Kingdom of Bones by James Rollins

Author:James Rollins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-01-28T00:00:00+00:00

8:41 P.M.

Kane crouches as danger closes in from three directions.

On both flanks and ahead.

Retreat is cut off by a chatter of voices, by a wall of sweat and filth. He has led those behind him, luring them in his wake. An order blazes behind his eyes, to take them farther astray.

But other hunters have noticed his trespass and block him from following that order. He holds back a growl of fury and challenge.

He can only wait.

His ears stand tall, picking out the pneumatic whir and clank of metal. Branches break, coming ever closer. His haunches tremor in readiness.

He knows his packmate is blind to the threat that comes. The other does not have his keen nose or sharp ears. It will take sight for the danger to become clear. But Kane trusts his partner with all his heart and bone.

And waits.

Finally, the first of the three stalks into view ahead. It stinks of oil and lightning. Gears hum. Gun mounts swivel for a target. Its senses are muted, dull compared to his own. But he knows that it is also deadly and swift.

Rifle fire from such hunters had chased him twice before.

Then another appears to the right, followed a breath later by a third to the left.

He stays still. He’s learned movement draws their attention. Still, soon they will sense his heat, pick out his form. While he had successfully fled a few encounters, three were too many to simply run from.

So, he waits, trusting another.

Then a telltale snap bumps his sternum. A silvery object drops to the ground beneath him. His packmate has finally recognized the threat and seeks to help him.

Kane understands. He has been trained in this maneuver. He also knows he should already be running.

A command reinforces this.

MOVE. DOUBLE TIME!

He disobeys. He has learned the number of beats of his heart it takes before such objects erupt with a flash, a bang, or the shred of burning metal. He waits, trusting himself as much as the other.

The three hunters close a snare around him. One gun mount snaps in his direction, then another, and another.

Now spotted, he leaps back and away.

Gunfire tears around him, but he is gone. He jackrabbits off his hind legs and races away. The three hunters converge where he had been hidden—as an explosion brightens the forest with flame. He is too close. The blast shoves at him, driving him deeper into the forest.

A broken shape crashes through the underbrush.

Kane races onward, beyond the blast, into the embrace of shadow and concealing leaf. Free of the trap, he runs into the dark, ready at last to complete his mission, to lead more hunters astray.

Words reach him.

He hears the pride shining in them and knows them to be true.

GOOD BOY, KANE. GOOD BOY.

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