FHC B3 Chapter 57: Why?

She growled and released a wave of ice that erupted around her feet. Alice launched herself at a metal stand adorned with a single pair of vambraces. The metal screeched under her swing and she went to work tearing it apart till it was nothing more than a frozen, crumpled heap.

Her wrath carried her over to another stand where she slowly pulled the metal apart and rocketed them into the stone where they stayed embedded.

Freki rose from my shadow, poking his head from between my legs with a low whine. I reached down and scratched behind his horns, watching Alice mow through another stand.

Eventually her destruction stopped, and I noticed she had left the room mostly intact. Despite her dismantling of anything big enough to channel her artistry, the items were left unharmed. Even the vambraces from the first stand sat on the floor, without a scratch.

Alice panted heavily, and the ice slowly faded. Her transformation followed and I stared at the Grimm on the floor. She slammed her fist and cracked stone before sitting up with her head facing the ceiling.

“Why?” she muttered.

I kept silent and waited.

“Why him? Why me? I was prepared to lose him, always have been. Since the day the Grimms came, when I watched my parents sacrifice themselves to buy us time. I’ve always accepted that our lives were not made for luxury and ease,” she continued. Her head lowered and she breathed deeply before slowly exhaling. “But why this? Why betray everything I knew? Rip the only thing set in iron?”

Freki fully emerged from my lap and padded his way over. His breath shot flames against her skin, cooling the remnants of frost that clung to her arms.

Alice raised her hand and ran it through his fur, fingers disappearing beneath the tendrils of solidified shadow.

“Why, Freki?” she whispered.

Freki didn’t answer, but he pushed his snout into her neck and leaned fully into her shoulder. The hellhound eclipsed her, his bulk hiding Alice’s form behind his own.

I stood up and grabbed the vambraces, setting them atop another shelf before coming to stand next to them. She looked up, a question on her face.

I shook my head. “I don’t think I know. Maybe it’s because we’re children next to a bunch of immortals. Or perhaps Elias had something to do with his own Death. Or it was all an accident. I don’t believe that, but it's still possible.”

Her face scrunched then she snorted. “I don’t either. But maybe Garret was right. Eli lied just as much as Devon. He’s not innocent, but…”

She looked up as I squeezed her shoulder.

“What do you want to do? There are several hours before it starts. Train? Spar? Go to the village and find your one friend. We can even go looking for Devon, though something tells me we won’t find him.”

Alice shook her head. “Give me some time.”

“I’ll lea-” I stopped as she grabbed my leg.

“Stay. But, give me silence. I want to meditate. To think.”

I nodded and helped her up. Freki pulled away and rejoined me, but not before giving her fingers one last lick.

As I released her hand, I pointed to the couch and plopped on top of the cushion. She didn’t move for a good while, instead taking the time to calm her breathing. Eventually, Alice wandered around the room while clutching onto the shirt Garret had been wearing.

Time passed, and I closed my eyes and started meditating.

—-

Something pushed my shoulder and I collapsed backward. Before I could reach for my axe, Alice maneuvered around me and sat down.

“Wha-huh?” I mumbled.

“You fell asleep,” she said.

It took a few seconds for my brain to settle. The room looked different.

“You cleaned up.”

“It kept me busy,” Alice said.

“What time was it?”

“It’ll start in an hour. There’s enough time to eat before we begin.”

“I thought we’d eat something at the rite?”

She ran her fingers through her hair and tucked it back. She did the same to her cloak and straightened herself.

“We do. But it's not a feast. Better to eat now then have our stomachs interrupt.”

Yeah, that’d be bad. I think Garret might actually attack me if my stomach growled during the process.

“Alright. Food first. Wait around. Head to where the funeral rite is being held, and then put Elias to rest.”

“Then Devon,” she stated.

“Then Devon,” I confirmed. I hopped off the couch and stretched. “Remind me, what’s the process? I got the gist but don’t want to mess up.”

Alice stood and grabbed a package wrapped in fur. It was white and smelled like honey and fresh snow.

She clutched it to her chest and grabbed her axe from where she set it before answering me.

“We greet our pack. They offer their parting words. When the rite starts, the moon shines and the bodies are bathed in moonlight. The one who sets them to rest will say the final pact, then we undo the magic that preserves the body,” she explained. Her voice held neutral, and she recited the sentences without a shred of emotion on her face. “As kin, I say my farewell and recite the parting words the others have given. The pieces of his cloak are mine to rip free and give to those who mattered in Eli’s life. We partake of a freshly hunted beast and acknowledge the joining of our kin to the Eternal Hunt. Then we lay them to rest in the ground, with their cloak, their iron, and our words. Then it’s done.”

It's more involved than I imagined. But its not too crazy from what we did back on Earth.

“And then Devon.”

She nodded, her eyes flashing red as she gripped the edges of her cloak. “He’ll answer us this time. There’ll be no escaping. Even if we have to force Garret and Astra to help.”

Her skin rippled but the beast remained inside. When she met my gaze, she nodded and marched toward the door.