Free Jack Templar Monster Hunter by Jeff Gunhus

I herded them back inside.
    “You kind of stink, Jack,” T-Rex said.
    “You really do,” Will said. “What’s that stuff all over you? It smells terrible.”
    I realized that I was pretty much drenched with harpy blood (which I mentioned earlier does really stink). But I wasn’t about to tell them the truth.
    “This? Yeah, we’re doing a play,” I said.
    “A play? Awesome!” T-Rex said.
    “Really,” Will said, unconvinced.
    “Uh…yeah. You saw the sword and heard the shouting, right? Just practicing for a play down at the community center. This is fake blood from a fight scene.”
    T-Rex bought it. He went from being uncertain to being jealous in a second. He stabbed at his nose with another finger. “Do you think I can be in the play? I’m a really good actor.”
    “Sure,” I said. “We’re looking for more people. I’ll get you in, I promise. Just not tonight, OK? I messed up and forgot about rehearsal when I invited you guys over.”
    Will stopped and got in my face. “You know what I think? I think you’re full of it.”
    I froze, thinking that he had somehow figured it out. Will was sharp. He barely passed his classes but when it came to street smarts, Will had his PhD. Suddenly, he grinned.
    “You’re trying to hook up with that hottie, aren’t you?” he said.
    I let out a deep breath and tried to look embarrassed, like he’d just busted me.
    Will smiled, pleased with himself. “ I knew it. I knew you were full of it. You can’t pull one over on me.” He checked Eva out a little more closely. “I don’t know, man. She might be out of your league. Maybe I should…”
    “I’ve got it,” I said. “I’ll call you guys later, OK?”
    “Does that mean we’re not having pizza?” T-Rex said.
    Will threw his arm over T-Rex’s shoulder. “No, it means we’re not having pizza with Jack. He’s abandoned us, T-Rex. He’s followed the siren’s call and is headed straight to the shores of heartbreak and sadness.”
    T-Rex looked at him, confused.
    “Come on, I’ll explain it to you later,” Will said. “We’re outta here. Let’s go into town and get our own pizza.”
    “Thanks, guys,” I said. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
    I heard T-Rex mumble as they left through the front door, “As long as we’re still getting pizza.”
    I shut the door on them and turned around.
    Eva and Aunt Sophie were standing in the kitchen, one on either side of the breakfast bar. I walked in. “All right, so who’s going to tell me what’s really going on here?”
    Eva nodded at Aunt Sophie. “How about you, Creach? You want to tell him?”
    Aunt Sophie glared at Eva, but when she turned to me, her expression softened again. “I’m sorry, Jack. I know this is a lot to take in all at once, but it was for your own good.”
    “Ha!” Eva laughed.
    “Quiet,” I said. “Let her finish.” I looked Aunt Sophie in the eye. “Tell me the truth. All of it.”
    Eva stepped back into the corner of the kitchen, brooding.
    Aunt Sophie nodded. “I’ll tell you what I can. Some things you know. Your mother died when you were born. Your father, not long after. I never met him, but all the Creach knew who he was. And who you were. When he died, he had you with him. You were just a baby, so the Creach who killed your father couldn’t kill you because of the truce. So they took you to Ren Lucre instead.”
    “Who killed my father?” I asked.
    Aunt Sophie held up her hand. “Patience, I will tell you everything. The Creach had you in their possession but the law of Quattuordecim forbade any Creach to hold a human child captive simply to kill him when he reached fourteen . A clever solution was discovered. If you chose to live with a monster, then Quattuordecim would not be violated. You were brought into a room with several of us. You had to choose one of us and only then could we stay with you.”
    “And I chose you?” I asked.
    “You were only a toddler, a little over two. I wanted