The wrench slipped. Aaron’s hand hit the engine and started to bleed.“Dammit.” Blood dripped onto the old car. It mixed with the oil. To Aaron, his life was just like that car. Broken, dirty, and not going anywhere.He wrapped his hand with a rag. The car still didn’t work. He had no parts, no money, and no job. Aaron is twenty-four. He is a mechanic, but he is also homeless. If he didn’t fix this car by sunset, he would lose the only place he could sleep.“Aaron!” a loud voice shouted. “You still living in my lot?”Aaron didn’t look up. “I’ll pay you, Marco. Once the car runs.”Marco Velli walked over. He was fat, bald, and mean. He owned the car lot. He owned half the street. He was the man who kicked Aaron out of his apartment last month.Marco kicked the car. “You owe me three hundred dollars. You have until sunset. Or I send Dano.”Dano was Marco’s nephew. He was big, and he hurt people for money.Aaron held his hand tighter. “Sunset. I know.”Marco spit on the ground. “You’re

Aaron didn’t move. Selene Kaine stood in his lobby. She was clean, cold, and perfect. “You’re Selene Kaine,” Aaron said.“I am,” she said. She didn’t step in Marco’s blood. She looked at it like it was dirt. “And you are the new owner of this broken place. Congratulations.”Lily held Aaron’s leg tight. Maria pulled her daughter back.“Get out,” Jamal said from the stairs. He had a pipe in his hand. “You’re not welcome here.”Selene looked at Jamal. She didn’t blink. “Put that down. You’ll hurt yourself.”Jamal stepped forward. Then he stopped. His face went white. He dropped the pipe. “I… I can’t breathe.”Aaron felt it too. The air got heavy. Selene wasn’t doing anything. She was just standing there. But her power was huge. It pressed down on everyone.*SYSTEM WARNING: DOMAIN PRESSURE. SELENE KAINE’S DOMAIN: CORPORATE TOWER. EFFECT: FEAR, DEBT, CONTROL. TENANT MORALE: -20%.*“Stop it,” Aaron said.Selene smiled. The pressure stopped. Jamal fell to his knees, gasping.“I’m not here t

Aaron looked at the man on the roof across the street. The man held the big book. DEEDS. He wrote in it. He didn’t look up. But Aaron felt the writing like a knife.*SYSTEM: KILL ORDER ACTIVE. ALL REGISTERED LANDLORDS CAN SEE YOUR LOCATION. REWARD FOR YOUR DEATH: VELLI STREET TENEMENT.*The words were cold. The Hearth God was gone. The warm feeling in Aaron’s chest was gone. Now there was only silver. Like a coin. Like a price on his head.Selene stood next to him. Her face was white. “He never comes out. Not for anyone.”“Who is he?” Aaron asked.“Mayor Harris,” Selene said. “But we call him the Prime Landlord. He owns the Book. The Book owns the city. If your name is in it, you live. If he crosses it out, you die.”Downstairs, the fighting stopped. Selene’s men in white armor stood in the lobby. The floor was broken. Glass was everywhere. Three Reapers were dead. Their bodies turned to smoke. Two ran away.“Sector clear,” one of the armored men said. “Casualties: zero. Building dama

The street was full of ghosts.They stood behind Aaron. Old women. Young kids. Men with broken backs. 1,439 souls. All the people Marco killed with cold rooms and bad wires. They were quiet. But their eyes burned.The Prime Landlord, Mayor Harris, held the Book. His face was smooth. No eyes, no nose. But Aaron could feel him looking.“You broke the rules,” the Prime Landlord said. His voice was like a thousand doors closing at once. “Tenants do not fight. They pay.”“Not today,” Aaron said.He looked back at his people. Jamal held his pipe. Mrs. Chen held her broom. Tom held his hammer. Maria held Lily’s hand. Selene held a broken pipe. The Hearth God stood last. He was weak, but he smiled.“Forward,” Aaron said.They walked.The ghosts went first. They moved like cold wind. The Reapers on the street tried to stop them. Scythes went up. But the blades passed through the ghosts. The ghosts put their hands on the Reapers. The Reapers screamed. Their black coats turned to dust. One by on

The message stayed on every phone.*SYSTEM: RESTORED. VERSION 2.0. NEW LANDLORD DETECTED. NAME: AARON WOLFE. BUILDING: VELLI TENEMENT. TENANTS: 23. STATUS: ACTIVE. RULE #1: ALL HOMES MUST HAVE A LANDLORD.*Aaron stared at the words. His hands were empty. No power. No key. No system. But the system had him.Lily let go of his leg. “Mr. Aaron, why does your phone say that?”“I don’t have a phone,” Aaron said. But the words were in the air too. In the sky. Like before.Selene threw her old phone on the ground again. “I killed it. How is it back?”“Because we broke the Book and the Cloud,” Jamal said. “But we didn’t break the idea.”The idea. That every home needs an owner. That someone must be in charge. That someone must be blamed when the roof leaks.*SYSTEM: RULE #2: LANDLORD MUST COLLECT RENT. RENT TYPE: PENDING.*“Pending?” Mrs. Chen said. “What rent? We just got free.”Aaron looked at his people. Twenty-three tenants. They were tired. They were happy. They were free for five minute