“So what happens now?” Saul asked when we were all seated and a full minute had passed without anyone else speaking.

“We need to exorcize William again,” Raphael said. “I’m sure word of what we’ve done will reach Dougal regardless, but we need to set up a meeting with Dougal when he reaches the Mortal Plain.”

“You really think he’ll come?” Adam asked.

Raphael nodded. “If we manage to get possession outlawed again, everything he’s worked for will be in vain. If his supporters are already starting to turn on him now, he’ll have a full-scale rebellion then, and he could very likely find himself imprisoned. I can’t imagine him risking it.”

“Is sending William again really the best idea?” Dominic asked. “You saw what Dougal did to him last time. I’m beginning to think it’s akin to cruel and unusual punishment to make him go back.”

“Who else would you send?” Adam asked. “We could send me or Saul, but the power differential between us and Dougal is too great. If he decided to kill the messenger, we’d die. That leaves only Raphael,” he said, and we all turned to look at Raphael. “And the only one in this room who might be able to exorcize him is Lugh.” Everyone then turned to look at me.

May I take control? Lugh asked. It’s been long enough since the last time that I doubt you’ll suffer any ill effects, and I think it’s important that I speak.

I let out what I hoped was a silent sigh. I don’t think I’ll ever get comfortable with letting someone else drive my body, but if Lugh had lots to say, then it would get old acting as his interpreter. Besides, the rest of the council was more likely to listen to me if it was Lugh talking.

Lugh didn’t wait for my answer, because he could sense my answer without my having to articulate it. I did a little mental shiver at the feeling of being shoved into the background of my own body, but I think I was starting to get a little used to it, because I didn’t feel an immediate reflexive need to kick him out.

Lugh sat up a little straighter in the chair, and I think just by the change in body language he demonstrated to everyone in the room that I wasn’t myself anymore.

“I could exorcize Raphael if he didn’t fight me,” Lugh said, “but I’d prefer to keep him out of this.”

Raphael raised his eyebrows. “Oh? Why is that?”

“Well, for one thing, if you’re in the Demon Realm, you can’t be here pretending to be me. For another, I’m not sure your host would survive without you in residence.”

“He wouldn’t,” Raphael admitted, bracing himself as if ready for attack. “Tommy shut down several weeks ago.” He hunched his shoulders, and if I didn’t know better, I’d swear he actually felt guilty. I know I did, since I’d sacrificed Tommy to Raphael to free my brother. And let’s not even talk about how Andy felt.

“I tried to be kind to him,” Raphael continued, “and I tried not to break him. His sanity was already severely compromised when I took him …”

It looked like Saul was going to take this opportunity to get in one of his verbal potshots, but Lugh silenced him with a glare before he said a word. I was glad, figuring anything Saul said would hurt Andy more than Raphael.

“It’s all right, Raphael,” Lugh said. “We all knew the chances of Tommy remaining intact were negligible, no matter who took him. It was a group decision to let you take him, not yours alone.”

Actually, it had been more like my decision, but no one had really disagreed with it. “But the point is, we can’t use you as our messenger. It has to be William.”

Raphael met his brother’s gaze. “He’s not going to be happy about the prospect.”

Lugh grimaced. “I know. But it can’t be helped.”

“And what shall I have him tell our dear brother?”

Lugh thought about it a moment. I really wished I could hear his thoughts like he could hear mine.

“Tell him he has till midnight on Wednesday to come to the Mortal Plain and begin negotiations.”

Raphael snorted. “He’s not going to negotiate about anything!”

“Yes, he will. I’m going to propose we fight a duel and put an end to this conflict once and for all. We will need to negotiate the rules of engagement.”

No one spoke a word for what felt like about ten minutes. They all stared at Lugh with varying degrees of shock. Finally, Raphael broke the silence.

“You can’t seriously mean to do it,” he said, his voice guarded.

Lugh raised his eyebrows. “How else do you suggest I get close enough to him to kill him? Besides, he needs to think coming to the Mortal Plain will end his troubles and keep us from going even more public with the truth.”

Now that the silence was broken, everyone began speaking at once, voices getting louder and louder as each tried to shout over the others. Myself, I didn’t know what to think. Challenging Dougal to a duel sounded like a terrible risk, but it might be less risky than doing nothing.

Lugh let the others vent for a couple of minutes, then held up his hands for silence. “We’ll debate on whether I should actually meet Dougal for a duel later. First, we have to get the message to him, and he has to agree. Then we have to meet to discuss terms.”

He turned to Raphael. “Tell William that when Dougal reaches the Mortal Plain, he should contact Adam. Adam will meet him in person to confirm that it really is Dougal, and we will plan our future from there.”

Dominic squirmed in his chair. “But you said yourself Dougal could kill Adam.”

Lugh nodded. “He could. But not on the Mortal Plain. Besides, if he shows up, it will be because he’s chosen to confront me. If that’s the case, he’ll have no reason to kill Adam.”

Dominic clearly didn’t like it, but Adam reached over and squeezed his shoulder, murmuring some kind of reassurance so quietly the rest of us couldn’t hear. I don’t think it helped a whole lot.

“Does anyone else have an objection?” Lugh asked. “Because if not, I’d like to put Morgan back in control.”

I liked the sound of that. The other members of Lugh’s council looked from one to the other, waiting for someone to object, but it didn’t happen. And between one breath and the next, Lugh slipped into the background of my mind and put my body back under my control. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief, then tensed for the headache and nausea. I felt mildly queasy, and my head hurt a bit, but it wasn’t too bad. The nerves over what Lugh intended to do were far worse, but I did my best to shove my worries to the side for now.

William had been less than happy to discover we were sending him back to the Demon Realm once more—“less than happy” being the understatement of the century. The poor guy had begged and pleaded, but “Lugh” had been gently firm about it. In the end, William had caved and agreed to do Lugh’s bidding—not that he actually had a choice. I think we all felt at least a little guilty about putting him through this. Well, all but Raphael, who didn’t do guilt.

Knowing that Dougal might once again try to kill the messenger, and knowing that the attempt would be sheer agony for William even though it wouldn’t succeed, we promised William we’d summon him back first thing in the morning. That would give him enough time to get the message to Dougal, but wouldn’t leave him in Dougal’s clutches for too terribly long. Of course, more than twelve hours of torture might seem kinda long to William.

I tried to assuage my guilty conscience by reminding myself that William had been the de facto leader of the illegal recruitment campaign. That he’d been put in that position despite his protests was a mitigating factor, but the fact remained that he’d sat idly by as his demon accomplices tortured human beings into inviting demons into their bodies. No matter how pitiable William was, he was a long way from being an innocent victim.

The reporters outside Adam’s house had not magically disappeared, more’s the pity. I was almost tempted to ask Adam to let me stay over, just to avoid the vultures. “Almost” being the operative word.