Casca 22: The Mongol (19 page)

They spent a few more minutes together. Then, with a sigh of reluctance, Ghengiz asked Casca to excuse him, for he had to meet with his commanders and prepare for the morrow. "As you have chosen not to go with us, there is no need for you to tire yourself with this meeting."

He rose, escorting Casca to the entrance of the tent. "Leave now, Casca-bahadur. But remember this: you have been my true friend these many years. All that I have achieved and won upon the path of my destiny has come from your words and, I think, perhaps even love. If ever there is anything that you wish or need while in the domains of the Mongol, it shall be yours.

"You know that all I have is yours. Even before the seed of my own loins, my own sons. I would make you a king of any land you wished. Gold and slaves, power and glory can all be yours if you will but nod your head, not as a subject but as a friend. No more than that. Anything you want you have but to ask.

"That, too, is my word and my law. Before this night is done, a yarligh with the al-tamgha, the vermilion seal of my house, shall be sent to all corners of the empire carrying that message. None in my lands may do you ill, Old Young One."

Casca bowed his head at his friend's words, then for the first time in private, he performed a kowtow. Not as an act of subservience but as one of respect, for he knew that Ghengiz was greater than he could ever be, even with all his years behind him.
He backed his way out of the presence of the master and into the dark.

Qubulai was waiting with those Ghengiz had summoned to him. For a second he thought he saw a strange thing on the scarred face of the Old One – a drip of crystal at the corner of one eye. But no! That could not be. Warriors do not cry.

Casca returns to the United States to escape from British justice, and becomes involved in saving a family of Irish immigrants from the clutches of an evil brothel owner. Hunted by the Brotherhood as well as the criminal’s associates, Casca opts for the safety of the American army just as war with Mexico breaks out.  And Case Lonnergan – as Casca calls himself – soon finds he is fighting in a war where every attack is directed against well defended positions.  Teaming up with a unit of Marines, Case becomes part of the birth of a legend, and in front of the forbidding Chapultepec Castle he leads them in a suicidal head-on assault!

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