d off Mars' rising forehead with a great noise.

Mars roared and dived for the stone--and found himself holding a large,
angry tiger.

But an old trick like that didn't fool Mars. Tiger-Forrester, suddenly
finding himself fighting with another tiger as ferocious as himself,
began clawing and biting his way free in a frenzy of panic. He managed
to make it just long enough to become a stone again, dropping toward the
Earth.

For a moment, the other tiger seemed uncertain. Then, catching sight of
the falling stone, he became an eagle, and went after it with a scream,
claws outstretched and a glitter of hatred in the slitted eyes.

Forrester reached the ground first. The eagle braked madly, trying to
escape a giant Kodiak bear. Forrester stood on his hind legs and
battered the air with great, murderous paws. Mars scooted upward,
already changing into something capable of coping with the bear. A huge,
bat-winged dragon, breathing barrels of smoke, flapped in the air,
looking all around for its opponent. It did not notice Forrester
scurrying away in the shape of an ant through the leaves and thick humus
of the jungle floor.

By now, the air was becoming smoky and the flames were licking up the
sides of trees all through the vicinity, and racing along the giant
vines that curled around them. The dragon belched more smoke, adding to
the general confusion, and roared in a voice like thunder:

"Coward! Dionysus! Come out and fight!"

There was an instant of crackling silence.

Then Forrester stepped out from behind a blazing tree. He, too, was a
dragon.

Mars snarled, breathed smoke and made a power dive. Forrester dodged and
the fangs of the monster missed him by inches. Mars sank claw-deep into
the ground, and Forrester slammed the War God on the side of his head
with one mighty forepaw. Mars blew out a cloud of evil-smelling smoke
and managed to jerk himself free. He leaped to all four feet, glaring at
Forrester with great, bulging, hate-filled eyes.

"Man to man, you bastard!" he said in a flame-filled roar.

Forrester leaped back to avoid being scorched. He poured out some smoke
of his own. Mars coughed.

"Damn it, no more shape-changing!" the War God thundered.

"Fair enough!" Forrester shouted. He changed back to his Dionysian form,
circling warily until Mars had followed suit. Then the two began to
close in slowly.

Around them the forest burned, vegetation even on the swampy ground
catching fire as the