Hexed

have learned about—but I will refuse to allow the body to respond. It will not be aroused unless I wish it to be. «
    » That’s all the Bacchants are using? Pheromones? « I had suspected this before, but I thought there must be more to it than that.
    » I believe that is what they are doing, yes. Their magic targets the limbic system of the brain in a few people near them, and then these people’s bodies—the expression is » share the love, « I believe, with others nearby, and it spreads until everyone in an area is a slave to their sexual desires. Alcohol reduces one’s resistance, weakens inhibitions, makes it all happen faster. Then they feed on the pheromones and the energy of the group, drink them in, and become impossibly strong by it. «
    » That makes sense. « I nodded. » Different from succubi. But it means I won’t have any defense at all. I’m not outside my nervous system in the way you describe. «
    Laksha huffed in exasperation. » Fine. At least come in for a brief look around. I will escort you out once you begin touching yourself. «
    » What? Hey, don’t let it go that far. That’s not right. «
    A flicker of a smile played about Laksha’s lips, then it fled as she returned to the business at hand. » Leave the bats at the door. They’ll recognize them as a threat. «
    » And not my sword? «
    » It’s not a threat to them. You don’t want to pull them out of their ecstasy. It’ll turn to rage. «
    Obeying with some reluctance, I followed her inside to the skull-pounding thump of techno bass beats and the multicolored strobe effect of sequenced lights on a rig high above the dance floor, which was to our left. The bar was to the right, with martini glasses hanging overhead and the premium liquors prominently displayed in front of a mirror. There were a few beers on tap, but since this was not the sort of clientele that drank anything so common, the bar did a blazing business in froufrou drinks. The floor of the bar area was a soft white laminate tile marbled with wispy ribbons of cobalt blue. A few tall white tables sans chairs were scattered around the perimeter, without a single booth or bar stool to be found. Satyrn clearly expected the joint to be standing room only every night, and so it was. Three glass chandeliers with electric fixtures soared high above the bar floor, providing a soft glow in that part of the club. Separating the bar area from the dance floor were five enormous load-bearing white columns, and the dance floor was utterly dark except for the flashes of random lights from the rig. The entire long, narrow space of the club was filled with writhing bodies in various states of undress and abandon. Even behind the bar, the bartenders were shaking and stirring each other instead of customers’ drinks. Still, for all that, the bar area was more restrained than the dance floor, where most clothes had already been shed and the baby-making was unrestrained.
    I felt the first twinges of desire myself and reflected that the Diamondbacks really needed base-stealing threats in their leadoff and number-two slots, because until they secured the ability to make pitchers nervous and manufacture runs, they’d be easy prey. They couldn’t rely on their streaky big hitters to win enough games to matter. They had to grind it out every day … Speaking of grinding—no. The bullpen needed a couple of solid guys who could pitch two or three full innings of lights-out ball. They couldn’t keep giving away games if the starter had a bad day.
    » The lack of seating is inconvenient, « Laksha complained. » I need someplace to keep this body secure. «
    » What? Why? «
    » Do you even understand what I am going to do? «
    » Not precisely. Push their souls out of their bodies somehow? «
    » No, I do that only when I am taking possession. You want me to merely kill them. I will visit one’s brain and shut down the hypothalamus, which regulates the heartbeat, then move to the next as she collapses, and so on. Their souls will leave naturally as a result of their deaths. It will take me less than a minute. «
    I frowned. » What will happen to your body while you’re out doing this? «
    » This body will be in a vulnerable, vegetative state until I return—which is why I need a place to sit down. « A douche bag drenched in Drakkar Noir approached Laksha from behind, slipped his hands underneath her arms, and cupped her breasts. She immediately stomped down hard on his foot,