The Last Hunter - Collected Edition (82 page)

Luca.

28

“Luca!” Em says, surprised and happy, but then quickly repeats his name, this time with fear and anger, “Luca, what are you doing here?” She turns to Xin, “Why is he here? Why is he with you?”

“You don’t trust me?” Xin asks, squinting his serpentine eyes. It’s a challenge as much as a question. He taps Grumpy’s sides with his heels and the big predator crouches down.

“No,” Em says. “I don’t.”

“It’s okay, Em,” Luca says. He’s smiling and fidgeting, clearly eager to get down. He waves at me. “Hi, Sol!”

“Nor do I,” Kainda says.

Kat just looks mystified, probably by the large number of dinosaurs and Xin’s alien appearance. His white scaly skin, yellow eyes and slender, but strong frame look inhuman. But his blood runs red, the same as mine. Exactly the same as mine.

Xin takes Luca’s hands and helps the boy down. Once his toes reach the chamber’s stone floor, he’s running at Em. She bends down to greet him, sweeping him up for a tight hug. She might not be pleased by Luca being in this dangerous place, but she’s still happy to see him.

As am I. Luca dives at me next, and I lift him from the ground in a great bear hug before planting him back on the floor. He looks at Kainda and says, “Hey Kain,” and then at Kat, “Hi Kat.”

Kat scrunches her nose. “How does he know my name?”

“This is Luca,” I say. “He is one of my...twins.”

“Yeah, I can actually see that, but—”

“I can see through his eyes,” Luca explains. “I saw the sword. And Ookla. And the garden. And Nephil. But you took care of him. And—”

“We both saw,” Xin says. “He through you and I through him.”

Kat turns toward Xin. “And you’re Xin? The other...twin?”

He nods. “We saw what happened to the others. We also witnessed your success. That is why we came to greet you.”

“You could have waited on the surface,” Em says.

“I make the outsiders uncomfortable,” Xin says.

“And the hunters,” Luca adds with a smile.

Xin actually smiles a little bit. “And the hunters.” He stretches his arms out, motioning to the massive, empty cavern. “Nephil has retreated to the surface to prepare his forces. The underworld is empty, and safe. And we were very well protected.”

“I left Luca in Adoni’s care,” Em says, still angry.

“Adoni is busy,” Xin says to Em, but then turns to me. “Your forces gather at the coast. Hunters and outsiders alike.”

“The prisoners we set free?” I ask, assuming he’ll know what I’m talking about if they made it.

“They were received a week ago, weakened and down fifty men, but perhaps the most eager and willing to fight. They have been telling of how you slew the mighty Pan. But stories can only bolster their strength so much. They need you. Soon.”

I look back at the dinosaurs. “That’s why you’re really here, isn’t it? Transportation.”

Xin smiles.

“You’re smiling,” I note.

“A side effect of spending time with our brother,” Xin says. “He softens the heart.” He nods to me. “Much like you.”

“Hey,” Luca says, sounding excited. “Em! You’re hair!” He looks at Kainda. “Yours too!”

“Guess you didn’t see that part,” I say.

“Uh-uh.”

Xin inches closer to Em. He reaches out a hand to touch her hair, but she flinches away. He seems to not notice and whispers, “It works...”

I take the shofar from Kat and carefully unwrap it. Xin marvels over it, but doesn’t touch it.
What would the horn do to Xin
? I wonder. He’s part Nephilim, but he’s also part human. He has no hair to speak of, but the Nephilim corruption is no doubt rooted in him as well.

“You can be free,” I say, raising the horn toward Xin and placing it to my lips. I close my eyes and fill my lungs.

“Wait—” Xin starts, but I’ve already begun to blow. The sound echoes through the chamber. The cresties respond to it with roars, but they don’t move.

When I open my eyes and lower the horn, Xin is gone. For a second, I think I’ve somehow obliterated him, but then I hear a shifting sound to my left. Xin steps out from behind a tall, stone outcrop.

Can you hear me
? he asks in my mind.

Yes
, I reply.

He seems relieved by the answer.

“Why did you move?” I ask.

“We don’t know what effect the Jericho shofar will have on me. If it removes the Nephilim corruption fully, I could die. I could lose my mental abilities. When the battle is won, we can see what happens. Until then, I must remain as I am.”

“He clings to his corruption,” Kainda remarks.

“No,” I say. “He loathes it as much as you both did.” I look her and Em in the eyes. “He is making a sacrifice. For me. For both of you. For all of us. I trust him with my life. With Luca’s life. He is my brother, and I expect both of you to trust him as such. We cannot be divided by the hatred of the world we knew. We are better than that, and you both have been freed from it.”

Neither of them reply. They have no argument against what I’ve said, but it’s a bitter pill to swallow and the change will take time, so I let that be the end of it for now.

I give the shofar back to Kat and let her wrap it back up. She’s become its protector. I didn’t ask her to take on the job, but she carries the horn at all times and even rests with it in her arms. It never leaves her side except for when I ask for it. Maybe she simply recognizes its worth, but I suspect she sees the shofar as the object for which Wright gave his life, and now she’s protecting it with hers. Whatever the reason, I appreciate it. “Thanks,” I tell her.

“We should go,” Xin says. “The path to the surface is long. Nephilim forces are gathering at Asgard and I suspect Nephil will strike within the week. It will be our last stand. If we cannot stop him, the war will be lost.”

“We’ll stop him,” I say. “He’s felt the horn’s power.”

“Which is why he will strike with everything he has. Warriors. Thinkers. Gatherers. Even feeders. Every Nephilim tribe and the horrors they possess will be brought against mankind, first for possession of you, and then the world.” He turns his head to the dinosaurs. He says nothing, but four of the larger specimens break formation and stomp toward us. Each is fitted with a seat and a harness.

I let out a laugh. Justin would have loved this.

The dinosaurs split up and stop in front of each of us. When Xin mounts the one in front of me, I give him a quizzical look.

“Grumpy is yours,” he says. “Always has been.”

Kainda grumbles as she mounts the dinosaur provided her, but she looks absolutely amazing once she’s sitting atop its back, like some kind of Edgar Rice Burroughs jungle queen. The dinosaur tilts its head up and roars. Perhaps understanding the power she now wields, Kainda grins wickedly. She looks at me and says, “Name it.”

My smile is impossible to hide, but I manage not to tease her about wanting to name animals now. The dinosaur she rides is a female, perhaps twenty-seven feet long. Second in size only to Grumpy. Sticking with my childhood cartoon theme, I say, “Zok.”

“Zok,” Kainda says, testing the word. Then she leans toward the cresty’s head and says, “Come, Zok. To the surface!”

To my amazement, the creature obeys, turning round and heading across the cavern. The rest of us follow, close behind. As we pass through the army of dinosaurs, they split to make room for us, but they don’t let us pass all the way through. Instead, they surround us, a moving protective barrier.

Luca laughs as he clings to Em’s back. This is as fun for him as it would be for any six year old boy—or is he seven now? I’m not even sure when his birthday is. Em looks a little worried, but she’s managing. Kat, riding next to them, looks like her normally focused self, neither enjoying nor fearing the ride on the back of a dinosaur.

I turn to Xin, riding next to me.
Thank you, brother
.

Anything in service to my king
.

Though he hasn’t spoken the words aloud, I still hear the humor in them. He must have heard talk of this on the surface, perhaps from the hunters I sent along with the escaped prisoners. And he knows, without a doubt, how uncomfortable it would make me feel.

I shake my head.
King Solomon
.
Ridiculous
.

29

The journey back to the surface is uneventful. The cresties carrying us move at a steady quick pace, far faster than we could have traveled on foot. The path we take—a long since dried up riverbed—rises at a steady incline toward the coast. The cavern is tall and wide, easily accommodating our oversized transport, which is probably why Xin chose this route.

“How long were we gone?” I ask. Wright’s timekeeping trick, while handy, won’t work because we weren’t always walking, and we were far deeper than any of us have been before. Xin mentioned that the prisoners reached Wright’s FOB. Traveling from Olympus, the journey would have likely taken weeks, so I’m prepared for his reply.

“A little more than a month in surface time.”

Good
, I think. There is nothing worse than going deep and returning only to find far more time than expected had passed. I lost twenty years surface time that way. Even better, this time my enemy went deep with me. Nephil lost the month, too. Though I’m sure his army continued with their preparations.

“How long before they attack?” I ask him. “Best guess.”

He shrugs. “Could be today. Could be tomorrow. But I suspect we have several days still. The Nephilim warriors can travel great distances quickly, but they will strike from the land as well. Traveling the distance will take time and we have sentries keeping watch through the jungle at fifty-mile intervals. We’ll see them coming.”

“Were these defenses your ideas?” I ask.

“No,” he says. “They still fear me.”

“Then how do you—” I was going to ask him how he knew all this, but then I remember Xin’s special gift. He can be a fly on the wall from miles away. I tap my head.

He nods and says, “Your friend, Merrill Clark, seems to have sway with the leader of your nation.”

“The President?” I ask.

“Yes. Though Clark has never met the man, your President was fond of his daughter, Mira. Also, a soldier that served with Clark during their time here, a Marine named Cruz has supported Clark’s claim to be an expert on the Nephilim, how they will attack and what they want. To a large extent, he is right, but he knows nothing of you or Nephil’s desire to capture you.”

Knows nothing of me
? I wonder, and decide he’s talking about my larger role in all of this. How could he know? Then I remember Aimee. She knows everything. Wouldn’t she have told him?

“A man called Brigadier General Kent Holloway is in charge of the base and its defenses, but he also trusts Clark’s opinions on the Nephilim, because they share the same beliefs. You will have to gain their trust to—”

“Don’t worry about that,” Kat says. I hadn’t realized she’d been listening. “Clark, Cruz and the President will all listen to me.”

I’m about to add that Merrill will trust me, and that Aimee will back me up, but Xin pulls back on the reins, slowing his cresty, which seems to put the brakes on the whole pack, even those ahead of us. “The exit is just ahead.”

I lean around the side of Grumpy’s head and peer up the tunnel. A speck of light in the distance reveals the exit. I breathe a sigh of relief. Almost there. When we started our descent into the depths of Antarktos, I wasn’t sure we’d see the sun again. But we’re close now and despite the darkness to come, the thought of walking in the light of day again brings a smile to my face.

The dinosaurs part, making a path for us.

“What are they doing?” I ask.

“The soldiers and hunters are aware of me, my allegiance and my control over the dinosaurs, but they do not trust us. If the dinosaurs were to exit first, the sentries posted at the exit might take action.”

“They would attack the cresties?” I ask in surprise.

“I believe they would call for help,” he says. “I do not have a firm grasp on what these things are, but I have heard terms like ‘surgical strike,’ and, ‘lase the target.’”

“That,” Kat says. “Would not be good.”

A laugh from behind turns me around. Kainda, Em and Luca are catching up, moving through the open path in the middle of the pack.

“What’s so funny?” I ask Luca, the source of the laughter.

“I like it when Xin makes them do things like this,” Luca says, motioning to the dinosaurs.

For some reason it hadn’t occurred to me that Xin was controlling all these cresties. The concept of controlling so many minds at once seems positively daunting, even to someone who can control the entire continent’s elements. “You’re doing this?” I ask.

“They have simple minds,” he says. “And they are willing participants. I simply send out the command and they obey. But that is rarely required. They follow Grumpy’s lead and he often obeys without the use of my—” he taps his head, mimicking my previous gesture. “They are good soldiers.”

“Good dancers, too,” Luca says with a laugh.

“You didn’t?” I say, smiling wide.

“The boy missed his family,” Xin says with a shrug. “I did what I could.”

Shaking my head at the mental image of Grumpy doing a jig, I thump his sides with my heels and move forward, if only to spare my prehistoric steed from further embarrassment. “Let’s go.”

“I think I would like to see the dancing dinosaur,” Kainda says with a trace of humor.

“I’d like to see you dance,” Luca says to her, which gets a laugh out of Em.

“That might be even stranger than a dancing cresty,” Em says.

The good humor lasts all the way up the tunnel as the group discusses who would make the worst dancer. In the end, the winner is me, on account of my lack of rhythm and clumsiness when embarrassed. I try to defend myself, but Luca knows these things better than the others do, because he’s the same exact way. “But I’m a kid,” he says, “So it’s okay if I look silly.”

We slow at the exit and our humorous exchange fades.

“Are the men outside hunters or outsider military?” I ask.

“Most of the sentries are what outsiders call Army Rangers,” Xin says, “but the entrances to the underworld are watched by hunters, who are more familiar with what lurks below. They have been trained to use modern communication devices, though, and could call in an attack if they feel we are a threat.”

“They wouldn’t attack us themselves?” I ask.

“The old ways are changing,” Xin says. “Freedom makes men less willing to throw their lives away.”

I take the lead and motion for the others to hang back a bit. I squint in the bright light of a noonday sun, shading my eyes with my arm. Grumpy steps into the light cautiously, perhaps because he senses danger, but more likely, because his eyes are adjusting to the light, too, and his stubby forearms are incapable of shading his eyes.

I don’t see anyone, but there are a thousand hiding places in the thick jungle surrounding the small clearing at the cave’s exit. I’m no doubt being watched, if not targeted. “Do not be afraid,” I say, finding it strange that I’m using the same words of greeting as the Edinnu Kerubim.

No response. Not a greeting or a thrown weapon. Of course, it would take a minute for a missile to get here. I decide to put them at ease as quickly as possible to avoid any confusion. “I am Solomon Ull Vincent,” I announce. “Your...leader.” Still feels funny saying that, but that’s the way it is for all of us, like it or not. “Show yours—”

I turn around and find one man and one woman standing above the cave entrance. They are dressed in brown leathers and coated in mud, impossible to see in the shadows, but easy to spot in the glaring bright sun. Both of them bow.

“You don’t have to do that,” I say, feeling instantly uncomfortable. “Really. You can stand up.”

When they stand, I realize they’re just obeying, not relaxing. Ugh. “What are your names?”

“Mellitt,” says the man. He’s tall, bearded and carries a long spear. His blood red hair is mostly covered by mud, but I can see it clearly enough. What I can’t see, is any streak of reclaimed innocence. It could be there, but the mud obscures it as well, which might be the point. Not all hunters are with us. Which also means that this could be a trap.

“Turner,” says the woman. She is lanky and slender like a snake. The perfect body for the underworld. Her skin is pale, which hints that she’s only recently come to live in the sun. The sunglasses covering her eyes confirm it.

Do you know them
? I think to Xin.

They are with us
, he replies.

“There are five more with me,” I tell them. “Xin, Kainda, Em, Luca and Kat, one of the outsiders.” I pat Grumpy’s head, which makes the woman fidget uncomfortably. “And about three hundred more of these guys. They are friends. All of them. You’ll let them pass.”

Both nod, bow again, and slip back into the jungle shadows above the cave.

The others exit the cave and Xin takes the lead.

“You handled that well, kid,” Kat says. “Authority suits you.”

I laugh at this, but my humor is short lived when Xin says, “Follow me closely. Do not stray far from my path. The jungle is full of traps.”

“Traps?” I say.

“For the Nephilim,” Xin explains. “They were Clark’s idea.”

“Traps won’t kill the Nephilim,” Kainda points out.

“No,” Xin says, “But they might slow their progress long enough for our forces to get in place.”

With no more disagreement from Kainda, Xin leads the way. We follow him single file through the jungle, though we really don’t have to try. The dinosaurs maintain the formation on their own, forming a living train of green and red striped carnivores just over a mile long.

We journey in silence for nearly thirty minutes before starting up an incline that takes us high above the jungle below. Looking back, through the gaps in the canopy, I catch glimpses of distant jungle. There’s a river and beyond that, a streak of gray.

The wall
, I think. It’s the wall upon which I first discovered that Merrill had returned to Antarktos, and the wall that took me inland to where I found Em, Kainda and Luca. The river running in the same direction must be the one that leads to the lake, the same river on which Merrill, Aimee and eventually Mira, on the back of Gloop the Weddell seal, made their escape to the coast. We’re not far from Clark Station 2. That little bit of knowledge brings me some peace. In many ways, this is my home—where I was born, where I last saw my parents, where I lived with Em and Luca, and trained with Tobias. It looks far different now, of course, but it’s still familiar.

The trees thin and then clear as we reach the hill’s crest, though it might actually be a small mountain rather than a hill. Xin leads me toward a cliff’s edge.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Don’t worry,” he says. “The others will stay back.”

“But why?”

“I want you to see,” he says.

“See what?” I ask, but then the trees part and the view is exposed. I can see all the way down the mountain, as the jungle stretches toward the coast. It all looks normal until about a mile inland where the tree line abruptly ends at a field of stumps. The jungle has been cut away.

Half the distance to the coast is the forward operating base. It is far more massive than I was expecting. Sandbag walls, razor wire and armed guards fringe the whole compound. Hundreds of guards, both modern military and hunter alike. There are artillery cannons, large jeeps, helicopters and even a handful of giant looking tanks.