Not far from the ruined Central Square, Levi came upon a street of gorgeous townhouses, all lined up in a row. Perfect facades faced perfect facades, with little thumbprint gardens out front or hanging from the windows. A demure coffee shop mixed in with the townhouses, its display windows showcasing a dark, cozy space with overstuffed chairs and an old-wood bar. A stainless-steel espresso machine gleamed on the counter, sitting beside a stack of wide-mouthed white mugs.

Levi took a deep breath and let it out slowly, savoring the flavor. “Even the air tastes expensive. I bet a mug of that stuff costs as much as an entire pocket pizza. Pocket included.”

He walked by the townhouses, casually taking in their facades. Brick, darker brick, white siding, then a classy stone front. He eyed the stone-fronted building’s number. That’s the one from the picture. Let’s go take a look around back.

As he walked to the end of the block, he lifted his phone to his ear. “Hey, Maury.”

“What.”

“So uh, something came up. Are you home?”

“Haven’t left yet. Why?”

“Might be about to do something crazy. You good to go?”

She grunted. “Make it quick. I ain’t got all day.”

“No problem. Probably. You uh, got the cameras and stuff?”

“Yeah. Which house are you after?”

“2705.”

A pause. Maury grunted. “All clear. Go ahead.”

He turned the corner. “Thanks. You’re the best.”

“I know.” Maury hung up on him.

Turning the next corner, he came around the back of the townhouses. Counting down, he reached the back of the stone-fronted townhouse. There, he paused, looking around. “No cars. No garage. Looks like he isn’t home, but based on the blog, he should be soon.”

Atop a narrow set of stairs, a small door stood beside a smaller window. Levi bounded up the stairs and gave the doorknob a tentative shake, then put his shoulder against the door and pushed. The door thumped in its setting, but didn’t move.

“Feels reinforced.” He turned to the window instead and pursed his lips. “It’ll be noisy…I don’t wanna…”

He glanced around him. The alley was empty. All the townhouses stood vacant, their windows dark and lifeless. A single old, run down car parked at the far end of the street.

“Noisy it is.” Reaching into his backpack, he grabbed out the few scraps that remained of his cape and wrapped them around his elbow. Bracing his elbow by grabbing his fists, he smashed his elbow into the window.

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Glass shattered, falling into the house. Sharp shards stood out around the window frame, cutting toward its center. Levi lifted his elbow again and smashed in the worst of them, then climbed up onto the railing. Licking his lips, he eyed the empty window frame. “Don’t try this at home, kids.”

With that, he leaped headfirst through the window.

His shoulders scraped against sharp edges. Halfway through, he ran out of momentum, and his hips slammed down against the glass shards. His weight tipped forward, and he tumbled awkwardly through the hole, falling down onto the glass shards below.

Blood stained the shattered glass. A thousand tiny cuts dug into his skin. Levi laid there for a moment, then groaned. “And that’s why you don’t do that, kids.”

Slowly, with some effort, Levi climbed to his feet. He picked bits of glass out of his hands and knees, brushing shattered glass off his body. “Yikes, man, ouch…”

Looking around, Levi nodded to himself. “Okay. The shattered window can’t be seen from the front door. I’m fucked if he comes in the back door, but nothing doing there. Besides, the blog showed him coming in the front door, so I’m probably good there. Probably.”

He headed down the narrow hallway into the rest of the townhouse, peering around. “Time to get a lay of the land. I don’t want to get surprised by Stoneheart. It’s his homefield, but I think I’ll go ahead and take advantage anyways.”

A narrow hallway cut the house down the center, taking a sharp right-hand turn to dodge the staircase, which faced the front door. The first floor was mostly occupied by a dining room and kitchen, plus a small parlor by the front door. Tasteful decorations and beige furniture in artistic shades of not-quite-white filled the space, spic and span, without a hint of dust nor dirt. It almost appeared as a show house, completely unlived in.

“Weird,” Levi muttered, looking around. He climbed the stairs.

A suit slumped on the stairs, abandoned. A few boxes of delivery food rotted around the floor, some still in their greasy plastic bags. Bags lined the walls of the second floor, full of trash or stacks of things he couldn’t identify through the plastic. A strange, musky scent filled the air, part decay, part body odor. One bedroom door stood open, the room beyond completely empty save a neatly-made guest bed. The next bedroom overflowed with dirty clothes, the bed an island of rumpled sheets amid the filthy cloth.

“Someone’s living poorly. Let me fix that,” Levi said.

No more stairs led upward. The second floor dead-ended in a toilet, and that was all the townhouse had to offer. Levi went back to the stairs and crouched, thinking. Assuming he comes in the front door, how do I take advantage of the house? Let’s see. I don’t want to do anything too flashy, or anything that immediately alerts him that something’s wrong. So that means gas and fire are both right out.

Luckily, I don’t think he’ll notice the broken glass. Based on the way he kept that first floor, I don’t think he’s done much there since his girlfriend died tragically in an unrelated accident that has nothing to do with me. Which means, as long as he comes in the front door, he won’t see the glass, and won’t have any idea anything’s wrong. Whatever I do, it should be something subtle. Even with the occupation advantage, I think a sneak attack is still my best bet.

But I can give myself a better shot at a sneak attack.

Levi went into the filthy bedroom and pawed through the clothes until he found a silky shirt. He draped it on the stairs, not far from where the suit already laid. Looking at his work, he nodded to himself, grinning. “Excellent. He won’t even notice. He’ll slip on the shirt and fall to his doom!”

Levi sighed. He shook his head. “What kind of kid’s cartoon villain am I?”

Standing on the stairs, he stared down at the front door, a hand on his chin. Something better. More sinister. Something to give me the upper hand.

At the very least, I need to corner him on the stairs or second floor. The further he gets from the ground, the weaker his powers get. That’s just the nature of stone manipulation.

The lock turned. The door swung open.

Levi froze. Uh-oh.