The Dog Assassins. The Adventures of Llewelyn and Gelert book Two

By David Bell

The Emperor’s finally got his dog: Rescued from their Jiang kidnappers, Gelert the legendary Wolfhound and Llewelyn Prince of Wales are rushed across the Chinese Empire to witness first hand what absolute power really means: a fearful nation bending to the erratic whim of a reclusive tyrant. The dark corridors of the Emperor’s palace are soon awash with blood, but who’s really in charge, the eunuchs or the generals? And with plans already in place for the invasion of Jiang, will Llewelyn help Feiyan pull off her outrageous plan to assassinate the Emperor? Join our two friends as they meet astonishing new dog breeds, unearth fresh mysteries, and brave the terrors of Gelert’s increasingly rancid farts in this, the second book of the epic adventures of Llewelyn & Gelert.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Bell
• Release date: Sep 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370165933

David Bell

DAVID BELL is the author of five novels including NEVER COME BACK, THE HIDING PLACE, and CEMETERY GIRL. He is an Associate Professor of English at Western Kentucky University. To find out more visit: www.davidbellnovels.com

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THE DOG ASSASSINS

The Adventures of Llewelyn & Gelert Book Two

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may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, digital,

mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without

the prior permission of the author.

David Bell has the right of attribution – the right to be identified as the author of the work, and asserts this right. The author has the right of integrity – the right to object to and prevent derogatory treatment of the work. Derogatory treatment is treatment (by distortion, mutilation or otherwise) that is prejudicial to his honour or reputation. He also has the right to accurate attribution – the right to be accurately attributed as the author of the work and not to have the work attributed to someone else.

Copyright Text David Bell Sept 2016

Copyright Cover and all Illustrations ©David Bell Sept 2016

Also available on Amazon in paperback,

fully illustrated with 175 original drawings,

and in text only.

Illuminated version

available on Kindle

and other devices.

Table of Contents

PREFACE BY GELERT

PART ONE LIES

Chapter 1. Survivors

Chapter 2. Stolen

Chapter 3. The Gates

Chapter 4. The Port

Chapter 5. The Journey

PART TWO: THE EMPIRE

Chapter 6. The Eunuchs

Chapter 7. The Gardener

Chapter 8. The Menagerie

Chapter 9. New Friends

Chapter 10. Black Bear

PART THREE. THE PALACE

Chapter 11. The Pool

Chapter 12. Waiting

Chapter 13. Clemency

Chapter 14. Retribution

Chapter 15. The Caravan

PART FOUR: THE DOG ASSASSINS

Chapter 16. Poison

Chapter 17. The Essence

Chapter 18. On the Move

Chapter 19. Procrastination

Chapter 20. Disappointment

PART FIVE. CATASTROPHE

Chapter 21. Hunted

Chapter 22. The Wolves

Chapter 23. The flood

Chapter 24. A change of heart

Chapter 25. Time to go home

EPILOGUE BY GELERT

EXTRACT FROM ‘THE DOG ARMY’

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES

PRAISE FOR THE DOG HUNTERS

PREFACE

By Gelert.

Llewelyn, being a human, says that if you want to know what happened in the first part of our story, you need to read ‘The Dog Hunters’. He thinks the carefully drawn characters and the unfolding narrative of intertwining story arcs set against the geopolitics of contrasting middle ages cultures are far too complicated to be condensed into a few ‘the story so far...’ paragraphs.

I, on the other hand, am a dog, so this is what happened:

I am Gelert, the legendary wolfhound of Wales, and my master is young Prince Llewelyn. The Emperor of China, hearing that I am more than a legend and very much alive, has sent his Admiral and half his navy to Wales, to ‘buy’ me and bring me home, to be added to the Imperial Menagerie.

However, Llewelyn and I are then kidnapped by Captain Chang, the leader of a band of infiltrators from the mysterious kingdom of Jiang. The Jiang are keepers of many secrets, including their ability to breed dogs of any description. That’s why they want me – to create an army of monster dogs to fight the Emperor, who, the Jiang believe, is bent on conquering them.

During our escape to Jiang, Llewelyn comes round to sympathising with our captors’ struggle for freedom. He also discovers Jiang’s greatest secret – ‘the Essence’, a powerful medicine that lets men cheat death.

Then he meets Feiyan, Captain Chang’s dangerously beautiful daughter, who’s against the idea of the dog army, though just as determined to resist the evil Emperor.

Meanwhile, Captain Chang chances on a pair of disease carrying Hyenas and brings them on board, thinking the disgusting creatures could be the source of an even more monstrous Jiang army than one sired by moi.

However, the Chinese have picked up our trail, and chased us remorselessly across oceans, seas, deserts and more oceans. And now we’re faced by another fleet of Chinese ships sent to intercept us.

Just as we think we’ve escaped into a raging typhoon, a single Arab dhow turns up, crewed by the remnants of our original pursuers, including the King of Wales, Llewelyn’s Father. The storm hits, Llewelyn and I are ‘rescued’, and you join us moments after we’ve discovered that the King’s brought Friar William, Llewelyn’s old tutor.

In a shocking revelation, the odious Priest has just told Llewelyn that not only is he Jiang, but that he’s the mastermind behind the whole plot to steal me from beneath the Emperor’s nose.

There. The whole of ‘The Dog Hunters’ book in under two pages.

Carry on reading below.

Meanwhile, if you’ll excuse me, I have an urgent appointment with the 4kg bag of Winalot I’ve just noticed in the cupboard Llewelyn has very kindly forgotten to close.

PART ONE: LIES

Chapter 1. Survivors

_______________

The dismasted Dhow was sinking, wallowing in the sloppy swell of the dying storm, kept afloat only by its cargo of dried dates and coconut husks. The hold was awash in a soup of seawater, rat piss, rat turds and dead rats.

Prince Llewelyn sat on a pile of dank sacks, staring bleakly at the wave of filthy water that sloshed endlessly from one side of the creaking hull to the other, and with each roll of the crippled vessel it slopped an inch higher. Soon he’d have to abandon the hold, then the deck, and then he’d have to take his chances on whatever floated free. There was no choice in the matter, just as there was no point in worrying about his destiny so why am I crapping my pants with fear?

He shifted his attention to Friar William, who lay opposite him, wedged into a compartment stuffed with blankets. Llewelyn hated Friar William. The Priest, his old tutor, was filled to the brim with spiteful arrogance, topped off with a streak of cruelty. Moreover, he was a walking midden. His coarsely woven cassock was a bountiful source of spilled food, and the man’s scabby, sore-pocked skin was a meal in itself. Which is why Gelert, Llewelyn’s faithful wolfhound, lay next to him, blissfully lapping at his left hand.

So, Gelert, said Friar William, The Emperor has you back. But we shall spirit you away again. We will take you to Jiang, where you will father my army of great dogs. When the Chinese invade us, your sons will send them screaming home to their mothers.

Llewelyn remembered that Friar William knew nothing about the hyenas.

You don’t need Gelert anymore, he said. Chang and Kung have changed the plan. We found two hyenas on a wrecked Jiang Sampan–

Friar William looked up, his piggy eyes flashing green.

Hyenas? Disgusting creatures… What of them?

Kung and Captain Chang think they’re a better beast to breed into an army than Gelert.

Kung’s an idiot. For a start, you need a dozen or more animals to create a new breed. Two hyenas aren’t enough.

No. They were pregnant, and they pupped. There were ten or twelve of them.

Friar William’s scepticism thawed slightly. Hmm. Well, Hyenas are certainly vicious enough beasts –

That’s not why Kung and Chang are so excited by them, said Llewelyn. They’re carrying a horrible sickness. One of the buggers bit me and it nearly killed me. Kung says an army of hyenas –

Friar William rolled the thought around. Fight the Chinese with disease…? Yes, that could work I suppose; I have heard of plague corpses being used to poison besieged cities’ water supplies. Hmm, with a viable breeding stock, even Kung might be able to pull it off. Very well, I shall keep an open mind.

He lay back and Gelert snuffled around in the loose folds of the Priest’s robe. He found a smear of rancid lard on a hem and licked contentedly.

So, you see, you don’t need to steal Gelert back any more, said Llewelyn.

Friar William shook his head. The hyenas are an intriguing proposition, but at best a second rate substitute. No, I must take Gelert to Jiang. One way or another, wolfhound or Hyena, I shall have my dog army.

Llewelyn couldn’t help arguing against his old tutor. First you have to get off this boat. Which is sinking, or hadn’t you noticed?

We will be rescued. Somewhere out there the Emperor’s fleet is looking for us.

"If they find us, we’ll be taken to the Emperor. You won’t be able to kidnap Gelert from the middle of his empire."

Friar William shot him a look of acid contempt. You underestimate me –

There is one thing I don’t understand… said Llewelyn.

Only one? You flatter yourself.

Llewelyn ignored the snipe. Kung and the Captain were talking about breeding millions of hyenas in a few months. How can Jiang create an army of the buggers in such a short time?

Friar William rolled his eyes. "You think I am going to tell you Jiang’s most secret of secrets?"

I know all about the Essence –

Eh? said the Priest sitting up, making Gelert jerk. What traitor told you –? He squirmed his fat bulk out of his cocoon of blankets, spilling Gelert into the water as he stood up. The old wolfhound twisted to his feet and shook himself, peeved because he’d got a soaking, but more that the Priest had deprived him of his snack.

No one but Jiang can ever know of the Essence! said Friar William, splashing towards Llewelyn.

Llewelyn cringed at the prospect of yet another beating, but was reprieved by the sound of excited voices and thudding feet on the upper deck. A moment later, the hatchway into their dank quarters opened.

It was the King, Llewelyn’s father, with Owain the armourer standing behind him.

Come up, quickly Llew, there are sails! We’ve found the Chinese ships!

•

I saw one of those signalling fire arrows, said the King, pointing to the west.

The typhoon had scattered the few surviving ships of the Chinese fleet, but now rockets were firing from all points of the horizon. In a while, a dozen bedraggled junks of all sizes were converging on them.

Gelert sniffed the breeze and caught a whiff of something he liked. His tail started beating.

Grand Admiral Kwan See stood on the fore deck chattering with his officers. He looked happy.

What’s he saying? asked the King, who, even after months in the Admiral’s company, still didn’t understand a word of Chinese.

He says he’ll be glad to get off this excuse for a boat, Llewelyn translated, And that he’ll never eat dried dates again.

Hear hear to that, said Owain.

Now the Admiral was pointing.

He recognises that big nine-master over there, Llewelyn explained. He says it’s the flagship. Its commander is junior to him in the naval ranks, which means Kwan See will assume command of the fleet.

The king smiled warmly. The little butter barrel deserves a promotion. He chased you halfway round the world to get Gelert back.

No, said Friar William ominously. His negligence allowed Gelert to be stolen. The Emperor does not reward failure.

By now, the flagship was pulling alongside, its slab sides dwarfing the sinking dhow. A hatchway in the hull flapped open and a gangplank ran down, joining the two ships. Chinese seamen trotted on board, secured the walkway, and stood smartly to attention. Admiral Kwan See, aloof to their deference, strode haughtily forward, leading his Welsh refugees and the remainder of his own crew onto the giant junk.

•

Llewelyn gawped, turning as he walked to the middle of the main deck. Outside his father’s castle, the only thing he’d seen bigger than this was the spanking new cathedral in Chartres. Although the ravages of the recent typhoon were evident everywhere, this flagship was an imposing powerful floating fortress.

The main deck stretched fifty paces from side to side and four hundred or more fore and aft. The ship’s three main masts were neck-crickingly tall. Two sweeping staircases climbed three decks to the elevated castle like stern, where three lesser masts cast their shadows over a two-storied house roofed with glossy green tiles.

The smaller, two-masted forecastle was only one story high, but in itself was bigger than the largest ship in the Welsh navy.

Still craning his neck in wonderment, not watching where he was going, Llewelyn tumbled over Gelert, who’d stopped for a pee.

Hundreds of sailors and soldiers had gathered into a welcome committee. Now they pointed at Gelert piddling.

AAAAH! they gasped collectively as his stream of piss splattered and spread into a steaming puddle.

So, this is the Great Dog. He’s magnificent, said a voice.

•

A tall, gaunt, goateed man strolled forward, dressed in robes similar to Kwan See’s.

He smiled, but his eyes were weasel-like– black, cold and calculating. He regarded the Grand Admiral’s tattered appearance with ill-disguised contempt.

I am Admiral Huang. I’ll take him from here.

Kwan See bristled but said, calmly, No need, he is in my charge. Now, let me introduce His Majesty the King of Wales, and his son, Llewelyn, Prince of Wales. They are the former owners of the Great Dog.

Admiral Huang bowed politely, but had turned his back to Grand Admiral Kwan See.

"Very well, Vice Admiral Huang, said Kwan See, ignoring the sleight, Kindly move your belongings from the state cabin. I am tired and I wish to bathe."

Admiral Huang chuckled. No longer ‘Vice’ Admiral, old man. When the position of Grand Admiral became vacant, the Emperor was gracious enough to promote me –

Now Kwan See turned pale and gobbled in confusion.

"What do you mean, the position was made vacant? I am the Grand Admiral!"

"You were the Grand Admiral, said Huang, And now I am. If you don’t believe me, I can show you the Exalted One’s orders…"

The little Admiral deflated, instantly cowed by the revelation of his demotion. Ah, well, I see, right, he stammered, Just show me to my quarters.

Quarters? It’s the brig for you, Kwan See. And as for your crew… Lieutenant Shuan, have you detailed the execution party?

Yessir! said a marine, They’ve been sharpening their swords all morning. Squad, forward!

Kwan See’s men, hearing of their fate, began wailing. As the marine lieutenant’s men herded them towards the junk’s railings their moans turned to piteous screams.

Silence, you incompetent rabble! said Grand Admiral Huang. Be thankful that your Emperor has spared a moment to even consider your future.

What’s going on? asked the King, bewildered.

As I told you, said Friar William, The Emperor doesn’t reward failure. Our Admiral will be jailed until he can be made an example of, and his crew are to be executed forthwith.

The King grew angry. But that’s not right! he said, turning on Huang. These men were magnificent. Indefatigable! Brave!

Owain was stomping up and down, too angry to speak, and Llewelyn felt his own temper rising. Kwan See and his sailors had pursued him and Gelert across three seas and a desert, and had killed many of his friends, but he knew this punishment was cruel and unjust.

However, even as the three Welshmen protested, there was a brief hissing of swords being drawn followed by a rubbling, thunking sound. Llewelyn turned to see twenty severed heads spinning on the deck. The bodies of the crew collapsed in a disorderly row, their neatly sliced necks spraying frothy red arcs over the ships railings. Their executioners had already re-sheathed their swords.

Grand Admiral Huang turned on former Grand Admiral Kwan See. Righty ho. Off you go then, he said.

Kwan See was dazed, and whimpered, Yes, of course, the Emperor is correct. I failed him and it is my honour to submit to his wise judgment.

Llewelyn was astonished by the broken man’s meek acceptance but his father was still railing against the Emperor.

What sort of monster is he?

He’s as bad as the English! said Owain.

Llewelyn turned to Friar William. "The Emperor really is as bad as you say!"

Friar William shrugged. This is why we Jiang must defend ourselves from him. By whatever means.

Kwan See was being shackled, but still he found time to be a good officer.

Oh dear, I forgot, he told his new superior, There are three prisoners still on our Arab vessel, in the aft section. The Emperor will wish to interrogate them. Be careful though, they are very dangerous. You will need an escort of your best guards to bring them on board.

"Prisoners? said Llewelyn, What prisoners?" he asked his father.

The King frowned. The three we took in the mountain pass, back in the desert. The big oaf and the two midgets.

Llewelyn’s eyes grew wide. He turned to Friar William, switching into Latin. Who are they? he said, already knowing the answer.

Zheng and Ao and Chao.

"What? But they died in the desert!"

No, they didn’t. The Admiral’s soldiers overwhelmed them, and they took a beating, but they’re very much alive, thanks to me; I’ve been smuggling Essence to them ever since they were captured.

Why didn’t you let me see them? I could have helped. They’re my friends!

Friar William took him roughly to one side.

"Think, you snivelling brat; if the Admiral has even a hint you have any sympathy for them, he will tell the Emperor. You’d be asked questions, maybe tortured, forced to tell everything. You want that?"

The logic made sense, but Llewelyn was upset.

What’s going on Llew? said the King, glaring at Friar William’s rough handling of his son. Is the old goat bothering you?

No. I, err, it was just that... those men... the prisoners, I had no idea they were –

The thieving slime balls. If I’d had my way, I’d’ve strung them up by their scrotums and dangled them to the sharks. The only thing that stopped me was the Admiral saying the Emperor will have even worse punishments for them.

By now, the Chinese sailors were bringing the prisoners on board the Junk. All three were chained to stretchers, immobilised. Last up was the giant Zheng. It took eight men to carry him, and still they struggled with his weight.

The big man writhed against his bindings, shouting and spitting at everyone within range. When he saw Llewelyn and quietened, glancing him a brief sad smile. But then he exploded.

"Oh, you’re here, you little dung licker. I should have spitted you when I had the chance! To Shaitan with you!"

Ao joined in, Aye, and take your potbellied no-dick daddy…

… and his short-arsed sidekick with you! said Chao.

Llewelyn reeled at their outbursts, but Friar William leaned into his ear. "They understand, he said. You cannot be seen to have even the slightest attachment to them."

Meanwhile the King and Owain were bristling at Zheng’s hateful outburst and retorted in kind.

Kidnap my son, would you? You’re going to choke on your own eyeballs and drown in your own shit for that! said the King, and Owain went further, stepping forward and slapping the giant’s face. You think that hurts? Wait till you see what I can do with a funnel and a pint of molten lead.

Grand Admiral Huang chuckled coldly. Although he couldn’t understand what Owain and the King were saying, the intensity of their anger was clear.

Your father’s passion is admirable, he said to Llewelyn. Maybe the Emperor will let him join in with their torture.

What did he say? the King asked Llewelyn.

He said leave them alone! said Llewelyn hotly, ashamed that he could do nothing to help his old friends.

•

Gelert stood at the hatchway, whimpering as Kwan See and the three prisoners were taken below.

Hah! Even the Great Dog is glad to see the back of them, said Admiral Huang, Now to get word to the Emperor that I have found him. Bring the pigeons, he yelled to a crewman.

Pigeons? asked Llewelyn.

Friar William scowled. The Chinese discovered long ago that pigeons always return to their home roosts, no matter how many miles away. They use the creatures to communicate across great distances, over land or sea.

As he spoke, a man brought a cage full of fluttering birds and set it down before the Admiral, who was dictating a message to three different scribes.

News of my rescue of the Great Dog is of pressing importance to the Emperor, he told the bird wrangler. Choose your three strongest birds.

The wrangler folded up the notes and slipped them into small, slender silver tubes. As he tied them to his pigeons’ legs, Friar William continued his explanation to Llewelyn.

They send three copies in case one or two birds are lost. The tubes bear the Imperial Seal and dire warnings for anyone caught harming them.

Did Admiral Kwan See have these birds too? said Llewelyn.

Friar William frowned ruefully. A cabin full of them. All the time we were following you he was sending messages; across the Inland Sea, in the desert, when we reached the Western Ocean – that’s how the Emperor knew where to position his second fleet to intercept you.

The bird wrangler launched his three pigeons into the bright sky. The whirring sound of their beating wings echoed off the broad slatted sails of the junk as they circled the ship once before flying east towards their distant roosts.

Those damned flying rats stole Gelert from us, the Priest said. But I shall steal him back.

•

The Flagship and its retinue of lesser vessels turned their backs on the setting sun, sailing into a long lazy swell littered with wreckage from the rest of the typhoon battered fleet.

The floating masts and cordage were objects to be salvaged for running repairs of the surviving vessels. There was other flotsam too; cases, bales and bottles, and Grand Admiral Huang even had the bloated corpses of drowned sailors hooked and pulled on board. They were stripped of their clothes, the rings from their fingers and the odd gold tooth, before being tossed back into the sea to be feasted upon by a gathering frenzy of sharks. This gruesome cannibalising carried on throughout the shimmering scarlet sunset and long into the purple twilight as the limping convoy was enveloped by the sultry tropical night.

•

Friar William disappeared into the bowels of the ship with his bag of clanking bottles and good riddance to him, thought Llewelyn. After the confines of the dhow, he was glad to be able to take a turn on the open deck. He strolled in the twilight with his father and Owain while Gelert barrelled up and down in a series of imaginary races with Dog knows what, stopping here and there to piddle on strategic points.

He’s looking grand! said the King as the giant wolfhound knocked a passing sailor to the deck. Your kidnappers must have been feeding him some good grub.

He was treated like royalty, said Llewelyn, feeling this could be an opportunity to begin painting his Jiang comrades in a good light. And they weren’t too bad to me. I don’t think they even meant to take me. It’s just that Gelert wouldn’t go without me. They didn’t have much choice.

King harrumphed. Don’t go soft on them Llew. I’ve seen this before; captives growing to like their captors. Never forget that they stole you from me, and Gelert from his new owner. We owe everything to the Chinese Emperor.

Llewelyn shut up, wary of letting slip any of his feelings towards his kidnappers.

Or Feiyan.

He must have pulled a mooning face at the thought of her because his father laughed.

What’s the matter Llew? Is it that girl on the boat?

Llewelyn blushed, how in hell did he know I was thinking about her?

What girl? he said.

The one who threw you your longbow. No need to be embarrassed Llew, there’s nothing wrong with fancying a lass. Even if she’s a kidnapping scumbag.

Phooar! I’ll say! said in Owain. She was a looker! If I was half my age..? Well, a third. Well, maybe a quarter. If I still had feet, I’d be chasing her faster than a lurcher with eight legs!

Llewelyn looked down. She was just someone in their crew.

His father revelled in his embarrassment. Hah! My boy’s growing up at last! When we get back to Wales I’ll start asking around for a nice little princess for you. What do you say? Maybe a plump little princess from Denmark, or how about Sweden, eh? Blonde? Blue-eyes?

Yeah. Sounds… great, said Llewelyn, hoping that would be the end of it but reminded of Feiyan’s cobalt blue eyes.

The King took him by his shoulders and smiled. "You know, I do think you’ve done a bit of growing up, my fine little man. You’re still on the wrong side of skinny, but feel those muscles. I saw the way you took charge in the storm. And you learned to speak Chinese! I’m proud of you Llew, damned proud!"

Gelert came lolloping over, ever keen to join in a good moment. He slobbered Llewelyn’s hand and looked up to him with adoring bright eyes.

Llewelyn’s heart glowed. More than ever he yearned to tell his dad how much more he’d achieved. But this unasked for praise would do for now, and that was good enough.

Chapter 2. Stolen

____________

The next morning, Friar William pulled Llewelyn aside.

I’ve something to show you, he said, and led Llewelyn and Gelert deep into the bowels of the junk.

Hundreds of lanterns brought a thin yellow light to parts of the gloomy interior, but mostly it was a shadowy world of alien smells and mysterious noises. Llewelyn was soon lost in the maze of stairways and compartments, his senses waylaid by the bewildering collections of objects and animals that occupied every cranny. Silent servants scurried hither and thither between miles of vertiginous shelves crammed with pots, plants, rock samples and bolts of cloth.

I’ve discovered that the Emperor had this entire fleet diverted from its voyage to the south-eastern oceans to find us, said the flabby Priest. It was a treasure hunting expedition, and this is the main vessel, so it is full of pillage. Come see this…

He beckoned Llewelyn to a high-sided bamboo cage.

Inside was a strange red-furred animal. Llewelyn’s height, its face resembled a sheep’s topped with large, rabbit-like ears. It sat back on its muscular hindquarters and long thick tail, holding its spindly forelegs in front of its chest.

As Llewelyn looked closer, the beast tipped forward and hopped on both feet towards him. Gelert, curious, sniffed at it through the bars of the cage and their noses touched, quivering as they sniffed each other. Gelert wagged his tail. Suddenly the beast’s belly wriggled, as if it had swallowed something live. A split opened horizontally and a tiny head emerged. It was a miniature version of the bigger creature. Hearing Gelert’s excited bark, the little one burrowed back into its furry hole.

Is that its baby? asked Llewelyn, incredulous.

I believe so, said Friar William. "Although I’ve never seen anything like it. It appears to