Echoes of home, p.1
Echoes of Home, page 1
Echoes of Home
Nordun's Way Book Three
Elles Lohuis
Also By Elles Lohuis
The Horse Master's Daughter ( Nordun's Way Book One)
A Pilgrim's Heart (Nordun's Way Book Two)
Download your copy of the hand-drawn map of Nordun’s travels, specially commissioned for the Nordun's Way series books 1, 2 and 3 at www.elleslohuis.com or scan the QR Code.
Echoes Of Home
Nordun's Way Book Three
ELLES LOHUIS
Black Peony Press
ECHOES OF HOME Copyright © 2023 by Elles Lohuis.
Elles Lohuis has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form without written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address the author at www.elleslohuis.com
First published by Black Peony Press in 2023
ISBN 9789083240886 (Paperback)
ISBN 9789083240893 (Hardback)
ISBN 9789083240879 (E-book)
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
In loving memory of my parents
Geerhard and Annie Lohuis
Contents
1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 12
13. Chapter 13
14. Chapter 14
15. Chapter 15
16. Chapter 16
17. Chapter 17
18. Chapter 18
19. Chapter 19
20. Chapter 20
21. Chapter 21
22. Chapter 22
23. Chapter 23
24. Chapter 24
25. Chapter 25
26. Chapter 26
27. Chapter 27
28. Chapter 28
29. Chapter 29
30. Chapter 30
31. Chapter 31
32. Chapter 32
33. Chapter 33
34. Chapter 34
35. Chapter 35
36. Chapter 36
37. Chapter 37
38. Chapter 38
39. Chapter 39
40. Chapter 40
41. Chapter 41
42. Chapter 42
43. Chapter 43
44. Chapter 44
Author’s Note
The Horse Master's Daughter
A Pilgrim's Heart
Acknowledgements
About Author
Glossary
one
Tibet, Eastern Kham
The Year of The Wood Rooster
1412 (1285 AD)
Dawn has broken. She basks the kitchen in pale hues of purple and pink, the stove murmurs a mellow good morning. It’s my first time waking at home after a long and eventful pilgrimage to Lhasa. All went well, and all should be well on this fine fall morning—except it isn’t.
“Let me get this right.” Father’s voice sounds eerily calm as he takes his seat opposite Karma. “You left my daughter in Lhasa without a word, disappeared for many moons on all of us, and now you’re back, asking my permission to take her to the jaws of hell?”
My empty stomach clenches. That subtle dark tinge in Father’s voice—it’s the reaction I expected. He’s my father, so it goes unsaid. Besides, the facts are not in Karma’s favor, and Father got them all right—except for one.
My heart goes out to Karma, sitting opposite Father, his head bent, his hands on his knees. I knew he would leave me in Lhasa. After all, I let him hear his mother’s voice, her desperate call for her long-lost son to come home to her. How could he not give in to his mother’s plea?
“Yes, Palden-la.” Karma’s manner mirrors Father’s calm. “I am asking you for your permission.” He looks up. A faint ray of morning sun catches his eyes and reveals the rich shade of emerald in them.
Karma, my love.
We’d gotten so close on our journey to Lhasa, but I had to let him go. Little did I know our parting would hurt so much. His absence ripped right through the tender hollows of my heart, leaving it raw and exposed. I would do it all again—even though I didn’t expect him to come back to me.
“I made a grave mistake by leaving.” He straightens his shoulders. “I betrayed your trust, the family’s trust, but most of all, I betrayed Nordun.” His eyes search and find mine as I sit at his side. “I shouldn’t have left like you like that, my love.”
I wring my hands around my cup and nod. “You’re here now.” My heart is his, no matter what happened, and he knows it.
“I’m sorry for all the grief I caused.” He puts his hands on the table and faces Father. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to set this straight, Palden-la.”
Father’s eyes narrow on Karma in a harsh stare, and I bite my lip. This is not looking good. Father shakes his head.
“I trusted you with my daughter.” A sharp edge rims his voice. “Abandoning her like that. What the hell were you thinking?” Bitter blame soars over the table at Karma, and I cringe. Father’s going to fly off the handle any moment—for sure, he will.
Heavy boots resound in the hallway, rapid thumps paired with a few rough huffs. A sharp outcry roars from the doorway. “He wasn’t thinking, the idiot!”
My spirit lifts—it’s Dendup, my trusted family elder who came with us to Lhasa. With his shirt wide open, and his chuba slung across his chest, he lurches into the kitchen in his typical boisterous way.
“You fool!” He charges at Karma and takes him in a mean hold, saving us all from Father’s expected show-down. “Disappearing on us in the middle of the night,” Dendup croaks.
For a moment it looks like he’s going to wrestle Karma, but then his face bursts into a rowdy laugh. “At least you’ve got the decency to come back.” He throws a cheeky smile my way. “Knowing we’re going to give you hell, right, sister?”
A fierce heat flushes my cheeks, flaring all the way up to my temples. Dendup teased me all the way to Lhasa and back, and I’ll never get used to it—silly me.
Dendup squeezes himself on the other side of Karma and gives Father a curt nod. I tear myself away from the looming silence and hasten to pour the men tea.
“What were you thinking, taking off like that?” Dendup slurps his tea with delight while our cups stand untouched. He’s a master in savoring the pleasant in a tense situation like this.
“You’ve been trying to hide it on me, but I know you’ve been wanting to search for your blood relatives for a long time—why now?” Dendup’s cup lands with a bang on the low table.
Blood relatives. The sheer contempt with which he utters that word makes me shudder.
Karma shrugs, and I wring a cloth between my hands. How to explain?
“It’s me.” My voice is thin, but the words grab everybody’s attention. “I told him to go look for them.”
Karma’s eyes flash at me and Dendup jumps in his seat. Father doesn’t even blink. I wish he would.
“You?” Dendup snorts over his tea. “Why?” Foam sprays from his mouth, and I bow my head.
Dendup’s been nothing but good to me, and I never told him, not once. So many times, he comforted me on our way home, thinking Karma had left me for no reason. My fingers fray the fringe of the rag. What must he think of me now?
“It came to me that Karma’s mother is still alive.” The words slip from my lips, but I don’t know how to tell them more. For sure they would not understand? Only Karma does, for we share our dreams, he and I. We’re bound by them, but how to explain?
“I told him that night in Lhasa.” I fling the cloth next to the stove and sink down at Father’s side. “So you see, he had to go.”
Karma’s hand moves across the table and his eyes lock mine in a tender hold.
“I took off too hastily,” he says. His restless gaze darts from me to Father and Dendup. “But I didn’t want to burden any of you with my obscure past—or my uncertain future.” His fingertips brush against mine.
“Uncertain it is, as these kinfolk of yours are brutes.” Dendup’s face twists in a grimace. “We’ve all heard the stories, butchering everybody who stands in their way.”
Karma’s jaw sets, and I slide my hands over his. Dendup speaks the truth. Karma’s kinfolk came from the North over our mountains, and established a truce with our tribes a long time ago. Seems we have been fortunate though, as the tales of their conquests in other lands speak of a cruelty that can only be whispered. Ruthless plunder and vicious slaughter of boys and men alike, of young girls and women violated and enslaved until death, and of entire settlements and even monasteries burned down to the ground. These men have no mercy, it seems. Still, it has no bearing on my love, as he grew up on Grandfather’s side of our family, and has only known of our way.
“But surely, their Khan has turned to Buddhism now?” I try, but Dendup’s scornful laugh swipes my argument right off the table.
“Buddhist or not, their ways are barbaric.” Dendup’s smug tone says it all.
Of course, he’s right, but how conveniently he s eems to forget the reason he and Karma went to Lhasa. They didn’t go on pilgrimage. No, they went to hunt down and kill my father’s brother—on orders from the family to avenge my mother’s death. Luckily, they didn’t succeed—but they sure came close.
I rest my head against the wall. He seems so calm, so quiet, my love, but only I see him for real. Regret and restiveness cloud in the far yonder of his eyes. How my heart longs to hold him close.
“Dammit, Karma, I’ve cursed you all the way from Lhasa to here.” Dendup sighs and rubs his bushy brows. “Hell, I even cursed you getting up this morning for pulling a stunt like that.”
I can’t help the brief smile peeping through my lips. He sure did curse Karma—all the way.
“But I’ve known you since you came to the family, being no taller than my knee’s high.” A grave shadow falls over his face. “We’ve been on the road together a long time and you’ve proven to be a real brother—more than that. You’ve proven your loyalty to the family over and over again.” My ribs tighten and my mouth goes dry.
Loyalty to the family. How neatly Dendup places these tricky words. Karma never mentioned it, but Lanying, my sister from the Han side of the mountains, explained it to me. Loyalty to the family means executing the family’s orders, and Karma’s done more honor killings than anybody ever had to.
“I can’t stop you from venturing out there, you’re too damn stubborn, like me.” Dendup’s sneer is snarky, that’s for sure, but there’s an airy undertone sounding through.
“I guess the only way to make sure you return safe is to come with you on the search for those kinfolk of yours.” His arm slides over Karma’s shoulder. “Besides, it’s time we conquer that side of the mountains once again in favor of the family’s trade.”
Karma shoots up, and my heart skips a beat. Father still doesn’t move.
“You are?” Karma’s voice soars with surprise, and I don’t know whether that’s good or bad. All I’m thinking about is how Dendup’s company will strengthen my case for going too.
“I am.” Dendup’s tone is persistent. “But first we prepare.” He slaps Karma’s shoulder and hands me his empty cup, with a shifty smile.
I gather the other cups, still full with lukewarm tea. It’s a done deal for Dendup—but for me? If only Father would say something, anything. I don’t dare to look.
“Winter’s coming and the mountains won’t let us pass.” Dendup’s all reasoning now. “We’ll leave some time after Losar.”
Father sips the cup I poured. Still, there’s not a word from his lips.
“That’s great.” Karma beams a smile at Dendup. “But I’m not leaving without my love.” He bows his head to Father, but there’s still no reaction from his side.
“I’ll wait for you.” I swing the kettle. Steam hisses as tea slushes on the scorching stove.
“I’m not leaving without Nordun.” Karma lifts his chin and looks Father straight in the eye. “Tell me what it will take to get your permission, Palden-la.”
I have to give it these two, the two men I love most—they’re quite a match. I hold my breath as the stony silence between the two of them submerges the kitchen in a suffocating solidity.
With reluctance, Father shifts in his seat.
“I’ll think about it.” His response releases my trapped breath and I gasp for air. He’ll think about it. This is good.
“Nordun and I will go to the ngakpa this morning.” Father sits back. “He deserves to know what happened to his wife in Lhasa firsthand.” He rests his hands on his knees.
The ngakpa. An iron fist locks around my heart. It was the ngakpa’s wife who provided my father’s brother with the snake spell that killed my mother. The two of them fled to Lhasa when their devious play came to light this summer. Now Father wants me to tell the ngakpa how Karma and Dendup hunted them down. This is not good.
“We’ll be back by midday.” Father gets up. “We’ll talk after that.” He moves out of the kitchen without saying another word.
“I’m sorry, love.” Karma jumps up, and I freeze.
I don’t want to go. His hands hold mine.
“All of it?” I blink and he nods. Of course, all of it. It’s all or nothing for us now.
My feet stumble through the hallway. My mind cries out. What a fool I’ve been.
For only a fool would expect Father to be satisfied with the vague account I gave him of our Lhasa adventure yesterday. Just as only a fool would expect him to let me go with Karma in search of his mother and kinsfolk.
After all, what father would let his daughter go off with her lover to the far grasslands of Mongolia like that?
two
A crisp breeze sweeps around the courtyard. Winter will come any day.
“We’ll walk,” Father says. So we walk—out of the gate, along the lane where the tall trees sway their barren branches and the hardy grass retreats. From the corner of my eye, I watch Father stride on and my heart expands at his sight. His shoulders squared, his chin held high—he’s looking better than ever. Now that Uncle and his sons have left the stables, Father’s the master, a force to be reckoned with once again.
“I never got the chance to tell you how proud I am.” Father’s arm pulls me in and I flinch at my own secretive scheming. Here I am, with Father expressing his truth to me, when all I think about is masking the terrible facts.
“Making that arduous journey to do all that merit.” He looks at me, his eyes radiant and clear. “And protecting my only brother from a certain death; you amaze me again and again, my child.”
He knows! Gravel crunches under my heels. Father knows I had a hand in Uncle’s rescue. How? My mind twists and turns. I’m not good at hiding and he knows me well, even though we spent almost my entire childhood apart. Maybe he’s just guessing. My shoulders sag. I glance aside.
“I am right, am I not?” The sharp tone he carried in our earlier conversation has faded and a warm smile breaks on his lips.
“Want to tell me what happened before we get to the ngakpa?” His hand squeezes my shoulder. “It won’t change the facts or the outcome.” His gentle gaze catches mine. “Nor will it ever change my love for you.”
Shame blurs my vision. No, it won’t change the outcome, not for Uncle, and not for me. Father’s love knows no boundaries, nor does it set any conditions, and my heart understands that by now. Still, it might change the outcome for Karma if Father knows the details. My love. Do I really need to tell it all? I take in a sharp breath.
“Karma and Dendup, they took real good care of me along the way.” My voice wavers. Where to begin? “When we came to Lhasa, they got me a safe place to stay at a nuns’ monastery.”
Father’s hand still rests on my shoulder. He will not let this go. I better not mention that Karma tried everything in his power to keep me at the monastery, including bribing the guard. He worried for my safety, I understand, but Father might take it all wrong.
“And there was a woman from the other side of the mountains in our caravan,” I say. “We became good friends, and she helped me.” I won’t tell him of Lanying’s flamboyant ways, but I’ll have to mention her part in it all.
“Helped you with what?” Father’s hand slides off my shoulder. We’ve come to the higher grassland surrounding the village.
“She found out where Uncle and Khandro were staying.” I heave. The truth weights heavy when climbing a hill. “We went to see them with two of her guards, hoping they would flee if they knew Dendup and Karma had come.” Well, that was what I had in mind, but Lanying thought they needed a bit more convincing. That’s why she brought the guards, which turned out to be a good thing.
“When we arrived, Karma and Sonam were already there.” My thoughts scramble over to that frightful night when Father’s best friend Sonam turned up too.
“Of course they were, they had to act fast.” Father tips back his head. “And Dendup stayed at the inn, keeping the company of his trusted chang, I guess.”
I nod and halt as we reach the top. “So then we made this plan that I would go in and talk to Karma and Sonam, distracting them so Lanying and her men could get Uncle out.” I turn to face Father. He shakes his head.
