Mictain laughed bitterly. "Well done," he said, "lecturing to a demon how our purpose is to look after each other. I wasn't too good at that even back when I was an angel, and now I couldn't care less." Uriel's face flashed in his mind's eye, and he smiled wryly. No, he'd never been too good at looking after others.

"I guess I will, though," he said, accepting her hand and standing up. "If not for anything else, then at least to show those idiots that the last word hasn't been said yet."