Darkness Rising: Disciples of the Horned One Volume One (Soul Force Saga Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

about three so I’d guess they’re in class. Sorcerers don’t train much outside. The yard is used during flight practice as a place to take off and land. Sometimes the guards drill, or the students get a game of Long Ball going, but other than that it’s usually empty. Come on.”
    Master Shen headed toward the tower and Damien followed a step behind and to his left as was proper for a new student. Halfway to the tower the sorcerer noticed him and laughed. “No need to hang back, Damien. You’ll find Sorcery a good deal less formal than The Citadel.”
    “Yes, sir.” Damien quick-stepped until he reached the sorcerer’s side. “I’ve gotten so used to the rules of The Citadel it’ll take a while to learn new ones.”
    A set of double doors made of some dark wood Damien didn’t recognize marked the entrance to the tower. Master Shen pushed them open and they swung inward without a sound and the two of them stepped through, the doors shut behind them.
    The tower’s entry hall was smaller than the one at The Citadel. Polished black stone with silver veins running through it covered the floors, walls, and ceiling. It felt like standing in the night sky. Doors made of the same wood as the outer doors waited on each wall. Master Shen turned left and pushed a door open. Behind it, a hall covered in the same black stone led deeper into the tower.
    “Down this hall are the administrative offices.” Master Shen led the way. “I sent a message to the headmaster so he should be expecting us.”
    They passed several closed doors before stopping in front of one marked with a silver pentagram. On a bench opposite sat a boy Damien’s age, with sandy brown hair, a brown tunic, and tan pants. Brown eyes stared at Damien, unblinking.
    He was about to ask the kid what his problem was when Master Shen pushed the door open. “Come on.”
    Damien put the boy out of his mind and stepped into the headmaster’s office. A huge cherry desk dominated the room, covered with books, parchments, quills and ink. Behind it waited a tiny man with a pointed white beard, dressed in a black robe embroidered with stars. Two small, dark chairs waited in front of the desk and matching bookcases stuffed from top to bottom with leather-bound books lined the walls.
    Damien bowed. “Sir, Damien St. Cloud reporting for instruction, sir.”
    The little man hopped out of his chair and rushed around the desk. He couldn’t have been over four and a half feet tall. He grabbed Damien’s hand and pumped it enthusiastically. “No need for such formality, my boy. Have a seat.” His voice matched his stature: small and squeaky. “Excellent work finding him, Lon, thank you.”
    “My pleasure, Thomas,” Master Shen said. “I’m heading back to The Citadel to resume their training.”
    “Of course, of course.” The headmaster waved his hand towards the door.
    Master Shen turned away from the desk. Damien said, “I don’t know how to thank you, sir, for telling me what I am.”
    “As I said, it was my pleasure.” Master Shen favored him with his warm smile. “If you put in half the effort training in sorcery that you did at The Citadel, you have a bright future ahead of you. Good luck.”
    Master Shen left the office and closed the door behind him. Damien swallowed, suddenly nervous. This place was different from home in every way and the only person he knew at all had just left.
    “You seem a bit anxious. Sit down, please,” the headmaster said. He stepped back around his desk and Damien eased into one of the chairs. It seemed wrong, sitting in the master’s presence. He’d have taken five lashes back home if he’d dared sit in one of the masters’ offices.
    “I suppose I am, sir. This is all so new, so different. I’ll do my best to settle in quickly.”
    The headmaster waved an indifferent hand. “Don’t worry about it. Everyone has a first day and everyone’s nervous. Some settle in fast, others less so, but sooner or later everyone