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

I see only one hunter. A scout. But there are fourteen cresties. Not even Ninnis, who is a master hunter and killer, could face those odds and survive. I might be able to escape such a fight—I have escaped such a fight—but I could never win. Strangely, this hunter doesn’t back down.

The telescope extends between my hands. I put it to my eye and feel my gut tense. The hunter is a woman. She’s dressed as I am, in minimal leathers to allow free movement through the sometimes tight confines of the underground; her white skin glistens with a sheen of sweat. I blink, taken aback by my response to her…femininity. I’d never been interested in girls before. Mira was the first to stir anything in me. But just the sight of this one has me feeling nervous.

I’m older, I think. Then I groan. Puberty. Great. At least the Weddell seals won’t comment if my voice cracks.

I put the telescope to my eye again. The woman is fierce, fighting a younger, ten foot cresty, and winning. She leaps in the air and strikes the dinosaur on the head with a large stone hammer.

I’ve seen the weapon before. Many of the hunters, who are fully human and subservient to the half-human, half-demon Nephilim warriors, mimic their masters by dressing the same (as I once did) and by carrying a smaller version of their master’s preferred weapon. In this case, the stone hammer favored by my former master’s father, Thor. The woman’s name is Kainda. She’s Ninnis’s daughter. And she has a serious reputation. Worse, I offended her by turning her down as my bride—not to mention a few more insults I heaped on top of that. She is a woman scorned and she’s no doubt out for my blood more than any other hunter. It’s not surprising she tracked me down first.

The young cresty falls beneath the hammer strike, its thick skull crushed. Five other cresties move in for the kill, but they’re stopped by Alice’s roar. Kainda has killed one of the pack and Alice wants revenge.

The pack parts and Alice pounds forward, pausing for a moment to sniff the air, maybe testing the scent of Kainda’s red hair. Maybe searching for my presence.

Kainda, to her credit, stands her ground in the face of certain failure. Even the Nephilim think twice before taking on a fully grown cresty.

She wants to die fighting, I think. It is the Nephilim way. The hunter’s way, too.

Kainda raises the hammer and charges.

Alice steps away, like she’s surprised, but it’s a feint. And Kainda falls for it.

The thick dinosaur tail whips through the air and strikes Kainda in the side, long before the woman has a chance to strike. She will not survive.

Alice, who has been my enemy for so long now, is about to help me without even knowing it.

I watch as Kainda pulls herself away, leaving a trail of grass matted down in her wake. Alice steps toward her, confident, but still wary. It will all be over in a minute.

Now’s my chance. I slide the telescope into its pouch on my belt and leap from the ledge. The wind slows my fall, as always, and I run.

Away from the lake.

At first I don’t even notice it, but when I do, I can’t stop.

I’m headed toward the battle.

Toward thirteen meat-eating dinosaurs.

And I’m going to save her. Kainda. The woman who would love nothing more than to set my head upon the tip of a pike and roast me over an open flame.

I struggle with my sense of urgency. Could I really have feelings for a woman like this? What about Mira? My feelings for her have only magnified during my time down here. How is it possible that I’ve forgotten all of that? It’s not.

That’s when I realize these feelings don’t belong to me. Well, not to all of me. They belong to Ull. In his eyes, Kainda is no doubt the perfect woman. The beautiful killer. Or do I just see something there I haven’t yet realized? How much do Ull and I really share in common? It’s all so confusing, so I decide to ignore the why and focus on the how.

I can’t fight and kill all thirteen cresties, and a rainstorm might not frighten them off again.

Alice, I think. She’s the key. Without her leadership the pack won’t know what to do or whose lead to follow. I need to kill Alice.

The jungle clears, and I run up a knoll that leads to the battle. The high pitched shrieking that punctuates the climax of every hunt fills the air.

I reach the top of the knoll and leap. I imagine the cavern’s air swooping up behind me and a moment later, it does. I’m carried high into the air, covering the distance between the knoll and Alice—nearly one hundred feet—in the blink of an eye. As I arc through the air, I see Alice opening her mouth to consume Kainda and I let out a war cry.

This time when Alice stumbles back, it’s not a ruse. She was not expecting my approach, especially not from above. I grip Whipsnap, which is wrapped around my waist and attached to the belt, and I give it a yank. The weapon springs free, ready to stab, slice or bludgeon. A gust of wind bursts beneath me as I land in the grass between Kainda and Alice. A ten foot circle of grass bends away from my feet like an impact crater.