I froze. “I never told you my name.”
For the first time, the old man hesitated. Then he smiled politely in a way that made me trust him even less.
“We have a loyalty program.”
“That answer raised more questions.”
The younger guy was moments away from saying something else, but the old man stepped on his foot again.
Whatever was happening here was above my pay grade.
I left before things could get any weirder.
The rain had mostly calmed down by the time I reached my apartment building, although my socks were still wet, which I considered a personal attack.
I climbed four flights of stairs carrying wine and twelve candles while seriously considering becoming rich out of pure spite. Mostly because the alternative was thinking about rent.
Apartment 4B was unlocked when I pushed the door open.
Nina was lying upside down on the couch with a face mask on, scrolling through her phone like a corpse with Wi-Fi.
“You smell like tequila and unemployment,” she said without looking up.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“It’s definitely not a good thing.”
I kicked the door shut behind me and dropped the shopping bags dramatically onto the coffee table. Several candles rolled sideways out of the box.
Nina finally sat up.
“…Why do you own enough candles to summon something?”
I pointed at her. “Interesting that your brain went there first.”
“There are twelve candles, Eva.”
“They were discounted.”
“That’s how cults recruit people.”
I ignored her and unpacked them anyway. The apartment lighting sucked at night, and after the day I’d had, I wanted the place to feel less depressing.
The black candle rolled out last.
Nina's attention locked onto it instantly.
“…Absolutely not.”
“What?”
“That candle looks evil.”
I picked it up and turned it over in my hands. The silver symbols carved into the wax made my eyes ache if I stared at them too long.
“The old guy gave me this one for free.”
Nina lowered her phone. “That sentence has killed people before.”
