Read Online Jase & the Deadliest Hunt by John Luke Robertson - Free Book Online Page A

and green peppers you’ve never seen before mixed with a broth that contains several kinds of seafood, like fish and shrimp.
    “And what is this?” you ask Count VanderVelde.
    “This is our variation on a wonderful clam boil.”
    You take a whiff and your eyes start to water. “It smells . . . spicy.”
    “Yes. We call it the Blister Boil.”
    You take a deep breath, then pick up your spoon.
    “Men have been known to black out after eating that,” the count says.
    “Wonderful. Great.”
    The first bite feels like molten lava poured into your mouth.
    The second bite and you lose all sensation below the waist.
    “An adventurous spirit!” Count VanderVelde shouts. “I love it!”
    The third bite contains a bit of lobster. That and a forest fire. Such a great combo.
    You wipe your head and feel dizzy. “This is definitely   —”
    But you can’t take any more. You jump up and run out of the room and out of the lodge, then dive into the pool just outside.
    You swim underwater with your mouth open. For a long, long time.

    Go here .

MEOW

    THE TWO JEEPS DRIVE YOU up the winding mountain road early the next morning. You pass the cave and remember the massive red bear John Luke managed to take down. After another ten minutes, you reach a closed gate blocking the path.
    “Rest of the way is on foot,” your driver says.
    All of you get out and walk around the rusted gate.
    “So we hike this to get farther up the mountain?” Cole asks.
    You nod and shrug. “Only one way to go, and it’s up. So yeah.”
    After you’ve been walking for ten minutes, drizzle starts coming down. It feels good because the weather is so warm and sticky.
    “Is this one of those tropical storms?” you ask the guys.“Comes in for an hour, and then it’s sunshine for the rest of the day?”
    “Those clouds don’t look too sunny to me,” Willie says.
    His words seem to be an omen of sorts. The light sprinkle turns into a steady rain, which then becomes a downpour. Soon you forget how hot you were this morning as every inch of you becomes pruny and wet.
    “Tell me something,” Willie begins as you all keep slogging uphill on the dirt trail. “Has it rained a drop this whole week?”
    “Not one,” you say.
    “This is making up for it,” John Luke adds.
    At one point you all try to seek shelter under a tall tree along the trail, but it offers little. The wind has picked up and the rain is shifting, blowing first in one direction and then the next.

    “Maybe there’s shelter closer to the top of the mountain,” you suggest.
    “Something tells me there’s not.” Willie’s the one disagreeing, of course.
    “So you want to stay here getting soaked?”
    “Not really.”
    “At least if we move, we stay a little warmer.”
    Willie looks like a wet mess. So do John Luke and Cole. You can only imagine what a sight you are. At least you’re wearing a cap that’s blocking some of the rain. Some of the rain.
    The farther up the winding dirt trail you go, the more you realize it’s becoming less of an actual trail. Grass and brush cover more and more of it the higher you get.
    “Hey, check this out,” John Luke calls from the side of the path.
    You walk over to see what he’s pointing at   —bones scattered on the grass.
    “Looks like some kind of animal.”
    “After someone finished feasting on it,” Willie says.
    You adjust your cap as raindrops spill off the brim. Your cheek still aches and throbs, but thankfully you took some heavy pain medication earlier.
    A few minutes later you see another set of bones. Then another soon after.
    “I hope these aren’t the animals we’re supposed to be hunting,” you say.
    “I hope the animal we’re supposed to be hunting isn’t doing this.”
    Willie has a good point. And you have the sword you’re carrying. You figure you have to use it eventually, right? But the swords might not be enough.
    The higher you walk, the darker the sky becomes. The rain is starting to hurt