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

After hearing all of this, most of which I fully admit is ridiculous to say the least, her response is to lean back on her hands and says, “Huh,” like I just told her the Red Sox traded Wade Boggs.

I assume she’s just trying to digest everything I’ve told her, or maybe trying to figure out if I’m nuts and whether or not she should make a run for it. After several minutes of silence she says, “Let me see if I’ve got this straight. You were kidnapped, turned into a hunter—” she points at Kainda, “by her father, Ninnis, took my mother, caused the crustal displacement event that killed billions, all because the Nephilim want you to be the vessel for the spirit of Nephil, aka Ophion, their leader. And now you’re leading a group of rebel hunters, the U.S. military and a pack of Crylos against them in an attempt to save humanity as we know it. Oh, and you have powers because you’re supernaturally bonded to the continent. That about sum it up?”

I look at Kainda, then back to Mira. “Yeah, actually, I think you’ve got a handle on the situation. But...you’re okay with it? You believe it? All of it?”

“I’ve seen the Nephilim with my own eyes. And the dinosaurs, though I have a hard time believing they’ve turned nice, and I even kind of remember your seal buddies saving me. But...” She shakes her head. “My father sees patterns. He’s grown blunter about it since you knew him. Calls it the fingerprint of God. I normally think he’s nuts, but everything you’re saying... I don’t see any other way around it, especially given the fact that I’m here at all.”

“Why’s that?” I ask.

“When the crust shifted, I was at home.”

“In Portsmouth,” I say.

She nods. “I watched as the water slipped out of the bay.

I cringe inwardly, knowing what will happen next.

“And I watched it return. The wall of water slid through the city. It killed everyone, including my friends. And then, it rolled up the hill.”

“Prospect Hill,” I say. “Two hundred feet tall.”

“The water rose to the foundation of my house. It took my neighbors, and nearly took me. I was knocked unconscious, but I survived. And when I woke up, the world was frozen. The house was no longer at the top of the hill, it was the only building still standing on a plain of ice that stretched to the horizon. I survived in the basement for months before heading south, where Wright, Kat and Cruz found me in a church. The point is, I was the only survivor in New Hampshire. The only survivor. And somehow I ended up here, with you, and am now told that I’m one of four women you need to save the world. What are the odds of that happening by chance?”

“Probably zero,” I say. It’s something I’ve had to come to terms with, too.

“It’s crazy. Borderline stupid. Hell, I spent the last few weeks arguing against the idea with my father. But now, after everything I’ve seen, and what you’ve told me, I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to be here. Just like you are.” She looks at Kainda. “And you are.” She shrugs. “I don’t know about you two, but that is what gives me hope.”

Kainda chuckles and says, “Adoel was right about this one.”

I smile so wide it hurts.

Hope has arrived.





8



Now that the three of us are a little better acquainted, Kainda lets her guard down a bit. She had been pacing during the retelling of my story, arms crossed and brow furrowed, but she looks more at ease now, as relaxed as she allows herself to get while in hostile territory, at least. She sits on the cavern floor next to me, unclipping her battle hammer and laying it beside her.

I’m sure she still feels threatened by Mira, so I put my hand atop hers and lace our fingers together. Mira sees the gesture and frowns.

The part of me that is an average young man wonders if Mira is actually interested in me still, after all these years. Things like that happen, I think. The idea makes me nervous and uncomfortable, and I’m a little surprised that I hope that is not the case. Without meaning to, Mira became a central figure in my life, but the part of me that bumped feet with her, clung to that photo and checked off a box in the note she left behind has grown up.

“I was married,” she says, and all of my worry melts away.

“Mirabelle Whitney,” I say.

“Did my father tell you?” she asks.

“Remember when you took the boat down the river?” I ask. “From the citadel? Before you killed Enki?”

She nods.

“We were in the trees. On our way to help. You passed just beneath us and I overhead someone call you Whitney. Just put two and two together. Is he...”

“Alive?” she finishes for me. “No. But don’t worry, he wasn’t, you know...it wasn’t the crustal displacement. He was shot, by a robber who wanted my watch. Just over a year ago, actually. Tried to defend me. It was a stupid thing to do.”

“What was his name?” Kainda asks.