Solomon pressed Beelzeboul further. "If you want a respite from your labor, tell me about the things in heaven."

The prince of demons leaned forward. "If you burn gum, incense, and sea-bulbs with nard and saffron, and light seven lamps in a row while in a state of ritual purity — then at dawn, when the sun rises, you will see the heavenly dragons winding themselves along the sky, dragging the chariot of the sun."

Solomon rebuked him. "Be silent. Continue sawing the marble as I commanded." He praised God and called for the next demon.

What came before him was barely a creature. A spirit whose face floated high in the air while the rest of its body curled away like a snail. It burst through Solomon's soldiers, kicked up a terrible dust storm, and hurled it into the air to terrify the court. Solomon stood, spat on the ground, and pressed the ring of God into the dust. The wind stopped instantly.

"Who are you?" Solomon demanded.

"I am Tephras, the spirit of ashes. I bring darkness upon men. I set fire to fields. I destroy homesteads. I am busiest in summer, creeping into the corners of walls by night and day."

"Under what star do you dwell?"

"At the very tip of the moon's horn, when it hangs in the south."

"By what angel are you defeated?"

"By the archangel Azael." Solomon summoned Azael, sealed the demon, and commanded Tephras to hurl great stones up to the workers on the higher levels of the Temple.

Then came something stranger still. Seven spirits appeared before Solomon, bound together — female demons, fair in appearance, who spoke with a single voice: "We are of the thirty-six elements of the cosmic ruler of darkness."

The first said: "I am Deception. I weave snares and excite false beliefs. The angel who defeats me is Lamechalal."

The second: "I am Strife. I bring weapons — timbers, stones, blades. The angel Baruchiachel defeats me."

The third: "I am Klothod, which means Battle. I turn the well-behaved against each other. The angel Marmarath defeats me."

The fourth: "I am Jealousy. I make men forget sobriety. I tear husbands from wives, children from parents, brothers from sisters. The great angel Balthial defeats me."

The fifth: "I am Power. I raise up tyrants and tear down kings. I furnish strength to every rebel. The angel Asteraoth defeats me."

The sixth: "I am Error. I will make you err, O Solomon, as I once caused you to slay your own brother (1 Kings 2:25). I lead souls into necromancy and away from all righteousness. The angel Uriel defeats me."

The seventh spoke last and coldest of all: "I am the worst. I will impose upon you the bonds of false worship. The sacrifice of locusts to Moloch will set me free — and through that act, your kingdom will shatter."

Solomon heard them all. He sealed the seven with his ring and — because they were formidable — set them to the heaviest work of all: digging the foundations of the Temple, which stretched 250 cubits in length. With a single murmur of protest, the seven cosmic demons began to dig.