The moment Ruby and the officer’s car reached the hidden location Jo had described, the place was dead silent.
Ruby stepped out of her car, her robe catching slightly in the wind. She scanned the abandoned building tattered rope on the ground, scraps of cloth, scattered food containers, and clear signs of a rushed escape.
One of the officers bent down and picked up a broken binding with red threads.
"They were here," he muttered.
Ruby’s eyes darkened. Her jaw clenched.
"They ran away," she said under her breath, her voice like steel. Her heart hammered in her chest. They were this close.
She turned on her heel and rushed toward her car. Just as she opened the door, her sharp eyes spotted something—
Deep. Uneven. Not from a car but from a wagon.
Her gaze followed the tracks until they curved toward the dense twisted tree-lined slope outside the village path.
Suddenly, a voice came from the shadows. "They went that way."
A young ghost stood partially in the dark, good-looking, with silver-streaked hair and a knowing look in his eyes. But Ruby didn’t have time to study him.
She gave him one short nod.
Then without another word, she climbed into her car, engine roaring.
Behind her, the officer’s car followed then two, three more civil protection cars flying low, surrounding the sky road in formation.
The wagon up ahead wasn’t fast, not compared to a car.
Ruby’s hands gripped the steering wheel tighter. Her eyes never blinked.
Her heart felt like it was trying to climb out of her chest.
The black wagon up ahead, its wheels rattling fast on sky, veering slightly from side to side.
With a sharp inhale, Ruby sped up and cut in front of the wagon, tires screeching through the air as she forced it to slow.
"Land!" she shouted from her car.
The wagon driver panicked, the vehicle jerked and landed roughly on a forest clearing.
Ruby’s car stopped ahead.
Behind her, civil officer cars arrived one after another, surrounding the wagon from all sides.
Inside the wagon, Jiri trembled.
Her eyes darted around the windows, panic filling her throat.
She grabbed the emergency knife she kept hidden in her sleeve..silver and sharp. Then she reached forward and yanked Karl roughly by the arm.
Karl stumbled, still weak, still slightly dazed from day without food or sleep.
Jiri stepped out of the wagon, dragging him with her.
Her voice rang through the air as she pressed the knife to his throat.
"No one come closer!" she screamed. "Or I’ll slit his neck right here!"
The officers drew back, but their eyes stayed sharp, waiting for the right moment.
Two of Jiri’s assistants came out too, grabbing the other captured ghost, holding them tightly as backup hostages.
Ruby’s car door opened slowly.
And when Karl saw her, his dull eyes lit up with a flicker of life.
"Wife..." he whispered, weakly.
He could barely stand, but he smiled. His lips trembled.
Ruby stepped forward slowly, carefully, her eyes locked on him, her voice calm despite the fire burning inside her chest.
"Let him go," she said.
"You’ve already lost."
Jiri’s face twisted, her eyes wild, lips trembling with rage and desperation.
"No! You ruined everything!" she screamed, her voice cracking. "Do you think I’ll let him go just because you say so?! The moment I do, you’ll all pounce on me like beasts!"
She yanked Karl closer, her fingers digging into his arm, and the knife pressed harder against his neck. A thin line of blood appeared where the blade kissed his skin, and Karl winced, eyes shutting tight in pain.
"Don’t you dare hurt him!" Ruby roared.
"Let him go, and I swear, we’ll let you walk away." Her tone was steady, but her hands were clenched into fists, and her entire body trembled—not from fear, but from the barely contained storm inside her.
Jiri shook her head violently.
"Lies! That’s all witches do! Lie and betray!" she spat.
Civil officers moved slowly, trying to flank her without raising alarm.
"Please," one of them said. "If you let the ghost go, we can work something out. We’re not here to kill anyone."
"No! I said no!" Jiri snapped, the whites of her eyes wide and furious. "Clear a path first!"
She began walking, dragging Karl with her. Her two assistants followed closely, gripping the second ghost like rag doll. Ruby noticed the second hostage barely standing, breathing heavily, bruises all over.
Jiri gestured sharply to her wagon driver. The driver nodded and started wagon.
The wagon rolled forward, clearing space ahead.
Ruby’s chest heaved. Her mind was racing, but her expression grew colder, more still.
"Wife..." Karl sobbed, tears running down his cheeks. "Please save me. I don’t want to die..."
That voice. That fear. It shattered something inside her.
Jiri snapped, "Shut up!" and shoved Karl roughly toward the wagon.
And just then—Ruby stopped breathing.
For a second, it wasn’t the present she saw.
Ruby’s red eyes darkened as the childhood she’d tried so hard to forget flashed before her. Her hands clenched, nails biting into her palms.
The words were cold. Sharp. Final.
The sharpness in Ruby’s voice hit her like a dagger made of ice. For a moment, the fire of her madness flickered but didn’t go out. Instead, it twisted into something more desperate. More cornered. Her breath quickened.
If she let go of the ghosts, her life was over.
Stripped of everything.
Doing labor work in cold barracks without reward, reputation, or power.
Her eyes darted around the clearing, and she saw no escape. No weakness in Ruby’s stance. No hesitation in the officers’ formation.
And like any cornered beast—she struck harder.
With a furious hiss, she shoved the knife tighter against Karl’s neck.
"Don’t try to act smart with me!" she spat, her voice shaking with rage.
"Back off! I’ll kill this ghost! I swear I’ll do it!"
Karl whimpered softly, the blade biting just a little deeper. His knees were starting to buckle, not just from fear but from the pain and exhaustion pressing down on him like stones.
—To be continued...🪄