Chapter One

The thing I hate the most about starting a new school year here in our town is the new teachers. Every damn year, our school hires a new teacher for each level. They won’t share the reason, it is just as it is.

Why do I hate it? Because I need to introduce myself again and explain why my surname is my surname. Morningstar.

Once upon a time, Lucifer was cast out from heaven to live on earth until the second coming of the Son happens, when he will be thrown into the eternal pit of fire. He is my Great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather.

In this family, only sons were ever born. I was special, as my parents say. Ever since Pops(Lucifer) started living here on Earth, I am the very first daughter.

I’m Zaria Morningstar. A Senior in Capitol Hills High School, hopeful to graduate this year.

The school bell rang, time for the lunch break. I am not the it-girl famous type, but people do nod or smile at me in the hallway. People know me, the surname stood out. I guess Pops’ “shine” never really fades.

“Hey Zari. What’s for lunch?” a girl with long red hair that reached the small of her back and a thick sweater over a hoodie bumped me from behind.

“Hey Frey, I’m craving pasta.” I have been for a while now after smelling my neighbor's cooking last week.

”Let’s go to Lilibeth. Their Carbonara with Garlic Bread is delish.” She closes her eyes as if tasting the food just by thinking about it.

I nodded in agreement. We still have a couple of hours until the next period.

I’ll introduce you to my Gran, Lilith.

Grans has a dainty cafe right beside our school's gate. Everyone loves her cooking. She's the town's sweet old grandma who inherited the cafe's recipes from her ancestors, which in reality is still just her changing bodies every eighty years.

For the record, she is not my biological grandmother and no, she is not Lucifer's Wife. She's a mortal turned into a demon. They are very good companions, and they do fuck sometimes when their bodies are young. They can't conceive a child. Lucifer needs to do something demon magic to bear seed. I think they are fun with just what they are now.

We entered the small pink door and the bells rang. The diner is pretty small, with only twenty max chairs that can accommodate maybe up to fifty persons.

"Hey Grans!" I waved to her at the counter.

"Zaribaby!" She walked slowly towards me and Frey and hugged me tightly.

"Hello, My Darling. And looking astounding there, Freybaby." She also hugged her.

"Hello, Lilibeth. I missed your food so much." Frey loved Lilith, since the first day they met. It’s like a magnet that pulls people of the same kind.

"Well, come on and take your seats now." Grans motioned us with a big smile on her face.

We settled on a two-seater just in front of the coffee maker. Sheena, the waitress, took our orders. I ordered the creamy carbonara pasta that I have been dreaming about for so long. Sheena smiled at us and then went inside. 

Lilith changed her name to Lilibeth just to remove suspicions of being related to us Morningstars. People here are smart. They always catch up.

She has a family of her own, but unlike the curse of our family that only bears sons, she normally created a bunch of succubi and incubi, you know the sex demons. They are all over the world and visit her here in our town once in a while. And in those moments, a lot of 'sexual incidents' happen here and in the nearby towns. Not as big as to capture the attention of a serial attacker, but it sure did become the talk of the town.

Our town, Asterville, has been the home of Lucifer's angels ever since civilization took in. Very far from the bible's setting, but near enough to teleport back and forth when needed.

"I brought these tarot cards online last week, and they just arrived yesterday. Wanna play?" Frey took out a box of large cards with colorful pictures on them.

Frey loves creepy things. Horror, the occult, and voodoos. Lucky me, I guess. I found a best friend that is not hard to talk to when it comes to family.

"Those are not toys. Plus, I really can't read." I told her while slurping my white pasta.

Her pale complexion compliments her hair. She's built larger than me so her freckles stood out on her chubby cheeks.

"But I really wanna try these." She pouted while shuffling her cards.

"And what is this your new plaything?" Grans came over to our table and served us fried mozzarella sticks. We quickly got one each and dipped it in tomato ketchup.

"It's a tarot card set I bought online. But we don't know how to read it." Frey explained while chewing her mozzarella. 

Grans looked at me and I just shrugged my shoulders. She sighed and laughed. 

"Do you want me to read it?" Lilith suggested. 

Frey's eyes lit up and she nodded vigorously, faster than lightning. 

"Fine. Come here later at closing time. And ready your questions. The more specific your inquiries are, the more specific your answers will be." The old lady said and smiled at the both of us, then went back inside the kitchen.

"I'm so excited, Zaria!" she exclaimed. I laughed and pointed at her plate of unfinished clubhouse sandwiches. 

"I know. So finish that up so we can head back inside the campus." She smiled at me, put the cards aside, and ate her food.

We made it just in time for our next class. New faces are here every year, and it’s always exciting to meet new friends. I have been born here in the mortal world, and so does my father. My mother is a demoness made for father and they conceived me, a girl.

So to clarify things up, demons are not Lucifer’s children. Some of them are angels as well that follow Pops when he went down here. Some are occasional angels that are thrown out because they become mischievous. And some are high-ranking people that made great deals of sin when they are alive and are appointed by Lucifer to be demons. Then others are handmade.

My next class is History. I hate this subject because it usually starts with the history of our town. The mayor is so proud of our town, their family is one of the ‘Originals’ as they call themselves. No, they are human. Yes, we are one of them.

“Our town was made from the camaraderie of our founding families. We had nothing, and the families helped each other from scratch. We have one …” Mrs. Clementine was stopped by a knock on the door.

A guy, with black shaggy hair, around six foot tall wearing a loose white t-shirt and fitted jeans is standing at the door. And I tell you, he is oozing with charisma.

“I’m sorry I’m late Mrs. Clementine.” He smiled shyly. At that moment, I swear all the girls in the room swooned. Even Mrs. Clementine.

“Don’t worry dear. Come on in. And your name is?” The teacher motioned him to enter.

“My name’s Seth Ravens. My grandmother owns a little diner just outside the school.” he smiled again and his eyes stopped at mine.

And boy, did my heart drop.