The Horn of Moran

“We did not know this evil was with us,” said Alex defensively. “Now that it has shown itself, I must stop it from reaching the lower library and learning even greater dark magic.”

The griffin paused. “There is no evil in you,” it said finally in a somewhat softer tone. “You may pass. But know this, young wizard, your friends will remain here as hostages.”

“Hostages?”

“We will allow you three hours. You must either destroy this evil or return here with it. If you do not return before the time is up, the hostages are forfeit.”

The griffin’s words filled Alex with a cold fear, but he had no choice. “Agreed,” he said, resolved to his fate.

“Then go,” the griffin commanded. “And return swiftly—if you can.”

Alex didn’t hesitate. He rushed up the stairs that led into the tower without looking back. He had little time and no idea where Val might be. What evil Val carried with him Alex could not guess, but he knew it must be powerful in order to blind the griffins and allow Val the chance to slip past their watchful gaze.

Alex was breathing hard when he reached the top of the stairway, his heart pounding loudly in his ears. The entrance to the tower was in front of him, but there was no sign of Val. He stopped for a moment, trying to catch his breath and think. Val had carried the evil, but for how long? And why had Alex not felt the evil, as he had before when other evil had been near him? He was only a wizard in training, how could he possibly defeat this overwhelming evil?

Alex approached the tower, his worries picking at his brain. He had to try, even if it was hopeless. If he failed, he would probably die, though the thought of his own death didn’t bother him as much as the knowledge that if he failed, his friends would surely die as well. And if he succeeded, he had only three hours to return to the griffins and save his friends.

As he entered the tower, Alex found himself in a wide chamber. The torches were lit, which helped him to see, but it also helped his enemy. Looking around, he saw there were two stairways leading out of the chamber. One stairway led up into the tower, the other spiraled down into the mountain beneath the tower.

“It must be down,” Alex said to himself.

Alex ran to the stairway on his right and started down. The stairs circled around the wall of the tower and were poorly lit. Carefully, Alex moved downward, keeping his eyes open in case Val was hidden somewhere, waiting to attack him. There were no hiding places along the stairway that he could see, but Alex continued to move with caution.

At the bottom of the stairs was a long hallway, and at the far end of the hallway, Alex could see what appeared to be more stairs leading down. Alex moved down the hallway as fast as he could. He watched for any sign of movement and listened for any kind of sound. He paused at the end of the hallway to listen again, but there was only silence. There were no doorways or passages leading away from the hallway, so the only thing to do was to continue down.

The second stairway ended in a narrow chamber. There were doors on both sides and a large double door at the far end. Alex moved into the middle of the room, looking for any sign that he was going in the right direction. There was something familiar about the room, but Alex couldn’t remember where he had seen it before. He felt certain that he was going in the right direction, but if he had chosen wrong and the library was higher in the tower, he was wasting what little time he had.

Alex stood for a second with his eyes partly closed, listening. A cold breeze blew across his face from the direction of the large double door, and he took that as a sign. He moved to the door and reached out for the handles. His hands shook slightly, and he could already feel the evil and hate waiting behind the doors. Not just waiting, but waiting for him.

Focusing his thoughts on what he had to do, Alex pushed the doors open and stepped into the lower library. Val was standing halfway down a large empty room, looking back at Alex.

“I knew you would come,” said Val in an odd-sounding voice. “I knew you would try to stop me.”

“What are you doing, Val?”

“What I have been told to do,” Val answered, his face twisting into what might have been a grin. “I do what my friends say because they want what is best for me.”

“What friends?” Alex asked, stepping closer to Val and looking around the empty room.

“The friends that I have carried with me on this foolish quest,” answered Val. “The friends who found me on my last adventure and showed me what I could be, if I listened to them.”

“And what is that?” Alex asked, thinking that Val’s words sounded strangely familiar.

“I will be king of the known lands. All will bow before me, and all will give honor to me.”

“I have heard such promises before,” Alex said softly. “They are lies, and those who promise such things are full of evil.”

“So you say,” Val answered with a sneer. “You threw away your chance. You refused to accept them once, and now you will pay the price of your foolishness with your life.”

“I threw away only lies. I refused to accept their evil, and I have paid no price for my choice.”

“Your time is over, wizard. We will destroy you,” Val screamed, leaping forward, the point of his sword driving toward Alex’s heart.

Alex spun away, avoiding Val’s attack by dropping to the floor and rolling back to his feet. Moon Slayer was in his hand as he turned, and the magic sword began to glow softly in the darkness. Alex felt Val’s next attack coming, and he spun away as he slapped Val’s sword aside with Moon Slayer.

The two of them began a deadly dance around the empty library. Val spun and attacked wildly time and again, but Moon Slayer was always there to block his attacks. Several times Alex saw an opening where he could easily have killed Val, but he didn’t. Val was his friend, and he was being controlled by evil; Alex felt like he had to try to save him from that evil.

“You only delay your end,” Val yelled. “I can fight for hours, but sooner or later you will need rest.”

“Whatever promises you have been told are lies. Evil can’t give you greatness, it will only use you and then throw you away when it is finished.”

Their swords crashed against each other.

“Let go of the evil, Val,” Alex said in a calm voice. “Think of your friends, your wife.

“Wife?” Val shouted, diving forward to attack once more. “I have no wife. That was only a fantasy, a dream that has not yet come true. But my true friends will make that dream come true, along with all my other dreams. They want only what is best for me.”

“You will be betrayed,” said Alex. “Remember when you trusted before. You were betrayed before, and the evil that claims to be your friend will betray you in the same way. Let it go, Val. Let go of the lies the shadow has whispered to you and reclaim your honor as an adventurer.”

“Betrayed,” Val said, his voice softening. He froze in place, his sword held out in front of him, the tip wavering. There was a confused look on Val’s face, but Alex could see a great struggle in his eyes.

Alex took the opportunity, hoping it was the right thing to do, hoping that Val would understand. Swinging Moon Slayer as hard as he could, Alex aimed for Val’s sword. A shower of sparks filled the room as Val’s sword shattered, and Val fell back as if he had been dealt a deadly blow.

“Val?” Alex questioned as he stepped closer. “Are you all right?”

“Alex? I . . . I don’t know,” Val answered slowly. “You could have killed me, but you did not. It might . . . it might have been better if you had.”

“Nonsense,” said Alex. “Let go of the evil, Val. Let go of the dreams that ca

“Yes, I understand now,” said Val, his voice growing stronger. “I . . . Forgive me, Alex. I have been a fool.”