Dawn was already breaking with the first dull light of the day as Samanael - still slightly unsteady on her feet - staggered along between the university buildings. This time she took the shortest route to her dormitory. When she had finally crawled out of the ventilation shaft after countless falls and seemingly endless climbs, she had first retreated exhausted into a bush and assumed her usual appearance. A couple of strange figures in black pyjamas had come by briefly and waved their katanas around menacingly, but when they realized that she was too exhausted to react, they had just handed her a box of aspirin and then disappeared back into the shadows.

Sam had spent some time healing herself. Of course, in principle it was easier than with strangers, since she knew her own body better and angels were much less complicated than humans, but on the other hand she hadn't had as much practice in healing herself for a long time.

Now she wanted nothing more than to go to her room in the dormitory and rest for a few hours. Just because angels didn't have to sleep didn't mean they couldn't.

Unusually inattentive due to her paralyzing exhaustion, she only noticed the other student when she overtook her on the way. The slender blonde looked just as exhausted as she did as she dragged herself laboriously along the path. As she passed, Samanael looked into her eyes for a moment. They seemed somehow dull and unable to focus properly. That could be a sign of tiredness, of course, or the after-effects of a long party with too much alcohol, but something seemed odd to Sam. Carefully, so as not to startle her, Sam tapped the young woman on the shoulder: "Are you all right? Can I help?"

The student startled and turned her head towards her, still looking sleepy and distracted. "What?! Yes... No... It's okay. I just want to get home."

"You look pretty exhausted. Had a long night?"

She looked uncertain: "Must be. I don't really know. I can't remember exactly."

"What's the last thing you can remember?"

"I had just picked up my timetable and wanted to go shopping. And then there was this insanely handsome guy who stepped out of this bright light. He smiled at me and... I can't remember exactly. Maybe we were at a student party or something. Can't you just take me home?"

Sam thought for a moment and then vaguely remembered. The student was one of the two women Odwin had walked off with that morning, one on each of his muscular arms. "What's your name, anyway? I'm Samantha, but you can call me Sam if you like."

"Marie. Marie Johansson."

Sam stepped closer to her, put her arm over her shoulder and supported her a little. "Can you breathe on me for a minute, Marie?"

The young woman was far too exhausted to argue for long. She only turned her head to the side briefly and breathed towards her.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Samanael shook his head. "No alcohol, but there's something strange. If you don't feel better in the morning, you should see a doctor."

She actually wanted to say more, but how could she explain that the student's breath smelled distinctly of C minor? People couldn't hear magic and certainly couldn't smell it as a sound. She, on the other hand, could. It was something she didn't know. A mixture of magic and some unknown drug. Magically created or amplified.

When she arrived at the dormitory, she accompanied Marie to her room. As soon as she had opened the door with her key card, a head popped up in one of the two beds. "Marie, is that you? Thank goodness! I thought something had happened to you!" Marie's roommate jumped out of bed in her nightgown and came towards her excitedly: "And how do you look? Your T-shirt is back to front. And where's your belt? It took you ten minutes this morning to decide on the belt with the rhinestones."

Sam said goodbye, as Marie was now in good hands. As she turned around, she gave herself a mental slap in the face. Tired or not, she should have noticed that something was wrong with her clothes. The black jeans definitely needed a matching belt. Odwin had probably not just taken her out for tea. Sam decided to keep an eye on this guy. With a bit of luck, she might even bump into Gabriel and borrow his flaming sword. Right now, she was in the right mood for an Old Testament approach.

When she reached her own room one floor below, Sam let out a short sigh of relief. She opened the door with her key card and stepped inside. The three hours she had left before she had to get up again would be more than enough to...

Something big grabbed her and spun her in through the door and against a wall. Flailing around wildly didn't help and the thing holding her in the dark didn't even seem to notice as she thrashed and scratched at it. "Let go of me! Let go right now!"

Shortly after she started screaming, the light came on. Only now could she see what had grabbed her. The creature resembled a huge orangutan that could only fit into the room when bent over. However, it was no ordinary animal. It was completely black, as if it consisted only of shadows. In the light of the dimmed, indirect ceiling lighting, it looked like a silhouette. Only the teeth were clearly visible. White-yellow tusks framed a mouth that was barely recognizable in the larger shadow.

A sleepy female voice rang out: "What's going on? Who's there?"

"I'm Samantha Brenner and..."

The voice interrupted her and became much more alert: "And what are you doing here at this hour?"

"Hello? I live here! Would you please tell that thing to let go of me?"

"Oh, of course. I'm sorry. A delicate rosy hand wriggled out from under the comforter and waved wearily in the direction of the shadow creature: "You can let her go. It lives here too and can come and go as it pleases."

The shadow skull deformed briefly, which was probably meant to be a nod. Then Sam was gently placed on the floor and released. The creature that had just taken up most of the room folded up in a flash and disappeared under Sam's roommate's bed.

"Thank you. So I'm Samantha, but everyone calls me..."

Her roommate had already turned away again and crawled deep under her blanket. Only a wisp of naturally curly golden hair was still visible. She sounded tired and clearly disinterested: "Yes, yes. That's all right. You can tell me about it in the morning. You'll call me Jane. Your bed is over there, the blue wardrobe is yours and if you haven't turned out the light and shut up in two minutes, my shadow golem will throw you through the window."

The angel realized that this was definitely the wrong time to start a fundamental discussion. She would still have a lot of fun with this roommate.