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

The buzzing in my head grows intense. I can feel my will being shattered from within. I grit my teeth and fight against it, but I am not alone.

You must run, Xin says. He sounds weak. Beaten. And I realize that the only reason the gatherers have yet to claim my mind is because he is shielding me, and feeling the majority of their attack.

A crazed scream rips through the chamber.

Heads turn and the wall of hunters parts. Ninnis steps forward. His body looks stronger. Younger. His arm is healed.

Nephil has found a host in Ninnis, if only temporarily.

Run! Xin insists.

Where? I think.

Ninnis walks toward me, confident and radiating power. He says nothing, but his unblinking eyes never waver from mine.

Pain throbs in my head.

I need an escape route. I need a distraction.

I need Behemoth.

Focusing beyond Ninnis, beyond the wall of hunters and the army of Nephilim, I feel the air surrounding the wall of fire. I return my thoughts to the molecules of oxygen, the same way I did when I made the wall flare. But this time, instead of pulling the oxygen into the flame, I draw it away.

When the light in the chamber drops by seventy percent, I know I’ve succeeded. As does everyone else. There is a shift of attention in the chamber as nearly everyone cranes their heads toward the extinguished wall.

Behemoth bellows with a hungry rage. The meal set out before him is unlike anything he’s seen before. His thundering footsteps shake the chamber and something I never thought I’d see takes place. The Nephilim—this horde of half demon monsters conspiring to exterminate and enslave the human race—panics.

The buzzing in my head fades. The gatherers, and Xin, are gone.

The majority of hunters surrounding me break ranks and run.

But not everyone runs. Enki remains. As do the other ancient kings. They stand among Lord Nephil now and flight is not possible.

And Ninnis. He doesn’t show any reaction to Behemoth’s approach. He continues his calm walk toward me. I look into his eyes and sense the power there. Even with Behemoth’s distraction, I will not be able to escape. Ninnis on his own would be a challenge, but he’s now powered by the body and spirit of Nephil.

With the last of my strength, I direct the wind at him, hoping to knock him back and give me a moment to run—if my legs can still manage it. But he walks through the gust as though it’s a gentle breeze.

“You cannot run,” Ninnis says, his voice more sinister than ever before.

I step away, matching his pace in reverse so that there is a constant ten feet between us.

“And you cannot live.” Ninnis unfurls Strike at his side.

Cannot live?

But they need me alive.

Nephil wouldn’t—

This isn’t Nephil!

Ninnis contains all of the power and strength of Nephil, as well as the allegiance of the Nephilim, but he has retained control of his body and mind. And to keep it that way, he needs me dead.

He sees the realization in my eyes and smiles. “Little Solomon, you never were strong enough to claim this power as your own.”

He feints a thrust and I jump back.

I look behind me. The depressing darkness of Tartarus is just five feet away.

If Ninnis kills me, he wins. The Nephilim win. I cannot let that happen.

I take a step back and ready my weapon.

Ninnis laughs. “You are weak, boy. You pose no threat to me now.”

“I know,” I say, “But I will not let you kill me.”

“You have no choice.”

“There is always a choice,” I say. It’s a lesson I wish every hunter in the under-world would learn. To punctuate my statement, I take another step back.

Surprise registers on Ninnis’s face. “You wouldn’t.”

I take another step. I can feel the darkness tingling around me.

“Why?” he asks.

For some reason, I think him not knowing will eat him up inside, so I simply say, “I hope you figure it out someday. Goodbye, Ninnis.”

I see his face contort with confusion, as I take one more step back.

Then I see nothing.

The darkness has swallowed me.

And in an instant I realize I’ve made a mistake.

I’ve never felt such sadness. Such loneliness. Even the voice of Ull is gone once again.

I step forward, hoping to stand before Ninnis again. I would prefer a thousand deaths to the sorrow that consumes me. I try to gather my thoughts. I’m still me. My mind is still intact. But when a shiver wracks my body, I realize just how helpless I have become.

I can no longer feel the land, water and air. This realm is physical, but somehow separate from Antarctica. And for the first time since setting foot on the continent of my birth, I feel…

Cold.





Epilogue



Lieutenant Ninnis felt proud once more. After a lifetime of servitude and submission he had finally proved his worth. As a man. As a hunter. And now, as Lord of the Nephilim. While Nephil had not fully bonded to him, mind and spirit, he contained all of the power and desires of the ancient demon.