The female did as Kaz requested.
'Ready yourself!'
Kaz brought one tip of the staff down on the crimson field.
The force unleashed by the dragon's spell when the staff hit burned the magic artifact to ash and threw the minotaur across the chamber.
The guards chosen to escort Hecar and the others gathered the party together. Scurn was among the prisoners. The guards placed Hecar next to an oddly contemplative! Kaz, who obeyed their captors' orders without protest. He did not have an opportunity to do more than glance at Helati's mate, but when he did, Kaz smiled back at him. It was almost as if Kaz knew some jest, which he had not shared with the others.
What can he be thinking about? Hecar wondered. Does he have a plan of escape?;
They reached the main level just as several guards and clerics went rushing toward the doorway leading to the high priest's audience chamber. The guard leader called a halt and started toward one of the clerics, but Kaz suddenly broke his silence.
'If you delay, we won't make the circus in time. They, can handle the matter.'
If Hecar and the other prisoners thought it odd for Kaz; to speak these words, the guards and their commander seemed to find them completely sensible. The leader nodded, and the small band continued on, departing the temple moments later.
'Kaz!' whispered Hecar. 'If you've got a plan, you'd-'
'Be silent!' snapped a temple soldier. He swatted Hecar on the shoulder with the flat of his blade. Hecar was tempted to forego the circus and end his life in a valiant but futile struggle with the guard.
'Rest easy, Hecar.' Kaz gave him that same peculiar smile again.
'But, Kaz-'
Delbin abruptly giggled. Hecar glanced at him, wondering what even a kender could find so humorous at this moment. Delbin glanced at Hecar, then barely forced back another giggle after looking at Kaz.
'Just a little longer, Delbin. It's almost time for the surprise.'
None of the guards seemed to take notice of what Kaz was
There were ten guards besides the leader, which was something of a compliment to the four minotaurs and one kender they guarded. Given weapons and free hands, Hecar was fairly certain he and the others could have fought their way to freedom… at some cost, of course. Still, that was not likely to happen.
The streets were nearly deserted, most of the city's population having gathered in or near the Great Circus. Now and then a minotaur passed within sight of them, but, compared with the normal traffic in the busy city, Nethosak was a ghost land.
Then the attack came. Hecar likely would have chosen the same location, for it was narrower than most of the path, and the street was deserted, with many hiding places for armed warriors.
The band and their captors were suddenly surrounded by roughly a dozen or so minotaurs bearing swords and axes. Some of the newcomers were vaguely familiar to Hecar, but he had no time to consider that, for the guards formed a defensive position, some of them concentrating their weapons on the captives.
'Stand aside,' commanded the guard leader. 'These warriors are destined to redeem themselves in the Great Circus.'
'You mean they're supposed to die there,' said one of the strangers, a tall, dark-furred minotaur with a streak of white between his horns that ran all the way to the back of his head. Hecar was certain he knew him, but from where, he could not recall. 'For daring to defy the high priest's desires and nothing more. I had another brother who died for reasons something like that. There's no honor in such a death.'
'This is treason. You defy the will of your lords.'
The leader of the newcomers smiled. It was a smile that Hecar had seen on only one other minotaur. Kaz. 'We've got a history of defiance in our clan.'
Beside him, Hecar heard Kaz quietly say, 'All right, Delbin. It's time.'
The temple guards did not seem to hear or notice the kender suddenly touch his manacles, which slipped off a moment later without a sound. Only belatedly did Hecar note the tiny lockpick in Delbin's hands, a lockpick that the kender put to use with astonishing speed on Hecar's own manacles. In the space of seconds, he had the chains off Fliara as well.
It was not until Delbin reached Scurn that one of the guards blinked and noticed what was happening. He turned to stop the kender's efforts, shouting, 'The prisoners-!'
His outburst was all that was needed to send the two groups into battle. Three guards turned on the prisoners. Hecar, using his chains like a flail, swung at a soldier. His blow struck the minotaur's sword hand, causing him to drop his weapon. Delbin was instantly there, seizing the sword and handing it to Fliara, who was closest.
The minotaur with the streak in his hair laughed as he fought back both the escort leader and another temple guard. He wielded a sword large even by minotaur standards, a sword that whipped in and out and around with such speed and daring that it confounded the pair who fought him. Neither could get past his blade. The escort leader fell seconds later to a thrust.
Two more guards fell, one of them wounded in the leg, but one of their rescuers also died. Hecar swung the chains at any guard who came within range. One soldier managed to press Fliara back, but Hecar pulled his chains around the attacker's neck and did not loosen his grip until the guard ceased to move.
Someone bumped into Hecar from behind. He turned, expecting another attacker, and found Scurn, one hand still manacled, struggling with a guard who had evidently tried to run Hecar through the back. The guard was strong, but Scurn was stronger. The scarred minotaur pushed his opponent to his knees, then raised his knee into the guard's chin. Scum's adversary collapsed.
Circumstance makes for strange shield-brothers, Hecar thought as he turned to fight some more. Never thought I'd owe that one my life.
'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.'
