FHC B3 Chapter 62: WHERE IS HE?!

Slow pops and crackles filled the air. Even pressed down and forced to bow low to the Prime’s authority, Garret began to shift.

It was as if the pressure forced him into slow motion. The hands changed first, claws sprouting from his fingers, followed by the elongation of bones accompanied by a wave of fur. His clothes slowly swapped places, disappearing underneath the magic that allowed a Grimm to transform.

I glanced around the room, noting that Kimms and Arthur, along with Astra, were completely subdued. Their heads were pushed low enough to touch the stone and they didn’t dare move–not even Astra’s chains as they hung limply against her body.

But Devon…

The hollow life that had followed him since he entered the room was absent. In its place a primal fury that changed the color of his eyes in waves. Each twitch of his finger brought a flash of crimson across his irises before it faded.

He didn’t transform, but his eyes never left the spot where Elias’ corpse should have been.

And then there was Alice.

Before I could search her face, the moonlight lighting the room retreated. A wave of heat that penetrated even my resistance scorched my arms and forced me back. I tore my gaze away from the other hunters and looked to Grim.

He vibrated in the spot, his arms held next to his face as he clawed the air. And across his skin was a growing flame that rose and fell like tidal waves. The orange and gold overlapped while the seething red underneath fought for dominance against a blinding white.

The flames overtook his form, pushing the man’s appearance behind a wall of glowing light that was nearly impossible to look at. It screamed at my mind in a way that brought the beast inside my head low.

Danger!

Grim’s cloak billowed as the heat from the flames snapped outward. It clawed angrily at the ground, creating blackened streaks. Dust in the room glowed like sparks before snapping away with another pulse.

“Prime!” Quinn shouted.

She managed to stand beside him, and reach for his shoulder.

“WHERE IS HE?!” Grim yelled.

His voice created a distortion in the air as the flames rocketed outward. Quinn dived, but not to dodge and instead took the brunt of the hit across her back. She rolled in time to swipe Julius’ body from the ground before extending her hand.

A spectral blob made of orange ectoplasm pushed Illeth’s skeleton toward her. Whatever had been done to keep the bones attached kept Illeth intact as Quinn dragged it away from Grim’s fury.

Another shout pushed the Grimms further against the ground and sent several streams of the flames into the air. I stepped in front of Alice, pushing her back while my cloak flared and made itself a shield of rigid cloth.

Even with the ice fighting a war underneath her skin, it was nothing in the face of the heat.

Grim stomped, cracking the ground and leaving the surrounding pieces around his foot molten rock.

“Where? Where is Elias Ironhart?!”

“Prime!” Quinn yelled.

She reappeared next to his side, and once more tried to touch his arm. He moved too fast, and a audible snap sent her flying into a wall.

“Who dares touch what is mine? What trickery is this?! ANSWER ME!”

I summoned my own flames, hoping to combat the physical force pushing against my body but the moment my fingers twitched, I blinked at the sunspot that used to be Grim.

No!

I spun around but Grim’s cloak slapped against my leg. The impact smashed my bone and sharp pain shot up my leg. I slammed my hand against the ground and my body reacted in time for me to stab my claws into the ground and arrest my momentum.

“Alice!” I yelled, but my voice was barely heard over the wind.

Grim loomed over Alice, the flames along his body bulging outward and setting her clothes afire. Steam rose from her body, attempting to fight the heat but it was futile. As he reached for her neck red welts appeared across her flesh as she struggled and failed to speak.

“Kin of kin… Where is Elias? WHERE IS MY SPAWN?!”

Flames bathed her face, and the world slowed to a crawl. My legs moved before I could and I pushed off the ground with claws slicing cleanly through the stone. I zipped toward the Prime aiming a clawed hand against his head.

But before I crossed the distance, a blurred shape crashed into Grim’s side and made him stumble. He slowly turned, staring down at Garret as he tried to stand. Another pulse of pressure split the ceiling and sent spiderwebs of mana into the stone.

Garret struggled to get his arms underneath him and push up, but his limbs–even transformed–could barely move.

While he had bought me time, I landed and jumped again, hooking my arm around Alice’s waist before retreating. She felt incredibly light in my arms but it still wasn’t enough to escape Grim’s flames. I sent mine outward, igniting my blood allowing the emerald to overtake the orange.

They lasted long enough to resist the initial probing of the angry fire before being overpowered and forcefully pushed back into my veins.

My core rebelled as send jolts of electricity up my arms. It caused a twitch in my injured limb and my ankle rolled. I had enough time to wrap Alice in my arms before I slammed against the ground and slid into a wall.

I coughed and watched Grim raise his leg. The back of Garret’s head started to burn, his fur turning black as smoke wisped off the strands. His limbs struggled against divots in the floor, the pressure acting as increased gravity that sought to squish the bug underneath Grim’s foot.

He’s dead.

Quinn stood across the room, still protecting the corpses. Astra, Kimms, Arthur, were unmoving bodies equally as subdued as Garret with their faces flat against the ground.

And Devon.

Where’s Dev-

His cloaked figure slid into place in front of me. His legs were splayed, leaving me space to see Garret’s approaching doom. But the heat lessened as his cloak draped across our bodies.

“Devon? Garret. You need to sto-”

“It’s okay. He’ll live.”

What? How could you possibly think that?

There was a sound, and I turned my head to see a hail of stone and metal pelt the air. Streaks of white and grey rushed into the room, mana glowing in their wake like shooting stars.

“Prime. That’s enough,” came a familiar voice.

It was recognizeable. I knew it, even if we only spoke briefly. But Elizabeth’s voice rang clear, albeit with a deeper growl underlining her tone.

I blinked and stared at the four werewolves surrounding the Prime. They sported grey and brown fur mixed with patches and strips of white. They hovered over Grim, surrounding him. Elizabeth had spaced herself between Grim’s foot and Garret’s prone form.

“You dare? Need I remind the upstart pups, who I am?” Grim rumbled.