"Which button?" Christian wondered. "One of these buttons will take me to the ground floor." He listened to his inner light, and then pressed the button in the lefthand corner closest to him.

Immediately his stomache sank. The elevator heaved upwards. On the indicator above him, he watched the strange characters lighting up in succession, one after another, after another, after another. He waited for the elevator to stop, but it kept going higher and higher. He stared at the dais full of buttons. Should he try pressing another button? If there was an emergency stop button, he couldn't tell. Should he wait? He stood frozen in panic.

After what seemed an eternity, the elevator lurched to a stop. The doors slid open, onto a darkened room. The only light was that of the moon shining in through a balcony. Beyond the balcony's iron railing, one could see the the entire southern half of the city, and hills and fields and forests beyond. The view was spectacular. Immediately in front of him, Christian saw the silhouette of a fat man sitting in a chair. The man reached out with a claw-like hand, and gestured for Christian to approach, speaking to him in a voice dripping with boredom and contempt.

"Oh, are you next?" he said. "Come in. I'm ready."

The fat man leaned forward, and in the dim light of the elevator, Christian saw the pale, blood-smeared face of Magnus, his mouth open with lust, showing rows of razor sharp teeth.