Anton was looking at a pram with a mighty frown. He leaned over and whispered to me.

"It says all terrain wheels, do you think that it covers hell?"

I laughed, shaking my head at him.

"Will we be going for walks down there?"

"Maybe. Cerberus certainly likes them. How odd will that look? The devil and his queen, the son of Satan and the hell hound, all off for a Sunday stroll through hell."

I grinned for a moment and then stopped. "Are we having a boy?"

"And how would I know that Sarah? You are only just pregnant."

"Then what's the deal with the son of Satan?"

He sighed and finally relented.

"Forgive me, my love. I had hoped to give you a surprise when the child is born, but it is true, a lovely lad for us first up then luck of the draw after that."

"Is this some kind of sexist ruler thing?"

"Only one ruler," Anton said as he tapped his sternum. "There is a reason for it. I think I read about it somewhere, something about the downfall of humanity when the son does something."

Anton waved his hand in the air, seemingly disinterested in what our naughty child was going to do in the future.

"Anton." I hissed under my breath, chasing after him.

He'd made his way to the clothing, perusing the jackets.

"Shame that hell is too warm for these. Aren't they just the cutest?"

"Who are you?" I said dryly. "The devil thinks baby clothes are cute, seriously?"

"You've made to believe a lot of lies Sarah, do not believe what you've heard about me."

Anton put the jacket back on the rack and continued, finding several little outfits to add to the growing pile.

"What is our child going to do?"

"Many great things, we shall be parents that never hinder and always praise. They can do anything and become whatever they want."

"Anton," I growled under my breath.

The sales woman was watching us. Part of me wanted to believe that she thought we were shoplifters but in reality, she was nearly eye humping my husband. She was salivating at the sight of him. I can't say as I blamed her, he was just gorgeous, but she had to back off otherwise this little person might just go a little crazy.

"Yes, my beautiful wife."

"What is our son going to do and stop changing the subject."

"This is hardly the time or the place for it Sarah."

"You said it, not me. How could you say it and not expect me to be curious?"

He nodded a little glumly as he continued to wander through the store. If we left anything behind it would be truly amazing.

"Okay my love, I will relent, but it cannot be here. Now, shall we be cloth or plastic?"

Anton held up a packet of cloth diapers with a crazy grin.

"We could bring it back into fashion my darling."

"To who? Demons that can't have children? We are nobodies to the outside world, Anton."

He pouted and put them back onto the shelf. I watched as he sulked his way around the to the next row of shelves, wondering if I should ask the Almighty for strength to deal with the devil and his mood swings.

I felt the room shift, looking around everything seemed to blur.

"Trouble in paradise?"

Turning, I saw Michael leaning on one of the glass shelves. One hand was propped under his chin as he watched on in amusement.

"Not sure on what you hope to gain Michael, all you are doing is being annoying by hanging around like a bad smell."

"I could show you heaven darling." He whispered seductively.

"I'd rather hell."

Michael flicked the waves of brown hair from his eyes, pushing the strands out of the way. The whole gesture was pointless; the hair flopped back into his stunning purple eyes. But I knew it wasn't about the hair being in his way; this was about making me look at him.

"You can leave now," I said as I began to turn.

"Did he tell you about what your child will become?"

I looked back at Michael as he moved around the glass stand, his fingers running over it.

"No." He hummed with a sly smile. "Didn't think he would. King of lies Sarah, remember that. Remember that you carry the next generation of demon spawn, he doesn't want you to know that you carry the child that is going to bring hell to the surface of Earth. He doesn't want you to know that your child will end so many innocent lives. The child inside of you will kill hundreds of thousands of humans and dark beings alike."

Clutching at my stomach, I wondered what I had done. I'd effectively brought this race to its knees and all for my own selfish need to have a child with Anton.

But as bad as it was, and yes it was awful, I couldn't get past Anton's reluctance to tell me.

"Be careful Sarah, do not think that he wouldn't lie to you. He is a man that does as he pleases to suit his own need. You've seen it already with the downfall of the council, all that because he wanted to control his world and not bow down to the rules that have been in place for thousands of years. What was his goal with you? A marriage which he knew was wrong, how much effort did he go to for it to remain a secret from his own kind? Weren't you promised a wedding in hell, my lovely Sarah? What happened there, did you get the beautiful white dress with your friends? No, you got a shoddy wedding in some dull little office with a priest who had been banished for his crimes against his own."

Michael stopped in front of me, his fingers trailing over my cheek as he looked at me. There was so much sincerity in his eyes; it made me think that he did care. A soft smile of compassion with the dulcet tones of his voice.

"I feel so sorry for you; everyone deserves their dream wedding, especially you, dear Sarah. Then the child, a time when you should celebrate as a couple for the life that grows within but when you ask about the nature of the child, are you told? No, you are all but ignored, in favor of an easy distraction. Be strong Sarah, stand your ground and make him say what this child will become. Make him tell you about how you are carrying a mass murderer, the likes of which no mortal or immortal has ever seen. Make him tell you that you are carrying a monster."

The soft words cooed over me, the word ringing in my head like a siren. Monster.

Tears fell from my eyes as I clutched my stomach again. My child was not a monster. There was only one monster in this room, and he pretended that he was an angel. He stalked me and whispered his sweet words, pretending to be my friend.

Michael stood upright, lengthening his body supremely. Anger boiled in me as I realized how acidic his words were, how he was doing his damnedest to pull Anton and me apart. The anger swelled so dramatically that I unleashed it upon him with one mighty swing to his nose.

The room shimmered again, like a veil of ice around us shattered to the ground. Anton was staring at us; the sales clerk was frozen in her spot behind the counter.

"You bastard." I hissed at Michael. "Don't you dare come near me and spread your hate to me. There is only one liar in this room; there is only one monster. It is you and you, are no angel, you are a self-centered asshole. Go away and leave us alone."

Michael stood upright, touching at his bloodied nose.

"Another bloody nose Michael?"

His eyes narrowed at Anton as he disappeared into the air, finally going away. When the crushing reality of it all finally hit me, I fell into Anton's arms and cried.