'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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWFgb1Q8Sr7
'Sure...' But her words went to no one. Brandon had already left the room.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPeCuiHkTMl
She glanced down at the uppermost page with a sigh.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0rrvSlMdxc
TAXES PENDING ANNUAL REPORT, AS COLLATED BY CEO GARETH GREENE...808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBIDyLFh6EU
Christine rubbed her eyes, and rose to get a cup of much needed water. Had she really not had anything to drink yet?808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXupBk4XZGA
She stopped at the cooler next to the window, graced with the view of suds and scrapers. Wednesday window wash.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ423TD981Vl
She downed the cup in one gulp and went to refill, when -808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpLmAvb4fSZ
'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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0gBpzfGSF8
'Oh my god!' Christine yelled, as a sudden faintness took over her and she collapsed onto the ground.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxMZGVopdh
People came rushing over, some trying to help Christine, some trying to peek through the opaque soapy bubbles to see what happened.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7crYPs1gg
Broken cables.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuypuIPsleQ
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡidxMWtbqkk
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 -808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7aKMyFMRp
With a soft hiss, a flame spurted into life, the candle burning brightly.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNZahb0YAC
'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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwTjN6BqcwT
'The trial of revival.'808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfVc5IOQPOR
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoE3ERLVyIF
With a raise of his fingers, the mouse lifted up it's head and began sniffing the High Priestess' hands.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDpWgMdkFL
'Good.' She whispered, as she opened the top of the cage. 'Now lift the mouse out. The trial of telekinesis.'808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC3a1wwJdcV
'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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqz9y2Js7tN
'Yes. Can you not do it?' Orla smiled mischievously.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSs1x6Xwm6E
'No! I can do it.'808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7j790SVFz
Xavier closed his eyes - and with a gasp, he began the telekinesis.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyoLeGSjhGj
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!808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpBNFIGHlpO
He opened his eyes. The mouse was still in the cage, nibbling curiously at one of the plastic bars.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLe9ohSoDJ
'I can do this. Give me one more try.'808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZOnV3Js8eW
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI2u1fa3HVN
He was vaguely aware of Orla, cackling viciously at his struggle.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ZRQiAudpX
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!808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmMTifqJWO1
'Aaargh!' Xavier strained at the effort, veins rising on his forehead.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqjSlTX1BRO
Lift. The goddamn. Mouse.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMlp9hcSRgZ
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzE5ieRZTmm
'...very good, Xavier.' Orla closed the cage. 'There is just one more thing. Your father mentioned the Bind to you, no?'808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnK4lbCSkDN
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡieWzdQ7Z2p
'Yes. I'm ready to know.'808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9bJs4jC4Ll
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCQP5b9dU7
She walked towards Xavier and leaned into his ear.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5qTGW4XqSt
'Do you really want to know?' She whispered, and murmured the ancient pact that bound them all.
What had just happened?808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3GORWbFIVt
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!808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nwcXEEBUT
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYmLJahzam
She checked the date. Her birthday. How had she forgotten?808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gPBYi0LRu
Well, she thought wryly, happy birthday to me.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGSgXwZq4K
...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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWNXpvf3xy
'Xavier! You did it!' Hughes laughed.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ297O3bjpJr
His son didn't share his joy.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEFp0x9AZ92
'Well, come on, Xavier. You know what you have to do. You don't have a choice.'808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYp8Y9KYVYr
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33rheqcVwF
'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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz2EyNB6lX5
Xavier simply looked at the metal object in his hands for a few moments, mesmerized by the reflections in the candlelight.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpZUDXWCfeD
'Come on, Xavier.' Orla smiled. This was the final trial.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXXGj91KN2S
'Xavier. You're stronger than this. I had to satisfy the Bind on your behalf for months, don't you let me down now.'808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUjAx1LWRAI
Xavier's mouth was agape, arms shaking as he tried to lift the knife.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNL2NwIswrb
'... I... I can't do it....'808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI8qc3RQZA0
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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfs9ItpnlP
'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.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa8AAoX8Ygg
Hughes spat on the burning body. 'I didn't know you were this weak.'808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNjhF2F1Pvz
It had only been momentary, but nothing escaped Floor Twelve Minus' attention. The High Priestess had failed to cast a spell.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8mye8mavMv
The High Priestess was the most powerful magician of them all, and there was only one woman gifted with such skills each generation.808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJDYIrc7gT
Orla had lost the power, which meant only one thing -808Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5tDPpffwth
There was a new High Priestess.
