Fourteen-year-old Cassie suspects the upcoming summer and school year to be the same as all those before. To add some flair into what she expects to be another mundane couple of months, she and her friends replicate a video spreading across the internet. Their attempted reenactment goes awry when the Oath Keeper, a malicious entity who seeks her as a vessel to restore his dying soul, abducts Cassie. After the Oath Keeper places a seven-pointed star atop her wrist, Cassie is temporarily released.
With no one believing her claims and fearful the Oath Keeper is corrupting her mind, Cassie’s school year devolves into one of paranoia, fear, and loneliness. Unable to avoid the Oath Keeper’s manipulative sway for long, Cassie must find a way to kill him or drive him away. Failure to escape will result in her becoming a passenger in her own body, snatched away from friends and family forever.
Fourteen-year-old Cassie suspects the upcoming summer and school year to be the same as all those before. To add some flair into what she expects to be another mundane couple of months, she and her friends replicate a video spreading across the internet. Their attempted reenactment goes awry when the Oath Keeper, a malicious entity who seeks her as a vessel to restore his dying soul, abducts Cassie. After the Oath Keeper places a seven-pointed star atop her wrist, Cassie is temporarily released.
With no one believing her claims and fearful the Oath Keeper is corrupting her mind, Cassie’s school year devolves into one of paranoia, fear, and loneliness. Unable to avoid the Oath Keeper’s manipulative sway for long, Cassie must find a way to kill him or drive him away. Failure to escape will result in her becoming a passenger in her own body, snatched away from friends and family forever.
Cassie groaned the moment she plopped down at the overcrowded lunch table, dreading the encroaching start of summer vacation. Most of her friends wouldn’t be attending summer camp this year, true, but Cassie feared she’d once more be alone. Be it dancing, soccer, amusement parks, or exploring another country, each of her friends had something enjoyable going on. Instead of fun, Cassie would have the same old crappy summer routine.
“Who are you texting, Kelsey?” Erin asked, her normal meek voice excited as she peered at the other girl’s phone. “Is it your girlfriend? Are you going to visit her this summer?” Kelsey’s cheeks flushed. “Aww, it is, isn’t it?”
While the rest of the table began silly chants of, “Kelsey has a girlfriend,” Cassie kept her silence. Across from her, Rachelle caught her eyes. Cassie nodded, though she imagined Rachelle’s annoyance came from a more personal reason than her own. Of Cassie’s core group of friends, Rachelle sat less often at their table.
Her irritation died down when Kelsey said, “Yes, I am. Please, Erin, could you be a little quieter about it?”
Erin wiggled about. “Oh, sorry. So, what does she want? Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” Kelsey said. “No more drama, hopefully.”
Kelsey shot Rachelle a perplexed grimace, and the two shared rolled eyes. “Yeah, but the video she sent was interesting,” Rachelle said. “Anyway, Cassie, are you still worried about this summer?”
“You mean it being the same as every other year? Yeah.”
“She wouldn’t talk about anything else the entire bus ride here,” Erin said.
“What else am I supposed to do? Listen to the bus driver and high schoolers be stupid the whole time?” While not too terrible, Cassie loathed the times she rode the bus alone. Not all the high schoolers annoyed her, but a select few made the ride miserable.
“If it makes you feel better, I can have a pool party at my house,” Kelsey said. “My parents won’t mind.”
“I guess we could. Might give me something to do over summer outside of practicing for track.” Rachelle shot Erin and Cassie a mischievous grin.
Cassie nodded. Deep down, however, she feared the scant amount of time they’d have together would devolve into a few weeks of video games and yammering on about whatever topic they could dredge up from their minds. Oh, Cassie loved spending time with her friends and seeing them, but she dreaded the moment things slowed down. At least homework kept her occupied during the school year.
Cassie finished her lunch in peace. Beside her, a few of the others at the table engaged in back-and-forth banter. Rachelle slipped Erin some of her food when the smaller girl left the table and meandered toward the bathroom. On her return, Kelsey said Erin should join the eighth-grade soccer team. Erin hunched up into her chair.
“I don’t know,” Erin said. “I’m sure it will be fun and all, but well, maybe.” Her voice tapered off, and she took a bite of her sandwich.
“Come on, Erin. We all know you’d do great. You play soccer all the time after school,” Kelsey said. “You’re one of the best players out there.” Rachelle backed her words up with a smile.
“That’s different.”
“How?”
Erin mumbled her response, saved by the bell signaling they had five minutes left until fourth period. With a squeaked defense saying she left her science book in her locker, Erin scampered off before the others had time to leave the table.
School ended with the typical tests expected on the last day of the school year. When finished with her science test, Cassie followed the trail of excited students out of the room toward the exit. One final ride on the bus for the school year. Erin’s parents often drove her, Erin, and Kelsey home, but Erin had a doctor’s appointment, forcing the other two girls to take their prospective buses home. Great.
“Hey, Cassie.” She turned at the shout to see Rachelle jogging toward her, already outfitted in her track uniform. She had tied her red hair back into a braid. “You said you’re worried about this summer, right?”
No point in lying. “Yeah.”
“Well, good, because I know what will cheer you up. You enjoy thrills, right? Watch a video online called the Rite of the Oath Keeper. I saw it a couple of days ago with a few friends from South Bend. You’ll love it. It’s as creepy and bizarre as everyone says.”
Another bell rang, signaling the buses would leave in a couple of minutes. While unsure if she’d follow through in watching the video, there was no point in saying no. After all, Cassie needed some entertainment over the summer, even if from a video she never heard of.
“I’ll look at it. Thanks, Rachelle.”
“No problem. And I hope to see you, Kelsey, and Erin over the summer.” She gave Cassie a parting wave and ran off to greet a few members of the track team. Cassie trailed after her, but turned down the sidewalk leading to the buses.
She wandered her way toward an empty seat, ignoring the bus driver’s grumbles every time a student climbed onboard. Roger and Hunter gave her their typical wolf whistles, to which Bryce snapped at his two idiot friends to shut up. Cassie folded her arms and glared out the window, watching the middle school until the bus pulled away.
Minutes trickled by. Students rose, left, and after being grumbled about by the bus driver, the bus started off once more with a loud roar. Cassie kept her glazed-over eyes on the window, trying to force herself to take a nap. She need not worry about missing her stop. Her bus driver would fume, scream, and warn her not to fall asleep next time. Then he’d wish her to have a pleasant summer as she clambered down the stairs. No one bothered her, at least. When Erin wasn’t here, an eighth-grade boy with a crush on her, or a few girls Cassie only interacted with on the bus, would sit by her. None were here today.
The bus pulled to a stop. Cassie almost drifted off into a long and peaceful nap when one of the obnoxious high schoolers, Roger, shouted in his over the top, nasally voice, “See you next year, beautiful.”
Hunter chuckled. “Next year we’ll pay back your dumbass brother.” Beside him, Roger sported the outline of a blackeye.
“Shut up, Hunter,” Roger said. He grabbed Cassie’s arm. She yelped, and he let go. “Just remember, we always pay back an insult.”
Cassie whimpered and hid behind her backpack. She expected Hunter to respond when Bryce said, “Seriously, you two? You damn well deserved it, Roger.” He shot Cassie an apologetic glare. “They’ll forget about it next year. Roger, Hunter, come on.”
Roger’s mouth opened into what Cassie expected would be some cruel remark. “Hey, you three, hurry up. None of us want to stay here forever.” At the bus driver’s snap, the three high school boys sauntered off the bus. The engines roared to life, and Cassie allowed herself to accept the relief creeping up within her.
Summer meant she wouldn’t see those three again. Thank God. Alone, Bryce wasn’t terrible, but ever since Ryan beat up Roger, a day didn’t pass when one of them didn’t make some mean remark to her. They wouldn’t bother her now — three months of peace. If Erin came with her, they’d leave the two girls alone. They might stare at her, yes, but not bother her. No one on the bus aside from the bus driver paid Erin much mind. Lucky for her. Perhaps she should talk to her brother. No, Ryan had his own problems to contend with. She’d be fine. Come next year, those three would ignore her as they had the last several years of her life.
Near a half-hour dragged on by. With each student who left the bus, a deep emptiness fell over her. Not a sad emptiness, but one reminding her of how summer would crawl by, and she’d go back to the same miserable routine as always. She leaned against her arm, pressing it up against the window.
The Oath Keeper’s Rite — well, from how Rachelle sounded, the video must have some manner of notoriety. Cassie pulled out her phone to look it up. Her bus driver would complain if she watched a video on the bus, so instead, she read the comments and searched for as much information on the video as possible.
The video creeped out many of the commenters. Others claimed the video frightened or startled them late at night, but said it was over-hyped. A few, as Cassie expected, called the video lame, and said the creators were idiots. Cassie couldn’t help but give a small giggle. While she hated internet trolls, she always found humor in the more immature and outlandish comments. Most of the comments implied the movie to be scary, or at least thrilling. Hmm, Rachelle might have a point. Cassie sent a text to Rachelle, thanking her for introducing her to the video.
The rest of the information she gathered wasn’t much. A boy from South Bend said to have come across the video from a friend down south. Other posts claimed the video to be created by college students as an art project. Some comments decided the video appeared from nowhere. One person insisted a demon contacted them during the night and uploaded the video onto their phone.
While multiple copies of the video existed, Cassie found the oldest one dated to three months ago. Whoever uploaded the video claimed they had no part in the production. The user’s profile specified nothing, but Cassie suspected the boy from South Bend owned the profile. For all she knew, he may also be a college student. Either way, maybe she could duplicate it and create similar videos. A new hobby would help to spruce up her summer.
Lost in thought as she scrutinized each bit of information she came upon, she almost missed the bus driver shouting, “Hey, you, get off my bus.”
Cassie’s head shot up, and she slipped her phone into her pocket with a sheepish smile. With her backpack flung over her shoulders, she hurried off the bus and gave a brief thank you when the bus driver wished her to have a great summer. A strange contrast, yes, but Cassie enjoyed saying thank you and watching the bus vanish into the distance. One day, come graduation or in two years when she turned sixteen, she’d never ride the horrible thing again. No more having to depend on her parents or older brother to transport her around the city. Such a day couldn’t come soon enough.
Inside her house, Cassie tossed her backpack beside the door and pulled out her phone. Several more minutes of exploring the internet for information later, she cleared her search history and started a text conversation with Erin and Kelsey.
The two would see their families over the first week or so of summer break, leaving her alone. At least her friends would enjoy themselves, and the three could chat about Erin and Kelsey’s adventures over a delicious ice cream cone.
She sent the text message explaining the video Rachelle had mentioned. Kelsey responded right away, agreeing to watch the video when she returned from her grandparents’ house. Erin’s tentative reply came a few minutes later. She’d watch it with them, but Erin pleaded not to do so at night, as Cassie had originally planned.
After their confirmations, Cassie plopped into her dad’s armchair and listened to videos about paranormal activities.
The Oath Keeper’s Servant is a horror novel, but it also passes as a young adult novel due to the age of its main character, Cassie, who is fourteen years old. But don’t let the young adult label fool you, this novel is not for the faint of heart. Cassie’s story is one of terrifying intrigue, and despite the urge to turn away from her story, you will be unable to do so. Zach Kuhl keeps you in his unrelenting grasp with each line, and you will be changed upon finishing his novel – whether you determine that to be for the better or the worse. His words are that bewitching.
Aside from the classic struggles of growing up, Cassie is faced with a unique situation in which an entity called the Oath Keeper abducts her to save his dying soul. Soon Cassie discovers that she is faced with fear, paranoia, and loneliness as she tries to fight for the right to her own body. Throughout the novel, Cassie fears that the Oath Keeper will take over her body and she will end up being a simple passenger in her own vessel. Doing so will cause her to lose her friends and family, and her life will seemingly cease to exist.
Possession horror is often oversaturated with stories that follow the basic exorcism storyline. I have to admit that I am not often a fan of the subgenre because it is hard for me to find stories that surprise me and reignite the fear that I first experienced when reading the original novel, The Exorcist. However, The Oath Keeper’s Servant turned the possession subgenre of horror on its head by combining the horrors of puberty and growing up with possession. The novel also challenges how we see our bodies and how we take for granted our sovereignty. Kuhl’s story is complex and thought-provoking, which makes it a novel I plan to read over and over again. You are sure to catch new things with each read, and my understanding of the story will remain unfinished due to its complexity.
The Oath Keeper’s Servant is a unique, horrifying novel that has challenged my view of the horror genre as a whole. Horror fans will be surprised and pleased with this excellent addition to the possession subgenre, and I thoroughly recommend reading it multiple times in order to understand it the best. I want to thank the author for presenting me with such a challenging – and rewarding – horror novel. I am completely enthralled, and I will be recommending The Oath Keeper’s Servant as one of my top horror picks from here on out.