Welcome To The Peeg House- ◆

Room to let. Cheap. Inquire within.

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.

Welcome to the Peeg House.

And somewhere above, in Room 7, a single lamp flickered on, casting a warm golden square onto the rain-slicked pavement below. Welcome to the Peeg House-

“Mr. Morning,” the pig said, finally lowering its newspaper. Its eyes were small and kind and terribly old. “He comes by on Tuesdays. Nice enough, for a thing that collects debts in screams. You’ll be in Room 7. Rent’s due on the full moon. We take cash, canned peaches, or secrets you’ve never told anyone.”

Inside, the air smelled of wet wool, old woodsmoke, and something else—something sweet and musky, like overripe pears. The hallway was long and dim, lined with mismatched wallpaper: roses here, stripes there, a patch of faded nautical anchors near the ceiling. A grandfather clock ticked in the silence, but its face had no hands. Room to let

Leo stared at it, then down at the flyer crumpled in his fist.