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

attached to the side of the smaller one, those big metallic arms digging into the hide to hold him in place while the smaller arms tore it open to reveal the ribs on the inside.

The beast roared and cried, bucking around and snapping those big jaws to try to get him off.

The bigger one was at the truck, just behind us. It watched for a moment before charging in. Its jaws locked around Fenris and ripped him off its partner. Fenris hit the ground hard. He laid there motionless.

The eyeless beast's throat vibrated with a high pitched grumble as it stomped around, pacing in front of the valkyrie.

The smaller beast moved over to Fenris and reached down to grab him with its teeth.

"We have to do something." I said.

"Last time I shot those fuckers, it did nothing. There wasn't even blood. The bullets just ricochet."

"They have soft parts," Nostra stated. "If you aim for those, it should hurt them."

Fenris was lifted up from the ground. That was when he attacked. That scythe appendage stabbed right into the beast's nose and his big arms grabbed both jaws and pushed.

The creature reared, shaking its head violently. Flames flicked from the back of its mouth.

I decided to take the risk. I shouldered my rifle, turned up the magnifier on the sight and aimed for the theropod's eye. I waited for its head to come back around and when its biggest eye was in full view, I fired a burst of rounds.

Even from this distance I heard glass shatter. Its eye exploded into shards and red light like embers flaking from a fire.

Fenris dropped down from its mouth as the beast reeled and spun. It cried out.

The larger creature backed away and dropped its head low. Mouth open. It breathed out fire, the flames bursting forth.

Fenris withstood. He stood among the flames, his cloak wrapped around him as if it would protect him from the heat.

It must have been working, because we watched him step forward into the flames and to the beast that continued breathing them out.

When he was close enough, he leaped into its mouth, two hands holding its mouth open. The other two reached into the back of its throat.

The monster squealed and shook its head. Tried to bite down, but could not overcome the valkyrie's strength.

We could only watch in awe as Fenris ripped something out of its throat.

Blood poured out, wires and veins severed. A large pipe with various attachments was thrown to the ground.

The skaginvar roared in agony, blood flowing like a waterfall from its jaws.

The smaller one had recovered, but instead of going for Fenris, it came for us.

Angry about losing one of its eyes, it stomped right over to us. Its head was used as a battering ram to shove the truck out of its way. We barely got out in time. We ran for our lives back up the hill in hope the rocks would give us some protection.

Fenris roared and chased us, ignoring the poor beast struggling through the shock and agony of its insides being ripped out.

He leaped into the side of its head, knocking it to the ground. He stood between us and roared, his mouth open far too wide for his own good. I caught a glimpse of the second pair of jaws hidden inside.

"I believe we are in over our heads." Nostradamus stated. "Our attempts are futile against these larger eos."

"Doesn't mean we have to sit back and watch." I stood and fired the rifle at the skaginvar still laying on the ground.

When it got up, it roared, its teeth hovering right over the valkyrie. He spat at it. Not saliva, but that smoke. A ball of black smog, Reynolds decided to call khexide. The beast turned its head away, knowing better than to let that smoke in its mouth. The ball smacked into its torn up side and splashed out. It blanketed the creature.

It seemed fine at first. It went in for a bite only to stop half way. It hacked and coughed. Stumbled around as drool spilled out of its mouth.

Fenris snapped his jaws at it, holding his ground.

Within moments the beast bled from its eyes, nose, and mouth. It wheezed. Its balance was thrown off. Then its skin started to bleed. The smoke hugged its body tight. It hit the ground hard, kicking its feet and scraping at the dirt under the water.

It wasn't even dead yet. It lay there dying, crying out. Fenris paid its agony no mind. He bit into its stomach and clawed his way inside of its body. I assume he ate what he could and threw away what was in his way.

We stayed in the outcrop, waiting for the coast to clear. One of them was down, but the other one had disappeared. A trail of pearlescent black blood leading into the forest.

We climbed down slowly. The smoke had pooled over the ground, carried by the water and wind. I tightened the straps of my mask. I wasn't taking chances.

"Fen, its dead." I called. I couldn't see him inside the body cavity.

I could hear him eating and tearing away the flesh inside. I don't know why, but it made me hungry. My stomach growled.

"What the hell is he doing?" Yaaranam asked.

"I don't have a clue." I frowned. "Let's check on the truck. See if we can't flip it."

We left Fenris to do his own thing. We weren't going to make it far without the truck.

Since it had been flipped onto its side, I looked at its belly to check on the axles, joints, bearings, and anything else I could see without removing anything.

It was damaged, but I saw nothing that would stop it from moving.

Together we headed around to the roof. The door for the hatch had been busted off. We pushed on the roof. Wasn't much we could do, but rock it back and forth. The only one not suffering was Nostradamus and he didn't have enough strength alone to flip