“You seem troubled, my friend,” said Sindar as he sat in the darkness beside Alex.

“Thinking too much again,” Alex said softly.

“Ah, the problem of the library. I will admit, it is a difficult problem.”

“There must be a way or Whalen wouldn’t have suggested that I destroy it.”

“To destroy is always easier than to create,” Sindar replied softly. “Though to destroy completely and forever . . . I do not know if that is possible.”

“How far away do you think the second gate is?” Alex asked.

“A day, maybe two. If it is much farther than that we will be going down the other side of this mountain.”

A day or two to reach the second gate, and then they would have to face the griffin guards that could read a man’s heart. Alex felt tired, but sleep would not come. He sat in the darkness, trying to clear his mind, but his thoughts continued to press in on him. Whalen had told him to look for simple solutions, but he couldn’t think of anything simple that would work.

When morning finally came, Alex’s body felt rested, but his mind was tired from all of his thinking. He was glad when they started climbing again because the hard work forced him to focus on nothing but the path in front of him.

If anything, the climb was harder than it had been the day before. They ate their midday meal at one of the few places they found where the path was wide and almost level, and then they rested for about an hour before continuing.

Late in the afternoon, just as Alex thought he couldn’t take another step without resting, the trail leveled out once more. There was rock on both sides of the path, and it was far easier to move forward. They continued for a short distance and came to an open space that looked like a crater. A cold wind was blowing, but there was no sign of the second gate.

“We seem to have reached the top,” said Bregnest after a few minute’s rest. “Perhaps tomorrow’s road will be less steep, and we will make better time.”

“And perhaps the path will start down again and this is only the first mountain we will have to climb,” said Val, sounding depressed.

“I do not think so,” Halfdan commented. “If the builders of this road wished us to climb a different mountain, there are easier ways to lead us to it.”

“It is likely that the builders of this road wished it to be hard,” said Sindar.

“Why?” Andy asked. “I imagine they had to use the road as well, didn’t they?”

“I do not know,” Sindar answered. “But it seems they had some purpose in mind when they built it. I would guess to keep away unwanted visitors.”

After resting for several minutes, Alex conjured a cooking fire for Halfdan. His mind felt clearer here with the cold wind blowing his hair, and his thoughts about the lower library did not trouble him as much as they had.

For the convenience of his friends, Alex conjured several small balls of light, which he sent floating around the cooking fire. His friends were all impressed by this feat of magic and watched the balls with great interest.

“Your abilities have grown since the last time we traveled together,” said Bregnest.

“They have,” Alex agreed.

“It is most impressive,” commented Sindar. “I have not seen this done before.”

Alex sat watching the balls of light, his mind far more relaxed than it had been for several days. Once Halfdan had finished cooking, Alex put out the blue-flamed cooking fire, but left the balls floating around the company.

“There is no heat or flame in them,” Andy observed.

“No,” said Alex. “They are called weir lights.”

“How long will they last?” Val questioned.

“As long as I want,” said Alex. “I’ve read that if you catch one in a jar, you can keep it forever. If the jar breaks, however, the light will try to escape.”

“Perhaps we should all get jars,” Halfdan suggested. “A light that doesn’t go out could be a useful tool.”

“Oh, they can go out,” said Alex. “But only by magic.”

“If they would escape from someone who kept them in a jar, why do they remain here now?” Bregnest questioned.

“Because I’m paying attention to them,” Alex replied. “If I left them alone without commanding them to stay or follow me, or if I went to sleep, they would simply float away.”

“Could you capture one in something other than a jar?” Halfdan asked in a thoughtful tone.

“I’ve read of some weir lights being trapped in crystals or gems, but that is much more difficult to do.”

“Ah, but such a light inside a gem would make a fine treasure,” Halfdan said gleefully.

“Such a gem would be nice, but the lights are so much nicer floating on their own,” said Sindar.

They all finished eating and lay down on their blankets, watching the weir lights floating above them. Alex would occasionally change their colors just so Halfdan would chuckle. He was pleased that the spell had worked so well and that his friends found so much joy in the small balls of light. When Alex began to feel sleepy, he put out the weir lights. He felt relaxed, and even though he knew troubles lay ahead of him, tonight he didn’t care.

When daylight came the next morning, they were all feeling refreshed. Their moods had improved, and even Bregnest did not look troubled. They ate their breakfast and started forward with little talk.

The trail had rock on both sides of it, but in some places the rock was low enough they could look out across the lands below them. Alex noticed that Andy would always look away from the open spots, as if he did not wish to see how high they were.

“Are you all right?” Alex asked Andy in a low voice so the rest of the company wouldn’t hear.

“I don’t like high places,” said Andy, his voice a bit higher than normal. “They make me feel dizzy and confused.”

Alex nodded but didn’t say anything more. He had never known about Andy’s fear of heights, and now he felt a little sorry that he had asked.

They made good progress that day as the trail wound along the top of the mountains. There were no longer any steep spots to climb, only long, gentle ups and downs. As the sun began to sink in the west, they all began to feel restless. With each turn of their path, they hoped to see the second gate or the Tower of the Moon, but instead they saw only more of the trail. When the sun was almost gone, Alex began to wonder where they would be able to find a place to sleep.

Just then, the company emerged from the trail into a wide-open space.

“We are there,” said Bregnest suddenly.

The second gate looked nothing at all like the first gate. There was no fine building or high arch, only the open space in front of them and a long stairway leading to the Tower of the Moon.

“Where is the gate?” Halfdan asked.

“Where is the guardian?” Val questioned.

“Both are before you,” answered Sindar. “Look closely, just this side of the stairway, and you will see the gate and the guardians.”

Looking into the gathering darkness, they could see what Sindar meant. On either side of the path sat an enormous griffin. Their wings were held high over their heads, forming a strange-looking archway. The griffins were much larger than Alex had imagined they would be, and he knew that their sharp, eagle eyes had already seen the company.

“Impressive guardians,” Halfdan commented softly.

“And effective,” Sindar added. “They can see right through a person and know if they are good or evil, happy or sad. They see everything.”

“And how do we pass them?” Andy questioned.

“I imagine they will tell us what we need to do,” said Bregnest. “But I think before we approach, we should rest. We will attempt the second gate in the morning.”

Chapter Twelve

The Tower of the Moon

The company had a hard time trying to rest again that night. Their thoughts and eyes continued to wander toward the griffins, which were hidden in darkness. No one was hungry, but Halfdan prepared a simple meal just so he had something to do. They had reached the Tower of the Moon, and when the sun came up, they would have to pass before the griffins.