Ayinel when he wanted to become part of their joyful little group, though he agreed that he could join their daily excursions. Yet, Ayinel came to their camp yesterday evening and spent the night here anyway.

With his hands behind his back and a smile that didn't reach his eyes, he walked to where Ayinel and Beelzebub were, by the tent in which the Shadows stored the collected ore before it was by the crows transported to the building site in the mountains.

"My lord," Beelzebub greeted him.

"Samael." Ayinel nodded.

"To what do I own this honour?" Samael asked, "After I refused your request?"

"I'm hoping you'll change your mind."

"Why?"

"It's only for two to three days."

Samael lifted his eyebrows. "If you are here, who will keep an eye on what's going on in the Second Heaven?"

"You know yourself that everything in the Second Heavens moves at a snail's pace. Especially with the important decision, justifiably." Aydin gave him a sweet smile. "Please."

"Two days only," Samael said.

"Thank you," Ayinel said. His simile widened. "Beelzebub here said we are going hiking today."

"Yes," Samael said. He glanced around the camp. The animals were dozing under canopies, and many of the Shadows were still meditating, while the gold panners and forgers (even though the smelters would be a better expression for them, or so the divinity told him) were getting ready to leave. He turned to Beelzebub, who moved closer to him. "What's the plan for today?"

"We should leave soon so we can return before the afternoon heat."

"Good thinking." Samael nodded.

"I will gather them," Beelzebub said and rushed away.

Soon, the Shadows were ready, and they started walking up the mountain. As usual, Samael was at the front of the group, but every now and there he moved to the end of it, listening to the Shadows' conversation, joining in here and there.

He noticed Ayinel in the middle of the group conversing with Shadows, and at the waterfall, he saw the angel closely observing them. On their way back, Ayinel joined him when Samael was at the end of the group.

"I noticed you have been observing them," Samael commented.

"Yes. I was thinking about what you told me, about their innocence," Ayinel said. "You are right. They are like children, innocent, curious, and without fear. It's refreshing."

"Is this why you insisted on becoming a temporary member of our little group?" Samael used a small miracle to hover in the air as they descended the rocky path.

"Yes. And to distance myself from all the Second Heaven's intrigues for a moment." Ayinel sighed.

A Shadow stumbled, then rolled down past them, screaming. Another one followed him.

Samael followed them with his eyes. "Yes, they are certainly a good distraction."

They returned to the camp just before the afternoon heat, when the sun pressed down. Usually, the camp was silent, but this time, there was crying and animals' howls.

"Something is wrong," Beelzebub said. Their step towards the camp sped up.

At the edge of the camp, a female Shadow turned and saw them. She rushed to them.

Beelzebub and some of the Shadows ran past Samael, towards the Shadow.

"It's Ramus! It's Ramus! They hurt him!" the female Shadow managed to wheeze out between her sobs.

Samael's wings appeared, and he flew ahead, his eyes narrowing, while unease filled his chest. When he landed by the edge of the group, the wind of his wings destroyed the two canopies beside him. "What happened?"

The group of Shadows divided before him.

A bull stood in the middle of the camp, with his arm hanging uselessly against his side. Beside it was a bush with vivid red dotted the bush's rare leaves. The red trickled down his short and broken branches and pooled under his feet.

Samael frowned. "What happened?"

The bull faced him. "My lord."

"What happened?"

"I'm sorry, my lord," the bush's benches slumped even lower than they were.

"It's not your fault!" The bull's head wheeled around to glare at him before his gaze and voice softened when he repeated. "It was not your fault." He looked at Samael again. "It was not his fault. It was those humans. They hurt him. And they laughed about it."

The bush sniffed.

"They are evil," a Shadow said. Many of them agreed.

Samael looked the bull up and down, his eyes stopping on his arm, which appeared to be broken. "Apparently, he wasn't the only one who got hurt."

"His arm got broken because of me," the bush said in a small voice.

"It was because of them," the bull stated.

Samael glanced around, searching for Beelzebub to find him standing beside him. "What happened?"

"Ramus is one of the gold panners," Beelzebub told him. "At the site, he met with a human boy. They became friends."

"He was nice. Not evil at all," Ramus, the bush said. "But..."

"He wasn't among those who hurt him," Beelzebub continued. "He was there, though. Minox found them when they were breaking off Ramus's branches, laughing at his crying. He broke the leader's arm."

"Yeah, to see how he likes it. And my arms broke without anybody even touching it," Minox said.

"Divine punishment, most likely," Samael explained, annoyed. "Except under divine orders, we are not to intervene in human lives, let alone harm them." Which was a pity in this case. Because he would enjoy finding those humans and breaking all of their limbs, one bone at a time. Nobody harms his Shadows and gets away from it.

"Why can they hurt us, but we can't hurt them?" a Shadow murmured, his voice shaking with frustration.

Samael's frown deepened. "Because it's not our place to punish them. But don't worry, with malice like that, their souls are bound to end in Reformatory. They will feel the same pain as..." What was his name? He glanced at the bush. "He did."

"That's a great consolation, my lord," Beelzebub said.

No, it wasn't, not according to the expression on Shadows' face. Samael looked at the bull. "I can't punish them or do anything for you." His attention returned to the bush. "But I think I can help you." He stretched out his hand toward the bush. "Come."

The bush was still for a short moment before he rushed towards him, his branches embracing him, the leaves that were serving as his fingers gripping the fabric of Samael's robe. He started to sob.

Samael glanced down at the green leaves and branches. He sighed, feeling helpless. He awkwardly tried to pat the creature, but he didn't know where to place his hand. In the end, he placed it on a trembling branch. A soft glow formed where his fingers met the leaves. The energy was warm and gentle—like a quiet breeze on a summer's day. It seeped into the injured bush. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to regrow his branches. They would do that eventually on their own. But at least he could heal the wounds. "There there. There there."

The redness of the broken branches began to fade, and the bleeding stopped. The energy wrapped around Ramus like a soft blanket. The bush sobbed harder and tried to hug him even tighter, yelping in pain as he pressed his branches against him.

Samael glanced over the top of the bush at Ayinel, who had arrived at the scene. The sadness on the angel's face told him he knew what happened. By divinity, probably. Not that it mattered. Of all the angels Samael knew, Ayinel had the most empathy and a strong sense of justice, but he never went against heavenly rules or decisions. Even when the Watchers were sent to the Fifth Heaven, Ayinel only spoke out against it and kept an eye on them, without taking action.

His gaze went over the Shadows standing in a circle around him, a mix of emotions on their faces. From anger to helplessness. "Go, pack. We need to leave."