Joe turned off the vacuum cleaner—much to the relief of the real Dumpling, who was still on top of the dresser, frozen with fear! As soon as the noise stopped, the new hamster scuttled out from under Oliver’s bed, and Joe pounced on it. “Gotcha!”

“What do you mean, ‘Not like last time,’ Mom?” Oliver asked.

Oliver’s mom gave a huge sigh and suddenly looked almost relieved. “Oliver, I think I’ve got some explaining to do.”

“So you see, by the time I realized what was happening, it was too late . . .” Oliver’s mom sniffed. “I’m so sorry, Oliver.”

Joe and Toby were sitting with Oliver and his mom in the kitchen, sipping hot chocolate. Dumpling was there, too, taking sneaky sips from Joe’s mug.

Oliver frowned. “So my hamster doesn’t have bad teeth?”

Oliver’s mom shook her head.

“And he’s not sick?”

“No.”

“He’s actually a totally different hamster?”

His mom looked at her hands. “I’m so sorry, Oliver. It was just a terrible accident. I must have left Dumpling’s cage open after I cleaned it out. And then when I was vacuuming, he suddenly appeared and got sucked up.”

Oliver looked horrified.

Dumpling nudged Joe. “Tell him it didn’t hurt!”

“I don’t think he would’ve suffered,” said Joe. “I’m sure the end was very fast.”

Oliver sighed and nodded.

His mom bit her lip. She looked close to tears, and Joe felt a bit sorry for her. After all, it was an accident, and she’d only gotten the replacement hamster because she hadn’t wanted Oliver to be sad.

Then Oliver took a deep breath. “Don’t worry, Mom. I do feel sad about the old Dumpling, but I know he had a good life.”

“I DID! I DID!” squeaked Dumpling.

“Maybe I could clean out the cage myself from now on?” said Oliver.

Mom pulled a tissue from her pocket and blew her nose. “That sounds like a good idea.”

“And maybe you shouldn’t give the new pet hamster quite so many treats,” said Joe, glancing at Dumpling, who was perched on the handle of Joe’s mug, his head dipped down inside it to drink. “That way he’ll always be able to enjoy his tunnels.”

“Hey, are you calling me fat?” said Dumpling, his nose covered in hot chocolate.

Oliver’s mom put her arms around her son and hugged him.

Joe scuffed the floor with his foot. He always felt a bit silly watching people hug. “I’m just going to go to the bathroom,” he said.

Dumpling jumped down from the table and scampered out into the hall. Joe noticed that the hamster was looking different somehow. Not quite so green around the edges . . .

“Are you feeling okay, Dumpling?”

The hamster grinned. “It’s time I was going, Joe. Now that the truth is out, I feel ready to cross over.”

Dumpling seemed to shimmer slightly, growing more transparent.

“Do you need anything for the journey?” Joe asked. “Candy? Chips, maybe?”

Dumpling prodded his swollen cheek pouches. “I grabbed some of the treats from Oliver’s room. I’m saving them for later. Good-bye, Joe. Thanks for everything.”

Joe took the hamster’s tiny paw in his hand and shook it gently. “Good-bye, Dumpling. Um . . . good luck.”

Dumpling faded, until there was only the hint of a hamster outline . . . then that disappeared, too. Joe heard a tiny burp, and all that was left of Dumpling was the faint smell of onions.

A little while later, Joe’s mom arrived to collect them. And after a bit more hamster talk with Oliver and a promise to visit again soon, Joe and Toby followed her out to the car.

Joe was quiet on the way home. He was relieved that Dumpling had gone, but a bit sad, too. It was the closest he’d ever come to having a pet of his own—even if he was an annoying, overeating, undead pet. When he got home, Joe went straight to the computer to send another e-mail to Uncle Charlie.

Then he headed upstairs to his bedroom. As Joe kicked off his shoes and lay down on his bed, he smiled to himself. It had been a strange few days. He’d actually had a real adventure—one that Uncle Charlie would be proud of!

It did feel good for everything to be back to normal, though. I might even get some sleep tonight, thought Joe, stretching out his legs and closing his eyes for a second.

And that’s when he heard it. A very faint meowing sound, ghostly and strange. Joe sat up and listened. There it was again . . . It seemed to be coming from the garden. As though a cat were stalking around outside. But it didn’t quite sound like any other cat that he’d ever heard. He was about to take a look out of his window when he heard Dad calling from downstairs: “Dinner!”

Joe grinned. Just the wind, he told himself firmly.

As Joe closed his bedroom door, the Amulet of Anubis twinkled on his bedside table. Outside, a black shadow lurked—a cat-shaped shadow. And two alarmingly yellow eyes blinked in the night, watching and waiting . . .