“How? How could you ever think that anything you might have to say would change my mind about having to die?”

I was yelling again, my voice ringing off of the stone walls and filling the room to bursting. Panic had gripped me once again. I'd all but given up on the possibility that they wanted me dead. It had run through my mind quite a few times, of course it had, but there had been ample opportunities to get it done with and as of yet I was still alive and kicking. If they'd really wanted me dead surely they wouldn't beat around the bush about it so much. I was wanted out of the way, but no, Malick was making this up now. Besides if this was how he went about killing someone he sucked at it, at this rate it would take years to be insulted to death.

“Trust me, it might actually sound more appealing than the alternative.”

“What alternative?”

“Oh, banishment maybe.” Malick shrugged. To be fair that really didn't sound as bad as death, he was going to have to do better than that, and I think he read that in my face. “Eternal imprisonment in the shadow cells? I'm sure Lucifer can think of something creative, he may need you out of the way but he's also determined to see you live out a very long, natural life. And we've got plenty of places down here to hide you away for a very long time.”

“Oh for fucks sake you little worm, can't you stop goading the girl and just spite out what it is you're so obviously desperate to tell us.”

Frank took two steps away from the doorway and his tall, crooked form filled the room; casting us even more into shadow. “We know she's not the only one all of this concerns, hell if you're actually telling the truth it;s about the whole damn population down here. So spill it, because your scaremongering isn't doing anything but make us all loathe you even more.”

I watched Malick closely as he craned his neck upwards so he could look the Whisperer in the face. Something flickered through the old cleric, a shade of unease colouring his demeanour. He may have ranked more highly than all of us in Hell's hierarchy, being the head Cleric and Lucifer's right hand, but Frank was more powerful, more dangerous. Malick may have had more magic tricks up his sleeve than all three of us put together, but the Whisperer had the strength to pop his head off his shoulders before he could so much as incant one of them. I'd certainly been right in thinking that Frank's involvement in this being irreversibly cemented had made him much more dangerous; I was just glad it wasn't me he was staring down.

“Fine,” Malick said through gritted teeth, “as you so insist.”

He turned his chin down and looked back to me, his beady eyes gazing down his long pointed nose, with a curl of his lips; showing his distaste to me when he would not dare show it to Frank.

“When you were created, Lucifer had a theory. Some humans are much more susceptible to the corruption of demonic blood than others, that's why we get such a mixed bag of Hybrids come out of the breeding programme. Not all of the human parts of their DNA mesh too well with the demonic. Over the years we've developed a good system for recognising suitable candidates, perfected the creation by thoroughly researching the mothers.

“The purer the human blood the more successful the creation, that is generally the rule. It was a fun theory to test over the years, and it turns out that those most susceptible to the taint are indeed the ones most pure of heart. The only ones we had not experimented with, were those with excessive religious convictions. I'm not talking about mere belief, a dedication to a certain religion, but those who have made their faith their very life, their one true calling if it could be called that. The woman, I suppose we could call her your mother, was destined to be sainted, so the soothsayers foretold.”

I frowned. He was rambling on, and it was all very interesting in a way I supposed, but it certainly wasn't anywhere close to changing my mind about dying. The expression I wore must not have been what Malick was expecting to see and he signed in frustration. He shook his head, clearly irritated that I was not grasping the greater meaning in his words. It was all right for him, having the inside scoop on everything going on in Hell, the rest of us needed a little more help to fill in the blanks.

“Lucifer wanted to test a new theory. The ultimate good, so to speak – at least as good as one can get and still be human – and the ultimate evil, himself. He believed it would create the 'Ultimate Hybrid', you were a sore disappointment I must say.”

I scowled at Malick. I knew he didn't like me, but did he really have to keep picking at my shortcomings?

“You were to be raised in Hell, so all of the influence on your upbringing would be demonic, and then, when your true power was known you would be his greatest ally and weapon. Your display of actual power was disappointing, you were no more than a very average Hybrid, but the Prophecy that was made shortly after your birth was more troubling.”

Finally he was getting to the point, and I actually found myself leaning closer in anticipation; the truth dangling barely a foot away across the expanse of Malick's desk.

“This prophecy was the one that told of the Revelator's Requiem, the death of the one who would reveal Hell's corruption and bring about a change. Retribution for all of those souls Lucifer claimed before their time.”

“And that...is me?” I asked, not sure that the reality of his words had quite sunk in. I couldn't do all of that, I wasn't anywhere near powerful enough.

“Yes, you, believe it or not. You, the Abomination that was created to further Lucifer's selfish agenda, back fires against it's creator. Admittedly you're not much of a match for him now, nor can you do it alone, but once we've purged that pesky human body of yours and unleashed the full nature of your power, the tables will most certainly be turned in our favour.”

“But how can it? If I'm dead how can I suddenly be more powerful than I am now, I'll be dead.” I shook my head, what he was suggesting sounded like an insane fancy, something cooked up just to mess with me, get me to walk willingly into my own death so he could have a good laugh about me afterwards.

“Did you learn nothing in all of the years Lucifer kept you working?” Malick shook his head. “He was determined to make you useful, and keep you alive at the same time of course. I wonder if he ever realised quite how dense and useless you really are. I just hope that in death you prove to be far less of a disappointment.”

His diatribe was tiresome. I had to grit my teeth to keep myself quiet when all I really wanted tot do was yell back my own flurry of insults. If I shouted at him would he still continue to explain what I needed to know, or would he just cut the chatter and kill me then and there? My need to know all the facts, so that I might somehow get away from Malick with my life and soul still in tact out weighed my desire to kick the unpleasant old demon in the teeth. So I kept quiet. Who knew, if I was lucky, maybe there would be a chance to kick him later.

“Human bodies die here all the time. Their souls, however, are eternal, and the magic of Hell gives them shape and form. How else do we punish the wicked for all of their sins. You would be no different. Destroy the body, and your soul, given to you by that saintly human mother, will live on. Only you won't be punished, rather we will restore order to this place, bring back the balance of our own world. Now won't that be nice.”

It was an amazing thought. I wasn't exactly sure how to look at it, was he telling me the truth? It was hard to trust Malick. Everything he said may have finally slotted most of the pieces together, but was it all real or not? He was good at fabricating stories, that much was very clear. Lucifer had trusted him and that had come back to bite him. Okay, so maybe Lucifer didn't exactly have the best of intentions, but anyone should be able to have faith in those whom they've placed their trust, regardless, shouldn't they?

So many thoughts were rioting in my head and I found no words to say. What was there to say? While the thought of what Lucifer might do should his new plan – which Malick still had not yet divulged in us – came to fruition was scary, was it enough to convince me that dying was my best option. Was I confident I would even come back from that, Malick may have been insistent but I wasn't convinced, and if I did would I really be capable of stopping Lucifer in his plans, of 'revealing Hell's corruptions' as the Cleric had worded it. The concept of the Revelator was somewhat clearer, but I still wasn't sure I could go through with such a thing. It seemed to me that I was still missing something.

“What do you mean 'we'?”

“Excuse me?” Malick sneered at Frank, hating that the demon had dared to question him.

“You said 'we' and 'our',” Frank went on, “what do you mean by that? You can't think we're about to let you be any part of this, we're not just going to do whatever you tell us now. I think we've moved beyond all of that.”

“You will not have a choice in the matter. Anyway, this is nothing to do with you, Whisperer, I'm not even sure what you're still doing here.”

I frowned. “But the Triangle that the prophecy talked about, surely this has as much to do with Frank as it does with me.”

Something shifted in Malick's expression, a nervousness and unease as his beady black eyes flicked between Frank and myself.

“Why you sneaky little bastard.” Frank spat as he approached the desk, looming over Malick with a face torn between amusement and fury. “You think it'll be you. You think you'll become the demon element of the triangle if you're the one to kill her.”

“What,” I yelled, jumping up out of my seat, the nerves rushing through me reaching boiling point.

Malick held his silence for a moment as the anxiety slowly melted from his face, replaced by a sinister grin that showed off his yellowing, crooked teeth. “Of course. Now aren't you glad of the opportunity to get out of this? No ties, a fresh start, nothing more to do with her.”

I shook my head. No, no he could not do this to me. He could not strip me of my strongest ally. I knew Frank would be tempted by the offer. He didn't want to be involved in all of this, and Malick had just offered him the perfect escape. The thought that he might abandon me now was horrifying. I should have been used to it by now, but the desperation I felt was crushing.

“No!” I screeched. Shocked at the sound my own voice could make. “No, you can't abandon me here, with him. He...he's planning something, I just know it. Please Frank, please, don't leave me here like this.”

“See, now aren't you sick of hearing that whining? Take the out, let me take care of all of this.” Malick's voice was soft, coaxing, and I was so scared that Frank was about to march straight out of the door never to be seen again, when he did something entirely unexpected.

Frank laughed. A loud and dark rumbling that shook the furniture. “Oh, you're right love, he certainly is up to something, and I don't like it one bit.”

In a move so quick and sudden it made me jump, Frank reached over the desk with one long arm and took a swipe at Malick. The old Cleric never saw it coming. He was lifted from his wooden chair by the force of the blow and fell to the floor; the smile still on his face as it collided with the stone. My breath caught in my chest, barely believing what I was witnessing. I watched on as Frank took two steps around the desk, scooped Malick's limp and groaning body off of the floor as if it were a rag doll. He took the demon's head in one of his long-fingered hands, gripping the Cleric's robe with the other, and slammed him hard against the wall.

His skull made a sickening crack and the demon ceased to moan any more. Frank dropped him unceremoniously to the ground.

“What?” Lucas gasped, breaking his silence and breathing as hard as I was myself. He took in a deep breath of air and tried again to speak. “What did you do that for?”

We both looked at Frank. Although I felt a very sick sense of satisfaction in what he had just done, I felt it probably did deserve an explanation; especially when I had been fully expecting him to leave us.

“Didn't you hear him? He planned to make himself a part of the Triangle, instead of me.”

Our pair of blank faces revealed quite how much more of our situation Frank had grasped from Malick's story than we had.

“But I thought that had already been formed?” I was certain that was what he'd said earlier.

“I just assumed that was the case, Malick's story, however, changed my mind. It's all about power, love. You as the Revelator can't bring about the change on your own, he said that himself, the aspects of the Triangle will be the ones with the power, and Malick wanted it for himself. I'd bet any money he also planned to do away with the meat bag and pretty boy over there just as soon as you were dead, claim all the power for himself.”

“Wait, me? What's this got to do with me?” Lucas asked, “I'm just here to help out, I'm not involved.”

“No pretty boy, you most certainly are involved. You were the Hybrid aspect in Malick's plans, that's why he had you come here to find us, why he made you tell him where we were.” I took in the expression on Lucas' face as Frank spoke to him, the idea's he was planting coming to life as Lucas realised quite how close he may have come to his own death. At least I now had someone who might sympathise with me.

“So the Hybrid aspect isn't me then?” I said suddenly.

“Like I said, love, I made an assumption on the information I had available, not quite all of it was right, so sue me. At least him over there managed to connect a few of the dots. I didn't realise what was really going on until pretty boy over there gave us away. Then it started to slot together.”

“So...I'm just the Abomination then,” I said. I couldn't help the disappointment that crept through in my voice. It wasn't exactly the most encouraging of titles to be given.

“Exactly. The Abomination of Lucifer's own creating, destined to become the Revelator, and his undoing. Your blood, when the human body dies will bind the Triangle, giving it the power it needs to bring about the changes...”

“How do you know it's blood?” I cut across Frank, not liking where his words were taking up, but at the same time slowly believing I couldn't keep denying them for much longer.

“Because it's always blood, love. In all things it always comes back to blood in one way or another. Blood and sacrifice gives magic power, gives us the power, and when your soul is reborn in it's true form, love, you will start the Revelation that puts Lucifer back in his place.”

“Yeah, if everything Malick said is true. I still don't trust what he said what if I just die and all of this is a big pile of horse shit!”

“That, love, is a risk we're just going to have to take.”

“You mean that I'm going to have to take. I'm the one that'll be dead if this doesn't work out, nothing will happen to you two.”

“Nothing will happen to us? Love, I just crushed Malick's skull into the wall, you really think he's going to take that laying down? If we get through this to the Revelation, it's not going to be just Lucifer we'll have to contend with. But, we'll have the power to deal with it, together.”

A low and keening moan came from the edge of the room, and the sound of Malick's battered body shifting on the floor drew our attention.

“Damn, he regenerates fucking fast,” I exclaimed, “we need to get out of here. Whatever happens, Malick is not getting his hands on a single drop of my blood.”