POV: Sienna
I return to the occult shop the next night, after Marcus's reflection disappeared from my mirror and his voice faded from my dead phone. The counteragent vial sits in my pocket, but it's not enough. Temporary fixes don't solve permanent problems, and Marcus's compulsion spell is permanent unless I can break it at the source.
The red door is locked when I arrive after midnight, but I knock anyway. Persistent, desperate knocking that probably wakes the neighboring businesses. I don't care. Vivian is being magically controlled, Marcus is becoming something worse than human, and I'm the only person who seems to understand the scope of the disaster we're facing.
The door opens. The occult dealer stands there in a silk robe, looking annoyed but unsurprised.
"Sienna Rhodes. I wondered when you'd return."
"I need more than the counteragent. I need to break Marcus's spell permanently. Not just neutralize individual doses, but destroy his hold on Vivian completely."
