The Soul Eaters (The Thin Hex Line Book 1) by Gwyndolyn Russell (100 best novels of all time .txt) 📗

were hovering right over him, practically begging to sink into that soft flesh.

Tahoe roared from above.

The smaller one hanging over Ruby lifted its head to see where the sound came from.

The other snorted.

Tahoe roared again, but the bigger one snapped its jaws.

Since that didn't work, Tahoe studied them. Then used its last resort; Fenris' howl. It leaped from its perch as it howled, making the song fade out in a different direction.

The youngest of the beasts squealed, tucked themselves underneath the hulking bodies of the adults.

Now they took interest. The largest of them slammed its jaws together, making the humans and fleebeeron cringe. Visibly worked up, it let out its own song. A freight train's horn of a bellow that shook its neck and sent spit flying out if its massive maw.

They covered their ears in hope it would help protect them from the sound.

The beast nudged into the heavy tail of the other and marched off to follow the sound of the howl.

The other hung back for a moment more. Its jaws opened as it breathed on Ruby and Ianisse. A few of its teeth just barely brushed against them. They knew they were hiding there.

Then it lifted its head and thumped away with the younger ones following.

Reaper waited until they no longer heard, nor felt the footsteps. Then he stood up.

"Thank you, Jesus…" he exhaled.

"They knew…" Ianisse's bird said.

"Yeah. Yeah, I figured that out on my own!" Ruby cried. He still hadn't even sat up.

Reaper sniffed, his face twisted. "What is that smell?"

"Them." Ruby answered quickly.

"Did you...really?"

"We're happy to not be human." Ianisse shook his head.

"I thought we were gonna die!" Ruby cried.

"Is this why they call you pukebucket?" Ianisse asked.

"What?! How did you hear about that?!"

"Mjolnir and Sparrow told me. You walked around in puke for hours."

Reaper would have laughed if he wasn't so dumbfounded about this incident. He never knew someone to relieve themselves out of fear. He thought it was just a movie trope.

Ruby whined, hanging his head.

Tahoe skidded to a halt in front of them. It cawed.

"Tahoe!" Johnny exclaimed. "You're all right!"

It flapped its feathered arms and ran down the path.

They followed it.

"If they knew we were there, then why didn't they attack?" Reaper scratched his cheek.

"They had us dead to rights…" Ruby grumbled.

"They were talking to each other, too. Or was that just us?" Ianisse pointed out.

"It definitely looked like they were talking!" Ruby agreed.

"Fenris said they were mindless. They go by hunger and nothing else." Reaper raised a brow.

"Maybe it's wrong?"

"Maybe these aren't the same eos its encountered before? Maybe the other ones really are mindless. Or maybe a hive mind?" Ianisse bobbed his head.

Reaper thought about it. Each of the options. How can you fight something for years and not know anything about it? The first rule in war was learning your enemy. What motivates them. What and who they are. Their weaknesses. Their hierarchy. You can’t defeat the enemy unless you know everything about them.

Fenris had to know. It may not know the words, but it had to know. So, it must have lied? No, there was no reason to lie. It would have gained nothing from lying about it. It must not know. The eos must be smarter than anticipated.

Reaper could have been putting too much faith in that valkyrie. After all it had been weeks since he last heard anything from it.

They followed that bird for a long time, using only the moonlight to see where they stepped. After hours, they spied the fires at the camp site flickering between the trees.

"Goddamn!" Ruby exclaimed. "That bird did it! It brought us back!"

They ran for it.

The bushes shook. A low growl vibrating the leaves.

Too focused on getting back to the camp, none of them noticed. They ran right by.

The natural predator instinct kicked in. The beasts leaped out from the shadows and ran down their prey with almost no effort at all.

Ruby was first to go down. A four legged brute held his chest to the dirt and tore into his back with large incisors.

"Fuck!" Reaper doubled back.

They were surrounded right at the edge of the forest. Four brutes. He just barely made them out in the faint light. The same beasts from the quicksand. He recognized the scarred face of the one looking him in the eye.

Johnny screamed, collapsing to his rear. Ruby cried out, reaching for his rifle.

The commotion must have caught the attention of the guards standing at the perimeter of the camp. They were running to them, ready to fight once the situation was better assessed.

Reaper picked Johnny up and threw him towards the camp, narrowly missing one of the beasts coming for them. Aside from trying to protect the child, Reaper had no idea what else he could do. Unarmed, he had no options. Even when the Alpha of the pack came after him, he could only run, or take the hit.

Ruby was stuck on the ground, crying for help. Ianisse was too scared to do anything at all.

Reaper took one of the fleebeeron's blades and rushed to help Ruby. Just as he got there, the scarred beast pounced on him. They rolled from the group and back to the edge of the woods.

Mjolnir gave the order to shoot. The guns blazed with pops of electricity. Despite the beasts being outnumbered, they showed no fear. No concern for their own wellbeing. They came after them with a ferocity unlike any other.

Snapping teeth cracked bones like brittle twigs. Paws swiped with the strength of a hydraulic press. They took the projectiles, that would either pierce through a human body, or knock an armored human on his rear, like they were bug bites. They didn't even flinch.

One of the smaller ones distracted the group while another pulled back to a safe distance. Chest down, it took aim and charged the rifle protruding from its back. The sound of a cannon cracked through the air.

It resulted in one soldier nearly disintegrating. All that was left was his