Demon Hunters: Book 1 Faith [editing]

Chapter 23

Zoe put much less force on the ball on her second bowl, but still got a strike. She glanced up at the scoreboard. No one else had made a strike. Besides her, Dominic and Diego tied for the top place at 26 points each. Mason had a score of fourteen, Lin with ten, and Riley at four. Zoe decided that she needed to stay under Mason's score, but avoid looking like she was trying to lose. With these new rules of the game set, Zoe approached her next turn determined to just knock down four pins, two on each try. On her first bowl, she hit the two pins on the left side of the lane.

"Looks like beginner's luck is running out," Dominic said.

"I guess." Zoe shrugged, hiding her smirk. She aimed for the two pins on the right side of the lane, but when one of the pins fell sideways, it knocked over another two pins. She did all she could do to hide her frown. When everyone cheered, she laughed. This new game was to be more challenging than she had thought. I'll get it down on this next round.

Mason bowled a strike, the first one since Zoe's. He was catching up to Zoe's score. Five more rounds to go in the first game.

On her next bowl, Zoe aimed for just the center pin and the one directly behind it. This would require the right velocity and perfect contact point. Stepping up to the floor, Zoe concentrate and then released the ball. Even before the ball hit the lane, she knew she nailed it. "It's going for the center pin!" Mason exhaled.

"Another strike?" Lin asked, but the pin fell backwards. Then the ball seemed to jump over it and into the pin directly behind it, leaving a two pin gap in the middle. "Yes!" Zoe pumped her fist in triumph.

"It's beautiful," Dominic yelled. "It's missing the front teeth!"

Zoe wondered why her watcher team had never gone bowling before. This was becoming her favorite game. Maybe scions didn't like to bowl. If they did, perhaps they wouldn't be so evil!

"This was cool," Lin said when they had finished. She leaned back against Dominic and flipped off her bowling shoes—her purple sox reflecting the black lights. Dominic stroked his fingers through her hair.

Diego knelt in front of Riley and loosened the laces on her shoes. Riley beamed down at him. Mason glanced at the others, than at Zoe sitting on the bench next to him. "Do you, uh, need any help with those?"

Zoe heard Mason's heart pound. Apparently, taking off someone's shoes meant something special. Riley had asked if Zoe liked Mason "decent enough." She did, but not with the kind of affection that Riley expressed with Diego or Lin with Dominic. No, just friends. The thought surprised her. Just a couple days of ago, she'd never considered being friends with a human before.

In the most pleasant voice she could manage, she said, "I'm okay, Mason. Thanks for asking."

"Oh, yeah, okay, cool." Mason bent over to untie his shoes.

John at the counter laughed at the group as they turned in their shoes. "So, if it isn't the bowling ball assassin herself." He fished for something under the counter. "Here. Take this. We've never had anyone break a pin before." He handed Zoe a piece of white plaster-like material.

"The pin must have been faulty?"

"Probably, but you hit that ball pretty hard. I heard it from up here."

Riley placed a possessive hand on Zoe's shoulder. "She's our secret weapon. So, don't mess with her."

"I can see that."

Zoe held up the remains of the pin. "Thanks."

Dominic presented the gift certificate first. Then everyone else contributed money for the extra costs. Zoe pulled out a bill from a small roll of hundred dollar bills, which garnered everyone's attention. "Birthday money?"