Screw this.

My arm extended, and I let the fire crawl along my palm. Runic lines blazed to life, fueled by the heat flowing through my veins.

I let the fire build, and it clamored for release, but then the shadows swarmed from across the firepit. They rose like a tide, blocking out the light, consuming it whole.

“Ek kalla heiðarloga!”

Fire shot out, and instead of punching through the darkness, the shadowtide folded over the blazing ball, wrapping around it like cloth. The flames exploded, pushing back the leaves and rustling the edges of my hood, but the shadows swallowed them.

They receded until it was once again just me and the creature standing, staring at each other across the firepit.

It opened its mouth, and a warble of words screeched out. I covered my ears as the sound scratched at my brain, reminiscent of nails on a chalkboard. Flames emerged from my palm again, but the creature stopped and closed its mouth, hiding the pearly-white smile.

When it opened its jaw a second time, I braced myself, but instead of wailing like a dying cat, a smooth, almost buttery voice tickled my ears.

"Hmm. Can you understand me now?" the creature asked.

Sounds male, deep, polite. Not a young creature.

I kept the flames ready and waiting, the fire building in the center of my palm but not breaking through the skin.

"I can, but I don't think it matters," I replied.

"I think it does, Grimm. Hmm." His voice carried through the air as if designed to deliver itself into my ears at the perfect volume. "Are you really a Grimm?"

Pack! Kin! I am a hunter!

The flames brightened, coating my fingers in a wave of bright orange-yellow. My chest tightened, and I flashed my canines. "Watch your words."

Even though a chill ran down my spine and tense nervousness welled up inside me, I felt heat sear through my body in a riot to the creature's words.

"Am I wrong? I can sense it, your Lore; it tastes different."

In the corner of my eye, a few of the trees started to disappear, being covered in a blanket of black void that settled in a curtain of nothingness.

The smell of burning skin reached my nose, but I didn't care. Fire illuminated my face, and I reveled in watching the shadows recede. "Did you touch the others?"

In response, it broke its stiffness, leaning first to one side and then to the other.

"Unharmed," it answered. Then its bright smile was back, glaring from the depths of its hood. "For now."

“Ek kalla heiðarloga.”

Flames shot forward, and I heard a fwhoosh! Another wave rose to consume it, but this time, I caught a twitch in the creature's smile, subtle and nearly impossible to notice if I hadn't been forced to stare at its teeth.

"Why? Why be with them? You're not the same. You may call them that, but I know it's untrue."

Even as smoke rose from my hand and I saw a line of black snake around my digits, I gritted my teeth.

Silence! Liar! Am pack!

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

A flicker in my core caused my eyes to drift downward briefly. The sensation vanished before I could pinpoint the disturbance in my mana pool. Realizing my lapse, I quickly looked up, but it was too late.

A cold hand grabbed my wrist, searing my flesh with ice. Smoke rose, and my skin sizzled with the dueling temperatures. I tried to yank my arm away, but the shadowy limb holding my wrist in place bulged like a balloon.

"I can sense it, taste it even, the difference between you three. It's still there, slowly burning away piece by piece. Until you have nothing left, the system is careful about that."

Iron rushed for the creature's head, but it grabbed it too and stopped my arm, holding me at bay with a suddenly bulging limb. My leg flew out, but then more shadows rose to grab my ankle, slowing my action to a snail's pace.

"How about a real offer? No games, no tricks. A real, genuine offer?"

Lies! Prey! Hunt! No Dea-

"What?" I ground out, silencing the voice in my head.

It must have been what the creature was looking for because its dazzling smile grew a few extra teeth, brighter and bigger. "It's still there, even with the inferno in your chest. The nexus isn't closed to you, not yet."

My muscles stopped straining. Like a flipped switch, the world became brighter, and I could see the ground in greater detail. I blinked slowly. "What… do you mean?"

"Oh, it's simple. Help get me free, and I'll open the pathway to your old world."

Instead of responding, I snapped at the creature's arm, aiming to sink my canines into its shadowy flesh.

Shadows tried to constrict around my throat, but my cloak flared, and they fell away. The devilish grin it maintained twitched, and instead, something solid and freezing cold pushed against my chest, holding me back.

"Why? Why react so aggressively to such an offer? Don't you want to go home, return to your friends and loved ones?" it continued, sounding hurt.

Like I'd ever believe an offer like that!

"Let go of me!" I exclaimed.

"Oh? Is it something I said? I feel as if I've been very cordial," the creature remarked.

I stopped struggling, standing still just enough to peer into the void that rested inside the hood. Another flare in my core brought a surge of fury, urging me to rip and tear the creature to pieces.

Slowly, I got out every word as if struggling to chew the disgusting bile at the back of my throat. "A monster that kidnaps children cannot be reasoned with!"

It leaned closer, just out of reach of my teeth. "And if I returned the child? Promised not to touch a single hair on their head?"

I froze.

The creature, ignoring my stiffness, continued talking. "If you're willing to help free me, then I would have no need for the child. Plain and simple. I'll even throw in the portal back home. It's a good deal, and all I want is my freedom. What do you say?"

"Would you…" I began slowly. The colors brightened even more, and I saw orange reflect off the white of its teeth. "Swear to the system?"

Almost as if it was waiting for that very question, I felt the force against my chest ease by a fraction. "Ooh. Yes, I can make a system promise. I'm surprised someone as new as you know what that is. Hmm… yes. But you understand you must complete your end of the bargain?"

Get away. Liar. Decei-

"Yes. I do. If you agree to return the child, I'll do it."

Prey! Hunt!

I drowned out the voice with another flare-up, letting the lava cool my wrists and sizzle beneath the skin on my chest.

The creature's tone shifted from deep and melodic to a higher-pitched thrumming that tickled my ears. "Oh good, good! So many Grimms, all savage folk who know not the power of a deal. You understand you'll have to speak the first words?"

The connection blazed to life, lasting longer than a mere flicker, and I felt an anger different from my own blaze through it.

Outwardly, I smiled. "I do. You're right, I want to go home."

It paused to study me, and its smile extended beyond the confines of its hood, growing past and over the facsimile of Devon's jaw and stretching into the strands of his hair, superimposed as if the thing was drawn on.

"Then speak the words, and I shall follow." It paused and shifted closer, within biting distance. "Once done, I'll release you. I do apologize for the rough treatment, but I had to protect myself. And! None of it will matter. Once we have the promise in place, we can both rest easy knowing we won't betray each other!"

I didn't react, simply nodding. I looked at the shell of darkness that had risen around us, leaving only a pinprick of light to illuminate the area centered above the campfire.

Waiting longer than I should have, I carefully lowered my face until I saw the orange glow of my eyes glaring back. The fear slithering across my spine faded away, and I let the heat swim upwards, warming my bones. The tug at the center of my chest filled my voice with steel.

"Oh System, by the rules that bind and the powers that be, I solemnly vow…"

The creature cocked its head. "To try in my best effort to free the shadow sealed in stone. I shall not sabotage or betray the monster before me."

So even you recognize yourself as a monster. How fitting.

"Oh System, by the rules that bind and the powers that be, I solemnly vow…" I trailed off, letting my voice drop. I squared my shoulders and exhaled before opening my mouth one final time. "To absolutely nothing."