“Oh my gosh. Is this … a catacomb?” Lucely sucked in a breath as she shook her hand to get the bone germs off her. Chunk mewed.
“Oh yeah, you might not want to touch the walls. I forgot to tell you that,” Babette said absentmindedly as she walked around the room, eyes closed.
“Any luck with, uh, whatever it is that you’re looking f—”
Babette held one hand up, cutting her off. With her eyes still closed, she held out her other hand, palm facing down, and tilted her head slightly as if she were concentrating really hard.
Nothing happened at first, but then the ground began to shudder. Lucely jumped behind Babette, her Razzle-Dazzler at the ready.
Dirt exploded from the floor, getting in Lucely’s eyes and mouth, and she was pretty sure some made its way into her pants too. By the time she was able to open her eyes, Babette was holding a shiny object before them: a small black arrow.
“That doesn’t really look like a magical item,” Syd said. “What is it?”
“This is a Finder-Keeper. It helps you find something—anything you want—by pointing you in the direction of it.” Babette smiled. “If we think of the missing pages with this in hand, we can find them! Come, we have to get to higher ground for it to work properly.”
As they made their way out of the catacomb, heavy footsteps bounded up behind them.
Lucely and Syd turned—ready to attack—and came face-to-face with Chunk. Literally.
Somehow, Chunk had grown so she was the same size as Lucely and Syd. Then, in a deep voice as smooth as silk, Chunk spoke: “Run.”
Babette grabbed Lucely and Syd by the arms and pulled them along before they were able to react. The sound of a shrieking train barreled toward them from across the graveyard, hurricane-force winds on its heels.
“What happened to Chunk?” Lucely shrieked. “Why are we running?”
“I think that if Chunk grew five times her normal size and spoke like Lionel Richie, we should probably just trust her and go,” Syd screamed back.
Lucely tried to keep up with Babette, who was a surprisingly fast runner, but her feet kept sinking into muddy patches of soil. A sharp pain pierced Lucely’s chest.
The air froze around them as they approached a giant oak tree. Babette stopped, leaning against it to steady herself.
“Get your weapons out.” Babette took the lead, standing in front of Lucely and Syd with her hands up.
Lucely held her Razzle-Dazzler up and willed her knees not to buckle beneath her. The night was suddenly deadly still, quiet. Babette’s hands trembled slightly, Lucely observed. That couldn’t be a good sign.
“Get behind me, girls,” Babette instructed, but neither of them stepped back.
“We won’t let you face it alone,” Lucely said. “All for one …”
“And one for all,” Syd continued, just as a giant mist monster materialized before them.
“Okay,” Babette swallowed. “On my signal.”
The creature charged, the air around it crackling with static energy. Every step it took shook the ground.
Before it could overtake them, Babette screamed, “GIVE ’EM THE OLD RAZZLE-DAZZLE!”
Lucely and Syd engaged their Razzle-Dazzlers at the same time, sending two pulses of rainbow light arcing out and converging with the purple beam of energy Babette had conjured.
The mist monster vanished in a shriek of pain.
“Where’d it go?” Lucely asked, spinning in circles searching for any signs of attack.
“Did we defeat i—”
Before Syd could celebrate, the monster reappeared, attacking them so fast that none of them had time to react.
Babette was no longer standing at the ready next to Lucely and Syd. Now she was suspended in the center of the creature’s belly—at least where its belly would be if it weren’t a hideous, see-through beast.
“NO!” Syd screamed, pointing her Razzle-Dazzler at the mist monster that had enveloped her grandmother.
“No, Syd, don’t shoot. You don’t know what that thing will do to Babette.” Lucely’s mind raced. “I know you’re scared. I am too. But if we’re gonna save Babette, we have to be smart about this. You’re not alone; I’m here.”
Syd tore her eyes from Babette, her face creased with despair. Lucely’s hand flew to the fireflies at her side. She put her Razzle-Dazzler in her back pocket and turned back toward Syd.
“I’m going to use the fireflies to lure the mist monster away from Babette. Once it lets her go—only once it lets her go—you shoot it with all the power that Razzle-Dazzler’s got left. Okay?” Lucely put one hand on Syd’s shoulder. “You can do this, Syd.”
Syd nodded, but Lucely could tell she was still terrified.
Lucely hugged her before running out into the open to face the mist monster.
“I need some help, guys,” she whispered to the tiny lights in her mason jar. They flickered in response, and a surge of warm energy seemed to run from them to Lucely.
“Hey, ugly! Over here!” Lucely opened her mason jar, and the fireflies surrounded her, creating a whirlpool of light.
The monster turned toward her and smiled.
This thing had Babette. This thing might kill Babette. This thing was coming right at her.
Lucely planted her feet firmly, remembering the way Mamá’s feet in the vision seemed to be rooted to the willow tree, how she grew large and was made of fury and light and love. She let that feeling fill her now, fire burning inside her heart.
The monster barreled toward her, and behind it, she could see Babette lying on the ground where it had left her.
Lucely forced herself not to scream, closing her eyes and praying for her fireflies’ protection.
A burst of rainbow light shot through the air and straight into the monster’s chest, banishing it into the night.
Syd collapsed to her knees next to Babette.
“Is she okay?” Lucely yelled as she ran over to them.
“She’s breathing,” Syd said in a small voice. “But she needs a doctor. Or a witch doctor, or something! How are we gonna get her out of here? It’s not like either of us can drive—or even carry her for that matter.”
“I have an idea,” Lucely said, before calling Macarena out. If the attack at the barrack was any indication, she could always be depended on to help. Lucky for them, she also knew how to drive, though that had been decades ago when she was alive.
“Claro que si, yes, I will help,” she said once Lucely had explained their predicament. Macarena used her firefly magic to carry Babette, floating through the misty night, to the car.
“I really hope there’s no one watching,” Lucely said. “They’d probably be scarred for life watching an old lady floating through a cemetery.”
“If they survived the mist monster, they can survive seeing this,” Syd laughed.
“Go back to the hillside, you dolts.”
An icy chill ran down Lucely’s back. “Who’s there?”
“The missing pages—the monster was guarding the missing pages,” Babette continued.
“Gram!” Syd was standing over Babette in a flash, stroking her hair.
“Lucely, run. Before the other ghosts get wind of the mist monster being gone. Here.” She placed the Finder-Keeper in Lucely’s hand. “It was pointing back toward the catacomb before that thing showed up. It’s gotta be in there somewhere. I’ll be fine. Now go, child! It’s up to you.”
Lucely took a deep breath, bracing herself before entering the catacombs again. Inside, it was pitch-black save for the dim glow of her flashlight reflecting off the bones lining the walls.
She held the Finder-Keeper out in the palm of her hand as she had seen Babette do and closed her eyes. Lucely concentrated on the missing spell, Las Brujas Moradas, the torn-out pages. She bit her lip, one eye still shut, hoping something would happen.
The arrow began to shudder, coming alive and hovering just above Lucely’s hand before spinning wildly.
“Okay, t
hingamajig, you’re supposed to point me in the direction of the missing pages, and this is definitely not helping.”
The arrow came to a sudden stop, as if it had heard her, and was pointing to a spot directly above her. The rounded ceiling of the catacomb was completely covered in skulls.
“This is just the worst,” Lucely muttered.
She scanned the constellation of bones looking for anything out of place, but the skulls all looked nearly identical. Frustrated, Lucely collapsed in a huff on the ground. Then she noticed that the eyes of one of the skulls seemed to twinkle. She stood on her tippy-toes to get as close as she could to the glittering skull and saw two obsidian gemstones inset where there should only be hollow sockets.
“Aha!” Lucely said to herself, grabbing a rock and taking aim to try to knock it loose. Her first attempt landed just two skulls over. She tried again, but the second rock hit even farther away than the first. Shaking her head, Lucely gripped another rock in her hand and took a deep breath, steadying herself.
Come on, Lucely. You got this. Just pretend you’re throwing a dodgeball right at Tilly Maxwell.
She closed her eyes and pictured a bull’s-eye in the space between the skull’s eyes. When she released the third stone, it hit the target dead-on and the skull broke free from the ceiling.
Lucely picked up the skull from the ground and inspected the smooth surface, searching for any other clues that made this skull special. Aside from the gemstones, it looked normal. Well, as normal as Lucely had imagined a real skull would look this up close and personal. The gemstones reminded Lucely of The Goonies. She quickly tested one of them, thinking it might well be enough to help her dad get out of trouble with the bank, but the gems were fused to the skull and wouldn’t budge.
Lucely could sense a shift in the air outside the catacomb the longer she stayed inside. She held the skull as close to her ear as she could without it touching her and shook it gently—there was a faint sound of something moving within.
Cold crept into the room now, and Lucely’s breath came out in a white fog. The evil spirits were getting closer. She didn’t want to break the skull, so she tried to pull whatever was inside, out from a small crack. Panic crept over her as she struggled, her heart racing until finally she got a small scroll of paper out.
Lucely didn’t have time to attempt to decipher the barely legible script, so she stuffed it into her pocket and fled into the night.
BY THE TIME THE MORNING sun filtered into Babette’s library, Lucely and Syd had been able to figure out only the beginnings of the spell. They had stayed up the rest of the night attempting to figure out a solution to their spell dilemma. They read through dozens of Babette’s books, splicing bits from one spell and parts of another. But it was like trying to put together an impossible puzzle with instructions in another language.
The scroll of paper Lucely had found in the catacomb didn’t make any sense.
“A light to guide you through the night,
Confront your fate before it’s too late.”
Syd repeated the words over and over, hoping it would magically click something into place, but nothing worked. Babette joined them once she’d recovered from being attacked, but even she couldn’t figure out the right spell.
“What are we going to do if we can’t figure out the rest of the spell before the Halloween Festival tonight?” Lucely asked.
“I don’t know. We face Eliza and hold her off for as long as we can.” Babette sounded defeated. “Let’s hear what you have so far, girls.”
Lucely and Syd looked at each other and nodded.
“A sprinkle of sun,
A shimmer of light,
Turn back the darkness,
Turn back the fright …”
The spirits were silent as Babette closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, feeling the air around her like she was searching for something in the dark.
“That is … surprisingly powerful. Well done.”
They both yawned, and Lucely felt the weight of the night before dragging her down. She hadn’t realized how tired she was, the adrenaline of trying to figure out the spell must’ve been keeping her awake.
Babette must’ve noticed because she got up and ushered them out of the library and up to the loft. “Get some rest, girls. We’re going to need all the energy we can muster tonight.”
Sometime during the day, while Babette and the girls recovered from the mist monster battle, a hurricane-force storm had arrived at St. Augustine’s front door.
By the time they left for the Halloween Festival, the sky was blanketed with dark gray clouds, obscuring the light of the full moon. Decorations were being ripped from the lampposts and trees by the violent winds as Babette drove toward city hall. Lucely could feel the evil spirits bearing down on them, as if they were breathing down her neck.
Whoever was in charge of decorations this year had gone completely overboard. Somehow, they had managed to make the entire facade of the building look like an actual haunted house—creepy lighting, sound effects, and all.
Syd had the brilliant idea for her and Lucely to dress up as ghost hunters so that they could blend in with the rest of the costumed partygoers—not as the Phantom Hunters, but as the Ghost Squad.
The parking lot was packed, so Babette got creative. She revved her engine before driving right off the edge of the asphalt, coming to an abrupt stop on top of a hedgerow of bushes.
“If you can’t find a parking spot, make one.” Babette hopped out of the car, and they approached the Halloween Festival together. Cobwebs and oversize spiders decorated the balconies of the main hall. There were witches on broomsticks hanging from the ceiling, ghosts and shadowed monsters projected onto the walls, and even a live jazz band all dressed as mummies—with Syd’s mother on drums and her father playing the sax. Thousands of costumed townspeople filled the main level of the hall, making it nearly impossible to pick out any familiar faces. But Lucely finally spotted her dad from across the room, dressed in the same Tin Man costume he wore every year, handing out fliers for the tour.
A wave of relief washed over her. After the weekend they’d had, she had to fight back tears at the sight of him.
“You two look great!” Simon beamed, approaching the girls. “Where’s Babette?”
Syd pointed at Babette, who was eyeing everyone suspiciously near the punch bowl.
“I’ll have my eyes on you two the whole time. No sneaking off. No adventures,” Simon warned.
“Got it,” Lucely said, and they walked into the large, brick town hall building together. If only he knew it was too late for warnings about adventures. Way too late.
Simon had been pulled away, handing Luna Ghost Tour pamphlets out to a group dressed like Star Wars characters, when the room suddenly became ten degrees cooler.
Lucely shivered—Syd must’ve felt it too, because she pressed closer to Lucely and took hold of her hand.
The hall was plunged into pitch-black darkness, a few people screamed, and then a solitary spotlight illuminated the landing of the imperial staircase where Mayor Anderson now stood, a menacing grin distorting his face. He looked around the grand hall as he spoke. “Welcome, welcome! It is always such a pleasure to host this spectacular event each year. We’ve spared no expense to ensure that this Halloween will be one that each of you will never forget.”
Mayor Anderson’s gaze settled on Lucely and Syd, eyes flickering.
Dark clouds began to form overhead, completely obscuring the high ceiling. They pulsed, heat lightning flashing within like strobe lights as thunder softly began to thrum a steady bass line. Dancing resumed on the main level of the floor, the partygoers entranced by what they thought was all a part of the show.
Just then, something caught Lucely’s attention. “I don’t think those are clouds, Syd.”
As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, Lucely and Syd could see that the clouds seemed to be made up of not just mist and shadow but the writhing, wailing bodies of the undead
.
Mayor Anderson’s skin began to fade into a murky, translucent color like he was made of swamp water, his eyes glowing a sickly green, as he raised his arms like the conductor of an orchestra readying for an overture.
With a flash of lightning, he brought his hands down swiftly, and the dark clouds broke, unleashing a monsoon of spirits on the unsuspecting guests.
All around them, residents screamed and tried helplessly to swipe at the ghosts as if they were a swarm of bees. A stampede of townspeople fled the building as quickly as they could.
“Where’s Babette?!” Syd screamed over the commotion.
“I don’t know, but we have to do something!” Lucely whipped out her Razzle-Dazzler and fired off a few arcs of light.
Spirits descended into the crowd, and an older man was picked up and thrown onto the dessert table, but he got up and ran out the door a moment later. One woman was dangling upside down, an invisible force holding one of her ankles and shaking her so candy and loose change fell from her pockets as she screamed. A group of kids from Lucely’s school shrieked in terror as spirits picked them up and swooped out of the room with them before Lucely or Syd had time to save them. Lucely’s ghost catcher began to beep: It was close to capacity.
The spirits were attacking residents faster than Lucely and Syd could zap them. Cold bursts of air zoomed past as they ducked and weaved out of the way. They needed Babette; they needed an army.
“Now what?” Syd screamed over the ghosts’ wails.
A flash of silver caught Lucely’s eye—the unmistakable sight of her father’s Tin Man costume.
“Pop, over here!” Lucely shouted, but her cries were drowned out by the wails of the spirit monsters.
The fireflies buzzed at her side, and Lucely’s heart lurched. She knew they wanted to help, to protect her, but she was afraid to lose them.
“You don’t have to do it alone because we are with you, always.” Mamá’s words came back to Lucely, just as her father reached her side.
“Dad,” Lucely said, “there is a small jar clipped to my jeans. It has some of our fireflies in it. Unclip it and open it. The fireflies will know what to do.”
Ghost Squad Page 13