The Veritas Conflict by Shaunti Feldhahn Read Free Book Online

eye. What was that? She drew back, her hand flying to her throat. A bright fuchsia flyer depicted two naked men—together. Her breath came out in a gasp as, despite herself, she read the advertisement for the upcoming Gay and Lesbian Awareness Day on campus. A petite blonde standing next to her glanced up at Claire’s gasp, then peered at the poster. Claire was shocked to hear her laugh.
    “Yeah, it’s kinda funny to see that on a public bulletin board, isn’t it? I mean, to each his own, but I don’t see any pictures out here of a man and woman having sex, so why do they want to show two men?” She shrugged.
    Claire dropped her eyes from the picture. “Beats me.”
    “Well, you know how prejudiced so many conservatives are. The gay students probably feel they need to be over-the-top so they don’t get silenced.” She looked at Claire expectantly.
    “You think so?” Claire mumbled.
    The girl cocked an eyebrow and moved away.

    Across the room another warrior dropped through the roof and into the bustling group. Students walked around and through him, but for the moment he took no notice. Instead, Caliel caught Gael’s eye where he stood behind Claire. Gael jerked his head toward the doors at the far entrance to the building, and both angels watched as a young man with curly brown hair walked into the mix of students. The angels straightened as they assessed the massive demon traveling with him. Katoth .
    The warriors watched the curly brown head push through the crowd and to the Greenhouse Café, the food court that adjoined the large room. The dark presence kept even with every step.
    The Spirit spoke, and their attention focused quickly on a young woman with glossy dark hair. She was just gathering her onion rings and soda and heading toward the cashier. A smaller, sinewy demon hovered nearby.
    The young man turned the corner. Katoth appeared to recognize his smaller colleague, who sketched a deferential greeting.
    The female student glanced up at the young man headed into the food court. He was looking directly at her. She smiled in greeting as he paused, then walked over to her.
    “Have we met before?” He cocked his head disarmingly.
    “No … I don’t think so. But you do actually seem familiar to me for some reason. What’s your name?”
    “Stefan. I’m a junior.”
    “I’m Sherry. Nice to meet you.”
    The angels watched as the pair shook hands, chatting. Another pair of beings talked as well, hovering just above them.
    Caliel moved closer to the food court, while Gael returned his attention to his charge.
    Claire stood at the bulletin boards and tried to shake off a morose feeling. She just had to find people she could connect with. There had to be something that would interest her.
    There! She saw a flyer advertising auditions for an a cappella singing group. And there was another group … and another. There had to be six or seven singing groups at least. She dug into her bag for a notepad and pen, jotting down some of the key information.
    “You don’t need to do that.”
    The voice, right by her ear, made her jump. She swung around, coming face-to-facewith a wiry student. His hair stuck out as if he hadn’t combed it in a while. He stared at her intensely and didn’t move.
    Claire took her hand down from her rapidly beating heart. “You startled me!” She tried a smile.
    The student kept staring. “I said, you don’t need to take notes. Those booths over there,”—he pointed at the rows of tables across the room—“have all these flyers available for you to take with you.” Someone in the crowd jostled him, and his arm brushed hers.
    Claire stepped back a pace. She glanced at the pocket protector in his shirt pocket, a row of five pencils sticking out. A sophisticated HP calculator rested in a holster on his extrawide belt. She looked back up at his face, bemused.
    He didn’t say anything else, just kept staring.
    “Well … uh … thanks for the advice. You saved me