Cutlass Sharpened by Jr H. Lee Morgan Read Free Book Online Page A

fell in three new pieces.
    Stone’s eyes opened when the ground he stood
on shook and relaxed. There was no pain, but as he realized he
hadn’t died he turned to find the severed head three times his size
sliding down and away off the body. He had been in some close
calls, but nothing like this. He still didn’t go into silent shock
till he turned when seeing the man they just discovered walking in
his direction.
    Renee didn’t seem to know how to get back up
as she saw those amber eyes awake again. He didn’t look at her as
he started walking towards the carnage. Seeming to sniff like a
dog. She was at a total loss for what just happened.
    Deegen took several steps back to give the
odd man some room, but didn’t let go of his whip or blade. He
didn’t even get a single passing glance as the frail man kept
walking, struggling with each step. As if tiring more and more, but
no one stopped him.
    He made way directly for the severed skull,
hunger guiding him to where to feast. He was thankful not to have
needed to roll the head over. With failing strength he knew there
would be just a single chance. Taking both hands on the hilt he
plunged the cutlass with minimal resistance through scale and skull
and gave a twist to create a hole. Then extracted the weapon and
let it fall on the ground.
    With a sickening slurp he drove his arm deep
into the brain and got a handful of the matter, pulled it out and
started eating in massive chunks. Starving. His left arm covered to
the armpit in purple blood. He did it again and again.
    “ What the fuck?!” Exclaimed
Steven who was sickened. “Beast meat I’d understand, but brain? I
know that shit is lethal poison.”
    “ To ninety nine point nine
eight percent of humanity it is.” Stone confirmed as he jumped
down. He lowered his helmet back into a collar in his armor with a
look of reverence. “Men, I think we are in the presence of an
ancient Beast-eater Hunter. Likely one of our forefathers. He took
it down with one strike. I know of only fifteen living Hunters that
can bring down an A-Rank Salamander in one move without a kinetic blast from that
distance.”
    “ Impossible!” Scoffed
Steven, but no one needed to tell him otherwise. Seeing was
believing and he wouldn’t be in denial for long once adrenaline
wore off.
    Satellite’s gory talons clamped on Stone’s
shoulder to say “We need to get out of here yesterday! It’s going
to hit any moment.”
    Heads turned to the no longer not so silent
sandstorm barreling at them. And that wasn’t all. In the dust cloud
of flying sand were a dozen more Salamanders all using the storm to
fly right at them.
    “ Go! Go! Go! Get to the
ships!” Stone commanded while running.
    The man didn’t move as he continued gorging
on his kill with ravenous need.
    “ Move your bony ass!” Steven
yelled, only to get punched in the sternum when he touched him. The
blow had some weight behind it, but not enough to do more than
sting. Steven grabbed the man’s waist in one arm and sword in the
other after making his spear collapse and drop down to little more
than a dagger sheathed in his lower back. Steven then ran for all
he was worth to the shuttle carrying the man.
    Too weak to get free, the
man just relaxed and came to a similar need to flee. He saw more
prey coming, but he could not stop another, let alone a swarm
bolstered by deadly sands. In the other direction he looked to
see her standing by
an opening, waving them to hurry. Boat?
Boat with wings. Mast. Double furled sail unwinding. Flying
sailboat? He tried making sense of what he
was being carried to. To the right he saw two much smaller fighters
rising off the ground piloted by the two men with black faces.
Their ships were similar to the big one, only with wider wings
carrying weapon pods underneath. Cannons. The fighters were much more
angular, sharper. Their sharply angled triangular sails unrolled
and filled to make them circle off the ground.
    Steven practically sprinted