Aiden Thomas returns with Cemetery Boys: Espíritu, a sequel that expands Yadriel and Julian’s supernatural community — with Critical Role newcomer Vico Ortiz providing the audio narration for an exclusive chapter.
A new chapter for Yadriel and Julian
Thomas’ first novel, Cemetery Boys, became a New York Times bestseller after its September 2020 release. The queer coming-of-age urban fantasy follows identity, romance and the search for belonging through Yadriel, a young brujo determined to prove himself, and Julian, the ghost he accidentally summons while trying to free his murdered cousin.
The pair initially join forces to uncover the truth about Julian’s death. Their investigation gradually becomes something more personal, creating the emotional foundation for the sequel.
Julian’s unsettling new ability
Cemetery Boys: Espíritu begins soon after the original story. Julian can now see ominous dark marks on people, but neither Yadriel nor the East Los Angeles brujx community understands what they signify.
Clues arrive with Angel, a nonbinary brujx who can see the same marks. The new mystery sits alongside Julian’s continuing effort to understand his place among the living, the dead and the family that has made room for him.
Inside the narrated preview
The featured chapter takes place on December 19, as the East LA brujx community prepares for the Midnight Vigil and the Candle Dance of Eternal Light. Julian and Yadriel are cleaning graves, replacing candles and preparing the cemetery while decorations, papel picado, lights and incense are brought into place.
Julian treats the work with his usual humour, teasing Yadriel and joking about becoming a professional wax scraper. Yadriel is less satisfied with basic chores and argues that spirits should be receiving help rather than simply having their headstones cleaned. Enrique reminds him that everyone must learn the fundamentals and earn greater responsibilities over time.
The cemetery is full of personality. Spirits argue over a game of lotería, while Felipe, a ghost in a dusty bolero jacket, plays a battered vihuela and sings an intentionally poor version of “Te Boté”. Julian brings Felipe Flamin’ Hot Cheetos for his ofrenda, despite the ghost’s previous complaint that they burned his ghostly tongue.
Julian also looks for Claribel, who has been absent for a week, and notices the withdrawn teenage spirit Marisol. He invites her to join the lotería game and reassures her that being quiet can mean carrying something difficult, not lacking strength. His easy connection with the cemetery’s spirits makes clear how naturally he is beginning to belong.
That belonging still feels complicated. Julian is both a brujo and someone who has died, and the title continues to feel like an honour he is learning to accept. The community’s rules remain important: protect the brujx secret, keep a low profile and avoid drawing attention to the spirits visible in ordinary places.
After Lita orders Enrique to finish hanging the decorations, she offers Julian a lift home. Before leaving, Julian kisses Yadriel, asks him not to forget him and receives a flustered but affectionate promise that forgetting would be impossible.
Vico Ortiz narrates the chapter
The preview is presented with narration by Puerto Rican actor and drag king Vico Ortiz, a newcomer to Critical Role. Readers can follow the written extract, or choose the audio performance for a different way into Thomas’ urban fantasy world.
Cemetery Boys: Espíritu, written by Aiden Thomas and published by Macmillan, is available from September 8, 2026.
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