The stone consumed his head and expanded untill it became the same marble slab as when we first arrived. I sank my claws into my palm, allowing the flames to die now that the threat was gone.

Alice stumbled and I ordered Freki to emerge. As she nearly collapsed, he served as a brace and she buried her head inside his fur.

“Ride Freki. I’ll grab the blood,” I said.

She didn’t protest and waited till Freki laid on his stomach before climbing on. I was worried but if it truly was a boon similar to my own, she’d be fine. Though, I would make sure that Adeline or Astra was nearby. Devon had to paralyze me, and I wasn’t as sure in my ability to do the same.

No, it wasn’t worth the risk.

The urn itself was rather light, but the blood that sloshed inside felt like a boulder as I struggled to carry it out. When we pushed through the barrier and exited the cave, I set it down and allowed myself some rest and took in the landscape.

It was easier to see the trail of destruction the horde of monsters caused. The paths they ransacked, leaving behind barren ground amidst a sea of trees. The land was forever changed, and none of it mattered. Just to be forgotten till the next time someone came to claim blood from the keeper.

But there was still one person here that shouldn’t be. Even the angry beastie voiced its discomfort with leaving a Grimm behind.

“You can stay here and I’ll grab the corpse. Hopefully when I’m back, we can figure out how we’re supposed to leave this place,” I said.

“Mmm.” Alice slid off Freki’s back and sat next to the urn. “Take the cloak. It’ll be easier to carry them that way.”

I handed her my canteen and took the rolled up cloak. After making sure she was settled, I mounted Freki and held on as he jumped off the cliff. He crushed a fallen log and darted through the trees, circling around the mountain.

Occasionally I’d see areas of where the explosion debris had fallen, reaching even the outskirts of the forest.

The monsters weren’t the only ones to leave the land changed.

He bolted over a particularly large piece, the patch of mural still intact despite the black streaks marring its surface. I recognized the witch’s face.

Right. Ask Astra or the new woman.

Freki arrived at the entrance to the city and entered the tunnel. I conjured some light and we proceeded inside.

The house wasn’t hard to find, the walls having miraculously survived despite the disaster. After dismounting, I unraveled the cloak and laid it out, slowly transferring the skeleton over. The leg came off, as did a hand but it ignored the discomfort as I rolled it inside the cloak and attached it to my belt.

It felt wrong to carry a corpse like a sack of loot.

“We’ll return you home. Just a little longer,” I whispered.

The soul may have long left, but it felt right. At least it was better than nothing.

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As I remounted Freki, I had him turn to where the church should have been. It was no longer there, the whole place having gone up in flames. Black soot covered several blocks leading to the site. Even the golden statues were nothing more than melted slag.

Strangely enough, out of the three statues, Grim’s was the least affected. The wolves were unrecognizable, as was his legs and lower body. But the torso jutted out from the slag block, and revealed the gemstone eyes.

They were still intact, and continued to shine. In fact, being closer to the ground, it was far easier to see that they had an inner glow that radiated a gentle heat.

Somehow it makes sense that his face would survive.

I didn’t like the stares, too close to the real thing.

“Let’s go,” I said, patting Freki’s side. “Alice is waiting.”

“Wulf!”

—----

As we returned to the cliff, I leaned down, and waved my hand in front of Alice’s face. She didn’t react, and I tsked. Now was not a good time for her to sleep.

I braced myself and grabbed her wrists. She tried to jerk herself free, knocking into the urn and I pulled her away. She rolled to her feet and slammed herself into my side, but not before I redirected her attack.

“Stop! It's me,” I shouted.

Alice glanced around and finally relaxed. She brushed off her cloak and motioned to the sack.

“Is that them?”

“Yeah. Sorry I took so long. I wanted to see if the statues were still there.”

“Were they?”

“Melted. Though Grim’s head survived the fire.”

“Not surprising.”

I chuckled and picked my canteen off the ground. “How do you think we do this? If he’s watching surely he knows we’re done, right?”

“Try shouting his name?”

It wasn’t the worst idea.

We at least decided to return to where we arrived before making an attempt. During the ride there, Alice remained silent, content to rest on my back till we hopped off.

Next was the urn and it took some finangling but we managed to unload it safely. Freki returned to my shadow and I moved a couple of steps away.

I cupped my hands to the side of my mouth and shouted to the sky. “Grim? We’re finished. We’re ready to return now.”

A minute passed and I shrugged.

“Prime. We have finished our task!” Alice shouted.

Again we waited, but we were left standing like idiots. I tried a couple more times, changing the words up and even going as far as to call Grim ‘Prime.’

Nothing.

“Might as well sit, no use standing around.”

I helped set Alice against a mostly sturdy trunk and joined her. She rested her head against my shoulder and removed her axe so that it rested on her lap.

She wasn’t shivering, but her skin was ice cold, it almost burned in a way. I could hear her heartbeat, a loud rhythmic thumping that sounded healthy and hale if slightly elevated. Her eyes were closed but I knew she wasn’t sleeping by the way she breathed.

“Are you sure you're okay?” I asked.

“Exhausted, but not hurt.”

“You’re freezing.”

“I don’t remember much, but the mana pushed into my core,” she mumbled. “Painful, and cold. But it started to feel good.”

“Has your status changed at all?”

She shook her head. “Not yet. If it's like yours, it will after I sleep.”

“Yeah, let's try to get out of here first. I know we spar all the time, but I don’t think I want to fight you if you're not holding back.”

“Good practice,” she mumbled.

I gently shook her arm and she fended me off. “Grim better hurry up. Constantly waking you up might be even more dangerous to my health than starvation.”

“Why do you call him that?”

“What do you mean?”

She shifted her weight, leaning more into me before settling. “You call him Grim. You have since you first met him.”

“It's what he introduced himself as. And I get the feeling that he prefers it. Why?”

“The bond doesn’t tell you it's wrong? When I try to say Grim, there’s an ache in my chest.” She pushed her finger into the middle of my breast and then adjusted so it was just above the sternum. “Here. Like something’s squeezing down.”

“Not in the slightest. But it could be because of my Lore Strain.”

A hint of a smile appeared before she leaned forward and the cloak blocked her face. I gently nudged her, earning a pointed intake of breath.

“Try again.”

I lazily put my hand to my mouth and shouted to the bleak sky. “Grim! We’re finished. Take us back. Please. We’re do-”

Lightning struck a nearby tree and I turned and protected Alice with my cloak. As I blinked away the spots in my vision I watched as the tree split and portal took shape. The colors settled and a barefoot stepped onto the ashen ground.

Grim cocked his head, a devil’s grin showcasing his canines. “You called?”