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

Like the thinker clone, these two share my eyes.

These are two of my three remaining duplicates. My stomach twists with revulsion. I felt the same thing upon discovering Xin was my duplicate, but he turned out to be a brother, more human than Nephilim despite his appearance.

But these two, the hatred in their eyes is easy to read. They are the hard-hearted sons of Nephil through and through.

The pair snaps into action. I’m not sure what they’re going to do, but I respond with overwhelming force, thrusting my hands out. A gust of wind flows past me. My whipping hair stings my forehead.

Then they’re airborne. Part of me wants to stay and take care of these two, but I hear shouting voices echoing from distant hallways. We are found.

“Change of plans,” I say to the others. “Run. Now!”





13



The slapping of feet on stone pursues us downward through the network of subterranean tunnels. The hunters giving chase have abandoned stealth. Their numbers have bolstered their confidence, and since we’ve given up stealth in our flight, tracking us is a simple thing. This has become a race.

Wright and Kat, who had been saving their flashlight batteries earlier, click their lights on, illuminating our path. Kainda, Em and I don’t need the flashlights, having long since grown accustomed to the pitch black, but the light brings out details that would normally remain hidden and allows us to pour on the speed.

Our path is winding, but downhill. There are more direct routes to the gates of Tartarus, but they would be tight fits for a group of five and might require squeezes that Wright and Kat are not accustomed to navigating. So I stick to the under-ground’s version of a freeway, following a shallow stream that was once a raging river. The stream leads toward Asgard and more familiar territory. It eventually merges with a larger river—what I call the High River. In the past, it flowed to a waterfall that emptied out in the massive chamber containing the ruins of New Jericho. But the last time I saw that cavern, after leaving Tartarus, it was nearly flooded. If we can make it to the water, we’ll be okay. Hunters are good at many things, but swimming, since there is little call for it, is not one of them.

Several miles into our downward run, I slow to a walk and sniff the air.

“What are you doing?” Kainda says, sounding urgent and confused.

“Trying to get a sense of the—”

“Is your nose not working?” she says, taking a deep breath through her nose. “They are nearly upon us!”

“If it makes you feel better,” Wright says, his hands on his knees, his head lowered. “I can’t smell a thing.”

“Don’t worry,” I say. “We’re safe for now. You can only smell them because I am pulling the air toward us more quickly. They’re miles behind us now.”

“I thought you hunters were supposed to be real hotshots,” Kat says. She looks winded, but ready to keep going if need be. “How come they can’t keep up?”

Em smells the air. “Because they’re not trying to catch us anymore.”

I nod. “At least half of them have separated from the main group, though the two...creatures are still with them.”

“It’s a trap,” Wright says, doing a half way decent impression of Admiral Ackbar from Return of the Jedi.

The quote and memories of seeing the movie with my father and Justin makes me laugh. Wright and I are definitely part of the same generation.

“Seriously?” Kat says. “You’re quoting movies?”

“The point is,” I say, “Sooner or later, we’re going to be cut off. Those that make it ahead of us will try to stall us long enough for the rest to catch up.”

“Hunters working together, against us,” Em says. “This isn’t normal.”

She’s right. Hunters typically think only of themselves, at least while they’re still loyal to the Nephilim. They must have a very good reason to cooperate. “It’s Ophion.”

“Who?” Em and Kainda ask together.

“Nephil. Ophion was his original name. He’s a Titan, like Cronus, one of the first twelve born of human mothers and demon fathers. He must have promised rewards, or more likely threats. They’re being compelled.”

“Which gives us an advantage in combat,” Wright says, standing back up. “They might be moving together, but they’re not going to fight together. Not like us.”

“Right,” I say, starting downward again, though at a slower pace. If the group behind us starts closing the distance, we’ll speed up, but I don’t want us to be exhausted when the hunters, who are likely already ahead of us, spring their trap. “Just steer clear of the two clones, if—”

“Clones?” Wright says, sounding surprised.

I’ve tried to fill Wright and Kat in on as much as I could since I met them. I left nothing out, including my explanation of Luca, Xin, the thinker clone and the three mystery clones, all created in a failed attempt to duplicate my abilities. So he understands the implications of what I’ve said. He just hadn’t seen it.