The Last Hunter - Lament (Book 4 of the Antarktos Saga) Read Online Free PDF

me.
    His tail strikes out, but falls short of my position.
    “That doesn’t belong to you,” I say. I raise my hand like I’m scooping up a handful of sand. The stone floor rumbles in response. A spire rises from the stone floor, splitting and wrapping around the scorpion tail. I make a tight fist and the stone crushes down, severing the tail from his body like a very dull guillotine.
    Pan roars, not in pain—Nephilim delight in pain—but in anger. I am humiliating him. The sound of his voice might attract unwanted attention, so I use the wind to push air into his lungs, rather than out, and silence his voice.
    More stone rises, this time wrapping around his hoofed feet. He can’t move. But he is still dangerous.
    The giant uses his long reach, and sends his hooked staff sweeping in my direction. I leap the strike with ease, but this time I spin in the air and swing down with the bladed end of Whipsnap. The strike severs tendons in the warrior’s arm. Even as the blade emerges from the giant’s flesh, the wound is already healing, but that momentary cut of tendon is enough to loosen his grip. The crook falls to the floor. I kick it out of reach.
    Silenced and disarmed, all Pan can do is glare at me.
    I look around at the prisoners watching this. They’re shocked. Some are afraid. I’ve impressed them enough. Now they need something else. “Who here can speak English?” I ask.
    A smattering of hands rise from various cells.
    “Translate this for the others,” I say, then add, “You came to my continent to fight and kill each other.”
    I hear several people speaking in foreign languages. When they’re done, I continue.
    “But now you have a common enemy. These giants are the Nephilim, heroes of old, men of renowned, the ancient false gods who ruled over our ancestors. Stories of their dominion are told in the cuneiform tablets of Sumer, the Book of Enoch and the Bible’s Old Testament. Evidence of their dominion can be found in every part of the world. But they were defeated. By humanity.” With a little help , I think, but I keep that tidbit to myself since I don’t yet fully understand it.
    Eyes widen around me at the translation continues.
    “And we will defeat them again.”
    After another quick translation, someone asks, “How?”
    “Together,” I say, then turn back to find my four friends standing in the hallway. “Wright. Em.” I wave them to me.
    Wright is the consummate soldier. They’ll recognize him as one of their own. Em is a freckled, five foot four girl. They’ll see her as less than a soldier, despite the fact that not one of them could stand against her.
    As they join me, I feel a wave of nausea sweep through my body. Using my powers in unnatural ways, like creating manacles of stone or keeping a constant wind to silence a giant, tire me quickly. We need to do this quickly.
    “Killing them is easy,” I say. “If you know how.”
    I turn to Wright. “Take off the ring.”
    Wright aims and squeezes off two three-round bursts. The first three bullets loosen the ring around the forehead. The second three send it flying. The baseball-sized pulsing flesh of the Nephilim’s weak spot is revealed.
    Pan’s eyes widen.
    With fear.
    Nephilim aren’t afraid of much. Pain is an aphrodisiac. Suffering is a way of life. But death? For their soulless kind, it is the end. They simply cease to exist. While they would never admit it, there is nothing a Nephilim fears more than death, and as Em raises a single knife up in the air, that’s exactly what Pan is now facing.
    Em understands the point I’m trying to make. She turns around, holding the knife up for all to see. It’s a simple five inch blade. There were boxes of knives just like it in the armory. When she’s sure that everyone has had a good look, she turns to Pan.
    The giant struggles against his bonds. My will contains him, but not for long.
    Em snaps her arm forward, releasing the blade. It spins, end over end, and in a flash,