The first was a pig. But not like any pig on a farm. This one was the size of a bulldog, with bristly ginger hair and spectacles perched on its snout. It held a tiny cup of tea in its trotters and was reading a newspaper upside down.
At the end of the hall, a second door stood ajar. Beyond it, a common room.
Behind him, the door to the street clicked shut and locked itself. The grandfather clock with no hands began to chime—thirteen times.
“For you? The first month’s free. New peegs always get a trial.” Welcome to the Peeg House-
Room to let. Cheap. Inquire within.
The pig smiled. It had very small, very white teeth.
Leo stared at it, then down at the flyer crumpled in his fist. The first was a pig
And in the middle of that room, sitting on a sagging velvet settee, were three of the strangest creatures Leo had ever seen.
Leo took a breath.
The third was just a suit of armor. Empty. But it was rocking gently in a chair by the fireplace, and every few seconds a muffled snore came from inside the helmet. It held a tiny cup of tea in
And somewhere above, in Room 7, a single lamp flickered on, casting a warm golden square onto the rain-slicked pavement below.
Then he walked inside.