Koja looked at Yamun in embarrassed surprise. Bowing his head to hide his reddened face, the priest finally spoke. "Yamun, I do not understand why you let Chanar and Bayalun live. It is commendable in the eyes of the Enlightened One, but it is very dangerous, isn't it?"
Yamun set down his cup and rested his chin on his hand. "I've given it much thought. For Bayalun, loss of her magic is a horrible fate."
"What about Chanar?" Koja asked, setting his own cup of tea aside.
"Chanar is my anda," Yamun answered sadly. "I cannot change that, so I cannot kill him. Once, he loved me." He looked away from the priest. Koja sat quietly, waiting for Yamun to continue.
"He'll have a small command, somewhere my Kashik can easily watch him. Chanar is ambitious, but not that clever. Bayalun was the one behind these plots." The khahan picked up his tea once more and sank back onto his throne.
"What will you do now, Khazari?" Yamun finally asked. "Will you stay with me or go back and be a priest?"
Koja rubbed his itching scalp. The stubble on his pate was getting long enough to irritate. Ruefully, he sighed. "Do not call me Khazari. I know I am no longer that. I might not be priest much longer either. I have not served Furo well. I fear the temple will not have me anymore." He forced a wistful smile, thinking of what he had lost.
"If neither your country nor your god want you, anda, who will you serve?" Yamun asked, although he already knew the answer.
Koja took a large swallow of tea. "You, my anda. If you will let me stay."
"You can become Tuigan," the khahan offered. He set his cup aside and waited expectantly for the priest's answer. "Watch me conquer Shou Lung. Write your history so that all the world will know of my greatness."
Koja looked at the khahan. It was impossible to ignore the hard, sure confidence in his eyes. Shou Lung was huge, its armies were numerous, but this time the priest did not doubt Yamun's words.
"Yes," Koja said after a while. "The world will certainly come to know your greatness."