Free Darkness Rising: Disciples of the Horned One Volume One (Soul Force Saga Book 1) by James Wisher Page A

Crimson Legion, the sorcerers in charge of protecting the king. There’s a lot of politics involved and most sorcerers aren’t interested in the job. That’s why Lidia has held the post of archmage for the past sixteen years.”
    The black door creaked and swung open. Damien leapt to his feet a moment before a slumped-over Eli walked through. He looked up at Damien and shook his head. He’d failed. Damien clapped him on the back as he headed for the stairs. Eli was a solid sorcerer, and even if he failed this time he could try again in six months and pass it for sure.
    “Damien St. Cloud.” A disembodied voice spoke from inside the testing chamber. “It’s time.”
    He glanced at Ann, who shook her head. “You’re on your own. I’ll be here when you finish.”
    Damien entered the dark chamber and walked to a circle of light in the center of the room. Looming over him, one at each of the four cardinal directions sat the four high sorcerers. Three women and one man, all older than Ann, but not by as much as he’d expected. He put them all in their late forties or early fifties.
    He bowed to each in turn then clasped his hands behind his back and waited. He didn’t have to wait long.
    “Mistress Ann has recommended you for the final examination,” the Master of the South said. “Do you feel you are ready?”
    Damien faced the master. “Yes, sir.”
    “Very well,” the Mistress of the East said, her voice almost as deep as the master’s. “You must demonstrate competence in four of the six primary skills. Where do you wish to begin?”
    “Shielding.” Protection and attack were Damien’s strongest skills so he planned to start there and make a good first impression.
    “Form your shield and we will attack. Resist as long as you can,” the Master of the South said.
    Damien conjured a golden globe around himself, wasting neither time nor energy to make it invisible. He spent a quarter of his power on it and felt certain it would hold against anything but a full-power assault. Energy blasts from each master struck his shield in succession. Their attacks didn’t even cause it to flex. So far so good.
    Next they attacked it together. Dents formed, but the shield held. Damien let out a breath. A moment later a golden giant appeared, a club in its hand. It swung down at him and an instant before it struck he reinforced the top of the sphere. The club skipped off without breaking through.
    “Well done,” the Mistress of the North said. “You pass the first test.”
    Damien reabsorbed the shield energy remaining and diverted some of the power from his personal shield to restoring his core. It wouldn’t take long for his power to replenish.
    Damien passed attack easily, hitting multiple moving targets and shattering every shield they conjured. Detection was harder, but he found the poison in every sample they brought and neutralized it. He was almost through. Sweat stained his tunic and stuck it to his back.
    “Next?” the Mistress of the North asked.
    “Shaping.” Damien took a few deep breaths to steady himself and a chunk of stone floated down from somewhere in the darkened recesses above him. “What do you wish me to make?”
    “Whatever you like,” the Mistress of the East said. “Impress us.”
    Damien studied the stone, both with his eyes and his soul force. It was taller than it was wide and a couple of fissures ran through it. If he hit those wrong the rock would crumble and he’d fail the test. Luckily for him both flaws ran along the edge of the stone so he could use most of it. When he had the image of what he wanted firmly in mind he sent out streams of soul force and carved.
    He had no sense of time as he worked, his focus on the task absolute. When he finally finished, a statue of a nude, winged female sat on the floor. The face was a little crude and the feathers on the wings could have used more texture, but overall it was a pretty good likeness of Lizzy.
    Around him the masters