Too exhausted to cheer much about the red leviathan's death, Kaz dragged himself over to the axe and picked it up. His battered reflection stared back at him.
"Wish I'd known before that you could do that," he muttered. "It would've come in handy now and then."
All around him, the air filled with thunder. No, Kaz corrected himself, it was not thunder, but the stomping of hundreds of minotaur feet.
Applause and cheers added to the stomping. Kaz heard someone call his name, someone whose voice was familiar to him. Others in the audience, either taking their lead from that voice or recognizing him on their own, also called his name. It quickly grew into a chant that he had no doubt could be heard throughout all of Nethosak.
Then the guards arrived. They started toward the area where Kaz and the dragon were, but before they could get very far, minotaurs began to pour from the stands. They came from all sides. Kaz readied the axe, thinking he could take a few of his enemies with him, when he suddenly noticed that the newcomers were not attacking. They were forming a defensive ring around both the massive corpse and the minotaur, weapons displayed against the guard.
Only then did Kaz recognize several of them as members of Clan Orilg.
"Kaz!" called one warrior. He fought his way through the others and clambered up the dragon as if it were something he did every day. The crowd continued to chant and applaud.
"Hecar? How did all this come about?"
"You can thank Helati and Brogan for it." It looked as if more than simply Orilg had come to his aid. It was not possible for the entire clan to be here, since many members lived far from Nethosak, which meant that a number of the minotaurs defending his position had to hail from other clans.
"Helati had a little talk with Dastrun and the clan… I'll tell you later how she did that. Not even certain I understand myself. She found out what you'd been up to and what you'd been fool enough to agree to. Then she heard you were supposed to die in the circus today, so she reminded the clan of what its honor meant. It finally agreed to help." Hecar glanced at the crowd and grinned. He clearly enjoyed the moment. "We were supposed to charge the field when they brought you out… but no one expected this sort of entrance! That's something I'll have to tell you about in detail later." His eyes widened. "Fliara and the others-"
"Are there." Kaz pointed at one of the entrances. Fliara, Delbin… and, if Kaz was not mistaken, his brother Toron, whom he had not seen in longer a time than Fliara. There was no mistaking that streak of hair or that face.
He wondered if Toron knew about their father. "I think they want to make you emperor, Kaz."
"Polik might have something to say about that."
"I doubt it. He was on the platform taking his victory bows when you and the dragons fell." Hecar shook his head in disgust. "And never have I seen a more pathetic combat. Anyone who did not wonder at his challenger's sluggishness already knew that the combat had been rigged. The longer it went-and it seemed even Polik thought it went too long-the more pitiful it became. It was more a slow slaughter than a battle."
Blinking, Kaz looked down the field. Toward the back end of the great beast he made out a portion of the splintered and exceedingly flattened platform used for imperial challenges. There was no sign of a body on what little of the platform could be seen, and he had no desire to go and verify his friend's words. What was left of the late emperor would be something that would appeal to neither his stomach nor his eyes.
"So you see, they have no qualms about making you emperor. After all, how many minotaurs fight and slay a dragon, especially one of such size, and especially one everyone heard claim it was their master and destiny?" The other minotaur snorted. "As if we would ever accept such a beast as our master!"
Kaz scanned the throng. Hecar was probably correct about the crowd wanting to crown him. Even among those of the circle, there was obvious sentiment for Kaz. One or two members scowled or pretended indifference, but with the exception of those few and a handful of clerics, everyone was saluting the slayer of the dragon.
Dragon? In the aftermath of the red terror's death, Kaz had momentarily forgotten the other dragon, the brave youngster that Kaz considered more responsible for the red's destruction than he.
Abandoning Hecar, he leapt off the massive corpse and went directly toward where he had last seen the young female.
Ty was still there, still unmoving. Kaz broke through the defensive ring and hurried to her side. He knelt down, turning Ty over. The female was breathing. Giving thanks to Paladine, Kaz raised her in his arms. As he did, Ty opened her eyes.
"Kaz?"
"Hush, Ty. It's all right. We beat him. Infernus is dead."
"Did I do good?"
The minotaur snorted. "You did the best anyone could've done under the circumstances. I'm proud of you. Your parents would've been proud of you, too."
Ty smiled, then closed her eyes again.
"The balance is almost restored. You have the gratitude of many, Kaz."
Still carrying the transformed Ty, Kaz turned. The gray man, staff in hand, stood behind him.
"I thought I broke that," the minotaur commented, referring to the staff. "And what's that you're saying about the balance almost being restored? Infernus is dead. The danger is past. When the smoke clears, they'll see that this invasion is going to drive us only to ruin."
"The invasion does not matter without Infernus, Kaz. If they launch it, the minotaurs will fail. This is not their time… if such a time is ever to come. I can promise you that." The mage glanced down at his staff. "As for this, it is more durable than it appears."
"What about the balance, then? What do you mean?"
His hooded companion sighed. "The red dragon is dead, but the silver remains. If she remains too long, one of the Dark Lady's draconian creatures will awaken. Although it might be hard to believe, there are worse dragons than Infernus. Should both dragons remain in the world for very long, the compact made at the end of the war will crumble. It has been crumbling these past eight years. I have been busy, very busy, but for a long time even I did not know the truth. Still, Takhisis will be allowed to renew her drive for conquest much too soon if the hatchling is not dealt with immediately."
"I think you told me that before, but what can I do?"
"There are two choices, Kaz." The gray man studied Ty. "I may take her to where she must go. However, I can take her only if she truly wants to leave."
"And the other choice?"
"She must die, minotaur. You will have to kill her, since I am forbidden to do so. She must die or the world returns to imbalance, and thousands of others must die in the ensuing conflicts."
"I won't kill her! You're mad, mage!" Kaz backed away from the gray figure.
"Then she must leave. She must come with me."
"To what? To where? She obviously knows nothing about where you want to take her! She knows only this world." It seemed unfair to the minotaur that Ty had to be taken from everything and everyone she knew because some gods had made a deal. Ty belonged here. Kaz would be more than happy to allow her to stay in the settlement. In the short time since he had met her, she had proven a brave, honorable companion.
"Kaz?"
He looked down to see that Ty had opened her eyes again. By the looks of her, the young woman had heard everything that had been said. "Ty, I-"
"Kaz, I'll go with him."
"Listen! The gods don't have to have their way! They-"
Ty slipped out of his grip. Her stance was unsteady, but she refused help from the minotaur. She gazed at both Kaz and the gray man. "I know I don't have a choice, really, Kaz. I have to leave." Ty steadied herself. "I don't want another war like the one you've talked about, Kaz. It sounds awful. Fighting Infernus showed me how terrible another war would be."