After Ruby locked the car and made sure everything was in place, she glanced around one more time. Her eyes moved over the trees, the slope ahead, the low branches. She was being careful—checking for any signs of danger.
She had seen enough in world to know that silence didn’t always mean safety. The group slowly started walking toward the cliff area, following the trail Bran had told them about. The deeper they went, the cooler it became, and soon, everything around them was covered in a faint silver mist. Not too thick but enough to make the forest feel like a dream. Or a memory.
Ruby walked a little ahead, holding a stick in one hand and using it to tap the path gently. "Let me know if anyone sees anything strange," she said, her voice soft but steady. Julian nodded, sticking close to her as always, and the other three witches stayed close behind.
As they walked further in, the trees began to change.
Their trunks became darker, almost black in some places, with green moss crawling over their roots. They passed an old wooden signboard, so faded that only the first two letters could be seen. Nini looked at it and whispered, "Did this place used to have a name?"
Bran replied quietly, "Long time ago... this was a village path. Forgotten now. No one comes here."
And right after that, they saw something strange. A bird.
It was perched high on a branch, but it wasn’t like anything they had ever seen. Its feathers were pale purple, and it had three eyes. One in the center of its head that blinked slowly. The moment Ruby looked at it, the bird let out a low, screechy call—not loud, but high-pitched and then flapped its wings and flew deeper into the woods.
"Did that bird have three eyes?" Sora whispered.
"Don’t speak about them," Bran muttered. "They hear their names."
Everyone fell silent.
They kept walking, and soon, the ground turned more rocky. The air felt cooler here, but something about it made Ruby rub her arms. Even through her sleeves, she felt that strange energy in the air.
"Oh where—" Ruby started to say, trying to find the next turn.
"Shh!" Bran quickly hushed her, raising his hand and pointing ahead.
They followed his finger and saw it.
Between a group of rock stones, almost shaped like antelope horns or twisted spires, was something built into the ground. It looked like a hive but not like a beehive. It was wide, with a ribbed pattern, and pulsing very faintly like it was breathing.
"What is that?" Maira whispered.
"That’s one of their homes," Bran said slowly. "Yellow Bitters."
And just as he said it, they heard a soft rustling sound—from inside the rocks.
"Don’t make a sound," Old Bran whispered, his voice nearly trembling. "That side... over there near the flat stone—that’s where the Mistvine grows. We take only what we need... and we move quietly. Understand?"
Everyone nodded slowly. The air around them had changed. The mist was thicker now, curling around their ankles like fingers, and every breath they took felt a little heavier. Even the birds had gone silent. Not even the wind dared to move the leaves here.
Ruby looked ahead. On the other side of the strange stone formation, something glowed softly like faint veins of silver running across a vine. That had to be it. The Mistvine.
She crouched slightly and held Julian’s hand. His grip was tight. "Stay close," she whispered.
"I always do," he whispered back, but even his voice shook a little.
The group took slow steps forward, walking over the uneven path. A soft crunch of dried moss made Sora flinch. Maira nearly tripped on a root but caught herself. And Nini kept looking over her shoulder as if she expected something to be following them.
Old Bran took out a pouch from his robe and sprinkled a powder into the air. The powder glowed pale green for a second before fading. "Keeps scent hidden," he muttered. "Bitters smell everything."
They reached the edge of the Mistvine patch. The vines were beautiful—long, smooth, and shining with soft silver threads. Ruby slowly reached out her hand and touched one. It was cool. Slightly wet. It moved faintly under her fingers like it was alive but not aggressive.
She looked back and nodded at the others. Maira stepped forward to take another vine, and just as she did—
A sharp sound echoed from the rocks nearby.
Ruby turned her head slowly, her eyes scanning the shadows between the boulders.
A loud screech rang out, so close, so sharp, that Ruby’s heart slammed against her chest. A yellow insect the size of a small cat flew straight out from between the rocks, its wings buzzing so violently it made the ground vibrate. Its eyes glowed red, and it zipped toward Maira’s face.
"Get down!!" Julian shouted, grabbing Maira and pulling her to the side just in time as the insect flew past her cheek and slammed into a tree trunk, splattering yellow goo.
"Don’t run!" Bran shouted, grabbing Nini who had almost turned to bolt. "They chase movement!"
Ruby pulled Julian down behind a rock and held her breath. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest, and her ears rang from the screech.
For a moment, everything was chaos.
Only the sound of soft mist swirling.
Ruby slowly lifted her head. "Is everyone okay?"
Mira was breathing heavily. "I’m okay."
"Don’t touch anything else," Bran said in a hard whisper. "We take the vines and leave. Now."
Old Bran gave everyone a small knife from his bag.
Then Bran quickly reached for the nearest Mistvine, his hands trembling only slightly as he used a small knife to cut the base clean.
Ruby copied his actions, moving slowly and quietly. The vines were heavier than they looked, their threads soft like silk but sticky to the fingers. They rolled them into bundles as fast as they could without making noise, and Julian helped Maira fix hers into her side pouch.
—To be continued...🪄