"Aw, don't look at me like that, my boy. You've been good, haven't you?" Lazar ran his fingers through Raphael's messy curls, making a mental note to have someone deal with them soon. Untangle them a little, at least. Whatever, it worked right now. "You're always good for me, aren't you?"

These days he certainly was. Lazar always felt that smug sense of pride looking down at Raphael. The archangel. Entirely reduced to something pathetic that lived on his whims. "Someone's making a mess out of Hell. Or cleaning it up, I should say. Much worse. And he's sniffing around me. I've never been fond of mutts."

There was no need to talk this much to Raphael, yet there was also no harm in it. Like talking to a pet, really. He was simply getting his thoughts out. "Do you know of the demon Aleister? Used to be King of the Crossroads. Weasely."