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

“Jack!”

I laughed.

“For fuck’s sake. We’re not kids anymore.”

“Come on, you laughed.”

“No!” He huffed. “Fuckin’ no. You just told me you nearly died twice and you’ve been gone for three hours.”

“Can’t really say you’re alive until you’ve nearly died, right? Look, anyway, Fenris has the scent for that artifact he wants. He’s gonna lead us there. He says it’s gonna be dangerous and a lot of eos.”

“Alright. You can wait where you are. I’ll get the convoy set up and we’ll be there in four hours.”

“I don’t think Fen is gonna wait that long. He’s eager to go.”

“Make him wait. He’s part of the Syndicate, we do this my way.”

“I don’t think he’s listening.”

“Jackal, I swear.”

“I’ll have Nostra send you our coordinates.” I hung the receiver up and quickly hit the mute button.

FORTY-FIVE

I imagined Reaper wanted to tear my head off after that call. I wasn't about to wait four hours for back up. I knew Fenris wouldn't wait either.

"You sure this is a good idea? Yaaranam asked.

"Naw. This is bad." I answered. With a breath, I mumbled, "if Spec can do it, then we can too."

I waved at Fenris and he turned around. Black smoke rolled down from his shoulders, coating the ground a few feet in either direction. He took off, half invisible in all of the smoke. We followed him, hanging back a few meters to avoid running him over.

He must have been seeing how fast we could go. His brisk jog increased in speed over a few minutes until we were maxed out at fifty miles an hour, and he...well, he disappeared entirely in the smoke.

"Is there anything this guy can't do?" I asked no one.

"He's gone. The trail keeps going, but he's so far away." Yaaranam said.

"I didn't think anything could outrun a vehicle."

"This bucket of bolts is slower than our cheapest truck."

"Oh, shut up. This truck is top of the line."

"Top of the line in the scrapyard?"

"Top in kicking your fucking ass."

Nostradamus displayed a red hexagon. "Can't we all just get along? We're friends!"

"I ain't friends with a raven."

"I have a name."

"Yeah. It's raven."

"Fuck you."

We had gone further up the mountain before going down the other side. We dipped into a valley lined on either side with cliffs a thousand feet high. As we came down into the valley, we caught sight of waterfalls, and a series of rivers and streams. Some of the trees stretched taller than the cliffs.

Fenris stopped high on our hill to howl. Creatures flew into the sky. No one responded.

He looked to make sure we were still there and continued at our full speed.

The terrain was rough, but nothing catastrophic. The truck could handle it, even with the damage it had from the last chase.

I didn't realize how safe it felt knowing Fenris was with us. I must have been terrified earlier. My hands were steady. My mind clear. We looked out for anything that would want to try to eat us. Nothing was there. Not that we saw. That howl must have scared them all off.

An incline was covered in a stone outcrop outfitted with a stream that fed downhill into a pond and a river that flowed down the valley. We were in the open where it was easier to maneuver.

The truck took an impact on the side that sent it rolling down the hill. I didn't see what happened. I was focused on Fenris up ahead. No one called out.

Nostradamus screamed the entire time. Yaaranam's cry of shock faded away and I assume she had been sent flying out of the gunner’s seat. At least I hoped that was what happened because the truck hit the ground on the driver's side, then the roof, to the passenger side, back to the wheels, and repeated until landing once more on my side in the water.

Me and Nostradamus were tangled up against the doors. He had ended up half way in the back seats and I was stuck under his ass against the driver's door. Dazed and confused, we laid there for a few moments.

The ground shook. Loud, familiar thuds came from outside. The truck rocked back and forth.

"Oh, cosmos...not like this." Nostra groaned.

"Get up. We gotta move."

More thumps.

I looked out of the open hatch at the roof. A three-toed foot as big as the cabin splashed into the water.

I could hear Fenris roaring. Two other beasts roared back like thunder.

The passenger door flew open. Yaaranam knelt into the opening, her face covered in orange blood.

"Move your asses! It's not safe here!"

I pulled myself up, stopped midway just to hit the door again. Broken ribs made everything that much harder.

I pushed Nostra into the back seat and got myself up. I bit through the pain. I passed a few rifles up to her and took her help in getting out of the truck.

I pulled the strap of a rifle over my chest and we reached back in to help Nostra get out.

Good thing we ducked down when we did. A tail the size if a tree swung right over our heads.

"How many?" I asked.

"Two right now."

We jumped down off the truck where I dropped to my knees to help deal with the pain.

I looked up to see what we were dealing with. Heavy duty theropods. Later, Fenris told us that they were called skaginvar. These were the tank like beasts with bone crushing jaws, legs built for endurance, and no arms. Machine guns on either side. These were the fire breathers.

In fact, I saw their faces and recognized them. The bigger one had missing eyes. The other a severely scarred face. These were the same bastards that chased us out of the other valley.

"It's the same fuckers from before!" I shouted.

"Are you serious? How?" Yaaranam squeezed her rifle close.

"They followed us."

Fenris was locked in combat with both of the skaginvar. It was like watching a beagle fight two grizzlies, only the beagle had an arsenal of weapons that gave it a chance.

He was