Demon Hunters: Book 1 Faith [editing]

Chapter 69

Mason opened the passenger door of the green station wagon for Zoe and bowed. "After you, mi'lady."

Shotgun seat. Is this girlfriend privilege? Zoe didn't stop to question the arrangement as she longed for her space. She said down and laid the flowers over her lap.

Erica tugged on Crispin's sleeve and pointed. "See? Chivalry isn't dead." Then she crossed her arms and waited.

"You want me to open the door?" Crispin asked.

"Yes, silly. Be a gentleman."

Crispin grinned. "After you, mi'lady," he repeated. After she settled into the seat, Crispin presented her with the carnations he had been holding for her.

Erica's heart rate exploded, and her face flushed. She giggled.

Mason got into the driver's seat. "Sorry about the mess back there." Half of the backseat was full of stuffed animals, children's books, blankets, and a child's booster seat.

"It's fine. It means I get to snuggle with my baby here." Erica wiggled her body against Crispin's.

"Okay." Mason glanced up at the rear view and darted his eyes away.

"So, tell me about your hobbies. I want to know everything about you," Erica whispered to Crispin.

Zoe cringed and ignored the conversation. She jerked when Mason's fingers grazed her thigh. He's back to touching again.

"So, is this your first high school football game?" he asked her.

"Yes."

"It's a lot of fun. It can get noisy though." They stopped at a red light. "We're playing against the Lambert High School Lions."

"Lions?" A strange image of the beast roaring on the field flashed in her mind. She furrowed her brows in confusion.

Mason chuckled. "That's their mascot. We're the Falcons. They're the lions."

"Oh. That's right." The light turned green. "So do you play football?"

"No," Mason said. "I'm not much of a sports person. Dominic's on the soccer team. Diego used to be on the soccer team. He was their best player for a while before he quit."

"Why did he quit? If he was the best player," Zoe asked.

"Not sure. Something about having these episodes, like mini-seizures. Said in the heat of the game, he'd have tunnel vision that left him dizzy." Mason shrugged. "His grandmother told him to leave the team."

Maybe Diego has a medical condition. This explains the unusual heart beat patterns. Zoe would ask Muriel to look into Diego's health records, but—despite messages from Gabriel and Maria de los Santos that the scion was real—this part of her mission would be over soon. At least she hoped.

"Trust me," Mason said. "When Diego's grandmother tells you to do something, you do it."

Zoe laughed. "Yes, I know what you mean."

"That message I left you with your flowers. I got that from her."

"Really?" Zoe dug into her pocket and retrieved the paper. Think beyond the shadowy image of the future. Trust in the heart.

"I was wondering if you knew what it meant?"

Zoe studied the note, pressing her lips. She remembered the mosaic of an angel on the ceiling of the Basilica, holding a staff in one hand and the Ark of the Covenant in the other. "Shadowy image of the future. It has something to do with not knowing what's real or what's going to happen next."