A Higher Vantage

The timber shelf beneath me was narrow. I looked upward. Three thick volumes leaned against a bronze bookend, forming an incline toward the uppermost plank. I secured my grip on the embossed spine of the first tome, testing the binding. Firm. Shifting my weight across the rough textured paper, I climbed. At the summit, the expanse opened beneath me. The room stretched into deep shadow, punctuated only by the low amber indicator of a distant charger. A superior perch. I crouched, resting one hand upon the polished edge, mapping the floor plan below.