Page 133 of The Glittering Edge

“I’m being serious. Did you want them to catch us?”

“I was there for like three minutes. Calm down.”

“Wait,” Penny says, squinting at Corey. “Is your cheek swollen?”

“It’s nothing.”

Penny crosses her arms. “How did you know Alonso was at the gala?”

Alonso’s stomach drops. Penny is right.

“Was it Julian?” Penny asks.

Corey frowns. “So you met him.”

“I should’ve known he was watching,” Penny mutters. “Do you think he’ll tell more people?”

“He won’t,” Corey says, “until someone finds him.”

It’s the scariest thing Corey has ever said. Alonso is almost impressed.

They fall into a tense silence. Everything that’s happened these last few weeks has led to this moment, but now they’re frozen. Alonso’s stomach roils with nausea. It all feels too big. Like he’s about to do surgery on someone without going to medical school. Why did he think he could make this work?

Penny reaches out, squeezing Alonso’s shoulder. “Ready?”

Alonso swallows. He looks up at Corey, who nods.

“Let’s do this,” Alonso says.

Then they’re all in motion.

Penny takes off her shoes. Corey tosses his suit jacket aside and rolls up his sleeves. Under the willow trees, Alonso moves a large stone and digs in the dirt with his hands, soil pressing under his nails. He pulls out the plastic bag he buried there several days ago and dumps out its contents: a glass jar, a compass, a pill bottle full of grave dirt, and a box of matches. From her purse, Penny pulls out three short pieces of rope tied into knots.

Alonso grabs the compass and holds it up in the moonlight. When he finds north, he marks the direction in the dirt with his shoe.

“Do you have your verses?” Alonso asks.

Penny waves a folded-up note, and Corey holds up his phone.

“No phones,” Alonso says. “Magic doesn’t get along with technology.”

Corey sighs, pocketing his phone. “It’s fine. I have it memorized.”

“We’ll be reading the verses in reverse to represent the reversal of the curse,” Alonso says. “Future first, present second, past third—so that’s Corey first, then Penny, then me. And we need all four elements represented. I’ll be fire and air, it’s easy to pair them.”

Penny watches the lake. “I’ll be water.”

“And I’ll be earth,” Corey says.

Alonso places himself at the north of their circle, while Corey stands at the southwestern point. Penny is at the southeast, the water kissing the hem of her dress as she wades into Elkie Lake. She carries a bit of rope and a lock of her mom’s blond hair. Corey stands in the grass, shifting the rope in his hands. Alonso is under the willow tree, a match in one hand and the empty jar in the other.

“Ready?” Penny says, her voice low but steady.

Corey nods. “Ready.”

“Everyone make sure your feet are flat on the ground,” Alonso says. “And don’t lock your knees, because we might be here for a while, and we’ll lose our chance if you pass out.”

Everybody stands in position, eyes wide, backs tall. Alonso is struck by the thought that they can really do this. He was already confident, but now it feels inevitable.

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