It felt like I had been hit by a truck. Sarah had been made for Michael. No wonder she was so virtuous.

"Explain to me how it is that I was made for one and given to another. And I still don't understand this whole making humans thing. Is breeding with their own kind not good enough?"

Sarah seemed to be getting angrier by the second. It was nothing new; most people walked away from a meeting with Elstrach rather angry. He told the cold and hard reality of life and didn't shy away from it either.

"Deities do breed with each other, my lady. However, they have the option to select a mate to be made for them when they reach a certain age or level in the hierarchy. You must understand, there are only so many deities and there isn't a lot of talk of more so when the majority of them are partnered or not what another sees as worthy, they take this option. Michael offered his preferences, and they modelled a base prototype. Upon looking over the details of you and your life, he deemed you flawed based on the future that he foresaw."

Sarah sneered at him. "Flawed?" She spat out.

Oh dear, I do hope I get to see the next broken nose she gives him.

"In the eyes of a deity my lady, being flawed isn't what you would imagine. Upon seeing your future he saw that you held issues about heaven and hell, your belief of religion was in his opinion, lacking. Heaven requires one hundred percent devotion, and you did not comply. But he did not cast you away; he had a much darker plan for you. After the debacle regarding the Gates, Michael decided that a little underhanded revenge was in order. He had the makers of the created plan you for Anton, altering your appearance to his liking but keeping the same mind. To Michael, you were perfect for the devil, unable to accept hell because you would be placed with extremely devout parents. So devout that it actually pushed you into atheism. Could you imagine an atheist queen sitting beside the king of hell?"

Sarah, an atheist. It wasn't true, she still believed in religion, she just wasn't overly fond of it. But I guess for Michael it was enough to cast her away. More fool him, I think she is incredible.

"But the problem is, Michael was so consumed with creating the beauty that would enslave Anton and the personality that would turn him away, he didn't see what he was really doing. You were made good and pure to annoy Anton; you were placed in a religious household to ensure that you saw the devil as the enemy and again, making life difficult for Anton. His soul seeing him as the enemy, how cruel could they be?"

Elstrach smiled again, his hands gripping the ends of the armrests.

"But I don't see him as the enemy. Sure I had confused thoughts but I never once shied away from him."

"That's because you turned away from your family and their religion. In doing that you became more open to suggestion, easier for Anton to persuade. You were a broken soul because of the lack of affection from your parents who I might add, sensed that you were not normal. They could see a human child before them, but deep down they knew you weren't right. So Michael thinks that all is well, you're being raised in your own nightmare and Anton is preoccupied. Time passes, and everyone becomes complacent. They stop watching. One day Michael is strolling around and overhears someone talking about the devil, so naturally, stops and listens. He hears that the devil was seen walking through the streets, hand in hand with a rather tempting morsel. Michael rushes to where the girl was placed and finds dead parents and a sister living beyond her means."

Taking a casual glance at Sarah, I saw subdued mirth. My darling wife was becoming more wicked with each passing minute. But I was happy for her; she needed to know that her sister wasn't perfect.

"By the time he learns of where she has moved to and made it to New York, he realises that he's too late. So now has to beg the grand councillor to extend their absence for as long as possible. There is only so far that she can push it, suggesting that the other councillors fear the devil and his power, so Michael offers her an incentive. More power, the power to persuade, the power to walk among the deities as an infra angel, provided she succeeded with his wishes. But with giving her powers to influence, he unwittingly caused so many problems for himself. You come along and dump her into the pit, his plan fails, and he knows that you've just inherited the earth. How? How could you drop a lowly councillor into the pit and claim the Earth Anton?"

I smiled rather wickedly, happy that it had been so easy.

"Because she'd made a deal with a witch, casting a spell to ensure that her powers were escalated. She had the power of an archangel which I thought had come from an ancient spell found by the witch. Had I realised that twinkle toes were hanging around like a bad smell, I would have been a little more careful."

Like not claiming the Earth as my own for starters.

"She was greedy Elstrach. Instead of doing what she was told she hungered for more. I do believe she's having a lovely time in the Lake, would you like to go and say hello?"

"No thanks." Elstrach offered with a haughty sniff. "I thought that the spells of the ancient were safely locked away."

"It was my understanding that they were, but thieves are so brazen these days. Who knows what tricks they have up their nefarious sleeves?"

He nodded as he tented his fingers, musing for a moment.

"So that leaves us with an angel who has his fingerprints on a rather nasty situation. Fearing that he's about to get into a lot of trouble for it, he tries to trick the devil into accepting responsibility for everything. Not so easily fooled, the devil sends him packing and thus enraging the poor thing yet again. Honestly, Anton, do you really like causing such dramas?"

"Absolutely." I offered with a wicked grin.

"And now we come to the present and in particular to your child and what he will do for the future of hell. What, if anything, do you know of the trinity of hell?"

"Sadly nothing it would seem."

Elstrach rolled his eyes, pressing those tented fingers together slightly.

"Okay so your son, the firstborn is the one that forms the final piece of the Trinity, you will have many, and they will all have power but nothing like this one. He will be intelligent, troublesome and will be able to tempt like no other demon. Even as a child he will be able to pull power to hell and suck it away from heaven which I would suggest you teach him not to do. As much as it sounds like fun, you can't have the scales tipped so heavily. You don't want for complete imbalance, you want a dominating power, and your child will give you that. He is what strengthens the position of hell. With him, you will be able to create a new kind of demon, one that comes from the damned."

Now he had my attention; this was getting more interesting by the second.

"The rise in power gives you the ability to create a lesser demon. They are bound to your will and do exactly what you want them to all without the choice, ability to decide for themselves or capacity to think that they could do anything other than what you want. Essentially they are still the zombie-like people, but they are more coherent, enough to be able to understand and do what you want. And as an added bonus, you don't get any defiance like you do with the demons. If the time does come where you need to wage war then you will be able to do so with a mighty army, the kind that heaven has always feared."

I sat forward on my chair, gesturing to the wall behind us and in particular to the massing demons.

"Did you see them Elstrach? Did you see that they have come here to do my bidding?"

"Yes I did Anton, I am not entirely blind you know. Just because the demons have come doesn't mean you have to wage war. Preparation is the key, plan your future and ready yourself for what may be or may never be."