Free Horselords by David Cook, Larry Elmore

child of Teylas and the Blue Wolf.”
    Arrogantly, Yamun strode past the kneeling man and unfastened the door flap. The heavy cloth immediately flew open with a crack. Cold rain blasted through the open doorway, swept in by the powerful wind. Foul ashes swirled up in choking clouds from the braziers. The warm air suddenly drained away.
    “There. That is the might of Teylas,” Yamun bellowed, motioning toward the storm. “Come, scribe, since you don’t believe he talks to me.”
    “Please, Great Lord,” Koja begged, shouting over the wind, “stay inside.”
    “No! You’ll come and see because I’ve ordered it.” He strode over to Koja, grabbed him by the shoulder, and half-dragged him to the doorway. With an unceremonious push, Yamun shoved the priest into the blasting rain.
    Koja stumbled and slipped, sliding down into the cold mud. Rain splashed into the slop and splattered thickly against him. A lance of lightning cut jaggedly through the night sky, illuminating the entire horizon. In the brief stab of light, Koja saw the dark form of Yamun standing over him, face to the sky, mouth wide open. The light lasted only an instant, and then the world was plunged back into darkness. Yamun’s strong hand grabbed the priest’s robes and hauled him out of the muck.
    The two men set out, struggling and sliding their way down the slope. They walked through the icy mud, out the gate, and past yurts until they reached the horse pens outside the capital. Wind and rain lashed against their faces. Rivulets ran from Yamun’s hair into his mustache, dribbling into his mouth. Huge drops ran down all sides of Koja’s shaved head, washing away the gobs of mud.
    “Teylas!” shouted Yamun, spitting water between each word. “Here I am! Listen to me!” A distant bolt of lightning dimly lit the steppe, casting weird shadows over the pair. The wind swept the rain away from their faces for a moment and then whipped it back again. The hollow rumble of the distant bolt barely carried over the wind.
    “He listens,” Yamun said confidently, letting go of Koja’s shoulder. Suddenly unsupported, the priest stumbled backward and fell, floundering along an unexpectedly steep part of the bank. Oblivious to everything, Yamun strode forward until Koja could barely see the older man’s bulky silhouette. Splashing through pools of foul, muddy water, Koja did his best to catch up.
    Finally, the priest fell back into the mud, exhausted from stumbling and slipping in pursuit of the khahan. Occasional flashes of lightning had guided Koja, but now he had lost sight of Yamun. Horses screamed and whinnied somewhere nearby, their shrill cries rising over the rattling rain. Koja pushed himself out of the mud and splashed off in the direction of the noise.
    “Teylas!” Yamun’s voice came from somewhere off to the priest’s left.
    “Khahan!” Koja shouted, hoping Yamun would hear him.
    A stroke of lightning, almost overhead, flooded the sky with light and thunder. Though his eyes hurt from the light, Koja could see Yamun off to the left. Around him were the shadowy shapes of horses, rearing and prancing in panic.
    “Yamun Khahan!” he shouted. There was no answer.
    The lightning illuminated the ground again, as if in response to Koja’s shouts. In the moment of light, he saw Yamun, arms stretched to heaven, at the center of one of the horse corrals. The rain formed streaks of silver all around him.
    Determined, Koja plunged forward into the darkness. His feet squished into the mud and threatened to slip out from under him at any second. Rainwater dripped down his eyebrows, blurring his sight. His robes, sodden and filthy, sagged and pulled on his frame.
    Koja’s shin smashed against something hard and solid—a fence. Shocked by the pain, the lama tried to hop back on one foot, then lost his balance. Both feet shot out from under him, kicking into the air. He sat in the muck at the foot of the corral fence, rubbing away the shooting streaks of