The road down the mountain was hopelessly clogged with traffic.
Carriages, lined up in a long queue, crawled forward under a grim, rainy sky.
At the head of the traffic jam, by a fork in the road, stood several figures in black raincoats. They were stopping the approaching carriages and speaking to the drivers. The left road was blocked off with barrier tape.
"Damn weather... When are those gentlen at city hall finally going to rember to fix this road?" the police officer muttered, watching a carriage turn onto the right-hand path. He pulled his hood lower and couldn't help but curse under his breath.
The next carriage was already approaching. John waved it down and, glancing at his partner, said, "They've got their hands full right now; everyone's busy. Less complaining."
The officer fell silent.
The carriage stopped. John and his partner approached it.
A plump hand adorned with a ruby ring pulled back the curtain. Inside sat a middle-aged woman in a lacy evening gown and a wide-brimd hat. She was grumbling, "Unbelievable! A traffic jam in the middle of nowhere! I thought this only happened by Agate Lake when we're hosting a reception at ho."
John ignored her boasting and called out loudly, "Ma'am! The road ahead is flooded!"
A look of alarm crossed the woman's powdered face. "You can't hold
up! I have urgent business in Endfast!"
John couldn't make out her words and, leaning closer, asked again, "What? Please speak up."
"I said, I need to get to Endfast!" the woman shouted, then added under her breath, "Damned brute."
John pointed to the right-hand road. "You can get through via Hidden Vale. The road is clear there."
"But that's a detour!"
"Nothing to be done about it, ma'am. The way ahead is impassable!"
"Blast it all... If my steward hadn't gone ho for the holidays, I would never..."
The woman kept talking, but John, having stepped away from the carriage, could no longer hear her. He waved the driver of the next carriage forward.
The curtain parted slightly, revealing a pair of black eyes. John froze for a mont, then addressed the mysterious man, "Sir! The road ahead is flooded!"
"How can it be flooded so close to the sea?"
"It's a low-lying area! The water isn't draining into the sea!"
The man in the carriage didn't argue. "I need to get to Khimfast," he said.
"You can go through Hidden Vale! Follow that carriage," John said, pointing to the previous vehicle, which had not yet vanished into the rain. "It's not far ahead."
"Thank you."
The reins, disappearing behind the curtain, twitched. The horses turned onto the right-hand road and slowly followed the carriage ahead. A few dozen seconds later, the carriage overtook it and picked up speed.
Handing the reins to Anna, Lu Li folded the map again and extinguished the lamp.
The carriage plunged into darkness.
Anna, pressing her lips together, asked, "Will we make it to Khimfast before dark?"
In the dim light, Lu Li looked up at the darkening sky and shook his head. "We wouldn't have made it before, and we certainly won't now."
They had left the detective agency around half-past one. It was already three o'clock, and in this weather, it would likely get dark before five.
The washed-out road slowed their progress, and with the shorter route flooded, they were forced to make a detour through Hidden Vale.
Dusk fell faster than Lu Li had expected. At four o'clock, with about ten miles still to go before the settlent, everything was plunged into twilight. It grew so dark inside the carriage that they had to light the lamp again.
In the other carriages, barely visible ahead and behind them, lights also began to glow, offering a glimr of hope in the gray rain.
Half an hour later, they entered Hidden Vale.
The town was small, with only a few thousand residents. On a clear day, you could see right through it from one end to the other.
Neither Lu Li nor Anna intended to linger. The carriage passed straight through the town and turned onto the road leading to Khimfast.
"I think your friends live here," Anna recalled.
"Yes."
Remi and Jimmy were in Hidden Vale now.
If they had truly appeared in this world.
After a mont's hesitation, Anna asked quietly, "Should we visit them?"
"We can stop by on the way back," Lu Li replied. "Besides, they'll co to Belfast themselves sooner or later."
"Alright!"
Anna nodded eagerly, her voice a little brighter.
Lu Li opened the map, looked at the distance between Hidden Vale and Khimfast, estimated their speed, and said, "We'll reach Khimfast around eleven tonight."
"I hope we make it in ti..." Anna whispered.
A few minutes after they left the town, a cold, rainy night settled around them. Lu Li finally stopped seeing the massive shadow looming over the horse's back.
Perhaps the vision hadn't disappeared; it had simply rged with the surrounding darkness.
The night road was not peaceful. Several tis, Anna sensed hostility emanating from the roadside, but as soon as she manifested her power, it would vanish without a trace.
"That's the sixth one..." Anna suppressed her power, frowning.
"Another ghost?"
"Yes."
This was both good and bad news. The bad news was that the ghosts were appearing in a very strange way. The good news was that Lu Li and Anna knew how to handle them.
Other types of anomalies would have been much more difficult for them to handle.
The rest of the journey passed without incident. At a quarter past midnight, the carriage rolled into Khimfast.
The buildings and bright streetlamps eased Anna's nerves a little. Lu Li took the reins from her and turned onto the street where ry lived.
The carriage stopped outside ry's house. A dim light glowed in the windows—soone was ho.
Lu Li opened his umbrella, stepped out of the carriage, climbed the steps, and knocked on the door.
After a short while, footsteps sounded from behind the door. The peephole darkened for a mont, and then the door swung open. ry stood on the threshold, her face pale with surprise.
"You... I thought you were coming tomorrow."
"Ti is of the essence," Lu Li replied curtly, noticing that ry was only in her nightgown and averting his gaze.
"Please, co in quickly."
ry ushered Lu Li and Anna into the house.
Closing the door, she asked with concern, "Have... have you had dinner? Would you like sothing to eat?"
Anna, burning with impatience, started to say sothing but suddenly stopped.
She rembered that Lu Li hadn't eaten anything on the road.
And from the cold and the jolting of the carriage, he looked very pale.
She decided she could wait a little longer. They were already here, after all.
"First, to Anna's house," Lu Li said.
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