by Kate Moseman
Lizzy’s eyelids fluttered. Her gaze landed on Justinian. “Raya? Who—”
“He’s an angel. He’s all right.”
“Mostly,” Phoenix muttered.
“An angel,” Lizzy breathed. She reached out to him.
Justinian took her hand, then wrapped his substantial arm around her and helped her sit up. “My apologies, madame. I did not mean to frighten you.”
“Oh, that’s okay.” Lizzy’s hands fluttered like drunk birds, then landed on his arm. Her eyes widened. “My, you’re very strong, aren’t you?”
Phoenix made eye contact with Raya and stifled a laugh.
Raya was clearly struggling to contain a laugh as she introduced them. “Lizzy—the angel Justinian. Justinian—Lizzy the witch.”
“Enchantée, I’m sure.” Lizzy held her hand out and wiggled her fingers.
Justinian took her hand and kissed it gravely. “The pleasure is mine.”
Phoenix snapped his fingers to break them out of their trance. “Are you two finished with—whatever that was?”
Justinian shot him a look that could have melted iron.
A distant peacock made a series of hooting, squawking noises.
“Why are you here, anyway?” Raya looked at Justinian with undisguised curiosity.
“I followed you. I wanted to know what was going on, so I dropped in.”
Lizzy smiled. “Literally.”
“Great. Now that we’re all here and we all know each other—do you think it’s possible we might bloody well get something done?”
The three of them stared at him like he was ruining their lovely outing in the park.
Raya shifted to face Lizzy. “Lizzy, Nathan threatened Phoenix—”
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.”
PART III
RAYA & PHOENIX
28
Raya put on the leather jacket and tugged the collar into position. She rummaged in the open suitcase before zipping it all the way around. Only the smaller overnight bag remained open.
Tomorrow, she would fly home.
Phoenix watched the process from his seat at the hotel room table. “All packed?”
Raya set the suitcase upright. “All packed. Just a few things left out for tonight and tomorrow.”
Phoenix stood and smoothed his hands over the shoulders of her jacket. “And this? Is this your armor for tonight?”
Raya met his gaze. “I like my armor.”
“Your armor is impenetrable.”
“Just like yours.” She flipped one lapel of his leather jacket up in a teasing manner and let it fall back into place.
“We’re not talking about jackets anymore, are we?”
“Such a clever little dark prince.” She turned away and set about fixing her wand into her hair.
“Don’t call me—”
“Why should I stop when I know you’re enjoying yourself?” Raya smirked.
“Two can play at that game, Witchiepoo.”
She laughed. “Who said I enjoyed being called that?”
Phoenix delivered his response with quiet precision. “You didn’t have to.”
Her mouth opened and shut. “We’d better go. We don’t want to be late.”
Cosmo’s bar echoed with their footsteps as they crossed the empty room. The candles in the wall sconces cast flickering shadows like ghosts across the floor.
Raya looked around. “Anybody home?”
Cosmo popped up from behind the bar. “About time you two showed up.”
“You think everyone got the message?” Phoenix slid onto a stool.
“We’re ready to rock.” Cosmo flipped a bottle, then pointed it at Raya. “How are you going to keep the wicked witch from seeing the good witch?”
Phoenix reached over the bar and grabbed a cherry. “Courtesy of our angel-in-residence.” He bit into the unnaturally red fruit.
Justine and Justinian rocketed through the window as if it weren’t there. Justinian landed and folded away his parchment-colored wings. Justine skidded to a stop, brushed nonexistent dust from her shoulder, and folded away her brilliantly white wings. “My ears are burning,” she said.
“Justine!” Cosmo vaulted over the bar like a gymnast and ran to Justine, throwing her arms around the
angel.
“Oof! Help, I’m being attacked!” Justine threw her head back and laughed, clasping her arms around Cosmo. They staggered across the room still holding each other and collapsed into a corner booth, laughing and talking with animated gestures.
Phoenix swallowed the cherry. “Make that two angels-in-residence.”
Justinian eased himself onto a stool next to Raya. “She said if I was going, she was going.”
“It’s not a party until the angels show up.” Phoenix turned to Raya. “You ready?”
Raya nodded, hoping her nervousness didn’t show on her face.
Justinian leaned back and surveyed the room. “What about Lizzy?”
“She’s coming with Nathan,” Raya said.
A worried look crossed Justinian’s face.
Raya patted his arm. “Don’t worry. Lizzy can handle herself. She’s more powerful than she looks.”
“She’s not the only one.” Phoenix stood up. “Time to go incognito, Raya.” He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Justine! Stop fooling around and get your wings over here.”
Justine reluctantly stood and joined them at the bar.
Cosmo followed.
The angels and the demons looked at Raya expectantly.
Raya tried to swallow but found her mouth completely dry. She cleared her throat instead. “Witches and demons can sense each other, but neither can sense angels who don’t want to be noticed. We’re assuming Nathan will sense a big crowd of demons—but what we don’t want is for him to realize I’m here, too. That means I need to get out of sight before all the demons get here.” She gestured for Justine and Justinian to follow her to an empty space away from the bar and seating area. “I need you to hide me.”
Justine cocked her head and looked Raya up and down. “Let’s try this. Justinian, can you extend your aura?”
Justinian’s outline blazed into brightness and spread outward.
“Farther,” said Justine.
The light expanded to cover Raya, who shielded her eyes.
Justine went on the other side of Raya, opposite Justinian, and lit up like a flare. The two auras intersected and overlapped with Raya on the inside.
“How’s that?” said Raya. “Phoenix? Cosmo? Can you sense my presence? As a witch, I mean?”
Phoenix squinted into the glare. “Nothing.”
“You’re good,” said Cosmo.
“Now we wait,” said Justinian.
Their voices sounded like they’d been muffled with blankets. Raya covered her eyes completely from the dazzling glow. “This is awkward.”
Phoenix chuckled. “Look at it this way—it’s nowhere near as awkward as calling in a legion of demons to bait the trap, then having Nathan high-tail it because he sensed your presence.”
Someone brought Raya a chair, although she couldn’t see who, thanks to the blinding light between Justine and Justinian. She knew more demons would be arriving any minute but couldn’t tell which ones or how many since the shielding light seemed to work both ways. It made the suspense of waiting much worse.
The familiar voices retreated until she could no longer hear them at all. Raya shifted in the chair. She hadn’t felt this alone since the plane touched down at the airport. She inhaled and exhaled, keeping her breath even as it went in and out.
Phoenix would be there, even if she couldn’t see him now—and Cosmo, and Justine, and Justinian, and even George with his funny coat and antique glasses.
And Lizzy, too—Lizzy would be on their side.
Raya sincerely hoped Lizzy would be on their side. Her stomach flipped at the momentary doubt.
This would not go down in flames, not if she had anything to say about it. A grim smile touched her lips. She strained her senses, but could hear nothing but a distant buzz of conversation. The minutes ticked by, leaving her to fidget restlessly.
Suddenly, the murmur of the crowd collapsed into silence.
The angelic shield dropped all at once like a heavy stage curtain slashed free of its rings.
Raya rose from the chair and drew her wand, blinking as her vision cleared of stars.
Nathan stood in the center of the room with a self-satisfied smirk on his face and Lizzy by his side. A net of green light radiated from his wand, billowing up and over the assembled demons before descending along the perimeter of the room. “Raya. You’re just in time to join us.”
Trapped within the net, the demons at the bar and tables remained in a silent tableau where only their eyes moved.
Nathan didn’t appear to notice the angels—they kept themselves hidden, flanking her, awaiting her signal.
“I’m not here to join you, Nathan.” She aimed her wand at the center of the magical net.
“There’s enough for all of us. I’m willing to share.” He glanced at Phoenix, frozen in the magic. “You can have this one—although God only knows why you’d want him.”
“Go to Hell, Nathan.” She silently probed for weaknesses in the net. When would Lizzy make her move?
“Your loss.” Nathan shrugged. “Lizzy, lock it in. We’re wasting time.”
A look of annoyance passed over Lizzy’s face and was swiftly hidden by a look of adoration so over-the-top it approached parody. “Of course, Nathan.” She placed her hand tenderly on Nathan’s cheek, then slid it to wrap around the back of his neck.
He shifted his weight uncomfortably. “What are you doing?”
A sad smile lifted her lips. She kissed his cheek. “What I should have done all along.”
He gasped in shock—and not just from her words.
Raya felt Lizzy lock into Nathan’s power the same way a fisherman sets a hook in a fish.
Nathan dropped to his knees at the impact. “Please—Lizzy—don’t—”
“You were wrong to think I would follow you blindly.” Lizzy backed away from him and slipped her hand into Raya’s.
Raya squeezed her hand in solidarity as the magic linked them together. Lizzy’s maneuver made it easier for Raya to seize Nathan’s power as it sizzled through the air like superheated vapor. He’d extended himself severely in his attempt to bind all the demons at once. “Justinian!”
Justinian brandished the flaming sword and allowed himself to be seen.
Nathan registered the angel’s presence with wild-eyed confusion. “What—”
But he had no time to complete the thought as Raya grasped the magic and hauled it in. The power barrelled toward her. She ignored the instinct to duck the impact—instead, she twisted the crashing wave into a concentrated stream and directed it to Justinian, whose sword crackled and spat fire as it drank the magic.
Raya trembled as wave after wave washed through her. She looked into Nathan’s eyes as they filled with tears of rage and helplessness.
She knew what he was thinking.
She could drain it all, if she wanted to. She could leave him powerless and alone, bereft of the one thing that gave his life meaning.
She could even take the magic for herself, if she desired. Enough power to end the nightmares forever.
But would it?
A woman’s silvery laugh echoed through her mind as images from the six medieval tapestries whirled through her vision, ending on the cryptic phrase À Mon Seul Désir.
To My Sole Desire.
All the power she ever wanted lay within her grasp—and yet her thoughts left the magic behind and turned to a certain dark prince in the crowd.
A spell is a flap of a butterfly wing in the right place, at the right time …
And so is love.
All the bickering, the fighting, the teasing and insults—they’d used anything to keep their feelings at bay, to prop up the walls between them, to refuse to acknowledge that not only did they truly, affectionately, passionately like each other—they needed each other.
&
nbsp; Her gaze met his—and the rest of the world fell away when she saw her feelings reflected in his eyes. She was his witch, and he was her demon, and God help anyone who came between them.
Nathan collapsed to his hands and knees, keening in wordless anguish as the last remnants of the forest power tore away and landed safely within Justinian’s sword. Another second and Nathan’s original power would be obliterated.
Raya slammed the connection shut. Her vision darkened and the room spun.
Strong arms caught her as her knees buckled.
Phoenix caught her as she fell, wrapping his wings around her to buffer her from harm. He eased her into a comfortable position on the floor and pillowed her head with his wing as he knelt beside her.
Her eyelids fluttered and the corners of her lips lifted in a triumphant smile. “We did it.”
Phoenix smoothed her hair from her forehead. “Hush, now. You’ve overexerted yourself.”
“Have not,” she murmured.
“But you must be all right—you’re still arguing with me.”
“Mm.” Raya chuckled softly but didn’t dispute the point. “Is Lizzy okay?”
“She’s fine. Justinian caught her. Justine would have caught you, but I beat her to the punch.”
A commotion caused both of them to look to the source of the noise.
Cosmo and Justine dragged an unresisting Nathan out the door, and—from the sound of it—none too gently down the stairs.
“And stay out!” said Cosmo, her voice floating up the stairs and into the bar.
The outer door slammed with satisfying finality.
Cosmo sauntered into the room like she owned the place—which, technically, she did—then vaulted over the bar. “Drinks on the house!”
The demons roared in approval.
Justinian and Lizzy joined George at a table, and all three of them leaned in over some ancient-looking tome George had produced from a hidden pocket.
Justine slid onto the stool nearest the absinthe fountain and began setting up glasses, slotted spoons, and sugar cubes.
Raya nestled closer to Phoenix and caressed his wing feathers. “I’m glad you caught me.”
