Hexed

until the threat of that hex is removed, because we cannot protect ourselves individually from it. At the same time, we are unlikely to defeat them solely by magic with only six of us. So it is up to you, Mr. Sullivan, to go out and thwart them if you can. «
    » I think you’re confusing me with a superhero. Heroes go around thwarting dastardly villains. They give the evildoers to the police, and the bad guys always say they would have gotten away with it if it weren’t for those meddling kids. « A groove appeared between Malina’s eyes as she tried to attach my words to something that made sense to her, and I could see she failed. Not a big fan of Saturday morning cartoons, I guess. » Druids, on the other hand, take revenge on people who try to cook them. «
    » Well, that I can understand. «
    » Good. Tell me why the East Valley is so desirable. «
    » Why do people fight over it, you mean? « Malina gave up pacing the living room and plopped herself on the comfy leather couch, tilting her bottle of Shiraz yet again.
    » Yes. Explain it to me as if I were a child, because in truth I have never understood the territorial urge. Why do groups of magical beings fight over pieces of real estate when we could easily spread ourselves thin over the surface of the earth? «
    » I thought it would be obvious, Mr. O’Sullivan. In a densely populated industrial society, the citizens are predisposed to think of magic as ridiculous. Therefore it is easier to blend in, easier to prey on them if we were so inclined, and far easier to profit from them. As a single individual, you can go where you wish with relative ease; but a larger group needs a larger herd to hide in and a larger economic engine to afford us the life we’d prefer to live. Urban centers are therefore both our protection and livelihood, and it is natural that we compete for the choicest places to live. «
    » You can’t share? «
    » To some extent we can, yes. We share this territory with the Tempe Pack, for example. We share it with you. But when too many magic users populate a given area, the risk of exposure increases, as does the risk of overtaxing the economics. «
    » I beg your pardon. How exactly do you overtax the economics? I run a bookstore and apothecary shop. All members of the Tempe Pack have legitimate jobs. Don’t you do the same? «
    Malina laughed. » Why, no, Mr. O’Sullivan, I don’t. People give me everything I want. The same goes for my sisters. «
    » You mean people just give you money? «
    » Yes, that’s right. « She twirled a lock of her hair around a finger and smiled brightly at me.
    » Of their own free will? «
    » Well, that’s how they remember it. « She shrugged a shoulder and raised a hand, palm up. » So it must be true, mustn’t it? « She smirked wryly.
    » And you have no moral problem with that? «
    » None whatsoever. Actually, « she leaned forward and lowered her voice, as if sharing a confidence in a public place, » we are on the payrolls of two dozen different companies as consultants, but we do absolutely nothing for our paychecks, just like normal consultants. « She leaned back and continued at normal volume, » We do, however, provide a service to the people of the East Valley. «
    » Dare I ask what that may be? «
    » Why, we keep it free of truly nasty witches, of course, as well as some of the less savory citizens of America. There are parts of Mesa that could easily become like the dangerous parts of big cities if it weren’t for us. And that’s what will happen if die Töchter des dritten Hauses take over this territory. Not to mention the damage that the Bacchants can do once they get here. «
    » What? Bacchants are on their way here? Now? «
    » Even as we speak. You know, the ones from Las Vegas. I mentioned them to you before, didn’t I? «
    » Yes, I believe so. « I struggled to appear nonchalant, but I was dangerously close to needing a new pair of underwear. Back when I was an initiate—this was decades before Jesus—Bacchants were the scariest creatures in the world, according to the archdruid. Anything that could scare the archdruid damn well gave me nightmares; I nearly shat kine whenever Bacchus was mentioned even obliquely for my first few centuries.
    Kids today don’t know much about the Bacchants, except perhaps for the story about Orpheus told in Ovid’s Metamorphoses . I had an ASU student looking for it in my shop last week, and he defined the Bacchants for me as