her friendly puppies bounded across to see her. She was always pleased to see them and they licked her hands and nibbled at her feet playfully.

  While Lily was stroking the dogs she heard familiar footsteps walking quietly through the snow behind her. As they got near to her, she turned to face her spirit friend.

  ‘How are you?’ asked her friend.

  ‘I have so much to tell you!’ exclaimed Lily. ‘I have been to the city. It is both horrible and exciting. I have met some strange yet compelling people and I seem to have somehow started a battle!’

  ‘I know,’ replied her friend, ‘I have been watching you with great interest. You certainly have been busy, but are you any closer to solving your riddle or finding your father?’

  ‘I have even more questions now than I had when we last spoke,’ said Lily. ‘I know you told me to stop looking for answers and to start believing in my instincts, but I'm afraid that when I've done that it has resulted in me following two swarthy, grubby-looking men into a dark tunnel, and also in my attacking a relative stranger on a gut feel that he was a really horrid person. Surely that cannot be right?’

  ‘Did any real harm come from following your heart?’ asked her friend.

  ‘No,’ answered Lily, ‘not really, but I did almost get burned at the stake. Does that count?’

  ‘I think you are underestimating your intuition,’ said her friend softly. ‘Within the space of weeks you have gained a fuller understanding of your nation. You now comprehend more clearly the various factions that exist within Ongolium. You can empathise with those you feel are being treated unfairly. You have been accepted for yourself by a powerful group of strangers. They believe in you as much as I do. Most importantly, you have looked into the face of evil and survived.’

  ‘Only just!’ said Lily. ‘If it wasn't for the Hairy Hordes, I would quite literally be toast.’

  ‘But would they have saved you, had you not already won their hearts to your own?’ said her friend. ‘Would Tengis have been as afraid of you if you were just the simple herder woman you are still trying to convince yourself you are? Would you be here speaking to me in the spirit world if your destiny was merely to milk goats and shave sheep? You may not have unravelled your riddle but you have answered questions about yourself that you had not even begun to ask.’

  ‘But I have found hatred!’ said Lily. ‘I had never hated anything or anyone before I heard about Tengis. What is that all about?’

  ‘That is simple,’ said her friend. ‘There are two straightforward explanations. First and foremost, you are a woman for whom justice is all important. You heard Tengis talk, you listened to his Ten Recommendations, you absorbed New Chinggism and immediately you saw straight through it. For you this was not about helping the people and overthrowing Khadism. This was all about Tengis using his sunny substance to attain power and control over the people. He is no different to the Khadists he purports to detest. As soon as he caught a glimpse of the trappings of power, his mind was sullied.

  ‘Be careful, he is intelligent though. He knows that if he uses the right words and portrays the correct image the people will support him, at least at first. Tengis knows that the shimmering stuff is only half the battle; to win the people to his cause entirely he realises that he needs to offer them something new, something that promises to improve their quality of life, albeit falsely. He declares that he is at one with the spirit of Chinggis. You and I know that this is not true, but the people of Baatarulaan don't know that. All they see is someone brave enough, and rich enough, to seize control of the Fun Brigade and do so peacefully. All they hear are the words of someone that promises to eradicate a regime that has held them fast for centuries.

  ‘Although the memory of Chinggis has been outlawed, it yet retains its age-old pull in people's hearts. When the people hear Tengis declare he has the blessing of Chinggis, together with the apparent energy his mined material seems to exude, all they see is hope. You can't blame people for having hope. It has been eight hundred years since hope last walked the streets of Baatarulaan. It has been many generations since the people last had anything to which they could pin their forbidden dreams. You can't blame the people for so readily believing in Tengis. But you can blame Tengis for corrupting them. You can blame Tengis for abusing the name of Chinggis. You can blame Tengis for forgetting that the people deserve justice!’

  ‘What can I do, though?’ asked Lily. ‘Tengis has everybody's support and if Danyal was right, even though he has set up a coalition with the Khadists, the people are still behind him. They cannot see his duplicitous nature. They forget how almost overnight those whom Tengis had declared the enemy have become his allies. What can I do against his cunningly crafted words and that glistening substance? They have secured him the backing of the most important people in Baatarulaan. When I tried to stand against him, look what happened? I have unwittingly become an enemy of both the state and the most frightening man I have ever met. How can he claim to be in league with Chinggis? When I remember what he said, I just want to kill him. I have never wanted to harm anything or anybody before. I don't mind admitting that I am more than a little terrified. I am afraid that Tengis and the Leggie want to hunt me down and I am frightened of the violent emotions Tengis has awoken in me.’

  ‘What if I told you that there was a way to undermine Tengis absolutely?’ said her friend.
‘What if I told you that you could destroy his credibility and win over the support of the people?’

  ‘How on earth could that be possible?’ asked Lily. ‘When I challenged him before, he claimed that I was a witch; that I was using spells to deceive and mislead. He might have given his disciples hope; what hope do I have to give them?’

  ‘There is always hope so long as you believe in yourself,’ said her friend. ‘We know that Tengis has nothing to do with Chinggis, don't we?’

  ‘I do,’ said Lily. ‘You say you do too, so I guess you do, though I can't read your mind.’

  ‘Let me tell you that I know Chinggis better than anyone,’ said her friend. Lily looked bemused. ‘You have long wondered who it is that I am, have you not?’ Lily nodded in affirmation. ‘What I am about to tell you I have kept secret for eight hundred years. What I am about to tell you I took to my grave.’

  Lily stood silently, peering into the eyes of her friend, trying to see if she was able to guess what she was about to say. Her friend began to weep softly.

  ‘Why are you sad?’ asked Lily. ‘You are beautiful. You are wise. You live in the most charming lands I have ever seen. And you are immortal. Please don't be upset. You have so much.’ Lily moved closer to her friend to comfort her but was waved away.

  ‘Please,’ said her friend, ‘please, let me tell you what I have to say. It has been so long since I spoke of it that I sometimes wonder if I only ever dreamed it. I know that Tengis has no connection with Chinggis. I know that Chinggis would never speak to someone with such a foul mind. I know that Chinggis would never counsel anyone to fool the people so cruelly as Tengis is doing. I have a closer understanding of Chinggis than even his mother.’

  Lily remained stock-still. Her friend stood up tall and composed herself.

  ‘Please,’ said Lily, ‘tell me.’

  ‘Chinggis and I were lovers,’ said her friend. ‘Chinggis and I were the closest friends can be. Chinggis and I were united on Earth and promised never to part. But Khad made sure we would never be united in death. I have waited for his return for eight hundred years. Chinggis was never committed to the ground. His death was never mourned correctly. His spirit remains stranded in some distant limbo unable to reach its final destination. Such is the way for those without proper burial. He cannot come to me and now that I am bound to the spirit world I can no longer search for his soul.’

  Lily was shocked. In all the years she had known her spirit friend she had never imagined that she was such an important friend. She had presumed she was the spirit of some other shawoman, not anyone as important as the famous and falsely dishonoured Tsara.

  ‘What happened to you?’ asked Lily.

  ‘Once Khad had spread his vile words about my fictitious misconduct,’ said Tsara, ‘the people were too afraid to ignore them. Within months everything that Chinggis had striven so hard to create had been turned inside out by his jealous and evil cousin. Even my closest friends and confidantes turned against me. So terrified were they of Khad's wrath they shunned me. All of them shut me out of their lives entirely. They even took my children from me. My lovely Sukh and Bolorerdene. I was deemed unfit as a mother. I, the woman who had given birth to Chinggis's rightful heirs, was made to watch as Khad took them from me and imprisoned them in a tower. Khad saw to it that my name became synonymous with dirt. Whenever my name was mentioned, people used to spit on the floor. It was more than I could bear – in the end my only hope of escape was to the spirit world to which I duly fled.’ Tsara fell to the ground and broke down. Her tears melted away the ice where they fell. Lily was struggling to accept what she was hearing. On top of everything that had been happening in the real world, the spirit world, too, was now being thrown into disarray. She bent down and comforted her friend.

  ‘I wish I could do something to help you,’ said Lily. ‘You have been such a good friend. You have always been there when I needed help. I would love to be able to repay your kindness in some small way.’

  ‘How I miss my children,’ sobbed Tsara. ‘How could anyone deprive a mother of her children? My poor Sukh and Bolorerdene. I have no idea what happened to them. Every day I pray that one of my more kindly friends managed to get them released and that they lived long and happy lives.’

  ‘Have you never found them in the spirit world?’ asked Lily. She knew it was a sensitive question but wanted to find out what she could if she was going to try and help her friend who had done so much to help her as she had grown up. If the children had not been found in the spirit world, then they had met a fate as callous and cruel as that which had overtaken their father. Tsara remained wordless, crying into Lily's shoulder. The ladies consoled one another helplessly. They remained thus for several hours.

  ‘This spirit world has many wonders,’ said Tsara, ‘but it has many drawbacks too. If only I could visit the real world and search for my loved ones.’

  ‘What about me?’ asked Lily. ‘Surely I can help. I don't know where to start but with your guiding hand I could help you surely?’

  ‘I know very little,’ said Tsara. ‘All I remember was Khad bragging about having sealed Chinggis in an icy tomb and my children in a tower. I have no idea where either might be located but if you could possibly help me I would be eternally grateful . . . and I do have an eternity in which to be grateful! Come, let us sit down and plan. There is much that needs doing.’ Tsara led Lily by the hand and they sat beneath the tree where once they had talked briefly to Mark Anthony. Lily found some paper and a pen and they began to make notes on what needed to be done.

  ‘I have so many things to do but have failed at discovering any of them so far,’ said Lily. ‘I have no tiger with a bell. There seems to be no sign of cats eating fish. Heaven and Earth still feel like very different places to me. My father is still being held somewhere but I don't know where that is. We have to look in every glacier for Chinggis; there are hundreds in Ongolium. And we must find your two children, though again I cannot for the life of me think of anywhere to start looking.’

  ‘Have faith,’ said Tsara. ‘If eight hundred years has taught me anything it is that while a person might fail seven times yet they will rise up again eight times. I said before that you are special. Use your prescience; it will serve you just as I do. Think of it as a guide in the real world. Do not look to master it. Let it feel freely and when it directs you, follow.’

  ‘I will try,’ said Lily. ‘What about Tengis? How will I avoid him? If I meet him again, what should I do?’

  ‘His power lies exclusively in his highly spun words and shimmering substance,’ said Tsara. ‘Words can easily be outmanoeuvred by actions. When the time comes you will know what to do. As for his shiny material, I will leave it up to you to decide how best to deal with this. For now I bid you fair weather and fill your heart with my love and gratitude.’

  ‘Please,’ implored Lily, ‘don't go!’

  It was too late. Lily began to feel the pull back into the real world she had grown accustomed to. The invisible shroud slowly began to dissolve and she found herself sitting next to a fire. Lucky stood behind her with a startled look on his face. She braced herself in anticipation of the icy wind but it didn't blast her. They were not where she expected them to be. She looked about for her tent; it wasn't there. Standing up in the darkness, she banged her head. Rubbing it better with her hand, she listened for signs of wildlife or weather. Her ears filled with the sound of silence. As her eyes adjusted to the gloom, her mouth opened in awe. This was most definitely not the Steppe.

  20

  ‘Have you caught her yet?’ asked Tengis. ‘I want her found and I want her killed. There is no place in my city for heretical witches.’ The guards lining the walls looked on bemused; they hadn't realised that Baatarulaan had become Tengis's city, at least not yet.

  ‘No sign of her, sir,’ replied Oldortar. ‘It confirms my suspicions that there must be some underground movement that aided her escape. My men are too thorough to have missed her otherwis
e.’

  ‘Evidently not thorough enough,’ said Tengis.

  Oldortar shrank away from him into the shadows; his guards stifled their laughs.

  ‘All of you, get out! I want that witch found. Nobody rests until she is dead, you understand?’

  Odval looked almost ashamed. She loved Tengis but ever since he had returned to Baatarulaan with the shimmering substance his thoughts had begun to become ever more corrupt. With each day that passed his savage hunger for absolute power wiped out the sound, logical mind she had fallen in love with. She feared that he no longer wanted to restore the faith of Chinggis. She feared his motives were completely personal and he had been utterly seduced by the glistening material. In the past week he had taken a new and terrifying direction. Since the moment Tengis had met the woman who was Lily he had been overflowing with bloodlust. The man she adored who had once never been able to lift a finger in anger was craving death, violence and mayhem. She had no idea why one woman should have incited such passion in his heart and she was embarrassed to admit that she, too, longed for her demise – that this other woman could stir such emotion was beginning to claw at her heart as jealousy started to overcome her.

  In the previous two days Tengis had ordered three executions. The first victim was someone who had tried to steal his glimmering metal, the second a foolish boy who had tried to start a True Chinggis movement at one of Tengis's own rallies. The last person he had hanged that week was the result of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A young girl who worked in his kitchen had hurriedly been carrying Tengis and Odval's porridge to their bedroom when she had rounded a corner and bumped into Tengis as he was on his way to the bathroom, spilling the contents of Odval's bowl down his pyjama bottoms as she did so. It had scalded Tengis where he least wanted to be scalded and he had immediately ordered that the girl repay him with her life. Odval had willingly concurred; she loved her porridge on cold mornings and was most put out to have missed breakfast.