Auntie Meredith and a plump tabby both looked up when Charlie entered surrounded by a cloud of allspice and cinnamon drifting in from the kitchen, but only Auntie Meredith stood. Knitting gathered up into a messy bundle, she leaned close as she passed and said softly, “See if you can convince Ruby to move on. There’s a lot of work to do before impact.”

“You’re very calm about it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Charlotte, death is a part of all things.”

“I meant about the impact.”

Auntie Meredith patted her arm. “My observation stands. And I’m so sorry to hear about you and Jack. So good that there’s plenty going on to distract you.”

She was gone, trailing a double line of pale blue yarn, before Charlie could respond.

“That’s why I didn’t want them to know,” she muttered at the cat. “The world’s ending, and it’s still going to be, ‘Oh, poor Charlie.’”

The cat yawned.

Moving to Auntie Ruby’s side, Charlie realized she had no idea if the skin that had collapsed around the old woman’s prominent bones looked like actual parchment, but she’d seen enough cookies baked to recognize parchment paper just out of the oven—brittle, fragile, and stained by use. She couldn’t hear a heartbeat, only a soft flutter, and each breath sounded like the last breath.

Until one of them sounded like her name.

“I’m here, Auntie Ruby.”

Auntie Ruby’s eyes had sunk deep. It seemed as if half the lashes were missing from the edges of pinkish purple lids, and the whites were a sort of yellow/gray. For all that, they were surprisingly aware.

“Thing left . . . to do.”

“What thing, Auntie Ruby?” All things considered, Charlie wasn’t really surprised when the dying woman found the strength to sneer. “Okay, none of my business. What can I do?”

“Delay . . .”

“Dying? You want me to delay your death? I’d be happy to, if only to annoy Auntie Meredith, but I don’t know how. Death delaying isn’t exactly a Wild Power. Death defying, yes. Delaying, not so much.”

It wasn’t exactly an eye roll, but it was close enough and Charlie had years of experience in eye roll interpretation.

“You’re saying I do know how? I just need to figure out what I know.” Telling her not to die, in a Bardic sort of way, would not end well. Although, the odds were high that zombie aunties would ensure the world welcomed an extinction event, so . . . lemons to lemonade.

“Delay . . .”