Phoenix snorted. “That’s putting it mildly.”
“And we think he intends to bind all of the demons in Paris. Or as many as he can find.” Raya’s voice became softer. “I know you think that’s what witches do—bind demons to perform tasks—but this is a bridge too far.”
Lizzy looked down and ran her fingers through the grass. “Didn’t you bind your demon to begin with?”
Raya sighed. “I did. And I wasn’t thinking of anything other than what I wanted at the time. If I had, I might have gone about it differently.” She cast a sly look at Phoenix. “Now, he just hangs around of his own free will. For no apparent reason.”
Lizzy frowned and a worry line appeared between her eyebrows. “Nathan isn’t interested in demons doing small favors and odd jobs. He’s interested in raw power.”
“Didn’t he get enough in the forest?”
“It wasn’t enough for him.”
Justinian changed position before speaking. “If your friend wants more power, why does he not replenish it like other witches do?”
“He says”—she hesitated and tucked her hair behind her ears—“he says it’s ‘not efficient.’ That it’s unreliable and not strong enough.”
Phoenix watched Lizzy’s face as she spoke. “So—what? Is he planning to use demons like a bunch of sentient batteries?”
“I don’t know!” Her eyes went wide with distress. “He doesn’t tell me everything.”
Justinian patted her hand. “It’s all right. It is not your fault.”
“If she doesn’t do anything to stop him, it is,” Phoenix muttered. Thankfully, no one heard.
“We need your help,” said Raya. “Or, at the very least, we need you to stand aside when the time comes.”
Lizzy swiped her fingers quickly under one eye. “When the time comes for what?”
Raya looked at Phoenix before continuing. “Justinian is going to help us remove the power Nathan took from the forest. Without that, he won’t be able to bind anyone, let alone an entire host of demons.”
Lizzy looked around to each of them. “You won’t hurt him, will you?”
Phoenix briefly pictured all the ways he would have liked to hurt Nathan, but kept his mouth shut.
Raya’s glance and slight frown indicated she knew exactly what he was thinking. “Of course not. He’ll just lose some power.”
Lizzy exhaled. “As long as you’re sure he won’t be hurt.”
“He said he was going to do it soon. Do you know any of his plans?” Raya smiled encouragingly. “Any little bit might help.”
Justinian laid a careful hand on Lizzy’s back and patted her in a soothing way.
She favored him with a brief smile before replying to Raya. “He said he was waiting for the right time. That it wasn’t efficient to make multiple attempts.”
“Very efficient, this Nathan.” Phoenix considered. “My guess is he didn’t want to make multiple attempts for fear of tipping the rest of us off. It was all in one go, or nothing.”
Raya leaned back in the grass, closed her eyes, and tilted her face to the sun. “So what does that mean?”
“It means we need to lure him. Create a situation that’s too tempting to pass up. Put all the demons in one place and let him come to us.”
Raya opened her eyes and looked at Phoenix. “Isn’t that risky?”
“Not if we have Justinian and Lizzy on our side.”
Lizzy curled her small fingers around Justinian’s hand. “On the side of the angels.”
Raya winked cheekily at Phoenix. “And the demons.”
