I unlocked room four, and Studmuffin tiptoed inside, his little nose working overtime.

"The floor's too hard," he announced.

"It's only for a little while," I reminded him, locking the door behind me.

"It smells like other people in here."

I sank down into the desk chair by the colonial TV and lugged out my grimoire from my backpack. "Come sit on my lap, and it'll smell like me. Or us, I mean. The unstoppable duo."

He smiled a little at that. He hopped ...