by M. L. Forman
Alex moved closer to the door and peered through the opening. He was careful not to reveal himself to the men inside the room.
Gaylan knelt on the floor, his robes spread around him like a black puddle of oil. Zain hovered in front of him. Alex blinked, and looked again. Yes, Zain was actually hovering. When Alex had confronted Zain on the other side of the wall, Zain had appeared solid. He had fought and attacked like a real person, but the Zain on this side of the wall was more ghost than man. The edges of his body were fuzzy and indistinct. He seemed to drift on a breeze that Alex couldn’t feel. The faint light in the room shone through him.
“How may I serve you, my lord?” Gaylan asked, bowing his head. “Ask, and I will obey.”
“My soul has escaped death, but my body has long since turned to dust. Without a new one, I am not nearly as powerful as I need to be.”
Gaylan looked up at Zain. “My lord?”
“You are young and strong. You are powerful in your own right. Together, we would be unstoppable.”
Alex’s anger turned white-hot. Everything about this felt wrong to Alex. Dangerously wrong. He had to put a stop to it. Now.
“Wait!” Alex’s O’Gash said with sudden clarity.
Alex looked down at the axe in his hand. He had grown accustomed to its weight and to its power. He felt connected to it in the same way he felt connected to Moon Slayer and to his staff. It was a part of him, and as he felt the power in the axe surge into his body, his mind cleared and a plan began to form itself in his mind.
“I understand, my lord,” Gaylan said. He threw back his head and opened his arms wide.
Zain’s eyes glittered and a cold smile crossed his face. He nodded and then his ghostly form swooped down and melted into Gaylan’s body.
Gaylan screamed and his body shook. He fell forward, bracing himself against the floor with his hands. His head dropped, and Alex saw blood trickling from his mouth.
“My lord?” Gaylan’s voice rasped in his throat.
“I am here.” Zain’s voice emerged from Gaylan’s mouth.
Alex shuddered. He had never seen anything like this on any of his previous adventures, and there was a terrible wrongness to it that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
“Sleep now,” Zain said. “I will summon you if I need you, but for now, I must learn how to control this new body of mine.”
Gaylan’s head bobbed as if he were a puppet on a string, and then his eyes rolled back in his head. When they cleared, they were glowing red, just as they had been when Zain and Alex had fought.
Now! Alex’s O’Gash yelled, and Alex burst into the room.
Zain turned his head in surprise. “You!” he spat. “You can’t be here! You should be rotting on the other side of the wall.”
“So should you,” Alex said. He summoned his newfound power as a true-silver dragon guardian and channeled it all into the Axe of Sundering.
The weapon responded immediately, bursting with a white light. A low hum filled the room as energy crackled from the blade’s edge.
Zain lifted his hand and pointed it at Alex, but Alex was faster.
He gestured with his free hand, curling his fingers into a fist and then using his magic to throw Zain back against the wall.
The dark wizard hit the wood with a thud, and then fell to his knees on the floor. He looked up at Alex, his red eyes glowing brighter than before. He pulled his lips back in a snarl. “You are a persistent little fly, but my patience with you has worn thin.”
Alex took a step forward, his hand still pointing at Zain, keeping him pinned to the floor.
“You couldn’t defeat me when I was a spirit on the other side of the wall. Now that I have Gaylan’s body and have added Gaylan’s power to my own, I am indestructible. No one can defeat me now.”
Alex clenched his teeth and tightened his hold on Zain. He could feel Zain using his own magic to test the limits of the binding spell. He was strong—stronger than Alex thought possible—but if Alex had learned anything during his adventures it was that honor and goodness were always stronger than evil.
“I’m not sure if I thanked you properly for breaking the wall for me,” Zain said. The veins in his neck throbbed with the dark wizard’s efforts to find a weak spot in Alex’s spell. “With the spirits of the dead now free, I will be able to add them to the Brotherhood, and my army—my power—will grow.”
Alex took another step forward. The Axe still blazed in his hand, and the power it contained both anchored him and strengthened him. The plan Alex had in mind would work; he was sure of it.
“You are nothing,” Zain spat. “You are nobody, and I will crush you beneath my boot heel.”
Alex finally spoke one simple word: “No.”
The red light flickered in Zain’s eyes and an expression of uncertainty crossed his face.
“You believe that because you are powerful that you will win,” Alex said. He stood in front of Zain and looked down at the dark wizard on his knees. “You believe that because you want something that you should get it. You believe that because you hold yourself in such high esteem that you can force others to bow to your will.”
Zain tried to scuttle away from Alex, but he couldn’t move. His red eyes lost their glow and returned to a normal shade of blue.
Alex shook his head. “But let me tell you what I know. I know that power should be used for good. I know that an honorable man is willing to make sacrifices for others. And I know that helping others creates strong friendships and lasting loyalty.”
Zain opened his mouth, but no words came out. His shoulders slumped as Alex tightened his spell around the dark wizard.
Alex locked the binding spell and then held the Axe of Sundering with both hands. “And I know that evil will never win so long as there are good men willing to stand up for what is right.”
He felt a deep calm in the center of his being. He had faced many enemies and fought in many battles, but this fight was different. This one felt more important than all the others. The fate of the known lands hung in the balance, and Alex knew what he had to do.
One last time, he swung the glowing Axe of Sundering in a wide arc.
A loud crack sounded in the small room and Zain’s head rolled to a stop at Alex’s feet, his body falling to the ground.
Both the head and the body began to turn gray, then black, before they disintegrated into powder and ash. Even the wizard’s robes were gone.
Gaylan’s body had been destroyed. Zain’s soul had been destroyed.
Alex had cut off the head of the snake that was the Brotherhood, and the evil it had spread across the known lands would now wither and die.
He slipped the Axe into his belt and bowed his head. Alex thought he would feel a sense of triumph at the victory, but he mostly felt sad inside. He was sad that Gaylan and Zain had spent so much of their lives and their energy pursuing power. He couldn’t help but wonder what they might have been capable of if they had decided to be men of honor instead of men of evil.
The ground rumbled beneath Alex’s feet. A crack appeared in the floor, zigzagging its way towards the door and up the walls. Dust and bits of plaster rained down from the ceiling. Alex looked around in alarm.
Gaylan’s recreation of the Golden Swan began crumbling around the edges. Alex wondered if the actual tavern was experiencing the same damage. He hoped not. Alex ran back into the main room. The cracks in the floor and the walls continued to spread throughout the building.
Alex saw a pile of gray ash on the floor. It was where Magnus’s body had fallen after Gaylan had punished him. Alex smiled grimly. It appeared he had been right in thinking that the power of the Brotherhood had been broken, and those who had served its evil purposes would suffer the same fate as Gaylan and Zain.
The building was collapsing around him. He had to find a way to escape. The two large windows on either side of the room trembled in their frames. The one leading to the shadowlands was already shattered and fractured,
but the one holding all the gateway images of the known lands was still intact.
Just as Alex took a step toward it, the window exploded, showering him with sharp shards of colored glass. He twisted away and put his hands up to protect his face and head. Some of the shards still cut into him and he felt small trickles of blood on his back and legs.
He looked up and his gaze was caught by the scene he saw through the window that connected the tavern to the shadowlands. Alex could see the silvery sheen of Salinor’s scales in the distance. And next to the dragon was a long, flowing shadow pouring through the cracked wall. The spirits of the dead were returning to the shadowlands.
Alex smiled. Here was more evidence that the Brotherhood’s evil had been broken.
It is time, Salinor’s voice spoke in Alex’s head. Time to mend the wall.
Alex nodded, even though he was alone in the room. He ran towards the window. Gaylan had said it was one-way only, but Gaylan had never anticipated the power of a guardian.
Alex jumped through the window and immediately transformed into his dragon form. He loved the feeling of freedom that came with the change. He pointed his snout toward the wall and beat his huge wings once, twice, three times—gaining speed with each downward thrust.
In no time at all, he had reached the wall and touched down next to Salinor, folding his wings against his body.
“You made swift work of the Brotherhood, I see,” Salinor said.
“There was no time to waste,” Alex answered. He looked over the wall. “Have all those who belong to the shadowlands found their way home?”
Salinor nodded. “I believe so.”
“Then it is time for me to fix my mistake and mend the wall.” He had reached his claw out to gather the scattered stones when Salinor spoke.
“A moment, if you please.”
“What is it?”
Salinor nodded at a figure approaching the wall from the shadowlands. “Perhaps there is one last task for you to do.”
Alex looked down and saw it was Whalen. “My friend,” Alex said. “I am glad to see you are safe.”
“Safe, yes,” Whalen said. “And grateful that the shadowlands have been set to rights again.”
“Whalen, I cannot thank you enough for everything you have done for me. I wish Gaylan had not . . .” Alex stopped, sadness filling his throat. “You sacrificed your life for me.”
“I would do it again,” Whalen said.
“You are a loyal and true friend,” Alex said. “And a powerful force for good.”
Whalen inclined his head. “I simply tried to do the right thing whenever I could.”
“It’s not fair—” Alex began, then stopped, an idea sparking in his mind. He looked from Whalen to Salinor. “Salinor, what exactly do my duties as guardian of the wall require from me?”
Salinor seemed to smile, as if he knew what Alex was thinking. “You must protect the wall from any and all evil that might seek to break it. You must preserve the balance of light and darkness, and protect those who serve the light. You must swiftly answer any summons from any of the other guardians who call for you and help them to the best of your abilities. You must fight for honor, loyalty, and goodness the rest of your days.”
Alex nodded slowly. “I can accept those responsibilities.” He smiled. “I learned how to do most of those on my adventures, after all.”
Salinor laughed. “And I suspect you will learn even more on the adventures yet to come.”
Alex tilted his head. “I thought being a guardian meant I couldn’t go on any more adventures.”
“Not at all. Being a guardian simply means you have more responsibilities,” Salinor said. “But there is nothing stopping you from choosing to undertake another adventure.”
Alex nodded. “I understand. And I am glad to know that I can still go on adventures. Though I think I will be taking a break from them for a while. I would like to spend some time learning how to be the best guardian I can be.”
“I think that is wise,” Salinor said. “Now, ask me what you really wish to know.”
Alex looked back to Whalen. “As guardian of the wall, am I allowed to make an exception? If I feel it is warranted?”
“You are,” Salinor said.
“And how might I make that happen? If I happened to find a soul worthy of granting access past the wall?”
Salinor grinned and looked down at Whalen. “You simply invite that soul to join you on this side of the wall.”
Alex nodded and turned to Whalen. “Master Whalen Vankin, you are the noblest, strongest, best wizard I know. The known lands still need you. If you wish to continue fighting alongside me, I will grant you access to cross the wall.”
Whalen stood up straight with pride. “I do wish it, Alex. I believe there is much more for you to do, and I would be honored to continue to be your mentor and your friend.”
“Then cross the wall, Master Vankin.” Alex gestured to the crack, glad for once that it was there.
Whalen nodded and made his way through the broken stones. When he crossed the barrier, his wispy, ghostly form solidified back into a solid, normal man. Whalen looked down at his body, flexing his fingers and stretching his legs. “I feel like a new man,” he said with a laugh. “And my magic! It’s back. I am whole again.”
Alex smiled, glad his friend had returned.
“The wall?” Salinor prompted gently.
“Oh, yes,” Alex said. He reached out his giant silver claws and scooped up the scattered and broken stones. He stacked them back into place on the wall’s foundation and sent a surge of power through his dragon’s leg and into his claws. The stones fused together, stronger than before. When he removed his claw, no hint of a crack remained.
Alex transformed back into his human form and turned to Whalen. “That’s done.”
“And done well,” Whalen said.
Salinor nodded his approval. “Farewell, Master Taylor, Master Vankin,” he said. “Until we meet again.” The great dragon leaped into the air and flew away without another word.
Alex watched until Salinor was a mere silver speck in the sky. And then even that disappeared from his sight.
Whalen slapped him on the back and smiled. “I believe our work here is done, Master Taylor, wouldn’t you agree?”
“For now,” Alex said with a smile. “For now.”
Alex stood at the end of a stone dock in the harbor of Valora. The sun was just rising in the east, and a gentle breeze was blowing out to sea. He could feel when Whalen approached, but he didn’t move or speak.
“Early or late?” Whalen asked.
“Early,” Alex answered, knowing what Whalen meant. “A little more than two hours ago.”
“Darthon and his people will be happy to see that you’re back,” said Whalen.
“Any word of Joshua and the other hostages?” Alex asked.
“They reached the city three days ago,” Whalen answered. “Joshua’s been asking about you—where you were and when you’d be back. He was very worried about you going off to the black lands alone. I think he’s planned a mission to rescue you.”
“There was no danger,” Alex answered. “I made a vow to return to the black lands and I had to keep it. Besides, I needed to retrieve Moon Slayer.”
“And?” Whalen pressed.
“The shadows are free at last,” Alex said. “The sea elves are free to return to their ancient homes.”
“And your other friend, the dragon Jabez had enslaved?”
“Flying south. It seems there are some fairly large islands there that the men of Jarro haven’t yet discovered.”
“Good, that’s very good,” Whalen said softly and fell silent.
The two wizards stood in silence, watching the sea until the sun was fully up. Dockworkers started to appear near the shore, and the city behind them began to wake.
“So,” Whalen finally said. “What’s next, then?”
“For you, or for me?” Alex questioned.
�
�For both of us, I suppose,” said Whalen.
“I imagine you’re ready to go home, at least for a time,” said Alex.
“Yes, I am, even knowing what’s coming.”
“What’s coming?”
“There will be a lot of questions, Alex. Wild rumors, nervous talk, fear even,” Whalen said. “You’ve destroyed the Brotherhood, Alex. Powerful people all over the known lands have mysteriously vanished. People will want to know what happened.”
“There may not be as many questions as you think,” Alex said, rubbing his chin. “And I think that most if not all of the questions should remain unanswered.”
“Unanswered? How would that help?”
Alex shrugged. “Powerful, well-known people have gone missing. What good could come from telling everyone that those who have gone missing were, in fact, evil?” Alex asked. “The Brotherhood was hidden for a reason. People won’t want to hear that the people they trusted were evil.”
“No, I’m sure they don’t want to hear that,” Whalen agreed.
“The council of wizards will need to know the truth, even if they don’t believe it, but other than that. . . . I just don’t see any good coming from telling everyone what really happened,” Alex said.
“You’re right,” Whalen said. “This adventure of ours should remain mostly secret.”
“Good,” Alex said. “Very good.”
“When do we start for home?” Whalen asked.
“I’m not going home,” Alex answered. “Not yet, anyway.”
“Oh?”
“Jabez left many evils and scars in Westland and in Jarro. They need to be healed.”
“Time will heal them, Alex. It isn’t your task to undo all that Jabez did in this land,” Whalen said.
“No, it’s not my task, but sometimes healing needs a little help,” said Alex. “I think the sea elves will also need some help.”
“Yes, I think that’ s true,” Whalen said, a faint smile crossing his face. “I know of at least one elf who would be happy to have you stay for a time.”