Ghost Squad

Reports of ghostly events are spreading across town. At Lucely’s house, Syd shows off a jar she copied from a TV ghost-hunting show. It contains smelly herbs and a metal foil, and it’s meant to catch specters. Syd suggests they bring some of the fireflies to help with the hunt. Before Lucely can ask her family spirits, several appear in human form and volunteer.

The girls bicycle to El Castillo de San Marcos, an ancient fort on the coast. They sneak in through a back gate and blend in with a crowd of tourists. The fort, says Syd, is reputed to be crawling with ghosts. The girls slip away from the tours and walk down empty corridors until they hit a dead end. The place feels strangely chilly. Macarena bursts from her mason jar and warns them they’re in danger.

Syd notices two stones on opposite walls that appear cleaner than the rest of the walls. Each girl presses on one of them, and the end wall opens. Beyond is an ancient barracks with clothing and other belongings strewn about. They enter, each holding a spirit-catcher jar. A man in an old Spanish military uniform, his chest bloody from a gaping death wound, walks toward them, asking what they’re doing there. The girls stammer that they got lost. They turn to run, but other ghost soldiers block their exit.

Lucely’s firefly relative Frankie, a former boxer, breaks out of her mason jar and begins punching soldiers. Lucely tries to capture the dead captain, but he slaps her ghost-catcher jar away, and it shatters. Macarena joins Frankie, her form glowing and causing the soldiers to stare, transfixed. Macarena tells the girls to run. They escape, but just before the door closes, they see Macarena and Frankie glow brightly and vaporize the soldier ghosts in an explosion of light.

At Syd’s house, the girls read more from Babette’s book on the history of the occult. The Purple Coven was respected until hysteria from the Salem Witch Trials filtered down to St. Augustine, where one witch, Pilar, was accused of witchcraft and drowned. Rumor had it that the rest of the coven created a curse that would open an underworld gate and bring forth an army of dead souls. The antidote was in a book, El Libro de Lobos.

Lucely wonders if the spell they cast at the mausoleum was the witches’ curse. If the girls’ notebook of spells is El Libro de Lobos, perhaps the missing pages contain the antidote. They decide to do a sleepover the next night at Babette’s, during which they’ll sneak over to the cemetery and search for the pages.

Before leaving for Babette’s house, Lucely says goodbye to the fireflies. Mamá still looks terribly weak, but Macarena has recovered from her fight with the ghost soldiers. When Macarena hears about Lucely’s planned return trip to the cemetery, she insists on coming along. Lucely also gets cousin Benny to join them.

A distant cousin, Yesenia, assumes human form and tells Lucely she’s been having nightmares. Suddenly the air gets cold; Yesenia turns pale, screams, and disappears. Lucely checks her jar: Yesenia’s firefly form is dim and barely moving. Upset, Lucely brings salt from the house and pours it on the ground in a circle around the willow tree to protect the Luna fireflies while she’s away. Wearing all pink, Tía Rosario thanks her and says the tree already feels better. She agrees to keep an eye on Yesenia and Mamá.

Babette and Syd arrive in their car. Before she joins them, Lucely turns to her father: “I love you. Like, a lot. And things are gonna be okay. I promise” (119).

At Babette’s house, Syd takes Lucely aside and shows her a candle she found among her grandmother’s private items. Its markings make it a “protection candle” that can summon a war god. Lucely worries about that much power but okays bringing it.

She says they’ll search the Huguenot Cemetery this time, which Simon claims is among the most haunted. They decide to bring Chunk the cat, who’ll yowl like an alarm if they don’t.

They spend hours in Babette’s library searching for information on counter-spells. The doorbell rings, and the girls sneak over to listen as Babette answers. It’s Mayor Anderson, who invites Babette to the Halloween festival and hands her a flyer. Babette crumples it up and says she’s not interested. Anderson warns her not to refuse him, but she says she’ll call the police unless he leaves. The mayor turns briefly and aims a smile directly at the girls’ hiding place. He departs, and Babette orders Lucely and Syd out from hiding and off to bed.

Upstairs, Lucely and Syd prepare the equipment they’ll use at the cemetery. Syd brings out special stones and a type of Florida water that should defend against demonic creatures, plus some protection amulets. They don the amulets and place one around the neck of Chunk, who protests but then curls up and goes to sleep.

Syd presents Lucely with an improved ghost-catcher jar. Fireflies Macarena and Manny each will go inside a jar: They’ll draw evil spirits toward them while remaining safely sealed away in transparent compartments at the center of each jar. Syd also has the notebook of spells, some food and cash, and a fake mustache in case they need a disguise. Lucely laughs and insists that Syd be the one to wear it.

When they hear Babette’s snores, they sneak out and bicycle through the foggy night to the Huguenot Cemetery. Lucely pulls from her backpack a map she made of the graveyard; she also carries a crowbar to break into locked tombs.

The place is surrounded by an old iron fence. The girls walk along it until they find a spot where the ground dips under it. They dig out this spot until they can crawl through it. Lucely goes first; she coaxes Chunk through with some cheese. Syd crawls through last. She wears a baby sling and places Chunk in it. As they walk, the cat begins to whine.

They push their way into the first tomb. Chunk howls with fear, and Syd quiets her with food. They inspect the entire crypt but find nothing. The next mausoleum has two hallways but nothing of interest on walls or in caskets. The third vault contains scurrying rats but no clues; the next four crypts also hide nothing useful. The night is warm, but the girls feel a strange chill that won’t go away.

The eighth tomb is the largest and coldest. Again, Chunk yowls in fear. Inside, they hear childlike laughter and feet scurrying. Lucely turns back to the door, but it slams shut. She drops her flashlight; it breaks. They struggle in the dark with the door handle but can’t budge it. A blast of cold air hits them, and they scream. Behind them, a low voice intones, “I’ve caught two little flies in my web, in my web. Two little flies, they disturbed me now they’re dead” (136).

Syd tells whatever’s there that they’re lost and will be on their way. Lucely quietly hands Syd a carton of salt, and Syd spins the carton around, tossing salt in all directions. The creature screams, and they see a mist monster above them, hovering for the kill. Syd tosses more salt, and they run for the door. A breeze blows it open, and they escape.

They run to the gap in the fence, scramble under, and hurry to their bikes. As they ride away, they see the mist monster standing in the tomb’s doorway. It’s shaped like Mayor Anderson.

The mist monster mayor chases after the girls. It grows huge and looks like several ghosts at once. It breathes out a blast of cold air that nearly freezes the girls and slows them down so they can barely ride. They dismount and begin their defense, lighting candles, making a circle of salt around them, sprinkling Florida water on themselves and Chunk, and preparing their ghost-catcher jars.

The mist mayor swoops down at them, but their salt circle splits it in two. It turns and attacks again but does no better. It makes a third attempt, from directly above, and its roar and foul smell terrify the girls. Finally, it retreats back to the cemetery.

The girls suspect the mist mayor is protecting something nearby. They walk toward the nearby church. On the way, they’re accosted by a man wearing a dressy suit that’s decades out of style. He asks if they’ve seen his teeth—he grins and shows several gaps in his mouth—and explains that he’s Judge John Stickney, who died during a robbery in 1882, when thieves stole his gold fillings. The girls promise to let him know if they find his teeth. Grateful, he thanks them and adds that he must attend a party with the “Pancake sisters,” who are witches. He floats away.

Thunder approaches, and rain pours down. The girls run toward the church, but it recedes as they approach. They realize that Chunk has disappeared, and they rush about searching for the cat but to no avail. A streak of white shoots behind the church; thinking it’s Chunk, the girls pursue it.

Instead of the cat, they find a large, translucent dragon stomping about, its fire igniting trees. Lucely and Syd hide inside the church, barely escaping the flames. Inside, they make another salt circle and add lit candles.

The dragon pounds on the doors until they splinter. It sticks its head through and casts flames at them. A few pews ignite; the girls run from the circle. Their ghost-catcher jars, with Macarena and Manny inside, lie on the church floor outside the salt ring. The girls rush forward to retrieve the jars just as the dragon breaks fully into the church.

Babette appears and stands between them and the dragon. The beast snorts flames at her, but Babette points a wand at it, and a line of flame pours from the wand, striking the dragon and setting it afire. The dragon screams; the stained-glass windows shatter. With her cape, Babette covers the girls.