Page 15 of Bound By Earth (The Nature Hunters Academy 1)

“I’m on it!” Zuri slammed her hand on the ground and closed her eyes. “The closest deer is over a quarter-mileaway.”

“Get it here, now,” commanded Jax. Zuri swore again and began chanting under her breath. Zuri’s had the unique ability to reach out to animals. It wasn’t a common gift even among the strongestNatura Venatori. It came in handy. And in moments like this, Jax was very thankful she hadit.

The singing grew louder. And so did the gnome’s giggles. Jax stared helplessly as the hunter continued down the path. He wanted to stop the man, but he didn’t want to risk the evil earth gnome seeing him and ruining his element of surprise, not justyet.

Kumbaya my Lord,kumbaya

Kumbaya my Lord,kumbaya

Someone’s crying, Lord.Kumbaya

Someone’s crying, Lord.Kumbaya

Jax could make out the lyrics. He watched the path and fidgeted. If the Boy Scouts appeared, he’d have to reveal himself. He couldn’t risk what the gnome would do. It was clear now what the evil spirit’s plan was. A shove in the right direction at just the right time and the inebriated hunter’s gun goes off. Boom. One dead child. Another soul dragged to the underworld by a rogue earth spirit. Jax couldn’t let thathappen.

Someone’s crying, Lord.Kumbaya

Someone’s crying, Lord.Kumbaya

The signing grew louder. It sounded as if the troop was directly around the bend. Jax rose, preparing himself to jump. Just then a huge buck burst through the trees and crossed the path right in front of the hunter. The man’s gun went off before he even raised it. He swore and then bolted into the woods after theanimal.

Now, it was the gnome’s turn to swear. “Venators!” he hissed and pointed to Jax and Zuri, who were now barreling down the slope toward him with weapons raised. “Kill them.” The golem bellowed and charged in response to the gnome’s command. When they were within a few yards of one another, the gnome leaped from the top of the golem. He hit the ground and rolled, disappearing as he did so, seeming to melt into the grounditself.

“I’ve got the little one,” shoutedZuri.

“You always give me the hard jobs,” Jax said as he raised hishammer.

“You’re built for it,” she shouted, not even slightly out of breath despite rushing down the hill. “Not to mention you couldn’t find a spirit underground if the thing was wearing a tracking device and had a flashing sign over itshead.”

“One of these days that mouth is going to get you in trouble.” Jax swung the hammer in a high arc and brought it down upon the golem’s rocky pate. There was a resounding crack like thunder, and the golem staggered back. A piece of stone broke off from the back of the monster’s massive boulder of a head and flew away. The golem shook the remaining rock that was its head and roared at Jax. The man swung again. This time the golem was ready. It caught the haft of the hammer with its large stone hands, stopping the weapon in itspath.

“Why do these things have to have such damn hardheads?” Jax growled as he and the golem strained against one another. Jax’s large muscles flexed and bulged. The monster’s muscles, being simply rocks infused with the gnome’s earth-spirit power, didn’t bulge or flex. They simply were. And that was enough. Eventually, the earth spirit’s strength won out, and the monster ripped the hammer from Jax’s grasp. Without hesitation, the thing began swinging the hammer wildly at Jax. The man began to scramble, ducking and jumping the monster’s wild swings. Jax was quicker than the golem, but not by much. He began to circle it, hoping to keep the monsterunbalanced.

“Hurry up, Zuri,” he snapped as he forced himself to keep his eyes on his opponent and not check on her. Jax knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself. But that didn’t stop him from wanting to keep her safe. And that thought made others arise in his mind, but he refused to examine his feelings for Zuri too closely right now … orever.

“Keep your pants on,” came thereply.

“It’s not my pants I’m worried about. It’s myhead.”

The golem raised the hammer high and brought it down in a particularly lumbering motion, overbalancing itself. Jax saw his opening. He closed the distance and wrapped his arms around the beast, trying to tackle it to the ground. Jax might as well have tried to tackle the Washington Monument. The golem didn’t budge. But Jax had accomplished his main goal—not getting his head bashed in. Now that Jax had closed the distance, the thing didn’t have room to swing the hammer. The golem—mostly mindless—had enough sense to realize the weapon was no longer any good to him. It dropped the hammer and brought its giant fists down on the middle of Jax’s back. Had the elemental hunter not refreshed his rock armor enchantments that very morning, the force of the blow probably would have snapped his spine. Instead, it just knocked the wind out of him and flattened him to the ground … and hurt …really, really badly. Jax wheezed as he rose to hisknees.

“Zuri…” hegroaned.

“Almost got him. Hang in there, big fella,” Zuri replied from the spot where she knelt on theground.

“Easy for you to saaayyyyyy!!” Jax’s voice rose along with his body as the golem snatched the man up and lifted Jax over his head. Jax had the physique of a human bodybuilder who would naturally weigh more than three hundred pounds. With all the spells and enchantments he had undergone over the many years of his long life, Jax’s body was now more rocks and minerals than flesh and bone. Truth be told, he was probably more earth golem than man, physiologically, at least. And that made him weigh at least three times what he normally would. Still, the golem lifted him like a balloon filled with helium. The monster spun in a circle twice and flung Jax. He landed with a thud a dozen yards away and skidded across the ground, tearing up the foliage and earth as hewent.

The golem roared and then turned in a slow circle until its stone eyes found Zuri. She stopped chanting momentarily and tried to look around the giant to where Jax lay on the ground. “Uh, Jax, you still with me,buddy?”

He couldn’t answer because the wind had been sufficiently knocked out of him. As he lifted his head he saw the golem lumbering towardher.

“Jax!” He heard a hint of trepidation in hervoice.

The golem picked up itspace.

“Jax,” Zuri screamed again, and the hint of trepidation turned into full-blownpanic.

The golem was upon her now. It raised its clunky fists high, preparing to pulverize the woman. Then a pumpkin-sized stone exploded across itsback.

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