Separated in the Phantoms

Chapter 2

My eyes widened and filled with fear and hatred. How? Dad promised me he quit!
My world started spinning again. I didn't want to read the letter.
"Rubes? What's wrong?" Faith asked. I looked up at her and back at the letter. I read it out loud so that Faith could hear.

"Tick tock, dear Ruby. I'm guessing you already know I TOOK your father. This lying son of a bitch betrayed me and now he shall pay. But you, you are clever. Insightful. You might be able to find him, to HELP him. Isn't that what you want, dear Ruby? So let me ask you: Do you wanna play a game?
-You know who i am, don't you?
PS. I'll know when and what you'll decide."

I felt the fear crawl up inside me. Faith looked at me with scared eyes. 
"Ruby, please don't tell me this is who I think it is!" She said. I didn't react. I just stared into space. Flashes of the man my dad used to work for jumped around in my mind. His ginger hair, creepy smile. The psycho and the man who ruled our city. I should've known. I should've foreseen it. I looked Faith dead in the eye.
"It's him. It's Fyren Graves." I said. Faith gasped and put her hands on her mouth.
"I thought your dad stopped that business when your mom died!" She said.
"I thought so too, Faith." I whispered back.

My mom died when I was 11. Dad was involved in some dangerous business back then. He worked for Fyren Graves. Graves was a crime boss who ruled the whole of Mithia. The Seven Royals couldn't stop him. They never found enough evidence to put him away. He was the most dangerous man in the city, but he always pretended to be kind to me. Graves called me 'dear Ruby' all the time. Dad got anxious every time Graves came around. When mom died, dad promised me to stop. He got a job at our local bank and we built a good life together.

Faith started shaking me roughly. I looked up to her.
"Could you not scare me like that!? You want me to get a heart attack!?" She exclaimed.
"Sorry." I simply replied. She stroked my hair and sat back down on her chair.
"So, what are you going to do?" Faith asked. I stared into the distance.
"I don't know Faith. I really don't know." My head was re-reading the letter over and over again. I wanted to help my father so badly, but I didn't know how. I didn't have any special abilities. I suddenly got a thought. I looked at Faith.
"Faith, will you help me?" I hopefully asked. Faith stared at me for a moment.
"Gee, I don't know Rubes. Graves is hella dangerous." She said.
"Exactly! I'm a human so I don't have any special abilities. But you, you're an elf! You wield the power of nature and all that shit!" I said.
"Wield ia a big word. Mother is still training me."
"Yes, yes whatever. Point is, you can help me! We're an invincible team together! Please Faith, please! I beg you!" I said in my final, desperate attempt to win her over. Faith sighed.
"Fine. Only because you're my best friend." I ran over and hugged her tightly. She giggled.
"We can save my father together!" I happily said.
"Yeah, well, we gotta start first." Faith replied. I nodded.
"What now?" Faith asked. I looked her in her eyes.
"Now we wait for the next letter."