"Crap, was I bringing the eye of newt?"
Three pairs of eyes stared at the ruddy-faced man as he pat his pockets with a exaggerated look of shame.
"Why do you always have to be an ass, Jerry?" The first tall woman in black rolled her eyes.
"Does he really need to be here?" asked the second.
"It was his idea. He should be here in case the thing gets hungry."
The other man in the party drew his hood down over his eyes and drew a heavy breath. "Can we just finish this? I've got an opening to attend in the morning and I need my four and a half hours."
"We'd be done by now if Jerry would keep his mouth shut." The first tall woman raised the yellowed book again and furrowed her brow over the long, winding loops of writing on its page. She coughed to stall for time as her eyes scanned line after line, and Jerry tapped his foot all the while.
"Lose your place?" he finally asked.
She tossed the ancient tome in the air. "Why do you have to make this so hard? I swear to God, it's like you want those bastards to win."
"I'm just trying to have a little fun before we sign our souls to the devil. Besides, not every devil wants a buncha boring blocks of wood for followers. Confidence attracts the like, after all."
"And just what kind of churlish devil do you hope to attract?" The other man wheezed and sputtered as he spoke, and Jerry couldn't stifle a laugh at his discomfort.
"The kind who knows how to tell his real servants apart from the sacrifice."
Four pairs of eyes stared at the ruddy-faced man as he crossed his arms and winked.
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