The Bewitching

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

What if witches do exist, Hideo? Have you ever wondered about that? Not like in Bewitched, not the funny witches with pointy hats. Spell casters who follow ancient, well-known patterns. Universal concepts. Physics is universal, isn’t it? It doesn’t matter if you’re in Japan or Mexico or Salem, the apple will fall from the tree. What if it’s like that for magic? You find the constants; you make them work. You alter reality. “What about…what about when you told me about inugami. Remember? They’re similar to familiar spirits and they’re created by sorcerers by killing a dog. My great-grandmother told me a story about something like that, about creating a minion—” “Those are very old stories,” Hideo said, interrupting her. “No one believes in that now.” “Maybe they should. They should believe in familiars and spells and curses and witch marks.”