Elatsoe

Jay and his Aunt Bell use a fairy ring to teleport to South Texas and meet with Ellie. Jay and Ellie tell Bell all about Trevor’s mysterious death and their suspicions about foul play. Bell agrees to see the accident site and try to pick up on any residual energy. They return to the same spot, but Bell says that she “[doesn’t] think the accident happened [t]here” because there is “no sudden change. No impact, no flash of pain. No violence” (195). Ellie doesn’t understand why Trevor would have strayed so far from his usual route “unless he and his car were towed or driven here by somebody else” (196).

They decide to drive Trevor’s normal route, and along the way, they come across an area where the plants are damaged and uprooted “as if they’d been crushed by a bison or a car” (199). Ellie records on her phone while they investigate the area and find “a trail of crushed bushes and weeds” and “a tall, broad tree with a foot-wide gash on its trunk” (199). Ellie also finds flecks of paint embedded in the tree, but suddenly, Aunt Bell is overwhelmed by feelings of intense pain. She says that “two people suffered here” (202), and she channels the memory of Trevor, saying, “Are you alright? Don’t move. Help is coming,” followed by cries of “No! Stop!” (203) and screams of pain.

Ellie shows the recording from the accident site to her mother and Lenore. Lenore admits that she didn’t bury Trevor’s phone with him and that it is “in the basement” in a box with “his teaching materials” (208). They look through Trevor’s call records from the night of his death, but there is no evidence that Trevor called for help. Later that night, Ellie goes digging through Trevor’s old teaching materials and finds projects from his old student Brett Allerton, the son of Abe. Ellie can see that “the kid idolize[s] his father” (216), and when he was asked to write about a United States hero, Brett wrote about his ancestor, Nathaniel Grace. Vivian interrupts her to point out that Lenore is nowhere to be found, and she worries that Lenore might “confront Dr. Allerton” (219) and accuse him of murdering Trevor. Ellie, her mom, and Baby Gregory drive to Abe’s house, which is surrounded by “figures milling between the trees, their faces obscured by dimness” (220).

One of the figures approaches their car, and Ellie recognizes him as a vampire with eyes that “[reflect] the van’s tailights like a pair of cat eyes” (222). Vivian tries to drive away, but the vampire attacks. Vivian declares that the vampire “[isn’t] welcome in [her] home!” (225). Because the land around them belongs to the Lipan Apache people, the man begins to die and is forced to fly away as a bat. Lenore finally calls Ellie and explains that she was visiting Trevor’s burial site, but she promises to be home soon. As Ellie and her mother return to Trevor’s house, Jay texts Ellie and explains that he “wants to crash Dr. Allerton’s party next week” (233) to celebrate the bicentennial of Willowbee. Vivian points out that the state of Texas isn’t even 200 years old, so it doesn’t seem possible that a place like Willowbee would be so old. Ellie wonders if “Trevor’s death [is] entwined with a greater, stranger mystery” (233).

Lenore returns home, and Ellie notices that “her hands [are] grimy” and “dirt [clings] to her long nails” (236). Lenore admits to digging around the burial ground, and she excuses herself to bed. Vivian assures Ellie that Lenore won’t wake Trevor up “no matter how hard she tries” (236). Still, Ellie worries that Lenore won’t give up and Trevor’s ghost might return. She tries to distract herself by poring over Brett’s school projects, including his report on Nathaniel Grace. Brett claims that Nathaniel “made friends with other Pilgrims by hurting the people who frightened them more than he did” (239). Nathaniel built a hospital and “saved many lives” (239), and his legacy grew. Ellie is confused, and the report includes a drawing of a leech. She realizes Nathaniel could “heal and hurt, much like Dr. Allerton” (240). That night, she dreams that Abe “open[s] his large mouth, and an avalanche of wriggling leeches [tumble] out” (241-42).

The next morning, Ellie texts Jay and asks if he can return to South Texas to help her investigate. He explains that he is wrapped up in family drama because Ronnie accepted Al’s marriage proposal. Jay promises to come the next day, and Ellie tells him all about the vampire attack from the night before. She decides to go to the nearby park with her trilobite fossil, and as she thinks about “how familiar the trilobite ghost [is]” and how it is so like “horseshoe crabs, lobster, roaches” and many other animals, something remarkable happens. The park is overrun with an army of trilobite ghosts, and Ellie thinks she has “woken up the whole ancient ocean” (248-49). Whales appear, and she realizes that she is “submerged in the sea of the dead,” surrounded by “every ocean since the beginning of time” (249).