Hexed

unfortunately there are far too many demons willing to help, « Roksana said. » Though they always demand their price. «
    » Wait. « I held up my hands. » Back to Boris. Why in nine hells would the hexen want to kill him? «
    » Just like Hitler, they wanted him to invade Russia, « Roksana replied.
    » So are we talking about the proverbial Nazi witches from hell? «
    » No, no, no. « Malina shook her head. » They were around long before the Nazis, and they certainly have survived where the Nazis did not. They merely took advantage of the Nazis to get what they wanted. «
    » So calling themselves the Daughters of the Third House has nothing to do with the Third Reich? «
    » Not that I know of, « Malina said uncertainly, and Roksana confirmed her supposition.
    » They were called that before the Nazis even existed, « she said. » But we have no idea what it means. They’ve never sat down to chat with us about their origins. «
    » All right, so what did they want? Why kill Boris? «
    Malina said, » They wanted what Hitler did—or, rather, Hitler wanted what they did—Russia. «
    » What? You’re suggesting he launched that entire bloody stupid offensive due to their influence? «
    » That’s precisely what I’m suggesting, « Malina agreed, nodding. » They sent him succubi and they gave him the proper dreams of Lebensraum —they’d done the same thing with Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg in World War One. And when the eastern front was going poorly and Boris refused to send troops in 1943—thanks to our influence—the hexen killed him and everybody thought Hitler had done it. «
    » It didn’t turn out the way they’d hoped, though. « Roksana smiled grimly. » They hoped the Bulgarian regents left behind would be more malleable and harder for us to control and protect, but the regents proved ridiculously stupid and weak, and instead of invading Russia, Russia invaded Bulgaria and that was that. «
    » Which was fine with us, really, « Malina explained. » The Bulgarian Jews were safe and the hexen ’s plots were foiled, so that was all that mattered. «
    » They’ve always wanted revenge for our role in that, however, « Roksana added, » because they probably still think they could have won if Bulgaria had joined in. «
    » Why did they want to invade Russia so badly? «
    The coven members looked at one another’s faces to see who wished to answer. It was Kazimiera who finally spoke. » There is a group of witch hunters based there that plagues their kind especially. If they found us by accident, they would not hesitate to attack, but they actively hunt die Töchter des dritten Hauses because of their associations with demonkind. The hexen hoped the SS would take care of the witch hunters and eliminate a thorn in their side. Himmler was obsessed with the occult and would have found them for sure if he’d had a free hand in Russia. «
    Rabbi Yosef Bialik’s Russian accent and shadowy organization came to mind. » I’m surprised Stalin didn’t stamp them out. Any idea what these witch hunters called themselves? «
    The ladies all shook their heads slowly yet in unison. It was a creepy effect. I wondered idly if they practiced such maneuvers.
    » And how do you know that the hexen were motivated by these mysterious Russians—or, rather, by their desire to kill the Russians? «
    The witches swiveled their heads in synch to Malina and so did I, waiting for the answer. Her eyes fell to her lap. » We captured the one who assassinated Boris the Third and interrogated her. Thoroughly. Radomila led it, « she said, referring to their erstwhile coven leader, » but I was present. She told us much before she died. And that is another reason die Töchter des dritten Hauses hate us so much. «
    » I see. Well, they appear to have had much influence on Germany’s side. They had access to the Führer himself, you say. Did they also suggest to him, via succubi or some other method, all of that master-race nonsense? Did they suggest the death camps and so on? «
    » Not that we know of, « Berta said, a few crumbs of her third cookie spraying from her mouth as she talked. » They just wanted to use Germany as a club to bash Russia with. They weren’t Nazis; they were opportunists. Believe me, I would like to assign to them every evil of that war, but the most unspeakable atrocities were committed by humans without any infernal influence whatsoever. «
    » She’s right, « Klaudia agreed,