Sarah groaned with the first bite, her eyes rolling with a huge grin.

"Damn."

Damn was right. Life became a little more awkward at that moment and I was grateful for the ability to hide beneath the cover of a table as I continued to watch her enjoy the sandwich.

"You make an amazing sandwich. Maybe I should hire you for the new lunch menu."

"Crazily enough, I have a job. You know reaper of souls, killer of dreams."

Sarah laughed, taking the glass of juice and sipping it. All the while her amused gaze was pinned to me.

"Are you not put off by it? The fact that I am what I am."

"Not really sure."

She shrugged one shoulder as her voice quietened.

"I am a demon Sarah but that does not make me a bad person. This person before you, this is who I am. Even if you were to come to me and ask for a deal then I would still be this person. I was carved from the image of man so that I could empathize with him."

"So if I said that I wanted to do a deal with the devil, what does that entail?"

I sat back in the chair and thought about how to tell her. I'd never had to explain it before. Those that came to me knew how the system worked and didn't need instruction.

"Well for starters you would want something. It would have to be something that you didn't think was possible to gain by your own means. You would approach me and tell me what you want, the powers that rule over my world decide the terms of the agreement and make an offer. If you like it, you sign it. If you don't then you reject it and make a choice to wait for another offer or nothing at all. What you ask for will dictate what you pay. Generally, it is servitude to me. Break the agreement and you end up in the pit. Burning agony, writhing pain. Punishment is cruel Sarah, you shouldn't ask for a deal from me and if there was ever a time that you do ask then read the contract."

Sarah stopped eating again, staring blankly at me. I tapped her plate, she blinked and looked a little confused.

"Eat."

"So what did this Nick guy want?"

She bit into her sandwich, looking at me with her big blue eyes. There was so much curiosity and such little fear.

"He wanted to buy his son's life. Castian had died and Nicolas gave his own life as a trade. The contract for his deal was different Sarah. Sacrifice means so much to those in my world. To give your life so that another can live is a grand and noble gesture. It earned him a fine position as my right hand and though he does not know it, there is little wrong he could do."

"And Rowan?"

"Ahh, now she earned a gifting contract. She knew the rules because Nicolas had warned her not to trust an agreement. Rowan came in and was straight down the line with what she wanted and what she was prepared to offer. Determination coupled with gifting her humanity so that she and Nicolas could have a child. No hidden clauses, nothing nasty. Exactly as she wanted with no variances."

Sarah frowned as she chewed, her eyes darting up to me as she swallowed the food.

"How come they couldn't have kids?"

"Nicolas was a demon by that stage. It is a trait of all demons to ensure there is no breeding."

Casually her finger flicked out to me, an eyebrow raised. "Does that include you?"

I shook my head with a smile.

"I am the demon, not a demon."

"Well that certainly clears everything up." she said dryly and then rolled her eyes.

Cerberus had his head on my lap again, his brown eyes staring up at me. No matter how much I tried to ignore him he would always gain my attention. With a huff, I pulled a piece of chicken out of the sandwich and tossed it to him. It was like he inhaled it, I doubted it touched the sides as it went down.

"The demons, they are the ones that have traded their lives for a deal. All that went with their lives, including the ability to have children. I did not make a deal, therefore, I can have children. Does that make things clearer?"

"Yep."

I looked at her plate, empty. She drank the last of the juice and sat back on her seat with a satisfied smile.

"How old are you?"

"Really old. I stopped counting because it was depressing."

She chuckled and I found myself smiling. Crazy.

"So I'm guessing as old as the earth itself, right? Because you would have been created along with the creatures and man himself. Tempting him and Eve in the garden."

"I did no such thing."

I tried to look away with a disgusted pout but knew I was being watched which made me smile.

"Who said that even happened? Sounds like a lot of inbreeding if all humans came from one man and woman. Didn't she come from his rib? Even more inbreeding." I scoffed.

"Is it real?"

Her face was plain with no emotion showing, staring at me as she waited for me to answer.

"What Adam and Eve?"

"All of it, them, the bible... everything."

"Wouldn't have a clue. I never read the bible."

She fell back into the seat, her lips twitched with a slight sneer.

"I'd spent years as a child being told it was. My parents disowned me because I told them that I didn't believe in it. They called me a heretic."

"And look at you now. Having lunch with the devil. How scandalous."

Sarah giggled, her fingers playing with the crumbs on her plate.

"They're dead anyway so it doesn't matter."

"Sorry to hear that."

"Why? I'm not. They thought that me breathing was a sin."

"I doubt that's true."

She shrugged, her eyes downcast. Cerberus whined as he looked up at me.

"Somewhere there would have been love."

"Yeah, for my sister. The apple of their eye. If it wasn't for the fact that the lawyer told her to give me money I'd have nothing. They left everything to her. One final dig at Sarah from beyond the grave. She wrote the check out and told me that she hated to waste money but because the lawyer was so insistent she obliged him and gave me a charitable handout. I couldn't stand to be near her or even the town where we lived. So I moved states to be as far away from her as possible. So yeah, they loved their daughter. Shame it wasn't both of them."

Cerberus moved back as I sat forward on the chair, taking Sarah's hands into mine.

"They were fools."

I turned her hands over so that the palms were up, shaping them into a cup formation.

"Even when trodden upon, the flower can grow out from the dirt and blossom into something amazing."

Her eyes widened as her hands filled with dirt. It was dark and rich with nutrients, slowly one little green spark appeared. Curling out from the dirt it grew higher and wider, leaves slowly unfurling.

"Strong and vibrant, determined to thrive, refusing to give up."

The bud appeared at the end of the long and firm stem, the petals opened out to a glorious red rose. Tears welled in her eyes as her lips pressed together so hard they were almost white from the pressure.

"Ignore those that are not worth your time Sarah. Life is too short to waste time caring what they think."

She nodded as the tears tripped out, sliding down her cheek. I pulled her hands apart, the dirt falling and disappearing. Catching the rose I passed it to her with a smile.

"They might not have been able to see it but the rest of the world can. Your sister was jealous of you and your beauty. She's not as pretty as you are."

"How would you know that?" she asked as she wiped the tears away.

"Uh, I'm the devil Sarah. I see all."

"Oh my god." she groaned. "You cannot look into my apartment okay?"

I grinned, desperately wanting to tell her that I'd already seen all that I needed and didn't need to go peeking. Such a dirty thing you are my mind whispered its terrible truth.