For a moment no one said a word. The humans looked absolutely stunned, although some made no reaction at all, possibly possessed by evil so that the appearance of Satan wasn't a shock to them. The demons were smiling but they seemed uneasy, fear glinting in their eyes as they faced their leader. Encounters with Lucifer didn't usually end well for them but they had no reason to worry. I was the only one occupying his attention at the minute. 

Robbins, on the other hand, look horrified. She made a cross signal against her chest and stepped back, gaping widely at the rift in the ground as her attention finally moved away from the man she thought was Dev. 

Maximus just stood there looking smug, blinding arrogance sweeping over his expression. I couldn't exactly brag about my position now but at least I was about to die in dignity, whereas he would become another one of Satan's puppets- a figure who believed he would gain power only to realise the master of evil didn't share. I could see that now. What true power had I ever gained doing Satan's bidding? I now had no one to go to my defence: they were all either dead or had turned their backs on me. Everything I thought I had was nothing: a house built on sand. 

I took a step closer to the rift and looked downwards, preparing myself to meet my end. At the bottom of the sheer drop I could see the scarlet haze of Hell pouring out from the centre of the Earth, and if I listened close enough I could hear the on-going screams of torture raging from within. I quickly took a step back. I didn't want to listen to that when I was so close to death. 

"Greetings Lucifer," I spoke out, trying to keep my voice calm. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" 

A ghostly snarl rose from the crack and everyone, even Maximus, trembled visibly. "I am here, Mr Axon, to make you an offer." 

I raised my eyebrows. This didn't sound good. 

"You have been bested by my strategy. My demonic forces stop you from escape and you have nowhere left to go, no one left to run to. The only logical thing you can do now is surrender." I stayed silent, waiting for him to continue as I tried to ignore the powerful hopelessness that stemmed from his words. I really had no options left. "Yet despite your unforgivable betrayal and blaspheme towards me, after you give up Il Libro Dei Demoni I will spare your life." 

I frowned. "What's the catch?" 

"You know me too well," he let out a ghostly cackle and we all shivered again. "Firstly, you will have to kill the pest Robbins for wielding the book against the forces of Hell. As we both know, your hybrid predicament allows you to have the means to do this, so I would not excuse any failure to commit this murder." 

Robbins gasped from besides me but I didn't even register her. Lucifer was right, of course. If a demon killed a human being the Creator would burn them on the spot, but because I was half-human I could kill anyone I wanted to; hence why Satan forced me to kill twenty people at the beginning of all of this, when I was taken away and forced into a life of cruelty. It was what made me truly dangerous to the human race. I could directly take their lives whilst other demons could only possess, deceive or injure.

And, as I thought about it, that must've been the reason why Satan was bargaining with me. I was a source of great power and, therefore, could be a source of great evil and destruction. It wasn't in Lucifer's best interest to lose such a valuable asset. 

Yet the human part of me had always caused me to show restraint so my potential, according to Satan, had been wasted. 

"Is that it?" 

"Of course not." 

I narrowed my eyes. 

"After you have done this I then want you to go on a killing spree and become the most notorious serial killer in the world, showing no mercy or weakness, until I've deemed that enough have died. And when this is finished you must do one last thing to save yourself, to redeem your terrible actions." 

I felt like throwing up and I tried to keep the queasiness out of my voice. "What is it?" 

"You must give up the human part of your soul and become purely demonic." 

There was a silence for a moment. Everyone around me waited with bated breath for my response, their curiosity burning to be answered. I turned around for a second to look at Robbins, who eyes shone with panic and fear, before focusing back on the rift in front of me. I knew what I had to do.

"So you want me to kill a load of people and then lose my soul, for the purpose of saving my life now and helping you become the Antichrist?" I asked, before letting out a load chuckle. "I don't think so. I'd rather die." 

"Fool!" Satan boomed, the power of his voice almost shattering my ear drums as his anger shook every one of us. "I suppose you will die fighting; a true idiot's end!" 

I shrugged. "Yeah. That's exactly what I'm going to do." Robbins and I smiled at each other, a new sense of bravery flowing within the both of us. 

Lucifer cackled harshly. "Do you think you have any chance against my men? I don't think you have realised the full extent of your actions. It is not only us that you have betrayed, but yourself too."

"What do you mean?" 

"The demon within you, the one you share a body with. You have betrayed him. By choosing to do good and defy me he is fading within, and without him your power disappears." 

I frowned. I was about to retort and tell him that the demon within was definitely present, poisoning my dreams and desires with his darkness, but something stopped me. Had he actually been that present? 

Ever since the amazing holiday with Carmen, I hadn't noticed the change that usually occurred when day turned to night. I hadn't noticed my thoughts becoming darker in any way, or my morals disappearing to nothing. I'd just assumed he was being nicer for some reason, but as I began to think about it I realised that didn't make any sense. He wasn't nice. He destroyed. He killed. He tortured. 

It didn't correlate with the man who had been bandaging friends' legs; taking Carmen out to expensive bars purely for her own enjoyment; siding with Christians over his own kind. For the past couple of weeks, he hadn't been a part of my life. 

"So is my demonic half dead?" I asked with a hope I had no right to have.

"Of course not," Satan sneered, leering at me from down below. "He can only die when you die. You have just forced him into dormancy. I can still kill you and make you burn in Hell forever." 

My chest deflated like the shattering of a glass balloon and I shook my head at myself, feeling annoyed for being so foolish. Life would never be that easy. "Oh well, I guess I can still use some of my power then." 

"I think you might want to reconsider Lord Lucifer's offer, Roman," Maximus interrupted, grinning broadly at me as he got his chance to speak again. 

I rolled my eyes. "And why is that?" 

He gave me a sinister smirk, before making a signal at two guards next to one of the five cars he wasn't driving in. One of the humans pulled open a door and yanked something inside of it out. 

Robbins let out a shocked gasp from beside me and I stiffened suddenly, rage and fear and pain burning through me at a hundred miles an hour, killing my already burdened body. I couldn't believe my eyes. 

I thought she was safe. 

"Hi," Carmen said nervously, as the two men walked her towards us with both of their guns pointing directly at her. "Sorry: I got captured."