The Tiger-Headed Horseman Read online

  Life in the Tengis household was fast becoming less than relaxed. With Tengis rampantly seeking the blood of Lily, Odval fighting her jealous demons, the guards floundering as they sought to find Tengis's quarry, and the staff simply cowed and scared, the home was quickly shrouded in tension. The stronger Tengis's desire to capture Lily grew, the more time he spent alone seeking counsel from the voice in his head.

  ‘You must humiliate and destroy her!’ said the voice. ‘She is the one person that can prevent you from fulfilling your destiny.’ Tengis shared one thing with Lily: both of them were regularly reminded by their personal counsellors that they separately had amazing futures ahead of them if only they fulfilled their destiny. ‘If you fail to kill that woman she will tear apart everything you believe in and sully your name for ever.’

  ‘But how can one person possibly ruin our plans?’ asked Tengis. ‘I am committed to killing her but it's not because I fear she could prevent me reaching my potential. There is just something about her that makes me livid. It's as though we know each other without having ever met. She can see into my soul. What would you do? More to the point, what would Chinggis do?’

  ‘Well, it's not about what Chinggis would do,’ said the voice, ‘it is about what you should do. The power you have at your disposal offers boundless opportunity. You can turn Ongolium into whatever you please once you prove yourself worthy to the people. I have always believed that the best way to prove one's worth to one's people is to ensure that they fear you more than death itself.’

  ‘How can that be?’ asked Tengis. ‘I have always simply wanted to make their lives better; it is the New Chinggism way. My Ten Recommendations are all designed to help people live a happier life. When I wrote that people should not take things that are not theirs, I meant for them to put an end to the robberies and theft that have dogged Baatarulaan for centuries. When I recommended that people stopped saying bad things about one another, all I wanted was to create one big society that was based upon mutual respect. My suggestion to have only one belief was to unite faith in the same way that Chinggis united cultures when he was emperor. As for asking people to stop killing one another, that is because it's a job for higher authorities not the common person in the street. There has to be a jolly good reason to put an end to somebody's life. I am all about the people; I have always been all about the people; I will always be all about the people. Why would I want or even need them to fear me?’

  ‘Was it not you who killed a girl over porridge?’ said the voice. ‘People will always look to their leaders to set the benchmark for acceptable and proper behaviour.’

  ‘That was a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing,’ replied Tengis. ‘I really probably should have just given her a stern talking to, but my bits hurt so much that I got carried away. I promise I will try harder going forward.’

  ‘Very well,’ said the voice a little wearily. ‘But have you not taken possession of everything that had once belonged to the Khadists? You have even made their head office your home.’

  ‘That's different!’ explained Tengis, ‘I have formed a coalition between New Chinggism and the Khadists. It is only fair that we sought to find accommodations between us. I have relinquished threatening behaviour towards them and they have given up each and every trapping of office. I have also given up all claims over their personal possessions. I think you'll find that I have been more than generous on that account. They may have given up or amended accordingly every policy they stood for but I have kept them in power . . . Well, we share power, sort of, and they still have their lives.’

  ‘If you are to lead by example,’ said the voice, ‘surely you should stop saying bad things about that girl in public, and about everyone else in private?’

  ‘What I say in my own home is my own private business,’ said Tengis. He was becoming more than a little irritated. ‘I can say whatever I want in my own home and, if there are people in my home that hear what I say, then that's fine because it's my private home, and if my home just so happens to be the main office where we govern the country from . . . well that's life. It is my home and I can say what I like. As for that girl. That girl is beneath contempt.’

  ‘If she is beneath contempt,’ said the voice, ‘doesn't that mean she is not worth feeling contempt for?’

  ‘Don't play with my words!’ said Tengis. ‘She is beneath contempt in so much as she ignites sentiment that is even more base than contempt. I hate her. She is a danger not only to me but to the whole of Ongolium. If I am to do right by the people, she must be wiped from the face of this world. It is the best thing for the people. If this requires me to spread the word of her status in order to capture her, then I am only doing the bidding of the people; it is nothing personal. I would never dream of saying anything bad about anyone else unless it was for the greater good.’

  ‘You seem to believe in many things,’ said the voice. ‘How are you going to convince people that believing in just one thing is the right and proper way to have true faith?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ asked Tengis. ‘I only believe in doing what is best for Ongolium.’

  ‘You say that,’ replied the voice, ‘but in so doing you believe in New Chinggism; you believe in harnessing the historic strength of Khadism; you believe in the strength proffered by the gleaming material, and, most of all, you firmly believe in your own ability.’

  ‘Aha!’ said Tengis. ‘This is where you are wrong. All of those things are the same; they all relate to believing in doing what is best for Ongolium.’

  ‘If that is the case,’ said the voice, ‘then surely any man in the street can declare he believes in the austerity of Khadism, the bravery of Chinggism, the opportunism of New Chinggism and in the hearty nature of the pies his mother cooks for him? Such a man could just as easily state that by believing in those four things he merely believes in what he considers are the best traits of our Ongolian heritage (especially the pies)?’

  ‘That is not the same at all,’ said Tengis. ‘A man in the street does not have the right to believe in more than one thing. He should not have the time or inclination to do so. It is not his station in life to think about the bigger picture, in what is best about his country. That is the role of those in charge. That is my purpose. I believe in all things to do with this country and I believe in helping the common people understand that having faith in one single direction will make their lives far more effective and efficient. They should have faith in what it is that I say.’

  ‘At any cost?’ asked the voice.

  ‘Yes, at any cost,’ replied Tengis. ‘I know what is best for the people, and when they come to accept and believe that, then they will have nothing short of the best.’

  ‘Are you perhaps being slightly egotistical?’ asked the voice rather waspishly. ‘Don't you consider that what you think, say and do to be greatly superior to the actions of any other? Might it be possible that you see yourself as above all others, even those you care for? Do you think of yourself as more intelligent, more talented, clearer of thought, wiser? . . . Brave enough to make decisions others would fail to do?’

  ‘Of course I do!’ said Tengis impatiently. ‘You know that full well; I have always believed that. I only mix with other people so that they can undertake the tasks I have no interest in doing. Other people are merely resources at my command as I seek to do the best for the population of Ongolium and our great country.’

  ‘What about Odval, Mr Enkh and your other counsellors?’ asked the voice.

  ‘They are pawns,’ said Tengis. ‘I may care for Odval; she is somewhat special to me. As for the others, fish only see the bait not the hook – people fail to see the danger, only the profit. All of them are disposable. Ruling this country would be far simpler if I had people working for me who had no flimsy emotional attachment to Ongolium. Sentiment does nothing except cloud effectiveness. I have no time for it. I am certain Chinggis must have felt the same way.’

  ‘Do you think so?’ asked the voice. �
�Chinggis was after all the most tolerant leader this country has ever known. He was democratic to a fault. He did nothing unless he had attained consensus amongst his advisors. He would not act unless Khasar, Bold and Khad agreed that it was the correct course to take. Are you prepared to share your power with those around you?’ Tengis remained silent for a moment as he thought about this.

  ‘No,’ came Tengis's response.

  ‘Are you willing to fully embrace and endorse the democracy that marked the rule of Chinggis?’ asked the voice.

  ‘No,’ replied Tengis.

  ‘Will you listen to what your advisors tell you and change your mind if they deem it necessary?’ inquired the voice.

  ‘Absolutely not,’ said Tengis.

  ‘If you are not willing to do these things,’ said the voice, ‘then how can you claim to be acting under the banner of Chinggis? How can you tell the world that you are against those that ruined Chinggis and his egalitarianism? How can you claim to be for the people if you are not prepared to listen to them?’

  ‘Because I know better than they do,’ said Tengis. He was becoming heated and now stared angrily out of his window across his city. ‘They are corrupt. They are wrong. I am here to make things better. Only I know how to serve and protect Ongolium.’

  ‘That truly does not sound like you believe in Chinggis,’ said the voice. ‘It sounds as though you have never really believed in Chinggis.’

  ‘But,’ said Tengis, ‘everything I have ever done has been in consultation with you. Every move or decision I have ever made. Finding the shimmering metal, establishing New Chinggism, winning the trust of the people, distilling fear into my enemies. Everything has been at your behest. You have been the one that has guided me since I was an infant.’ Tengis's brilliant mind raced, his motor neurons exploding in a feeding frenzy as they fused hungrily in one another's electricity.

  ‘You are Chinggis, aren't you?’

  The voice in his head remained silent for several moments.

  ‘I am Khad,’ said the voice. ‘How do you do? It is a welcome pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. We have much to discuss.’

  21

  As a child, Lily had often wondered what the afterlife might look like. Most of the images she had been able to conjure up of Heaven looked pretty much like the place where she now found herself standing. She pinched herself. It hurt. She wasn't dead. Lucky moved closer and she could smell cabbages on his breath. She was definitely alive. Everything else told her otherwise, though.

  It was midwinter and Lily had known enough of them to realise that she should be shivering and diving for shelter. The temperature was not warm but it was far from cold, certainly above zero degrees. She didn't even have a jacket on. Lucky seemingly appreciated her thought and shook his rump approvingly. On the Steppe, the herders had taught Lily how to identify her location by sound – from the way the wind whistled over certain rocks, the cawing of various birds of prey, the bleating of local goats and the hoof fall of herder horses Lily had become able to pinpoint almost exactly her location within a radius of some hundred miles from the site of the winter camp. As Lily craned her neck to listen for noise, Lucky followed her example. Despite much twitching of ears, teeth clenching and exasperated concentration, neither of them could hear a thing.

  Looking around in wonder she marvelled at the structure inside whose belly she now stood. The past fortnight had been the first time Lily had ever set foot inside a structure larger than a ger. Some of the buildings she had been inside were almost the same size as twenty or even thirty gers. Millie's home had to have been the same size as one hundred. As she took in the scale of the glowing room at whose centre she stood, she estimated that the space could house every single ger in the whole of Ongolium and still have space for lots more. It was enormous; even Lucky seemed to be impressed. The roof disappeared into darkness beyond the reach of the firelight emanating from the centre of the structure. The gargantuan walls that led up to the roof were roughly hewn. They looked damp and a little magical. As Lily ventured closer to them, she watched as translucent figures danced across their luminosity. There was an alien feeling to the room; it was so unlike anything she had seen before. Lily tried to understand why everything looked so strange yet eerily familiar. Stopping dead in her tracks, she suddenly recalled that she had seen this before. The walls were made from the same shimmering material peddled by Tengis. Lily gasped.

  Running her hands across the walls, Lily was astonished by the softness and warmth the unusual yellow metallic substance offered. The way in which the walls captured the light cast by the fire was mesmerising. It illuminated each and every nook and cranny. The massive walls were completely uneven and irregular. There was no uniformity to the tender, polished rock face. While the substance was new to Lily, and related to Tengis, she was not afraid. The cavern felt like it should belong to the spirit world. Lily remembered that it was through the spirit world that she had arrived here. She had never known the spirit world to have exerted influence on her place in the real world. Lily wondered whether there was some connection between this cave and Tsara. She determined that there had to be but she had no idea as to what it could possibly be. Rather than think, she decided to act. Rather than mull over her predicament, she would explore further. Lily had long ago discovered that doing something was a far more productive pastime than doing nothing. Her father had once told her that, so long as she endeavoured, the Fates would favour her. So far he had never been proved wrong.

  Lily and Lucky began investigating the grotto. Moving apart in separate directions around the gargantuan and nearly circular space, they each kept near to the wall and closely examined each corner carefully. Lily was awestruck by the metallic matter. With each step and flicker of flame it seemed to change shape. It didn't seem to be real. Lucky was less interested. The substance had no scent and there didn't appear to be any carrots around. He quickly became rather bored and irritable. As Lily ran her hands across the walls, she became so engrossed in the malleable material she was touching that she failed to look where she was walking and almost fell to the floor. She stumbled over a jumble of items piled on the ground in a darker recess and caught herself just in time before she joined them.

  Her attention was diverted from the captivating substance. Picking through the slightly dusty articles, she tried to make sense of them. Everything appeared to have been hurriedly bundled into a large metal wheelbarrow. When Lily had staggered over the wheelbarrow, everything had scattered before her and she now sat in their midst. There were several heavier things that looked like tools but were completely different from the ones used by the herders. One looked like a weighty hammer with a stout handle. Another looked like a letter ‘T’ but with sharpened points. There were also smaller items that Lily was sure she had seen in Danyal's stable next to a woodwork bench, although these items seemed stronger and more robust. Lily surmised that they must all be implements for extracting the sunny substance that Tengis had so eagerly exploited to manipulate the people of Baatarulaan.

  Besides the tools there were lots of books and loose leaves of paper. Lily piled them up and began to look through them. She glanced up and noticed that Lucky had completed a full circle of the grotto and had now settled nearby. Lily also observed that there was no apparent exit.

  As Lily scoured through the papers and books, she made two piles. The first included those items that seemed to hold some interest. The second was for those she intended to discard, which had titles such as Health and Safety Manual, Human Resource Policy and Administrative Logistics. None of those sounded remotely interesting to Lily. She moved them to one side and returned to the pile that had seemed to be of more importance. It contained only two books.

  The first book was titled Historical Background to the Mine. Opening the dusty cover, she wiped away the grime that covered the contents page. As she thumbed through the book, she discovered that the shiny substance had been found several thousand years ago by a gang of maraudi
ng Outsiders. The initial find had been a cave the size of a man. For centuries they had pillaged and plundered, digging deeper into the mountain-side. It appeared that around eight hundred years ago one of the key investors in the mine struck a deal safeguarding its future. At that time Chinggis had been endeavouring to claim the site for himself so that he could use the funds it generated to improve his empire. They had not been willing to bargain with him. Chinggis had demanded they give him over 50 per cent of the income the mine was generating. This was not a deal the miners could entertain and so Chinggis had become increasingly irate. He threatened the foreign miners claiming they had no right to be there and gained considerable support from his people. Anti-mine groups sprang up around the country. The Outsiders had been terrified. The site provided a vast proportion of their wealth; they needed it, not to survive, but to ensure they could continue the quality of life to which they had become accustomed.

  Eventually the key investor struck a bargain whereby the Outsiders would be permitted to extract as much of the invaluable shiny substance as one hundred horses could carry and given safe passage home in exchange for handing over the deeds to the investor. It was an offer that had been impossible to refuse and the miners set about extracting as much of the glistening matter as fast as possible. On the day that they had finished loading up their horses, the investor appeared and the deeds were signed over to his name. The investor then told them that Chinggis was dead and that all bets were off. He then informed them that his name was Khad. Khad had clicked his fingers and the miners had been slain where they stood. The horses were taken back to Khad's palace in Baatarulaan where he used the minerals to fund his corruption.