The Last Hunter: Collected Edition (Antarktos Saga #1-5)

“I—”

“You are holding back,” he says, turning around to face me. He’s got Whipsnap in his hands. I left it in the living area, which I knew was stupid, but I couldn’t bring myself to carry a weapon while Luca showed me around the home. “No ordinary hunter could kill Ull. I’m one of the best, and I failed to come close. Not even Ninnis could do it. I know what they planned to do with you. I know about Nephil. And Tartarus. And the blood. The only way I can see you killing Ull is by using a strength greater than your own, which means you are already bonded with the body of Nephil.”

He lowers the blade tip of Whipsnap, of my own weapon, toward my stomach. “Which means you brought that monster into my home, to my children, and if you cannot explain yourself in the next few moments, I will gut you where you stand.”





21



I’m surprised at myself when I nearly lunge for Whipsnap. I’m not sure if the desire to claim the weapon is self-defense or merely because I’ve become so attached to it. I manage to control myself, but Tobias sees the intent hidden in my eyes. His muscles tense in preparation for a fight.

But I’m not Ull, and fighting this man is out of the question. He deserves the truth. I only hope he won’t kill me when he hears it.

I raise my hands and step back, trying to think of a way to explain things. But there is no way to dull this news. “It’s true,” I say. “I am bonded to the flesh of Nephil.”

Whipsnap’s blade moves closer.

“But,” I say quickly. “That was a long time ago. At least a year. I think. It’s hard to tell down there.”

“I should kill you,” he says. “You’re dangerous.”

“Not anymore,” I say. “There was a time when that small part of Nephil fought for control. Along with my own dark side. You must know what that’s like.”

“And I know it cannot be defeated,” he says. “The hunter is always there, urging me to kill.”

“Like now,” I note.

He glances down at Whipsnap, then back to me. “Do not try to trick me.”

I slowly lower my hands, palms open, and assume a relaxed, non-threatening posture. “If there was any hunter left in control of me, never mind Nephil, do you think I could stand here, with a weapon aimed at my stomach, and speak to you?”

“How?” He asks. “How is it possible? The hunter is part of you. It is closer to the surface with the broken, but it is a part of every human being on Earth. You cannot bury it.”

“You can,” I say.

“How?” His voice is urgent and I sense he is close to acting if I don’t give him a convincing answer.

“With help,” I say.

He steps closer. “Who?”

“Xin.”

His eyes go wide, but he does not strike. “Xin? Why would that monster help you?”

“It wasn’t his intention when he found me,” I say. “He meant to kill me.”

“And become a hunter in reward.”

I nod. “He nearly succeeded, but then… Nephil. He took control. Nearly killed Xin. But together, in my mind, we locked Nephil away, along with my hunter personality.”

“You left him to die, I hope,” he says.

“No,” I say. “That is what a hunter would do. Not me. I saved him. And when Behemoth came, he saved me, and hid me from the other hunters.”

Whipsnap slowly lowers to the floor. “You faced Behemoth, and survived?”

“Thanks to Xin, yes.”

“And you spared his life?”

“That’s what I said.”

He sits on the edge of a cot, slowly shaking his head. “This is unheard of, you realize. The hunters do not know mercy.”

I grin. “Well, at least three of them do now.”

“Three of them?”

“I have spared Ninnis. And Kainda as well.”

He laughs at this. “Do not expect the same kindness in return from those two. You may yet find that letting them live was a horrible mistake.”

His words ring true. I turn my gaze to the floor.

“But,” he says, “I find your story of mercy inspiring. It is a new kind of strength. Perhaps it will be enough to undo the evil already set in motion.”

He tosses Whipsnap to me and I catch it, feeling more confident with it in my grasp.

“Xin’s help alone wouldn’t be enough to chain the will of Nephil,” he says.

“It was just his body,” I say. “Not his spirit.”

“A spirit they believe you are strong enough to contain. Which means you are a person of uncommon strength. Xin might have aided, but I believe the true strength came from you. From the power instilled in you at birth.”

I remember that he witnessed the moment of my birth. He saw the light and the cracking of the ice.

“When we fought,” he says. “I haven’t missed my target in a very long time. Em is even more of a marksman than I. How were you doing it?”