Please, please, please, Ewar begged. He didn’t dare voice the request aloud; who knew how she might react? When the librarian of the Estat Order had taken this research assignment, it had seemed like an honour. It was a chance to work on something entirely new, to put into practice all the knowledge acquired from the order’s dusty library. He would be paid grandly, and was provided room and board even for his family.

  How things had changed.

  When Ewar had discovered the truth of the project, he’d tried to refuse. He’d tried to sabotage it. He’d tried everything to stop the ritual in its tracks. But then he’d realised why Amira had encouraged him to bring his family. It wasn’t a pleasure to host them here; they were a bargaining chip. At the first sign of dissent, his wife and son had been disappeared.

  The head of this mysterious Council of Players, Tana, assured Ewar that they were safe, but she’d never made any attempt to prove it. The librarian just had to hope that she was a woman of her word—that she would release his family when she knew the towers were complete. And that there really would be a place for them in the new world.

  The scaffolding swayed in the wind, and Ewar snapped his hands to the nearest pole, clinging on for dear life. In the first few weeks of building the towers, his fear of heights had nearly overwhelmed him. But, just as it said in the books, the fear grew lesser in the face of exposure to it. He was no longer at risk of wetting his underwear at any particular moment, and there were even minutes at a time where he was so focused on the job at hand that he didn’t hold on to the railings.

  But when you were this high up—hundreds of yards into the sky—it was helpful to have a healthy respect for the possibility of falling.

  The wind was bitterly cold, this high up, even with the warming charm hanging from his neck. Ewar pulled his hood further around his face, shielding himself from the snow that seemed to fall so fast that it could slice flesh. He steeled himself; Tana would arrive soon, and it would be time. It would be time to ask to see his family again.

  Minutes later, Ewar heard footsteps on the ladder from the previous level, and soon Tana’s head appeared through the hole in the scaffolding. She was completely unaccompanied. Ewar had seen her travel with a full security team to other meetings—that she came to him alone either meant that she trusted him, or that she knew that holding his family was motivation enough to behave. If she thought the latter, then she was correct.

  ‘You sent for me?’ the Player asked. There was a slight bite to her tone when she said the word “sent”.

  Ewar bowed graciously, a skill he had picked up fast over the past few weeks. ‘The work is complete,’ he said.

  At this, Tana raised her eyebrows, and Ewar thought he saw a small smile cross her face. However, it could have been a trick of the light; this was not a woman known for such frivolities as smiling. ‘Very good, Ewar. I always knew that you could do it, with the right motivation.’

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  She hadn’t needed to bring it up, but she had. Tana had apparently felt a need to remind Ewar of his family’s disappearance, as though this wasn’t on his mind every waking second. The librarian swallowed the bile that was rising in his throat, and said simply, ‘Thank you.’

  Tana approached the ornate markings on the side of the tower, her fingertips drifting over them. These were not merely ornamental; these markings would allow the towers access to the magicks that formed this world. These were vital to ensuring that the ritual worked.

  The Player nodded approvingly. ‘And how long will they take to draw sufficient power?’

  ‘Once they are tested? Perhaps… eight days?’

  ‘Days, Ewar?’ Tana repeated. ‘I thought it would be a matter of hours.’

  ‘It’s… Your ritual requires a great deal of power; it is not as simple as activating the towers and beginning. There will be—’

  ‘Eight days,’ Tana repeated, eyes glazing over in that usual way that accompanied deep consideration. ‘It is no matter, it will have to be sufficient. We could protect these walls for a century, if we must.’

  ‘You say that as though these Slayers stand a chance,’ a new voice said. Ewar’s head snapped to face the top of the ladder, though Tana didn’t react. The Council’s leader had heard the other Player coming. Neia, the diviner, had now joined them. Of all those who would be involved in the ritual, Neia was the most invested in the construction of the towers. Tana seemed to have interpreted it simply as interest, but Ewar was sure he heard paranoia behind all her questions. ‘Do you think those five could defeat an army, Tana? Their leader has grown strong these past few months, but surely you don’t—’

  ‘Of course not,’ the leader of the Council snapped.

  ‘Then you can wait eight days,’ Neia replied. ‘We’ve already waited years, and this must be done properly.’ She approached the solid black metal at the centre of the tower and slammed the heel of her hand against it, testing its solidity.

  Tana watched the diviner, her lips pressed firmly together, her arms folded. ‘Well?’

  ‘They seem to be built to the specifications,’ Neia said, without looking away from the tower. ‘At least thus far. I believe I can foresee them working.’

  ‘You cannot be sure?’ Tana asked.

  At this, Neia looked around. ‘You know Divination does not work that way. Or did Yusef’s lies convince you, too?’

  The Council’s leader ignored the taunt. She seemed, then, to remember Ewar’s presence. ‘Very well. Inform the team that final tests will now begin. When they are done—when all tests are complete, and tested thrice—we will begin to draw power. Inform the relevant parties.’

  Ewar bowed again; the Council enjoyed it when people bowed to them. ‘I will, Tana. Of course.’ He hesitated for a moment. He had to ask the inevitable question. There was no better time than this. ‘And about…’

  ‘Your family?’

  The librarian nodded, his heart racing, his gut clenched.

  ‘I’ve already had them released back to your quarters.’

  Ewar blinked back at the Player, not quite believing the words that had come out of her mouth.

  Tana scoffed. ‘What? Did you expect otherwise? I’m not a monster, only a woman with the will to do what has to be done.’

  Ewar bowed once more, and he retreated down the ladder.