'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 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
'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.'
