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

The concept of covering my scent with another living thing’s blood should repulse me, but it doesn’t. For a moment, I wonder if Ull is back, but then I realize that it’s just me. And I’m changing. How could I not?

I turn my full attention to the bones and see a large intact ribcage at the base of the pile. It’s concealed within the pile, but also holding the mass of bones at bay, creating a boneless nook. By the looks of it, it belonged to a massive cresty, perhaps even larger than Alice. I shift a few bones out of the way, clearing a passage to the open space.

With the path clear, I hoist Xin up over my back again and pull him inside. No one will be able to see our white bodies hidden inside the bone mountain, but anything with half a nose will sniff us out. Xin’s bloody trail across the enormous chamber guarantees it. Of course, that’s also part of the plan, because the first scavengers to follow a trail of blood are always the oversized albino centipedes. The creatures are numerous in the underground and are the staple food for many of the denizens here, but their cottage cheese flesh is also good for sealing wounds and fighting infection.

I lay Xin down on the stone floor, propping his head up on a loose bone. A sigh escapes his mouth as he settles down. I expect his eyes’ll pop open and he’ll slice into my mind, but he doesn’t move. I can see his pulse thumping behind the flesh of his neck. Still alive.

After covering the passage into our hideaway with bones, I sit down and think about how much I miss things like couches. It’s been so long since I was comfortable. Though I have to admit, the beds in Asgard, made from layers of egg-monster skins, can hold their own against the best memory foam. But out here, in the wilderness, on the run, the best I can hope for is to not have my throat slit while I sleep.

Thinking of sleep pulls on my eyelids. I don’t think I’ve been awake for a full day, but since I last slept, I’ve battled Alice, nearly drowned, was chased through the underground and slugged it out with Xin, Ull and Nephil in my mind. My body is fairly well conditioned so I think it must be the mental battle that wore me out. Then I remember that Xin took control of my body and used my abilities, which taxes both body and mind. Add to that several adrenaline highs and crashes and it’s no wonder I’m tired.

I sit up cross-legged, determined to not fall asleep. The risk is too great. Aside from Xin, there are countless dangers in the underworld that could be drawn by his blood. But my head is spinning now. I close my eyes to fight the rising nausea.

“Hey Schwartz,” my father shouts.

A memory.

One of my favorites.

We’re at the beach, scouring the rocky shore in search of tide pools. The sun is shining, warming my shirtless torso. Clouds roll past in the distance. The air smells of sea water but is tinged with the odor of grilling burgers.

Justin’s head pops up from behind a large rock. He’s wearing his tinted sports glasses, as usual. “I see your Schwartz is as big as mine.”

I laugh.

“Justin, I swear,” says my father, standing from his position nearer the breaking waves, “Can I call my son by his nickname just once without you saying that? Just once?”

“Not likely,” Justin says.

My father looks at me.

“What?” I say with a shrug. “I’m not his mother.”

My father grins and motions with his head for me to join him. “Found a good tide pool. Lots of crabs. A few shrimp, too. Water is nice and clear, so I’ll get some good close-ups out of it.”

I climb through the rocks carefully. It’s not uncommon for me to go home from the beach with a fresh wound, if not several. My parents call me clumsy, but it’s an understatement because I seem to walk into doorframes and slip down stairs just as often as I trip on rocks at the beach. But I make it to my father okay, and I grin at the size of the tide pool. It’s the perfect contained ecosystem, at least for a few more hours, and it’s mine to explore.

While my father takes photos, Justin and I explore every nook and cranny of the tidepool. No rock is left unturned, no shell left submerged.

“What are we up to?” Justin asks me, knowing that I’ll have perfectly retained the number and name of each creature we’ve discovered.

I could give him the Latin names for the animals in this tide pool, but he hates that, so I keep it simple. “Five crabs, three shrimp, eleven hermit crabs, thirty two snails and too many barnacles to count.” That last part is a lie. There are three hundred and seventy-two barnacles, but sooner or later, I think Justin will decide I’m too weird to be around.

“There you are,” my mother says as she climbs over the rocks toward us. She’s far more agile than me or my father, even with the four boxed lunches she’s carrying. The scent of burgers and fries arrives a moment before she does. We eat in silence, enjoying the view and the sunshine. I eat the tinfoil-wrapped dill pickle first, then the fries before they get cold, and then turn my attention to the burger. This is a perfect moment. The food. The view. The smells. The company. With a smile on my face, I bite into the burger and wince.