Eva POV #3
“Okay. So if you're not here for souls, why ARE you here?”
The demon stared at me as though the answer should have been obvious.
“You invited me.”
“I absolutely did not.”
For one brief, beautiful moment, I considered the possibility that I was still drunk. Maybe I was still passed out in the back of the bar. Maybe none of this was real. That explanation lasted about three seconds before reality ruined it.
The demon's attention drifted around the apartment again. His gaze lingered on the candles surrounding the coffee table, the gold chalk circle on the floor, and the half-empty wine bottle sitting in the middle of it all. The longer he studied the scene, the more offended he become.
“…You used vanilla candles.”
I frowned.
“So?”
His eyes returned to mine.
“So?” he repeated.
“Yeah?”
I was beginning to suspect that wasn't the correct answer.
Something tightened in his expression. Until then he'd mostly been annoyed. Now he seemed personally insulted.
“That is basically a romantic invitation in Hell.”
Nina turned toward me so slowly it felt deliberate. I'd seen that look before. It was the same expression she'd worn when I tried cutting my own bangs during lockdown. A mixture of concern, disappointment, and the absolute certainty that whatever happened next was going to be entertaining.
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?”
The demon opened one cabinet, frowned, then opened the correct one.
That bothered me more than it should have.
He'd been in my apartment for less than ten minutes and already seemed to know where things were.
Beside me, Nina still hadn't let go of my arm.
Every time the demon opened another cabinet, her fingers tightened slightly.
“You invited me romantically,” he said while grabbing a mug. “Leaving immediately would be rude.”
“It was NOT romantic.”
He glanced over his shoulder. “Then why were there candles?”
“Because they smelled nice!”
“That explanation continues to disturb me.”
I watched him move around the kitchen while he continued opening cabinets like he paid rent there. Beside me, Nina still hadn't let go of my arm. The fact that a demon already knew where my coffee mugs were bothered me far more than it probably should have.
“I don’t understand why you keep saying ‘vanilla candles’ like they personally offended you.”
The demon filled the kettle with water before answering.
“Because humans usually use blood for summoning rituals.”
Silence settled over the apartment. Water ran steadily into the kettle while my brain got stuck on a single word. Blood.
Nina's hand slipped from my arm.
“I'm sorry,” she said. “Did you just say blood?”
“Yes.”
“See? THIS is why I bought vanilla for self care.”
“But you accidentally performed a courtship ritual instead.”
I turned toward Nina, hoping for support. Instead, she was looking at me like several pieces of a puzzle had just fallen into place.
“Nina.”
“You bought discount candles from a shop beside a vape store.”
“...Yes?”
“You accidentally flirted with a demon.”
I closed my eyes. A few hours ago I'd been fired from a job I'd spent six years pretending to enjoy.
That should have remained the worst part of my day.
Instead, I was standing in my kitchen while my best friend explained that I'd accidentally flirted with a demon because I'd gone shopping during a period of distress.
The demon set the kettle on the counter.
“That continues to make it worse.”
Nina pushed away from the door and walked back toward the couch. That should have worried me. Nina only moved closer to bad decisions when she wanted a better view.
“Oh my God.”
I already hated that tone. “What?”
She dropped onto the couch and pointed between me and the demon.
“Does he think this is a date?”
“I absolutely do not,” I said. The demon was quiet for a moment. Then he took another sip of coffee. “Aggressively.”
I grabbed the nearest couch pillow and threw it at him. He caught it without even looking away from his coffee. The pillow barely spent a second in the air before it disappeared into one of his hands. That was far more irritating than if he'd simply moved out of the way.
“This is insane,” I muttered, dragging both hands through my hair. The apartment still smelled overwhelmingly of vanilla, and every time I noticed it, the entire conversation became worse. “Demons are not supposed to be real.”
The demon finally turned his attention toward me. Candlelight flickered across his face while his eyes glowed faintly red in the dim apartment. The sight should have been terrifying. Instead, I was mostly annoyed.
“I feel like we already passed that stage,” he said carefully.
The conversation died on its own after that. Nina had retreated back into the couch and pulled the blanket up to her chin, though her attention never left the demon for more than a second. Every time he moved, her eyes followed him like she was waiting for a reason to start running again.
Meanwhile, the demon leaned against my kitchen counter drinking coffee. Out of everything happening in my apartment, that was the detail my brain kept tripping over. The glowing eyes were one thing. The demon from Hell making himself comfortable in my kitchen was another.
“You’re acting way too relaxed for somebody from Hell,” I muttered.
He lowered the mug slightly.
“You invited me into your home.”
“By accident.”
“That distinction seems very important to humans.”
“Because it IS important.”
The demon tilted his head, clearly unconvinced. The expression made him look less like an ancient creature from Hell and more like a man trying to understand why a customer was yelling at him over a coupon.
From the couch, Nina lowered the blanket from her face. I'd almost forgotten she was there until she sat forward, her attention bouncing between me and the demon like she'd just remembered an important detail.
“Wait. If she accidentally did some demon dating ritual thing... what happens now?”
I pointed at her.
“Thank you. Finally, a useful question.”
The demon considered it for a moment, turning the mug in his hands.
“Usually the evening continues naturally.”
My stomach dropped. A few hours ago, getting fired had been the worst thing that could happen to me. The universe had apparently reviewed my situation and decided there was still room for improvement.
“What does that mean?”
The demon answered so casually it took a second for the words to register.
“You spend time together.”
I frowned.
“That sounds suspiciously normal.”
“It is courtship.”
“It is NOT courtship.”
Across the room, Nina lowered the blanket another few inches. She wasn't even pretending to be concerned anymore. The traitor was enjoying herself.
The demon gestured lightly with his mug.
“You summoned me personally with candles associated with intimacy. It would be rude to leave immediately.”
“They smelled nice!”
“You offered wine.”
I pointed toward the bottle still sitting in the middle of the ritual circle.
“I was drinking it!”
“You invited me into a private residence.”
“I LIVE HERE.”
“That does not lessen the implication.”
I stared at him while Nina buried her face in a couch cushion to hide her laughter.
“You are the worst person alive,” I told her.
Nina lifted her head from the couch cushion just enough to look at me. “I’m not the one accidentally dating demons.”
“I AM NOT DATING HIM.”
The demon took another sip of coffee, “Humans are terrifying.”
I turned toward him so fast my neck nearly protested. “Excuse me? YOU’RE the demon here.”
“Yes,” he sounded genuinely puzzled. “And yet you are significantly more aggressive.”
For a second, I just stared at him. Then I pointed at myself.
“Me?”
“You threw a pillow at me.”
Before I could think of a response, Nina folded over laughing.
I grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it directly at her face. She barely caught it while laughing into the blanket like she was witnessing the funniest mental breakdown of her life.