Chapter Five

I am beyond shocked to hear that from Frey. Although I’m not really trying to hide it from her, I just don’t see the need to tell her when I am trying my best to live as a normal human being. But her reaction is a mix of excitement and betrayal. And I guess she’s also mad?

“Where did you get that from?” I tried to play it cool. Maybe she’s just being hysterical about a dream or something.

“I visited Lilibeth to ask how she’s doing and I heard her talking to Seth. And I. Heard. Everything.” she said, pausing on the last three words. Well, I guess she’s not being hysterical, after all?

“I, uh, I don’t know what to say, Frey.” I staggered.

“How about telling me the truth?” She placed her hands in her waisted and shifted her weight on the left side of her body as she raise her left eyebrow at me. When she does this thing, it means she will not back down and leave you alone until she gets what she wants.

I raised her hands as a sign of defeat. I then moved a bit to give her space and patted the bed beside me. She sat down. For someone who learned that her best friend is a demon, her guts to sit beside her is astonishing. I took a deep breath and started.

“Yes. It’s true. I am Zaria Morningstar. The granddaughter of Lucifer.” her eyes twinkled. She is very far from scared.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” She hit me on the arm. It hurts.

“Sorry? I am not supposed to tell anybody.” I slightly laugh that she’s mad because I didn’t tell her more than because I’m a demon.

“This is mind-blowing! Top-of-the-line information!” she is almost jumping on my bed.

The interrogation of my true self continued for the rest of the day. This girl skipped class for some demon gossip. She now knew everything from the very beginning, as if she would stop asking questions. I also explained what happened last night and what dilemma my family and I are in at the moment.

“Go home. Frey. Your parents will be worried.” I am exhausted, she knows and she is just laughing at me.

“Alright. Alright. Will you be coming to school tomorrow?” She asked as she packed her things.

“I’m not sure. I guess I’ll just give you a ding.” It’s true though.

We bid each other goodbyes. I asked my parents for updates from Pops but they said they haven’t heard from him since this morning. I just hope my dream will be a little kinder to me tonight.

Morning came in a second. I didn’t even realize I fell asleep last night, but the sound of my alarm tells me it’s time to go to school. It’s been a while since I had a dreamless night. I can’t say it’s a good thing, but at least I don’t have another thing on my plate to think about.

“Good Morning, Mom.” I said as I sat at the table. We have bacon and eggs for breakfast and a cold glass of orange juice.

“Zari, hand these over to Seth later in school. Lili has been requesting this for some time but I always forget.” Mom handed me a small notebook.

“What is this? It looks old.” I said as I inspected the rope-bonded notebook.

“It’s a recipe book for potions. Come on, eat or you’ll be late.” She is busy packing up cookies that she and Dad will bring to their charity event today.

“We are demons doing charity works and outreach programs. Are we okay?” I sighed. My Mom laughed at my remark.

“It’s fine, sweetie. We are not here to spread evil. We are here to guide humans into the choices they should make. We show them the things they should be doing to enter upstairs but if they chose not, then we pick them for a ride at the highway to hell.” She kissed my forehead and went outside.

Yeah. It was the common misconception of humans that demons are here on earth to sway them from being holy. But the truth is, we can never force humans to do bad things. They do that themselves. We might encourage or even help, after all, we prioritize fun and pleasure. But force? Never.

“So who spread that gossip about demons being evil?” Frey asked. We are now sitting in the cafeteria taking a break.

“We are evil, silly.” I said as I take a bite of my burger. “We do unlawful things for us and not for you. Humans just tend to think they are special.” she laughed.

“What about you? What unlawful things have you done?” She asked Seth, who is currently sitting beside me playing a game on his phone.

“Me? I’m a succubus, Frey. Maybe I’ll leave that to your imagination.” He answered without even looking up from his game. Frey blushed and it was my turn to laugh.

But then why are we here in Asterville? It is a place that accepted Lucifer. They may not be worshipping him, but people here are proud of our town. That desire to never leave this place and think of it as a place where they belong gives us enough power as demons. And again, we are not forcing them.

My day seemed to pass a little too peacefully, it is making me anxious. But I brushed it aside and went home directly.

I should never have doubted a demoness’ intuition. The moment I touched the door knob of our house, a loud thunder cracked, and a bolt of lightning hit the pavement in front of our lawn. When I looked back, it was Pops. And he does not look very happy.

“Get inside.” he sternly told me. His voice is terrifying my heart sped double time.

He went passed me and opened the door. I hurriedly went inside. My parents are standing in the living room, their faces tell me they already know what is happening. Pops sat down on one of our couches and rested his arms on his knees as he looked grimly ahead of him. His breathing is heavy and his body is tight.

“What is happening Pops?” I asked. The silence of the room is tensing up my nerves.

“We are going to hell, Zaria.” He took a deep breath and then stood up. “We are meeting the kings.”