by Aiden Thomas
“Hey, I’m seriouuus!” Julian whined.
Julian went on ahead, and Yadriel moved to close the door behind them, but something made him hesitate.
He still had a strange feeling in his gut. A nagging sensation, like he’d forgotten something. The ground below his feet still felt charged. He stared down the aisle to where Lady Death was little more than a black smudge in the dark church once again. Yadriel stood there, listening and searching the shadows, but all he could hear was Julian complaining about wanting a cheeseburger while Maritza pretended to gag.
Yadriel waited a moment longer, but when nothing happened, he closed the door behind himself and jogged through the tombstones back to Julian and Maritza.
FOUR
“Where the hell are we?” Julian turned in slow circles, taking in their surroundings as Yadriel and Maritza led the way back to the main church and Yadriel’s house.
“Cemetery,” Yadriel and Maritza said in unison.
Julian rolled his eyes. “I know, but where?”
“East LA,” Yadriel supplied.
He watched Julian, whose hands were tucked into the pockets of his bomber jacket as he casually strolled between the headstones. The taller boy’s eyes roved, drinking everything in. If it weren’t for the fact that he was a spirit, Julian would’ve tripped over three different grave markers by now. But, instead, he walked right through them with no problem.
“Really?” Julian’s head canted to the side, sparing Yadriel a confused squint. “I ain’t never seen this place before, and I know the streets of LA like the back of my head,” he explained.
“Back of your hand,” Maritza corrected.
Julian waved her off. “Whatever.”
“It’s secret,” Yadriel supplied, feeling a bit dumbstruck as he trailed behind the other two.
“Right, right, right,” Julian nodded, his head bobbing over and over. “The secret society of witches.”
Yadriel felt like he was in the middle of a very weird dream. How could they be so calm? Julian had barely batted an eye upon finding out he was dead. Maritza effortlessly weaved between sarcophagi and urns as she stared at her phone, her long lavender fingernails typing away.
Yadriel couldn’t understand it—this was a huge, ginormous big deal! He’d summoned a spirit, and now they had to placate Julian before he’d let Yadriel release him to the afterlife. Día de Muertos was only a few days away. Yadriel was on a deadline. How was he supposed to help the brujos find Miguel if he was babysitting Julian Diaz?
If he wanted to prove himself in time to be presented at the aquelarre, they needed to get down to solving this mystery, and fast.
“What’s the last thing you remember?” Yadriel asked, quickening his pace to catch up to Julian. “Before you, you know”—he gestured vaguely—“died?”
Julian didn’t seem affected by his lack of tact.
His shoulder lifted in a shrug. “I was just with my friends, walkin’ through Belvedere Park—”
“When?”
“Tuesday night.”
“Well, it’s still Tuesday.” Yadriel checked his phone. It was past midnight. “Or Wednesday morning, technically.”
Julian frowned. “How did my necklace make it to your spooky old church if the last place I remember being was Belvedere Park?” he asked, as if it was somehow Yadriel’s fault.
“How am I supposed to know?” It was a fair question, but one he didn’t have an answer to. “Maybe you were here and just don’t remember.”
Julian hummed, unconvinced. “I’d remember this place.” He shook his head and continued on. “Besides, I’m pretty sure someone jumped me. It was, like, right after sunset, and we were taking a shortcut to King Taco—”
Maritza glanced up long enough from her phone to offer, “That place is the best.”
A grin split Julian’s face, white teeth flashing. “Right?” He pressed his palm to his flat stomach. “Their chicken sopes are—”
“Then what happened?” Yadriel cut in, continuously glancing around for anyone else in the cemetery.
Raised voices alerted him that someone was up ahead. Julian opened his mouth but Yadriel cut him off.
“Shh, wait!”
Yadriel steered them clear of the pair—a brujo arguing with the spirit of a feisty old woman.
“You couldn’t even get the flores I asked for?” the woman demanded, gesturing to a bouquet of what Yadriel thought were very pretty roses in a vase at the foot of an ornate angel statue. “I hate roses!”
“Ay, Mamá! It was the best I could do!” the brujo exclaimed. “I can’t fight with you about this right now—Miguel is missing; people could be in danger—”
“Oh, so they’re more important than your own mamá?” the woman demanded, her chest puffing up indignantly.
Yadriel heard the man groan as they crept out of earshot.
The closer they got to Yadriel’s house, the more on edge he felt. He kept an eye out for flashlight beams announcing the presence of people still looking for Miguel, but there were fewer than earlier. That probably meant they were starting to concentrate their efforts outside of the cemetery.
Yadriel should’ve been with them.
“Okay.” He gestured for Julian to continue his story. “Go ahead.”
“Like I was saying—we took the walkway over the freeway,” Julian went right back to explaining. “Luca ran up ahead because he likes taking the ramp down real quick—” Julian stopped in his tracks, black eyes going wide. “Fuck.”
Maritza started and Yadriel ducked, thinking he’d spotted someone. “What— What’s—?”
“What happened to my skateboard?” Julian threw his head back and groaned, scrubbing his hands over his face. “I just put new axles on that thing!”
Yadriel arched an eyebrow at Maritza, who returned it with an amused look.
Julian spun to him, his eyebrows pinched. “We gotta find it!”
Yadriel blinked back at him.
Was this guy serious?
“I really don’t think you’re gonna need it now,” Maritza pointed out, but he plowed on.
“Man, if that guy took it!” Julian’s mouth pressed into a surly line, the muscles in his sharp jaw jumping. “I swear, I’ll—”
“What guy?” Yadriel interrupted before Julian went off on another tangent.
“The guy who jumped Luca!” Julian fumed. He started talking a mile a minute, gesturing wildly as he walked backward. “Luca yelled, and when we caught up, there was some dude that had him backed up against a wall. Probably tryna mug him or something, which is dumb ’cause he’s never got any money.” He snorted. “So, I just ran up on him from behind and shoved him. I thought I knocked him over, but he turned and before I could take off…” Julian walked right into a stone sarcophagus up to his waist without noticing. He stopped, suddenly deflated. His shoulders slumped and his eyebrows tipped. For a moment, he looked watery, his edges smudged. “Everything went black.” He rubbed absently at his chest. “Next thing I knew, I was with you two.”
Yadriel felt sorry for him. He didn’t know what to say to someone who’d just found out they were dead. Trial and error had shown he was no good at soothing people or bringing them comfort. It had never been his forte. He wasn’t his mom.
He looked to Maritza for backup. She pressed her lips between her teeth and gave a small lift of her shoulder.
“It’s not a lot to go on,” Yadriel admitted. Where would they even start?
Julian was ready to supply an answer. “We need to go find my friends,” he insisted, eyes locked onto Yadriel with a fierceness that made him shift back. “I gotta make sure they’re okay. If something happened to them and it’s my fault—” Julian cut himself off, his face lighting up. “I can text them!” He looked down, patting his pockets.
A strangled shout caught in his throat as he noticed where he was standing. He scrambled back, frantically swatting at his clothes.
“What do you think, Yads?” Maritza asked,
watching Julian freak out with an amused expression.
“Really? You couldn’t tell me I was standing in a coffin!” Julian barked, chest heaving.
“Sssh!” Yadriel hissed.
“Probably got dead-people dust all over me now—”
“You’re going to get us caught,” Yadriel warned.
Julian shook out his arms, scowling. He hissed a tch through his teeth before grumbling. “Messed up, man…” He plunged his hands into his pockets. “Where’s my phone?”
“Probably with your body,” Yadriel told him, not really knowing how to put it delicately, but Julian seemed more annoyed than distraught at the mention of his corpse.
“We can try finding them at school tomorrow,” Yadriel added, answering Maritza’s question.
“Tomorrow?” Julian shook his head. “No way, we gotta go find them tonight—”
“We can’t go tonight,” Yadriel told him.
Julian began to object. “But—”
“It’s already well past midnight,” Yadriel said. “And if my dad finds out I’m running through the streets this late with a spirit I summoned against the rules?” He shook his head. “I’m gonna get grounded—”
“Grounded?” Julian repeated, face screwed up as if he’d never heard of it before.
“They won’t let me participate in the aquelarre—”
“I have no idea what that even means—”
“And then we won’t be able to do any looking tomorrow,” Yadriel insisted. He could see his house now. All they had to do was get Julian inside unnoticed. “Not to mention, it’s a school night, and I gotta be up in a few hours—”
“School?” Julian looked downright offended. “Are you seriously worried about school right now?”
Julian let out an indignant groan but somehow refrained from arguing further. Instead, he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his bomber jacket and scowled at Yadriel from under his furrowed brow. “I don’t get a ghost version of my phone or nothing?” he murmured to himself.
“Maritza? Yadriel?”
Yadriel jumped and spun to find Diego and Andrés walking toward them. They each held a flashlight in one hand and their curved daggers in the other.
“What are you doing out here?” Diego asked, frowning at Yadriel and Maritza. He spared Julian only a quick glance. Spirits in the cemetery were nothing special. If Yadriel could play it off, maybe they wouldn’t get suspicious.
“Uh,” he said, staring blankly at his brother.
“We were trying to help look for Miguel,” Maritza supplied easily. When she and Yadriel got caught doing something they weren’t supposed to, she was the one who could talk their way out of it. “Enlisted one of the spirits to help us check out the old church,” she said, nodding her head in Julian’s direction.
Diego looked at him properly this time.
Julian didn’t respond for a moment. His attention flickered to Diego’s and Andrés’s portajes before he eyed the brujos, an unimpressed look on his face. Finally, he jerked his chin up in that nod guys always did to greet each other.
There was a long pause where Yadriel was sure his brother could see the guilt written across his face, or at least hear his treacherous heart pounding in his chest.
But then Diego nodded. “Cool, I’ll let my dad know you guys checked it out for us.” His attention swung back to Yadriel. “You need to get home before Lita gets pissed.”
Yadriel just nodded, heat flooding his cheeks.
With that, Diego and Andrés turned and took off.
Yadriel let out a heavy breath.
“Who are those fools?” Julian asked, crinkling his nose.
“My brother and his friend,” Yadriel said, wiping the back of his hand across his forehead. “At least he and my dad aren’t home, all we have to do is get you past Lita.” Yadriel turned to Maritza. “You should probably head home.”
Maritza laughed, sending her pink-and-purple curls bouncing. “Oh, hell no!” she said, propping her fist on her hip. “I wanna see how this plays out!”
“Won’t your mom get pissed?” Yadriel asked, annoyed and trying to not be offended that his crisis was a source of amusement for her.
“I already texted her—said you needed some moral support after getting into a fight with your pops.”
Yadriel frowned. “Oh, thanks.”
“No problem,” she said, smiling at his sarcasm. “Besides, you suck at this sneaking-and-lying thing. If anyone is going to get Casper into your room without getting caught—”
“I’m standing right here!” Julian chimed in.
“—it’s me.”
“How are we supposed to get him inside without Lita seeing?” Yadriel asked, anxiety lighting his already frayed nerves on fire.
Maritza wiggled her fingers. “Sneakily.” When Yadriel glared at her, she dropped her hands to her sides. “It’s late, your Lita is probably passed out in front of the TV watching Telemundo,” Maritza pointed out.
Julian, apparently having gotten bored with the conversation, had wandered over to a headstone and was trying to pick up a marigold laid across it with no success.
Maritza had a point, but there were still other factors to consider. “Okay, yeah, they’re out looking for Miguel right now, but eventually they’re going to come home, and then what are we going to do?”
“Whoa, one step at a time, Yads!” Maritza told him. “Let’s just get him upstairs first. We’ll deal with tomorrow, tomorrow.”
Julian wandered back, looking equally doubtful. “So I’m staying with her?” he asked, hooking his thumb toward Yadriel.
“Him,” Yadriel and Maritza corrected in unison.
Julian’s brow furrowed. “Him?” He blinked at Yadriel, as if clearing his vision.
Yadriel’s skin grew hot under the scrutiny. He stood straighter, taller. His sweaty palms clenched into fists at his sides. The muscles in his body went taut as he lifted his chin in what he hoped was a look of stubborn determination.
Maritza crossed her arms over her chest, eyebrow arching. “Is that gonna be a problem?”
When Julian didn’t respond fast enough, Maritza snapped her fingers.
Julian’s attention swung back to her. “No,” he said, face screwed up in a way that suggested both confusion and offense.
“Perfect.” Maritza turned to Yadriel with a cheery smile. “Let’s go!” she said before heading for the house.
Yadriel scrubbed his hands over his face. How had he gotten himself into such a huge mess in such a short amount of time? Exhaustion plowed into him like a truck.
Next to him, Julian cleared his throat. “So, uh…” Julian rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, glancing around. “Where’s your house?”
Yadriel sighed and followed Maritza down the path flanked by squat mausoleums. “There,” he said, nodding to the church looming in the distance. “We live in the little house next to the church.” Smoke still billowed from the crooked chimney.
“Yo, you live in a graveyard?” Julian asked in bewilderment.
Yadriel shifted the weight of his backpack. He was used to the strange looks and laughs that came when people at school found out he was the weird kid who lived in a cemetery. Throw in being openly trans, and he was very used to stares and jokes. “Yeah,” he said, anticipating a similar reaction.
Instead, a wicked grin curled Julian’s lips. “Sick,” he said, nodding his approval.
A surprised laugh jumped in Yadriel’s chest. He gave Julian a curious look, studying his profile as he stared ahead at the church. He had a heavy brow and a sloping nose that ran in a straight line from his forehead. Classically handsome. He looked just like the stone statues that adorned the alcoves of the church. An Aztec warrior reincarnated.
When Julian caught him watching, Yadriel quickly looked away.
“Oh!” Julian said, as if suddenly remembering something. “You’ve got food, right?” he asked. “’Cause I wasn’t joking about being hungry.”
&nb
sp; Yadriel huffed an irritated sigh. “Gotta get you past my abuelita first.” He gestured for Julian to follow. “But she’s been cooking all day.”
“Homemade food by your grandma?” Julian burst out, unable to contain himself.
“Sssh!”
“Oh—” He dropped his voice. “Sorry.”
He moved closer to Yadriel. A chill tickled the back of his neck.
“Wait, can ghosts eat food?” Julian asked in his ear, very concerned.
Santa Muerte, help me.
FIVE
Yadriel crept up the steps, Maritza and Julian following close behind. Blue light flickered against the lace drapes of the front window.
At least Yadriel knew his dad was still out, which was a relief, and not just because Yadriel was about to sneak a spirit into the house right under his nose. After their blowup earlier, Yadriel still wasn’t ready to face him. His stomach twisted thinking about his dad’s inevitable attempt at an awkward apology.
Julian was actually a welcome distraction, and an excuse to avoid his family altogether.
Said dead boy was currently wandering the front porch and getting way too close to the windows, apparently without a care in the world. Julian reached for the wind chime hanging from the awning, his fingers going right through the pieces of polished glass.
“Hey! Get over here!” Yadriel hissed, waving him back.
On her tiptoes, Maritza was able to see through the small window cut into the top of the front door. “She’s sleeping,” she said with a smug look. “Told you.”
Slowly, Yadriel pushed the front door open, and it let out a low creak. He waited for a moment, but when he heard deep, rattling snores, he knew they were in the clear. Yadriel slid through the door, closely followed by Maritza, and Julian trailed behind.
Lita sat in her armchair in front of the TV, head leaned back and mouth wide open. Yadriel closed the door behind them as quietly as possible.
Meanwhile, Julian just strolled right inside. “Whoa, when’s the party?” he chuckled, looking around at all the stacks of decorations.
A sharp snore from Lita made Yadriel and Maritza jump. Yadriel froze, heart pounding in his chest, but she only stirred a little before falling back into the sawing rhythm. A telenovela played on the TV.
