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

“I’ll think of something,” I say. “But when the time comes. Don’t hesitate. Strike. Luca won’t be a priority once I’m there, so you shouldn’t have to deal with Ninnis or Kainda.”


Her eyes darken at the mention of Ninnis.

“We’re not here for vengeance,” I say. “Just Luca.”

“And if we recover him and escape,” she asks. “What then?”

It blows my mind that we haven’t talked about this before. We’ve been so focused on getting Luca back that we never came up with what to do after we had him. “We’ll get you both to McMurdo. You can take Luca and live on the outside, eat delicious food, and maybe find your family.”

“How?” She asks. “Will you be coming?”

I shake my head, no, but I suspect she knew that. “I need to stay here. When they find you, tell them you belong to Merrill Clark in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States of America. When they bring you to him, tell him the truth. Tell him about me. He will help you.”

Loud chanting from Behemoth’s cavern snaps our heads toward the wall of fire. Time is short. “It’s time,” I say.

Em lunges forward and wraps her arms around me. Her embrace is crushing, but fuels my resolve and reminds me of why I’m facing my fears today instead of running away. Without another word, we part and walk in opposite directions, Em disappearing into the dark tunnel and me walking into the brightly lit cavern in full view of the Nephilim—and Behemoth.





32



My heart beats in time with my footsteps, each booming with the intensity of thunder. At least, that’s how it feels to me. Because the moment I’m out in the open, two things happen. First, the Nephilim chanting stops as though someone has taken the needle off a record. I feel thousands of eyes upon me, though I cannot see them. The Nephilim and hunters are concealed behind a wall of flame and radiating heat that I cannot feel, but can see shimmering up toward the ceiling hundreds of feet above.

Second, Behemoth holds its breath. I don’t see it happen, but the breeze has died down and the pressure of the place has changed. It’s amazing that a single creature could have that much influence on its environment. It’s also terrifying.

Everything about this is terrifying. I’m no longer Ull. I’m not facing my enemies with the confidence of a warrior who would fight to the death. I’m the nerdy bookworm and despite having gained some skills, abilities, and admittedly, some toughening up, my idea of a good fight is still a rousing game of Risk or Electronic Battleship.

But I’m pretending to be Ull, so I keep my chin up, my eyes set forward and my stride confident. I hide my fear and press onward, for Luca.

When I reach the center of the chamber, still a few hundred feet from the fire, the ground shakes. My presence on this side of the flame has spurred Behemoth into action, as I feared, and hoped, it would.

I don’t look back.

I don’t quicken my pace.

For those looking at my face, it will appear as though I am as unconcerned by Behemoth’s approach as I would be by an ant’s.

A second quake rattles the cavern, this one more intense, but still not on top of me. My body flickers from the orange flames. If I could feel heat, I suspect I would be quite warm now.

Boom.

Behemoth takes another giant step. It’s right behind me now. Close enough.

Without moving my hands or changing my facial expression, I focus on the air at the top of the cavern. I turn my focus smaller and smaller, separating one gas from another until I’ve found what I’m looking for: oxygen.

I can hear Behemoth’s hairy tendrils snaking toward me. It won’t be long before they strike out, lash around me and drag me back to the giant jaws sporting teeth the size of sailboat sails. If that were to happen, I’m not sure I could set myself free, even with all of my abilities.

When I’m sure my fear is about to reveal itself on my face, I bring the cloud of oxygen down to the fire. The reaction is instantaneous. The flames burst white hot, filling the cavern with a sudden burst of light akin to a giant sized camera flash bulb. I close my eyes at the same moment, sparing myself from the majority of the light’s power.

Behemoth roars behind me. The sound is so loud that it takes all my strength to not put my hands to my ears.

As the flames shrink back to normal size, I realize that I could do the chicken dance all the way up to the flame wall and no one would notice. The bright light and intense sound have had an effect on the Nephilim too. Several rub their eyes. Some rub their ears. But not one of them is watching me now.

I don’t waver. Just because everyone I can see isn’t paying attention, doesn’t mean others aren’t still watching. I continue toward the fire, my pace as even as it was when I first entered the chamber.