“Bane traveled alone,” Alex said. “There are seven of us. We will be easier to spot than he was.”

“He traveled alone?” Thrang questioned. “Then who were the three men with him?”

“Some things should not be asked,” Alex answered softly.

Their discussion was interrupted as the rest of the company entered the room just as Rose arrived to serve breakfast. Alex noticed that Thrain looked dejected and not his normal happy self. Alex knew that it had taken a lot of courage for Thrain to ask Bane about the four wizards and suspected he was unhappy at not hearing the answer. But when Thrain seemed reluctant to look Alex in the face, Alex sensed that there was more to the problem.

“I see Master Bane has gone,” said Arconn, taking his seat.

“He had far to travel,” said Alex.

“But he never answered my question,” said Thrain quietly, his eyes fixed on the table in front of him.

“I will answer your question,” Alex said gently. “But when we are on the road once more, not here.”

“We should discuss the road ahead,” Arconn said.

“Alex and I were doing just that before you arrived,” said Thrang. “We will need to be careful and choose our campsites well.”

“But Bane said he saw nothing,” said Nellus.

“But he did hear rumors,” said Barnabus.

“The trouble with rumors is you never know what to believe,” Kat said. “There might be bandits or trolls along our path, or there might be nothing at all.”

“Or there might be something even worse,” Arconn added.

“It’s no use trying to guess what we might or might not meet. We’ll be careful as we go, and our road goes east,” said Thrang.

The sun was coming up as they left the tavern, and Alex was pleased to see that Ned had taken good care of their horses. As Thrang settled the bill, Alex handed Ned a couple of silver coins and thanked him for looking after the animals. Ned seemed stunned by the generous gift and thanked Alex several times before they rode away.

“That was probably more than he makes in a month,” Kat commented, riding beside Alex.

“Then he is underpaid,” said Alex with a laugh.

Soon the small town was far behind them, but Thrang decided they should continue to follow the road simply because it was going in the right direction. Alex wondered about the wisdom of that decision, but he kept his thoughts to himself.

After they had ridden for some time, Thrain drew up alongside Alex. “If I was wrong to ask about Bane, I’m sorry,” he said quietly.

“You were not wrong to ask,” said Alex. “There is no secret that needs to be kept.”

“Well then, can you tell me the answer?” Thrain asked.

“Bane is a paladin,” Alex began. “But wizards use a different word, which is why I didn’t understand when Thrang and Arconn tried to warn me last night. The wizard word has much more meaning, of course, but paladin will do.”

“Yes, we know he is a paladin,” said Thrang. “But what happened to the four wizards who gave Bane his quest?”

“It is not a simple question to answer, even for me,” said Alex. “To create a paladin requires a great deal of magical power. It’s not as if the wizards could simply say, ‘You’re a paladin. Go on this quest.’ There is much more to it than that. To give Bane the power he would need, they had to let go of some of their own. The four wizards poured their own power into Bane. Once that was done, they were no longer wizards, but they were not simply men either.”

“You mean they gave up their magical powers so Bane could go on his quest?” Thrain asked in a puzzled voice.

“Yes,” answered Alex.

“So Bane has the power of all four wizards in him?” Kat questioned after a long pause.

“Yes,” Alex said again.

“Yet you proved stronger in your test of will,” said Arconn, looking over his shoulder at Alex. “He bowed to you, not you to him.”

“That is true,” said Alex. “However, Bane could not use all of his power against me. His full power can only be used against the shadow he chases or against those who serve that evil.”

“Still, you were stronger than the four,” Kat said.

“I am not evil, and I do not have the same restrictions that Bane has,” said Alex. “I said as much last night while telling him about my meetings with the shadow.”

“It was impressive to see,” Barnabus said from behind Alex.

“What was?” Alex asked, not sure what Barnabus meant.

“The contest of power,” Barnabus answered. “It was impressive to see.”

“What exactly did you see?” Alex questioned.

“You don’t know?” Barnabus asked in reply.

“I was a bit busy at the time,” said Alex with a slight smile.

“You passed through the table like a ghost,” said Barnabus. “That alone was startling.”

“And when you and Bane locked eyes, it was as if all light and sound had been drained from the world,” Arconn added.

“All we could see was the two of you, standing there surrounded by a shining white light while the rest of the world was in darkness,” said Thrain, his voice shaking slightly.

“It seemed to me that nothing else in all the known lands mattered but the outcome of your contest,” said Nellus. “Though I don’t think any harm would have come if Bane had prevailed.”

“Perhaps no harm, but less good,” said Kat, looking away from Alex and toward the east.

“I . . . I didn’t realize,” said Alex, shaking his head. “For me, you all just melted away until only Bane existed.”

“When Bane knelt, it was like the world snapped back into being,” said Thrang, rubbing his nose on the back of his sleeve.

“I will have to be more careful in the future,” said Alex. “I did not realize the effects of such a test on those not involved.”

For a while they rode in silence. Alex now understood the stunned looks on his friends’ faces and the reason Thrain was reluctant to look him in the eye. They had seen a contest of two great powers—powers that they did not really understand. Alex knew it was fortunate that his contest with Bane had been nothing more serious than a test. If it had been real battle—a battle that his own reckless feelings had almost started—then things might have turned nasty.

***

When they stopped for their midday meal, Arconn surveyed their surroundings. “This road seems little used, but the grass and weeds have not grown over it.”

“Perhaps grass and weeds grow more slowly here. Or perhaps the rain from last week has washed away any tracks,” Nellus suggested.

“Perhaps,” said Arconn, looking east along the road. “There is a strange feel to this road, but I cannot make out what it is.”

“Should we perhaps leave the road and travel across open ground?” Alex questioned, voicing the thoughts he’d had earlier in the day.

“The road goes in our chosen direction,” said Thrang, stroking his beard in thought. “To leave it would slow our progress.”

“And to stay on it might lead us to danger,” Barnabus said.

“We don’t know there is any danger,” said Kat. “If there is, it will find us as easily in the open as along the road.”

“We will stay on the road for now,” said Thrang, his voice final. “If there is danger, then we will meet it when it comes. If there is no danger, we will move quicker on the road.”

They all agreed, though Arconn’s comment about a strange feel to the road stuck in Alex’s mind. He, too, felt there was something strange about the road, but he also understood Thrang’s point about wanting to travel as quickly as possible.

When they camped for the night, Alex felt more watchful than he normally did. There was nothing definite to trouble his thoughts, but something in the back of his mind continued to nag at him. He kept his worries to himself and listened while the others talked around the campfire. When the others went to their tents, Alex stood and looked into the darkness. There was danger ahead; he was certain of it.

“May I speak with you?” Kat asked.