Jack Templar and the Lord of the Vampires by Jeff Gunhus

or it had happened so fast that no one had caught it. I guessed it was a bit of both. Most people couldn’t have seen it. And those who had probably survived by not nosing around in the business of men dressed in black robes moving with military efficiency.
    Daniel crossed my field of vision, already half the distance toward the alley. I realized I was standing there with my mouth open in disbelief like an idiot. Even Will was already a few steps ahead of me, his hand under his robe fishing out his sword.
    Eva and T-Rex were taken, but not gone. Not if we had any say in the matter.
    I sprinted toward the alley, quickly overtaking Will. I felt the extra power in my legs that always surprised me since my Change right before my fourteenth birthday. Somehow my ancient Templar blood had known what I would need to survive as a monster hunter, and my body had grown freakishly strong right before that fateful night when I fought Ren Lucre. The Change had slowed down, but some of the things I could do still surprised me. I had a feeling that I’d need every advantage I could get in the fight ahead.
    I passed Xavier and reached the alley just as Daniel ducked into it. There was only room for one person at a time because the space was so narrow, no more than a pass-through between the buildings. A perfect spot for an ambush. Creach archers waiting above could pick us off one by one in the confined space. But there was no other option. If they got away with Eva and T-Rex into the maze of streets in the souk, they would be gone forever. I pulled my sword and followed Daniel into the alley.
    It was darker here with only the small gap between buildings three stories up for light. The ground was covered with trash coming up to our knees in some places. Old newspapers, soda cans, discarded wrappers. We had no choice but to abandon all caution. A few well-placed steel-claw traps under the rubbish would have ended the pursuit pretty quickly, but thankfully the Creach hadn’t thought that far ahead. As the alley curved around buildings, I followed Daniel, his tall frame blocking my view so I had no idea what lay ahead of us. I nearly ran into him when he came to a sudden stop.
    “What is it?” I asked. “Why are you stopping?” He leaned to one side so I could see in front of him. The alley had curved and now ended with a blank wall. There was no sign of Eva, T-Rex or any of the Creach. I heard steps crunching through the trash behind us.
    I turned, worrying that this was the ambush I’d feared.
    But instead of a Creach hoard closing in on us, it was just Will and Xavier hurrying to catch up.
    I spun back to Daniel. “Where did they go? Did we miss a turn?”
    He shook his head, the blood drained from his face. “I didn’t see one, did you?”
    Will and Xavier stopped behind us. “Where are they?” Will asked.
    Xavier looked nervous. “Had anyone else considered this might be a trap?”
    I thought I heard a sound, almost like a muffled cry. Eva.
    “Quiet,” I said, holding up my hand. “Everyone.”
    They all fell silent. Seconds passed, and the only sound was our heavy breathing from the run. With the adrenaline surging through our systems, it felt like an eternity. Daniel was the first to grow impatient. “We don’t have time to—”
    The sound came again. Very faint, but it was definitely Eva. Daniel heard it too and looked sheepish for having made any noise.
    “What direction did it come from?” I asked. Everyone shook their heads and craned their necks to listen for the sound again.
    It paid off a few seconds later when a louder cry was followed quickly by a deep grunt. It wasn’t hard to guess that Eva had landed a good punch or kick on one of her captors. With the two sounds, it also wasn’t hard to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. I just had a hard time believing what I saw. 
    We all slowly raised our eyes higher and higher up the walls of the alleyway. Far above us, nearly three stories high, the five