Jade Halifax sighed as she turned off her car. I really don't want to do this, she thought as she stared at the worn leather of her steering wheel.

Her grandmother, Nanny, was waiting for Jade on the front porch of her cottage. Nothing about her grandmother screamed that she was going to keel over after a few sleepless nights, but Jade put on a smile as she went to give the older woman a hug.

"Oh, Jadey, I'm so glad that you're here," Nanny gushed, throwing an arm around the younger woman's shoulders. "I told everyone at the senior center that you'd be able to put this little incident to bed."

Jade winced. "I really wish you hadn't done that, Nanny. You know I don't like to do this."

Her grandmother made a tsking sound and waved Jade's concerns away with a smooth, slim hand. "Pah. You've had training, haven't you? Ranked at the top of your class," she added proudly.

Jade sighed and reached up to run a hand through her long, white-blonde locks. "At the top in spiritualism, in the dumpster in practical magic." Her professor had never seen anything like it. Secondary abilities in witches normally lay on the same level; to have such a large discrepancy between the two was practically unheard of in their community.

It was something to be proud of—except Jade wasn't. The cold, the muted colors, the bodiless spirits who were suddenly drawn to her like a moth to a flame and all clamoring for attention ... It was terrifying and draining.

If her regular witchy powers were on the same level, she wouldn't be left weak-kneed and starving. As things stood, it was another reason to never touch the land beyond the veil.

Nanny dismissed her concerns. "Come on, we have to get to the town green before midnight."

"Why midnight?" Jade asked, stuffing her hands into her pockets and following behind her grandmother.

Nanny's white eyebrows lifted slightly. "Because that's when it happens, Jadey. Didn't your mother tell you?"

"She tried to."

Nanny tsked again. "Very well. For the last week, everyone within a mile radius of the green has experienced cold spots in their homes, dark shadows, flickering lights and other electronics—my vacuum turned on all by itself, you know! And it wasn't plugged in! Not to mention all the howling." Nanny sighed.

They paused at the edge of the road, looked both ways, then crossed to the green.

"Have there been any changes in the town, recently?" she asked, drawing on long-ago lectures. "Like a renovation to an old house?"

Nanny shook her head. "Nope."

Jade bit her lip. "Anyone run over a headstone? What about kids playing with occult tools?" Despite what the media liked to portray, regular people couldn't summon powerful entities like demons or ancient spirits by fooling around with an Ouija board or using Tarot cards. But they could—and did—draw on mischievous or playful spirits.

"Not that I know of."

"Did anyone die recently?"

"No."

They paused in the center of the green—a typical Massachusetts circular patch of grass and trees, dotted here and there with a fountain and benches. In the dark of night, the quiet of a small town ramped up the spookiness. Jade scratched her head and looked around, perplexed.

Nanny glanced at the illuminated face of her watch. "It's almost time."

A familiar prickle walked its cold fingers up the back of Jade's neck. Gritting her teeth, she hunched her shoulders, edging closer to her grandmother. I don't want to be here!

Nanny ignored Jade's discomfort. "Five, four, three, two ... one."

A low, mournful howl like that of a wolf drifted around the green. Jade's heart thumped heavily in her chest and she whirled as a preternatural wind tugged at her blonde strands. No, no, no!

"Jade."

She flinched as Nanny's hand landed on her shoulder. "C'mon, darling. It's here."

Jade glanced up as the branches of an oak tree rattled above them. "I can't do this, Nanny," she whispered. The cold. The flat, dead eyes. The pleading.

Nanny reached out and firmly clamped both hands on Jade's shoulders. "Yes, you can."

Around the green, lights flicked on in the neighboring houses. "Ah, c'mon!" someone shouted exasperatingly.

"Not again!" cried a second.

Nanny cocked her head to the side. "See? Do you see the trouble this thing is causing?"

Jade rolled her eyes down at her grandmother as more voices drifted out of open windows. "F-fine," she stammered, swiping a hand over her brow. Just this once and never again.

As the howling rose and fell, Jade closed her eyes, took a deep breath and lowered her mental shields. A faint chime echoed in her mental ear, like a tiny bell. Jade cracked one eye open. The veil fell from her eyes and she beheld the spiritual plane. The temperature dramatically dropped, raising goosebumps on her arms despite it being the middle of summer.

It didn't take long for Jade to spot the lone soul. It darted back and forth between the houses in a rapid, frantic manner perfectly timed with the rise and fall of the howls.

Licking dry lips, Jade formed a command: "Come to me."

Immediately, the blob halted all activity; the howling simply stopped. Beside her, Nanny clapped her hands excitedly. "Well done!"

Jade glanced at her grandmother, skin rippling as she saw the woman through the lens of the dead: grey and pale, with strands of her life-force waving in the ethereal wind like stalks of wheat. "Not yet," she ground out.

The blob pivoted and bounced towards her eagerly.

"No!" Jade cried out, throwing up her hands.

The ball halted abruptly and whined.

Whined?

Slowly, Jade opened her eyes. Hovering two feet off of the ground was the translucent form of a red male retriever. Generally speaking, ghosts had no color, but there were many accounts of willful spirits dictating their appearance.

This was one determined canine.

"What is it?" Nanny whispered, edging close to Jade.

"It's ... it's a dog," she replied, hardly believing her eyes. The spirit of a dog was causing all of this trouble?

"A dog?" Nanny repeated incredulously.

The dog's ghost whined again and sat, cocking his head to the side.

"What is it?" Jade asked. "Why are you here?"

Barking, the retriever bounded away. Without thinking, Jade chased after it while her grandmother shouted for her to slow down. The dog's ghost led her across the green and behind the general store to a dumpster illuminated by a single street light. He parked his levitating form next to the grey metal container and whuffed sadly.

Jade jogged to a halt, eyes darting back and forth between the dog and the dumpster. Oh, God, no ... she thought as bile rose in the back of her throat. Weakness was setting in. Swallowing heavily, Jade planted her feet and extended her senses, penetrating the metal to the contents inside.

Skin crawling, Jade examined the form inside the dumpster. There. Eyes widening, she retracted her power and looked at the waiting ghost-dog. "Is that you?"

Slowly, the spirit nodded.

As her knees shook, Jade extended a hand and laid it on the spirit's head. Cool energy flickered over her palm, prickling her skin like a dozen needles. "Show me."

The dog lifted his head. A series of images flashed through Jade's mind like photographs: Digging out from beneath a fence; chasing after a rabbit; running across the road; a clock striking midnight; the blinding flash of a car's lights; a woman's terrified face. Breathing hard, Jade fell to the pavement, but managed to keep one hand on the spirit's head.

More images: The woman exiting her car and picking up the dog's broken body; placing him in the dumpster and covering him with trash; driving away.

"It's okay," Jade murmured, dashing tears from her eyes. "We'll tell your family where you are."

The dog lifted his head and stared at her with flat eyes that seemed to convey so much emotion. Slowly, he licked her palm. His form flared brightly, and, for the space of a heartbeat, Jade felt an intense wave of love and acceptance—then, he was gone.

Slumping to one side, Jade took a deep breath and pulled up her shields. Immediately, warmth rushed back in, suffusing her body with life and vitality.

"Jade!" Nanny exclaimed, falling to her knees beside her granddaughter. "What happened?"

Dashing wetness from her eyes, Jade told her.

Nanny bit her knuckles and gazed at the dumpster. "What a horrible thing to do." She looked at Jade. "How do you feel?"

Jade blinked and rubbed between her eyes. She felt ... good. How odd.

With the help of her grandmother, Jade got to her feet. She rested one hand on the dumpster, turned, and slowly walked away, the sound of a peaceful summer night drifting gently around her ears.