Demon Hunters: Book 1 Faith [editing]

Chapter 73

"You're a traitor!" Ophiel unleashed her fury on Zoe, who sat quietly on the sofa with her face hidden in her hands. Crispin placed a hand on her shoulder—both looking like children in a human family banding together when one of them did something wrong.

She's going too far, Gemma thought. Everyone here knew of Ophiel's disdain for Zoe. Disdain for anyone who took the spotlight away from her.

Zacharias stepped forward. "Hold on, Ophiel."

"For what?" The senior angel snapped. "For her to betray us all?"

Zoe's jaw muscles tightened, but she suffered in silence.

"We've all known about their notes to each other," Muriel countered. "Zoe hasn't hidden them from us."

Leo pointed a finger at Zoe. "This goes beyond notes that taunt each other. They text each other on the phone."

Zoe closed her eyes. "I did not text him," she whispered.

Leo ignored Zoe's comments. "They have been sharing information. She isn't to be trusted."

"Let's see these texts," Ophiel demanded.

A blanket of silence fell over them. Kiara, the leader of Gemma's team, broke the silence. "Yes. It would be helpful to see the correspondences." Kiara will be fair and impartial, but will Ophiel and Leo listen.

Cera, the commander of Crisipin's team, also spoke. "Can we also see the letters?"

Muriel shot a sideways glance at Zoe, who had crumbled into herself, shoulder's hunched. Muriel sighed. "Okay. I know where they are. I will get them."

Everyone shifted uncomfortably as they waited. Gemma hated these meetings and wished she was with Jed, Ivo, and Kevin, who were monitoring the safety of Zoe's human friends.

She pulled out her dagger and admired its celestial blade. I killed the demon, Barbas, with this. Before he died, the demon threatened, "Old woman, I'll be back." The medicine woman didn't even flinch. Gemma knew that Maria de los Santos possessed a faith unlike any other human she'd ever encountered. So, she accepted her invitation.

When Muriel displayed a series of handwritten letters on the coffee table, Zoe growled at her. "Sorry," the technician mouthed.

"This is stupid," Zoe mumbled.

"What did you say?" Ophiel challenged the watcher.

"Let's see the letters," Kiara intervened, drawing Ophiel's attention back to the coffee table. She picked up the first note and laughed. "Cookies?"

Ophiel frowned. "This is a serious matter."

"Yes, of course." Kiara cleared her throat and inspected the second letter.

Muriel retrieved the cellular phone. "Wait, there's another text message from Ren here."

Ophiel glared at Zoe. "Another message from the demon to the supposed angel watcher." She turned to Muriel. "Put it on the screen so that we all can see it for ourselves. I'm sure Zoe wants us to see what correspondences she's been receiving."

Zoe's fingers gripped the cushion of the sofa with such force that the fabric gave way.

Zacharias nodded. "Do it, Muriel."

Muriel connected her the phone to a wire attached to a large monitor.

Gemma didn't like where this was going, but this wasn't her fight. Zoe got herself into this mess. Instead, she pondered over her conversation with Maria. The woman knew things. "Great warrior, you are. One-thousand, two-hundred-years-old. Give or take a few years." Gemma rarely revealed her age. Maria confirmed that the scion was real and would be revealed on Saturday evening. At that point, Gemma believed her without condition.