Ghost Circles is the seventh book in the Bone series. It collects issues 38-43 of Jeff Smith's self-published Bone comic book series and marks the beginning of the third and final part of the saga, entitled Harvest. The book was published by Cartoon Books in black-and-white in 2001 and in color by Scholastic Press in 2008. Synopsis End Times At the besieged fortress of Old Man's Cave, the Headmaster of the Veni Yan summons Wendell, the village tinsmith, and explains that the current unrest is not the fault of the Bones. Thorn, he explains, may be sought by the Hooded One. The mountain erupts as the Lord of the Locusts stirs beneath it, and the armies massed outside the fortress begin their attack. The Lord of the Locust resurrects his servant Briar, and sends her to "seek out our missing powers and return them to us". The Bones, Thorn, and Gran'ma Ben flee the collapsing mountain, pursued by Kingdok. As they descend through the tunnel discovered in a previous volume, Fone warns everyone of possible hallucinations; and indeed, Fone and Phoney become costumed as Ishmael and Captain Ahab. Upon leaving the tunnel, they find the valley covered in ash and every tree flattened. The Promise Thorn leads the party across the valley, as the only one who can see and avoid the 'Ghost Circles': invisible pockets of unreality wherein nothing can live, and that separate the intact valley from the illusory wasteland. She and Fone brush the periphery of one, and are momentarily transported back into the forest as it stood before the devastation of the valley. Thorn explains that she can survive it, and even undo the spell, because she retains a piece torn from the Lord of the Locusts' soul. Darker Truths Thorn and Gran'ma Ben remain undecided whether to return to Old Man's Cave or press on to the old capital city of Atheia, but a troop of Rat Creatures blocks the route to Old Man's Cave. A scouting party of Rat Creatures discovers their camp and Thorn and Fone are separated from the others. As Ben fights off the Rat Creatures, her companions are rejoined by Bartleby (Smiley's tame Rat Creature cub). Thorn and Fone discover Briar leading the Rat Creatures to them. She reveals to Fone Bone that he too has a piece of the Lord of the Locusts' soul (a result of his and