by Qarl de Visser

"The sacred stones are placed, North, South, East, and West. The runes are drawn. He intones the sacred words and visualises the glyphs of the alphabet of desire. The power begins to flow, his back arches. Sweat begins to drip down his forehead. He struggles to form the rest of the words. The beads of sweat turn into beads of blood. The stones glow, the glyphs materialise."

"The demon snaps into him. It is done."

"Pick a number, any number..."

The leader of the Order of Numbered Doors, Number 1, has been murdered. The three constituent Orders meet to choose a replacement, and a new, exclusive membership of Twenty-One.