‘‘Exactly. To be honest, I think he has a form of demonic attention deficit disorder. But this . . . this is different. He seems much more focused on the phylactery, and that worries me greatly. I can’t let him have it. But I can’t see a way out of obeying a direct order.’’

‘‘Sometimes when Ash gives me an order, there’s wiggle room,’’ Jim said. ‘‘What did Magoth say exactly?’’

‘‘He told me to bring him the phylactery. There’s no wiggle room there that I can see.’’

Aisling looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘‘What that means is that if you physically have the phylactery in your possession, you must give it to him.’’

‘‘Ye-es,’’ I said slowly, not seeing where she was going.

‘‘So that means we simply don’t let you touch it. If you don’t have it in your possession, you can’t turn it over to him, right? Easy as pie—you may be a renowned thief, but the green dragons are no slouches when it comes to stealing things. And Drake is especiallygood at it.’’

‘‘I thought of that,’’ I said, despair digging into me with sharp little jabs. ‘‘The L’au-delà vault is sure to be heavily protected. It will surely be beyond the means of even the craftiest of dragons to enter it . . . but I can get in places where no one else can. It will be up to me to locate the phylactery. And if I’m that close to it without anyone else around who might conceivably oppose me, it would constitute a dybbuk if I did not take it into my possession. I just don’t see a way around it—that’s why I thought you might have an idea about defying an order.’’

‘‘I’m afraid I am just as helpless,’’ she said with genuine regret. ‘‘Jim?’’

The demon shook its shaggy head. ‘‘Nada. Dybbuk is the only thing I can think of, and I wouldn’t advise it. Magoth may be a few dinner rolls short of a smorgasbord, but he’s no idiot. He’ll be bound to make an example out of you for the rest of his minions.’’

I swallowed back the hard lump of fear and guilt that made my throat ache.

‘‘I take it you haven’t mentioned this to Gabriel?’’ Aisling asked, casting a quick glance toward the door.

‘‘No. It’s hard enough to keep him from going after Magoth directly—I really don’t want to inflame his desire to free me of my bondage.’’

‘‘I’ll talk to Nora about that, too,’’ she said, looking determined. ‘‘She’s my mentor, and she knows all sorts of things about what Guardians can do. I know it’s difficult, but stop worrying, May. Between us all, we may be able to find a way for you to end your bond to Magoth.’’