LUCIFER'S VISIT

Shawn’s POV The smell of spiced flame-root filled the room, warm and familiar, curling through the air like a memory I wasn’t ready to let go of. I sat at the dining table, staring down at my plate. Back in my own world, this was my favorite meal. Here… it just felt like a reminder that everything was about to change. Mom moved around the kitchen with quiet precision, setting things in place like she always did. Calm. Controlled. Like nothing was different. But everything was. “Eat, Shawn,” she said without looking at me. “You’ll need the energy.” I let out a small breath and picked up my fork, forcing myself to take a bite. It still tasted perfect—rich, smoky, with that sharp edge only Aetherion spices had. But even that couldn’t settle the uneasy feeling in my chest. A sudden rush of air swept past me. Before I could react, my hair was ruffled—no, not just ruffled. Lifted slightly, like something invisible had a mind of its own. I didn’t even need to turn around. “Maya,” I muttered. My sister’s laugh followed immediately, light and teasing. “What? I’m just making sure you don’t look like a lost human on your first day.” I rolled my eyes, trying to push my hair back into place. “I’m not a lost human.” “Mm-hmm,” she said, walking past me with that confident stride she always had. “You’re about to be one." “Enough,” Mom’s voice cut in, firm but not loud. She turned, her eyes landing on Maya. “No magic. Not here.” Maya raised her hands in mock surrender, though I could still see the flicker of amusement in her eyes. “Relax. It was barely anything.” “That’s not the point,” Mom replied. “You both need to start acting like you belong here.” The words settled heavily in the room. Belong here. In the human world. I exchanged a glance with Maya. For once, she didn’t joke. She just gave a small nod, like she understood exactly what I was thinking. We didn’t belong here. Not really. But we had to pretend we did. A few minutes later, we stepped outside. The air felt different—cooler, quieter. No hum of magic. No distant echoes of creatures moving through hidden realms. Just… normal. Dad was already by the car, leaning against it like he had all the time in the world. But I knew better. There was always something behind that calm expression of his. “Ready?” he asked, straightening. Maya didn’t hesitate. “Obviously.” I shrugged, trying to act like this wasn’t a big deal. “Yeah.” Dad studied us for a second, like he could see straight through the act. Then he nodded and opened the car. “Remember,” he said as we got in, his voice steady, “you’re blending in. No magic. No attention. You’re just… students.” “Human students,” Maya added, smirking slightly. Dad gave her a look. “Exactly.” I leaned back in my seat as the car started moving, watching the streets pass by. Everything looked ordinary—people walking, cars moving, buildings stretching endlessly. It felt strange. A whole world… unaware. “They have no idea, do they?” I said quietly. “No,” Dad replied. “And they’re not supposed to.” Silence filled the car after that. I glanced at Maya. She was staring out the window, but I could tell—she was thinking the same thing I was. New world. New rules. New life. The car slowed as we approached a large building surrounded by students. Laughter, chatter, noise—normal human life in full display. My chest tightened slightly. “This is it,” Dad said. Maya smirked, stepping out first. “Come on, Shawn. Try not to look too powerful.” I huffed, stepping out after her. As my feet touched the ground, I looked up at the school. Yeah. This was going to be interesting or not We headed to class but I found nothing new here, like I was experiencing an even more boring part of school. I felt like I had known it all. Besides, the class mates seemed stupid. The teacher was only talking to himself. "Hi, my name is Ashley." A girl introduced with a smile and I nodded. "Shawn, Shawn Dashis'" I simply replied and she nodded, " the name suits you perfectly." I didn't really like her personality. She talks just too much. Everyone was walking out of the school building with their friends when the Ash girl came to me again as I waited for Maya who never even showed up. "Uhm.. Shawn, we are having a party on Friday night, would you like to come?" Before I could reply, she handed me a invite before leaving with her friends. Suddenly, Maya's scent filled my nostrils. My eyes searched for her before she came right in front of me laughing as her and her new friends departed. "Wow, you actually made friends?" I teased and she gave me the familiar look of 'dude!' I rolled my eyes as we walk to the parking lot. Dad had dropped the car for Maya to drive us home. "Let's just hope you know how to drive this thing" I commented as we hope into the car. Maya sighs deeply," did you think I'd actually drive this thing? Hell no!" She chuckled as she made her wand appear in front of her before mumbling spells and soon, the car began to drive itself. I shook my head in frustration as she relaxed in the car. "Maya are you crazy? If anyone sees this we......" She interrupted me . "Relax, you can manipulate them. That is the beauty of living here. People we can use our powers on." She commented but I just kept quiet and we head home. Maya's POV As soon as we drive into the compound, my phone dings and it's from one of the girls I made friends with today. "Hey, do you wanna go shopping. It's going to be really fun, I promise!" Wow! I got to fit in on the very first day. Back home, families who Cesar sent on missions to the human world used to tell us stories about how mean humans were. I guess that was just the mentality I made use of before Mary, the girl who just texted greeted me at lunch today. I quickly reply. ' Yeah, wat time' Immediately, she replied saying that she will come pick me up by 4. Oh my wand! That is in like an hour and I need to get ready. It's not every time one get a friend on the first day of school. At least id get to see how they do things here.