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

I argued that these were the things that separated me from the hunters, but Tobias explained that it was my mercy and love that made me different. The rest just made me afraid. “It’s possible to be brave, even fierce, and still be good,” he told me. After deciding he was right, I embraced the exercise and fought to purge the demons that filled me with a fear strong enough to control me and give my enemies an advantage. So we pushed harder, exploring the current limits of my abilities.

And it was through this week-long push that we made a discovery. There are many things I can do on a grand scale that do not severely drain me. I can conjure a snow storm, the katabatic winds or roll in a fog from the ocean. These are all natural phenomena and can be accomplished with little effort. But moving a trail of snowflakes behind me, for miles, is not natural. Nor is opening a path through the earth, creating a snow storm underground or using the wind to jump higher, to stick a landing or deflect weapons. The unnatural uses of my abilities are created by my will alone and are not aided by the landscape; they are in defiance of it. As a result, the unnatural uses of my connection with the continent are where Tobias is now focusing his attention.

The strain is worse than ever.

And today will be the worst day yet.

The door bursts open. I reach for Whipsnap, but my aching body is slow and the intruder is upon me in a flash.

“Solomon!” Luca shouts. “Save me!”

The boy is all smiles. His blond hair—my blond hair—floats around his head, held aloft by static electricity. No doubt from hiding beneath a blanket. But that did him little good and now he’s seeking an ally. He normally runs for Tobias, who turns the tickling on Em. But today, he has come to me.

He’s gripping the back of my shirt. I can feel his quick breaths on the back of my neck. His breath smells like fish, which is our staple breakfast, lunch and dinner. Tobias once brought home a seal and I refused to eat it out of respect for Gloop and his pod. After I explained this, Tobias hasn’t brought home another seal.

Em steps into the doorway, her fingers clenched and ready to tickle. She’s wearing a long yellow T-shirt with a Nike swoop that belonged to Aimee once upon a time. It hangs down to her knees. She looks pretty in it, but I feel no attraction to her. Not like I do when I think of Mira…or Kainda. Maybe it’s because of her relationship with Luca, the little me, but the bond between us is more like family than anything else.

Though it is a bond that is still being formed, hence her pausing at the threshold to my room.

Luca giggles behind me, shifting his weight back and forth in anticipation of the impending attack. But I’m not sure it will come. Em and I look at each other. We’re both hunters, or were, and this kind of face off usually ends in battle, perhaps with one or the other being killed. Our eyes meet and for a moment, we’re sizing each other up.

But then she smiles.

And attacks.

And I’m sandwiched between a brother and sister who are laughing and trying to tickle each other. For a moment, I’m lost. I’ve never been in this situation. I was an only child. I had no friends that played like this. Then someone’s fingers find my armpit and I burst out laughing. The attack comes from both sides as the former enemies unite against me. I fall back on my bed, doing my best to fend off the tickling attack, but failing miserably. If hunters used this technique in battle I would be defenseless.

I’m saved by a knock at the door. Tobias clears his throat and Em, Luca and I separate and sit up, doing our best to look serious and attentive (something that Tobias often requires), but he’s hiding a smile too.

“Get dressed and eat your breakfast. Both of you,” he says to Em and me. “We’re going to step things up today.”

“Can I go today?” Luca asks.

“Not today,” Tobias replies.

“But—”

Tobias tilts his head with a frown. “It’s too dangerous. You know that.”

“Then train me,” the little boy says, showing his fists. “I want to fight the monsters, too. Like Solomon!”

Tobias sighs. “When you’re older. For now, you must stay here. No more arguing.” He leaves the room before the little boy can complain.

Luca crosses his arms with a huff.

“I’ll train you,” I say.

His eyes brighten. “You will?”

A quick glance at Em reveals she thinks this is a bad idea. I smile at her and turn back to Luca. “I will. Lesson number one, tickle defense.”

I grab the boy and start tickling. His laughter breaks the tension. When I let up for a moment, he leaps out of the bed and runs from the room. I hear his feet padding down the hallway. “You can’t catch me!”

I look at Em and she’s smiling at me. “What?” I ask.

“You’re a good brother,” she says.

I shrug. “It’s easy to be a brother to yourself.”

“I wasn’t talking about Luca,” she says, and then punches my shoulder. “I was talking about me.”

“Thanks,” I say, and then punch her back.

Before she can hit me again, I leap from the bed and head for the door.

“I’ll get you later,” she says. “Father had me collecting rocks and I think he means for me to throw them at you today.”

I pause in the hallway and lean my head back into the room. “For real?”

She nods with a fiendish grin.