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

A flock of birds shoots from the trees behind us, rising into the sky like a fast moving cloud. Pain grips my eyes as I look up into the bright blue sky. I squint as something moves across the sun. A splash spins me around toward the lake. I see nothing but a few ripples of water. Did he throw something? Is he trying to distract us?

The four of us stand back to back. I quickly hand Tunis the knife he’d previously held to my throat. It isn’t much, but it’s something. Em hands him a second, the big knife she took from the dead British soldier’s body.

“The others that stayed behind with me are dead,” Tunis says quickly. “He killed them all. In seconds.”

Ninnis is a skilled hunter, perhaps the most skilled hunter. But killing three hunters in just a few seconds doesn’t seem possible, even for him. At least, I hope it’s not.

Em, Kainda and I stay quiet, weapons ready. This would be a difficult fight on our best day, but right now, we’re exhausted and in no shape to do battle. But we do our best to look strong and not appear weak.

“He’s not human,” Tunis says. “He’s—”

“Quiet,” Kainda hisses.

Tunis falls silent, but I can still hear his shaky breathing, and I’d almost prefer he kept talking. It takes a lot to rattle a hunter like Tunis, and he seems petrified.

The seconds wear on.

I jump back as something rises from the water. It’s the shape of a man. Scraggly deep red hair. The thin, sinewy body of a strong old man. He shakes his head like a dog, clearing the water from his face.

Then he stops with a quick intake of air. His eyes locked on me.

Ninnis.

His eyes widen for just a moment, but I can see that he had no idea I was here.

“Ull,” he says, his voice lacking the menace I expected. “You… How?”

“You know how, Nephil,” I say, addressing the spirit I believe is controlling him.

Ninnis grins his nearly toothless grin. “As with you, Solomon, our Lord Nephil, found my will too strong to control. It is I who controls him.”

The idea is so ridiculous that I can’t imagine any reason why Nephil would make such a claim. “Then set him free,” I say. “You can end all of this. Right now.”

“I might not give Nephil my body, but I still serve the will of the Nephilim,” he says. His body shakes for a moment, like there is something inside, trying to escape, but he grits his teeth and contains it. “Lord Nephil wants you back. But that is no longer possible. It is I who now leads the Nephilim out into the world. And it is I who will be remembered for ending the days of men. But you will be a distraction for Nephil. I will, of course, have to kill you, as I should have before you… How did you escape Tartarus?” His eyes drift to my hair. I think he’s just now noticed it. For a moment he seems stunned, which is understandable. To a hunter, my purified hair is an impossibility. “How did you…?”

“My burden was lifted,” I say. “Cronus showed me how.”

Mentioning Cronus’s name brings a physical reaction to Ninnis’s face. He shouts in pain and something writhes beneath his skin. He shouts angrily and regains control.

Kainda nearly moves in to strike, but Em stops her.

Ninnis sneers at Kainda. “Come, traitorous daughter! I will gladly strike you down first!” But he doesn’t move and Kainda remains still with Em’s help.

“Go now,” I say to Ninnis. “Take Nephil back to Tartarus and be free of him forever. Be free of everything. All of the darkness and—”

Ninnis laughs. “More of your forgiveness? Your mercy? It is your weakness.”

“It is my strength,” I say.

“You are to be pitied.”

“I am stronger than you.” He understands that I am not speaking about physical strength. He knows me well enough to comprehend what I’m saying.

“You know nothing of true strength,” he says, standing up straight. His eyes take on a manic sheen and a thin smile spreads on his lips. It’s almost like he’s gone into some kind of drug induced state. “You rejected the spirit of Lord Nephil. I, on the other hand, direct it!”

Four streaks of black shoot from Ninnis’s chest. When one of them strikes my chest, it’s with a force comparable to Kainda’s hammer. I’m thrown back into the jungle. At least my landing in the foot-deep water is cushioned. But I’m having trouble catching my breath and I’ve dropped Whipsnap. When I push myself up, I see that Kainda, Em and Tunis are in a similar state. In fact, Tunis seems to be unconscious, his head underwater.

I scramble to my feet and dash to Tunis, lifting his head and propping him up against a tree. It only takes a few seconds, but by the time I’m done, Kainda and Em have launched a counter attack. Em throws a volley of knifes at Ninnis, but he doesn’t even move. The blackness reaches out and swats the blades from the air.