When I wasn't throwing up, I looked at the last of the photos from Peaco. Allison was sitting in her car; nothing had changed. When he felt the call to return to hell, Peaco called Anton and confirmed what was required of him. Anton told him to come home, watching Allison was now pointless because we weren't living on the surface anymore.

If I could find any sadness at the moment, I might have found it with the thoughts that I'd never see Allison again. But then the crazy cackle laugh started one that made Anton look at me like I was deranged. Maybe I might be.

The crown was sitting on the table beside me, even though it wouldn't slip from my head, it was incredibly difficult to throw up with it getting in the way. Then again, being in a tight dress didn't make it any easier.

Anton handed me a cup of tea, one that smelled a little odd.

"As recommended by Catherine, soothing tea."

Felhar appeared at the doorway, clearing his throat.

"My lord, Elstrach is here."

"Excellent, send him in."

When Felhar had left, Anton picked up the crown and put it back onto my head.

"Do not doubt the difficulties of a seer Sarah, he is a cantankerous old coot, but he is also one for tradition."

"I don't know your traditions, Anton."

"You are doing fine my love, just be who you are. I was referring to the crown."

Oh. I guess that's alright then.

"I wondered when you would call for me."

I turned to the deep voice of a man that stood at the threshold of the door. Anton said old coot yet I was looking at one rather young man. He looked no older than me. The waif figure in an elegant suit crossed the room, bowing with a sardonic smirk. But aside from the handsome looks and the expensive looking suit, there was one rather freaky thing about Elstrach. Pure white eyes. They were healthy looking eyes except the iris was white, and it looked weird. Anton didn't seem fazed, so I ignored my thoughts and pretended that I wasn't staring at him.

"Congratulations on completing the trinity."

"Pardon?" Anton asked with a mighty frown.

"That is why you called me, is it not? The child makes three, the trinity of hell."

Elstrach sighed and helped himself to the seat opposite us.

"You know for the ruler of hell I would have thought you'd know your dominion."

"I know it well enough," Anton growled.

"And yet you are not aware of the power of the Trinity."

The tone of his voice was smooth as silk, sliding through the soft pink lips with little effort.

"I read the seers notes of his vision of the child."

He nodded supremely, crossing one leg over the other as he leaned back in the seat. The pensive gaze watched me as he rubbed his finger under his bottom lip.

"Ah, a seer of the future. Rather dull in my opinion."

Anton sighed softly as he leaned to my side.

"Elstrach is a seer that can see as he pleases. The past, the present or the future, there is nothing beyond his reach."

"I can also see what will happen with each decision that a person makes."

"Is there no free will?" I asked curiously.

Elstrach smiled softly and shrugged.

"I could not answer that my lady, I see a path for the future and no alternatives. What I see is clearly based on the action that a person takes and nothing more. Now, as for you two."

He gestured to us with a finger that darted from me to Anton, then curling back into his closed fist.

"You complete each other and will rule equally."

His hands rose to placate an angry man.

"Settle down." He growled. "You're still the boss man, but the lovely lady on your side is like the lieutenant you've always needed. Faithful and enduring, she will rise to meet your demands for this world and create a darker power for the underworld. Your union creates such a power that there will never be a downfall, no matter how hard your enemies try. And therein lies the problem Anton. Your union has shifted the balance, once it had been an almost perfect split, a little more on the heavenly side but still reasonably even. You now hold majority power and those that are in the know, understand that if they were to storm this place to regain power, they would fail. Ignore it, and you could take over heaven, and they would lose it all."

That was a little crazy. I wanted to plead with Anton to ensure that he never stormed heaven. This world needed balance; it needed both good and bad. As I looked at Anton I held a lot of fear for our future; he seemed rather pleased that there had been a shift in power.

"And," Elstrach continued "They cannot lock you in here, you signed a treaty, and they are bound to it. That is the reason, is it not?"

"There's another?" Anton asked rather confused.

"There is. Not so long ago I heard a whisper of a naughty creature that made his way to the gates of heaven and changed the locks. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you Anton?"

Anton grinned with a chuckle, one that made Elstrach and myself smile.

"Innocent until proven guilty."

"We're in hell, Anton. There is no innocence." He said dryly. "So that day, once the nonsense had died off and the gates were opened, the powers that watched over heaven noted that there was a rather demonly presence to the place and figured it was the man himself, causing mischief as he does. Some saw the humorous side of it and washed it away as if it was inconsequential, but others saw the reality of it. The devil could change a lock, one that is rather important. There are only a few of these locks, but each holds its own importance. There are some that should never be locked, some that it wouldn't matter either way. What really matters is who can lock them, unlock them and change them."

Anton seemed to shift uncomfortably in his seat; maybe it was the thought of locked gates that was upsetting him. He didn't want to be locked into the underworld, it was obvious.

"But changing the locks, this takes great skill. Not everyone can do it; most think that it is impossible. But there was one that tried, one that succeeded. Those that saw the reality of the prank knew that they were in serious trouble. If the prankster could change them, then he could break them. The understood how truly powerful he was and knew that it was not inconsequential, it was in fact rather horrifying for them. They formulated a plan to ensure that the devil was subdued. Faking the need for a reprisal for the gate fiasco, they waged war with the devil and let him win."

"I knew it!" Anton snapped angrily.

Elstrach nodded knowingly at Anton.

"Yes, a masterful scheme, one that would last for hundreds of years. Let him and his demons roam the Earth, let them tempt mankind and make them preoccupied with delights of the flesh. It was all going well until the unforeseeable happened. The king found his queen."

With a gesture to me, he offered a sly smirk, his eyes following the line of my body.

"When they spoke of a mate for the devil they thought he would never be interested in just one partner. They foolishly believed that if they allowed him to fraternise with the multitude of demon lovers, he would never yearn for just one soul to lay beside him. But with everything that they do, they do according to their laws. Each deity gets one soul, a life partner that completes them and enables them to reach their full potential. They planned the devil's mate without prejudice, just like the other deities he had every right to love and be loved. They looked upon those that frequented his bed and formulated what they thought would be his perfect mate. When they made her, they sent her to the land and placed her within a family that was extremely pious in a vain attempt at hiding her from you."

"Pardon?" I asked rather shocked. "What do you mean made me?"

"My lady, you are in fact a created human. Did you not know that?"

"No," I murmured. "What's a created human?"

Anton shifted in his seat as he looked from Elstrach to me, worry rippling through his features.

"You were made to be the soul of a deity, upon hearing of your union I decided to search into the records of the created, finding something rather interesting."

"What?" Anton asked rather unsure.

"She was originally made for Michael."