Marcus
For a brief
moment, things felt normal again.
It wasn't anything
special- just a small café tucked into a quiet street, the kind of place people
passed by without a second glance. The air smelled like roasted coffee beans
and sugar, the low hum of conversation blending with the soft clatter of cups
behind the counter.
Riley and Noah
were arguing about something pointless, as usual. Ella sat by the window,
staring outside more than she was looking at her phone.
Even after everything,
moments like this still happened- small pockets where the world felt ordinary.
I stood in line,
hands in my pockets, letting the noise settle around me.
"Two black coffee,
one cappuccino and one latte." I said when it was my turn.
Simple, routine,
safe.
Then something
shifted.
It wasn't obvious
at first. No sudden noise, no visible change. Just a subtle distortion, like
the air itself had thickened. My chest tightened slightly, and my breath came
out slower than it should have.
And then the smell
hit.
Rotten, burnt and
familiar.
I froze.
It wasn't just
unpleasant- it was wrong. Like something that didn't belong in this world had
forced its way in and left its mark behind.
My fingers curled
slightly as my sides.
I didn't remember
where from, not fully, but something deep in my mind reacted instantly. A
flicker of heat, smoke and fear.
A memory that
refused to fully surface.
The bell above the
café door rang softly.
I didn't turn.
I didn't need to.
The presence came
with it.
Heavy. Controlled.
Quiet in a way that made it hard to breathe.
Footsteps
approached the counter and stopped beside me.
I forced myself to
look.
At first glance,
he looked… normal.
Dark hair, calm
expression, dressed like anyone else who had just walked in off the street.
There was nothing immediately threatening about him- nothing that would make
anyone else take a second look.
Except his eyes.
They weren't
glowing. They were just.. wrong.
A dull red, steady
and unnatural, as if something was looking through them instead of from them.
The smell grew
stronger.
My body tensed
instinctively. Every part of my screaming to move, react or to do something,
but I didn't.
Because I knew,
without understanding how I knew, that none of it would matter.
"Two coffees," he
said calmly.
His voice was
smooth, almost bored, like this was just another stop in his day.
The cashier
nodded, completely unaffected.
Of course they
were.
He turned his head
slightly. And looked at me.
Really looked.
A faint smile
formed on his lips, not wide, just enough to show he recognized something I
didn't fully understand yet.
"Rocco," he said.
My chest
tightened, a fragment of memory stirring just beneath the surface.
Images flickered-
firelight, shadows moving across walls, a figure standing in the distance,
looking down at my father.
I didn't see his
face clearly, but I remembered the feeling.
That same
presence.
The presence that
killed my parents.
"It's good to see
you again," he continued.
My throat felt
dry.
"I don't know
you," I said, keeping my voice as steady as I could.
The smile didn't
leave his face.
"That's not
entirely true, now is it?"
His gaze dropped
briefly to my wrist.
I clenched my fist
hard.
"You've grown," he
added, almost thoughtfully. "Though not as much as I expected."
"What do you
want?"
He considered the
question for a moment, as if deciding how much of an answer I deserved.
"Curiosity," he
said finally.
"About what?"
"You."
The word settled
heavily between us.
He picked up his
coffee as it was placed on the counter, his movement unhurried, completely at
ease.
"If I intended to
harm you," he said quietly, "this encounter would be far less… civil."
A chill ran down
my smile. Because I believed him completely.
He took a small
step towards me then paused.
For just a second,
the air seemed to tighten again, the weight of his presence pressing in closer.
"See you soon," he
said, a low chuckle sipping into his voice.
Then he walked
away.
Just like that.
No confrontation.
No chaos.
The bell rang
again as he left, and the moment the door closed behind him, the pressure
disappeared.
The café returned
to normal.
The noise. The
people. The smell of coffee.
I picked up our
coffee then head back to the table.
"What's wrong?"
Riley's voice
snapped me back.
I blinked once,
forcing my thoughts into place.
"We need to go," I
said.
The drive back
felt longer than usual.
No one pushed me
for answers right away, but the tension in the car was obvious. Riley and Noah
kept glancing at me, and Ella didn't look away from me at all.
I didn't blame
them.
I probably looked
worse than I felt.
And I felt.. off.
Seraphina was
outside when we arrived.
She always was.
The moment I
stepped out of the car, her eyes locked onto me, and her expression sharpened
immediately.
"What happened?"
she asked.
I walked toward
her slowly.
"I met someone," I
said. "A demon."
Callie frowned
slightly. "You fought it?"
I shook my head.
"No."
That alone was
enough to make her pause.
"He looked human,"
I continued. "But… there was something off. And the smell- it was awful. Like
something burnt and rotten at the same time."
For a moment,
nothing happened.
Then-
Seraphina froze.
Not subtly or
slightly, but completely.
It was the first
real crack I had seen in her composure since we met her.
Her eyes widened
just a fraction, but the shift in her presence was immediate.
"What?" she said.
Callie noticed it
too.
Her gaze flicked
between us, confusion turning into concern. "What's wrong?"
Seraphina didn't
answer immediately.
"Who was it?"
Callie pressed.
A brief silence
followed.
Then Seraphina
spoke.
"That was no
ordinary demon," she said quietly. "If what you're describing is accurate...
then you encountered their ruler."
The words settled
heavily.
Callie blinked.
"Their… ruler?"
Seraphina nodded
slowly.
"The one who
creates them. The who turns them. The one they all answer to."
I felt my chest
tighten slightly.
"He's been
searching for the bracelet for centuries," she added.
Something in her
tone shifted there- subtle, but unmistakeable.
Not fear but
something close.
She didn't
elaborate or explain further.
And for the first
time, it felt like she was holding something back- not because she wanted to,
but because even thinking about it too much carried weight.
"What did he say
to you?" she asked.
I hesitated for a
second, replaying the moment in my head.
"He called me
Rocco," I said. "Said it was good to see me again."
Callie stiffened
slightly at that.
"Of course, he
did," Seraphina muttered.
I frowned. "What
does that mean?"
She didn't answer
immediately.
Instead, she
looked away slightly, her thoughts clearly moving faster than she was willing
to explain.
".. But why
approach you now?" she said quietly, more to herself than to me.
"That's what I was
wondering," I replied.
Callie crossed her
arms, still trying to process everything. "So the strongest demon in existence
just walked up to you in a café… and left?"
"Yes."
"That's … not
normal."
"No," Seraphina
said. "It isn't."
Silence settled
over the group again.
"He's the one who
killed our parents, isn't he?" I asked quietly.
Callie froze
completely, looking at me.
"Yes…" Seraphina
muttered.
Silence fell once
again but this time, it felt heavier.
More real. Because
this wasn't training anymore.
This wasn't just
preparation.
This was contact,
direct and intentional.
And whatever came
next, wouldn't be something we could ease into.
Seraphina looked
back at me, her expression composed again, but not untouched.
"You will not go
out alone again," she said.
Not a suggestion.
A decision.
I nodded.
Because after
that, I didn't argue.
That night, I
couldn't sleep
Every time I
closed my eye, I saw that faint smile.
He wasn't rushing
or forcing anything.
Almost like he
didn't see as a threat.
Now I have to get
him before he can hurt my family again.