Land of the minotaurs lh-4

by Richard A. Knaak

  "Give yourselves up!" demanded the leader of the rescuers. "You can't win this battle!"

  The remaining soldiers lowered their weapons. Four of their number were dead, including the escort commander, with at least three others injured. Of the rescuers, only one had fallen and another had a wounded arm. All in all, a good battle, at least from Hecar's point of view.

  "Toron!" Fliara ran over to the minotaur with the streak in his fur, hugging him. For no reason he could fathom, Hecar felt a twinge of jealousy. He was certainly not attracted to Kaz's sister. Certainly not.

  "This is hardly the situation I'd expected you to get into, little sister!" roared the one called Toron. "You were always the strict, rule-abiding one in the family!"

  "Toron?" The name was more than familiar, but as with Fliara, many years had passed since Hecar had seen this same minotaur. Toron, like Fliara, had been much younger. Hecar turned to where Kaz had last been standing. "Kaz! Your brother is-"

  Kaz, however, was nowhere to be seen.

  Hecar quickly scanned the street, fearing that somewhere he would find the fallen body of Helati's mate.

  However, it almost immediately became apparent that Kaz was not among the dead and wounded.

  Delbin tugged on his hand. Hecar looked down at the kender, who was trying to hold back a giggle. "He fooled you really good, but then he looked exactly like Kaz, which is what he told me he had to do in order to give Kaz the time to get where he had to, and, besides, it would have been harder for Kaz to do certain things if we were still prisoners in the temple-"

  "What the blazes are you talking about, Delbin? Are you saying that wasn't Kaz with us?"

  "No, it was the gray man from my dreams, and he said Kaz had the best chance to rescue Ty if we were out and safe, and, besides, Helati's been talking to your clan, which is why-"

  "Which is why we decided to show the temple it can't push around Orilg, especially my own family." Toron walked up and patted Hecar on the shoulder. "And that includes you, Hecar! I missed the rest of what this little creature said! Where's Kaz?"

  Hecar shook his head. "Delbin says he was never here, that some mage was here, disguised as him. That much I think I understand. Kaz went to rescue a… human female"-it would not do to tell Toron the truth just yet- "who is a prisoner of the high priest. The female's important for some reason."

  "Then we should go back and help him! The others can handle these prisoners!"

  "No!" piped up Delbin. "The mage said we should go to the circus!"

  Hecar paused. On the one hand, he wanted to go back and help Kaz, but on the other hand, their interference might make it more difficult for Kaz to slip out with Ty.

  "I wish Helati were here," he muttered. Her advice had always been sound.

  "She's done enough as it is," replied Toron, "considering all she helped plan!"

  "Helati's here? How is that possible? Where is she?"

  "Not here, at least not in the flesh, but-"

  Fliara joined them, cutting off her brother's explanation. Her expression was one of great concern. "Where's Kaz?"

  "Not here," her brother replied, "that's all I understand. He might be back at the temple, if what Hecar here said is true."

  "Then we've got trouble."

  "Why's that?" asked Hecar.

  She looked around, verifying something. "Scum's missing, too."

  As the ceremony announcing the imperial duel began, Infernus felt a tug of warning in his mind. The tug was something he had added to the hatchling's prison spell; it warned him if, say, the young one's power grew sufficient to disrupt or destroy the crimson cage. It also, as a matter of function, warned the dragon if some outside force attempted the same thing.

  Infernus did not think the hatchling was sufficiently schooled yet to free herself. That left only outside influence and that, to the disguised leviathan, meant, impossible as it seemed, only one audacious creature.

  "Kaz…" he whispered.

  One of his subordinates, hearing the high priest mutter, immediately turned to see if his master desired something.

  The chair of the high priest was empty.

  Chapter 17

  The Silver Hatchling

  The fall, if not the shock, should have killed Kaz. He knew that very well. He should have struck the wall or the floor with the force necessary to crack his hard head open or snap his neck. It would have been appropriate. It would have been almost exactly like the death of his father.

  Yet, while Kaz's head throbbed as if every drum in the homeland were being beaten, he was far from dead. His muscles ached, but that was fine compared with broken bones and a battered body.

  "Kaz! Don't die! Don't!"

  "I'm-" The minotaur tried to rise too swiftly and encountered throbbing pain. "I'm alive, Ty, but I think I might regret that good fortune for the next several minutes."

  "I thought you were going to die! I tried my best to keep you from falling so hard!"

  Kaz's head began to clear. Finally he could see well enough to observe that Ty was still a prisoner, but the spell that held her had grown pale now, almost pink, and did not pulsate every time its captive breathed. The girl's words started to make some sense… he thought. "Are you saying… are you saying you kept me from breaking my neck?"

  "I couldn't let that happen! Not after… not after…" Ty fought back tears. "Not after I couldn't save Ganth!"

  "It's all right, Ty." Kaz slowly rose. The throbbing lessened, but his arm, the same one that had been injured in the woods, now hurt intolerably. "You can't be blamed for not saving him. Blame Infernus, if anyone."

  "I hate him! I wish I could do something!"

  Kaz rubbed his chin, more to take his mind off his pain than because he was thinking. "You might be able to, Ty. You remember the gray man from your dreams? He spoke to me. He told me you have a power within you. All you have to do is remember what it means to be a dragon, a silver dragon."

  Ty closed her eyes, visibly concentrating. Precious seconds passed, but there was no sign of success. After a few more seconds, the young woman opened her eyes and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Kaz. I've been trying. I've been trying ever since he put me in here. I tried harder when the man in gray said you'd be coming for me, but I still can't do it! I only remember being human!"

  From what Kaz recalled of dragons, they were born with an intelligence that was already exceptional, by minotaur standards. They understood innately how to use their wings and their most basic skills, physical and magical. Magic was so natural to them that they picked up the most simple tricks only days after hatching. They were adaptable when young, growing set in their ways only after reaching adulthood.

  "It's in you, Ty. It's the only way you'll be able to defy Infernus. He wants you to be a dragon in form, but not in mind. He wants you to be a frightened child, obedient to him. He also needs you alive, so remember that you have some hold over him."

  Ty tried again. For a moment it seemed as if she might succeed, then she fell back, gasping. The female shook her head again, saying nothing.

  "Maybe if I can get you out of there first." Kaz searched around for the staff, then, noting a trail of ash, recalled what had happened to it. He wondered if anything had happened to the gray mage at the same time. Magic-users' staffs were supposed to be important to them, often containing spells that the mages spent years creating. Sometimes the staffs were even tied to the lives of their owners. Had he injured the gray man?

  That could not concern him now. If he had no wizard's staff, then he needed to find something else magical, something to make headway.

  Something magical?

  The globe that depicted the events of the circus still floated in the same place it had prior to Kaz's rescue attempt. Its magic came from the same source: Infernus. It was risky, mostly to the minotaur, since Ty's power protected her better, but he could see no other possible tool.

  "Ty, I'm going to try something. Do you think you can protect both of us from some magic?" He indicated
the globe.

  The young captive understood immediately what Kaz intended. "I'll do my best. I think I can, Kaz."

  "Good. Now let's hope I can touch this."

  "Infernus touched it a lot."

  "That's encouraging., at least." Kaz gingerly reached for the globe, hoping the red dragon's ability to grasp it without harm was not due simply to his having created it.

  His hands tingled as they closed on the magical sphere. Touching it was like touching something soft and malleable, yet solid. It was slightly warm. Encouraged, he held it tighter, raising it to chest level.

  Kaz raised the globe over his head. "Get ready, Ty."

  He threw the magical artifact at Ty's prison, at the same time backing away as quickly as he could.

  Nothing happened, for just before it would have touched the magical cage, the globe suddenly vanished.

  "You are a very tenacious pest, minotaur."

  Infernus stood near the window. His eyes were a fiery red. The artifact floated above one hand. Without his gaze leaving Kaz, the red dragon dismissed his device.

  "Others have said that about me before," Kaz returned, wishing he had Honor's Face in his grip. At least with the magical axe he would have stood a good chance of leaving Infernus with a permanent souvenir of this encounter. "Most of those are dead."

  The false minotaur laughed. "Do you seriously think those words unnerve me, Kaziganthi de-Orilg? Do you imagine me shivering in fear at your implied threat? You are no more a threat to me than a bee's sting or a drop of rain. I am Infernus! I am the embodiment of power! I am a dragon!"

  "Careful, your loyal followers out there might hear you."

  "These rooms are proofed against sounds, minotaur. I have, on occasion, dealt with those who have failed me or attempted to cross my will. The hunters who failed to capture you. A cleric who protested my methods, calling them dishonorable. A fool of a general who thought he could bully a newly ordained high priest into being his servant." The robed figure indicated his domain. "They all challenged me in here in one way or another and paid for their folly… as you shall now."

  Infernus pointed at the minotaur.

  A wave of molten rock poured over Kaz before he could even move. At first the heat was searing. The rock flowed over him from all sides. Kaz fully expected to die there and then.

  He did not. The rock cooled as it touched him, turning so brittle that all he had to do was move to shatter it and free himself.

  "Impossible!" roared the red dragon. "Impossible… or your doing!"

  His last words were directed at Ty, who stood defiantly even though still a prisoner. The damage the staff had done to her crimson cell had given her some respite. Ty had been able to regain some of her strength.

  "I won't let you hurt him!"

  "You will not? You who are less of a threat than he is? Little One, if you bore a will as strong as the minotaur's, I might consider your words of some import, but you are nothing. You are an infant not yet familiar with much more than breathing and eating. You know a few basics of magic and think you can stand against me! I am centuries old, far older than most and far more dangerous than any. Do not interfere again, Little One. I need you alive, but not necessarily whole. Simply alive."

  Ty glared.

  A wind buffeted the disguised dragon, but did little more. Infernus smiled and waved a hand. The wind died away. The dragon glared back at the defiant young female.

  The cage began to crackle with renewed energy. Ty's legs buckled, but to her credit, she did not scream.

  Angered by the high priest's assault on Ty and knowing it would be his best chance to strike, Kaz leapt for Infernus. Unfortunately, Infernus was far swifter than any minotaur could ever have been. He reacted even as Kaz was in the air, turning his burning eyes on the flying figure. Kaz found himself floating in midair, helpless. The high priest stalked toward him, his expression less and less like that of a minotaur and more and more like what would appear on the reptilian visage of a dragon.

  "Enough! It is time we ended this! Emperor Polik is no doubt just beginning his duel, the one that will reaffirm his right to lead the race in the grand campaign. He will win, of course, though the duel is planned to take several minutes simply for the sake of drama. My presence will be required then for the announcement." His mouth stretched in a way that was impossible, showing far too many teeth. "Consider yourself fortunate. That means I shall make your death a quick one. Not a painless one, but a quick one."

  Kaz barely bit back a cry as his arms, legs, and head stretched in different directions. His muscles strained, and it felt as if his bones were about to be torn apart. He fought against the strain, but his efforts were for naught. Slowly but surely, he was going to be dismembered, one piece at a time.

  "Let him go!" he heard Ty call. "Let him go!"

  Infernus only laughed.

  "I said let him go!"

  A cry coursed through the chamber, but it had not come from Kaz. The minotaur fell without warning to the hard floor, only a last-minute turn preventing him from breaking his arm. As it was, his left leg felt numb.

  "You… hurt… me… you… little…" Infernus sprawled against a column, his chest heaving rapidly and his eyes wide in both anger and surprise. There was no physical evidence of what Ty had done to the red dragon, but the robed figure's reaction was enough to indicate that it had been a mighty blow, indeed.

  Rising from the floor, Kaz quietly stalked toward Infernus. Every muscle in the minotaur's body cried out in pain.

  "I can see… that your education is going… to require some rethinking."

  The minotaur was close enough. "Infernus?"

  The red dragon turned, still not quite recovered.

  Kaz punched him.

  He had the satisfaction of watching Infernus fall back, the blow so sudden that the high priest did not possess the wherewithal to brace himself. The robed figure tumbled to the floor, rolling several feet.

  If I only had Honor's Face, Kaz wished. I could probably end this now.

  It was not until he had completed the thought that he realized the axe was somehow in his hand. The dragon's will had been shattered to the point where his hold over the magical weapon had vanished. Once more Honor's Face obeyed its master's command.

  Kaz grinned, starting toward the sprawled figure. Infernus was just rising to his hands and knees as Kaz reached him. The minotaur stopped, raised the axe, and said, "This is for my father and every other minotaur, dragon!"

  A blood-red serpent knocked him off his feet. Kaz fell back, still somehow managing to maintain his grip on his weapon, and saw that his first observation had been inaccurate. It was not a serpent that had attacked him, but rather a long, scaly tail.

  A dragon's tail.

  Infernus was shifting, throwing off the form of a minotaur. The robe tore to shreds, unable to contain the swelling form. Folded wings burst through the back of the garment, then opened and stretched. The last vestiges of the high priest's clothing scattered as the red dragon expanded. He was nearly full-grown before Kaz could even rise.

  The draconian visage twisted toward him. "Insufferable creature! Audacious gnat! You dare strike me! You dare to think you can destroy me!"

  "You like to hear yourself talk, don't you?" Kaz challenged, trying to throw the dragon off. "You do a lot of talking, Infernus."

  His words further enraged the leviathan, which was what Kaz had hoped for. The more enraged the dragon got, the less thinking Infernus would do. Red dragons, the minotaur recalled from the war, had terrible tempers that often led to their downfall in combat.

  "I will crush you!" Infernus raised a massive paw and brought it down.

  Kaz jumped aside. It was a clean miss. He adjusted his grip on Honor's Face and waited. If Infernus did that again, Kaz would be ready.

  "Your race was nothing until I came along, minotaur!" the immense dragon cried. "Beasts no better than the cows you resemble! I made you into the master race! You yourself are the product o
f my careful culling of the weak! You should be grateful to me! Without my touch, this race would have died out long ago!" Infernus hissed. "Now all I demand is my due."

  "Your due is waiting for you in my hands," Kaz replied calmly, hefting the axe.

  Infernus raised a paw and brought it down again. The strike was nearer, but again Kaz managed to leap out of the way. As he moved, he counterattacked, swinging Honor's Face up in a vicious arc. The gleaming head buried itself deep in the dragon's paw.

  With a roar of rage, Infernus pulled the injured appendage away, tossing Kaz and the axe aside in the process. Blood splattered both the floor and the minotaur as the red dragon shook his paw. The minotaur scrambled to his feet, retrieving his weapon. Without hesitation he advanced toward the crimson leviathan's other forepaw, axe up and ready to strike.

  His monstrous adversary saw him too late. Infernus had time only to register the small figure's new position before Kaz brought the deadly axe down again.

  If the first cry had been deafening, the second threatened to make Kaz's head burst. It seemed impossible that those outside could not hear the dragon's roars despite whatever spell or handiwork was designed to block the sound.

  "Gnat! I will eat you instead of killing you outright! First a hand, then a foot, using my magic to keep you alive and conscious until I snap your head off your limbless torso! I will wreak such pain on you as you have never imagined!"

  "You're talking again," Kaz pointed out. "All you ever seem to do is talk."

  "Ha!" The eyes of Infernus gleamed. His mouth opened. A great burst of flame shot toward the minotaur. It was too wide to avoid. Kaz rolled to the floor, praying the flame would go over his head.

  Instead, the length of flame turned upward at ah impossible angle just before it reached Kaz. Tapestries caught fire, and the ceiling began to smolder.

  The dragon turned back to his captive. "You again! You are becoming more trouble than you are worth! I can see that before I can remove the minotaur from my sight, I must first deal with you!"