Within moments, three of us were mounted on the horse spirit. Zhong sat in front of me, with her enormous backpack hanging down like a saddlebag. Spike suggested I take off my cloak in case a wind spirit tried to grab it and rip me off her back. I was happy to oblige. Miv had to ride squished between us so he would be secure once we started moving.

My stomach flipped whenever Spike shifted beneath us. At least Zhong seemed to know what she was doing. She told me to hold on tight, so I did, flattening Miv against her spine. He clawed at my ribs to ease up, but it was a good thing I didn’t. Spike took off a second later. It was only my death grip on Zhong’s waist that kept me from tumbling right off the saddle.

Fun fact #5 about me: I love roller coasters. After my dad left, my mom would take Matt and me down to Six Flags Great America in Gurnee every summer. We’d go on rides and eat greasy burgers and deep-fried desserts until we were sick. Not literally…though I did throw up once because I’d eaten a whole funnel cake by myself right before a really twisty roller coaster. Still, those were some of my best memories. Not the throwing-up part. The part where my mom gave us her full attention for an entire day.

We didn’t get to go last year, because she’d had to work overtime at the factory, and she was busy every weekend with shaman-related jobs. She hadn’t mentioned it this year, either, and we were already a month into summer. I hadn’t wanted to ask, because at least then I could keep hoping that maybe she’d surprise us.

Anyway, riding Spike was like being on a roller coaster if the ride had just finished five energy drinks. The horse was literally flying without wings. She rode on currents, helped along by wind spirits. She soared so fast over the valley and trees that I was glad I hadn’t eaten much that morning. Wind spirits laughed in our faces as my hair whipped my eyes and stung my cheeks.

We passed whole villages in a flash. Far to the right, beyond a mountain thick with mist and trees, I spied a shining fortress. Its towers shifted in and out of focus like a mirage. That had to be the palace of the Spirit Emperor, ruler of the Spirit Realm. When the mountain moved and blocked my view, I realized it was an enormous turtle spirit, an entire forest sprouting from the shell.

Against the distant horizon, the hazy shapes of monstrous spirits stood as massive as thunderheads. I pointed and shouted, “What are those?”

When Zhong looked, her entire back went rigid against me. Then she quickly faced forward again. “Those are the lost peaks. It’s all fog and barren mountains over there. Something about that place draws lost souls, so when a living mortal loses their soul, that’s usually where they end up, and shamans have to go retrieve them.”

My mom said that our souls could be frightened out of our bodies, like from a serious accident or even from just a bad prank. If someone’s soul can’t find its way back to their body, then the person falls sick, and a shaman has to be called. I shuddered at the thought.

“The spiritfolk who live there are…particularly wild,” Zhong continued. “Before we ran into her in the tunnels, I figured that was where we were going to find the bridge spirit.”

The tunnels were no walk in the park, but I was grateful we wouldn’t have to go searching through stark mountainsides inhabited by ginormous spirits.

We traveled for a few more hours before Spike began to descend. We hadn’t reached the Tree of Souls yet, but she needed to rest. The stop was understandable, even though my heart did that anxious aching thing whenever I thought about my brother waiting to be rescued.

We landed smoothly in a small clearing. After climbing down from the horse’s back, my legs felt like jelly. Miv wasn’t in much better shape. His fur stood on end, and he seemed to be permanently attached to my dress.

Zhong removed her backpack so Spike could be free to graze and rest. She offered me a rice stick, but I shook my head. I was still trying to convince my stomach to climb back down my throat.

“That was wild,” I said, steadying myself against a tree. “But really cool. And you get to do it every time you come to the Spirit Realm?”

“Not every time,” Zhong said nonchalantly, but I could tell she was pleased by my admiration.

Past the trees that enclosed our small clearing, we were surrounded by forested peaks. The thatched roofs of huts peeked out from beneath leafy canopies on distant mountainsides, and glimmering waterfalls churned mist that clung to the branches.

“You know, you keep surprising me with how well you’re handling everything.” Zhong settled down at the base of a tree to munch on dry ramen. She was wearing her freshly washed jean jacket, and her pins flashed in the sunlight. “I wouldn’t have said this when I first met you, but you’d make a decent shaman warrior.”

“Really?” I paced, trying to work some feeling back into my legs. Miv had finally released me and was currently sprawled in the grass, hugging the ground. “Because I’m Shee Yee?”

She snorted. “No. If you were Shee Yee—the fully trained version—this adventure would be over already. But you did get that donkey to let me call Spike. And not many apprentices could face down a demon eagle and live.”

I couldn’t tell if she was insulting me or complimenting me. Maybe both.

Still—and I wouldn’t have said this either when I first met Zhong—she could be surprisingly nice. But only when she wanted to be. She hid that part of herself behind a tough-shaman-warrior act. When I pretended, unless I was playing with Matt and Miv, it stayed in my head. When Zhong pretended, she made it convincing enough to seem real.

“I don’t remember if I’ve said this yet, but…thank you.” It felt awkward to thank Zhong for something she would have done anyway, but it still needed to be said. “I know you’re only here because you have a mission to complete, but I’m really glad for your help.”

“I wish I hadn’t been chosen,” she said. Before I could feel hurt, she added, “This is a really dangerous quest, and your brother’s life is on the line. Not to mention all the other kids the bridge spirit stole, too. A shaman master should have been sent to look into this.”

She had a point. We were just two kids and a spirit cat. It was a miracle we’d made it this far.

“I think we’re doing all right.” It was better to be optimistic than to wish for the help of shaman masters. That wasn’t going to get us any closer to rescuing Matt, and I already felt scared enough that we wouldn’t succeed.

Zhong pursed her lips. “We are, but there’ve been a lot of lucky close calls.”

“You call it luck. I call it using my head.” So far, we’d bribed, bargained, and threatened our way out of some pretty tough situations. I could feel proud of that, right? Really, all we had to do was figure out what a person or spirit wanted and go from there. Everyone had a motive.

“You won’t always be able to use your head.”

“That reminds me,” I said, gesturing to my sword. “We can’t go anywhere until Spike is ready, so can you teach me some shaman stuff?”

Nodding, she set down the packet of ramen and rose to her feet. Excitedly, I drew the sword from the scabbard, bouncing on my heels as I moved to stand where she indicated.

Now that I could sense my spiritual energy, she showed me how to focus it into my sword. After several attempts, I finally got the blade to flicker weakly.

“Good,” Zhong said.

Then it exploded into a light so bright that Zhong cried out in alarm. I dropped the sword, shaking out my hand.

“Okay, you need to work on that,” Zhong said, still shielding her eyes. “You’re going to hurt yourself and others if you can’t control it.”

“Sorry,” I said, embarrassed.

“Here, I’ll show you some fighting moves. No using spiritual energy, okay?”

She taught me some basics first, like how to plant my feet so I wouldn’t get knocked over as easily, and how to hold my sword so I wouldn’t accidentally stab myself. Then she demonstrated the motions for slashing and stabbing and how to block.

“Want to try dueling?” she asked.

Honestly? Not really. I was tired just from swinging the sword around a few dozen times. She hadn’t let me stop until I got the motions right. I wouldn’t have guessed it, but Zhong was a pretty good teacher.

Still, I didn’t think she’d let me say no, so I nodded.

She disarmed me with one move.

“Ow,” I said, cradling my wrist.

“Try it again.” She grinned. She was enjoying this!

She knocked the sword out of my hand five more times, although I felt a tiny spark of pride when it took her two moves instead of one.

“This is pointless,” I said. “I’m pathetic.”

“I was thinking about being your cheerleader, but this is too sad even for me,” Miv remarked from his place in the grass.

Scowling, I bent over to pick my sword back up. Then I lowered my center of gravity like Zhong had shown me and raised the blade. Come on, Pahua. No pretending. Just do it.

I took a slow breath and felt a rush of satisfaction when I immediately sensed the spiritual energy flowing through me. It surged outward from my chest, a current invigorating my limbs.

When Zhong next attacked, my arms moved reflexively. I blocked her thrust, twisted my wrist, and forced her to drop her weapon.

She gaped at the point of my blade now directed at her chest. Beaming, I backed off and stabbed my sword into the sky. I’d done it! I’d controlled Shee Yee’s abilities!

Zhong didn’t smile back, though. Instead, she retrieved her sword and shoved it into the scabbard.

“If you want to learn how to fight, then take it seriously,” she snapped. “You tricked me just so you could show off.”

I sheathed my sword. “I wasn’t showing off—I was trying to fight back. Isn’t that the whole point?”

“You asked me to teach you, not be your sword-fighting dummy.” She turned on her heel and stalked off in the direction Spike had gone.

I threw up my hands, cast Miv a Can you believe this? look, and went after her.

“Why are you so mad?” I called to Zhong’s back. “Isn’t it a good thing I can use Shee Yee’s skills?”

Zhong whirled around so fast that I almost walked into her. “You. Are. Impossible!”

“And you’re not making any sense!”

She covered her face like she was trying to calm herself down.

I thought again about that moment on the boat when she’d seemed jealous and wondered if I’d been right after all. Why did she think it was so terrible to lose a fake duel to me? She didn’t need to be the best at everything or have all the answers or always be prepared. I mean, it wasn’t bad to be those things, especially when we were being attacked by demons, but this was just practice swordplay. Why was she acting like I’d kicked her cat?

We’d been getting along so well since we got out of the Bamboo Nursery. I didn’t want to ruin it. So I stayed quiet instead of telling her she was acting like a brat.

“I’m sorry, okay?” she said stiffly. “It’s not about you, and I don’t want to talk about it.” She slumped against a tree.

I shrugged. “Fine.” I stepped over a rock and sat next to her so that our shoulders bumped. My hair clip was sagging over my ear. I pulled it off, examined it, and groaned.

“What is it?” Zhong asked, glancing over.

“Nothing. Just lost another rhinestone.” I sighed and fixed the clip at my temple.

“Why doesn’t your mom buy you a new one?”

“She’s not really around much.”

Zhong frowned. “Oh. Sorry. I forgot that you said she works a lot.” She bit her lip. I remembered how she’d said she didn’t see her parents much, either. “So, you watch your brother? Are you guys close?” There was a hint of wistfulness in her voice.

“Yeah, he’s great. We get along really well.” If I had to talk about personal stuff, then it was only fair that she did, too. “What year is your sister in? You said she goes to your school?”

Her lips tightened. She looked away. “Three years ahead of me.”

“Is she a good shaman warrior?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Because you’re a good shaman warrior. Your sister must be pretty good, too, right?”

She was quiet for several long seconds. Just when I figured she was ignoring the question, she finally sighed. It was a weary sound, like she was tired of always having to act tough. “Not just pretty good—she’s a prodigy. The elders don’t allow for early graduation, but she’s basically a shaman warrior already. Her mentor sends her out on solo jobs all the time, and my parents think she’s the best thing ever.”

I could understand how it would be hard to live up to that. “Is that why you’re mad I beat you just now?”

She huffed. “You’re really nosy, you know that?”

I looked down, my shoulders hunched. Normally, I was really good at minding my own business. It was easy when you didn’t have any friends. But I considered Zhong a friend now, so wasn’t I supposed to care about her? Clearly something was upsetting her besides just losing to me in a duel.

“Remember when I said my family has really strong spiritual energy?” Zhong said, surprising me. She turned her back, like pretending I wasn’t there made it easier for her to talk. “My dad is a shaman warrior, and so are his sister and their parents. My family expects nothing but the best from me. There’s a lot of family honor riding on me being able to finish this quest.”

I frowned in confusion. “But you’ve been amazing! You defeated the poj ntxoog, and you knew how to get us to the Spirit Realm, and you saved me from drowning in the frog pond. And you ride a spirit horse!”

Even though I was praising her, every word made her cringe. “I have some physical skill, and knowing how to travel between realms is basic information any shaman warrior would have. I told you—fighting is what I’m good at. The other stuff doesn’t come as naturally to me. I should be several levels into learning shaman magic without spiritual tools, but I’m not. I couldn’t even make a spiritual shield, which my sister mastered in her first year.”

“You said most shaman warriors can’t use magic without spiritual tools.”

“But I’m not supposed to be like most shaman warriors. I’m supposed to be like my sister. And then I meet you, the literal reincarnation of the greatest shaman who’s ever existed, and you just instantly know how to be better than me without even trying, when I’ve been working at this for three years. Most of the situations we’ve gotten into, you’ve been the one who got us out.” She made an exasperated groan and covered her face again. “You don’t even seem to realize the advantage you’ve got.”

This explained a lot about Zhong. She pretended she was better than everyone else because she came from a family of powerful shaman warriors. But she felt like she wasn’t good enough for them, so she had to pretend even harder to fit the part.

“It sucks to have that kind of pressure on you,” I said. “But I’m not sorry for having whatever powers I got from Shee Yee if they’ll help me save my brother. Also, you might not care what I say, but even if you can’t do magic, I still think you’re really cool.”

It was impressive how she could both look over her shoulder and down her nose at me at the same time. “I never said I didn’t care what you say.”

Her words made me feel less anxious, so I continued. “Trust me, I know what it’s like to feel not good enough. Or just not…enough, period. When my mom moved us to Merdel, none of the kids in my class had even heard of Hmong people before, which wouldn’t have been bad, except they never let me forget that I was different. And before that, when my dad left, it felt like…” I touched the hair clip.

“Like what?” Zhong asked. She finally turned to face me.

It was only because she’d asked gently, without any judgment in her voice, that I was able to answer. I’d never said it out loud before, not even to Miv. “Like even my own dad didn’t want me the way I was.”

Dad had always encouraged me to imagine myself as someone exciting and heroic. He’d often played along. After he left, I couldn’t help wondering if maybe it was because being myself hadn’t been enough for him.

“He sounds terrible.” Zhong said it so flatly and confidently that I almost laughed.

“I guess. But then why can’t I stop being sad about it?”

She rested her head against the tree. “You don’t look sad.”

“It’s all on the inside. I don’t want Matt or my mom to notice. Mostly, I can just ignore it, and it’s like it’s not even there. Other times…”

“Yeah,” she said softly. “I get it. I don’t like letting my parents see how mad I get at them, either.”

“So you don’t think I’m, you know, stupid for feeling this way?”

“I think you’re stupid for a lot of reasons, Pahua, but not for that.”

I glared at her, but she only laughed. It was a nice change from her scowling. Against my will, my mouth started to smile, too. “I still think you’re pretty cool, but you’re also stuck-up and a know-it-all, so I guess we’re even.”

She laughed again. But it also looked like she wanted to tackle me, so it was a good thing Spike chose that moment to come back.

We retrieved her backpack and Miv, and then we were off. We flew higher and higher into the mountains. Before long, Zhong nudged me with her elbow and then pointed ahead.

I peered over her shoulder. If my stomach hadn’t already been doing somersaults against my spleen, it would have flipped.

We were headed directly for the crest of one particular mountain. At its peak stood the biggest banyan tree I’d ever seen in my life. Its branches twisted into the clouds, and instead of leaves, it bore thousands upon thousands of white strips of cloth. It was the tree from my dream.

The Tree of Souls.