The Soul Eaters (The Thin Hex Line Book 1) by Gwyndolyn Russell (e reader txt) 📕

pulled on her foot and held the tank up against her.

"Fuck yeah! Give it!" She snatched up the tank, then the barrel. She handed him her rifle and positioned herself better in the seat.

Nostradamus took the rifle and sat back, clutching it to his chest. I heard him take a loud breath. He shoved the door open, held onto one of the handle bars and leaned out the side. Rifle in one hand, he fired it at the beasts still on our tail. They weren't as close now, but they were still closer to a top speed than we were.

I focused on dodging the trees and rocks. Warning them if I caught something that could potentially hit them.

What we didn't expect was the beasts to fire back at us.

Not from the rifles they had hanging at either of their sides. No, the lead one with the metallic, scarred face opened its mouth. I thought it was going to roar, but it answered fire with fire.

It spat out a burst of flames that enveloped the entire truck. Yaaranam fell out of her seat and crashed against the foot supports. All I saw was fire raging in front of us.

The temperature rose instantly and for once I wished this truck had air conditioning.

"They can breathe fire!" Nostradamus screamed, slamming the door shut.

"I never would have guessed!" I shouted.

We broke through the end of the inferno in time to crash through a rotten log, into the upper edge of a mound, and into the air.

The truck hit the ground hard on the other side. Something snapped underneath it. It kept going, a whine humming with the whistle now.

I hit the gas harder, took a turn through an opening between two large trees. We soared over another hill and crashed into a shallow river. We hit something in the water that made us come to an abrupt halt.

My head slammed against the steering wheel. I heard a loud thud from next to me.

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." Yaaranam wheezed and groaned.

Dazed, I slowly lifted my head from the wheel and laid against the back of the seat. Nostra was half crumpled against the dashboard, barely in his seat. I looked over my shoulder to check on the raven. She was tangled up in the supplies, awkwardly positioned in the back with her foot trapped in the supports for the gunner's seat hanging from the ceiling.

Holding the side of my head, I checked the rear view mirror attached to the side of my door. Those beasts were there, making their way down the hill.

"Shit. Guys, get up." I said.

"Fuck you." Yaaranam groaned.

Nostradamus pushed himself into his seat and felt around the floorboard for the rifle.

I revved up the engine, but the truck wasn't budging. I cursed. Threw the stick on the center console into reverse. Damned thing still didn't want to move. I slammed my foot against the pedal.

The truck's chassis twisted. Jumped backwards. The end of the tail gate smashed right into the ankle of the lead beast.

It snarled and reeled back, lifting its foot from the ground.

I shoved the stick back into drive and hit the gas.

"Let's go, girl! We gotta move!"

The truck rolled forward. I turned the wheel. Hit the gas harder. Water spat up from behind us, spraying the creatures in the face. It must have distracted them. Instead of chomping into the end of the truck, they turned their heads away.

The vehicle clambered out of the river and up the muddy bank to the other side.

Nostradamus opened the door and stood out of the side once again, rifle in hand.

A howl resonated over the landscape. It echoed making it impossible to tell where it was coming from. That otherworldly song never felt so comforting before.

I opened my door and stood on the frame. I held the bar on the roof.

Those giants stopped at the river bank. They looked to one another their jaws clattering. They growled and grumbled. The larger one snapped at its companion.

The howl sounded out again. I got the sense it was a warning. A broadcast of "I am here, leave my territory."

The larger beast circled in the river, the water crashing against its ankles.

Then it reared up, bowed and roared with its lower jaw splitting apart like before.

Another howl to answer. A dare.

The smaller beast nudged its side into the larger one. It bit into the gun and pulled. The scarred one snatched itself away and snapped its teeth against its face.

They grumbled and growled to one another. The smaller turned to walk back up the hill.

The bigger one eyed me. Looked straight at me with a gaze that hungered for death. Then it looked away towards the nearby mountain where a cloud of black smog blanketed a portion of the stone.

It, too, turned and headed back up the hill. They did not want to tangle with the howling monster.

"Yeah! That's right!" I shouted, a fist in the air. "Fenris! Fuck yeah!"

Nostradamus shoved both of his fists into the air and cheered as well.

I'm not sure what possessed me, but I turned towards the mountain and gave my best, loudest howl I could muster up. I called for Fenris as if my voice could travel as far as his.

I got no response, but that was probably because he couldn't hear me at all.

"That smoke up there," Nostra pointed. "That must be where he is!"

"Get in, let's go." I dropped back into the seat and shut the door.

Once his door was shut, I got the truck moving towards the smoke. It was a few miles away. By time we got there, most of it had been wafted away on the wind.

Yaaranam finally got her shit together and climbed back up into the gunner's seat. There she groaned about her aching bones and muscles and rested against the door.

"Next time can we bring a bigger gun?"

"We might need more." I leaned against the wheel. The smoke was everywhere.

Signs of a skirmish. Wolf prints. Two-toed prints. Either it was one against