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seen here, so I'll do it. You two can wait back at the car."
" Uh-uh," Savannah said. "It's my dirt. I'm helping you get it."
"I'll stand watch within the cemetery," Cortez said.
"You don't have to," I said. "It's dark, secluded. No one can see us."
"Humor me."
Katrina Mott's grave was near the middle, nestled in a U-shaped cluster of cedars. Sounded easy enough to find, and it probably was ... during the day. At night, though, all trees look alike, and my ability to judge distances was severely compromised by the fact I could see only five feet in either direction. If there was a moon overhead, it went into hiding the moment we entered the cemetery.
After stumbling over two graves, I cast a minor illumination spell. A tiny glowing ball appeared in my palm. I tossed it and it hovered before me, lighting my way.
"Now that is definitely handy," Cortez said.
"You don't know this one?" I said.
He shook his head. "You'll have to teach me."
"She's teaching it to me first," Savannah said. "After all, I'm the witch."
Cortez was about to answer, then stopped and looked around. "There," he said. "Ms. Mott is buried over that hill."
"How do you know that?" Savannah asked.
His lips twitched in a tiny smile. "Magic."
"He memorized the map," I said. "It went gully, hill, three oaks, then another hill. There's the oaks. Now let's get moving. We've only got ten minutes."
"It doesn't need to be precisely on the stroke of twelve," Cortez said. "That, I fear, is a romantic, yet illogical embellishment. Illogical because--"
"Because the 'stroke of twelve,' according to someone's watch, probably won't be dead-on." I glanced at the graves near my feet. "Sorry, folks. No pun intended."
"So what does it mean, then?" Savannah asked.
"Simply that you must gather the dirt in the dead of night--" He looked around. "That is to say, roughly at midnight, give or take an hour or so."
"Well, I'm not hanging around," I said. "If I can grab it now, I'm doing that and getting out of here."
"Go ahead," Cortez said. "I see some juniper over there. I'll gather that, then stand watch partway up the hill."
"Don't you think it's spooky out here?" Savannah asked as we tramped up the hill, having left Cortez behind.
"Peaceful, actually. Very peaceful."
"Do you think that's what it's like when you die? Peaceful?"
"Maybe."
"Kinda boring, don't you think?"
I smiled over at her. "Yes, I suppose so. Maybe just a little peace, then. A break."
"Before what?"
I shrugged.
"Come on, Paige. What do you think happens? After all this."
