Again, the middle Fate pushed her sister aside. “What we want you to find is called a Nix. Do you know what that is?”

I expected the hag to pop back and needle me again, but she didn’t.

“Demi-demons,” I said slowly, as my memory banks creaked open. “In German folklore a Nix is a mischievous temptress spirit. A cross between a siren, an imp, and Mae West.”

“That’s the mythical version,” she said. “And the reality?”

“I—I’m not sure. I’ve never run into one, or anyone who has.” I thought harder, then shook my head. “I don’t remember reading any references to a real version.”

“Probably because it’s very obscure knowledge. In folklore, as you said, they are considered mischievous spirits, water pixies, actually…”

The Fate continued, giving me the condensed version of Nixen mythology. Some humans believe a Nix is a siren who lures humans to watery graves. In other words, an excuse for idiots who dove into deep water and discovered they couldn’t swim. Mythological Nixen were both male and female, but the females were more successful at capturing their victims, maybe because guys are more likely to stand on a riverbank and yell, “Hey, watch this dive!”

The truth is, Nixen have nothing to do with water. When early folklorists learned that Nixen were temptresses, they’d probably jumped to the conclusion that they were a form of siren. Nixen are also all female…or that’s the form they manifest in, as full demons manifest as male. It’s probably more an aesthetic choice than a gender difference. Finally, Nixen aren’t truly temptresses at all. Instead, they are sought out by those who already are tempted—by wealth, power, or sex—and looking for a delivery shortcut. What a Nix provides is the resolve they need to carry out an act they lack the courage to perform, murder being most common.

“Okay,” I said when she finished. “Nixen help people kill, and those scenes you showed me were obviously murders, but where’s the connection? Those women were humans. How would they have conjured up a Nix? Even if they did, you sure as hell can’t want me to chase down a Nix. They’re demi-demons, not ghosts, so they wouldn’t be in one of your hells.”

The youngest Fate cut in. “Don’t worry. We didn’t expect you to see the connection. It’s all very strange.” She leaned around the wheel, her eyes aglitter. “See, what happened was—”

Her middle sister took over. “This particular Nix is quite different from her brethren. In the seventeenth century, she made a deal with a witch who wanted her father dead.”

“And gave her the guts she needed to do it.”