The Last Hunter - Collected Edition (86 page)

34

At first, there is nothing but darkness and chaos, a tumultuous descent full of raw feelings. A heavy sense of agonizing regret blankets me and then fades as the darkness resolves. Flashes of reality, experienced through Amaguq’s body, appear, moving backwards through time.

I see myself, consumed by anger, slashing with Whipsnap, and for a moment, I feel the delight that pain brings. Then we’re back, smaller now, inside the form of Mira. Images of Merrill and Aimee flit past. The general. Soldiers. Cruz. All expressing concerns and fears. The sounds of their words amuse Amaguq. Back further, on a ship, looking up at the sky. Nephilim warriors fly above, an army heading out to sea. Merrill looks up at them and speaks, “Your will be done,” praying to the God who has clearly abandoned mankind. It’s all Amaguq can do not to laugh.

Back again.

Amaguq feigns weakness while Merrill holds Mira in his arms, reunited with the daughter he believed dead.

Back again. Riding on the back of a seal. I recognize it right away as Gloop. The rest of the pod follows. He controls them with pain, twisting his fingers beneath Gloop’s flesh. But the seal lives. I know that now. After being delivered to the ship, he couldn’t then kill the seals, and why bother? They’re just animals after all.

The next flash fills my body with an uncommon chill. Darkness envelopes our view, and then resolves. I sense the scene is about to pass and think,
wait
!

Our reverse trip through time via Amaguq’s memories stops and plays forward.

What is it?
Xin asks.

I saw her.

Who?

Mira.

We are still in her form, Solomon. You do not want to see her like
—

There
!

The image of Mira comes clear. Amaguq walks to her and crouches down. Her clothing has been shredded. Dirt and filth coat her body, darkening her blond hair, which is tied back. Her eyes are closed and fresh blood covers one side of her face.

Amaguq traces his finger through the blood on her face and brings it to his mouth, licking it with his tongue. I can taste Mira’s blood in his mouth, experiencing
all
of his senses. He chuckles, stands and turns to leave.

Were we not inside a Nephilim’s mind I would have smiled.
Did you see it
?

I saw nothing I would like to see again before my own life fades
, Xin replies.

His eyes saw, but his mind wasn’t paying attention
, I think.
Watch
.

The scene replays. I taste her blood. Amaguq stands, turns and...

Her eyes
, Xin thinks.
They opened
.

It’s hard to see. Just a quick flutter. But the motion is combined with a rising in her chest.

She’s alive
, I think.

With a flash of light, I am back in the real world.

He has repelled us
! Xin shouts in my mind.
The effect is wearing off. Quickly
!

I blink twice, focusing my eyes, and see the guilt plaguing Amaguq fade. Without a shout of warning or final words, I bring Whipsnap up and swing the blade down as hard as I can. There’s a sound, like shucking corn on the cob, and Amaguq’s head falls free. His body collapses. A pool of violet forms around his torso.

I step back from the beast, breathing hard, and doing my best not to show the toll this battle and the trip through a Nephilim mind has taken on me. When it is clear that Amaguq will not be returning to this world, the soldiers clap and cheer, their relief flooding over me.

As I step away from the body, General Holloway approaches me. He looks like he’s about to give me some kind of speech, but the words seem to come and go several times before he simply extends his hand.

I take Holloway’s hand and shake.

“Welcome aboard, son,” he says. “We’ll follow your lead, but the orders to my men go through me.”

“Understood,” I say, glad to finally have an army, small as it is, to direct.

As others come to congratulate my victory, Xin’s voice reaches me, though barely.
Brother
...

He’s dying.

“Xin!” I shout, turning to where I last saw him and breaking into a sprint. I reach him quickly and drop down to my knees beside Luca, who never left his side. When I say his name again, tears are pouring down my face, damn what these men and women think of me now.

Brothers,
Xin thinks, speaking to Luca and me simultaneously.
Before I knew you, my heart was as dark as Amaguq’s. Together, you granted me forgiveness and a taste of innocence. I carry the burden of what I have done to the next life, if such a thing waits for me, but you have given me the strength to find peace
.

I can sense Luca’s overwhelming sadness. It’s a pretty fair match to my own.

Xin’s body quakes. The motion elicits a sob from Luca. Em arrives behind the boy, putting her hand on his shoulder.

Xin reaches up, placing his hand on the back of Luca’s neck, pulling him closer.
Before my life ends
, he thinks,
a gift. For each of you
.

Luca’s forehead touches against Xin’s and I’m suddenly separated from the two. Luca’s eyes flutter for just a moment. Then he gasps and sits up.

Xin turns to me.
Now you
.

I lean down and place my head to Xin’s. His words fill my mind.

This is the last time I will speak to you in life, brother. You have become the man I wish I could have been and I believe, with all that remains of me, that you will destroy the monster Nephil and all who follow him
.

Though I am in my mind with Xin, I can feel the warmth of my tears on my face, the shake of my trembling muscles as I hold myself over him, and the tightness in my throat that would keep me from speaking if we were using our mouths to talk.

You taught me how to love, brother. And that is a gift I can’t possibly pay back, but I will try. Next time you speak to the Clarks remember something they have told you. Goodbye, Solomon.

Goodbye, Xi
—

A wave of energy fills my head. I clench my eyes shut, afraid they will burst. The pressure builds. It moves deeper into my mind, spreading, seeping into every fold. And then, it stops.

And Xin, my brother, is gone.

I open my eyes and look at his body. His chest rises and falls, but more slowly with each breath. Just seconds remain. As I look at him, I remember his words about his burden. About the world to come,
if such a thing waits for me
. I feel the fear in those words. He is part Nephilim. Does he have a soul? Or will he simply cease to exist?

I don’t know the answer, but there might be a way to be sure.

I stand quickly and shout, “Kat!”

She appears by my side still clutching the rewrapped shofar, as I knew she would. “Give it to me!”

Xin’s chest falls and for a moment, I fear it will not rise again.

I feel the shofar in my hands and turn it to face Xin.

His chest rises. It’s a shallow breath, but it is enough.

The horn sounds loudly, its blast pouring over Xin’s body. He doesn’t writhe, shriek or react in a way that a Nephilim might. Instead, he changes. The scales covering his body rise up, like flower petals and blow away in the breeze. A soft skin is revealed, human skin. The shape of his body changes, shortening and bulking. His head grows smaller, taking on a more human shape, though he remains as bald as ever. His serpentine, yellow eyes, which are staring up at the empty sky, shrink. The pupils turn circular. The color becomes blue. The transformation completes just as I run out of breath.

The horn blast fades.

A gentle smile forms on his human lips.

His chest falls as his last breath escapes his now fully human body.

Xin is dead.

In the distance, three hundred cresties roar sorrowfully, lamenting the passing of the man who led them, a mantle that now passes to me.

I hand the shofar back to Kat, who carefully wraps it. Kainda appears by my side. “I’m sorry,” she says and then glances down at Xin’s body and gasps. “He’s...”

“Me,” I say. The transformation removed all about Xin that was Nephilim and changed him to all that remained. He is a hairless, but otherwise perfect copy of me. “This is who he always was.”

Someone, I’m not sure who, hands me a blanket and I use it to cover his body. When I’m done, I feel a gentle touch on my shoulder. It’s Luca. I turn to him and hold the little version of myself tightly. I know how big I felt things as a kid. I’m kind of a mess now, and I’m supposedly hardened. I can’t imagine how hard this is for him. But then he surprises me.

What did he give you
?

The little boy’s voice is in my head.

A laugh escapes my mouth and I pull away, looking Luca in the eyes. He’s smiling through his tears.

I don’t know
, I reply. In fact, all I do know is that my head feels very full, almost like a sinus infection, and I’ve got a constant dull pain just behind my eyes. It might just be from the intense emotions and crying, but if Xin did something to my mind, I have no idea what it is. I certainly can’t read people’s thoughts.

Xin is given a burial within the hour, complete with a chaplain, a prayer and a three-volley salute. It’s especially moving given the fact that most of these men and women, including Em and Kainda, either feared or did not trust Xin. In the end, he proved to be the best of us, willing to give his life for mine, and ultimately, for theirs.

When it is done, I’m approached by Merrill, Aimee, General Holloway, Kainda, Em and Kat.

The general takes the lead, stopping in front of me. “I’m sorry for your loss, son, and for our...behavior toward him. Toward you. But from what I understand, we might see some action within the next few weeks and I would like to prepare for it.”

I nod, but say nothing.

“What would you have us do?” he asks.

I look at the familiar faces around me and stop at Merrill. He’s watching me. On my side, but he doesn’t know me. Xin’s strange request regarding the Clarks returns to my mind.
Remember something they have told you.

“Merrill,” I say. He steps forward, and I extend my hand, recalling all the conversations I had with Merrill before being kidnapped by Ninnis.

He looks unsure, but he takes it and says, “I’m sorry for your confusion and I hope we can move past—”

“We weren’t put on this Earth to be stagnant,” I say.

For a moment, he just looks confused, but then a surge of energy flows from my head, across my arm and into his. He gasps as though rising from deep water. His eyes settle back on me a moment later, and widen. He looks me up and down.