Chapter Ten: Ghost Village

Alina's POV:

“There’s really no one here,” Kaia said quietly, voicing out what I already knew, I glanced around the village—rows of empty houses, unlocked shops, lifeless windows, doors slightly ajar, making creaking sounds,Not a single soul in sight.

Valerian had mentioned something earlier, about how the witches planned to use the humans in this village as a sacrifice. We were too late. The thought hit me like a weight in my chest. Had they waited because of me? Was I the reason this village has become a ghost?

Wandering through the quiet streets, I found Valerian crouched near one of the stone houses at the edge of the village. I walked over to him.

“Do you see these drawings?” he said, pointing at a faint line etched into the ground.

I tried to ignore how his scent wrapped around me, how just being close made my head swim and my heartbeat stutter.

“There are markings going around the entire village.”

“Witches,” I murmured. “We were too late.”

He didn’t say anything, just gave a small nod before his eyes narrowed in a specific direction.

“Wait here,” he said sharply, already moving before I could respond.

I looked around for Refeal and the others. We had split up when we arrived to cover more ground. The silence of the village pressed in making me more nervous

“Hey! You, stop right there!” a voice called.

I turned quickly to see a man in a uniform approaching. Within seconds, Refeal and the other four had gathered around me, which made me wonder where they had been a second ago, that I couldn't spot them earlier. The man came to a halt in front of us.

“Are you part of this village?” he asked. His voice was tight with desperation. He looked exhausted, heavy bags under his eyes, like he hadn’t slept in days.

“No,” Refeal replied calmly. “We’re just visitors passing through”

The man’s posture slackened with disappointment and he released a defeated sigh. “This area’s been closed off. No one’s supposed to be here. When I saw the movement, I thought maybe... you were one of the villagers.”

“What happened here?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

“We’re not sure. Three days ago, all communication with this village was cut off. When our team arrived, it was... empty. Every person is gone. No signs of struggle, no blood, no broken doors or windows. so it can't be kidnapped, and their belongings are still here. It wasn’t a migration.”

“It’s like they just... disappeared,” I said quietly, finishing his sentence for him.

He nodded solemnly. “My district’s handling the case, but we’ve hit a dead end. I was hoping someone might return, someone who could tell us something. Guess not.” He sighed. “I’ll probably file this as a cold case. Just another strange mystery in this world.”

“Do you mind if we look around a bit longer?” I asked, since the area was closed off, it would be better to get permission

He nodded. “Go ahead. Just be careful. A place where an entire village vanished without a trace… it’s not somewhere I’d want to linger. Gives me the chills,” he muttered, waving goodbye as he walked off.

“Well, that was helpful,” one of the guys said sarcastically, he was the red-haired one.

“The ritual was supposed to happen today, at midnight,” another murmured. “Why did they move it three days earlier?”

“The witches are one step ahead of us,” Refeal said grimly.

I drifted away from their conversation, exhaling softly. At least they weren’t late because of me. That fear of being the reason this village was mascara had been gnawing at me the whole time.

A harsh dragging sound echoed through the silence, drawing all our attention. It came from the same direction Valerian had gone.

He emerged from the shadows, dragging some man by the hair. The limp body scraped against the ground, arms dangling, head lolling.

What the hell...

Valerian threw the unconscious body at Refeal’s feet. A young man. My eyes widened, A witch

Without a word, we headed back. The others piled into the car they came in, dragging the witch’s body with them. I followed Valerian into our car.

“Are we leaving this country?” I asked as he started the engine.

“No. We’re heading to another city. We’ll stay there and see what we can get out of that witch.”

I nodded, turning to the window as the village faded into the distance.

The car rolled into the new city, and I sat up a little straighter, looking out the window. It was nothing like the empty village we’d left behind.

People were everywhere, walking down the sidewalks, talking, laughing. The streets were full of cars, and shops lined both sides, their windows glowing with light. I saw a bakery with people standing in line, and the smell of something sweet drifted in through a crack in the window, making me salivate, I loved food, I love eating but I hate making it, it always leads to a disaster

Bright signs flickered above some of the stores, and I caught a glimpse of kids running past, holding ice cream. There was music

and for a moment, I forgot about the silence of the village.

It was loud here. Busy. Full of life.

I couldn’t help it—I smiled. This was the kind of place I had pictured when I thought about seeing the world. It felt new. It felt real.

It was loud, messy, alive.

And for the first time, I realized just how eerie that silence back in the village had truly been.

How scary it was, knowing something as beautiful as this could vanish in a second.

He kept driving until we reached a quieter part of the city. The noise faded, and the streets weren’t as busy anymore

“We’ll be staying here,” Valerian said, pulling the car to a halt in front of a two-story house