If I were to work with him, we had to at least be able to talk. I dropped back, drawing side by side with him. The sounds of hoofbeats echoed on the deserted street.

“Why the arm?” Derek asked.

He was looking at my burn. The custom called for a hand to be thrust into the flame.

“Because I don’t heal as quickly as you do. I need my hand to hold my sword.”

“Oh. That was a dumb question.” He looked away toward the city. Atlanta sprawled, looking relieved to be free of magic and yet also apprehensive, knowing its reprieve would be short-lived.

The moon shone on the sable of the night sky, a pale sliver of a face behind a veil of shadows. Its delicate radiance, a tangle of light and darkness, was all but lost, held at bay by bright street lamps. Electric lights, like the sun, offer no compromises. There are no shadows mixed with their glow, no duality, no promise of hidden depth and mystery, nothing but light, pure and simple.

“Have you ever noticed how some things work during magic and some don’t?” he asked.

“For instance?”

“For instance, phones. Sometimes they work during magic and sometimes they don’t.”

He wanted to talk. Probably looking for some common ground. I’d be an asshole if I didn’t oblige. “There are a couple of theories on that. One says that the intensity of the magic wave determines to what extent technology will fail.”

“And the other one?”

I grimaced. “Magic is a fluid thing. It’s not a strict system set in stone. Every one of us filters it through ourselves and our thoughts and perceptions shape and change it. You’ve heard how powerful Pope is?”

“Yes.”

“He derives his power solely from the faith of his congregation. Thousands and thousands of people believe he can heal the sick and so he can. Now let’s take a car. How does it work?”

Derek frowned. “I’m not sure. There is an engine, which burns gasoline and turns it into gas. Gas expands and pushes something, a valve of some sort, which makes the wheels turn. Something like that.”

I nodded. “Okay, now how does the phone work?”

He looked at me. “Ummm, your voice makes the wires vibrate?”

“Yes, but how does dialing a number translate into reaching the right person? And what if a bird sits on a wire? Does it still vibrate?”

Derek shrugged. “I have no idea.”

“I don’t either. And most other people don’t. They never had to stop and think about how the phone works. It just does. Cars are a different matter. They require more maintenance and break down more often than a phone, and the repairs are a good deal more expensive, so any car owner will educate himself about his car’s inner workings at least to some degree.”

“To keep from being ripped off,” Derek said.