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

The line collapses, bunching up, and then slips behind the bone mound.

A vibration reaches my feet. The floor is shaking.

A mass of green bodies round the bones and the truth is revealed.

Cresties. A herd of them. No, not a herd, an army. There’s a few hundred of the subterranean apex predators. A large male leads the pack and as the others slow to a stop, the big one pounds forward. The green and red cresty is a giant. The crest on its head, just behind its eyes, is nearly a foot tall on its own. It’s at least thirty feet long from snout to tail, easily as big as Alice, if not bigger.

Kainda shifts uncomfortably. Alice nearly killed her, after all.

“It’s okay,” I tell her. “I recognize him.”

Kat looks surprised. “You do? Just so you know, a pack of these guys nearly killed us.” She’s got her hand on her holstered pistol.

I nod. “They like to eat people. But this one won’t.”

She points to the rest of them, lining up next to each other like soldiers in formation. “And them?”

I shrug.

The big cresty stops with a final stomp of his foot, sending a vibration through my body. I reach a hand up. “Hello, Grumpy.”

The big dinosaur lowers his head until my hand rests on his snout, just between his eyes.

“It’s him?” Kainda asks. She was present the first time I petted Grumpy like this. Alice nearly killed Kainda, but she terrorized her own hunting pack. After I killed her, Grumpy became the pack leader.

I just look at her and smile. She steps up next to me and places her hand on the dinosaur’s snout. He sniffs her. She says, “hello.” It’s not exactly a Kodak moment, but hunters and cresties are bitter enemies. This is big.

A clicking sound comes from behind the dinosaur. I glance to the side and notice that it actually has reigns around its neck. The dinosaur rears up and turns to the side. Sitting on the dinosaur’s back like some kind of alien cowboy, is Xin. But he’s not alone. Clinging to his back is a second rider.

Luca.





28



“Luca!” Em says, surprised and happy, but then quickly repeats his name, this time with fear and anger, “Luca, what are you doing here?” She turns to Xin, “Why is he here? Why is he with you?”

“You don’t trust me?” Xin asks, squinting his serpentine eyes. It’s a challenge as much as a question. He taps Grumpy’s sides with his heels and the big predator crouches down.

“No,” Em says. “I don’t.”

“It’s okay, Em,” Luca says. He’s smiling and fidgeting, clearly eager to get down. He waves at me. “Hi, Sol!”

“Nor do I,” Kainda says.

Kat just looks mystified, probably by the large number of dinosaurs and Xin’s alien appearance. His white scaly skin, yellow eyes and slender, but strong frame look inhuman. But his blood runs red, the same as mine. Exactly the same as mine.

Xin takes Luca’s hands and helps the boy down. Once his toes reach the chamber’s stone floor, he’s running at Em. She bends down to greet him, sweeping him up for a tight hug. She might not be pleased by Luca being in this dangerous place, but she’s still happy to see him.

As am I. Luca dives at me next, and I lift him from the ground in a great bear hug before planting him back on the floor. He looks at Kainda and says, “Hey Kain,” and then at Kat, “Hi Kat.”

Kat scrunches her nose. “How does he know my name?”

“This is Luca,” I say. “He is one of my...twins.”

“Yeah, I can actually see that, but—”

“I can see through his eyes,” Luca explains. “I saw the sword. And Ookla. And the garden. And Nephil. But you took care of him. And—”

“We both saw,” Xin says. “He through you and I through him.”

Kat turns toward Xin. “And you’re Xin? The other...twin?”

He nods. “We saw what happened to the others. We also witnessed your success. That is why we came to greet you.”

“You could have waited on the surface,” Em says.

“I make the outsiders uncomfortable,” Xin says.

“And the hunters,” Luca adds with a smile.

Xin actually smiles a little bit. “And the hunters.” He stretches his arms out, motioning to the massive, empty cavern. “Nephil has retreated to the surface to prepare his forces. The underworld is empty, and safe. And we were very well protected.”

“I left Luca in Adoni’s care,” Em says, still angry.

“Adoni is busy,” Xin says to Em, but then turns to me. “Your forces gather at the coast. Hunters and outsiders alike.”

“The prisoners we set free?” I ask, assuming he’ll know what I’m talking about if they made it.

“They were received a week ago, weakened and down fifty men, but perhaps the most eager and willing to fight. They have been telling of how you slew the mighty Pan. But stories can only bolster their strength so much. They need you. Soon.”

I look back at the dinosaurs. “That’s why you’re really here, isn’t it? Transportation.”

Xin smiles.