Scurn swung again, his axe nipping the air just in front of Kaz's muzzle. Kaz brought Honor's Face up and caught Scum's axe head. The two weapons remained locked for several seconds, then the disfigured warrior pulled his weapon back and tried to ram Kaz with the axe's long, pointed head. Kaz managed to fend off the attack, but the head of Scum's axe sliced the air just an inch or two above Kaz's horns.

Kaz's injured arm began to act up, causing his grip to loosen. Struggling against pain, he knocked aside his opponent's axe and struck Scurn in the jaw with the lower end of the shaft. The other minotaur grunted, stumbling back. Kaz pursued his assault, striking Scurn again.

Disoriented, Scurn brought his axe around again and chopped at Kaz. His swing was off, however, and he was left wide open to his adversary. Kaz wasted no time. Again he struck with the shaft, driving the blunt end into the other's stomach. Scurn fell to his knees, dropping his axe. Unable to bring himself to kill so helpless a foe, Kaz took the only recourse left to him. He raised a fist and punched the gasping figure before him.

Scurn collapsed.

"Consider yourself fortunate," Kaz muttered. He then turned to the guard and Molus, who had forced Ganth back. Ganth was obviously tiring. Raising the axe, Kaz gave a battle cry and charged at the guard. The guard turned, and his eyes went wide at the sight before him, but to his credit, he charged back.

Molus was pushed back by a revitalized Ganth. Worse for the jailer, he had to keep an eye on Hecar, who began to swing around to his left.

The guard was not the warrior Scurn was. He tried to defend himself, but Honor's Face slashed through his guard and, at the same time, severed his sword hand. Kaz thought that would be the end of it, but the guard snatched up his bloody blade with his remaining hand and made a run at Kaz. Grunting, Kaz gave his adversary no quarter. This time he struck to kill.

The axe buried itself deep in the other minotaur's chest. Kaz did not even wait for the guard to fall as he pulled the weapon free. He moved in on Molus, but the jailer saw him and, abandoning his attack on Ganth, fled.

"Let's get going, lads," Kaz's father cried.

"One thing first!" Kaz took one edge of Honor's Face and ran it across the older minotaur's bonds. The severed pieces fell to the ground, joined there a moment later by the remnants of Hecar's bonds. "Grab a weapon and a net if you can, Hecar! We have to hurry now!" His last words were punctuated by the noise of a gong. Kaz looked around and saw smoke coming from yet another area.

Most of the crowd on the menagerie side of the circus had chosen to flee rather than face the fire and the animals, but many others remained, doing what they could to alleviate the problems. Some of them served only to further the confusion, for which Kaz was grateful.

The trio hurried toward the menagerie entrance. There were several dozen creatures scattered throughout the arena floor, and at least two had climbed into the lower seats, where members of the State Guard were trying to control them. The first meredrake to escape had been joined by a second, smaller one. Wolves darted around the nets of gladiators. At least two minotaurs were down, what was left of their bodies not a sight Kaz cared to dwell on. Several of the predators had been captured, but every now and then, one or two other beasts would charge out into the arena from the opening the prisoners needed to reach.

"We'll have to keep a careful eye out when we get to the other side," Ganth called. "Or we might find ourselves running into the jaws of a meredrake!"

A ram burst past Hecar, followed quickly by a pair of wolves that veered after their prey.

A minotaur scream cut through the chaos. It made Kaz look around. Although he did not spot the unfortunate warrior, he did see something else… or perhaps "not see" was the better term. There was no sign of Polik or the representatives of the circle. Even Jopfer's man, Merriq, was missing. No doubt he had been among the first to retreat.

"Kaz! Watch it. Lad!" Ganth was suddenly in front of him, sword slashing downward.

He backed away in surprise. His father tore past him. It was not an animal that threatened them, but a gladiator who had noticed them moving around and had elected to try to block their escape.

The other warrior tried to spear him from the side. Fortunately, Ganth shoved the spear aside with his blade. The spear dug into the earth, jarring the would-be attacker. He pulled the long weapon out before Ganth could follow through, then retreated when he saw he would have to deal with all three minotaurs at once.

"He'll be back with some friends very soon, Lads. Mark my words!"

"Then we'd better get out of here," Hecar rejoined.

Ahead of them, an arrow suddenly sprouted from the side of one of the female lions. The lion stumbled, fell, and managed to rise again. Blood dripped from the wound, but she managed to stay on her feet. Archers began appearing on the walls. A second arrow caught the lion. This time she fell.

"We'd better move faster! They're getting organized!"

They reached the entrance to the menagerie almost in time to collide headlong with a huge bull. Kaz wondered if the kender was purposely releasing them a few at a time to keep the melee going.

"Inside!" Kaz called, hoping that Delbin had not released anything else along with the bull.

The smell ol many years of animal captivity made the trio recoil. Evidently there was a place that could smell worse than the prisoners' cells. Smoke made it uncomfortable but not impossible to breathe in the underground region. There was no sign of fire yet.

Two minotaurs lay crumpled on the floor of one cage. He scanned the rest of the room. The area was clear of threats. Several animals were shrieking in their cages, but most of the doors were open and the cages bare. The cause of the fire was a pile of baled hay that burned within one of the empty cages.

"There're still probably horses in the circus stables, Kaz," called Hecar. "Do we take them or try on foot?"

"On horseback we'll be more noticeable," called Ganth. "We'd be better off sneaking around on foot. The time to fight is later on."

"We can go this way," Kaz said, indicating a wooden door slightly ajar. He and the other minotaurs started for it.

Kaz wondered where the kender was. The brave little creature had a tendency to forget that he could be captured or killed… "I have to find Delbin."

"We've no time, Kaz," Hecar protested. "It's the will of Kiri-Jolith that we've gotten this far. We have to keep going. He'll catch up."

"We've no idea what else the kender had in mind, Lad." Ganth looked grim. "He might've figured that the animals and the fire weren't enough."

Kaz stared off into the distance. "You two go on ahead. I have to find him."

"Lad, from what you've said about Delbin, why not wait until he just shows up again? His kind are clever when it comes to escaping."

"Because I can't take the chance. He's helped me too much in the past. I will not abandon a comrade. You two had better get going."

Before they could stop him, he was already out the doorway.

Delbin hid behind the door as three minotaurs raced past to stop his latest fire. He was proud of himself for what he had accomplished.

He was not normally so adept at lighting fires, but he'd been assisted greatly by a strange bottle of oil he had discovered in his pouch. The bottle bore the mark of the circus, but Delbin could not fathom how it had found its way into his possession. Nevertheless, he had made good use of it. The torches positioned every now and then in the walls helped. Between the oil and the torches, Delbin had created some masterful blazes.