She looked down. "I don't remember them."
"She said she's been on her own as long as she can remember, but she doesn't seem to remember very far back, maybe a couple of years, I think-"
"Shouldn't we be leaving soon, Lad?" interrupted Ganth.
"We have to take her with us, Kaz!"
"A human girl?" Hecar shook his head. "She'll stick out worse than a kender!"
"Nevertheless, we will take her." He looked at the girl. For some reason, she reminded him of someone. "Don't worry-girl-you'll go with us. I wouldn't leave anyone here to wait for the high priest."
"I don't like him. He kept saying I'd be here for centuries."
"Jopfer's truly mad," Hecar retorted. "Becoming high priest has made him crazy."
"Can you get the manacles open, Delbin?" Kaz did not want to have to use the axe. Striking the chains would make more noise than they could afford. It was a wonder no one had heard them so far.
"I think so." The kender was already at work. "I think I almost have this one figured out." To the human he said, "Don't you worry! We'll get you out, and then you can come with us back to Kaz's homeland then we can come up with a name for you-"
"I think I've decided on one," she abruptly announced with much seriousness. "I think I found one I like."
"That's all very nice-" but Kaz got no farther.
"I want to be called Tiberia, or even just Ty." The girl smiled prettily at Kaz. "Delbin mentioned a dragon in a story he told me while he was trying to free me. About a dragon called Tiberion. I like that name."
"Tiberia it is then," snorted Ganth. "We can admire the choice later. If you can't get those manacles open in the next few seconds, Delbin, then we'd better-"
Scurn swung his elbow back, catching a momentarily distracted Fliara in the stomach. She bent over, the air pushed out of her, allowing the scarred minotaur to seize her by the arm and shove her. Fliara collided with Hecar.
The action caught the others off guard. Scurn turned and raced through the open doorway.
"Somebody stop him!" Ganth called, already chasing the scarred minotaur.
"Delbin!" Kaz called over his shoulder as he started after them. "Get that bracelet open and get her out of here without us if you have to! We'll meet where we stayed before this whole mess began, but don't wait long! Get her out of Nethosak!"
"But, Kaz! I haven't told you the biggest thing! You should hear what she's able to do!"
"Later, Delbin! Free her!"
The kender was already back at work on the chain as Kaz and the others rushed out after Scurn. Kaz trusted the kender's skills, at least where sneaking around was concerned. If anyone could get Tiberia out unnoticed, Delbin could.
Scurn and Ganth were out of sight as he turned the corridor, not a good sign. If Scurn made it up to the next level, he would be able to warn some of the temple guards.
Then he heard the sounds of a struggle. Kaz twisted around the corner and discovered Scurn and Ganth fighting hand-to-hand, the older minotaur's sword on the floor between them. It was a credit to the undiminished skills of Kaz's father that he had caught the escaping captain before Scurn could climb the steps.
Scurn saw Kaz coining. A dark glint appeared in the disfigured warrior's eyes. Scurn opened his mouth and shouted loudly, making as much noise as he could. The cry echoed throughout the hall and, no doubt, the floor above.
Ganth finally freed a hand and punched his adversary in the jaw. Scurn stumbled back, falling over the steps. The older warrior reached down to retrieve his sword.
"What's going on down here?" called a voice. Less than a breath later, three temple guards appeared on the steps, weapons drawn.
"He's a traitor!" Ganth quickly replied. "He tried to kill the high priest's prisoner!"
The guards looked at Scurn with surprise, then started down.
"You fools!" Scurn snarled in turn. "That's the fugitive, Kaz, back there! He forced me at sword point to bring them here! I was the one who just shouted!"
The foremost guard looked the trio over. "I think you'd all better come with us. We'll let one of the clerics hear this mess. Now turn your weapons over."
Scurn revealed that he had no weapon. Ganth glanced at his son, then turned the blade so that the hilt pointed at the guards. One of the other warriors reached for it.
The blade slipped from the mariner's hand. As the guard reached to retrieve it, Ganth seized his wrist and pulled him forward hard, knocking the shocked minotaur into Scurn. Both fell roughly to the floor.
As if by magic, Fliara and Hecar appeared behind Kaz. The three wasted no time before charging the remaining sentries. Ganth backed away, seizing his lost sword before rejoining his son and daughter.
Hecar struck the guard who had fallen, knocking him senseless. This gave Scurn the opportunity to grab the unconscious warrior's blade and bring it up against Helati's brother. The attack was weak, but it prevented Hecar from joining Kaz and the others.
For the first time, Kaz saw his youngest sibling in action. Fliara was swift, her smaller stature working for her in ways he would not have expected. Twice she got under the guard of an attacker, bleeding him. Fliara was versatile, using both orthodox and unorthodox moves to confuse her adversary.
Kaz's own opponent was no match and was quickly backed up, leaving Fliara's male alone. He tried to slash at her, but she shifted under him, running her blade into his chest. As he collapsed, Fliara joined her brother in pinioning the sole remaining guard.
All of a sudden, more guards appeared at the top of the steps. This time, there were at least seven. Kaz and his sister found themselves abruptly losing the ground they had gained. Soon they were pushed back near Hecar and Scum, who were still battling.
"We're trapped down here!" Fliara informed Kaz needlessly. "There's nowhere but the cells behind us!"
Three more guards joined the squad. Although not all of the temple sentries could do battle, the small band was being continually pushed back down the steps. Ganth ran one through, but two more appeared. Kaz and his group retreated. Hecar was forced to abandon his duel with Scurn, lest he be isolated.
"The one with the axe!" the scarred warrior shouted. "The high priest will want him alive if possible, but kill the others!"
As Kaz backed even farther, he bumped into a small form. At first he thought it was Galump, but then he saw it was Delbin.
"Kaz! There's no other way out! I looked all around, but I couldn't find a path anywhere-"
Kaz deflected a sword thrust. "Where's Ty?"
"She's here, Kaz! Listen, she thinks she can get us out of here!"
"Don't talk nonsense! Get back!"
"But listen, Kaz! She can do magic! She can!"
He had no time for the kender's babble. "Well, then let her do it! Get us out of here! Take us anywhere!" Kaz succeeded in knocking away one minotaur's sword, but that minotaur immediately retreated, and one of his comrades renewed the press. Kaz cried, "Ty, if you can do it, get us out of here!"
"I don't know, Kaz! Delbin took off the chains, which the high priest said held back my power, but I've never tried it with so many people. Usually it's just myself!"
He had no idea what the young human was talking about. She talked like a kender. Perhaps there was some truth to the story. Perhaps Ty was a mage. If she was, then she was their only chance to escape. It certainly would not hurt for her to try.
"You have to do it, Ty!" Delbin insisted. "Just concentrate hard on getting us someplace else! You should be able to do it! I'll bet you've got a lot of power!"
A pair of guards prevented him from saying more. Kaz fought off their attack and prayed to Paladine that Delbin wasn't crazy this time.
"There's more of them coming!" Ganth cried. "We'll have to break-"
The corridor vanished… to be replaced by a huge, familiar room dimly lit by a few well-placed torches.
"— away and…" the old mariner's voice faded as he and the others realized the change in surroundings.
; "What happened just now?" Fliara demanded. "Where are we?"
Kaz quickly surveyed the group. They were all there, his father, sister, Hecar, Delbin, and the human girl. Ty was pale and shivering, but seemed all right, especially considering the fact that she had just done what Kaz had assumed was impossible,… transported them all from one location to another.
"That was fun, Ty! How did you get all of us here? I didn't think you could do that!"
"Where are we?" repeated Fliara. "This looks like it's still part of the temple!"
"It is," Kaz responded. "It's the audience chamber of the high priest, a place we should definitely not be." He started toward the doors. "Come on!"
They had gone only a few steps when every unlit torch in the chamber burst into bright flames.
"Interesting," came the voice of Jopfer. "I found you just in time, didn't I, Young One? Your great powers begin to manifest themselves."
The band turned to see the high priest standing at the top of the dais, arms folded. A satisfied expression covered the tall figure's features.
"At last, this will come to an end."
"Jopfer!" shouted Hecar. "What's got into you? What's happened to you?" Helati's brother started forward, angry at his old friend. "You were never one with much love for the temple. You hated all they stood for, but now you've become the worst of them!"
"The truth would surprise you," the cleric returned, his tone one of mockery. It was almost as if he enjoyed some jest the others knew nothing about.
"Upon reflection, it would do to take a glance at the face of honor," someone said in Kaz's ear.
He looked around before realizing that the voice had sounded like the infernal figure in gray again. It was bad enough that they stood before Jopfer, but did the gray man have to haunt him just now? Still, Kaz turned slightly away from the others and held the mirrorlike finish of his battle-axe so he could see… or not see… the form of the high priest. The others he knew he could trust.
Kaz stared into the axe face, certain that he would see nothing but an empty dais.
What he saw, however briefly it appeared, nearly made him drop the axe. Honor's Face had revealed the truth about Jopfer, but Kaz had difficulty believing it.
Kaz wasted no more time. He had briefly contemplated using the high priest as a hostage, but now, with practiced aim and no warning whatsoever, he threw Honor's Face at the cleric.
The high priest glanced at the whirling weapon, then caught it by the handle when it was mere inches from his chest.
"Dwarven make," he hissed, as if the mere thought of the race disgusted him. His nostrils flared. "And elven taint. A foul but fascinating combination. I shall study it in more detail later."
To Kaz's horror, Honor's Face vanished. He tried to will it back, but the axe would not return.
"Your will is nothing compared to mine," the figure on the dais hissed. "All your wills combined are nothing to me. I am power itself. I am greater than all the race combined!"
"You're mad, Jopfer!" Hecar called. He took a step nearer to the platform. "And you might've been lucky with that axe, but you're still only one minotaur!"
"Aye, let's see how your tricks work against all of us," Ganth added.
The other three minotaurs started forward. Kaz gazed at them in dismay. They truly did not know the extent of the horror.
"Get back, all of you!" Kaz cried. "He's not what he appears!"
That made them pause. Even the high priest seemed momentarily startled.
"Mage or cleric, Lad," Ganth said, resuming his advance. "It's all the same to me."
"But he's neither! He's not even a minotaur!"
The last word was punctuated by mocking laughter that echoed so loudly in the chamber that every member of Kaz's band had to cover his or her ears. The robed figure continued to laugh for several seconds, sounding more bestial by the moment.
"Clever little warrior!" he cried, his toothy smile unnerving Kaz, who knew the truth. "Clever little minotaur! I will have to wring the secret of your cleverness from you just before I end your short, useless existence! You've guessed! You know me as I truly am, do you not?"
"I know you…"
"What're you talking about, Kaz?" asked Hecar. "What're you saying about Jopfer?"
"He's neither Jopfer nor even a minotaur! The high priest is a dragon!"
They looked at the cleric as if expecting him to refute the incredible claim, for dragons had disappeared at the end of the war. Not a single dragon, good or evil, had been seen since, as far as most knew.
Jopfer said nothing. He merely nodded, acknowledging Kaz's warning… then began to swell in size. His snout twisted; his teeth grew longer and sharper. The fur covering him became scales as red as fire. The robe fell away, revealing expanding wings and a long whip of a tail that had not been there a breath before.
His hands became claws with long talons, and his arms twisted. He was already ten times his original size.
It all happened in the blink of an eye. Where the minotaur had stood there now squatted a red dragon of immense proportions. Kaz noted how the huge chamber allowed the creature free movement and wondered if perhaps-and the thought was a chilling one-if perhaps the place had been built with him in mind.
"I am Infernus!" roared the dragon, looking down at them as if they were insects. "I have worked centuries to make you all what you are! I have guided you in guise after guise!" He raised his head high. "I am your true god… and you have been very, very naughty children indeed!"
They backed away suddenly as a fear washed over them. It was no normal fear, not even what one might expect to feel when confronted by such a leviathan. Kaz recognized it as dragonfear, a magic of the creatures he had not felt since the war.
The dragon, Infernus, lowered his head. "And as naughty children, it's time you were punished."
Chapter 14
The Emperor
"You shouldn't even be here!" insisted Kaz, fighting the dragonfear. "The dragons have all left Krynn! Since the end of the war!"
"The gods commanded that we depart, yes," agreed the red leviathan. "They compelled us! We served them well… on both sides… and for our reward we were to be cast out of this world! Yet I resisted! I fought against the pull! One by one, my brethren flew off into the air, unable to command their own wills, but still I managed to resist!"
The red dragon clambered down from the dais, eyes darting from one minotaur to the next. Each time his gaze returned to Ty. Kaz noted that and began to wonder.
"My anger was my strength. I had served my lady well, working over the centuries to achieve her goal, and now I was supposed to abandon my work for her, all that I had strived for! It had become more mine than hers, and I was simply to leave it behind because of her failure! I, Infernus!"
Where were the clerics and the guards? Kaz had expected others to barge in by this point. Did they not hear the bellowing? He could not believe the minotaurs who worked in the temple knew the secret of their high priest. Perhaps a few high-ranking ones did, but even that was doubtful.
Again Kaz tried to will his axe to his hands. This time, he felt a slight tug, as if Honor's Face sought to return but was prevented. Yet it gave him a little hope. The dragon's will was not.invincible. Kaz might be able to get the axe back if he could distract the dragon enough.
Providing he got the chance.
Infernus seemed glad to have an audience, albeit a captive one, for which to boast of his exploits. They were probably the first outsiders to know the truth… no doubt because the dragon intended to kill them all.
"You are my children, more than you are the offspring of either Sargas or his mistress, dark Takhisis! I have made you into the terrors that you are, guided you over generations for her, obeyed foolish edicts, and given you over to other masters so that you would be honed by the harshness of your lives. All so that you would become stronger, more defiant soldiers! Now, I can lead you to fulfill your glory, and mine! I will rule, and your kind will act as my ta
lons, reaching out farther and farther until we have all of Krynn under control! You shall bow to no one, no god or goddess, but me!"
Infernus looked up to the ceiling. If Kaz had understood the dragon correctly, then the history of the minotaur race was a mockery-centuries of endless manipulation by forces without and within-the dragon the greatest manipulator of all. Every high priest for countless generations may have been this dragon in minotaur form.
The shiver that ran down his spine was not influenced by the dragonfear, but rather the realization of what had happened to all those minotaurs, many of them no doubt good, honest clerics. What had Jopfer thought when the offer was presented? Had he thought that here was a way for someone to correct the ills of the priesthood? Had he believed that he could work with his former masters and make the temple of Sargas an ally of the circle?
When had he finally discovered the truth? Just before Infernus stole his form and destroyed him?
The baleful gaze of the huge red creature suddenly focused on Kaz. "A shame you had to be so defiant, Kaziganthi de-Orilg. You and I share a kindred spirit, but that is why you could not obey me. You were useful for a time, though, spreading the glory of minotaur skills beyond the homeland. For a time I let those tales spread among your own kind, knowing such feats as were rumored could only encourage others to strive harder." He dipped his massive head in what Kaz supposed was a bow. "I am glad I decided to let you live after you departed the circus. It would have been a pity to rid myself of both you and your brother at the same time. Until you began to settle down and draw others from the homeland, you were more aid than hindrance to my plans. Had you accepted my offer, you would have redeemed yourself and become my greatest general. I hoped you would. Truly I had hoped so. You are what I have been striving to create, Kaziganthi. You are the minotaur warrior that knows no defeat, knows no challenge that cannot be overcome!" Infernus cocked his head. "You still have one last chance."
"You must be mad!" Kaz began, enraged. "After what you've done to me and mine you still have the arrogance to offer-"
"You!" The voice was Ganth's, as Kaz had never heard this father. The mariner, sword raised, stared wide-eyed at the leviathan. Despite his dragonfear, the older minotaur began edging forward. "You had Raud killed! And you had Gladiator sent out on that doomed mission, didn't you? I remember the high priest sanctioning it! By the Just One's beard, I remember the temple practically insisting we be sent out into those dark waters immediately… without a cleric aboard, which was standard practice back then! You knew we'd run into those ships, those marauders, and that storm as well, didn't you? You expected us all to perish, didn't you?"
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