The Bright Sword

by Lev Grossman

Collum might have died of thirst, but that night he heard an unearthly yowling from not far away. Creeping closer he saw a black lion wrestling with an enormous banded serpent that was trying to crush it. Collum drew his sword, waded in, and slew the snake. After that the grateful lion followed him everywhere, padding along beside him like a loyal hound. For weeks Collum and the lion wandered the desert together, until a bandit chief and his company ambushed them and took Collum prisoner. He languished in a cell until a servant girl took pity on him and slipped him a magic ring that would turn him invisible. Once he’d escaped he discovered that the ring was cursed and wouldn’t come off his finger, and he spent six more months roaming the countryside invisibly, like a ghost, stealing food when he had to, searching for a sorcerer or holy man who could undo the spell. The sorcerer who finally lifted the curse charged him with rescuing his daughter, who was being held captive by a giant. This Collum did, and in the giant’s castle he met a fairy knight with whom he agreed to change places for a year. When the year was up the fairy knight revealed himself to be none other than Blue Rooster, the same knight who’d dragged Collum into the desert in the first place. That whole affair was a case of mistaken identity! Blue Rooster had confused him with another black knight who’d slain his father. In fact the two of them hit it off, and they agreed to travel together. From then on Coll...