Chapter 13: Third Spell
Lucen stepped off the tram.
The city greeted him with its usual charm: flickering street lights, half-dead vending machines, and the comforting scent of fried grease, cold rain, and whatever that sour thing was growing near the drainpipe.
His building sat crooked at the end of the block like it had leaned one time during a windstorm and never recovered.
He pushed through the front door.
It stuck halfway.
He shoved harder. It squealed and gave in with the sound of wet cardboard tearing.
Same hallway. Same broken tile. Someone had dropped a can of something red and sticky near the stairwell. It looked like paint. He hoped it was paint.
Mrs. Higa wasn't sweeping this time.
He climbed the stairs and made it to the third floor without tripping once. That felt like an achievement.
His key stuck in the lock like it was judging him.
He twisted harder.