Jo didn’t mean to summon anyone. She was trying to unclog the café sink. She reached for the ancient plunger Clorvex swore was infused with only mild banishment. Mild is a relative term when you plunge three times counterclockwise and shout, “Oh, come on!” over a sink full of moon foam.

With a pop, a puff of glittery smoke, and the sound of hold music featuring a screaming pipe organ solo, a circle of fire blazed across the floor.

A figure emerged, slightly smoking and very annoyed.

He wore khakis. He held a clipboard. His name tag read: Jeff (short for J’effaaron) Infernal Intern, Misrouted Summonings Dept.

Jo blinked twice.

Jeff sighed. “If this is another unpaid espresso pact, I am logging a complaint.”

Clorvex wandered in, sipping tea. “Oh no. Is it demon season already?”

While trying to reset his ritual tablet which had melted slightly, Jeff explained that Cedar Grove had been flagged for high mystical interference and interdimensional HR violations. Apparently, too many summoning rituals in the area had defaulted to Closest Random Demon Available.

Flipping through a soot-smudged map of cursed establishments, Jeff grumbled, “You are not my assigned café.”

“You’re not our assigned demon,” Jo shot back. “We usually get the syrup ghost or the flirty fae foam.”

The espresso machine hissed in protest.

“I’m supposed to be rerouted,” Jeff said, pressing a blinking rune on his clipboard, “but the summoning lines are tangled. Someone in this town used blood orange ink on a binding circle again and now every ritual is looping through Cedar Grove.” He paused as his tablet fizzed out in a sad puff of glitter. “And until Infernal Tech Support clears the error, I’m stuck here in this dimension.” He looked around. “With, is that sentient pastries?”

A croissant smiled and waved.

The Queen of the Hollow Moon swept in dramatically and said, “Is the new barista glowing? I like it.”

Jeff stared at her. “Please don’t flirt with the intern.”

She smirked. “No promises.”

By the time Matteo returned from a bean-roasting emergency and Mira finished casting a minor unbinding with a pinch of cinnamon, Jeff had resigned himself to the fact that he was very stuck in Cedar Grove.

“Your summoning ticket has been escalated to Hold Until Further Chaos,” he muttered. “Estimated resolution time, three to five eternities.”

Jo handed him a Harmony Café apron.

“Welcome to the team,” she said. “You’re on mop duty until your realm calls back.”

Jeff looked down at the swirling pentagram, sighed, and reached for the mop. “Do I at least get a free staff drink?”

The espresso machine steamed a heart in approval.