"Okay, what now?" Samael glared at the clay tablet in front of the door to his rooms. It was one of the four already there. The last three years had been so peaceful, and then the Thrones began to pester him with their demands. Just because he could influence Lucifer's decisions in the past, he wasn't, and he had no plans to become Lucifer's caretaker.

No matter how many times he replied he was no longer in the service of the Second Heaven, those over-glorifying guardians of God's throne continued to harass him. He lifted his gaze to the crow that was about to disappear from his view. "Hey, you, come back."

The crow landed on the pile of clay tablets.

Samael sighed. Life was getting better, if not for those snobs intruding upon his time. "I told them my working hours are on Monday and Wednesday. Today is Friday." He pointed at the tablets. "So, what is this?"

The crow made low-pitched nasal sounds.

"I don't care if a cherub himself called you and told you to bring it. You say Samael is not available."

The crow made another string of low-pitched nasal sounds.

"Just refuse and fly away."

The crow cawed.

Samael raised his eyebrows.

More crying.

"Are you trying to argue with me?" Samael folded his hands behind his back, giving the crow a hard look while the surrounding air started vibrating. The edges of the tablet on the top of the pile cracked. "God is the light and I'm her darkness and rage!" So she wouldn't have to be tainted by it. "My rank is higher than that of Cherubim, Thrones, and Seraphim."

The crow fell silent and hung its head.

Samael sighed. The pressure around him eased up. "Listen, I understand it's hard to say no, but you must learn to do it. If you don't, you'll just end in the middle pressed from both sides, in the same position as you are now. You're lucky that I'm such a kind spirit and still giving you only a warning after you directly tried to disregard my authority."

The crow emitted a low, barely audible cry.

"Refuse. Tell them to address me directly and leave," Samael said, though they both knew that besides God and Gabriel nobody from the first five heavens could come in contact with him directly.

The crow lifted its head. Another high chirp.

"Yes, yes. Just tell them a more polite version of it; that you would like to, but that you don't have the authority to do that, and they should contact me directly."

It made a small chirp.

"Just say exactly as I told you," Samael said.

The crow nodded and rose.

He watched as it flew away before his gaze lowered to the tablets. He wrinkled his nose in annoyance. He had no intention of reading them before Monday, but to leave them lying like that... So unsightly.

He sighed again. He'd just leave it to Beelzebub. They had better find some space to store these things. A cave for tablets? Well, why not? There were ample empty caves on the ground floor. They had pits of lava on the ground that made them uninhabitable, so they mostly used them to storage. And if some tablets fell into the lava pits, he was sure God would understand that it was an accident.

He walked to the nearby column and the edge of the ledge to gaze at the plane stretching before the palace. There wasn't much activity down there. It was morning, and the Shadows were most likely in the education halls.

A pair of wings appeared on his back. He stepped over the edge and sailed down.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Beelzebub rushed to his side. "My lord."

"Here you are," Samael said. "There are some tablets before my door that I would like for you to take care of. Just remove them and store them somewhere. I'll look at them on Monday."

Beelzebub nodded and turned around.

"Actually..."

Beelzebub faced him.

"I thought that it would be good to have a cave just for official business, to which we could direct crows and other messengers. And in the neighbouring caves, we could have you and your helpers." That would eliminate tablets being delivered to his door.

"We could use the Throne Hall."

"We have a Throne Hall?"

Beelzebub nodded.

"Why wasn't I informed about it?"

"You were my lord."

So, it was one of those occasions when he tuned the creature out. Samael made a gesture. "Show me."

Beelzebub led him to the cave closest to the bridge's entrance.

It was a large cave, with a platform and three stairs at the far end of it. A stone throne was on it, with lean columns behind the throne and at the side of the platform. With thicker-looking ones lining the side walls.

"There are a lot of columns."

"We thought you liked them." A flash of panic crossed Beelzebub's face.

"I do," Samael said. "I do. They are wonderful. I like them. I'm just asking."

The panic on Beelzebub's face subsided.

"This cave could work." Samael nodded as he walked around the space. He pointed at the corner at the front of the cave. "Just toss the tablets here. Oh, and go over them, see if there is anything important and in need of my immediate attention."

"Yes, my lord."

"I'll leave you to it." Samael smiled at Beelzebub before he left the cave, quite pleased with himself at the way how quickly he could resolve this troublesome situation. But that was only because he had somebody competent at his disposal. He really needed to reward him. But how? With what? Was there anything Beelzebub desired? Well, he would just ask that bird creature that was almost always by Beelzebub's side the next time he saw him.

But Samael's good mood didn't last long. A few hours later, while he was having a small chat with his little apple tree, a knock on his door interrupted him. It was Gabriel. "Yes."

"You have been ignoring the Second Heaven's messages."

"My working hours are on Monday and Wednesday. Today is Friday. You're interrupting my private time." Samael gave him a fake smile before he was about to close the door.

Gabriel put a foot between the door and the doorjamb.

Samael narrowed his eyes at him.

"I'm not here for my amusement." Gabriel sighed. "I have company. They need to consult with you. And since you refuse to leave the Sixth Heaven."

"My working hours are on Monday and Wednesday," Samael repeated. His eyes lowered to Gabriel's foot before they lifted to Gabriel's face. "Remove your leg."

"Could you please–"

"No."

"They will insist."

"Let them." It's not as if they could enter the Sixth Heaven without his permission. If it was up to him, that would have applied to Gabriel, too. But God requested to make an exception for Gabriel.

A painful expression layered Gabriel's face. "Please. Make an exception, just this time. Zaphkiel will be indebted to you."

"Oh." Samael tilted his head. "Is Zelel here, personally?" Zaphkiel, whose name meant God's knowledge, was the unofficial leader of Thrones. Though everybody but Gabriel and God called him Zelel.

"Yes, she came with Ayinwawshinyodel and Mitzrael."

He got along quite well with Zelel and Ayinel, but Mity fell into a group of those incompetent snobbish know-it-all who liked to look down on everybody but God, Lucifer, and a few Thrones. And now here he was, begging for permission to enter. A wide smile upturned Samael's mouth. "Well, if it's Zelel... I guess I can organise a little gathering."

And with a little gathering, Samael meant a big reception in the Throne Hall, with all the Shadows present, with Beelzebub and his helpers standing behind the throne and him lounging on the throne. A group of Shadows escorted the angels to the cave and then to the throne. The Shadows had sticks in their hands, paws, and wings, with the tips pointed at the three angels.

Samael combed a blond curl off his face and a graceful smile embellished his face at the sight. It looked... simply beautiful, especially that ugly expression on Mity's face.

The angels stopped before the throne.

"Thank you for welcoming us." With her forefinger, Zelel, who was a petite blond with short hair, pushed the tip of the stick that was before her face aside. Like all angels, she was wearing a long white tunic. "Especially since, as we learned, it's outside of your working hours."

"What was so urgent that it couldn't wait?" Samael straightened.

"It's about Lucifer," Ayinel said. He was a lean man with long chestnut-brown hair that was tied in a low ponytail.

"Ah."

Mity, who stood behind Zelel, whispered to Ayinel, who stood beside her. He was, like Ayinel, a lean brunet, only his long hair was more light brown compared to Ayinel's. Deep furrows creased his forehead, while lines etched the corners of his mouth and eyes. Likely the result of his perpetual disapproval and habit of looking down his nose at others.

Ayinel glared at him.

Samael stood and walked down the three stairs. "I'm not part of the Second Heaven anymore."

The Shadows at Zelel's side moved backwards. They still held the tips of their long sticks aimed at the three angels. Zelel opened her mouth to say something.

"Even when I was, I never had authority over Lucifer." That workaholic God's worshipper only listened to God. "I'm afraid whatever it is, I can't help you."

"I told you, he will not help us," Mity hissed to Zelel.

Zelel half turned and said something to Mity.

Samael lifted his hand and admired his nails. They were quite long now. He should probably imagine them shorter.

Ayinel cleared his throat and stepped closer to Samael.

A Shadow blocked his path, the tip of his stick just before Ayinel's eyes.

Ayinel moved the tip aside. "Can I talk with you?" He glanced at the Shadows before his eyes were back on Samael. "Privately."

"If you must." Samael tilted his head in a "follow me" and walked towards the entrance. He could hear a commotion behind him as Mity started to follow Ayinel, but Zelel prevented him.

Ayinel overran Samael at the entrance and walked with him down the hallway. The first moments were spent in silence.

Samael glanced at the angel.

Ayinel smiled. "Sorry to bother you."

"You're not sorry at all."

"I am." Ayinel wrinkled his nose. "But you are the only one who, besides God, can influence Lucifer."

"Can I really?"

"We both know you can."

More like manipulate. "What did she do this time?"

"She proposed to have angels watching over the humans."

Samael gave the angel a side glance. "But you're already doing that."

"Not in the proximity she has proposed. She wants angels to be present in the Fifth Heaven permanently, in human's full view."

"Maybe that's not such a bad idea."

It was Ayinel who gave him a side glance now.

"What? She only wants humans to follow and worship God. She wishes to guide their actions so they don't disappoint God."

"It doesn't work this way, you know very well yourself," Ayinel sighed. "With the way how stubborn Lucifer is, she's going to make a big mess."

"Yes, most likely." Samael nodded.

"She's probably going to kill them all."

"Most likely, yes," Samael said.

"You don't see that as a problem?"

"No, not really."

Ayinel gave him a look.

"What?"

"Humans and creations are closely connected. It can cause a collapse of creations."

"So?" Samael said. "God can create another."

"Can she really?"

"Can't she?" Samael asked.

"As one of the first angels, shouldn't you know that better than me?"

"I'm not God. I'm not all-knowing." Samael furrowed his eyebrows and stopped. "Listen, there're a lot of things that I don't care about. This is one of them. As somebody who knows me quite well, you should be aware of that. So why are you really bothering me with this?"

"This is going to be a disaster; I know it. Zelel and the rest of the Thrones and Cherubs feel the same."

"What did God say?"

"Despite our objections, she's thinking about it. Which means Lucifer is going to have her way, eventually."

"She just can't refuse her," Samael commented.

Ayinel made a sound of agreement.

A long moment of silence.

Samael broke it. "I'll talk with Lucifer. And if that doesn't help. I'll talk with God."

"Thank you."

Samael gave him a small smile. "Don't thank me yet."