Jack Templar and the Lord of the Demons (The Jack Templar Chronicles Book 5) (19 page)
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Authors: Jeff Gunhus
W
e put
as many miles as we could manage between the monastery and us before nightfall. None of us wanted to go into a town or village where we ran the risk of being spotted by a creach and forced into a battle. We’d all had enough fighting for the day.
Instead, we knocked on a farmer’s door and asked whether we could stay in his barn for the night. He wasn’t too keen on it until I presented him with a wad of money for his trouble. After that, he was happy to give us blankets and pillows and our choice of the many outbuildings on his property. We quickly chose the barn that was the easiest to protect from an attack. After taking the bedding from the farmer, we walked to the barn. Even though it was a large enough building for each of us to stretch out in our own area, we clumped together in the middle of the hay-covered floor, unwilling to be too far from one another.
Soon, there was a knock on the door, and the farmer’s wife appeared with a big basket with loaves of bread, rolls of salami, and wheels of cheese. The farmer followed close behind, not looking very happy. The wife handed out the food, and we accepted it thankfully. Then she elbowed her husband in the side, and he stepped forward, looking even unhappier as he offered back the money we’d paid him. He mumbled something in Italian about how pleased he was to have us as his guests. He didn’t look pleased at all to give back the money, but his wife did, so that was the end of that. As they left, I thought Master Adem was right. The world of Man did deserve a chance.
With permission, we started a small fire outside and sat around it in a tight circle, quietly eating the food the farmer’s wife had brought. I sat next to Daniel. He hadn’t said much since leaving the monastery, and it was still a mystery how he’d managed to finally get out of the dream world and arrive just in time to save me from Shaitan’s attack.
During a quiet moment, I decided to share with the group what had happened to me in the dream space. I told them about seeing Aunt Sophie being killed and how I was given chances over and over to try to save her, only to see that there was no way I could have made a difference. It wasn’t until I accepted what had happened and forgave myself that I was able to get out.
When I finished, no one asked any questions or made any comments. I knew they’d all had similar experiences and, judging by the distant stares into the flames of our small fire, they were reliving their own dream worlds.
“Mine was a little different,” Daniel said, clearing his throat. “I was back on the day when it happened. Early morning. Snow on the ground. Cold numbing the cheeks but making the world bright and crisp. I was there with my father and my two brothers, and I recognized what was going to happen. That was the day I talked my father into letting my brothers come hunting with us. It was the day that Ren Lucre and his slave-werewolves found us and killed my family. The day I escaped and took on the burden of being responsible for their deaths.”
He paused. I fought the urge to contradict him, to tell him that the deaths were on Ren Lucre’s hands, not his. But I stayed silent.
“So, in this dream world as you called it, I made a change. I pretended to be ill. Said I couldn’t go. So my father and brothers stayed home with me that day. And the next day. And the next. I lived in fear that I’d only pushed off the inevitable and that Ren Lucre would eventually kick in our front door and attack us, looking to see if I was the mysterious Chosen One that was foretold. But he never came. Weeks passed. Weeks that I spent with my brothers and father as we used to, hunting, playing, eating. Wonderful weeks.”
He fell silent for a long time as if lost in those memories. Eventually I prompted him. “Why did you leave?” I asked carefully.
Daniel had tears in his eyes as he spoke. “Because it wasn’t real. I knew it wasn’t, but at first I didn’t care. It felt real enough, you know. I mean, you all felt how it was.”
We all nodded.
“But I realized I wasn’t staying there for my father and two brothers. They were still dead. I was staying there only for myself. To make me feel better. It was a completely selfish act.” He threw a stick into the fire and sparks danced up into the night sky. “I realized I had family that was still alive. And that they needed my help fighting the Lord of the Demons.”
I put my hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. He nodded his head.
“To leave, I also forgave myself, but in my case it was a little different because the dream showed me that I could have saved my brothers. They could have lived if I’d made different decisions. But, even so, I had to forgive myself. It was hard, but I managed. Once I did, tracking you guys down was pretty easy. And it wasn’t a big surprise to find you in a world of trouble without my help,” he added with a grin.
Chuckles came from around the fire, but the sound was muted because Daniel’s story also reminded us just how close we’d come to dying.
“Without you, we’d all be dead,” I said. “I’m lucky to have a brother like you.”
Daniel wiped a couple of tears from his cheeks, then cleared his throat as if to say all the emotional mushy stuff was over.
“Right, so three down, two Jerusalem Stones to go,” he said.
“The Lords of the Zombies and the Lesser Creach are the two last targets,” Xavier said.
“Zombies,” T-Rex said through a mouthful of cheese. “I can’t stand zombies.”
“We cut through them pretty well that first night in Sunnyvale,” Will said.
“Don’t underestimate them,” Eva warned. “Hester was a legendary hunter, and we lost her to the zombies that night.”
I felt a chill travel through my body despite the fire in front on me. Hester’s name always invoked a memory of the moment she let go of my hand on the roof because her weight was pulling me over with her. She died so I could live. I wasn’t about to forget just how dangerous the Lord of the Zombies might be.
As the others discussed back and forth which Lord to go after next, I couldn’t help but think about the taunts from Shaitan.
You’re a pawn in someone else’s game, and you don’t even know you’re playing.
You have no idea what’s really going on.
There were other mysteries. My mother was Ren Lucre’s daughter. How was it possible that my father, a monster hunter, married and had a child with a vampire? Not only that, but when I’d met my mother’s spirit, she’d begged me to forgive her. But for what?
Then there was the strange revelation that last time I’d seen Aquinas. Using the truthsayer, I’d asked her whether she knew what had really happened to my mother. She admitted she did, but when I pressed her, she wouldn’t tell me. At first she’d said it was for my own protection, but the truthsayer caught that lie. Then she admitted the real reason:
I protect all of us from you.
And then she would say no more.
All of these mysteries continued to pile up, pointing to something larger going on, something I wasn’t aware of.
A pawn in someone else’s game …
As I looked around the fire at the faces of my friends, I felt the same as Daniel. This was my family now. These were my brothers and sister. And if someone was playing a game with my life, it meant they were playing with their lives too.
That was unacceptable.
I stood, drew my sword, and held it in over the fire.
There were only a few seconds of hesitation because I’d caught them off guard, but the others quickly rose to their feet and held out their swords to the fire as well so that they all touched.
I looked each of them in the eyes, seeing the confidence in them and the willingness to complete our quest.
“We are family,” I said. “And we’ll fight together until the last.”
“We’ll do our duty,” Eva said.
“Come what may!” we all said together, lifting our swords into the air.
We soaked in the moment, some grinning, some thoughtful, but all of us united to face the monumental task ahead.
“Get some sleep,” I finally said, breaking the spell. “Because tomorrow we start looking for the next Jerusalem Stone.”
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T
hank
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. 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 6 with you…
Jack Templar and the Lord of the Zombies
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Do your duty, come what may!
A
s 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:
The password for the secret area is MONSTER.
See you there. But watch out…there are monsters everywhere!
Do Your Duty, Come What May!
J
ack Templar
J
eff Gunhus is
the author of thrillers and horror novels for adults and the Middle Grade/YA series The Jack 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. 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!
