Behind them, they could hear the beating of the dragon’s wings as it forced itself up into the air again.
A rush of wind and a brief shower of emerald light told them that Ravenshadow and his pet had flown over them. The gates, wide open, stood just before them.
Kaz and the Grand Master found a small jumble of figures, including the minotaur’s companions, near the gates, where uncertainty reigned. Already the stone dragon was little more than a black blot framed in the moonlight of Solinari. Below the blot, like a dim beacon, the sphere continued to glow. Kaz stepped through the milling group and out of the keep, his eyes on the receding form until it left the brilliance of the moon and was swallowed up by the darkness of night.
Somehow his battle-axe was still in his hands. He raised it high in a brief but futile gesture at the magic thief.
“This isn’t over, Argaen Ravenshadow!” Kaz muttered darkly in the direction the elf had flown off. “Not at all. Somehow I’ll track you down. We’ve business left unfinished, you and I.”
Brave words, he thought bitterly as he returned his battle-axe to its harness. But where do you plan to start, Kaz? You have only all of Ansalon to search!
“It doesn’t matter,” he muttered aloud. “All of Ansalon won’t be able to hide that elf.” The minotaur smiled grimly at the night. “This is personal now.”
Chapter Sixteen
Kaz sat brooding on the ground near the front gates, his eyes closed in contemplation of what he would do when-not if-he and Argaen Ravenshadow met again.
The flicker of a torch warned him of the knight’s approach.
“You are the minotaur called Kaz?” the knight asked. He was a middle-aged human whose most distinctive feature was his rapidly receding hairline.
“How many other minotaurs are there in Vingaard Keep, human?”
The man ignored the jibe. “We found two horses that apparently belong to your party.”
“Did you?”
“They are being kept in the east end of the keep until the stables can be cleared.”
Kaz looked up at the man. “The Grand Master didn’t send you here just to tell me about our animals, did he?”
The silence that followed spoke volumes. Like many humans, this knight had difficulty dealing with a minotaur. Here was a monster, an enemy, despite what had happened this very night, despite the part Kaz had played in the final days of the war-if that was even remembered anymore by more than a few.
“The Grand Master wishes to speak to you.” A tone of menace crept into the human’s voice. “He is very nearly exhausted. Do nothing to further the strain.”
The minotaur rose, allowing him to look down on the knight when he answered. “Lord Oswal is a comrade and a friend, human. I’ll do my best to ease his problems. You might help by being more respectful to those whom the knighthood and your Grand Master in particular have in the past called an ally.”
Kaz marched off to where he knew he would find the Grand Master. A bit more respectful now, the knight hurried after him with the torch. They had not made it more than a few dozen paces when a shout from the watch at the gates broke the silence of the keep.
“Riders approaching!”
“Paladine! What now?” Kaz whirled on the knight accompanying him. “Tell your lord that I’ll be with him shortly… I hope.”
“I’ll come with you, minotaur. If there is a danger to Vingaard, I may serve my liege best by-”
“Fine.” Kaz left the human in midspeech and, utilizing his long stride and powerful legs, raced toward the front gates, approaching so fast that he startled one of the guards. The knight jumped up and pulled his sword free, actually taking a slash at the minotaur before Kaz was able to convince him that he was a friend. He had forgotten momentarily that he was dealing with men whose minds had suffered for quite some time.
“Who called out?” Kaz asked the sentry.
“Ferril. Ferril called out.”
Kaz called out to the indicated sentry. “You! How many riders?”
It may be that, in the darkness, the one called Ferril could not tell it was a minotaur he spoke with. Certainly he was respectful enough. “Difficult to say from here, sir. A small army. More than a hundred.”
More than a hundred! They might be in for a full-scale assault! “Can you identify them?”
“Not yet.”
The knight who had followed Kaz joined him again. “What news?”
“More than a hundred riders. You’d best tell the Grand Master.”
“He’s in no condition! He couldn’t possibly take command.”
The minotaur’s eyes narrowed, and even by torchlight they glowed blood-red. “Do you mean you won’t inform your lord of a possible attack?”
The human opened his mouth, then clamped it tightly shut. Stiffly he replied, “I’ll inform him at once!”
“Good for you,” Kaz muttered under his breath as he watched the man practically vanish before his eyes. A horn sounded from somewhere out in the countryside. He looked up at where Ferril stood watch. “What was that?”
“Signal horn.” The man was anxious. “I think-the Triumvirate be praised!-I think they are brothers!”
“Knights of Solamnia?”
“Yes!” The other knight on the wall and the one near Kaz began to cheer. The minotaur shouted them down.
“Quiet! They may not be what they seem! They might be some of the Dark Lady’s servants, or if they are your fellows, they might not be in their right minds!”
The knight next to Kaz looked up at him with an uneasy expression. “You think we should keep the gates closed?”
“If only until we are certain. It follows common sense, don’t you think?” He glanced upward. “If the Grand Master should come, I’ll be up on the battlements watching.”
Surprisingly, the knight saluted him.
When Kaz reached the top of the wall, Ferril was waiting for him. Judging by the expression on the human’s face, Ferril had only just discovered that he had been conversing with a minotaur.
Kaz gave him a casual look. “Something wrong?”
“No… sir.” Ferril, a Knight of the Sword, was uncertain how to address someone like Kaz.
“Good.” Leaning forward on the wall, Kaz peered out over the countryside of Solamnia. He had some difficulty making out the oncoming force. They looked like a black tide on a gray surface. Still, at the rate they were riding, they would be at the gates of Vingaard in an hour’s time. He suspected there were well over a hundred riders, likely closer to two hundred. Indistinct as they were, the group’s size as a whole gave some idea of the numbers.
“Could we hold them if they don’t turn out to be your brethren?” Kaz asked the knight.
“For a time… until they succeed in finding some way over the wall.”
“What’s happening, Kaz?” a familiar voice piped.
Both minotaur and human jumped. Kaz turned and snorted angrily at the figure who had somehow managed to sneak up next to them. “What’re you doing up here, Delbin?”
The kender smiled. “I heard people running around, and someone said that someone was coming with lots of horses, so when I heard the horn, I knew they were nearby, and I-”
“Take a breath, Delbin!” Just then the horn sounded again. “Why’re they doing that?”
“They want us to respond,” Ferril said excitedly. “They must be comrades.”
“Maybe you should respond.”
Shaking his head, the man replied, “I cannot. The horn that usually stands by the gates has vanished. No one is able to locate it.”
Delbin, meanwhile, was doing his best to peer over the wall, a difficult thing considering his height.