I pointed at the candles.
“THEY WERE ON SALE.”
“That makes it worse.”
“How does that make it worse?”
“I bought them because they smelled nice!”
The demon's expression shifted into something alarmingly close to horror.
“Humans are terrifying.”
A laugh escaped Nina before she could stop it. She pressed a hand over her mouth, but the damage was already done.
“I think you culturally confused him.”
“CLEARLY.”
The demon dragged a hand across his face and tipped his back for a moment, as though he was searching for patience.
“You formed a summoning circle, lit twelve vanilla candles, and offered wine. That's practically a perfect invitation for an ancient demon.”
The apartment fell quiet. The candles crackled softly around the room while rain tapped against the windows. A few minutes ago I'd been worried about losing my job. Now I was learning that I'd apparently performed some kind of demonic courtship ritual because a candle shop was running a sale. That was deeply unfair.
“…I did WHAT?”
The demon frowned slightly.
“I don’t remember humans performing the ritual before.”
That was not the reassuring answer he seemed to think it was.
My mind latched onto the word before. It suggested there had been other rituals. Other humans. Other people who had apparently made better life choices than buying discount candles from a suspicious shop during the dark period of their.
Beside me, Nina pressed both hands against her face and peeked at me through the gaps between her fingers.
“Oh my God. You accidentally stalked a demon.”
“I did not stalk a demon.”
“You summoned him personally.”
“I didn't know that!”
“That feels like a technicality.”
Before I could defend myself further, the demon turned and walked straight into the kitchen.
I watched him cross the apartment in stunned silence. He moved like he belonged there, stepping around furniture without hesitation and heading directly toward the cabinets. The sight was so bizarre that my brain simply stopped working for a moment.
Then it restarted.
“WHY ARE YOU IN MY KITCHEN?”
“I am making coffee.”
“WHY ARE YOU MAKING COFFEE?”
