Demon Hunters: Book 1 Faith [editing]

Chapter 4

The dog's ears twitched, and it stood up from where it rested on the patio sofa. A bright circle had formed against the back wall of the house, sparkling at the edges like a firecracker. The dog growled and bared, sensing the intruders.

"That's enough, boy," Zacharias said, as he exited the portal into the rain.

The mutt barked again and blared its teeth.

"I said that's enough," Zacharias repeated, giving the dog the Angel eye. It whimpered and backed away.

"You have such a gentle way with household pets," Zoe said.

Muriel stepped out into the yard and moved under the patio awning by the dog, which sat down beside her leg. She stroked its fluffy hair, as she retrieved a digital tablet. "Okay, we are in St. Louis. My readings tell us that we are about 836 feet from where the ripple originated."

Zoe closed her eyes and listened. She blocked out the sounds of the 5:22 p.m. afternoon traffic and the noise of the group of teenagers chatting about some upcoming football game and the kids playing soccer in the field two streets over. She listened for the heartbeats and the breathing, cataloging each one into categories: human, animal, demon.

Zoe knew her hunting skills were far more superior in this regard. They each had their unique talents. Muriel was the computer whiz. Zacharias the logistics, equipment, and know-how person.

"4,389 humans, a large concentration of teenagers about three blocks that way. No demons." The heartbeats for angels and demons were different than that of other humans. Much, much slower and regular.

"Everyone is masking," Zacharias concluded. Demons invented the art of masking, by forcing their bodies to act like humans, which made them undetectable to angels. The watchers borrowed the technique as well.

"Probably." Zoe nodded.

"There was an accident that happened by a high school about 37 minutes ago. I'm pulling up more information on the police databases." Muriel tapped on the keys with lightning speed. "The driver lost control in the rain and crashed into the side of the school gymnasium. No one other than the driver was hurt seriously. One kid did get injured."

"Well, we should check it out." Zacharias said.

"Agree," Zoe said.

They walked through the rain, unaffected by the chill and moisture. Zoe loved the way it felt and wanted to materialize her wings, but now wasn't the time.

The police had sectioned off the side of the road and placed barriers around the wreck. They also swept up the debris. "Dave, when did they say the tow truck was coming?" one of them complained.

"That thing will need more than just a tow truck," he replied.

"What kind of idiot runs a semi into a school?"

Dave looked up at the rain clouds. "The kind that doesn't know how to drive in the rain?"

The concrete wall of the gymnasium looked like a wrecking ball had collided against it, but just enough to give it a solid dent. The cabin of the truck had crumpled in its center. The trailer had snapped at the hitch and landed flush against the wall.

Zoe handed her blade to Zacharias. "Let me have a closer look." He simply nodded.

She walked up to the side of the school where a small group of teenagers huddled under one boy's umbrella. Oh, that's right. Human don't like getting wet. She cowered and tried to pull her jacket up for protection.

She was about to say, what in heaven's name happened here, but stopped. Humans don't use that expression. "Uh, what happened?" She thought she sounded like a teenager.