He almost laughed. He had escaped, only to be captured just outside the circus. Now not only was Delbin lost to him, but so were the others.

"All right, then," Kaz growled. "Let's go see old Dastrun. Maybe it is time I had a few words with him."

For the first time, he managed to disconcert the female. He could tell by her expression. Looking at the others, she commanded, "Keep an eye on him at all times, but make it look casual." To Kaz she added, "Don't fight us, Kazi-ganthi. We are clan, remember."

"Does Dastrun remember that?"

There was no reply. The female started off, as did the others. It made for a long and sobering march to the clan house.

"So this is how you spread the glory of Clan Orilg," Dastrun commented.

Kaz had always recalled Dastrun as a wiry sort, and in the years since he had last seen the elder minotaur, Dastrun had grown even more wiry, almost emaciated. His fur was nearly white. Yet there was strength in those limbs and voice, despite the signs of old age. He had to admit that the robed figure seated on the chair was very much the image of a clan patriarch. He even might have respected Dastrun despite their differences if only the patriarch had not been chosen for his position by the emperor, possibly at the high priest's urging.

The patriarch was seated on a high-backed throne placed at the top of a short dais. Seated on each side of the huge chamber to which Kaz had been brought were other elders of the clan. Standing along the walls were guards. Kaz and his captors were the only others in the meeting hall. Dastrun was trying keep Kaz's presence a secret as long as was possible. Whether that strategy would succeed, the prisoner could not say.

"No, this is how I try to live," Kaz finally remarked. "This is how I uphold the honor of Orilg."

Dastrun sighed. "The same old Kaz. You were always one who would not bend when it was best to do so. Your sense of honor, your personal sense of honor, was always more important than the good of the clan."

Kaz stared at the minotaurs gathered in the chamber. Most of them he recognized as followers of Dastrun. Some, he was pleased to see, were from parts of the clan that would never, ever, accept the elder as a legitimate patriarch. In their eyes, there were some traditions that should not have been flouted.

"All I ask is to be left alone."

"You were left alone."

"Only when it was convenient, Dastrun. Only when it was convenient."

The patriarch waved the matter away. "I came to the arena to see if you would at least die with your honor intact. You could not even do that. When I saw that you intended to flee, I commanded Fliara to keep watch for you. I knew she would understand your thinking."

"Fliara?" Kaz froze, then slowly turned to study the younger female. "Fliara?"

Her acknowledgment was formal, nothing more. "Brother."

"Fliara." She was his youngest sibling and had been little more than a baby when he had last seen her. Fliara had often tagged along behind him, watching with great interest what her eldest brother did. Now she seemed not to care. "Why didn't you say anything to me?"

"The patriarch had commanded me not to reveal myself unless you recognized me." If she felt any emotion, it was well concealed by her indifferent expression. "You did not."

She looked away as she finished speaking.

"Our father was back there."

Her eyes darted to Dastrun, then to Kaz. With clipped words, Fliara quietly said, "I know."

"Fliara understands that her duty to the clan outweighs all else. Family is important, as Sargas teaches, but it must not be forgotten that the clan is the greatest of our families. One individual may be lost, but the integrity of the clan must be maintained. Without it, all that has been built since Orilg became patriarch will collapse."

Kaz found himself wondering if Dastrun knew about the clan-in-the-making Kaziganthi. What would the elder say about that?

"I've striven to keep Orilg strong. You've not been here much the past decade." The tone was almost accusatory. "Things have changed, especially in the past couple of years. Attitudes have changed. The way things are done has changed. To survive and prosper, Orilg has had to make some changes, too."

"Yes, I've noticed," Kaz commented, purposely ignoring the look of disapproval on Dastrun's features. One simply did not interrupt the patriarch. It just was not done. "Some traditions change as well, things like how the young are trained, what honor means, and how those who rule are chosen."

"I could have turned you directly over to the State Guard," the patriarch pointed out, still angry at being interrupted. "It is what my duty to the glorious minotaur empire demands."

"Should we leave now, then? Since I'm going to be handed over to them when you're done trying to excuse yourself, we may as well get going."

Dastrun started to rise. "You impudent-" Then his anger suddenly dissipated, leaving an older, world-weary figure who looked away and sighed deeply in frustration. Kaz actually found himself sympathizing, briefly, with this vulnerable Dastrun behind the mask.

"Tell him what's been decided, Dastrun," said a clan elder on one side of the chamber. Kaz peered curiously at the new speaker, vaguely recognizing the squat, wrinkled visage as a former tutor of his, a sword master. He was still formidable, though lacking one arm.

"I will, I will." Regaining some of his composure, the patriarch eyed Kaz. "There's been some… discussion, concerning how best to deal with your presence-"

"Send me home."

"That would not be easy. Kaziganthi, you don't realize just what you've become here. You don't realize that you've become a symbol. You don't realize just how many stories of your… recklessness… have reached Nethosak. Most of the stories are sheer nonsense, of course…"

Kaz snorted, then added, "Of course."

"But such tales grow in credence the more they are repeated. You've done more to disrupt the course of destiny here than the years under the rule of the Dark Lady's warlords."

"I've already heard such words from the high priest, Dastrun. Unless you have an original point, you can forego the rest of your speech."

"Same arrogant little Kaz," snarled one of the other elders. "Never did know his proper place."

Kaz gave the elder a look. "I thought that was one of the driving forces behind our people, the fact that we have dared strive to improve ourselves and achieve greater heights… Of course, that was in the old days."

The elder muttered something about insolence, but there were many others who nodded agreement with Kaz. It was then he saw Dastrun's predicament. Kaz's father had mentioned that Dastrun's position was not a secure one; he was the emperor's designate, not the clan favorite. Perhaps things might have been different had he gained his position by the old ways, but now no one would ever completely trust his wisdom. He ruled because Polik said he should rule.

A puppet pulling the strings of a puppet, thought Kaz.

He suspected that all the strings, be they attached to the emperor, various patriarchs, the military, even the circle, led back to Jopfer.

"Very well," the patriarch grumbled. "When you were sent to the circus, there was some question as to the fairness of your sentence, but Orilg is not influential enough to change the commands of either the emperor or the state priesthood. It was hoped you would fight honorably and prove that any crimes you might or might not have committed were of no consequence. You would have been kept on the rolls of honor, forever a symbol of Orilg greatness."

"How flattering."

"Of course, you couldn't bring yourself to do what was best, could you? I was in the crowd when the chaos began. I left immediately, of course, but left word to keep track of you." The elder minotaur's tone indicated that he suspected the chaos was part of a plan to engineer Kaz's escape. "The warriors of the clan did their best to see that you were brought here rather than be recaptured."