“We should be talking about how to catch and stop this Julius character, not wasting time trying to unravel the knots in my sire’s thinking. We don’t need the distraction.”

Raphael rolled his eyes. “William’s right; Julius will have pulled up stakes and relocated by now. And it doesn’t matter how many of Dougal’s supporters we take out if Dougal is still alive and kicking.”

Saul’s face said the reasoning didn’t convince him, but he refrained from arguing any more.

“Go on,” I urged Raphael. “I’m anxious to hear where you’re going with this, even if Saul isn’t.”

Raphael gave me a faint smile. “Right. So, my point was that Dougal might find himself in deep shit if he doesn’t eliminate Lugh fast. Possibly deep enough shit that he’d risk coming to the Mortal Plain in person if he thought that was his best shot at eliminating Lugh.”

“What exactly are you proposing?” I asked.

“I’m proposing we send our friend William back to the Demon Realm and let him stir up some trouble.”

The rest of us all started talking at once, our voices blending into such a babble that I couldn’t tell who was saying what, and I bet the others couldn’t, either. Raphael held up his hand for silence, and surprisingly everyone, even Saul, obeyed.

“It’s a risk,” Raphael said into the sudden, tense silence. “I don’t believe William’s an innocent victim in all this, no matter what he’s said. I think he’s just a weakling who will change sides in a heartbeat if he feels he’s found a stronger position. But I can promise to issue him a royal pardon if he contacts Lugh’s supporters in the Demon Realm and tells them Lugh unequivocally does not approve of Dougal being his regent.”

Adam shook his head. “Lugh’s supporters will believe it. But then they probably believe it already. It’s not like William could bring any proof with him.”

“Maybe not,” Raphael agreed. “But if the rumor gets around, it will turn up the heat even more, and make Dougal even more desperate to get to Lugh. And don’t forget about all the demons Dougal’s been sending to the Mortal Plain. If he’s got some kind of mysterious plan in the works, we need to disrupt it as much as possible, as fast as possible.”

It was my turn to toss out an objection. “You know as well as the rest of us that William’s just as likely to go blabbing to Dougal that you’re Lugh. And Dougal will sic his minions on you.”

“Like I said, it’s a risk. But it’s only really a risk to me, not to Lugh. Besides, since I’m playing the king, Lugh can give me William’s True Name, so I can summon him back to the Mortal Plain at a moment’s notice. Which means I will have more power over him than Dougal. And greater means to make him suffer. He’ll have to choose whether he’d rather cross Dougal or me. With the right incentive, I’m betting he’ll cross Dougal.”

“It’s a ridiculous plan,” Saul said, his face set in such a scowl it looked almost painful. “And I don’t see how it helps us. So what if we make Dougal more desperate? It doesn’t follow that he’d show his face on the Mortal Plain. He’ll just whip his supporters into even more of a frenzy.”

“The thing is,” Raphael said, “at some point, it’s going to occur to Dougal that the one thing he can do to flush Lugh out of hiding in time to keep himself out of prison is to come to the Mortal Plain and set himself up as bait. He knows we have to kill him, and he knows we can’t get to him in the Demon Realm. But if he can come here and lure Lugh into a trap, he might finally be able to secure the throne.”

Saul waved his hand dismissively. “That’s not a plan. It’s just wishful thinking.”

“I disagree,” Raphael said, still calm and reasonable. “I’ve been involved in many a plot with my dear brother, and I know how his mind works.” He turned to me, but he was looking right through me, his gaze and his words meant for Lugh. “You and I will never fully understand one another. But Dougal, I understand.”

“And he understands you,” I countered, not waiting for Lugh’s reaction. “Won’t he see your handiwork in all of this and know it’s a trap?”

Raphael shook his head. “He thinks he understands me, but he doesn’t. If he truly understood me, he’d never have let me in on the conspiracy to kill Lugh in the first place. He knows I’ve betrayed him, but I’d stake my life that he still doesn’t understand why. I’m sure he thinks I did it because I felt it was in my best interests. The idea that I might actually be loyal to Lugh would never occur to him.”

“Me either,” Saul mumbled, though again it was clear he meant Raphael to hear him.

Raphael turned to glare at his son, and he had that weird glow in his eyes that demons seemed to get when they were well and truly pissed.

Uh-oh, Lugh’s voice whispered in my head.

“I’ve heard just about enough out of you, son,” Raphael said, and the frost in his voice made me shiver.

Saul leapt to his feet so fast he knocked his chair over. He never took it well when Raphael called him

“son,” which was no doubt why Raphael did it on a regular basis.

Raphael stayed seated, but the glow in his eyes brightened. “Get over yourself!” he growled. “Is berating me really so important that you feel it appropriate to disrupt a council meeting for it? We’re talking about killing Dougal, preserving Lugh’s life, and putting him back on the throne, and all you care to contribute is the occasional insult in hopes that one will wound me?”

Saul stopped dead in his tracks, his face reddening with something other than anger. I was impressed with Raphael’s strategy. There was nothing that Saul could say now that wouldn’t make him look like a selfish hothead who’d be more useful guarding our prisoner upstairs than participating in our meeting. He swallowed hard, his cheek muscles twitching as he ground his teeth. But he managed to tamp down his rage.

Saul righted his chair and dropped into it without another word.

“Do you really think this plan will work?” I asked Raphael, trying to get our meeting back to order.

Raphael blinked a couple of times, like he’d forgotten where he was for a moment. Then his eyes focused on me.

“I think it might work. Nothing even close to a guarantee. But don’t you think a plan that might work is better than no plan at all?”

I had to admit he had a point—if William was telling us anything that resembled the truth. “How confident are you that Dougal really is feeling the heat?” I asked. “If we’re not sure we believe the rest of William’s story, why should we believe that?”

“I’m pretty confident that he’s telling the truth about Dougal’s difficulties. People—both demon and human—are more apt to support a winner, and I’d say Dougal is looking less and less like a winner as time goes on.”

“Since you were part of Dougal’s inner circle once,” Adam said, “you know a lot of the players involved, right?”

Raphael nodded. “Indeed. And I see where Alexander’s defection would make them very uneasy. There are a handful who are as loyal to Dougal as we are to Lugh. But there are more than a handful of opportunists like William. And, apparently, Alexander. I would have pegged him as one of the loyal handful, but I guess I was mistaken.” He turned toward me. “I believe William’s story, and I believe Dougal’s troubles give us a legitimate chance to lure him to the Mortal Plain. But it’s up to Lugh to decide whether he thinks it’s worth a shot.”

“One question before we make a decision,” I said. “What are we going to do with William if we don’t want to try Raphael’s plan?”

The silence in the room was deafening, and suddenly no one wanted to meet my gaze. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what that meant.

“We’re going to kill him,” I said, my voice barely a whisper. I’d been involved in a peripheral manner with the death by fire of several demons now, but each time it happened it was because someone—