Hexed

were going to stop off at Starbucks and get a couple of lattes while you took care of this. «
    » That’s the famous vampire Helgarson you’re riding with, isn’t it? Is he fond of lattes? «
    » I don’t know. « I looked over at Leif, who was grinning—he was hearing both sides of the conversation, of course—and said, » Malina wants to know if you like lattes, and I want to know if you’re famous. «
    » No to both, « he said, as we screamed onto the 202 on-ramp.
    » Sorry, Malina, « I said to the phone. » He’s not famous. «
    » Perhaps it would be better to call him infamous. It is irrelevant at this point. What is relevant is that my sisters and I are not great warriors. Were the odds even and they did not cheat with modern weapons, I would say, yes, we could walk in and win a magical battle against most opponents. But we are outnumbered more than three to one. «
    » How many are there? «
    » Twenty-two. Some of them have firearms, but they are not great warriors either. And while they may be expecting you, Mr. O’Sullivan, they will not be expecting Mr. Helgarson to get involved. I imagine the two of you together will be quite formidable. «
    » She’s complimenting our martial prowess, Leif, « I said to him.
    » I feel more manly already, « he said. The short distance on the 202 was already covered and we were merging onto the southbound 101.
    » Hey, Malina, tell me how much you want to see us play with our swords. «
    Leif threw back his head and laughed. Malina’s accent thickened to the point that her English was nearly indecipherable. » Mr. O’Sullivan! You will stop this unseemly innuendo immediately! How someone so old can be so immature and inappropriate is beyond me. Try to refocus your attention on our goal, please. «
    » Oh, right, right. My apologies. « I grinned, completely unrepentant. One day I’d get her so mad she’d give up on English entirely and just cuss me out in Polish. » I suppose you were going to explain what you and your sisters will be doing once we arrive. «
    » We will be setting up an illusion around the perimeter of the building so that it will appear to ordinary citizens that nothing unusual is happening, even if there are gunshots and explosions and hexen being tossed out the windows. We will also prevent any of them from escaping, should they take it into their heads to flee your … giant, mighty swords. «
    Leif and I both had a good laugh at that, and I could almost see Malina rolling her eyes as she sighed noisily into the phone, signaling that she hoped we would get the silliness out of our systems soon, now that she’d thrown us a bone.
    » We will also take care of the blond one when we get there, « Malina added, when she felt we’d wound down sufficiently to understand her.
    » Oh? Why didn’t you do it already? «
    » Because then they’d know you gave her hair to us. It is better they not know for sure we are working in concert until it’s too late for them to plan around it. «
    » All right. Then we’ll be responsible for twenty-one witches. Plus whatever demons they have hanging around. «
    » Correct. All of whom you must kill quickly. They will almost certainly begin Die Einberufung der verzehrenden Flammen as soon as they know we are below, counting on their defenses on the bottom floors to hold until they’re finished. «
    » You’re talking about the infernal hex that killed Waclawa. They call it, what—The Summoning of Consuming Flames? «
    » Yes. «
    » Could they target Leif with this ritual? «
    » Absolutely. The demon involved in the ceremony provides the targeting. They don’t need hair or blood or anything else to find someone. It’s why I’m a bit uncertain about our shielding from divination. «
    I looked soberly over at Leif. » That trinket I gave you won’t save you from that, « I said. » It’s only good for hellfire attacks thrown at you using line of sight. So the bell tolls for thee, my friend, if we let it toll at all. You’ll go up like a Roman candle. «
    » Then our best defense lies in the speed with which we dispatch them? « Leif asked.
    » That’s right. «
    » Is the Roman-candle expression accurate? What happens if they are successful? «
    I relayed the question to Malina, begging her pardon for asking her details of Waclawa’s death.
    » I cannot help you there, « she replied. » We didn’t see it happen—I’ve never seen it happen. We see only the aftermath. In this case, we