Of course, having a council meeting while William was around posed some logistical difficulties. Unless we decided we trusted him—which wasn’t going to happen anytime soon—we couldn’t leave him unguarded. There wasn’t a lock in the world that could hold a demon, and the only thing that made the Dreaded Black Room even marginally safe was the fact that it had no windows. I suspect that was a home improvement Adam had made personally, because I don’t think the house would have met building code as it was.
Of course, if William was seriously trying to escape, he could break through the wall. But he’d make a lot of noise doing it, so we’d probably be able to stop him.
In the end, we decided to assign Barbie and Andy to guard duty when they arrived. They were the two least likely to kick up a fuss about being left out of the council meeting, and, although no one said it out loud, the least likely to make a useful contribution—Barbie because she was a relative newcomer, and Andy because he could rarely be bothered to care.
Barbie put up a token protest, but I think it was more out of curiosity than anything else. Andy just shrugged and said, “Whatever.” I wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him to make him snap out of his persistent funk. God help me, I think I was beginning to understand why Raphael found my brother so annoying. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that Andy wouldn’t be this way if it weren’t for Raphael’s mistreatment. But for the first time, I found myself not entirely convinced. Raphael had told me once that Andy wasn’t as strong as I was. Maybe he’d been right.
We stationed Barbie at the far end of the hall. That would give her ample time to get off a Taser shot if William should venture out of the room. We then stationed Andy at the base of the stairs. He’d have a clear shot as soon as the door opened, too. Between the two of them, surely one of them would hit him.
Adam slipped into the Black Room alone to inform William that he had no chance of escaping and to describe what Adam would do to him if he was caught trying. I was just as glad not to have to hear that.
I can’t say that any of us felt completely secure with our demon prisoner upstairs, but it was as secure as we were going to get. When we were all gathered in Adam and Dom’s living room, I turned to Raphael and said, “Spill.”
He never much liked taking orders from anyone, especially from me, but he managed to contain his natural knee-jerk reaction and settled for giving me a dirty look before addressing the rest of the council.
“We all know we can’t secure the throne for Lugh as long as Dougal lives,” he said. “Dougal will be in really bad shape if he loses most of his supporters, and he’ll be in even worse shape if the council makes him step down as regent. He’ll want to avoid that at all costs, and if it happens, it’ll make it much more difficult for him to get to Lugh. But it won’t make it impossible. Even if Dougal is ground into the dust, if he can eliminate Lugh, all his troubles will be over.”
“We know all this,” Saul interrupted. “Quit grandstanding and get to the point.”
Raphael gave him a bland look, though I’m sure Saul had been hoping to piss him off. “The point will make more sense when presented in context. No one here completely trusts me, so I’m going to give you my entire train of thought.” Usually, when Raphael made some comment about the rest of us not trusting him, he managed to sound sulky, as though it were somehow unfair of us to suspect him of shady dealings, no matter how many terrible things he had done, or how many times he had lied. But this once, he treated it like a matter of fact, rather than an insult. It made me think marginally better of him.
“So,” Raphael continued, “no matter how badly things go for Dougal in the Demon Realm, we still have to kill him. We’ve known that from the beginning, but we had to get him to the Mortal Plain to do it, and we all know he’s not stupid or arrogant enough to put himself in harm’s way.
“But if what William is telling us is true, Dougal is seriously feeling the heat. We might not feel safe with him still at large, but his life could become very difficult if his supporters turn on him. Hell, if enough of them turn on him to convince the official royal council that he tried to kill Lugh, he could find himself imprisoned.” Raphael shuddered, and I didn’t think it was entirely for dramatic effect.
“Believe me, that’s a fate worse than death in the Demon Realm.”
“A fate you, yourself, deserve,” Saul muttered under his breath, but no one would believe he hadn’t meant Raphael to hear it.
Raphael’s fists clenched at his sides, and his eyes closed. It seemed Saul’s barb had hit its target. Raphael had said long ago that Lugh was such a stickler for the law that he would put Raphael in prison for his crimes even if Raphael was instrumental in putting him back on the throne.
Would you really put Raphael in prison? I asked Lugh silently.
We’ll talk about it later. Tell Saul from me that if he makes one more comment that is not constructive, I will send him to replace Barbara on guard duty. Lugh’s mental voice was thick with irritation. We don’t have time for his pettiness.
Reluctantly, I relayed Lugh’s message. Saul didn’t know me as well as the others and still didn’t quite appreciate what a terrible liar I am. The rest of the council would believe the words really came from Lugh, but Saul might not. He shot me a lethal glare.
“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.”