Minimum Wage Magic (DFZ, #1)

by Rachel Aaron

I’m a Cleaner. I buy delinquent apartments in the hopes of selling what’s inside for a profit. Sometimes I scored big. Other times—almost every time, recently—I paid for the privilege of shoveling trash.

Unlike every other city in the world, the Detroit Free Zone was alive. Literally alive, with her own soul, mind, opinions, and, occasionally, off-the-books real estate deals.

For me, magic had always been a feeling, a physical sensation I could trace with my fingers, like dipping my hand into a stream of water.

Being a Cleaner is all about being an optimist. No matter how many apartments full of dirty clothes and rat droppings you cleaned out, there was always that chance that the next one would be a treasure trove, and like I said, I had a good feeling about this place.