Read Online Jack Templar and the Lord of the Werewolves (Book #4 of the Templar Chronicles) by Jeff Gunhus - Free Book Online
Authors: Jeff Gunhus
Tags: Fiction
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girl to put her in this position. Where were her parents? Why was she begging on the street?
I suddenly had a powerful image of Eva as a kid, one hand missing and wrapped in bandages, begging for money, relying on the kindness of strangers to survive. Without the Black Guard, she might have spent her entire life that way.
In a coordinated move, the security guards closed in on the girl at once. I half-expected her to squirt out from the huddle of guards like in the cartoons and run away, laughing. But she didn’t. Despite her kicking and scratching, the guards had her firmly in control.
The German cheered, and his friends who had gathered around him cheered along with him.
The guards walked the girl over to the German and held her in front of him. We pushed our way closer so we could hear. The guards spoke first in Greek, but the German just looked at them blankly.
“Speak English?” the guard asked.
“A little English,” the German said. “I want my money back.”
The girl spit at the German. “I didn’t take your money,” she said.
The guards gripped her roughly, speaking harshly in Greek. She replied back, venom in her voice.
“She says she didn’t take anything from you,” the guard said. “That she only asks; she doesn’t take.”
“Forty euros missing. My pocket. Gone,” the German said. “She little thief.”
The guards talked among themselves. One brought out a pair of handcuffs and readied them. The girl’s eyes went wide at seeing them, and she struggled to get away.
I dug into my pocket and brought out my wallet. Opening it, I counted out the rest of our money. It only came to fifty euros.
“We need that,” Daniel hissed.
“Not as much as she does,” I said. I stepped forward. “Here,” I called. “I’ll pay the forty euros. Just let her go.”
The crowd spun my direction, and I regretted making a scene. After all, we were supposed to be lying low. I should have waited until they led the girl away from the other tourists before making my offer. But the look of fear in the girl’s eyes was too much to bear. They reminded me too much of Eva’s.
The guards looked confused, so I stepped up and pushed the money in the big German’s hands. “Here, there’s your money. Now there’s no harm done.”
The German looked embarrassed. He held the money at first like it was dirty, but he got over that quickly. He folded the bills and stuffed them into his pocket.
“Now tell them to let her go,” I said.
The German hesitated and then nodded at the guards. “It’s okay. No problem.”
The guards let the girl go. The second they did, she sprinted away like a rabbit being chased by a hawk without once looking back.
“So much for thank you ,” Daniel muttered.
I watched the girl dart through the ruins until she disappeared. Something told me I would see her again. It turned out my feeling was right – I just didn’t know how soon.
Chapter 9
The ruins at Delphi were a bust. We did everything we could to get close to the temple, but after the whole episode with the girl, the guards watched us too close. None of us thought we were missing much though. The ropes allowed us to get right up the edge of the stones outlining the old exterior wall. From there, we could see into the inner chamber, if you could call it that. It was just an open area with five worn down pillars. There were no inscriptions. No magical hole in the ground. If something was supposed to happen here, it was taking its time.
We decided to go back to the town, have a bite to eat, and wait until dark to sneak back onto the site to get a better look around without the guards. The town was set for the tourists with menus in English and ridiculously high prices for everything. We walked a couple of blocks away from the town center and found a local place where the food smelled twice as good and the prices were half of the tourist traps’. Since we were considerably poorer than we’d been this morning, I was
I suddenly had a powerful image of Eva as a kid, one hand missing and wrapped in bandages, begging for money, relying on the kindness of strangers to survive. Without the Black Guard, she might have spent her entire life that way.
In a coordinated move, the security guards closed in on the girl at once. I half-expected her to squirt out from the huddle of guards like in the cartoons and run away, laughing. But she didn’t. Despite her kicking and scratching, the guards had her firmly in control.
The German cheered, and his friends who had gathered around him cheered along with him.
The guards walked the girl over to the German and held her in front of him. We pushed our way closer so we could hear. The guards spoke first in Greek, but the German just looked at them blankly.
“Speak English?” the guard asked.
“A little English,” the German said. “I want my money back.”
The girl spit at the German. “I didn’t take your money,” she said.
The guards gripped her roughly, speaking harshly in Greek. She replied back, venom in her voice.
“She says she didn’t take anything from you,” the guard said. “That she only asks; she doesn’t take.”
“Forty euros missing. My pocket. Gone,” the German said. “She little thief.”
The guards talked among themselves. One brought out a pair of handcuffs and readied them. The girl’s eyes went wide at seeing them, and she struggled to get away.
I dug into my pocket and brought out my wallet. Opening it, I counted out the rest of our money. It only came to fifty euros.
“We need that,” Daniel hissed.
“Not as much as she does,” I said. I stepped forward. “Here,” I called. “I’ll pay the forty euros. Just let her go.”
The crowd spun my direction, and I regretted making a scene. After all, we were supposed to be lying low. I should have waited until they led the girl away from the other tourists before making my offer. But the look of fear in the girl’s eyes was too much to bear. They reminded me too much of Eva’s.
The guards looked confused, so I stepped up and pushed the money in the big German’s hands. “Here, there’s your money. Now there’s no harm done.”
The German looked embarrassed. He held the money at first like it was dirty, but he got over that quickly. He folded the bills and stuffed them into his pocket.
“Now tell them to let her go,” I said.
The German hesitated and then nodded at the guards. “It’s okay. No problem.”
The guards let the girl go. The second they did, she sprinted away like a rabbit being chased by a hawk without once looking back.
“So much for thank you ,” Daniel muttered.
I watched the girl dart through the ruins until she disappeared. Something told me I would see her again. It turned out my feeling was right – I just didn’t know how soon.
Chapter 9
The ruins at Delphi were a bust. We did everything we could to get close to the temple, but after the whole episode with the girl, the guards watched us too close. None of us thought we were missing much though. The ropes allowed us to get right up the edge of the stones outlining the old exterior wall. From there, we could see into the inner chamber, if you could call it that. It was just an open area with five worn down pillars. There were no inscriptions. No magical hole in the ground. If something was supposed to happen here, it was taking its time.
We decided to go back to the town, have a bite to eat, and wait until dark to sneak back onto the site to get a better look around without the guards. The town was set for the tourists with menus in English and ridiculously high prices for everything. We walked a couple of blocks away from the town center and found a local place where the food smelled twice as good and the prices were half of the tourist traps’. Since we were considerably poorer than we’d been this morning, I was
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