“A lot,” I said. “Maybe one of them for every person in this state.”

Henry blinked. “And what’s stopping them from taking over right now?”

Malachi shifted next to me. “It’s not that easy. It requires some coordination with Mazikin in their home realm, which is why they collect victims and possess them in batches, though they must perform the ritual with one person at a time. And based on what I have witnessed, it is a lengthy and painful process. The ones who are here now will be preparing to accommodate more, and they’re possibly gathering a specific type of victim in some cases.” He glanced at me, and I knew he was thinking of Juri.

“Between that and the fact that they need to be careful to avoid getting caught,” I added, “as well as the likelihood that people will fight back, we have some time before there are too many of them to stop.” But probably not much.

“They’ll create a nest for themselves,” said Malachi. “A secluded place where they’ll take their victims and perform the ritual, where they’ll live. We have to find and destroy it.”

“And from what you’re saying, the nest could be anywhere.” Jim sat back again, looking skeptical.

“Hang on,” said Henry, getting up and walking over to a large pile of newspapers. He shuffled through the stack, finally finding the section he wanted, and then flipped through a few pages with black-tipped fingers. “It’s been a while since I was on Earth. Not since the fifties. I asked that Raphael guy to get me something to catch me up.” He handed the folded paper to me. “You said they’d recruit. Gather victims. This kind of thing unusual around here?”

I read the headline: “Homeless Fight to Keep Winter Shelters Open.” It was buried deep in one of the back pages.

Homeless advocates are asking the city to postpone the April 1 closing date of Providence’s four emergency winter shelters, but not because of the weather. Police have received several complaints in the last week about attacks on the city’s two largest homeless camps. “They come through quick and take our food, our supplies. A couple guys got beaten up bad,” said Orián Velasquez, a resident of one of the camps currently seeking refuge in the shelters, scheduled to close next Friday. “We’re not criminals. The city owes us some protection.” City officials responded today by saying police are investigating the disturbances, but that it is unlikely the city will extend the deadline for closure due to deep budget cuts in the past year.

“You could be right,” I said to Henry. I handed the paper to Malachi. “Do you think the Mazikin could be responsible?”

He took a moment to scan the article. “It’s possible. Though I would expect them to kidnap people, not beat them up.”