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

The door was on lock down. It would not open unless overridden manually. It seemed whoever was on the other side could not override the safety. Instead, they opted to cut through the door.

The soldiers watched, barely keeping steady. Right through the middle of the door, the metal burned red hot, excess molten metal bubbling out.

"Get ready!" Reaper called.

"Who is it?" Jackal managed to stop next to Reaper.

"The hell are you doing here? Get back!" Reaper grabbed his shoulder.

"We're here to help!"

"If you have a gun, you'll most likely shoot one of us." Reaper glared at him.

"I can still do something!"

"You're right. You can. Stay out of the way."

The door busted open. In a hail of smoke and fire, the rail guns lit up and fired. Rounds were slung out smashing through the first few men they saw coming through the smoke.

Reaper shoved Jackal down the hall so he too could join in the fight.

It felt as if they were outgunned. Those coming in had numbers. Lucky shots helped them advanced further through the smoke.

"Fenris!" Jackal called, gripping onto part of the wall. "Fenris, you have to help them."

"No."

"You have to! We can’t let them on the ship!"

"Humans."

"They're bad people, Fen. They will kill us. Might do worse."

The wolf shook its head. "No humans."

"Fen, you're the only one that can stop them. They'll kill our people if you don't do something. You don't have to kill them. Knock them out! Scare them!"

Fenris was silent, watching him.

"Please, Fenris."

"Stay here." Fenris growled. He kicked off from the wall to return to the fight.

He stopped next to Reaper to give him a glance. The Captain wasn't sure what to think, especially when he saw Fenris flying right into the smoke.

"Watch your fire!" Reaper screamed.

Almost no one stopped shooting. Reaper could see the sparks of bullets ricocheting off the wolf. The men on the other side screamed. Shots were more sporadic from panicking. Blobs of blood floated through the hall, breaking apart on contact with the walls. The screams faded further away.

Reaper was just about to give the order to charge in when some sort of guttural howl vibrated the entire ship. He felt it in his bones. His blood shifted like water in a glass during an earthquake. The howl echoed endlessly. The shots further away.

"Move in! Follow him!" Reaper ordered.

The soldiers moved into the smoke. The assault had been turned around. Pirates came for their ship, now they were the ones needing to flee.

Reaper could get used to having a giant wolf on his side if this was the result.

The team split into two groups to flood through the ship.

"Don't let anyone escape." Reaper said. "Pirates are better off dead."

An echo of "yes, sir"s returned over the radio.

He followed Fenris, catching the creature just up ahead. Fenris was not treating these pirates the same as the monsters on the Utopia. It was holding back, aiming to disable them rather than kill. Yet it did not fully know its own strength, or just how frail humans were.

Now, this is what the soldiers wanted to see. Their beloved Captain in action. Everyone knew the stories. Knew how he got such a dark name.

"Let God decide if they get mercy, or not." He liked to say. He was no judge, nor jury. He was simply the hand that helped others meet God. When he was done with them, all of the hard choices were left up to the big man above. He may have been merciless, but he was not heartless. Swift deaths for all.

If Fenris left one alive, Reaper, or another soldier would end it. He didn't even spare those that surrendered! The only good pirate was a dead one. Reaper knew no one could change. If they let them go, they would continue pirating and terrorizing innocent people.

What Reaper was not ready for was the cheering. Some of the soldiers had gotten injured in the fight. One of them had rushed ahead of Fenris and took a shot right to the chest. Luckily, his chest plate took the hit, but Fenris had stepped right over him, using its own body to shield him from more shots. This elicited a positive response of cheers and calls from the other soldiers. They fell into action, moving up to the wolf to take down the pirates shooting at them while two others dragged the downed soldier back and around a corner to make sure he was all right.

Every so often, Fenris gave another howl. Maybe a roar at this distance. Whatever the sound could be called, it scared the pirates. They fled further into the ship. Some of the soldiers were frightened, but many had the same idea as Reaper and Mjolnir.

That black wolf was on their side. The roars should be seen as battle cries. It almost motivated them to keep fighting.

Fenris lead the way to the bridge. It sniffed out the Captain of the vessel. Who promptly cowered upon their entry.

He was hiding underneath one of the shabby consoles near the middle of the room.

Reaper took a minute to check the area out. Shambles. Everything was welded and bolted from a thousand other vessels. Rusted. Mismatched. It was amazing anything worked at all!

"G-get away from me!" The pirate captain squealed.

Fenris snatched him up from under the console.

Reaper pulled back briefly. He saw the man's shoulder trapped between the wicked jaws of the wolf. He swore he watched Fenris grab him with a hand.

"Get your dog off me! Call it off!" The pirate screamed.

"Why the hell were you boarding my ship without permission?" Reaper asked.

"We thought it was abandoned!"

"Didn't think to scan for life forms?"

"Our scanner only picks up minerals. Ow, let me go!"

"Why should I?"

"I swear I'll stop! If everyone has a pet like this, fuck that! Ow, come on, you’re gonna break my arm!"

"I don't believe you."

The rail gun, almost the size of a pistol, whirred to life. The blue light of electricity reflected from their figures.

"Wait! No! No! Do--"

The whine of the