The letter cut my hand as if it were a honed knife. The building was a riot of odd angles, incongruent lines, and an entrance door that dared me to open it. It was newer, probably installed to replace an ancient, rotting artifact destroyed by countless floods and untold neglect.

No mail slot, not even a crevice existed where I could deposit the message and flee with my mission accomplished. I should have guessed it wouldn’t be easy. With a trembling, blood-soaked fist, I knocked, and accepted...