Read Online People of the Ark (Ark Chronicles 1) by Vaughn Heppner - Free Book Online Page A

giant,” she said.
    “ What?”
    “ But surely you knew that. After all, isn’t that why you’ve come? To make a name for yourself.”
    Ham drew back, peering into her strange eyes.
    “Ymir is Nephilim,” she said. “His father is one of the bene elohim .”
    Cold fear s tabbed through Ham.
    “ Don’t tell me you didn’t know.”
    He licked his lips.
    “Oh, Ham,” she said, touching his cheek. “You mean you really stumbled upon me?”
    He nodded.
    “O you poor little darling,” she said, with more than a touch of mockery. “Ymir will crush you.”
    He swallowed painfully . “Don’t you want to run away with me?”
    “ You are very handsome.”
    A wave of relief warmed him.
    “Yet I don’t think you’re as powerful as Ymir,” she said.
    “ But… You don’t understand,” he said, desperate.
    “ What don’t I understand, my darling?”
    “ This… It’s all doomed.”
    “ Ymir?”
    “ No,” he said, “the world. But if you marry me you’ll live.”
    She giggled . “Ham! That’s silly. You sound like that fool Kedorlaomer spoke about this morning.”
    His eyes widened . “Kedorlaomer?”
    “ He is my master’s servant. Ymir sent him ahead to spy out the Ark.” She lowered her voice. “It is a massive ship, built by a madman for his god. Perhaps you’ve seen this ship?”
    Did she mock him?
    “Ham,” she said, touching his cheek again. “You’ve grown pale.”
    He grabbed her wrist . “Listen to me, Naamah, I speak the truth when I say everything is doomed. I-I love you, and I would never lie to you.”
    “ Love?” she asked, a sneer twisting her lips. “Ah, Ham, if you only realized how many times men have told me they loved me. Yet every time they looked upon Ymir, they grew afraid and either ran away or my master killed them. Why would you be any different, my darling?”
    Her words shocked him, and he wasn ’t certain what to say or think.
    Then a crashing sound came from her side of the forest, and the sounds of armor clanking against a shield.
    “Naamah!”
    Ham stepped back.
    “Naamah, where are you?”
    “ I’m here, my lord.” To Ham she said, “It’s too soon for you to face Ymir. And you haven’t even tasted your reward yet, not truly. Swim, my darling, and meet me again tonight.”
    He stared at her.
    “Ymir is jealous about who looks upon me.” She eyed him critically. “He wears armor, my darling, and you just have your toy axe. Sneak away while there is yet time. I won’t tell him about you if you promise to sneak back to me later.”
    “ What?”
    “ Oh, I like you, Ham, and I want to play with you for awhile. Ymir… I grow bored of him, if you must know the truth. But you…” Her eyes roved over him, making him feel like a cow at auction. “I think we could have fun together.”
    The sound of clinking armor and the tread of the approaching giant reminded Ham of the behemoth this morning . Naamah came to him, kissed him fiercely and then pushed him toward the far shore, his shore. He turned, dove and swam hard, faster the further he went from her. He panted by the time he made it to his riverbank, scrambling, grabbing his clothes, bag and spear, diving into the thick undergrowth.
    “ There you are.”
    Ham peeked from behind a bush . Ymir was unbelievably huge. He towered almost twice the height of a man and wore bronze links that reflected the sunlight so brightly it hurt. Silver hair draped to his shoulders and strange eyes, intense, intelligent, alien in an indefinable way, gave the giant a sinister, dangerous air. It was as if a leopard should rise onto its hind legs and walk and act and talk like a man. Ymir seemed unnatural, inhuman or superhuman.
    Fortunately there was a river between them. From upon the far bank the giant studied Naamah.
    “ Will you help me up, my lord?” she asked, reaching a slender arm toward him. The giant hesitated, and then he reached down and easily lifted her from the river. He dwarfed her, and he cupped her