What would you do if you possessed babaylan magic? Would you guard the boundaries between the human world and the realm of spirits like you’re supposed to? Or would you use your vast, mystical powers to serve your own personal gain?

These are the questions eleven-year-old Corazon Lopez would be asking herself if not for three small details:

1. She still has to wait until after her birthday to officially begin her babaylan training.

2. Her powers have yet to even reveal themselves.

3. She already knows exactly what she’s going to do with her powers, and nothing is going to stand in her way.

But perhaps we should back up a bit . . .

Every Little Thing She Does Isn’t Magic

Babaylan magic is varied and unpredictable. Some babaylans can control weather patterns. Others can brew potions that will lure a soul back into a dying body. Others can sift through dreams to find glimmers of the future.

So what exactly is Corazon’s unique gift? At this stage, we have no idea. But if she concentrates really hard, she can kind of levitate a spoon with her mind. Before she starts feeling too dizzy, that is.

But we’re not too concerned about Corazon’s future. After all, she comes from a family of incredibly powerful babaylans. Her late mother, Althea, possessed the ability to brew and bottle a year’s worth of beauty tonic by the age ten. And Corazon’s Aunt Tina is even more devastatingly powerful. Ever seen a woman shush a thunderstorm and make it stop? Or transform sparkles of light into diamonds?

You know, just in case you didn’t feel bad enough about not living up to your family’s accomplishments.

House Haunters

Although Corazon isn’t quite able to manifest her power just yet, she can at least enjoy all the magical creature comforts found within Aunt Tina’s ever-changing house. On a whim, the house will change color, sprout new windows and balconies, and change its décor to match the mood of whatever movie is playing in the living room. It even tucks Corazon into bed each night and makes sure that she always has a sweater on when it’s cold outside.

And if that’s not enough companionship, Corazon can always rely on her anito, Saso. This little guy may look like a goofy lizard, but each companion anito is actually a spirit of the mountains, rivers, streams, and trees.

And sure, Saso is a bit of a shrimp (the more powerful the babaylan, the more powerful and impressive their companion anito), but his big mouth, overactive imagination, and uh, relentless enthusiasm for carnage and mayhem make up for his diminutive stature. Or at least that’s what helps him sleep at night.

Low-Key Hangout

As much as Corazon enjoys spending time with her bloodthirsty anito, intimidatingly powerful aunt, and their sentient house, none of them can fill the hole in her heart left by the loss of her parents.

Luckily, thanks to the power of Corazon’s soul key, her dear departed mom and dad can still come to the house for dinner every Saturday night. Or at least their spirits can.

Rest assured that once Corazon finally becomes a full-fledged babaylan, she’ll use her gifts to bring Mama Althea and Papa Emilio fully back to life. Just don’t tell anyone. It’s supposed to be a big secret.

You see, that aforementioned soul key is imbued with very strong magic. If it were ever to fall into the wrong hands, the entire balance between our mortal world and the spirit realm would be completely thrown off. All the vengeful, restless ghosts, ghouls, and monsters who reside in the spirit realm would start arriving in our world way before Halloween season. And we get the feeling they’d want to do more than go trick-or-treating.

Soooo, don’t freak out, but you haven’t seen that key lying around the house recently, have you?

No? That’s okay. We’re sure it will turn up eventually, right?

. . . Right?

Want to see more of Corazon and unlock the mysteries of the spirit realm for yourself? Be sure to pre-order your copy of The Spirit Glass today!