“Ramona,” he said slowly. “What’s going on?”
“Marcus! Hi!” Ramona’s voice cracked. “This is my friend, Zara.”
Zara’s head snapped up from her HellBerry.
“We were just…” Ramona gestured frantically at the thread. “Testing out our new costume.”
“It’s February,” Marcus said.
“We’re getting a head start.” Ramona’s smile felt manic. “Very elaborate costume. Lots of prep work. You know how it is.”
Marcus took another drag from his vape pen. Exhaled slowly. The artificial mango smell intensified. “A Halloween costume?”
“Couples’ challenge,” Zara added, not looking up from her HellBerry. “Trust exercise.”
“In February.”
“We’re very committed to the relationship,” Ramona said.
Marcus was still staring at Zara, his expression thoughtful in the way that meant he was about to say something he thought was deep. “You know, I like your energy. Very grounded. Protective.”
“Thank you,” Zara said absently, still scrolling through her HellBerry. Something in her voice shifted. Dropped lower. Became smoother, more compelling. “But don’t worry about thelight. In fact, you don’t even see it anymore. And, you know, you’re lucky to have Ramona. She’s an excellent employee. You should give her a raise. And you should close the store tonight and let her leave early.”
“You’re absolutely right,” Marcus said immediately. “Twenty percent. Starting last pay period.”
Ramona’s mouth fell open. “Marcus, you don’t have to?—”
“No, she’s right. You’re undervalued here.” Marcus smiled benevolently, gesturing with his vape pen. “The universe is telling me to invest in good energy. Consider it done.”
Zara’s head jerked up. She stared at Marcus, then at Ramona, her eyes wide. “Sorry,” she mouthed. “Habit.”
“That’s very generous,” Ramona said carefully to Marcus, though her eyes remained on Zara. “Thank you.”
“Of course. I’m going to go meditate on this vibration shift.” Marcus pushed off the doorframe, still vaping. “Go home, I’ll close.”
He wandered back toward the stockroom, trailing artificial mango behind him.
The moment he disappeared, Ramona rounded on Zara.
“Did you just use some kind of demon influence on my boss?”
“I didn’t—” Zara looked stricken. “It wasn’t intentional. I just wanted to make sure he didn’t start questioning the tether, but then the words came out and then?—”
“You magically convinced him to give me a raise.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” Zara was back to frantically scrolling through her HellBerry. “It was instinct. I wasn’t thinking. You were upset and he was asking questions, and it just came out.”
Ramona wanted to be angry. She should be angry. But Zara looked genuinely distressed, her fingers shaking slightly as she swiped through what looked like demonic reference materials.
“Can you undo it?” Ramona asked quietly.
“The raise? Why would you?—”
“Not the raise. The thread.”
“I’m looking. There’s nothing in the standard protocols for—” Zara stopped. Squinted at her screen. “Wait. This says manifestation of metaphysical bonds typically lasts twelve to twenty-four hours depending on the catalyst strength.”
“Twenty-four hours at most.” Ramona looked down at the glowing rope. “I have to walk around like this for a full day.”
