Page 66 of Witches of Dubious Origin
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The cemetery was well situated on the side of a hill. Jasper turned into the imposing entrance, which consisted of two stone pillars with a wrought iron arch over them. The name of the cemetery, Abiding Savior Green, was worked into the iron and lit by sconces on the pillars.
“These nighttime cemetery visits are becoming a habit for us,” Jasper said.
I glanced at the dark headstones all around us and shivered. “At least we’re not running for our lives this time.”
“Not yet anyway.”
I stared at the back of his head until he glanced up in the rearview and met my gaze. Our faces were illuminated by the blue glow of the dashboard and he looked apologetic and said, “Sorry, it was just a joke. I’m sure this will be nothing like the last time.”
“No crazed Viking to trap in a tomb?” I asked. “That disappoints.”
He laughed, it was deep and gravelly and it made me smile in return. Given the frazzled state of my nerves, it felt like a victory to be able to joke about the situation and get him to laugh. I’d take the win.
“How do we know where Moran’s grave is?” I asked.
“I looked it up on the cemetery’s website while we were sitting in traffic. His plot is on the west side next to one of the marble benches where visitors can sit and reflect.”
“That narrows it down, I suppose.” I moved from my seat to the bench diagonally across from his. “I’ll look to the right if you want to take the left.”
“Deal.” He drove slowly, giving us plenty of time to try to spot the bench.
I tried to block Eloise’s words from my mind, but the shadows that seemed to peer at me from around every tree and headstone made it impossible. Self-doubt crept in as thick and oppressive as the darkness. I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know if I could help Eloise and I had no idea how I was going to figure out what had happened to my mother and grandmother. It all felt incredibly overwhelming but I was determined that my little black book and I would fake it until we could make it.
I patted the large inside pocket of my coat just to reassure myself that the grimoire was there. Its solid presence was strangely comforting.
“Hey, over there.” Jasper pointed toward the side of the road. “Does that look like a memorial bench to you?”
I shook off the maudlin thoughts about my abilities and leaned forward. The headlights of the shuttle bus illuminated what was most definitely a marble bench.
“How do we know if it’s the right bench?” I asked.
“Only one way to find out,” Jasper said. He parked and pulled the lever for the doors. They opened and he grabbed a flashlight from the box under the dash. “Let’s go.”
Maybe it was a touch of post-traumatic stress disorder, butI found I didn’t want to step into the graveyard. I didn’t want to run into anything my reasonable, fact-based brain couldn’t explain.
“I can wait here if you want,” I offered. “You know, to make sure no one steals the bus.”
Jasper switched on his light and swept the area with the beam. “It doesn’t seem like a hotbed of shuttle bus thievery, but by all means suit yourself.” He glanced past me at the body bag in the back.
I followed his gaze and realized I had no interest in being left behind with the corpse. Nope. Nuh-uh. No thank you.
“Never mind, you’re right,” I said. “I’m sure the bus will be fine here.”
Jasper handed me another flashlight from the box beneath the dashboard and we set out among the headstones. Jasper strode the uneven ground as if he were out on an afternoon hike. I wanted to snatch his calm and wrap it around myself like a blanket. Since I couldn’t, I followed on his heels like a twitchy little squirrel expecting an owl to snatch it up at any moment.
“We can cover more ground if we split up,” he said.
No, no, no.I didn’t want to. Instead, not wanting to be perceived as the weakling I feared I was, I said, “Of course. I’ll go this way.”
I turned and took five steps when the ground disappeared beneath my feet and I tumbled into a deep, dark hole.
21
“Zoe!” Jasper cried, and I heard him run toward me. “Are you all right?”
I’d landed with a smack on a hard wooden surface, breaking the fall with an elbow and a hip.Ouch!It took me a second to realize I was in a grave and another moment to comprehend that I was lying on a casket. I let out a shriek and, despite the pain, scrambled to my feet.
