'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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxjRTpranJy
'Sure...' But her words went to no one. Brandon had already left the room.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSgxqLSsG0g
She glanced down at the uppermost page with a sigh.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQBgFUePyw
TAXES PENDING ANNUAL REPORT, AS COLLATED BY CEO GARETH GREENE...1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQhUeDRLMhm
Christine rubbed her eyes, and rose to get a cup of much needed water. Had she really not had anything to drink yet?1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVRFQwMEz4
She stopped at the cooler next to the window, graced with the view of suds and scrapers. Wednesday window wash.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwzOb3vny3e
She downed the cup in one gulp and went to refill, when -1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXunJMt83JJ
'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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHwfePhcRXa
'Oh my god!' Christine yelled, as a sudden faintness took over her and she collapsed onto the ground.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9x0INP4XwP
People came rushing over, some trying to help Christine, some trying to peek through the opaque soapy bubbles to see what happened.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgnXlAcIoD
Broken cables.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkGJ51KDF72
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjM3xz63onT
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 -1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgkXFpGGIVg
With a soft hiss, a flame spurted into life, the candle burning brightly.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmUIaHRizjP
'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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZiXoafqqzx
'The trial of revival.'1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaP2c7brQDQ
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA4rBHkJDkS
With a raise of his fingers, the mouse lifted up it's head and began sniffing the High Priestess' hands.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbiOkoja1eU
'Good.' She whispered, as she opened the top of the cage. 'Now lift the mouse out. The trial of telekinesis.'1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykmb2lktWf
'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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC3BHTNgJde
'Yes. Can you not do it?' Orla smiled mischievously.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrPrJkQGJpB
'No! I can do it.'1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3rWFDMyAWL
Xavier closed his eyes - and with a gasp, he began the telekinesis.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqiHgNV9FC0
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!1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg18liZlGO8
He opened his eyes. The mouse was still in the cage, nibbling curiously at one of the plastic bars.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMNvp08EdhK
'I can do this. Give me one more try.'1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡONjiEljgha
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBgoq6YrCon
He was vaguely aware of Orla, cackling viciously at his struggle.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9P3PauKxn
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!1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEkNQx6ZRE
'Aaargh!' Xavier strained at the effort, veins rising on his forehead.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQ1YQWOyM1
Lift. The goddamn. Mouse.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9aNuvkHyAV
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcW4wa78GVE
'...very good, Xavier.' Orla closed the cage. 'There is just one more thing. Your father mentioned the Bind to you, no?'1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3HVKlY4aVD
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡamB92ckPc5
'Yes. I'm ready to know.'1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdcC9PThYer
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8U7Ak04lvl
She walked towards Xavier and leaned into his ear.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjWofgHVjkR
'Do you really want to know?' She whispered, and murmured the ancient pact that bound them all.
What had just happened?1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEur15BD4yy
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!1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnZuHP2eeM
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsh79ebTyUb
She checked the date. Her birthday. How had she forgotten?1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9DsMr2kasf
Well, she thought wryly, happy birthday to me.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPoHvYaFH6
...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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKZig5IukES
'Xavier! You did it!' Hughes laughed.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd8dHjJLaDR
His son didn't share his joy.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGWec139zJm
'Well, come on, Xavier. You know what you have to do. You don't have a choice.'1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBWRcAPfvSs
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywQqFFMHuZ
'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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQDJbBEvQ7t
Xavier simply looked at the metal object in his hands for a few moments, mesmerized by the reflections in the candlelight.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhoTNJCQB0
'Come on, Xavier.' Orla smiled. This was the final trial.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7dvLtkl22
'Xavier. You're stronger than this. I had to satisfy the Bind on your behalf for months, don't you let me down now.'1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmNQrlKzi3c
Xavier's mouth was agape, arms shaking as he tried to lift the knife.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXs8i0ETAQK
'... I... I can't do it....'1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQWoma3hZL
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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6ZMcuhySm
'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.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcJnpKyi4zu
Hughes spat on the burning body. 'I didn't know you were this weak.'1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLlwcOkYvfF
It had only been momentary, but nothing escaped Floor Twelve Minus' attention. The High Priestess had failed to cast a spell.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡucPHFkA8hM
The High Priestess was the most powerful magician of them all, and there was only one woman gifted with such skills each generation.1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrwSquwsMDl
Orla had lost the power, which meant only one thing -1000Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCuGGkMh8SE
There was a new High Priestess.
and then Add to home screen.