"The scary one in our religion is Luath," Rondo tells him. "The Veth of space and cold and darkness. But he's always depicted as all white. That's not even a little bit what Lucifer looked like."

The blanket is welcome. Rondo's not impervious to cold, either, though he's capable of using magic for himself, too, if necessary. He snuggles in against Ziggy and tells himself he's not going to fall asleep.

"When your father comes back to check on you, I'll tell him the cats need attention," he says. "And I can check on them later, if someone else comes to be with you. I'm not leaving now, though."