"Who-?" began Kaz, but then he, in turn, recognized the minotaur's face. The name escaped him, but he remembered the face from the circus. He also recalled a vicious temper combined with poor fighting skills that chiefly relied on brute strength.
"It's Angrus, Sargas take you! Angrus!" The bull snorted in rage. His two companions grinned.
Angrus. That was the name. Memories stirred. Twice in Kaz's early days in the arena, Angrus had faced him; twice Kaz had humiliated him with easy victories. Kaz had thought little about it, but Angrus, who appeared to have risen not much further in all these years, had evidently spent his whole life nursing a grudge against the minotaur he believed had humiliated him. Rising to Supreme Champion had left Kaz with more than one venomous rival, such as the more skilled Scum. What little Kaz recalled of the minotaur before him included the.fact that Angrus was a stupid brute who could never accept blame for his shortcomings, admittedly a trait common to his people. There were always those in the arenas who saw their defeats as the fault of others who had triumphed simply because they used-
"Tricks! You used tricks against me instead of fighting honorably! Thanks to you, I lost face."
"Which, by this time, you should've found again," Kaz returned. "I can't be responsible for what has happened to you in the meantime." He made to go, but Angrus spun him around again.
"I should've been supreme champion, not you! I wouldn't have run away like you did!"
"Let me go, Angrus. I've no quarrel with you."
"But I have a quarrel with you!"
"Then I'll settle it with you in an arena after I'm through with the business that brought me here." It was a lie, but Kaz hoped that Angrus would be stupid enough to accept it.
"I can't go back to an arena!" the red-eyed minotaur snarled. "You did that! They won't let me compete in the circus or any other arena!"
Kaz had no idea what his old adversary was talking about, but some vague memory of cheating and dishonorable conduct in the arena did come to mind. He did not recall the details. He wasn't even fighting that day, as he recalled. But somehow Angrus had decided that the second incident was also Kaz's fault. Minotaurs could be very single-minded. "Angrus-"
A fist struck Kaz in the stomach. He bent over, grunting. A knee caught him in the chin and sent him stumbling back.
"Stop that!" called a voice that he recognized as Delbin's. "You leave him alone! He's my friend!"
Don't get involved, Delbin! he wanted to shout, but he couldn't do more than grunt when Angrus took the kender roughly by the arm.
"What's this? A kender slave?" Angrus laughed, a sinister, hacking noise.
A still groggy Kaz leaned forward and bowled into Angrus, who lost his grip on Delbin. Unfortunately, Kaz's charge was not as overpowering as he had hoped. Angrus, his hands freed, grabbed hold of him and held him tight, keeping Kaz's horns away. At the same time, the other two minotaurs seized Kaz by the arms.
"No tricks this time!" growled Angrus. "Just strength… my strength!"
He punched Kaz again. Kaz tried to roll with the blow, but it was not possible. The blow left him almost bereft of his senses.
"You shouldn't have done that, lads!" announced a new voice, one that was strangely familiar to Kaz even in his present state.
The minotaur holding his left arm suddenly released his grip. Kaz pulled himself together and took full advantage of his partial freedom, spinning and punching Angrus's companion under the jaw. The minotaur went flying backward, landing hard on his back.
The newcomer was battling the third minotaur behind him, but Kaz had no time to even glance at his rescuer. He faced Angrus, who seemed just slightly less confident now. "A minotaur fights with honor and skill, Angrus. You've got neither. You've got brute strength and no honor at all. I wasn't responsible for your cheating. You're no warrior, Angrus. You're a disgrace to our people."
Angrus threw himself on Kaz. The power behind his attack gave him a momentary advantage. Kaz, however, used a maneuver that Huma had once shown him, slipping free of his adversary's grip. He then caught Angrus under the chin with his knuckles. Angrus grunted and stumbled back a step or two.
Kaz did not let up. He struck again, this time in the stomach, then swung again at Angrus's chin.
Angrus crumpled as easily as he had those many years before.
Behind Kaz, another body hit the street. He turned and saw the last of the trio lying on his side, groaning. The other minotaur towered over his fallen foe, but his back was turned, making it impossible for Kaz to identify his savior.
"You did it, Kaz!" The kender gave him a quick hug of congratulations. "I thought they had you until he came along, but all you needed was a little help. And I was the first to pitch in."
"Thank you for trying to defend me, Delbin," Kaz said, interrupting before the kender could begin a much too lengthy rendition of the struggle. "You should've run off, though. They would've killed you. You understand that?"
The kender quieted. "Yes, Kaz."
"Now that's something I'd never thought I'd have heard from you, Lad. Not as wild and proud as you once were."
Again the voice was familiar, but Kaz could not place it. He looked up and studied the face of the minotaur who had rescued him. It was older than his by many years. He could see that years at sea had weather-worn his features, though his eyes were still lively. In his prime the older minotaur would have had the form of a champion, and Kaz could only hope he would look as strong should he be fortunate enough to live to such an age.
"I thought it was you, Lad, but I could scarcely believe my luck. Have I changed so much you don't recognize me? I suppose a few years lost at sea did make some changes."
Lost at sea? Now that he looked closer at his rescuer, the features looked really familiar. If he removed several of the lines on the face, darkened the fur, which was partially gray by now, and managed to straighten the back a little…
"Paladine's sword!"
"Not a name I'd go shouting, Lad," warned the other. "The sons of Sargas don't take kindly to competition. They don't even like putting up with Kiri-Jolith… something they still seem to blame on me."
It was impossible for Kaz to believe that the figure before him was still alive. Few ever escaped the raging sea, but if anyone could have… "Father?"
"That's exactly what your brothers and sisters said, in the same tone yet." The older minotaur cracked a smile. "Aye, Ganth's back. The sea goddess hasn't got me just yet." The smile faded as he added, "But she took your mother willingly enough."
"Father?" Kaz repeated, unable to think of any other word to say.
"And I'll still be your father if you say it a third time, Lad. Now snap to and come with me. You and I have a few things to talk about, including a mutual friend who's in a lot of trouble for reasons I don't like to bandy about."
Delbin peered around Kaz, for the first time drawing the older minotaur's attention. "He's the one who was watching you before, Kaz!"
The graying mariner shook his head. "And we'll have to do something about this little one. By the beard of Kiri-Jolith, Son, you always found the most troublesome companions, you did." He took Kaz by the arm. "Come with me. I know as good a hiding place as any."
Still quite numb at the sudden reunion with his father, who wasn't dead after all, Kaz allowed the elder minotaur to guide him away. Ganth led them from the area, winding through the streets of Nethosak with a determination that finally stirred Kaz from his stupor. This was indeed his father, the famed mariner and explorer. Older, yes, and with a slight limp, but not much off his prime. Somehow he had survived Gladiator's destruction.