Read Online Jack Templar and the Lord of the Demons (The Jack Templar Chronicles Book 5) by Jeff Gunhus - Free Book Online Page A

think you’re overestimating your ability,” Daniel said, his hand pushing aside his jacket to show the handle of his sword.
    “Don’t worry about this one, Daniel,” Eva sniffed, looking down her nose at the vampire. “Arrogance and overconfidence like this is typical in young blood.”
    The punk vampire clenched her jaw. I could see that Eva was trying to push the girl’s buttons, and she’d found just the right leverage point. How it was going to help us escape, I wasn’t sure. But I figured Eva knew what she was doing, so I decided just to follow her lead.
    “How young is she?” I asked Eva.
    “Only a few decades is my guess,” Eva said. “Her maker was not even a century old.”
    “So she’s just … what’s the right word for it?” I said.
    “She’s a baby,” Eva finished for me. “An arrogant baby who dares to block the path of the daughter of Shakra, the granddaughter of Vitus himself.”
    The punk vampire’s expression wavered, and a look of terror crossed her face. She took a step back and looked to her sides as if searching for support. Two of the creach on either side around us walked to her and took a position beside her. The ones on either side of her were vampires, but the other two looked to be some kind of shifter, a creach capable of taking the form of any living thing.
    I nudged Will and T-Rex and whispered, “Get ready to run.”
    The punk vampire’s confidence returned with the reinforcements. “Such pedigree,” she said. “It makes me even more excited to drink your blood.”
    She rushed at Eva so fast she was barely a blur.
    “Go!” I shouted at the others.
    They all moved in unison toward the nearest exit. I pushed them past me and risked a look over my shoulder. Eva had easily dodged the punk vampire’s attack and used her momentum to throw her to the ground. The other Creach rushed to help her up.
    Strangely, the commuters in the terminal barely gave her a glance. It was the way of the modern world. Don’t make eye contact. Don’t get involved. If two young women wanted to fight in the middle of the train station, so be it. Still, I knew the police wouldn’t feel the same way if they saw something.
    “Eva,” I shouted. “Outside. To the taxis.”
    She nodded and waved me away with a hand. I saw a deep gash on her cheek swell with blood. The younger vampire had landed a blow after all. As I watched, the wounded closed and healed on its own. There was no permanent damage, but it meant the punk vampire was a good fighter. Maybe too good.
    “Go!” she yelled. “I’m right behind you.”
    I turned and ran. I saw Daniel wrestle a creach to the ground right in front of the door, socking him with a right cross to the chin.
    A strong hand grabbed my shoulder. Without looking, I dropped to the ground and kicked backward with my foot. I caught the creach right in the chest, and he went flying through the air.
    I scrambled back to my feet and saw Eva and the punk vampire exchange a brutal flurry of punches. Some commuters took notice but only to give them wary looks before shuffling on. I realized they must have thought the fight was some kind of street performance, the kind that always ended with a hat being passed around for donations while pickpockets worked the real money in the crowd.
    I was about to change course and run back to help Eva when she landed an elbow to the vampire’s face and then swept her legs from under her.
    The second she dropped to the floor, Eva turned and ran toward me.
    By the time I turned to open the door, she was passing me.
    “C’mon, slowpoke,” she said.
    We ran outside, shielding our eyes from the bright sun. I spotted Daniel, T-Rex, Will, and Xavier in a taxi pulling into the road, a handful of Creach chasing it on foot. Eva and I ran to the nearest taxi and climbed in.
    “Drive,” I said to the driver. “Let’s go.”
    “Dove stai andando, Signore?” the driver asked in a heavy Italian accent. He slouched in his seat, not