“Please allow me to introduce myself. I’m a man of wealth and taste. I’ve been around for a long, long year. Stolen many a man’s soul and faith.”

* The Rolling Stones

Kain closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Leave it to Kieran to put his ignorance on display. Not only that, but he had brought the attention (and ire) of the entire group down on them. It was going to be a long day. He was surprised when the answer to Ki’s question came from their new acquaintance.

“Move Lesprit,” Damon spoke quietly, eyeing the woman as though trying to decide if she was making a bad joke. Evil spirits? Now that was interesting.

“What are you on about?” Kieran asked.

“Les diables,” Damon responded simply. As this did not appear to enlighten Kieran much, Damon began to explain. Many of the smaller groups around theirs drifted in to listen, also confused.

“Legends vary widely, depending on what part of the world you are in,” he spoke to the gathered crowd, but his eyes never left the woman and her companions. “In more civilized legends, the Cardinals are similar to the Illuminati, with some claiming they are the same entity. They are supposedly responsible for controlling crime on a global scale, working from the shadows toward goals only they know.”

Several people snorted and rolled their eyes at this. Even Kain had to admit the concept was a bit far-fetched. Still, it was a fascinating theory. What he found even more interesting was that he had done some research on the Illuminati but had never come across any mention of this organization. What kind of people were they, that they could hide from the internet? His musings were brought to a swift halt, however, as Damon’s next statement made him look up sharply.

“There are other legends in the older and more primitive parts of the world,” he continued. “The bòkò in my grandfather’s village in Haiti used to tell stories of a group of powerful demons who ruled the world in secret. He said that anyone who partook of evil spirits belonged to them, whether they knew it or not.”

“We have a similar story in my country,” the man who had spoken earlier said. “The old men talk about payment to the čert. I believe there is a similar saying here in America. Something like ‘give the devil his due?’ It is all nonsense though, a simple expression. No one actually believes demons run the world.”

Several of those nearby nodded at this, a few even laughing, though the sound was hollow. After all, the idea that a group of demons or evil spirits secretly ran the world sounded exactly like the kind of superstitious nonsense holy men had been spewing for generations. The world was more evolved than that these days, wasn’t it? After the morning he’d had so far, Kain was no longer so convinced of that. A poorly muffled giggle drew everyone’s attention back to the dais, where the woman still stood, her hand covering her mouth, but not quite hiding the edges of her smile.

“Gentlemen. Ladies. What you have heard about our organization, as well as what you believe, is irrelevant. We exist. Our interests are extensive. And we have a contract available for those of you who qualify.” She smiled, letting her statement sink in. Kain was impressed with the way she brought the conversation back to topic. He also agreed with her point. It’s not like the men and women present were known for being morally selective about their clients. Kain had even joked once that he would work for the devil himself if the price was right. A job was a job.

“What is the contract, and how do we know if we qualify?” This question came from a militant-looking female with a middle eastern accent. The woman looked down at her with a smirk, as if to say it’s about time.

“What excellent questions!” The cynicism dripped from her words. “The contract itself is confidential. As for the qualifications, we are looking for the top five candidates present. Your job is to help us weed out those candidates. Your task is simple.”

As she spoke, two explosions echoed off the mountainside. Rock and heavy debris rained down, effectively blocking the only route on or off the plateau. As the dust cleared from the explosion, Kain saw the woman’s smile had grown even wider.

“Kill the other candidates.”

As she said this, dust and debris began to swirl around the platform like a maelstrom. The woman and her colleagues were completely obscured as the wind churned. Kain was pushed back by the force of the gale. He put his hands up to protect his face, but he needn’t have bothered. The swirling mass of chaos dissipated as quickly as it began. In the aftermath, the Cardinals were gone.

Kain did not waste time gawking at the display, as did most of the onlookers. His conversation with the strange man earlier that morning had left him somewhat inured to supernatural experiences for the day, and his survival instincts kicked in almost instantly. He ignored Kieran and the others in his little group, instead deciding to focus his efforts on other nearby candidates. There were five of them, after all, and they all had at least a measure of familiarity. Logic dictated they should work together, and if his logic was flawed, well, he would not live long enough to regret the mistake.

Kain sprang into motion, grabbing a nearby man by the ear and ripping the man toward him, at the same time aiming a well-placed kick into the throat of another. The man whose ear Kain had nearly ripped off was spun about by his efforts, momentarily stunned, and Kain took the opportunity to snap his neck cleanly, moving onto his next victim before the man even had time to drop. The man whose windpipe he had crushed with his kick was slowly asphyxiating as Kain stepped over his spasming body, drawing his weapon. His window of distraction was rapidly closing, and he needed to even his odds of survival quickly. The head of the woman who had asked earlier about the job’s qualifications exploded in front of him, covering him in viscera and gore as the pistol rocked in his hand. He caught her falling body, bearing it down with him as he crouched behind it. He was not the only one with a gun, he knew.

The battle devolved into chaos as Kain fired again and again, taking slow, steady shots. A lot of rounds tended to be fired recklessly in a heated gunfight, and Kain had learned years ago that a few well-placed shots could make the difference between survival and death. Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast, he recited in his mind as he took his third shot, dropping the human trafficker who had his own weapon out, and was taking aim at Damon. Kain didn’t blame the man. Damon was a big target.

Kain was taking aim again when a body fell on him from the side, this one decidedly more alive than his corpse shield. As Kain spun around to deal with this new problem, the man smashed his forehead against Kain’s temple, making his vision swim and go dark around the edges. His assailant immediately tore the gun from his hand, but Kain was not quite as stunned as the man thought. Fighting through the pain, he managed to hold the man’s arms at bay, his pistol barking twice in random directions as they struggled. Finally, the man lifted his head to smash into Kain again, and he saw his chance. He leaned forward quickly, following his opponent’s movement, and bit deep into the man’s neck. Shocked from the barbarism of the attack, the man dropped the gun and pushed away from Kain. As he did so, Kain pulled away as well, taking a chunk of the man’s throat with him. He fell back, clutching his ripped throat as frothy blood spurted out. Kain did not even pause to watch him die.

Collecting his weapon and crouching down to minimize his silhouette, Kain surveyed the carnage. Movies always failed to captivate how positively messy battlefields could be, particularly when guns were not the only method of killing used. They also did not accurately portray how quickly battles ended. Less than two minutes had passed, and already more than half of the combatants were lying dead or dying on the blood-soaked earth. Kain watched in morbid fascination as another of the candidates fell, his skull crushed by Damon’s boot. He sincerely hoped he did not end up having to fight the brute. He only had a few rounds left, after all.

He looked around at the sound of giggling, only to see Layla finish eviscerating another candidate with a pair of custom daggers, his entrails spilling out at her feet. She caught Kain’s eye and winked, before walking over to join him in his vigil. Together, they watched Raven put a throwing knife through the chest of their final opponent. To his credit, he did not go down immediately. Tough bastard, Kain thought. It mattered little, however, when a second knife went through his throat.

“And then there were five,” Kieran made the joke, blood dripping from the dual sets of brass knuckles around his fingers. He looked at Kain, whose eyes were constantly roving over his four companions. Kain saw the same question reflected in their eyes as was in his. What now?

The trust between Kain and his allies was perilously fragile, made obvious by the fact that none of them put their weapons away. They may have cooperated to eliminate the other threats on the field, but now the only remaining danger on the plateau came from the people left standing. Sure, their would-be employers had said they were looking for the five best candidates, but Kain trusted them even less than he trusted the killers standing around him now. They had effectively manipulated everyone present into attacking one another with relative ease.

Kain knew the others were working through the same thought process, trying to plan their next move in the wake of the utter chaos. He holstered his pistol, surprising the others. His reasons were two-fold. First, it looked like only Raven was sporting any type of ranged weapon, and it carried the same threat whether his pistol was in his hand or not. But the second, more pressing reason, was that if the Cardinals came back, and decided to attack Kain and his fellow survivors, they would need one another. Kain was good, and he knew it, but he had very little confidence in surviving a hostile encounter with their mysterious captors. The chances could only improve if he had capable fighters on his side.

“Look,” he began, addressing the group at large, “what Ki said is true. We are the last five, and I don’t know about y’all, but I trust these…employers of ours even less than I trust you. What do you say we table killing each other until we figure out what they want?”

The others nodded their agreement and put their weapons away for the moment. Kain could tell they weren’t any more comfortable with the situation than he was, but “the enemy of my enemy” was the best scenario any of them could conjure.

“You wound me, Mr. Hunter,” a silken voice almost hissed. Kain looked around sharply to see the Cardinals once again gathered on the dais, this time seated in plush armchairs, very similar to the ones he and the man now speaking had taken up earlier. While the incongruity of the situation was unsettling, he was prepared for it this time around. The rest of the surviving candidates were caught a bit off-guard.

“Wha-?!” Kieran started in surprise, whipping around. His outburst cut off abruptly as he beheld the absurd scene. Disbelief was etched into every line of his face as he stared at the men and women. Dressed in the same finery as when they’d disappeared, they sat calmly in their cushioned thrones amid the bloodied and broken bodies surrounding the dais, some indulging in various forms of alcohol and smoke, with one even puffing from an elaborate hookah. Damon just stood by, shaking his head. He did not even bother with an outburst. Kain wondered if perhaps he believed the stories about these people being evil spirits. It would explain his nonchalance.

Raven, on the other hand, stood very still and very tense. Kain could see the daggers that she had palmed as she eyed the Cardinals, waiting for them to make their move. Judging by their previous encounters, Kain guessed that she was used to being the ghost on the field, and it unnerved her that these people could vanish and reappear on a whim. The tense moment was swiftly broken by a peal of laughter from Kain’s side.

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“You know, you guys should really go to Vegas,” Layla said. “I bet you would really clean house!”

To everyone’s surprise, several of the Cardinals laughed at this, including the man who had addressed Kain. He looked as though he were going to respond, but one of his chuckling companions spoke up first.

“Come here, children. Let us have a look at our champions,” the man spoke with a deep, easy voice, thick with an island accent. He was large and dark-skinned, with a weathered silk top hat on his head. As Kain approached, he noticed an intricate cane leaning against the man’s thigh. It caught his attention due to the very human looking skull mounted on top of it.

“Papa Legba,” Damon nodded at the man, granting him a modicum of polite acknowledgment. Kain thought he recognized the name, but he could not quite place it. Papa Legba nodded in return, before speaking.

“Congratulations on passing your first test,” Legba continued, a pleased smile crossing his face. “Your performance was excellent, just as we expected it would be.”

The man’s comments confirmed what Kain had been suspecting since his morning meeting. He had been singled out intentionally, and it looked like his companions had as well. Apparently, they had been expected to win. That was very interesting, considering the high stakes of whatever game the Cardinals were playing. Favored or not, a stray bullet or blade was all it would have taken for the outcome of the battle to be very different. Kain could see the same questions and concerns reflected on his allies’ faces, and the indignant look on Kieran’s face was simply comical. Before he could speak, however, another of the Cardinals spoke up.

“I’m sure you whelps have a lot of questions,” the man had an eyepatch over one eye and spoke with a thick brogue, staring daggers at Kieran. “But keep your traps shut for a few seconds and you might just live long enough to learn a thing or two.”

“Now, now Balor,” the silver-tongued man in the fancy suit spoke up once again, clearly amused by the whole situation. “Play nice. They’ve no idea who we really are or why they are here. Have some patience, old friend.”

“Then why don’t you get on with explaining it?” The grumpy question came from yet another of the Cardinals, this one oddly dressed in a Victorian-era velvet suit, as if he’d just walked out of some historical film.

“Faust, you’re such a bore,” came the snarky response. “Quality dramatic build-up just isn’t appreciated anymore.”

“Lou,” the stunning woman who had addressed the candidates before the fight chastised the man, Lou apparently, in her sultry voice. “Stop teasing everyone. There will be plenty of time for play soon enough.”

There was promise in the woman’s words, and Kain was reminded of how that voice had caressed his very soul earlier. There was something very unnatural about her, Lou, and this whole situation.

“Oh, very well,” Lou rolled his eyes, before his whole demeanor changed. Gone was the antagonistic jokester. Instead, the cold, calculating man of authority that Kain had witnessed earlier now stood before them. “To business. As Balor said, I am sure you have many questions. Some will be answered presently, some at a future date, and some not at all. Faust, the employment contracts, if you will.”

The man known as Faust stepped forward, presenting a sealed scroll of parchment to each of the five remaining candidates. Kain eyed his somewhat incredulously. A scroll? Really? He looked up, giving Lou a deadpan stare. He thought he saw the man shrug slightly before he continued.

“Before we get into those contracts,” Lou began, looking around at each of the candidates, “there are certain bits of information that we must disclose about ourselves. It’s just a formality, really, but the contracts would be quite useless without full disclosure.”

He was about to continue when Kieran rolled his eyes. Apparently, he’d had enough of this nonsense.

“Let me guess. You are the devil, this contract must be signed in blood, and at the end of it you’re gonna take our souls?” To his credit, Kieran kept a straight face as he scorned the man. He began to frown, however, when the man just smiled cruelly.

“Just so, Mr. Murphy,” Lou said, obviously relishing the moment. “Only, I do not need to take your soul, boy. It already belongs to me.”

“Well then,” Kieran stared the man down as he slipped on his brass knuckles. “Why don’t you come and claim it then, ya batty old-”

“Ki.” For reasons unknown even to himself, Kain intervened on his new colleague’s behalf. “Shut up.”

Kain was unsure who the man known as Lou was, but he was fairly certain that the five of them, skilled as they were, would find themselves in an early grave if they continued antagonizing the Cardinals. If things did turn sour, and they needed to fight their way out, Kain wanted Kieran with them. To his surprise, Kieran shut his mouth, settling instead for glaring at Lou, who continued as though nothing had happened.

“I suppose the time for pleasantries has passed,” Lou was still smiling, but all traces of humor were gone from his face. “My name is Lucifer. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Layla and Raven both grinned at Kieran, who was looking thoroughly annoyed. None of them seemed to have picked up on the change of mood. Kain also noticed that Damon was not smiling. His eyes were still on the man he had identified as Papa Legba, and he looked concerned. Then, it hit Kain. He knew where he had heard the name Papa Legba. According to Vodou lore, he was the bridge between the spirit world and the physical realm. It then dawned on him that the Cardinals had been flaunting their true identities the whole time, knowing they would be discounted. Faust. Balor. Lucifer. It wasn’t possible. After all, the devil didn’t exist. Kain looked into the humorless eyes of the man who had identified himself as Lucifer, and suddenly, he believed it.

“Uh, guys…” his tone held a warning as he calmly looked over at Kieran and the two women. “I don’t think he’s kidding.”

Kain willed them not to do anything foolish as he processed this new predicament. Raven remained as stoically quiet as ever, which he appreciated. Both Layla and Kieran gave him incredulous glances.

“Kain,” Layla began, but he held up his hand for her to wait as he turned back to Lou.

“Is that how you knew?”

“Of course,” Lou replied evenly. “Mortals cannot hide who they are from us, after all.”

Kain knew the others were confused, all except for Damon, who seemed to understand at least a little of what was happening. But how could he explain? How did he convince the people standing beside him that Hell had just opened up in front of them?

“You don’t, dear boy,” Lucifer chided him softly. “That pleasure belongs to me.”

A light flickered behind his eyes, and suddenly, Kieran and Layla began to change. Kieran sank to his knees, screaming, as huge sores began to appear all over his body. Purple and swollen, they appeared down his arms and up his neck. Judging from the way he cradled his own chest, they had appeared there as well. As they continued to swell, they began popping, a yellowish puss leaking down his body. That was not all either. As he turned toward Kain, he saw Kieran’s eyes had gone milky white. The man was blind.

Layla was soon in similar straits as she began rapidly aging. Her young, healthy body lost its virility. Her skin cracked and wrinkled. Her tight, fit curves became loose, dangling flab. Her luscious hair began to turn gray and fall out and her back began to creak and bend, giving her a hunched, decrepit look. Even her face had become sunken and hollow. She began to moan in pain, barely able to keep her feet.

Kain looked on in alarm as his two companions were brought low by the will of the demon in front of him. Any lingering doubts about the identities of the people before him were squashed immediately as Lucifer, the Devil himself, unveiled his true nature and power. The man hadn’t even moved, and two members of his team were dying.

But, as quickly as the torture began, it ended. Both Kieran and Layla were restored in the blink of an eye, as though nothing had happened at all, and Lucifer stood watching them quietly with a pitiless gaze. Kain saw that Damon paled but seemed to otherwise be weathering the situation quite well. Raven, on the other hand, was not. Kain could see her visibly shaking, the knives she had palmed earlier now resting on the ground. She did not lose complete control, but Kain could tell that the scene she had just witnessed would haunt her nightmares for months. Layla and Kieran lay on the ground, unmoving and unconscious. Kain would have thought them dead, were it not for the slight rise and fall of their chests. He stepped over and knelt beside Layla, indicating that Damon should help Kieran. Always, he kept the Cardinals in his peripheral, but they seemed content observing for the moment.

Kain placed a hand on Layla’s shoulder, gently but firmly shaking her. Layla’s eyes fluttered and slowly opened, still glazed as her mind slowly found its way back to consciousness. She looked up at him, confused for a moment, as her fragmented memories pieced themselves together. Then, she screamed.

Kain pinned her down so she could not hurt him or herself as her body and mind relived whatever horrible curse the devil had placed on her. After a few moments, the spasms ended, and she was able to calm herself. She looked up at Kain and nodded, and he released her, helping her to her feet. She looked a bit unsteady, but otherwise seemed little the worse for wear, physically. By the time Layla was stable enough to support herself unaided, Kieran had come to. He was pale and shaken, and tried to take Damon’s head off when he first awoke, but now he was quietly staring at Lucifer, real fear in his eyes. Layla kept her eyes on the ground.

An older gentleman who had been quiet thus far stepped up next to Lucifer. Kain was unsure of his heritage, but his garb was middle eastern. He stood observing the candidates quietly, waiting for them to collect themselves. When he finally spoke, it was with a soft dry voice.

“Now, you truly know who we are,” he began, looking at each of them in turn. “And so, you should understand the gravity of the situation in which you find yourself. This may provide motivation for you to escape our company as quickly as possible.”

He paused, as if to consider his next words.

“If that is your desire, then the opportunity to do so will present itself shortly. But know this,” his tone hardened as he continued. “Whether you agree to the contracts in your hands or not – and make no mistake, you must agree of your own free will – you cannot hide from what is coming.”

The last statement seemed to hang in the air, echoing around the silent plateau. Kain considered the man’s words carefully. Even with the revelation of the identity of their would-be employers, he still knew painfully little about what they actually wanted. It was time to get some straight answers, monsters or not.

“I have three questions,” he stated simply. The old man nodded in approval.

“You were right, Shaitan,” he nodded in approval to the man next to him. “He will make a fine weapon. Ask your questions then, young Hunter.”

Kain was puzzled by this comment but did not allow it to distract him.

“You still have not told us what this job is.”

The old man regarded him thoughtfully for a moment, before answering.

“The position for which we are recruiting you will have a variety of duties and responsibilities, many of which are outlined in those contracts,” he indicated the scroll in Kain’s hand. “But to simplify, you are to be an elite response team dedicated to protecting this world from outside threats.”

While this did technically answer Kain’s question, it created a hundred more. What threats? What was so bad that the devil and his ilk needed to hire QRF? What could Kain and his “team” do that the Cardinals couldn’t? And why were these monsters even interested in protecting Earth? None of it made sense, but Kain doubted he would get honest answers if he asked those questions. So instead, he chose a different route.

“A contract works two ways. If we agree to work for you, what’s in it for us?”

Kain cared little for the world, or the people in it. He did not believe in salvation, not for people like him. At least this way he could negotiate the price of his damnation. After all, he thought, if I am going to sell my soul to the devil, better make sure the price is right.

“Lilith was right,” another of the Cardinals who had been silent thus far spoke up, a woman in lavish furs that revealed as much as they covered. “This one is too much fun.”

She slowly looked Kain up and down, as though appraising him. Her gaze seemed to pierce straight into his soul, unveiling his darkest desires so she could offer them to him.

“In return for your…services,” she let her tongue caress the word before continuing, “we offer you power, pleasure, and prerogative. And we offer them in ways you simply can’t imagine.”

Kain felt his blood heating and his mind growing foggy. He was only human, after all, and this woman was desire given form. Wake up, a small voice in the back of his mind demanded. You are stronger than this. He shook his to clear it, closing his eyes for a moment to regain his focus. When he opened them, whatever spell the woman held over him had dissipated. Her seductive aura had receded, and she had a calculating look on her face.

“Perhaps there is more to you than meets the eye, boy,” She returned to her seat, not bothering to elaborate further on the benefits of the contract. Pleasure was simple enough, and he was certain that prerogative meant he would be allowed relative freedom. But what did she mean by power?

“I believe we are down to your final question,” Lucifer interrupted Kain’s musings. “Our time grows short here. There is much to prepare for. Ask.”

Kain once again had the strange sensation that the fallen angel could see into his mind and knew what that question was. Given his true nature, Kain wouldn’t doubt it. Still, he obliged.

“We know you, and we know what you want. Now,” he looked the Devil straight in his cold dead eyes. “What is coming?”

The monster cocked his head to the side before grinning. On a normal face, Kain imagined the grin would look magnanimous. On the creature before him, it was terrifying.

“Armageddon, my dear Mr. Hunter.”

The world around Kain dissolved in a flash of white.