by Jeff Gunhus
The Boros let out twin angry bellows, and I thought it was going to trample me right then. But Kaeden calmed it with a shake of his head before continuing.
“The Templars didn’t count on me capturing their castle. When I found the pit, I fed the Boros for the first time in centuries – with all the captured Templars my warriors hadn’t already eaten.”
While the audience roared in delight, I felt my pain melt away as red hot anger filled me. Was the Boros smiling? Kaeden sure was. He swept an arm out and around the arena.
“As we excavated the ordinary rock above the original pit, the Boros itself crushed the debris into sand, slowly working its way upward to its new home. A showcase dedicated to its glory. As you can see by the bones, it’s never gone hungry since.”
I swallowed hard and glanced at my fallen friends. Only Eva was moving. “It doesn’t have to be like this,” I cried out. “I don’t believe all monsters are evil, and if I can gather the Jerusalem Stones –”
Kaeden smiled and held out his hand, thumb held sideways. Maybe I’d gotten through to him. But that was exactly the false hope he wanted. Once our eyes met and he saw the flicker of anticipation in mine, he grinned and turned his thumb downward.
No mercy.
The werewolf crowd went crazy and both heads of the Boros roared.
I readied the crossbow for one last shot. We were all too close to it this time. The explosion wouldn’t kill the Boros, but it would take all of us out, robbing the beast of the final kill.
I balanced the weapon in shaking hands and took aim.
The image of Will and T-Rex fighting right next to each other sprang into my head.
I flipped off the safety catch.
Something about how the fire stream nearly got them both at the same time.
At the same time.
With a yell, I rocked backward and fired the crossbow upward, far over the Boros. The bolt soared into the open air above the monster, and the Boros ignored it, marching toward us, claws outstretched.
It ignored the sound of the impact two seconds later high above in the ceiling.
It didn’t react when the werewolves started to cry out in warnings.
In fact, it barely reacted when the hundred-ton stalactite dislodged from the cave ceiling by the explosive bolt crashed into its body from above, piercing it through like a giant spear.
Barely reacted, I say, because the dead find it hard to do more than lie there and bleed. Except for a few involuntary twitches, that was exactly what Boros did.
I stood up, slouched to one side, seeing the world at bizarre angle. I couldn’t quite believe my eyes, so I didn’t want to stand up straight at the risk of ruining the sight in case it was all just a beautiful optical illusion. If it was, I wanted to keep it in its place for as long as possible.
I glanced up at Kaeden and saw a horrified look on his face, one hand to his mouth and the other on the Jerusalem Stone embedded in his chest plate.
That look was enough for me.
I stood up straight, raised my fist in the air, and cheered. Tears sprang to my eyes, the stress of the battle finally overtaking me.
As I ran to Eva, she stood up. Daniel, Will, T-Rex, and Xavier managed to get their feet and clustered around us, hugging, crying, and sharing soft words that we were all okay.
“We made it, Jack,” T-Rex said. “We all made it.”
Will gripped my shoulder, grinning. “See?” He pointed to the stalactite sticking up in the air in the center of the ring, the Boros skewered beneath it. “The old Oracle didn’t see that coming, did she? Must have changed the whole thing.”
“Yeah,” I replied, the excitement of victory fading into a rising sense of dread as I remembered the Oracle’s warning that one of us would die. “I guess she was wrong.”
I looked up to Kaeden who still stood alone on the promontory of rock. I didn’t like the expression on this face. It wasn’t an expression of defeat, only pure anger and hatred.
Without a sound, he leapt from his perch toward the arena floor. Halfway down, he converted from his human form into a werewolf. He bounded at us in five great leaps. With a snarl, he knocked Daniel over, viciously bit into his shoulder, and dragged him ten yards away from us.
Our battle wasn’t over yet.
Chapter 30
“Kaeden, we had a bargain,” I shouted. “Let him go.”
Kaeden shifted back into his human form. He grabbed a dagger lying in the sand and held it to Daniel’s throat. Daniel struggled, but Kaeden simply grinded the hilt of the dagger into the bite-wound until Daniel whimpered.
“Is that your wish of me, Templar?” Kaeden said. “For besting the Boros, I owe a debt of one wish within my power to grant. Is it the release of your friend that you wish?”
“Kill him, Jack,” Daniel mumbled. “Told you… can’t… trust a ¬¬–” He screamed in pain as Kaeden pressed against his wound again.
“We killed the Boros,” Will said. “Where’s your honor?”
Kaeden growled in a way that sounded like it could only have come from his werewolf self. “Speak to me of honor again, boy, and I’ll tear out all your throats, old magic or not.”
“You know I came here for the Jerusalem Stone,” I said, searching for a way out of this mess. “I intend to leave with it, one way or the other.”
Kaeden hefted Daniel up to his feet and pulled back his shirt, showing us the deep wound on Daniel’s chest. It was deep, really deep, but it hardly bled. I didn’t like the look of that at all.
“This is a very special kind of bite,” Kaeden said. “But I can see on your face that you already know that. Am I right?”
I nodded. I had guessed before, but his words left me no doubt.
“This is the transforming bite. The one that will make him into a werewolf. But I can stop it from happening,” Kaeden said. “It is within my power. Do you understand?”
I nodded. “It is a wish you are able grant for killing the Boros.”
Kaeden grinned. “Exactly. It’s said among the Creach that you care too much for the lives of your companions to ever defeat Ren Lucre. They see this as a great flaw. I, on the other hand, think this is your most admirable quality.”
“You’re just a lying dog,” Will belted out. “You gave your word.”
“And I have every intention of keeping it,” Kaeden said.
Daniel’s eyes rolled back so that only the whites showed. His body went stiff, and he began to shake. Kaeden continued to hold him up for us to see.
“What’s wrong with him?” T-Rex asked.
“The curse is finding its way through his body,” Kaeden growled. “It’s not too late to reverse it, but soon it will be. A decision must be made.” He pointed a long finger at my chest. “What is the thing you want from me, Templar? The Jerusalem Stone so you can chase the ridiculous fantasy of reuniting them once again? Or do you want to save your friend from becoming the one thing he most hates in the world?”
I looked at Daniel, my tears welling. I felt like I was back at the catacombs again, one of my friend’s lives in the palm of my hand. It was too much responsibility for me to bear again.
I thought of what Daniel had told me when I wanted to abandon our quest to go look for Eva after Xavier told us she’d escaped from Aquinas’s care. When it’s my turn, if there’s a choice to make, I will sacrifice everything to this cause. It is simply that important.
Something like that was easy to say before looking death in the face. It was a different matter now that it was real and right in front of us. I wondered if he would say the same thing now.
I looked to Will, T-Rex, and Xavier. All I saw in their faces was support for whatever decision I made. I saw their sympathy that another impossible situation had fallen on my shoulders.
Eva spoke up behind me. “You made the right decision,” she said.
I turned and blinked hard, trying to understand. “But I haven’t… I don’t know what I should do….”
“I mea
n with me,” she said softly. “You made the right decision, and I never thanked you for it. You knew how much I want to live. You were right; I cut off my own hand to escape Ren Lucre. Not to run, not to go find help, but to live.”
“Eva, I didn’t mean –”
“Thank you for the decision you made. Thank you for knowing me well enough to know what I would want even though it’s taken me a while to understand it myself.” She pointed to Daniel. “Do him the same honor. Make the decision that shows you truly know him as a friend. If you do that, you cannot do wrong.”
“Enough of this,” Kaeden said. “The time comes when this will not be reversible by anything less than the five Jerusalem Stones themselves. What is your answer? Save your friend or take the Jerusalem Stone?”
I looked at each of my friends once again, and they each nodded their encouragement. After what Eva had said, we all knew the answer to the question.
“I choose to save my friend,” I cried, addressing both Kaeden and the assembled werewolves all around us. “…by keeping his honor intact. While he’ll despise the way he’ll have to live, being the reason we didn’t acquire this Jerusalem Stone would be worse than death to him.” I pointed to Kaeden’s armor where the stone now glowed bright red. “Kaeden, Lord of the Werewolves, I demand as my tribute the Jerusalem Stone in your possession.”
The stone tore from his armor and flew through the air. I caught it in my hand, expecting it to burn me since it glowed so brightly. But it didn’t. It turned back to its normal color, a simple stone like any other river rock. I gripped it tightly, all too aware what it had cost.
Daniel legs buckled beneath him. He fell to the ground, panting. His arms stretched, and he cried out in pain. Hair sprang from his body. His face was the last thing to disappear, but for a split second his eyes met mine, and I saw in them a moment of clarity. He looked right at me and nodded in approval.
At least that was what I hoped I saw.
A few seconds later, Daniel’s face was gone, replaced by a snout and fangs. We had the Jerusalem Stone, but the Oracle had been right. One of my friends had died. Daniel the human was no more. All that remained was Daniel the werewolf.
He arched his back, stretching to feel the full power of his new body. He flexed his claws and bared his teeth in a snarl. Finally, he leaned his head back and let out a mournful howl, so filled with sadness and regret. it brought tears to my eyes and made me doubt the look I saw on his face before he transformed.
“Daniel,” I said. “If I made the wrong decision, I’m sorry.” I held up the Jerusalem Stone so he could see it. “We have three more of these to find,” I said. “And we could use your help.”
Daniel clawed at the floor, gouging deep scars in the sand. He snapped at the air with his fangs, agitated. I wondered if it was really Daniel still inside or whether the transformation had driven him mad the way it did to Eva at first. I considered that he might bound to us and rip out our throats purely on impulse.
But he didn’t.
Instead, he let out another howl, this one angry and defiant. With a vicious growl at Kaeden, Daniel turned and ran to the gate. He stopped just short of the opening and looked back, waiting for us.
“I think that’s a yes,” Eva said, smiling.
I grinned and nodded to Will, T-Rex, and Xavier. “Are you three up for it?”
“Am I up for it?” Will said. “When haven’t I ever been up for anything? Yeah, I’m in.”
T-Rex nodded. “Of course.”
Xavier patted his backpack. “I still have a few tricks up my sleeve I need to field test.”
I looked at Eva, and she scowled at me for even pretending to ask the question. I turned back to Kaeden.
“I’d like to say it’s been a pleasure, but it really hasn’t,” I said. I glanced up at the gallery of werewolves surrounding us. “My friends and I will gather the Jerusalem Stones and stop Ren Lucre,” I shouted. “And when that happens, things will change between men and monsters. The werewolves will need a great leader, a more just leader, a leader with honor who can lead them when this new age begins. I hope the next time we meet, you have taken matters into your own hands and chosen the leader you deserve.”
The gallery broke into agitated murmurs. Small knots of werewolves pointed at Kaeden, shaking their heads.
“How dare you?” Kaeden spat.
I turned and walked away from him. The others followed my lead.
“Don’t turn your back on me,” he screamed. “I’m a Creach Lord. I am in command here.”
“Good luck with that,” I said, waving a hand at the gallery. “Seems like you might have some trouble keeping your title now that the Boros is dead.”
As we entered the tunnel leading outside, the snarls erupted in a wall of noise behind us. The other werewolves jumped into the arena toward Kaeden. I shut the door behind us, closing off that chapter of our quest.
“Where to next, boss?” Will asked.
I looked at the eager faces around me, bruised and smudged with dirt. All of my friends had small cuts except Eva, who had already healed. Will leaned on T-Rex to take weight off an injured ankle. They were tired, starving, and injured, but they all wanted to know which Creach Lord was next.
There was no group I’d rather have if I had to face impossible odds and nearly certain death. Still, this next lord filled me with awful dread. I didn’t know where we were supposed to find him, but something told me it wasn’t going to be anywhere someone could find on a map.
“Back to the farm in Spain,” I said. “We need to rest up and heal before this next one. It’s going to be unlike anything we’ve done before.” I paused, but from the looks on their faces, I think they knew what I was going to say. “I hate to say it, but I think we need to go after the Lord of the Demons next.”
Silence filled a few long seconds as each of us imagined what the Creach commanding legions of demons must look like. A loud rumble broke the silence.
T-Rex held his stomach, embarrassed.
“Yeah, do you think we could grab lunch first though? I’m starving,” he said.
We all laughed, breaking the tension in the air. Then we followed Daniel, still in his werewolf form, out of the keep and back into the forest. We were ready to face the next Creach Lord, ready to face terrible monsters, and ready to do our duty. But first, we were more than ready for lunch.
A Last Note
As I warned you from the beginning, the act of reading this book makes you part of the monster hunter world. The Creach in your area have already sensed that you have this book, so you must be alert at all times.
I’ve set up a website to keep you posted on what’s happening and to help teach you how to fight:
WWW.JACKTEMPLAR.COM.
The password for the secret area is MONSTER.
See you there. But watch out…there are monsters everywhere!
Do Your Duty, Come What May!
Jack Templar
From the Author
Thank you for joining me in the world of Jack Templar and the Creach monsters. It’s been my honor to get to know Jack and help him get the word out about the dangers that lurk in the shadows of our world.
If you enjoyed the book, I would appreciate a review on any of the numerous online sites where readers gather, particularly Amazon.com. If you are a young hunter, make sure to get your parent’s permission first. This helps bring attention to the book and alert others who could benefit from having their eyes opened to the reality of the monster threat.
I look forward to sharing Book 5 with you…Jack Templar and the Lord Of The Lesser Creach.
Do your duty, come what may!
Jeff Gunhus
About the Author
Jeff Gunhus is the author of the Middle Grade/YA series The Templar Chronicles. The first book, Jack Templar Monster Hunter, was written in an effort to get his reluctant reader eleven-year old son excited about reading. It worked and a new series was born. His book Reaching Your Reluctant Reader has
helped hundreds of parents create avid readers. As a father of five, he leads an active lifestyle with his wife Nicole in Maryland by trying to constantly keep up with their kids. Jeff also writes bestselling thrillers and horror novels for adults. In rare moments of quiet, he can be found in the back of the City Dock Cafe in Annapolis working on his next novel…always on the lookout of Creach monsters that might be out to get him! Come say hello at…
www.JeffGunhus.com
