Hanse's corpse collapsed to the floor, and Devon's fur returned to normal. He turned, and I looked up at the hulking werewolf. He raised his head and howled.

Slowly, Alice stepped out of the hallway and limped her way over. Her face had bandages applied to it, and my shoulders relaxed. Behind her was the woman from before, the one Alice rescued from the creeps.

She sank into the background and kept silent, not meeting my eyes so I turned away and focused on Alice.

"I'm glad you're okay," I said.

She nodded and watched Devon shift back into human form. "I didn't expect the corpses to still explode. I don't understand why they didn't when we killed them."

"Covenant runes bind you to rules. If this one controlled the activation, he could set the rule to not fail," Devon answered.

"Harsh," I said.

"Common. Usually, a kill switch is installed, not explosive but not unheard of."

Alice lifted Hanse's head with her boot. "I can still feel the mana inside his body."

Devon kept silent and walked over to where his spear lay on the floor. Using his foot, he kicked it up and caught it. Alice stepped away as he plunged the spear through the man's skull and twisted.

After removing the blade, he flicked the blood off his weapon and slid it into its holster. "Captain Volk. I assume you're alive."

Crap. Forgot about him.

I searched the room but didn't see the captain.

"We're alive, sir Grimm! Is it safe to come out?" Volk called out from inside the other room.

Devon stepped over the bits of mushed bodies and onto the throne's pedestal. As he neared the opened room, Volk stuck his head out and bowed.

"Mrs. and Ms. Ashton are here, sir."

I leaned over and saw the mother clutching the child's shoulders. The mother's pale face visibly shook as Devon towered over her. Haldeena, on the other hand, had stars in her eyes. She didn't care that Devon was covered in blood and gore; she looked ready to launch a million questions his way.

"Cain, Alice. In here," Devon ordered.

I looked over, and she forced her back straight and plastered on a smile. Before she took a step, I reached over and removed a chunk of gore stuck in her hair.

When she stepped into view, the kid honed in, and I could visibly see her vibrate with excitement as she saw Alice join Devon.

Probably not a healthy reaction after being kidnapped but whatever works.

I shuffled closer and then stopped as the smell hit my nose. It was the same smell from the pit underneath the chamber. Saliva glands activated, and my mouth watered. I didn't need the inner voice to scream at me to know that I desperately wanted whatever it was.

Devon stepped past the nobles and moved to the nightstand by the bed. When he lifted the skull goblet, that hunger increased. Devon brought it up to his face and inhaled deeply. "Did you see him drink this?"

Neyenna, who had been watching him the entire time, gulped when Devon looked her way. "Y-yes. He drank some and then tried to…"

Devon turned around and began inspecting the walls. While he and Alice were preoccupied, I moved to the desk by the right and shuffled some very crude drawings off the top.

These are terrible. But… they look like runes.

The lines were sloppy, and each stroke was fatter than the next.

I paused when I reached the bottom stack and held it up to the light. The rune on the page looked perfect. Each line had been evenly drawn, and not a single dot of extra ink marred the page. It didn't look familiar, but it scratched at my brain.

What is this?

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

A shrill cry made me whip around, and I began to reach for my axe, but Alice shook her head and crossed her arms. Haldeena had her hands clamped over her mouth as her mother clawed at her shoulder in a death grip.

"She got too excited seeing my magic. False alarm," Alice explained.

Devon's eyes flicked away, and he returned to running his hand down the walls. Volk squeezed his fists until his knuckles turned white and planted his feet in a wide stance inside the door frame.

Right, he's probably a bundle of nerves.

With the danger being illusionary, I set the stack of papers down and began opening the drawers. One drawer had several bottles of liquid hidden inside. According to the labels pressed into the front, it looked like wine of some kind.

I shut that drawer and opened the middle one.

Empty.

Third time's the charm.

Pulling open the third drawer, a stack of letters bound in string smacked into the cover. I pulled it out and snapped the string. The letters had split wax seals; bright emerald green wax stamped with what looked like a raven wearing a crown.

I picked a letter at random and scanned its contents.

The author addressed Hanse as 'foolish brute.' According to the letter, Hanse was instructed to guard the pass and be on the lookout for certain individuals.

"Hey, Volk," I called out.

Volk turned around and nearly saluted. "Yes, Grimm."

"What's the date today?"

He blinked. "Eighth day of Ozz."

"Can you list the months?"

He looked confused but complied.

As he finished, I smiled. "Thank you."

This time, he did salute and resumed guarding the entrance to the room,

This one is nearly thee months old...

After sorting through the letters, I found the most recent one addressed nearly a week back. I read the letter and then flipped the page over, but found nothing else written.

"Did you find anything?" Alice asked, nearly startling me as she peered over my shoulder.

"Yeah… take a look. It mentions the chains."

Alice frowned and accepted the letter, starting to read. Devon stopped and waited until Alice lowered the paper. "It says the corrosion enchantment will only last for another couple of months, and if he uses it to show off, the author won't be renewing the enchantment."

"What else?" Devon demanded.

"That the next caravan crossing through the pass will contain the Ashtons, and to ensure that they go missing, but leave the guards alone."

I handed over another letter I had skimmed, dated two weeks back. "This one talks about promises of power if the oaf listens like a good boy. Whoever the author is has little love for Hanse. It briefly mentions something about the capital and to wait. For what, it doesn't say."

Alice glanced toward Volk. "It also mentions that one of the guards... Paeter, will send a signal once they enter the pass."

The scared guard's face flashed to the forefront of my mind, and I forced the bubbling anger back.

I waited for Volk to turn around, but all I heard was the creak of leather as he gripped his pants. At first glance, I thought he was afraid to face us, but as he slowly spun around, I saw the fury in his face. His eyes looked murderous as he ground his teeth.

"Lady Ashton," he whispered. His back bent, and his head rocketed towards the floor. "I apologize for my incompetence. I will accept whatever punishment is befitting after I remove the head of that… Traitor!"

Neyenna pursed her lips, her eyes hard. "Raise your head, Volk Velreth."

"My lady."

"I said raise your head, Captain," she ordered. Volk did as she asked but kept his chin low. Neyenna glanced a final time at the three of us before swallowing. "You are not to be blamed. But I want the one… Who is responsible to have their head mounted on a pike."

Cold, but I've no moral ground to stand on there.

The screams of the bandits, followed by the splattering of blood covering my face, flashed through my mind. I bit my inner cheek and forced the memories away.

Volk slammed his fist into his chest and once more bowed. "As you command, my lady."

Alice watched the exchange without reacting. Instead of paying attention to the child noble who looked excitedly at Alice's axe, she began going through more of the letters.

I searched the last drawer and found what looked like a small chest. Pulling it out, I dropped it onto the desk and ran my thumb along the lock. A sharp, tingling sensation made the hairs on my arm stand up. Pulling away, I rubbed my thumb and found a tiny black dot where it had touched the metal.

"Devon, I think the thing just zapped me."

He turned around and narrowed his eyes. "Do you feel mana?"

I hovered my hand as close to the metal as I could without touching it. "No."

He walked over and slowly placed his thumb over the lock. When he pulled away, his skin looked slightly darker but not black like mine.

"Weak enchantment," he pointed to the top of the lock. "Overwhelm it by sending yours into this point. Flood it; I'll tell you when to stop."

Doing as he instructed, I tapped into my core and let mana flow into my thumb. The heat filled my veins, and I tried to focus it by imagining a sharp blade.

As I pressed down, I felt the tingle jolt up my hand, but my mana responded and pushed back. It continued to rage at the foreign energy until the metal began to heat up. Smoke started to rise from the wood surrounding the lock and turned ebony as a lick of flames appeared.

"Stop."

I jerked my hand away and had to squeeze my forearm to get the mana to calm.

Unbothered by the burning metal, he tugged on the lock, and it snapped. He flipped open the chest and revealed a massive glass sphere. As he held it up, I saw the glass pulse, revealing the intricately carved details.

"An eye? It's huge."

The crystal was larger than Devon's head. It pulsed again, and the room shook. Neyenna screamed and crouched low as she dragged Haldeena into her arms. Volk rushed over and protectively leaned over them while Alice, Devon, and I braced ourselves on the desk.

The rumbling stopped less than ten seconds later, and Devon pointed to the wall next to the bed. A door's width of stone had sunk into the floor, leaving a raised bump that continued into a long tunnel illuminated by rows of mushroom lanterns.

The eye lit up like a beacon and shot out a green light that raced through the tunnel.

"Found you," Devon muttered.