But I wasn’t the only person with too much to handle. Many of those living people I loved were mourning right now. So I peeled my body off the daybed, cleaned myself up as best I could without a mirror or a change of clothes, and then slipped out of the gazebo surreptitiously since I wasn’t technically supposed to be in there in the first place.

Luckily, none of the Mayhews seemed to have left the house yet—all their cars were still in the driveway, parked in the same haphazard formation that they’d taken late last night. I climbed the patio steps and knocked softly on the back door. I didn’t even realize I’d been holding my breath until Jillian opened it—now I wouldn’t have to awkwardly dodge Rebecca’s hug like I usually did. But still, the sight of Jillian disturbed me. Her eyes were ringed red, and her beautiful hair was ratted up on one side as though she’d thoughtlessly twisted it in her fingers all night.

“Come on in,” she rasped, stepping out of the way so that I could enter the back hallway. After we both walked into the kitchen, Jillian announced, “Amelia’s here.” Rebecca caught my eye and, when her face crumpled into tears, I hurried around the far side of the breakfast table to take a seat beside Joshua.

“Oh, Amelia, honey, thank you for coming over,” Rebecca said, trying very hard to talk around a sob.

“Of course, Mrs. Mayhew. I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

I meant it, too. Once I saw Joshua’s face, everything about last night’s battle—and everything about my offer from the light and the plan I’d started to consider—just faded away. He looked so worn, so defeated, that I nearly sobbed, too.

I could tell that it wasn’t just the loss of his grandmother that had almost broken him, although that loss would’ve been bad enough by itself; but Joshua was also crushed by our loss of the battle. He’d genuinely thought we had a chance, especially with Ruth on our side. Now, my sunny-eyed optimist had started to accept the fact that this story might not have a happy ending. Although he’d never really suffered a crisis of faith before, he certainly did so now.

Thinking back on what Melissa had said about my abilities, I concentrated hard on Joshua: on the way I felt about him, on the way I’d always felt about him. I ignored the frustration and grief and uncertainty, and just focused on him. Then I reached over, very slowly, and wrapped my hand around his upon the tabletop.

He jerked at the touch, almost as though he’d received an electric jolt like the ones we used to give each other. This touch, however, was just like what we’d experienced the other night: solid, and real. Joshua’s eyes widened and darted to mine questioningly. I gave him one small nod and, keeping my hand tight on his, turned back to his parents.

Jeremiah had been on the phone when I’d entered the kitchen, and he was still talking to what sounded like a relative. Every few words, he would stop to rub his bloodshot eyes.

“Yeah, it’s going to be this Friday morning. We’ll take the kids out of school for the whole day.” He paused, and then added, “No, we’ll just hold the service graveside, like we did for Dad.”

Dread started to prickle along my neck: another funeral, only a week after the last one that I’d attended; another event during which the darkness might attack.

I’d just started to imagine all the horrible things that could happen during the funeral, when Jeremiah mentioned the name of the cemetery where the service would take place. It was a traditional, well-kept cemetery on the edge of town—a site where the relatively affluent were buried. Most important, it wasn’t my graveyard, which seemed to be a hotbed of supernatural activity. The different location didn’t guarantee anything, nor did the fact that the demons didn’t actually claim Ruth. Still, I felt a touch calmer as I tuned back in to the last portion of Jeremiah’s phone conversation.

“No,” he said, shaking his head, “don’t worry about it, Trish: I’ll get you guys some cabins at Robber’s Cave. You tell everyone else to make reservations at the Express hotel. Then we’ll just see you Thursday night, okay? Okay . . . okay, bye.”

With a weary sigh, he returned the phone to its cradle and turned toward his family. “Well, the whole Louisiana clan will be here Thursday night. I’m going to get a cabin for Trish, Ben, and the girls, and another one for Penny and Drew. The rest of the family can get rooms at the hotel.”

While Rebecca, Joshua, and Jillian processed this information numbly, I got lost in my thoughts. One detail from these travel arrangements stood out in particular: Annabel, Drew, and maybe even Hayley would be in town, in just a few days. This meant that I would have access to the young Seers of New Orleans, all of whom had inadvertently betrayed me but all of whom had also helped me defeat a huge gathering of demons.

Suddenly, my plan began to take further shape in my mind.

I got so wrapped up in it that I hardly noticed when Joshua tried to get my attention. Only after he placed his other hand on the tabletop did I glance over at him. He frowned, shifting his gaze between his hands and mine, which was still lying on the table. I hadn’t even felt him let go of it.

Taking advantage of the fact that Rebecca and Jeremiah were now talking, I leaned in closer to Joshua. “Sorry. I guess I lose the ability if I don’t concentrate hard enough.”

He moved his lips to my ear and whispered, “We can touch again?”

I nodded, focusing on his face as I let my cheek brush his. “Yes, we can. And I have a lot of other things to tell you, too.”

Looking a little stunned, Joshua sank back into his chair and arched an eyebrow. Later, I mouthed, once more taking his hand and folding it into mine on the tabletop. By now, Jillian had joined us at the breakfast table, so she easily noticed our touch. She raised her eyebrows as well, but thankfully, she chose not to comment yet. Instead, she let the surprise go out of her eyes before she looked back up at her parents.

“Mom, Dad, do you guys mind if the three of us just get out of here for a while? You know, for a break.”

Rebecca turned away from Jeremiah, who she was comforting, and gave her daughter a distracted wave.

“Go ahead. Your dad and I need to meet with the funeral director this afternoon, anyway. I think some folks from Ruth’s church are bringing food by later, so you two will be on your own for dinner. And unfortunately, I’ve got to go into the shop tonight to start sorting orders from the florist. Prom season really was the worst possible time for this to happen.”

The three of us at the table froze. Then, after a long pause, we exchanged worried glances. Prom. With all the death and demons and decisions, we’d completely forgotten about it. Not that any of us had planned on going. Well, maybe Jillian and Scott wanted to go together, but Joshua and I hadn’t even discussed it.

Without thinking, I glanced at the calendar on a nearby wall and then suppressed a gasp. Saturday of this week had a big star drawn on it, just below the word “prom” and a few inches below the date. Which just happened to be April 29.

The day before my birthday. I hadn’t even noticed that, before now.

But apparently Joshua had. He caught me looking and gave my hand a firm squeeze. I shook my head, trying to rid it of that terrible coincidence. Trying not to think about what I would have to do, the day before my birthday; trying not to think about the fact that this birthday would be the first I’d spent conscious since my death . . . and I probably wouldn’t even be on earth to experience it.

I smiled weakly at Joshua as we slid from our chairs to follow Jillian out of the kitchen. Once outside, I had to resist the impulse to spill everything right there on the back porch. I kept quiet, even after we piled into Jillian’s car and she drove us someplace relatively safe to talk. I could have kissed her when she took the turnoff to Robber’s Cave Park. I’d had some of my happiest memories there, and it seemed like the perfect place to regroup.