FHC B3 Chapter 56: Revelation

“Are you sure?” I asked.

I didn’t need to see the fury and determination in her eyes to know how useless of a question I had just asked.

“I didn’t lie. Let me make that clear. I took time to try verifying exactly what kind of crap Garret was spewing. I wasn’t about to trust him over everything I knew. Not right away,” I continued.

“Cain. I will punch you. Let me decide how to feel about your words,” Alice threatened in a low growl.

My fingers ran through my hair and tugged; a desperate bid to ease some of the stress. A bid that failed horribly.

“Aaaagh!” I shouted. As I breathed in, I moved past Alice and to the couch, flopping on top of something lumpy. “Sit. Sit, or I’m not saying anything.”

Alice complied, but she moved like a coiled cat stalking its prey. The ice hadn’t receded even if it hadn’t grown past her shoulder. When she sat, she leaned forward, leaving me little room to breathe.

“If you make me ask again…”

I waved her off. “I know. I’m speaking now. But I meant what I said. I didn’t lie.”

“But?”

“But what Garret told me that day wasn’t something I was about to say out loud. Not without thinking about it.”

Her claws dug into the fabric underneath her legs. “And?”

Why couldn’t this have waited till after the funeral? We could have cornered Devon, got him to talk. I could have brought this up or maybe he would have answered this himself! Fuck you, Garret.

“Cain,” Alice prompted.

I sighed and stared into her eyes. “Have you thought about your brother’s death?”

“Is that a serious question? Or are you deflecting?”

“Serious,” I said while shaking my head. “I mean it literally. I’ve told you the story, I know Adeline explained it to you, and so did Devon. You haven’t fought a Red yet, right? But you know about them? Studied them.”

“Extensively. It's one of the first monsters we learn to fear and hate,” Alice said slowly.

“Okay. And you know how our lore messes with theirs?”

Alice closed her eyes and leaned back. For a brief moment, her features softened as she spoke. “The Red, the witch that haunts the woods. A mockery and a curse, a being that offers the safety of a meal and delivers twisted death. Enemy to Grimms, traitors of the system. We are their greatest fear, their hunter to cul their covens. But a balance is struck, and as they take away our fang and claws, we seal their magic and reveal their true form.”

Traitors of the system? That sounds suspiciously like what Nameless said. I’ll have to ask Astra and recreate the mural drawings.

“Is that from a book?” I asked.

She opened her eyes, the softness disappearing as red flickered across her blue irises. “Eli. I think Devon was the one who taught him.”

“Well, then, do you think there’s anything wrong with Elias’ death?”

“Beyond that it happened?” Alice shook her head. “No, you’re not asking me that. Then…”

A minute passed, as did another. I sat as still as possible, waiting for her to come to the same revelation. She looked at nothing, probably a thousand thoughts whirling in her head.

After the fourth minute, I was ready to concede and just say it, but her head snapped to attention and she ripped through the blanket she had been gripping. Something leather rested underneath, but her claws found purchase and spread a growing layer of frost.

“We seal their magic, and reveal their true form,” she repeated. She scanned the room and then met my eyes before focusing. “Seal their magic. None of the other Grimms could find you. There was a spell.”

“He called it a labyrinth spell. I didn’t think much of it at the time; I didn’t know.”

“You couldn’t,” she mumbled. Alice blinked and then shot to her feet. The snapping of bones had her hunched over, and her boots disappeared under a mountain rapidly rising fur. “Every other Red was hunted down and torn apart. All except the two that attacked you. That was the report Devon gave me.”

I winced.

Not making this easy…

Fur continued to sprout up her arms and toward her neck, but the ice held it at bay. She looked monstrous, half transformed, but I didn’t flinch even as Alice stood over me.

“He lied.”

A statement, not a question.

“I don’t know. Nobody realized, not even Garret at first. At least not from how it sounded when he explained it.”

“He lied,” she repeated, her voice growing louder.

“It could have been another monster or something. It’s been proven that Grimms don’t know everything. Maybe there is a way for magic to cut through whatever it is that shuts our powers down.”

Wispy air billowed out, her teeth gnashing together as snowflakes shook themselves free from her fur.

“You don’t believe that.”

I didn’t answer.

Alice grabbed me by the collar, and my cloak fluttered in response, but I willed it to calm. It complied reluctantly, and I allowed myself to be pulled closer. The cold radiating from her touch cut through the warmth from my chest, sending a chill up my neck.

“Cain. Answer me,” she growled.

I placed my hand on her claws, mindful not to cut myself across the razor-sharp edge.

My eyes met hers once again, and I held the stare. “I don’t know. But Garret was right about one thing. Devon should have known. He’s hunted Reds before, right? He led the last hunt. He should have known, Alice. Maybe he had an excuse during the first few nights. But Devon should have questioned it, came to the same realization as Garret.”

“He’s a liar. He lied,” she whispered.

She tried to pull away, but I tightened my grip and locked her hand in place. “He’s always protected you. Apparently, even me, in his own crappy way.”

“Garret-”

I squeezed harder, enough to fracture the layer of ice along her claws. “Know’s crap. If Devon did lie, are we sure it's because he wanted to? You know how Absolute’s work. You understand that he couldn’t fight any more than you can. And Krulg confirmed it, as did Grim. Are you sure this anger should be directed at him?”

“He covered up Elias’ death! There’s a traitor!” she shouted.

Her claws slipped from my grasp, drawing blood. We stared as they dripped onto the couch and stone floor. I conjured a spark and let the frost melt away as my skin started to stitch itself together.

“If there is, we’ll figure it out. Or Astra will. Or worst case scenario, I just ask Grim. Good chance he’ll answer me because he finds it amusing.”

“How can-”

I stood up. “Save this for after the funeral. When we’ve cornered Devon and forced him to talk. Break his legs if you can. I don’t care. We’ll get him to answer something, Alice. And when we find out that Devon was just as in the dark as we were, we’ll keep pushing.”

“And if he isn’t? If he knew all along?” she demanded.

It was tempting to lie. I could have easily said something motivational or hopeful. But it didn’t escape the knot in my chest.

“I don’t know,” I relented. “I… don’t know.”