Ty twirled the key chain with the hotel passkey on it as the elevator climbed back up to the thirteenth floor. There were three of them in the elevator, but this time the third wasn’t Brack.

“Thanks for letting me tag along,” said Joey Bingham. “This will be quite a scoop if the missing boy is in room 1307. The whole city is talking about Theopolis’s performance.”

Ty tapped the golden railing inside the elevator. “I don’t understand why Brack isn’t in the elevator,” he said. “He’s always in this elevator.”

There was a ding as the elevator reached the thirteenth floor. The doors opened, and the three of them stepped into the hallway.

“Hello!” a voice said. Charlie spun around and there was Brack, standing in the open doors of another elevator.

“Hello,” he said, smiling. “I guess I’m not quite where you expected me to be, huh?”

“What are you up to, Brack?” Charlie said.

“Nothing, nothing,” said Brack. “There’s more than one elevator in this hotel. Sometimes I like to check out the others. Get a different view on things. Good luck with your case.” He slipped back into his usual elevator, closed the doors, and was off.

“That was weird,” Charlie said.

Ty laughed. “Brack is weird,” he said.

The boys and the reporter rushed to room 1307. The sound of the movie was gone.

“Totally quiet now,” Ty said as he fumbled with the passkey. He opened the door and the three of them rushed in . . .

. . . and tripped over the coffee table in the total darkness.

“Watch it!” Ty said.

“Who’s on my head?” Charlie squealed.

“Get off my camera!” shouted Bingham.

Ty managed to reach a lamp and switch it on. “I’d say there’s no one staying in this room,” he said.

It was empty. There were no suitcases in the room, none of the towels had been used, and the beds were made. Charlie noticed there were two bedrooms in this suite, unlike Theopolis’s.

Ty picked up the room phone and waited a moment. “Hey, Annie,” he said. “Has anyone checked into room 1307 recently?” He didn’t have to wait long for a reply.

“Thanks,” he said, and hung up. “Like I said. No one. She didn’t even have to look it up. No one ever stays on this floor.”

“Besides Theopolis,” Charlie said. “But why him?”

“Because of the power,” Ty said. “Like I told you.”

“Okay, okay, the power of the thirteenth floor,” Charlie said, trying not to roll his eyes, “but what other normal human reason might he have?”

The reporter snapped his fingers. “No prying eyes!” he said. “And no eavesdroppers.”

“Exactly what I was thinking,” Charlie said. “It would be easy to hide the boy on this floor, but on another floor someone might notice.”

“So let’s look around,” Ty said. “Maybe he moved him, and the TV will be on in some other room.”

But the three didn’t make it more than few feet from 1307 before there was a great flash of light, a booming crash like thunder, and the deep evil cackle they had begun to associate with Theopolis’s magic.

At the end of the hall, in front of the door to the emergency stairs and the ice machine, there appeared—in a billowing cloud of smoke—a demon.

The demon was huge and purple and muscular, with great twirling horns on its head, and huge claws and cloven feet. Its tail swung violently behind it.

“Who dares disturb Theopolis?” the demon bellowed, its voice echoing through the dark halls of the thirteenth floor.

“We’re sorry!” Bingham said. He dropped to his knees and covered his face. “Please don’t hurt us!”

“You must stay off this floor!” the demon shouted. The walls seemed to shake. “The thirteenth floor is rich with power, but it can destroy simple mortals like you!”

Lightning flashed through the hall. Thunder boomed. The demon roared.

Ty, Charlie, and Bingham sprinted for the elevators. They stabbed at the call button. “Come on, come on!” Ty said. “Hurry, Brack!”

But Charlie stopped. “Wait a second,” he said. “What are we, little kids?” He turned and looked at the demon. It hadn’t moved. It still roared and cackled. Thunder still clapped and lightning still crashed across the ceiling. “These are the same special effects Theopolis used on stage,” Charlie said. “Are we going to let him scare us away so easily?”

He stomped back up the hall toward the demon. Ty and Bingham stayed behind him.

“Who dares disturb Theopolis?” the demon growled.

“That’s the same thing it said before,” Charlie said. “It’s on a loop, I bet. If I can find the projector, I can just switch it off.”

A hand clamped on his shoulder.

“Do not approach the demon!” a deep voice said. Charlie spun around and was faced by Theopolis himself.

“Didn’t you hear the great beast’s warning?” the magician roared. “He protects me at all costs. He is far more powerful than you could possibly imagine! You must run from this place and never come back!”

Charlie smirked at him and shrugged. Then he walked right up to the demon. He reached around in the smoke until he found a rectangular device. He found a power cord and followed it to the wall. Then he unplugged it.

The demon vanished. The smoke settled and began to dissipate. The thunder was silenced, and the lightning flashes stopped.

Charlie turned back to the hallway, holding the end of the power cord in his hand. “How do you explain this, Theopolis?” he asked.

But there was no reply. The magician had vanished.