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

The giant doesn’t stand a chance against these two, the largest and most powerful of the cresties, now loyal to me. They must have tracked our scents through the jungle since we left them by the river. I’ve heard of dogs crossing countries to find their masters, but I’ve never heard of a dinosaur doing that. Of course, they’ve probably never had the opportunity before.

As the gnawing, tearing and crunching becomes sickening, I turn away. Nephilim blood has no effect on the dinosaurs. They’re natural enemies—opposing giants of the underworld, and the cresties relish the chance to feast on the purple flesh. I suspect they might get some sort of kick from the blood, like an energy boost or euphoria, which would explain their hankering for Nephilim, but if they experience any adverse symptoms from eating the supernatural meat, it can’t be more substantial than gas, which for a dinosaur, is always bad.

With the chewing and slurping behind me, I look down to clip Whipsnap to my belt. A pair of bare feet stop in front of me. They’re feminine, but strong, lacking any decoration beyond scars. Kainda. I smile and finish clipping my weapon in place.

I look at Kainda and see a facial expression I wasn’t expecting. I look beyond her and find Em, Kat and Mira just behind her and to the sides, all wearing the same expression—a one sided smile and a cocked eyebrow that says, “Showoff.”

“I had to know what I could do,” I say defensively. The eyebrows inch higher. “Seriously.”

“You almost killed us,” says Kat. Her words make me see the blood trickling down her face from a gash on her forehead. I look at Em. She’s holding her side. Mira has a hand on her opposite arm. They’re all wounded because of me.

My smile slips away as I remember the darkness that had consumed me. I became a monster, and not for the first time. With a gasp of dread, I reach for my hair and pull it in front of my face, inspecting it like an OCD chimp mother checking her baby for flees.

“You’re fine,” Kat says. “Your golden locks are back.”

When I confirm this for myself, seeing no trace of red remaining, I look up at my four friends and find them smiling. “Was that—? Were you all teasing me?”

Kainda claps a hand on my shoulder, and I haven’t condensed any atoms or anything like that, so it hurts. I wince, but smile when she says, “You fought well.”

From Kainda, that might be the highest praise ever.

Em says, “Nicely done, Sol.”

My smile widens.

“Wright would be proud,” Kat adds, trying to make this sap of a leader tear up.

But Mira rescues me, saying, “I think he’s a freak of nature, but that’s just me.”

We all have a good laugh, letting the tension of the past days seep away. “Are you all okay?” I ask. “Really okay?”

“We’re fine,” Mira says, and if it had been any of the other three, who are more battle-hardened, I would have doubted it, but Mira doesn’t have the same kind of tough pride that can’t admit injury. She’d say something.

I hear a particularly gruesome bite and swallow behind me. Kat and Mira both cringe. Em and Kainda have seen it before.

“We should go,” Kat says.

I nod. “Once they finish eating, we’ll leave. They can carry the five of us without any trouble. We’re just fifteen miles from the coast. We can make it by sunset.”

“And the Nephilim?” Mira asks.

“They’ll arrive tomorrow.” I say. “Probably in the morning. They feel about ten miles to the west.”

“How many?” Kat asks.

I pause, trying to think of a gentle way to break the news. Mira does it for me, not so gently.

“We’re pretty much screwed,” Mira says.

Kat looks to Kainda, who shrugs and nods.

Kat grunts. “Great intel, guys.”

Despite the dire revelation, I smile. “I’ll fill you in on the way.” I tap my head. “I have all the numbers, sizes, weapons and capabilities up here. When we get to the FOB, you can help General Holloway make sense of how to respond to it.”

With a rekindled sense of urgency, I turn around to the eating dinosaurs, intending to disrupt their meal and get us moving. Kainda stops me with a hand on my arm. “Could I speak with you before we leave?” Her eyes flick to the side. She wants a private conversation.

“We’ll, ahh, we’ll be right back,” I say to the others. Kainda leads me away, rounding a large tree. The backside of the tree is lined by thick ferns that come up to our thighs.

“Could be a pack of turquins in here and we’d never know it,” I say.

I meant it as a joke. Something to break the nervous tension I’m suddenly feeling. But Kainda doesn’t laugh.

Instead, she whirls around and lunges at me. She gets a hand behind my head, grips my hair tightly and uses the surprise to sweep out my legs and drop me onto my back. I cough as the air is knocked from my lungs.