'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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbmGoA8xTWG
'Sure...' But her words went to no one. Brandon had already left the room.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFtWEpl5qg
She glanced down at the uppermost page with a sigh.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlCvjvYcfBn
TAXES PENDING ANNUAL REPORT, AS COLLATED BY CEO GARETH GREENE...796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5uBiUMb0Hn
Christine rubbed her eyes, and rose to get a cup of much needed water. Had she really not had anything to drink yet?796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcnaXTTVB37
She stopped at the cooler next to the window, graced with the view of suds and scrapers. Wednesday window wash.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvs9dKKltNf
She downed the cup in one gulp and went to refill, when -796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj20SLKMVgm
'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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq1li4aU6Dp
'Oh my god!' Christine yelled, as a sudden faintness took over her and she collapsed onto the ground.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡELXCCIam7X
People came rushing over, some trying to help Christine, some trying to peek through the opaque soapy bubbles to see what happened.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7gOVoMZYXH
Broken cables.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkEypmbybXB
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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2cph1vdwj
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 -796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDCTQ1K9q8O
With a soft hiss, a flame spurted into life, the candle burning brightly.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVoaIUw8dfH
'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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA61idNKQJo
'The trial of revival.'796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMaIliNMjTQ
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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEXJ3f2XmL
With a raise of his fingers, the mouse lifted up it's head and began sniffing the High Priestess' hands.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZ5tqUkHz2
'Good.' She whispered, as she opened the top of the cage. 'Now lift the mouse out. The trial of telekinesis.'796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl6Q1FpDWzt
'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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKkNmK0Z6d
'Yes. Can you not do it?' Orla smiled mischievously.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxhueKJtPCR
'No! I can do it.'796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLMvYPIN0CB
Xavier closed his eyes - and with a gasp, he began the telekinesis.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHiJIAoQ6oS
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!796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwshXj3snJG
He opened his eyes. The mouse was still in the cage, nibbling curiously at one of the plastic bars.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5zcxHt8Utc
'I can do this. Give me one more try.'796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXbC5LgTd53
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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4OWMeoL1UI
He was vaguely aware of Orla, cackling viciously at his struggle.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TXfKY5nV9
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!796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFgil9rRNmZ
'Aaargh!' Xavier strained at the effort, veins rising on his forehead.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMv0yPYaUm
Lift. The goddamn. Mouse.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrniZfhirje
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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLsqSLqnWdk
'...very good, Xavier.' Orla closed the cage. 'There is just one more thing. Your father mentioned the Bind to you, no?'796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLcMwxgnJt
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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3vv434xplD
'Yes. I'm ready to know.'796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAJaRKy5zba
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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7FJOeDbaTF
She walked towards Xavier and leaned into his ear.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLfPutTKxzL
'Do you really want to know?' She whispered, and murmured the ancient pact that bound them all.
What had just happened?796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkXzTkx0SFt
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!796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡba0NSaKi7S
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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtH9q2fh0bJ
She checked the date. Her birthday. How had she forgotten?796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvEHAN3tp0b
Well, she thought wryly, happy birthday to me.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4hBgThVdf4
...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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡytVTNNaa7e
'Xavier! You did it!' Hughes laughed.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxV90039Bvf
His son didn't share his joy.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjx88aGKqug
'Well, come on, Xavier. You know what you have to do. You don't have a choice.'796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJN6KYoFWnM
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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw1IM2Bh9KK
'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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnVQnoAehnu
Xavier simply looked at the metal object in his hands for a few moments, mesmerized by the reflections in the candlelight.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPbD1776hne
'Come on, Xavier.' Orla smiled. This was the final trial.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3tvW25wnSE
'Xavier. You're stronger than this. I had to satisfy the Bind on your behalf for months, don't you let me down now.'796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo5SdV9Cd4O
Xavier's mouth was agape, arms shaking as he tried to lift the knife.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQAePX3yQ57
'... I... I can't do it....'796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc68CQhL3Z9
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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVL8hci2Qq
'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.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFQiqpWHm8
Hughes spat on the burning body. 'I didn't know you were this weak.'796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ09MACGe12z
It had only been momentary, but nothing escaped Floor Twelve Minus' attention. The High Priestess had failed to cast a spell.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyoUUYXu9E0
The High Priestess was the most powerful magician of them all, and there was only one woman gifted with such skills each generation.796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOvFU1RjBlw
Orla had lost the power, which meant only one thing -796Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLvNVP2YDm8
There was a new High Priestess.
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