Jack Templar and the Monster Hunter Academy: The Templar Chronicles: Book 2 by Jeff Gunhus Read Free Book Online

him for a second, but then the gate broke open and he fell backward.
    At the last second, Daniel grabbed his arm and held onto him. Will was half out of the wagon, his legs dragging on the ground.
    Two wolves fell in behind us, running hard. They closed in on Will’s legs.
    I crawled forward and grabbed Daniel. T-Rex tugged the back of my jacket to try to help pull us back on. Together, we heaved Will back into the wagon, the nearest wolf snapping at his heels as we hauled him on board.
    The forest was now alive with wolves. Black shadows on both sides of the road hurtled through the trees, keeping pace with Saladin’s manic sprint.
    Daniel pulled his sword. Will and I followed suit. Bacho grabbed T-Rex with one of his huge hands and dragged him forward onto the front bench by him.
    “Are they werewolves?” I shouted.
    “No. Not this lot anyway,” Daniel said. “If they were, we’d already be dead. There is one among them, though. A giant black wolf with a white cross on his chest. Watch for him.”
    In the front, Bacho pulled out a crossbow and a quiver of bolts from under his seat. He took aim at one of the wolves and fired. The bolt flew harmlessly above the animal. Not even close.
    Eva leaned over. “Bacho, give me the crossbow,” she called.
    “Careful, Miss,” Bacho said. “Them’s poisoned bolts on there.”
    Bacho handed her the bow just as two wolves sped past the wagon, drawing even with Saladin. They nipped at his long legs, biting at his haunches.
    With one smooth motion, Eva plucked out a bolt, slid it into position, cocked the crossbow and took aim at the nearest wolf.
    Thwack.
    The bolt caught him in the side and he rolled up in a ball with a yelp.
    The other wolves pulled back into the tree line, but still kept pace with the wagon.
    I looked up ahead and saw what they were waiting for. The road was about to get very narrow. Worse, the path had been cut into a hill so that the ground on either side rose up just a bit higher than the top of the wagon. The wolves tore through the trees and up the hill.
    “Get ready!” Daniel cried.
    As we entered the cut, the wolves were suddenly above us. One from each side jumped into the wagon. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Daniel fend off the snarling wolf on his side with his sword. I felt the wagon sag from the weight of the creature as it landed. But my eyes were firmly fixed on the wolf heading my way. I raised my sword just as Eva spun in her seat and fired the crossbow. But a second wolf, twice as large as the first, jumped in front of the shot and took the bolt in its side in mid-jump.
    The wolf’s momentum carried it through the air and it smacked into me, a wrecking ball of fur and claws.
    One second I was in the back of the wagon, my feet firmly planted in place and ready for battle. The next I was flying through the air, tangled up with the wolf.
    With a thud, I landed in snowdrift with the wolf on top of me. Between the force of my fall and the weight of the beast, I sank deep into the snow, completely covered by the stinking body. This had probably saved my life.
    All around me, I could hear the howls of the wolf pack racing past me, their paws scattering the snow around me. I silently thanked Hester again for the cloaking medallion she had given me. Without it I was certain that the wolves would have been able to sense my presence. A single, soulful howl seemed to come from right over me, perhaps a quick eulogy for the fallen comrade that lay on top of me. 
    I lay as still as I could, trying to slow down my frantic breathing. Even though I still had my sword with me, it sounded like there were dozens of wolves in the pack. If they discovered me, I was dead.
    Luckily, Saladin’s fast pace quickly drew the pack away from me and I soon found myself alone in the silent night. Silent, that is, except for the ragged breathing coming from above me. In the commotion, I thought for sure the wolf was dead, but I suddenly realized he was very much