'Christine, could you look over these files for me? Thanks!' The board director dropped the stack of papers on her desk and sipped his coffee.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6VpknlwiVh
'Sure...' But her words went to no one. Brandon had already left the room.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswbv7R2tlW
She glanced down at the uppermost page with a sigh.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJmD6VvpO3
TAXES PENDING ANNUAL REPORT, AS COLLATED BY CEO GARETH GREENE...678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡckwEXbwWOq
Christine rubbed her eyes, and rose to get a cup of much needed water. Had she really not had anything to drink yet?678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7ltP3qJq4
She stopped at the cooler next to the window, graced with the view of suds and scrapers. Wednesday window wash.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWuP69kzNUt
She downed the cup in one gulp and went to refill, when -678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIB39Gxsgsa
'SHIT!' The man on the other side of the glass slipped, and with a sickening snap the safety cable broke, releasing the man to the clutches of gravity.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqOlZ38aJz
'Oh my god!' Christine yelled, as a sudden faintness took over her and she collapsed onto the ground.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuVICd8BmMG
People came rushing over, some trying to help Christine, some trying to peek through the opaque soapy bubbles to see what happened.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKEckGmnIWA
Broken cables.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywrOkqT3oX
And behind that, safely in the crane, the man who fell upwards.
'The trial of fire.' The High Priestess said, as she placed an unlit candle in front of Xavier.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv93UIL7oXa
Focus, he thought. He brought the tip of his finger down to the wick, gently calling the power beneath his feet, feeling it run up his legs and out through his arms -678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2lKczUd1N
With a soft hiss, a flame spurted into life, the candle burning brightly.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4IHwvKE3Yv
'Very well done.' Orla gave an almost imperceptible nod. 'To the next,' she stated simply, as another cloaked figure passed her a cage with a dead mouse inside.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡByFVIpPKdu
'The trial of revival.'678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFmqTJWJ33F
Xavier was surprised. The smaller the living creature, the easier the act of revival was. He had practiced before, on frogs, and even a rabbit (which left him tired for a week). A mouse barely required any concentration.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFMhZC6jGvd
With a raise of his fingers, the mouse lifted up it's head and began sniffing the High Priestess' hands.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKBTrMdeyPD
'Good.' She whispered, as she opened the top of the cage. 'Now lift the mouse out. The trial of telekinesis.'678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfqGOFkkHT
'You want me to perform telekinesis on the mouse?' Xavier knew there was a catch. Telekinesis was the hardest of the magics, and was harder still to perform on a living creature.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKXAdxSQK7
'Yes. Can you not do it?' Orla smiled mischievously.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTkx8EyqxkA
'No! I can do it.'678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTsroP4aUv
Xavier closed his eyes - and with a gasp, he began the telekinesis.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzxe6F92Nu
Feel yourself walking over to the cage, feel your hand holding onto the soft fur, feel it's breathing through your skin. Feel yourself lifting it up. Lift it. Lift it! Lift it, goddammit!678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoZq3mfkBOY
He opened his eyes. The mouse was still in the cage, nibbling curiously at one of the plastic bars.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUmvONVDEN
'I can do this. Give me one more try.'678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhdp9eFuzRK
Lift the fucking mouse. It's a goddamn mouse. All you have to do is lift your hand. Just like lifting a can of beer. Lift the mouse.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJQpGHHxLW
He was vaguely aware of Orla, cackling viciously at his struggle.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpPsjrXmwgy
Don't fail dad. He needs me to join him in Floor Twelve Minus. He taught me everything. He made me lift bowling balls, for gods sake, you can lift a fucking mouse!678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0dDW0VI8Ue
'Aaargh!' Xavier strained at the effort, veins rising on his forehead.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbuFw2uNFSN
Lift. The goddamn. Mouse.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkRVgA8Hifb
There was a momentary squeal, and a crack, as the mouse flew out of the cage. It's neck had been broken by the invisible hand that flung it.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnjYiJSE6AP
'...very good, Xavier.' Orla closed the cage. 'There is just one more thing. Your father mentioned the Bind to you, no?'678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyE3xyW4Faz
The Bind was the most sacred secret of magic - Hughes had talked about it only once before, saying that Xavier was never to know the Bind until he was ready to join Floor Twelve Minus.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡreQCNa0vfS
'Yes. I'm ready to know.'678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGrZDX8XDlQ
The High Priestess stood, and cued the others to stand as well, as she broke the table in two and flung the halves to the sides of the room.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHwwCRZJDb
She walked towards Xavier and leaned into his ear.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKPiak6w2l
'Do you really want to know?' She whispered, and murmured the ancient pact that bound them all.
What had just happened?678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtT7l3YCDvM
The man had fallen. He had definitely fallen. And there was no way he could have fallen into the crane, the crane had been above him!678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoX6vP4UMMF
Christine had been granted the rest of the day off after her collapse. And she needed it. She felt completely and utterly exhausted, and spent the afternoon lying still on her sofa as hour after hour of soap, scifi, and news played on her TV.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfaFpicd6pg
She checked the date. Her birthday. How had she forgotten?678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkznJKbwTq
Well, she thought wryly, happy birthday to me.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YPtbINKII
...And on the eight o clock news, we have a shocking case involving Eclipse Equipment where a harness used for highrise cleaning broke. The man involved, Winston Jones, was not injured, but is filing a lawsuit against the company. Eyewitness accounts say he was extremely lucky to have landed in the crane, saying that it was as if he was launched upward to safety...
The door to the antechamber opened, and Hughes woke.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNyDiKz7ov
'Xavier! You did it!' Hughes laughed.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0VaRtmUtYk
His son didn't share his joy.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2P5PjfXkpM
'Well, come on, Xavier. You know what you have to do. You don't have a choice.'678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBdNoUXFdsb
The young man was sweating under the watchful eyes of the High Priest. He couldn't do it. He couldn't do what she asked of him. He couldn't kill his own father.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1N6FJjFlfA
'Son. Don't fail me now.' Hughes pulled out a knife from his breast pocket, and gave it to his son, his apprentice, his successor.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI72rn3BOhY
Xavier simply looked at the metal object in his hands for a few moments, mesmerized by the reflections in the candlelight.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaGxDLSwUbH
'Come on, Xavier.' Orla smiled. This was the final trial.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN14CgMEfmu
'Xavier. You're stronger than this. I had to satisfy the Bind on your behalf for months, don't you let me down now.'678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJ9y89RMLd
Xavier's mouth was agape, arms shaking as he tried to lift the knife.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9roAPJSyid
'... I... I can't do it....'678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOz9zzdYcQ
Orla's grin grew wider. 'You failed.' She rose her hands with the intent of setting Xavier on fire, and the members of Floor Twelve Minus watched on gleefully.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xTBq4SHyh
'Kill him, dammit, kill him!' She shrieked, with sudden anger, and someone must have obliged, for a moment later Xavier was in flames, shrieking on the floor.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHyen7YbRa
Hughes spat on the burning body. 'I didn't know you were this weak.'678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKy1w3YUmAJ
It had only been momentary, but nothing escaped Floor Twelve Minus' attention. The High Priestess had failed to cast a spell.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzFwDs50yPL
The High Priestess was the most powerful magician of them all, and there was only one woman gifted with such skills each generation.678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu59d8MwSK2
Orla had lost the power, which meant only one thing -678Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7K4prViwJ5
There was a new High Priestess.
