by Ellen Oh
Harper could hear Kelly’s terror in her muffled shrieks. Her grandmother was right—Kelly definitely had some spiritual sensitivity if she could see Holly from earlier and the Razu.
“Guys, I will need you to repeat the chant I’m going to do. Be as loud as you can.”
The other Razu now all gathered in front of Harper. Harper filled herself with rage on behalf of Holly and her family, on behalf of all the innocent people who had been killed over the years, and for Rose. She felt the surge of fury, and she began to ring her bells and chant the binding prayer, invoking the wills of the Ancient One and the Worthy One.
“Through the power of the Ancient One, I bind you. You will do no harm. Through the power of the Worthy One, I bind you. You will do no harm. Through the power of the Ancient One, I bind you. You will do no harm. Through the power of the Worthy One, I bind you. You will do no harm.”
Over and over, Harper repeated the chant, her voice raised louder by those of Dayo, Mrs. Nakamura, and the Benningtons.
“Through the power of the Ancient One, I bind you. You will do no harm. Through the power of the Worthy One, I bind you. You will do no harm.”
The Razu seemed stunned by the spell as they stood unmoving in front of them. Harper could see within the distended bellies of the monsters the bright light of spiritual energy. Souls trapped for centuries, yearning to be free.
Harper placed both Wisdom and Truth in her left hand, continuing to ring them vigorously as she leaned over to pick up the Bringer, the Blessed One. The one that would bring the light to the spirits.
“Keep chanting the same chant—don’t stop!” Harper yelled at the others.
And then she began to ring the Bringer. The loud melodic tolling of the bell was brighter than any of the other bells.
“May the path of light shine free and guide you! May the path of light shine free and guide you!” As she yelled into the heavens, a white light began to form over the tree. The Razu let out ear-piercing screams as the spirits inside of them began to pulsate feverishly.
As the light grew strong and bright, Harper switched chants again, this time speaking directly to all the souls.
“Come forth, dear ones! Come to the light and be free!” Harper yelled. “Come to the light and be free!”
Harper shouted and rang her bells over and over again. The moonlit path from the heavens shone even brighter. The Razu’s stomachs began to pulse with light, and they shook uncontrollably until their bellies ruptured as the spirits burst through their imprisonment and headed straight for the moonlit path.
Harper grabbed hold of the Unmaker and rang it hard three times, shouting, “Be gone!”
The Razu exploded into nothingness.
Harper collapsed onto the ground, exhausted.
“Are they gone?” Dayo asked. She opened her eyes and smiled tearfully at the dancing spirits above her. “Oh, how beautiful.”
Mrs. Nakamura stood with her hands clasped, crying as she gazed at the ecstatic dance of the free spirits.
Only the Benningtons stood sadly, holding up Olivia, who had not woken from her trance.
“Why isn’t she snapping out of it?” Todd asked.
“Megan isn’t waking up,” Kelly cried out. “What’s going on?”
A sudden worrying sensation filled Harper.
“Watch out, Harper! There’s still one more, and she’s the queen.” Holly appeared before them.
“Holly!” Harper yelled. “Go to the light!”
“She’s coming!” Holly screamed, then disappeared.
Olivia suddenly lurched out of her parents’ arms and toward the tree. Her parents ran after her and caught her just as a hideous sound filled their ears.
Harper’s head snapped up, and she grabbed her bells. “Get back in the circle!”
The Benningtons dragged Olivia into the circle and sat down, embracing her.
“Harper, help!” Kelly shouted.
Kelly was desperately holding on to Megan and a few others who had gotten up and were stepping out of the protective circle. Dayo and Mrs. Nakamura raced over while Harper made an even bigger salt circle. She rang her bell in the victims’ faces and shouted at them to sit down. She was surprised when they listened.
Harper handed Wisdom and Truth to Dayo and told her to ring them and keep chanting. Dayo and Mrs. Nakamura began chanting the binding spell while Harper immediately rang the Bringer harder than she’d ever rung a bell before.
From within the tree, a horrible roar blasted out. The final Razu tore its way out of the tree, nearly splitting it in half. The queen seemed immune to the binding spell, but Harper could see the souls swarming inside the Razu’s belly, the spiritual light burning brightly through the monster’s pale skin.
The Razu queen first went to the groupings of victims who were still in a deep sleep, but she could not penetrate the salt circle. Kelly had stuffed her hands into her mouth, trying not to scream, but the terror was too obvious not to see. The Razu stood right in front of Kelly, breathing heavily. Harper could see how scared her sister was.
“Don’t run, Kelly,” Harper urged. “You have to stay in the circle.”
The Razu roared, and Kelly screamed. She grabbed her salt container, flipped open the spout, and shook an arc of salt at the monster. The Razu let out a nasty snarl but fell back and returned to Harper’s circle, pacing back and forth. The chanting and the ringing of the bells seemed to have no effect on the monster. Suddenly, it found the spot where the Benningtons had broken the salt circle. The creature reached a claw over the broken line of salt, grabbed Olivia by the hair, and tried to pull her out of the circle. Todd held on to his daughter tight.
“No!” Clarissa screamed. She kicked and pummeled the creature, desperately trying to draw it away from her daughter. The Razu let go of Olivia and gouged Clarissa in her abdomen with its claws.
Harper dropped her bells, grabbed the holy water, and raced over to dash it in the Razu’s face.
It fell back shrieking, and Harper picked up the Bringer and the Unmaker and began to ring them simultaneously.
“Come to the light and be free,” she repeated over and over.
The Razu shook off the effects of the holy water and let out an unholy shriek. It turned toward Harper and bared its sharp fangs.
“Harper, get back into the circle!” Kelly screamed.
Realizing the danger she was in, Harper ran for the salt circle just as the Razu charged. But before it reached her, the free spirits that were flying above them swarmed down and attacked the monster.
“Harper, use the bells now! You can release the souls while it is distracted and losing control.”
Harper was stunned to see the ghost of Clarissa now talking to her outside of her physical body.
With a grim nod, Harper rang her bells and called to the spirits within the Razu. Clarissa’s spirit joined the others in attacking the monster.
“Come forth, dear ones! Come to the light and be free!” Harper yelled.
Inside the monster’s belly the trapped souls were struggling wildly to escape. The spirits pounded relentlessly over and over against the confines of their prison as Harper chanted to them to be free. But it was not enough.
“Why isn’t it working?” Dayo shouted.
“I don’t know! I think it’s too strong!”
“Harper, your grandma said you are really powerful. You have to channel your powers!”
The Razu roared and lunged at them, chasing Harper back into the salt circle. Mrs. Nakamura lashed at it with her copper wires, backing it away. It was a close call.
“Harper, think about what your grandmother would do,” Dayo said. “You can do it.”
Harper took a deep breath and focused on the spiritual energy flowing all around her. Grandma Lee said it was concentrated energy that she could harness into a power source. Isn’t that what the shaman did who’d captured the Razu in the first place? But did it mean she would be susceptible to possession? She was scared.
The Razu roared again.
There was no choice.
Closing her eyes, Harper let all her senses open to the spiritual realm. Immediately she was assaulted by the sensation of pure power. It coursed through her body. But it didn’t feel anything like a possession. It wasn’t an individual spirit. It was just energy. And it only needed direction.
Harper opened her eyes and faced the queen. She dropped her bells, stepped out of the protective salt circle, and walked toward it. The Razu queen moved to attack her. Harper let the pulsing energy course out of her hands and into the belly of the Razu, stopping it midlunge. It twisted in agony as its belly distended and pulsated with the souls frantically trying to escape.
“Oh no you don’t!” Harper shouted. “It’s time for you to go.”
Focusing all her attention on the belly of the queen, Harper felt the flow of the spiritual energy that she’d sent surging into it.
“Bye, now.”
Harper exploded the energy within the creature, causing it to erupt from within. All the souls that had been trapped inside the Razu were released in a huge mass of light and joy, which flooded the entire area with happiness.
Holly flew over to Harper, radiant, as she brought two other spirits with her.
“Harper! You did it! You found the light, and you found my parents!”
The ghostly parents smiled at Harper in thanks as they embraced their daughter and flew up to the moonlit path.
“Bye, Harper,” Holly said as she disappeared into the sky.
Harper turned around to find everyone kneeling by the body of Clarissa Bennington. Olivia was weeping uncontrollably as she held her mother’s hand.
Next to her, the ghost of Clarissa Bennington appeared.
“Thank you for saving my family and doing the right thing,” Clarissa said.
“Thank you for helping me,” Harper replied. “But why don’t you talk to them before you go?”
Clarissa smiled sadly. “I’ve done enough harm. I should leave them alone.”
Harper shook her head. “No, that would be terrible. Go and talk to them now. Tell your daughter you love her. Tell your husband you forgive him. You shouldn’t lose this chance to heal their wounds.”
If she could have pushed a ghost, Harper would have. But she was relieved when Clarissa floated over and laid a gentle hand on Olivia’s face.
“Mom?” Olivia cried.
Harper turned away to give them privacy and found Dayo and Mrs. Nakamura standing by her, both gazing at the brilliant moonlit path. The rains had stopped, and the sky was a bright star-filled painting.
“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Dayo said.
Harper did a double take. “You can see them even without touching me?”
Dayo nodded. “I could even see Mrs. Bennington while she was talking to you.” With a satisfied breath, Dayo threw her arm around Harper’s shoulders. “I guess that makes me a real spirit hunter now, too.”
Harper grinned. “Grandma Lee’s gonna have to get you your own shaman bells.”
“You girls are really amazing,” Mrs. Nakamura said. “I think you just saved the entire world. Unfortunately, no one will ever believe it.”
“That’s okay,” Harper said. “We know.”
Mrs. Nakamura chuckled.
“Harper!” Kelly was yelling for her.
Kelly was helping Megan stand, the other victims now all awake and staring in shock at the sky above them.
“Do you think they can see the souls also?” Dayo asked.
“Looks like they can,” Harper said. “Traumatic experiences change people.”
They walked over to Kelly, who threw her arms around the both of them in a tight embrace. “You guys are the coolest, toughest, most amazing middle schoolers in the entire universe.”
Harper looked at Kelly curiously. “You okay, Kelly?”
“No, I’m still freaking out,” she said. “Why?”
“Because you usually hate this ghost stuff.”
Kelly nodded. “Yeah, and I’ll probably go back to ignoring it again tomorrow because I hate it. It’s too weird. But tonight I’m proud of my little sister and her best friend, who just saved us all.”
Kelly’s friend Megan approached and swooped in to hug Harper also. “Thank you,” she said. “I saw what you did. It felt like a dream, but I know it was real because I can feel the happiness in the air.”
She looked up where the spirits danced above them. “They’re free at last.”
Mrs. Nakamura brought Megan a cup of juice. “Come sit,” she said. “This has been very difficult for all of you.”
Megan drank the juice gratefully and let Kelly and Mrs. Nakamura seat her next to the others, who were dazed and shocked.
Dayo pulled Harper back to check on the Benningtons. Todd was holding Olivia tight as they both listened to Clarissa’s spirit.
“Poor Olivia. She lost one parent and found another,” Dayo said.
“Yeah, it makes me appreciate my own parents,” Harper said. “Never thought I’d say that.”
At that moment, she thought she could hear her father shouting for her. She looked around to see her parents, uncle, and aunt walk into the grove. Uncle Justin and Aunt Caroline immediately ran over to the Benningtons to help them. They didn’t see Clarissa’s spirit slip silently away toward the light.
Yuna and Peter hurried over to hug Harper and Dayo tight. “Leo told us where you were! We were so worried about you, but we were stuck in the hotel because of the terrible storm!”
At that moment Yuna stared up into the sky and was struck completely dumb. Peter had begun admonishing Harper, when Yuna made him look up. They both stared in complete shock.
Harper stared curiously at them. “Can you see all the spirits?” she asked.
“I can’t believe my eyes,” Yuna replied.
“Ghosts are real?” Peter asked.
Harper laughed. “Seeing is believing.”
“But where are they all going?” Yuna asked.
“Spirits don’t belong on earth with us,” Harper said with a sad sigh. She thought of her best friend Rose and how much she missed her. “They are going back to where they belong. They’re finally free.”
She stared up at the night sky, still bright with the free souls that danced across the moonlit path. So many of them. Like a highway of light, they flew overhead.
“Bye, Holly. Bye, Rose.”
ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL
Wednesday, November 1
In the morning, Harper’s parents were unusually nice and attentive. They’d all stayed up late to explain everything, to everyone, that had happened the night before. Yuna had spent the night hugging them all and crying, while Peter had told Leo’s parents about Michael’s possession and Harper’s past incidents and all that had happened to them since moving to Washington, D.C. Aunt Caroline had been stunned to hear that Leo had also been seeing ghosts, and Uncle Justin just kept shaking his head in disbelief. However, Harper was relieved that for once all the adults believed her. How could they not? They’d all seen the beautiful bridge of souls and heard what the victims had said.
After breakfast, everyone sat together to talk about next steps.
“I couldn’t sleep all night. I realized what a horrible daughter I’ve been to my mom,” Yuna said. “When we get home, I’m going to go and talk to her. Really talk. I’ve been such a fool.”
She hugged Harper hard. “I’ll never doubt you again.”
Harper felt the last vestige of hurt and resentment finally unravel within her.
“Honey, this might be a good time to tell the kids,” Peter said to Yuna.
Yuna wiped her eyes and nodded. All the adults looked at each other.
“Kids, so Aunt Caroline and Uncle Justin are going to be taking on even more responsibilities here, with everything that happened,” Peter said. “Mr. Bennington and his daughter are coming over soon to discuss what will happen with the hotel. But the one thing that yo
ur aunt and uncle have been worried about is Leo’s education. So, we’ve agreed to have Leo live with us during the school year and go to school with you, Harper.”
Harper stared aghast at Leo, who glared back at her.
“That’s awesome,” Dayo said. “Our school is pretty good, for a middle school.”
“Cool, Leo,” Michael said. “It’ll be fun.”
“But where will he sleep?” Kelly asked.
“He can have my office,” Yuna said. “We’ll make it really comfortable for him.”
Kelly shrugged and Leo looked unhappy. But it was Harper that everyone seemed to be looking at. She couldn’t even roll her eyes or heave a big sigh since they were watching her so closely. What choice did she have? Dayo gave her a little nudge, and Harper immediately smiled.
“That’s great,” Harper said. “Don’t worry, Aunt Caroline and Uncle Justin. Leo will be fine with us.”
In the midst of the loud and vocal relief of the parents, the doorbell rang. Todd and Olivia were at the door. As soon as they came in, the adults swept Todd into the office for a private meeting.
While the adults were closeted away and Leo entertained Michael, Harper and Dayo sat with Olivia in their room. Olivia’s eyes were swollen from crying.
She sat on Dayo’s bed since it was the one that didn’t have piles of stuff all over it.
“My dad’s really nice,” Olivia said with a watery smile. “All these years I thought he didn’t care about me, but in fact he cared too much. I’m glad he came back, but I miss my mom a lot. And it’s hard because I know she did wrong.”
Harper and Dayo sat on either side of Olivia to comfort her.
“Everything she did, she did out of love for you,” Dayo said.
“She was trying to protect you. Even to the very last moment, all she cared about was saving you,” Harper added. “Your mom loved you so much.”
Olivia nodded and cried and talked about her mother for a long time. Dayo rubbed her back and Harper kept passing over lots of tissues.
“Well, the good news is that my dad is taking us to New York City because I said I always wanted to live there,” Olivia said.