Drift: River of Falcons Book 1

The Iron Bell

The iron bell began to toll shortly before midnight, rousing the sorcerers from their private rooms and creating chaos in the dormitories, where apprentices fumbled around in the dark, searching for their clothes and asking each other in panicked tones what could possibly be wrong. The chaos was especially acute in the dormitory that housed the first-years. None of them could find a lantern in the dark, and none seemed to have any idea why the bell had woken them up.

Jasper dressed quickly, then sat on the edge of his cot. When the final bell tolled, he stood and spoke a single word, clearly and slowly: "Exardesco."

A large quartz crystal mounted in a bracket above the exit burst into cold, bright light. Startled young apprentices blinked and stared around them, wondering who was responsible. Jasper's erect posture and commanding appearance drew their attention, and gradually the room turned toward him. "Twenty-one bells," he said. "Do you know what that means?"

They shook their heads.

"In the future, you should count them. The number's important."

"What does twenty-one mean?" a boy asked.

"Trouble," Jasper said with a frown. "Hurry up. Vultan expects us in the courtyard." He stood, strode past the rows of bunks, pushed the double doors open, and stepped outside.

There were torches in the distance, marking the central courtyard with its ancient Black Oak under which Vultan usually stood to lead gatherings. Jasper could see that most of the older apprentices were already there. "Let's go," he called over his shoulder as a few of his new cohorts came out of the dormitory. At his call, others began to tumble out. He was a year or two older than most of the initiates, but some of them were as tall as he was, and he made a point of walking next to one of the tallest, a boy he had befriended earlier.

"Hurry!" a gruff voice shouted at the stragglers, and Jasper recognized it as Atratus.

They jogged into the courtyard and filed in behind the older apprentices, who were already lined up three rows deep. Torches were burning on iron poles beneath the oak, throwing flickering light up into its gnarled branches.

The sorcerers stepped to the front and took up their positions facing the apprentices. Even sorcerers who were posted at other locations had come: Crag with his long white beard and fancy robe, down from the Manor, and Magus up from the Palace. There was, however, a gap in the line where Simius, a recently promoted sorcerer, usually stood. Jasper eyed the first line of apprentices and noticed a corresponding gap where Simius's two younger brothers should have been. They were ready to be promoted, and they already functioned almost as full sorcerers, accompanying their older brother on missions.

The torches flickered, their flames lowering as if a wind had come up, but Jasper noticed there was no wind in the top of the Black Oak. He guessed that High Master Vultan was about to make a dramatic entrance. A surprise appearance would terrify the new recruits and startle most of the other apprentices, too. As much as he hated the man, Jasper had to admire Vultan's style. He knew how to dominate any gathering.

A bright ball of light appeared in front of the oak tree, floating oddly just above the cobblestones. It flashed from yellow to red, then burst outward, scattering sparks across the courtyard. Some of them landed on apprentices, who brushed and slapped themselves.

Atratus hissed a warning "Shhhhh!" as a thick cloud of black smoke appeared with a rumble that shook the cobblestones beneath their feet.

The rumbling stopped and the smoke cleared, wafting upward through the gnarled branches of the ancient tree. Vultan was standing where the smoke had been, glaring at the gathering, his tallest staff in his hand.