Returning from the obelisk, he found Hadri, his former mentor in the architect program, hard at work on his latest project: a building near the Gates at the South Edge. Tentatively named the ‘Accounting Department,’ the structure would be used to house the overflow of records from the Library. Though why it was located near the Gates, on the opposite side of Heaven from the Library, Luc had no idea. In one Council meeting, Muriel had waxed on about how space near the Library was limited, given all the instructional buildings, but Luc had abstained his vote on the matter, finding this placement nonetheless absurd.
Hadri, of course, had accepted the decision in good faith, like he did all things. As the head architect on the project, he’d plunged ahead, and now the building was already halfway to completion. Perhaps it was his age or his prior proximity to the Creator—he’d been the fourth original Council member in his time—but he had none of Luc’s taste for clashing with authority, despite his similarly outlandish ideas.
The older angel had confided to Luc once, in confidence, that he thought it would be nice if the masses could access the Creator’s resources. He’d spoken of doing away with the council structure entirely, and then he’d quickly changed the subject, never one to cause trouble.
While Luc paraded his fantasies in the open, Hadri hid small but unique features in each structure he was tasked with completing. Trap doors and false backings and plain objects imbued with threads of the Creator’s powers if only someone said the right words while using them. He was ridiculous and ingenious and the only angel who made Luc feel less alone.
Though Hadri was no longer Luc’s mentor in any official sense, Luc still came to him for advice. They’d become good friends since his graduation, and he appreciated that Hadri had always treated him like an equal, even when he’d been a student.
“Hadri!” he called out as he neared the Accounting Department’s columned granite structure.
“Ah, Luc!” the older angel cried, appearing at the building’s entrance. A dopey smile formed amidst the brown curls of his full beard. “How did your presentation go?”
“A question for you first,” Luc evaded. “Did you have to erect this building on the edge of the Edge?” Luc asked, stepping under the partiallyfinished roof. He peered out of a glassless window into the chasm of darkness below.
“Not my idea.” Hadri finished measuring one side of a window and scribbled down some numbers on a piece of parchment.
“Michael?” Luc guessed.
“Oh, yes,” Hadri affirmed, twisting his fingers into his beard as he peered at his writing. He mumbled something to himself, then jotted down a few calculations. Finally, he set his work on the lone wooden desk and turned to Luc.
“So…how was the meeting? Did they like your ideas?”
“Hardly.”
“Michael?”
“Oh, yes.” Luc gave him an irritated smile.
“Oh? I’m sorry to hear that,” Hadri commiserated as he did after each and every failed presentation. Per usual, he added, “But keep chipping away at him! Michael will come around eventually; it just takes time. A lot of time. I’ve known him since we were first created, and he’s only now started warming up to me.” A deep chuckle erupted from Hadri’s belly.
Luc eyed him skeptically but couldn’t hold back his smile.
“I still don’t understand why the Council wants thishere.” He gestured to the building’s immense foundation.
“Well, you know how Michael worries about security. Perhaps he doesn’t want all the knowledge to be in one place. Easier for something to happen to it that way.”
“Security? This whole building is about to fall into the Void.”
“Not when I’m done with it. It will be as immovable as the Void itself,” Hadri assured him. He tapped the hard stone for emphasis, then paused, stroking one straggling brown curl of his magnificent beard.
Luc wanted to point out that the Creator had moved the Void quite successfully.
“I was thinking I could use a gold leaf for the lettering.” Hadri gestured to the hand-carved letters denoting the purpose of the building. “What do you think?”
“I think Michael wants me off the Council.” Luc scowled, crossing his arms and leaning sourly against the bare granite wall.
“Well, you know Michael. He’s…” Hadri gave a vague hand gesture.
“Unbearable. Loathsome,” Luc supplied.
“Single-minded.But…resolute. His commitment to the safety of us all is unwavering.”
Luc pursed his lips, swallowing his retort. He supposed Michael meant well, but…Luc couldn’t wait for the warrior’s term on the Council to end. Though with so much support from the other Council members, that seemed unlikely to happen anytime soon. Or any time at all.
Contrary to popular belief, the Creator had nothing to do with the selection or term length of each Council member. A member could only be voted in or out unanimously by the current members, and Luc knew that the current members, barring himself, would never vote Michael out. Hadri, the last member to leave, had stepped down voluntarily, and for that, Luc owed him a debt.
“Tell me the truth, Hadri. Did you think my Earth idea was silly, and you just didn’t want to discourage me? I’d rather hear it from you than from Michael.” Luc shifted on the wall and glanced out the window. Could something as magnificent as Earth really rise out of that bottomless black?
