Spirit Hunters #2 by Ellen Oh

Author:Ellen Oh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2018-06-21T16:00:00+00:00

THE TREES OF GORGON GROVE

Sunday, October 29

The next day Harper’s mom took Kelly, Harper, Dayo, and Michael to the little town not far from the resort. Leo stayed home to play video games. The bus drove them to a local market crowded with tourists looking at pink flamingo earrings and seashell souvenirs.

Yuna and Kelly stopped at a jewelry stall, while Harper and Dayo followed Michael as they wandered between the narrow aisles crowded with shoppers. He made a beeline for a stand filled with colorful wooden toy boats. He picked up a sturdy-looking red-and-blue tugboat, pretending it was fighting large tidal waves. A little girl with curly blond hair came over to watch him.

“That’s my favorite,” she said.

“Me too,” Michael replied.

“Look, it even has a real propeller, and towlines to tow a bigger boat. Here, like this.” The girl grabbed a large freight ship and attached it to the end of the tugboat.

“Cool!” Michael said. “I’m gonna ask my Mom if I can have this.”

“That’s a very good choice,” the girl said seriously. Harper smothered a laugh. The little girl couldn’t have been older than Michael, and yet she had the practiced assurance of an experienced salesperson.

“I’m almost six. How old are you?” she asked.

“I’m five,” Michael said. “I like chocolate ice cream.”

“Me too!”

They both beamed at each other and giggled.

“I’m Kayla. What’s your name?”

“Michael,” he replied. “You’re so lucky to have all these boats.”

“My dad makes them, so I have lots,” she said. She then turned to her mom and yelled, “Mommy, this little boy wants to buy the tugboat.”

Her mother came over, a smile creasing her plump round face. “Well, it seems like he has excellent taste, then,” she said. “My husband carves them by hand, and the tugboats are our top sellers. Hard to keep in stock.”

The woman winked cheerfully at Harper. Suddenly, she paled and stood staring at a young teenage boy who’d walked in with his family. Harper turned to look also. He was a fairly nondescript teen with dirty-blond hair and a sullen expression on his face, following his parents around and clearly unhappy. The only thing Harper noticed that was unusual was that the boy had a strange triangular bruise on his neck right under his chin and close to his right ear.

The parents approached the owner to ask a question, but the owner couldn’t help staring. Then she tore her gaze away and abruptly announced that the stall was closing.

Harper wanted to purchase the boat, but the woman waved her away, telling her to keep the boat. Then she shooed everyone out and pulled her curtain closed.

Harper couldn’t understand what had spooked the woman so badly. But her eyes were drawn once again to the sullen teenager as he slouched on a bench outside. The sun was shining brightly on his face, making the bruise vivid. It looked like a claw mark.

Something about the mark made Harper think of the monsters that the little ghost girl had been talking about. What did the mark mean? Was he in danger? She walked over to ask him.

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