Free The Veritas Conflict by Shaunti Feldhahn

setting out plates and utensils and took his seat. He held out his hands. “Let’s pray now.”
    The little group joined their hands and hearts, giving thanks for the food and for the opportunity to come before the Throne. David and Margaret asked God to give peace and protection to the Rivers family, especially to the daughter so far away.

SEVEN
    H OW DID ANYONE EXPECT TO MAKE SENSE of this stupid map? Claire fumbled with her purse and portfolio while trying to hold the flimsy paper open. The subway lines looked like spaghetti strands, crisscrossing the page at random.
    She looked wildly around her at the bustling underground Government Center station. There was the blue line to Bowdoin and the green line to Lechmere. She had gotten off the red line on the subway—the T, she quickly corrected herself—and had to switch to another. But which one?
    She looked at the digital clock hanging over a nearby platform. The first day of class had been a blur. She should have taken the time to ask for directions before she hurried from her last class to the Harvard Square T station. She was already late. Not a good way to meet the people who were financing her education.
    A distinguished-looking woman in a long, red wool coat walked by, her shopping bag? rustling as she passed. Claire turned around. “Oh, excuse me, ma’am! Could you tell me which direction the blue line …?”
    The woman shook her head and kept walking.
    Claire stared at the map again. Why couldn’t the lines just say North or East like any self-respecting highway system would? A younger woman in a tracksuit approached from the other direction. Claire stepped toward her. “Excuse me. Does the blue line to Wonderland go toward the business district?”
    “Don’t know.” The tracksuit turned a corner and was gone.
    Claire stared after her. “Gee, thanks for the help.”
    “Whatcha need, dearie?” Another woman stopped next to her.
    Relieved, Claire poured out her dilemma. The woman pointed out her line, and Claire hurried to the correct platform. She stared down the tracks, but could see no lights approaching.
    She noticed the hum of a soft drink machine from a nearby newspaper kiosk. She stepped in, bumped from all sides by patrons hurrying in and out. People jostled for space in front of the cashier. The bottles of soda were in the glass case behind him. Where was the line?
    Keeping an ear out for the sound of her train, she inched her way forward behind a man in a baseball cap. Suddenly, she was poked by a sharp elbow and foundanother person between her and the baseball cap.
    “Hey!” She tapped the offending shoulder. “I’m sorry, but the line is back there.” Several people turned to look, but no one seemed surprised when the line-breaker didn’t budge. No one said anything.
    Claire’s face was red when she finally got to the cashier.
    “Whaddaya want?”
    “A-a-a Coke, please.” The man was turning around with the bottle in his hand when Claire shook her head. “I’m sorry. I meant a Diet Coke.”
    The cashier heaved an exasperated sigh. “Fine.” He switched the drinks, slamming the Coke bottle back into the case, and punched at some numbers on the register.
    Claire read the total. A dollar twenty-nine. She handed over a twenty.
    “Need something smaller!”
    Claire hesitated, confused.
    “Smaller! Need something smaller than a twenty!”
    “I’m sorry. That’s all I—”
    “ Fine. ” The cashier stuffed the bill in his drawer and slapped the change on the counter. He looked over her shoulder as she scrabbled to keep the coins from rolling away. “Whaddaya want?”
    She scurried out of the kiosk just in time to see her train approaching.
    As Claire prepared to board the train, Gael nodded to another angel slowly going the other direction. A toddling boy and his mother were walking just in front of their unseen watch-carer, the other angel’s smile indulgent as the boy stopped repeatedly to explore objects on the floor and