“At their homes of course,” he replied. “They would not want to stay in the presence of death.”
“Would it be possible for me to question them about this night’s events?” she asked. He seemed shocked.
“Why would you? They are gentlemen, leaders of the city, and members of the council, not criminals to be interrogated!” Lin Mei quickly put on her most ingratiating smile, inwardly grating her teeth.
“Of course,” she agreed. “And such intelligent and capable men might be able to shine light on this terrible event.” That seemed to mollify him slightly.
“It will have to wait until the morning,” he said slowly. “By now they will be abed, and trying to get some sleep. This has all been a shock.”
“I can see that it would be,” she said. “Hopefully we can determine what happened here, and find justice.”
He nodded at that. “Yes,” he said, “justice for our city as well as for Aisamo Akkenne.” She was about to reply to that with some harmless platitude when she heard some droning sounds from outside.
“What is that?” she asked.
“That is Wang Due Gyaltsen, a priest who is staying as a guest of Aisamo. He has offered to say the prayers for the dead. But first he is chanting the spells to ward off the evil spirit that caused this tragedy.”
“So we are certain this man’s death had an unearthly cause?”
“What else?” Kamartike asked. Lin Mei looked at the phurbu firmly lodged in the post and nodded. The scene about her would tell her no more, at least not tonight.
“It’s late. May I resume this matter in the morning, when the light is better? And please see to it that no one touches anything until then.”
“Of course,” he replied. He turned to a guard officer nearby, the same one who had escorted her earlier. “See this woman safely back to her quarters,” he said. The young man nodded and gestured to the two guards nearby. She nodded to Togrul and Hua. They nodded in reply and left.
She went back the same way they had come. Soon they all arrived at her room. Her host, Sonam Champa, was waiting.
“Thank you, you may leave her with me.” he told her escort.
Sonam waited until they were all out of earshot before speaking. “In my quarters,” he said quietly, turning to lead the way.
He led her into a room that apparently served as his library, office, and audience chamber. Stacks of scrolls lined the shelf against the wall. He motioned her to a thick cushion while he sat on a low dais.
“You and trouble seem to find one another,” he began.
“No choice of mine,” she assured him. “I have enough matters of my own to occupy my time.”
“We all do,” he grunted. A pot of tea waited over some glowing charcoal. He waited for a servant to pour two cups and leave, and then raised his cup. Lin Mei followed suit, eyeing him over the rim. Like his younger brother Dorpak he was a successful and prosperous merchant, and she saw the signs of good living on him, despite the lines of age on his face. But his ancestors had come down from the mountains to settle in the oasis kingdoms that dotted the arid lands between the empires, and the look of the mountain folk showed in his eyes.
“Just what did Kamartike want?” he asked. Lin Mei considered for a moment.
“He wants me to investigate the death of Aisamo Akkenne.”
“And his men cannot?”
“I do have some experience in this sort of thing?” she said carefully. He grunted.
That can be a dangerous reputation to have,” he said gruffly.
“I am aware of that,” she agreed in a low voice. A grim smile crossed his lips.
“Just what is this all about?” she asked. “Why would someone want to kill Aisamo Akkenne?” He let out a long sigh and settled back against the wall.
“Jewels thrown on the sand,” he began. “The kingdoms along the caravan routes are prizes that tempt the neighboring lands. In that there is danger, but also safety.” Lin Mei raised a brow.
“Between the northern and southern routes is the Taklamakan desert,” he began. “To the north are the nomad confederations, dangerous if they ever unite, but so far bickering among themselves. To the south is the Tifun Empire. And to the east is the Empire of the August Throne, the Tang. And far to the west new powers are rising. All covet the oasis kingdoms.”
“The armies of Tifun were defeated recently, I hear,” Lin Mei ventured. He shook his head.
“They were driven back to the mountains,” he said, “not defeated. Tifun’s armies and power remain largely intact.” Lin Mei listened attentively, wondering what this was all about.
“The oasis kingdoms maintain a degree of independence because of this. While the empires that surround the desert lands all covet these rich city-states and kingdoms, none will allow any other to acquire them.” She nodded in understanding. He stopped to take another sip of tea. Lin Mei took a sip too.
“However,” he resumed, “there are some who feel this is an unstable state of affairs, and that our interests would be better served if one of the great powers were to extend their protection to these lands.” Lin Mei did not bother to hide her interest, leaning forward to listen.
“The Council of the Five Clans of Kashgar was divided,” he told her, “and not all voices were of equal weight. Aisamo Akkenne is—was—the wealthiest merchant in Kashgar, and head of the council. He and I felt that our safety is best assured by friendship with the Tang court. Kamartike Akappi believes that the Tang would not be satisfied with mere friendship, and that the Yarlung Khan of Tifun might be a more preferable friend. The remaining two feel the present state of affairs is acceptable, for the time being.”
“Who will take Aisamo’s place?” she asked.
“The Akkenne clan must choose a new head,” he replied. “It will most likely be Khale, his younger brother. He is away on business at the present, in Khotan.” She nodded, thinking.
“Would the Yarlung Khan be satisfied with a mere friendship?” she asked. Sonam shook his head.
“I doubt it,” he said. “But Kamartike countered by pointing out that Tifun is in the mountains far to the south, and any incursion would be countered by the threat of the Tang armies and of the nomads.”
“With Aisamo dead, you are alone in your position,” she noted.
“I might be able to persuade one of the others to change his stance.”
“I was told he went to his library to recover a scroll he had written,” she said. “Do you know what it was?”
“No, but I knew he had been working on it for some time,” he said. “I asked him if he would read it to us. He was reading it when he was killed.” Lin Mei nodded.
“What was the room like when you all entered?”
“We did not all enter,” Sonam replied. “I went in after Kamartike. That was after we heard a sound of a man falling. When we saw that Aisamo had been killed Kamartike backed away from the body. I examined it and saw that he had been pierced by the phurbu in the wall.”
“The other members of the council did not enter?” she asked. He shook his head.
“The scroll he was reading, where did it go?” Sonam hesitated a moment.
“I do not know,” he said.
“Aisamo and Kamartike were of the same people?” she asked cautiously. Sonam smiled.
“Anciently from the west, and old in this land, but not of the same mind,” he replied.
“And you are telling me this because…?”
“I wish for you to investigate the death of Aisamo Akkenne,” he said.
“Kamartike Akappi has already requested that I do so,” she said.
“Then Kamartike and I are finally in agreement,” he said wryly.
“Would there not be a conflict?” she asked frowning.
“I wish for you to find out the truth,” he replied. “How can there be a conflict?”
Lin Mei let herself smile. “I thank you for the tea, and conversation,” she said. “May I take my leave now?”
&nbs
p; Sonam nodded and called for her to be escorted out.
~o0o~
Dawn’s light broke bright and clear, streaming in through the lattice window high on one wall. She let Shadow and Twilight out into the garden and went to wash and find breakfast, returning with barley bread and tea and some dried meat for the cats. Leaving them to their devices, which seemed to involve more sleep, she left.
Her first stop was the compound of Aisamo where she investigated the room where he had died, this time by daylight. She needn’t have bothered. It told her no more than it had by night. She did learn, however, that Wang Due Gyaltsen, the priest she had encountered the night before, had in fact been a guest of Aisamo but had since moved to Kamartike Akappi’s residence, which was next door, taking the phurbu with him. She decided not to follow that matter further for the moment. Further inquiry revealed nothing more than that the demon of the night before had not been seen or heard of since.
Her horse was in the stable. She rode out to the campground where a short talk with Hua Chen and Togrul Magh settled their pay and the day’s tasks. Then she rode back into town for a visit to the Khalsamo Dharma Monastery.
That turned out to be a large establishment, almost a small town in itself, with several streets converging on a large temple in the center, the Pema Norbu Temple. A couple of coins bought her two large sticks of incense as well as a few moments of conversation with a talkative younger monk.
“I heard there was some excitement in the Kadje district last night,” she began, referring to the neighborhood housing the compounds of the rulers of Kashgar. He nodded.
“I heard a demon broke loose from his imprisonment in a spelled phurbu dagger,” he told her. “An ancient and dangerous demon from the mountain lands far to the south.”
“That is what I heard also,” she agreed. “It is fortunate that the learned monk, Wang Due Gyaltsen, was there as a guest of Aisamo Akkenne. I was told he chanted the spells to ward off the demon after the attack and has offered to chant the prayers of the dead for him. He said he was from the Choejor Dorje Monastery, of Pari, on pilgrimage to the Pema Norbu Temple. But why would he have been staying at the residence of Kamartike Akappi, and not here? Was there no room here at the monastery for a visiting monk?”
“Aisamo Akkenne would gain merit by hosting a learned monk of the Choejor Dorje Monastery. It is a place of learning and wisdom, dedicated to the teachings of Enlightenment.”
“Has he visited this temple yet?” she asked.
“I have not heard of such a visit,” he said, smiling.
“I thank you for your lesson,” she said, bowing low.
“May Enlightenment light your path,” he said, raising his hand in a gesture of blessing. She smiled and left after leaving two burning sticks of incense in the temple.
But as she was leaving the temple grounds she was accosted by a tall lean monk dressed all in black robes. With a start she recognized him as the monk she had seen in the crowd the night before.
“May we talk?” he asked.
~o0o~
The garden was cleverly laid out so that there were small clearings scattered about suitable for contemplation or quiet conversation, as in the case of Lin Mei and her new acquaintance, Goba Jigme, of the Sakya Monastery, near Shigatse, in the land of Tifun.
“Gossip in the Kadje district says that Aisamo Akkenne was killed by a phurbu propelled by sorcery,” he began, admirably getting to the point. “It was stolen from the Sakya Monastery,” he said. “I have been sent by the abbot to recover it.”
“Why do you not simply go to the house of Kamartike Akappi and request it?” she asked.
“I did, this morning, and was denied entrance,” he replied, fingering a strand of beads, coral by the look of them. “I have heard he told Kamartike Akappi I am a Njalyorpas, a mountain wizard in league with demons, and that I want the phurbu for evil purposes.”
“Why would he do this?”
“It is a powerful weapon,” he replied.
“Powerful?” she asked. “Why?” He looked at her for a moment.
“The mountains used to be the home of demons and malevolent spirits. The priests of Bon, the old religion, learned the prayers and rites to control and bind them, often with blood sacrifices. Some were imprisoned in material objects….”
“Like the phurbu!” Lin Mei broke in. He nodded.
“How was it used to kill Aisamo Akkenne?” she asked.
“Adepts, even evil ones, can send objects flying through the air,” he told her. “If a demon is imprisoned in the object it is even more powerful.”
“But the demon was loose last night,” she reminded him.
He nodded.
“How did it get loose?”
“I suspect the act of being used in a killing was enough to release the demon from the spell. Blood sealed the spell, and contact with blood released the seal.”
“I was told it has not been seen since,” she noted.
“It will avoid daylight,” he told her.
“Does it matter if you return the phurbu without the demon?”
“It would,” he replied, pausing for a moment. “The phurbu imprisons the demon, and while the demon is not evil, it is wild and untamed, dangerous in its ignorance and strength.”
“How can it be imprisoned once again?”
“I do not know. The abbot here at the Norbu Pema has allowed me to study some ancient texts that may be of help.” She let a small frown show on her face, and nodded, eyeing him carefully. He had the lean hard look of a fighting man, and his face did not bear too saintly a countenance. In their travels she and Biao had sometimes run into the chostimpas, the monastery guards, and on occasion, bodyguards of the great abbots. She knew that some, at least, of the higher levels of the monasteries’ leaders knew of her association with the intelligence arm of the Empire. She wondered how much Jigme knew. But on this matter the two of them seemed to be working toward the same purpose.
“Why was Aisamo killed?” she asked cautiously. He shrugged, not as artistically as the young officer of the night before, but expressively nonetheless.
“I suspect there may have been some political motive, or perhaps it involved the control of the trade that runs through this city. Or both, those two are often connected. He was certainly too old for any romantic entanglement to provide motive.” Lin Mei had the feeling he was entirely too familiar with worldly matters like death and politics for a monk. She thought for a moment before deciding to entrust him with some of what she knew.
“I heard that there was a division in the Council of Five regarding Kashgar’s relations with the great powers that surround these lands.”
“The Path of Enlightenment leads to peace,” he said, “and the political alliances that the cities of the caravan roads choose are their business. We wish only that they avoid bloodshed.” She nodded in agreement, not bothering to mention that she would prefer that no empire extend this far into the desert.
“If the demon reappears again tonight can you be available to help?”
“I can be,” he said.
That would have to do, she thought. Taking her leave she left him to his studies.
~o0o~
The rest of the day passed in the routine of running a caravan guard business. Before heading back out to the campground she stopped and bought a jar of rice wine. Hua Chen and Togrul Magh had just set the night watches and seen to the animals when she arrived. Now that she had appointed Hua Chen and Togrul Magh as lieutenants she was able to pass on some of those tasks off on them, which made life easier.
The day’s tasks finished, she joined them at the campfire, taking out the wine. “To celebrate your new positions!” she said, handing it over to Togrul, who laughed and used his dagger to break the seal. They all had some, washing down their meal of barley bread and roast meat with it. She decided to tell them what she had learned that day. If they were to be her lieutenants she could not afford to have them ignorant of her affairs.
&nb
sp; “Kamartike is ambitious,” Hua Chen said around a mouthful of bread and meat. “The new Tang dynasty has increased trade with these lands, and silk and other goods flow west in increasing amounts, with the lion’s share passing through Kamartike’s storerooms.”
“Is that so?” Lin Mei asked, biting off a mouthful of a roasted antelope Togrul had brought down earlier that day. Hua Chen nodded.
“I hear one of his sons married a daughter of a governor of one of the westernmost provinces, and has gone to live there. That may account for the increased trade coming here. The threat of Tifun raiders along the southern route may also help account for that,” he added.
Togrul grunted. “He has also given one of his daughters in marriage to Chepe Shegui, Khaghan of the western Turks,” he said, referring to the leader of the most powerful nomad confederacy.
“He has?” Lin Mei asked, keeping the talk going. Togrul nodded.
“Chepe Khaghan is also ambitious. He asked the Emperor of Tang for one of his daughters in marriage for one of his sons.” Lin Mei’s ears pricked at that.
“I heard he already has a wife from the Imperial court,” she said. “Now he wants one for his son?” Togrul nodded.
“The Emperor asked for a bride price of the cities of Khotan, Kashgar, and Kushan,” he said chuckling, naming three of the largest cities along the northern trade route.
“The daughter must be very good looking!” Hua Chen laughed.
“They are not his to give!” Lin Mei added, laughing too. Togrul grunted at that.
“Chepe Khaghan sends ‘gifts’ to the rulers of those cities,” he said, “and receives ‘tribute’ in return. So he claims them as vassals.” Lin Mei nodded.
“The demand of the emperor caused the planned marriage alliance to be abandoned,” Togrul added.
“Why such an exorbitant demand?” she asked, already suspecting the answer.
“It set the Khan in his place!” Togrul replied. Lin Mei laughed and nodded. But if the Khan had agreed, and sent documents handing over the cities, she thought, and the cities refused to submit to the Empire, the Emperor could declare them in “rebellion” and send armies to subdue them.
“Sonam Champa does not seem to be doing badly,” she noted. Togrul nodded.
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