Chapter 20
CHAPTER 20
C heyenne
Cheyenne watched him descend into the darkness and shivered despite the warm sun. She didn’t like this. If only she had never taken that stupid amulet.
A man and woman walked into the cemetery. It looked like they were heading in her direction. They stopped at a grave nearby. Cheyenne glanced back at the grave. It would probably look suspicious if she was caught standing next to it while it was open like this. She casually leaned into it, pushing hard. It barely shifted but made a loud grinding noise.
The lady glanced at her.
Cheyenne quickly turned away. Maybe they wouldn’t notice.
She pulled out her phone and looked at the time. It was just past one-thirty. Why hadn’t she looked at the time when he’d gone in there? She walked around the headstone and glanced at the people who were still at the nearby grave. Dang it. She and Micah hadn’t even talked about what she should do to warn him that people were watching.
A few long, painful minutes went by, and she wondered if she should just go in after him. The priest from before stepped out of the church, walking across the cemetery with another group of people. She put her back to him, heart racing. Why hadn’t she worn a hoodie? Where was Micah?
“Why is this grave open?” a voice said from behind her.
Cheyenne swung around. It was the couple who’d been at the grave nearby. “Oh.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. I was wondering the same thing myself.”
The man frowned, then bent down and pushed it shut. “There.”
Her stomach sank. Crap. What should she do? She swallowed her panic and nodded at them. “Thank you.”
The woman eyed her as the couple walked toward the exit.
Once they were out of sight, Cheyenne tried to push the lid back open. It was too heavy.
A muffled voice said from behind the stone, “Cheyenne? Why is this shut? Open up.”
“I’m trying. Some guy showed up and shut it.” She pushed with all her strength.
“What is going on?” a new voice demanded. It was the priest, who had marched right up to her. He was scowling.
Cheyenne froze. She didn’t want to get in trouble, but she couldn’t leave Micah trapped in there. “Sorry,” she said. “This was open, and I was trying to shut it.”
“She’s lying,” said the same lady from before, making Cheyenne jump. When had she shown up? “She opened that grave. Somebody’s in there.”
The priest pulled out his phone and tapped on it, then put it to his ear. “Hello? I need to report someone breaking into a grave. Please send the police.”
Cheyenne wanted to curse. “Well, then you might as well push it open, because my friend needs to get out.” She turned on the old lady and glared at her. Not that the old lady didn’t have grounds to be upset. They shouldn’t have been in the graveyard opening graves. But she wouldn’t tell them the truth about the amulet. Her brother Nash was done with law school, and he always told her that criminals got into worse trouble the more they talked.
The priest heaved at the stone, sliding the grave open.
Micah gingerly climbed out. He had a big, dopey grin on his face. “Thanks. I fell in there and got stuck.”
“He’s a liar,” the old lady sputtered. She pointed at Cheyenne. “She’s a liar too.”
Micah gave Cheyenne a look. She subtly shook her head.
The priest turned to him. “So you just fell in the grave? It was just open?”
Micah seemed to get the hint. “Actually, I’m not sure how I ended up there.”
The priest looked back and forth between them, then sighed. “I will only say this: you know where liars go.”
His words pierced her heart. She guessed there was no getting around God.