HE PLACED A HAND ON the knob and pushed it down, sliding the door open with a click. The creature on the bed jumped up, its fur standing away from its rotund body, and its eyes red in the low light.
Spitting and hissing mightily, the creature leapt from the bed and slid past him, escaping into the hallway.
He barely noticed.
The girl’s room was a haven for spirits.
His people. He closed his eyes and felt their hopeful presence. They spoke to him in hushed but excited tones. His skin prickled with the electrical energy they emitted as they brushed against him, fawning over him, and giving him their fears and hopes to keep safe.
He spread his arms and let them settle against his body, enjoying their spectral touch even as it sent his skin up in row upon row of goose bumps. After a momen
