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burden here I need to discharge.”
    The gravedigger gripped his shovel and laughed: a deep, terrible sound. “Well, now, you’ve just said a mouthful, Deputy.”
    “I’m sorry?”
    “No, don’t be sorry.” Dust swirled off the shoulders of his suit, and he gazed at the horizon. “We all have our burdens to discharge.” His dark gaze turned toward her. “Don’t we, Deputy?”
    Jace bit her lip, uncertain what to say. She didn’t like this man. There was no order to his words, no reason. She held out the box of ashes. He planted the shovel in the ground and took the box from her, enfolding it in long fingers. Sadness touched his craggy face.
    “He has traveled long, this one,” the man whispered. “Rest is welcome now. But even a welcome end is not without sorrow.”
    Jace itched to leave. Sweat trickled down her sides.But she had to be sure she had done all she needed to do. “You’ve got it under control, then?”
    The gravedigger looked up from the box, as if surprised she was still there, then gave a slow nod. “Do not fear. I’ll watch over him now, daughter.”
    Jace went rigid. Words echoed in her mind, and the cemetery faded to white around her.
    God will watch over him now, Jacine
.
    Why wasn’t He watching over him before, Reverend Henley? Why didn’t He protect him?
    That isn’t the way it works, Jacine. Sometimes bad things happen, even to those who are good
.
    That’s not fair. It doesn’t make any sense
.
    His ways don’t always make sense to us
.
    But it’s not right
.
    Jacine, you cannot question His—
    The words were drowned out by a clattering sound. The whiteness vanished, replaced by dull browns and hard blue: earth and sky. The cemetery snapped back into focus.
    Jace looked around, but the man was gone. Except how could that be? She had been distracted only for a moment. She looked down, and she saw the source of the noise that had jarred her back to the present: The shovel had fallen to the ground. Next to the shovel was a square of freshly turned earth, clear of weeds, the iron-rich soil red as blood. Planted beside the patch of earth was a small granite marker, its surface incised with a single, sharp word she could not comprehend:
    MINDROTH
    Jace sucked in a breath. This was impossible. The sun hadn’t moved in the sky; only a moment had passed. Yet she had no doubt that, were she to pick up the shovel and dig through the soil, she would findthe black box of ashes. Sickness rose in her throat, as it did when she dreamed of the roiling sea.
    The deputy cast one more look at the fresh grave, then hurried back to the van, shivering despite the heat.

7.
    Everything had changed again.
    There had been no bells this time, but there had been a man in black, just like before, and once again nothing in Travis’s life would ever be the same.
    “Travis?”
    He looked up at the sound of the quiet voice. Deirdre stood on the other side of the bar, her expression concerned. Travis felt something damp against his hand. He glanced down and saw that he clutched a wet rag. He must have been wiping down the bar, only somewhere in the course of the task he had stopped. How long had he been standing there, just staring?
    Beware—it will consume you
.
    He tried to force the rasping words out of his head, but he couldn’t. What did they mean? The words were a warning of some kind, but a warning about what? And why had the burnt man given it to Travis?
    You are the one. It is you who drew me to this place
.
    He clenched his right hand around the cloth, afraid he knew the answer, and water oozed onto the bar.
    Deirdre reached out and brushed the back of his hand. He shuddered and let go of the rag.
    “We’re almost ready to open, Travis. We just need to get a little more air moving in here. Is there an extra fan we could use? I thought we could put it in the north window.”
    Travis nodded, although he wasn’t sure there was a point to opening the saloon. He doubted any of his customers would