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

“You will answer to me,” I say, and make sure it’s loud enough for everyone to hear. I let a grin show.

A gust of wind strikes his back like a charging bull. He falls forward. The impact arches his back and flings his arms out to the sides. I don’t even have to move. The blade tip of Whipsnap stabs through his chest, tearing through breastplate, flesh and heart, if he has one. With a crunchy slurp, the blade emerges from his back, covered in purple gore.

I will need to clean Whipsnap’s staff where the blood runs over it before I can touch it again, but it doesn’t matter now. The fight is over, though Amaguq doesn’t quite realize it yet.

He laughs loudly, straightening himself. I see his fingers hook and the shimmer of his red, scaly skin as his biceps flex. He’s going to try grabbing me. If he succeeds, I’ll die quickly. But I don’t intend on giving him the chance. Without moving a muscle, I send a gust of wind in the opposite direction, slamming him away from me.

There’s a hard tug on my arms as the blade pulls free from his already healing body. But the wound is grave and he’s not so quick to recover. He sits up, clutching his chest. Purple blood flows from the wound, and from his mouth. For anyone else, it would have been a mortal wound. For Amaguq, it’s a speed bump, which is all I wanted.

He laughs again and I hear a moan of fright from some of the spectators.

Purple blood covers his double rows of sharpened teeth. It’s a sick grin. And I take pleasure in wiping it from his face.

“You should have got the wings,” I say.

The look on his face says, huh? but then understanding fills his eyes.

Amaguq is scooped from the earth by an invisible force. It happens so quickly, so violently, that many of his bones break. He’s launched skyward like a rocket, his scream fading into the distance. Inside of ten seconds, he’s just a speck.

That’s when I let him go.

The scream returns, growing louder as the ten foot, devil-like giant reaches terminal velocity.

As I watch him fall, I hear gasps, excited talking and even a few claps. But this won’t be the end of it, and I don’t intend it to be. Not quite yet.

The impact is horrible, disgusting in every way imaginable. The sound is a wet, dull thump combined with a crack loud enough to be a fireworks explosion. The impact shakes the ground. One of his arms flies free, separated at the shoulder joint. Fluids, purple and white, flow from the body. The head cracks open and for the first time, I get a glimpse of a Nephilim brain—it’s as black as I imagine their hearts to be.

The slowly rising cheer around me cuts off quickly when Amaguq moves.

He’s broken, but not yet dead.

“It’s alive!” someone shouts. It’s the voice of a young man, perhaps someone who has never seen battle before and is now faced with this. Amaguq’s body begins to reform, though very slowly. There isn’t a part of him that doesn’t need to heal. I’m not even sure he can think right now.

I could kill him. Take off his head right now and be done with it. But I have one more demonstration, and for Amaguq, it will be far worse than having his body reduced to sludge.

“He is alive,” I shout to the men and women surrounding us. “You have probably heard that your enemy, these Nephilim, are monstrous and impossible to kill. But now you have seen it for yourself. You have seen what your bullets can do against them.”

It’s not the most inspirational speech, I know, but it’s the truth and it is the only thing that will prepare these soldiers for what is coming.

“They delight in pain. They revel in death. After they have killed you, they will consume your flesh. And when they are done with you here, they will move out into the world like a plague, bringing terror and death to all of humanity.”

I turn slowly, looking as many of the soldiers in the eyes as I can. I find Em in the crowd. She looks unsure. I give her a wink that says, “I know what I’m doing,” and she’s put at ease, though just a little bit.

Are you still with me, brother?

I am here, Solomon, but time is short, Xin responds. Your method is intriguing.

Can you connect me with Kat? I ask.

It is done.

“All of this will come to pass,” I say aloud. “Unless you follow me.”

A wet gurgle of a laugh fills the air. Amaguq is recovering. I glance over my shoulder. He’s on one knee, struggling to stay upright, but healing faster now.

Kat walks toward me, responding to my request. Amaguq cannot see her, but our audience can. She slowly unwraps the bundle in her arms, which garners confused comments from the crowd.

“Turn,” Amaguq demands. “Face me at your end!”

Kat stops in front of me. I drop Whipsnap to the ground and take her delivery in my hands.

“Bold move, kid,” she whispers. “I like it.” She glances over my shoulder. “By the way, I think he’s going to kill you now.”

I feel the rumble of Amaguq’s footstep behind me. He’s just ten feet away. Two more steps and he’ll be close enough to kill me.