Still protesting, the younger female departed. Helati did not mention that she hoped Brogan was innocent. In any case, it would be easier to talk to him alone.

The light from a small, crude fireplace burned in Brogan's modest dwelling. He lived alone, far from most of the others. Helati glanced about, studying the lay of the land. Neither she nor Kaz were overly familiar with the one-horned minotaur's home, for Brogan generally visited them.

Brogan a spy? The distance of his home from the main settlement and his constant interest in what Kaz was doing spoke against him, but could easily be excused for other, more mundane reasons. Helati felt rather foolish about accusing him, but could certainly not ignore Keeli's words.

She remembered that Brogan had tried to form an armed force to accompany Kaz to Nethosak. Had that also been a ploy of some sort?

Enough paranoia! she scolded herself. Time to be a warrior.

It was tempting to peer through a window, but Helati boldly knocked on the dwelling's crude wooden door.

"Who's there? Who is it?"

"It's me, Brogan. Helati."

"Helati?" After some noise, the door swung open. The one-horned minotaur blinked, then smiled. "Some news of Kaz, I hope?"

"Possibly." She had not given any thought to what to say to him. Accuse him outright? "May I come in?"

"Of course! Enter!"

As she walked through the doorway, Helati noticed the mark of Kaz on the dwelling. Her insides twisted. If Brogan was innocent, what she had to say would greatly insult his honor. Yet if he was guilty, the mark of Kaz was of great insult to her and her family, a mockery of the friendship they had extended to Brogan.

There were few furnishings in the minotaur's home: a table, two stools, and a box in which personal effects no doubt were stored. Brogan apparently slept on a bedroll to one side of the single room. The fireplace was very small, almost as if an afterthought. A few items were scattered about, but overall the place seemed orderly. A battle-axe hung on a wall near the bedroll. The table was situated so that if Brogan sat down, he could reach the handle with little effort.

In fact, Brogan led her to the table and offered her a seat. Helati shook her head. "I won't be staying long. Just a few minutes at best."

He frowned. "Is something wrong? Have you heard some bad news?"

"I'm not certain." She did not know how to proceed. Had Kaz been here, Helati suspected he simply would have pushed ahead. She must do the same.

"I'm worried that Kaz might be in danger, that he might also have been captured and imprisoned along with my brother."

"Well, as you indicated not long ago, Kaz hasn't been gone all that long. He might even be on his way back by now."

"Maybe. What makes me fear that Kaz is a prisoner are some rumors." She hesitated for effect. "I've heard there might be spies among us, Brogan."

"Spies?" He sounded genuinely concerned. "Here? Who?"

"There may be more than one, but I've heard that there's at least one who might be acting as a servant of the high priest himself." She watched him for some sign of guilt. So far, he seemed perfectly at ease.

"The high priest, eh?" He rubbed his muzzle and.turned toward the fire, staring into it. The battle-axe was only a step away, but Brogan made no move toward it. "I don't like the sound of it. The high priest, he's a deadly sort. Not a gladiator. More like a serpent. That's what he always reminded me of."

"Then you've seen him… often?"

"Now and then." The male squatted by the fire and, seizing a loose stick, prodded the fire into greater life. "From a distance."

"Do you have any idea who might be the spy, Brogan?"

The question startled him more than it should have. Helati saw that. Her hand shifted slowly, almost casually, to the hilt of her sword.

"I used to be one," he replied, still stirring the fire.

The outright admission was so unexpected that Helati froze where she stood, not quite certain how to continue. Her grip tightened on the sword. "You're the spy, then?"

He looked up at her. "No, I said I used to be one. When I first came here, I was a spy for the high priest. I sent messages through various means back to Nethosak. The past four months, though, I've been sending misleading messages."

"Why would you do that? More to the point, why should I believe you?"

Brogan finished tending the fire and rose. "When I came here, I was a fairly high-ranking cleric. That's why they trusted me to send them accurate intelligence about this settlement and its growth. His Holiness does not like this place. Everyone and everything here defies his preaching. I was ordered to assess the situation and report on it. I did so for the first several months."

"What changed your mind?" Helati found herself wanting to believe that Brogan was a friend, not an enemy. But he might simply be an excellent liar.

The one-horned minotaur looked her in the eye. "Kaz. You. The lives I saw around me. There's more life, more satisfaction here than in all the homeland. Oh, everyone works frantically to fulfill our 'destiny,' but we are losing our individuality. We are becoming the servants of the dream, not the masters we were supposed to be." Brogan shook his head. "Honor has become like a sword without a warrior to wield it. We're heading in the same direction as the ancient ogres. Even if we do conquer the world, we will eventually fall. Without honor, without vitality and respect for ourselves, we're lost."

Helati's grip on the hilt loosened. Brogan sounded honest, but could she believe him? "Pretty words. I'd like to believe that being here has somehow converted you, but I've got no proof, Brogan. Can you tell me anything that'll make me more willing to accept your words?"

"No. Nothing. My words are all I've got. I saw in Kaz the embodiment of what we should be. I decided to follow his example. To be a true minotaur warrior, I could do no less."

More words, but still no proof. She had to make a decision. "Brogan, what you've said sounds good, but I can't accept words alone. I think you should come with me. I think some of the others need to hear what you've said."

"I understand that, but could I ask you a question?"

"Ask."

"Who told you about me?"

"I just found out, that's all."

"It was the two newcomers, wasn't it? They're the only source of recent news. I wondered about them. I thought the female looked familiar-" His eyes brightened. "She worked for the priesthood… no… the circle!" He grinned. "Of course, that amounts to the same thing these days. At least three members of the circle are under the thumb of Jopfer, especially his old mentor! Hah! To think that old war dog thought he was being handed the state priesthood when they offered to make his aide high priest in return for concessions! He thought Jopfer would stay his servant, but it's turned around on him!"

Helati was able to follow only some of what he said, but it was enough to make her hair stand straight. A servant of the circle was high priest? Jopfer? That name sounded familiar. She was almost certain he was an old friend of her brother.

"Well, we can discuss that later," Brogan concluded. He looked around. "The fire will burn down without any trouble, and I've nothing else to take care of. I suppose we can leave immediately, then. I won't bother with taking my axe, of course."

"All right, you walk in front of me." He shifted around. "You should unsheathe your sword, just in case. I would."

Granting his point, Helati pulled her sword free and pointed it at his back. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"Village center." The center was not far from her own dwelling, and it was where most of the minotaurs gathered to talk.

"Good. I'd prefer somewhere more crowded for the time being."