The dark and velvety voice that had rippled from the doorway, startling both myself and Lucas from our discussion, paused, as if enjoying our reactions to its surprising intrusion on our lives. I had no idea why Lucifer himself had decided to darken my doorway, but from his low and disapproving tone I knew he hadn't come to offer me his well wishes and grant me a week or two to rest and recuperate.

 “Well, um, I had best be going Rayne. Things to do and all that, I'll leave you two to...chat.”

 I'd never seen Lucas in quite such a hurry as when he made for the door, so keen to be out of Lucifer's presence. Couldn't blame him really, not when he'd already landed himself in hot water on his last job. Lucifer was scary enough to be around at the best of times, let alone when he was displeased with you. Not having quite found the confidence to speak yet, I managed a shaky smile at my old friend as he turned away. Silently, I hoped I would have the chance to see him again before his trial – whenever that might be.

 Lucas stumbled slightly as he made it to the door and faced Lucifer, who stood unmoving, his tall frame filling the entire opening from top to bottom. He'd been expecting Lucifer to glide out of his way as he approached, as had I. A tiny spark of hope ignited in my chest at the stoic statue like figure in the doorway, perhaps he was there for Lucas and not for me.

 Lucifer glowered down at Lucas. I watched, astonished at how such pitch black eyes could appear to physically burn with so much fire. One thin black eyebrow rose in an arch to frame his right eye, though neither of them spoke a word. Silent moments stretched out for what felt like hours as the tension between them crackled almost visibly in the air. Lucas hunched low, curling his back and shoulders in upon themselves in some effort to make his 5”10 frame appear as small and insignificant as possible. His eyes stayed trained on the floor and I hoped quietly that Lucifer would soon make some move or break the silence; the atmosphere in the room made it hard for me to breathe.

 “Haste is not always our friend, Lucas.” Lucifer finally intoned in a soft, quiet voice that was impossible to ignore. “You would do well to remember that.”

 His voice alone was enough to make your knees tremble and, when Lucifer stepped to one side and allowed Lucas to pass by, my old friend slipped out into the tunnel with an awkward, shaky gait that revealed the extent of his nerves.

 What was worse, Lucas's departure left me alone with the Lord of Hell – or at least with one aspect of his all encompassing power. He'd turned his dark eyes away from the room for a moment, tracking Lucas's path down the tunnel and giving me a little time to compose myself. I needed it.

 Lucifer was everything you'd expect an aspect of the 'Prince of Darkness' to be and, at the same time, be something wholly unexpected.

 He wasn't the only power in Hell who actually made the decision to appear in human form – unlike my breed, and many others, there were those who had complete control over their physical appearance. I never fathomed why they made this choice but, I supposed, if it was a choice between a handsome human form or a rubbery old monster the likes of Malick, it was a no-brainer. Though I spoke as someone with human blood in my veins, a pureblood demon woman might well find the form repulsive. Who knew, it was a mystery I had few hopes of ever solving and should feel content to know that was just how it was.

 And, as it was, Lucifer was certainly a sight to behold. He might have looked like a man but a mere moment in his presence was enough to tell you that he was far from human. While he appeared tall, dignified and handsome, around middle aged – for want of a human term, in reality the power that ruled Hell was ancient – he positively oozed darkness, power and authority. He made you long to abase yourself at his feet and beg for the honour to worship him if you were not strong enough to get a grip. I was glad of the moment I'd had to compose myself, no need to be humiliated unnecessarily.

 He really didn't appreciate people fawning at him and falling at his feet. No, Lucifer liked order, productiveness, the sense that everything had its place, everyone their role and nothing should ever sway that balance. It was the reason his branch of Hell's authority governed our department, it was like a marriage made in Heaven – or rather, in Hell.

 He was beautifully terrifying. From the way his tall and spry form moved with unnatural grace to the way his mere presence seemed to fill the entirety of the room to bursting point; his power fighting with the air for dominance and winning so that I choked on the thickness of it. It felt both intimidating and thrilling at the same time, to be touched by so much power was like a drug – my own dark magic a pale imitation in comparison – it was easy to see how being in his presence and serving him could become addictive. But that was not my job, I was bred to do his bidding above ground; and I got the feeling his little visit had something to do with just that.

 Lucifer turned his attention back into the room – Lucas must have disappeared around the curve in the tunnel – and he stared me down. I met his eyes for a brief moment, demon eyes black as pitch, and I felt compelled to look away. Instead I looked past his eyes to the rest of his striking features. Strong jaw graced with a thin, Vandyke beard, black again to match the eyes and the long hair, straight as a yard stick, that was tied at the nape of his neck.

 But it was still his voice I found the most striking. Dark and caressing like velvet, it could touch someone almost physically and evoke the deepest and most carnal of emotions in anyone who heard it. Its effect varied greatly depending on the mood of its owner, and in the silence as he stared down at me I awaited the cold chill of fear I was sure his words were going to instil.

 “Rayne. As I am sure you have been able to deduce, I am here to assign your next case,” Lucifer said, simply. His expression blank and unreadable.

 No, had been my very first thought, I'd never have come to that conclusion in a million years.

 Lucifer didn't personally give out the assignments, Malick or one of his many minions did that job. Lucifer would oversee the whole process, but he never did anything so trivial as to actually dish out the case files. It didn't really make any sense and, worse than that, it made me suspicious. There was a reason Lucifer was there to deliver my next job personally and I was sure it couldn't be a good one.

 A frown wrinkled my brow as I pondered this unusual situation. “Um...yes, I suppose I was thinking as much,” I said in reply to Lucifer's words, not sure he believed the hesitant lie at all and even less sure why I hadn't just admitted complete ignorance to the idea.

 “But, um, I had actually wanted an opportunity to speak with you about that.” It suddenly occurred to me to add, hastily, before he could press on; hopeful that I could put forward my request for a few days of rest directly to the man in charge. But a simple raise of his hand silenced me before I could get to the point.

 “I thought I had already made that point painfully clear, Rayne. You do not get holiday time. This is not a job, it is your duty, the reason for your very existence. If we lapse in our duty the entire world could fall into ruins, and you know this is no exaggeration. I was not entrusted with such responsibility for no reason. My duty is to keep this operation running smoothly, and that is exactly what I do.” His voice was hard and gritty as he enunciated his point and I tried hard not to flinch as the words washed over me.

 “No, of course I understand. It's just...”

 “Good, now your next mark...”

 He had cut across me once again and I knew it was a lost cause. It had been a vain hope in the first place to press the point with Lucifer, especially after his words in greeting; he knew exactly what I was going to ask. I wasn't happy about it, but I was going to have to bite the bullet and do my job.

 Lucifer snapped his fingers and a Manilla file appeared in his hand. He passed it to me and I took a seat on the edge of my bed to leaf through the pages; it felt rather thin beneath my fingers, that could only be a bad sign.

 “You will leave first thing in the morning.”

 “Tomorrow morning?” My eyebrows practically disappeared into my hairline from the shock at his words. That was barely hours away, it had to be close to midnight already which meant I'd hardly have any time to get some decent sleep, not once Lucifer was done talking with me. I was going to be a mess.

 “Is that going be problem?” Lucifer asked, darkly, indicating that there really wasn't going to be a problem and I had no choice in that matter.

 “Well I...I just feel so drained after this last case. It took so long and I've barely slept in a week. Can't I have just one more day to get myself together and to read the case file before I leave. I don't know if going back up so fast and so unprepared is such a good idea.” I spewed the words out as fast as I could before I lost the nerve to say them.

 The look Lucifer cast me during the moment of silence that stretched between us caused me to hunch in upon myself under its scrutiny – much like Lucas had done. I'd spoken out of turn and I was surely going to pay for being so brash.

 “Pity. But I have no sympathy for you Rayne. Your last case did indeed take too long, and what with your friend, Lucas, and his sloppy work we've built up a backlog of cases that need to be done and not nearly enough of you hybrids to complete them all.

  “So, Rayne, the way I see it, is you have two choices. Either you get your shit together, use the hours you have now to read your new case file and be out of my sight first thing.” He paused, allowing me a moment to take in his words and wonder what he could possibly have in mind as option number two.

 “Or, you could help us with our number problem and enter yourself into the breeding programme. I've an idea for a new experiment using hybrids, seeing if three quarters demon blood has any beneficial effect on your breed.”

 I didn't even try to mask the horror that crossed my face at the idea of being forced into the hybrid breeding programme. Generally the participants were made up of willing demon males and unsuspecting human females that were chosen, solely, to be expendable incubators. Demon childbirth was a brutal experience, a demon mother could survive the trauma, but a human had, so far, never lived through the process and they were in no hurry to improve these survival numbers. The woman was often, literally, ripped to shreds and then they would be abandoned. The demons wanted the offspring, not to have to care for the ailing human mother – too many potential complications, it was just easier if she died.

 Lucifer's experiment idea made my skin crawl. Not only did I never want to have to sleep with a demon the likes of those that usually fathered the hybrid children, but my anatomy at its most basic level was essentially human. Even with the added demonic strength and resilience I possessed, I was far from certain I could survive the ordeal. An early demise was certainly not on the cards in my life. I swallowed hard and shook my head.

 “I gather that idea does not appeal?” Lucifer asked, a smirk on his lips and sarcasm dripping from his tone.

 “No, I'm ready. If those are the choices, then I'll make it work. What's the case?” I replied, picking up the file once again and flipping it open.

 “Excellent. Now, this case is a corruption. The man is named Jesse Hudson and you will find him in a village in Hampshire, England. The rest of the details you can find in the file, I am sure it will prove to be...interesting reading.”

 His tone had dropped to a peculiar cadence that I couldn't decipher. There was something more to this case than he was letting on, and somehow I didn't think the minuscule case file was going to answer any of my questions. I started to flick through the pages, thankfully it didn't appear it would take too long to read.

 “I will leave you to peruse the file at your leisure.” Lucifer said, taking a glance down at an imaginary watch on his wrist – a strangely human gesture made even more peculiar by the complete absence of a timepiece. He hastened towards the door, as if he were keen to be out of my company, and paused only to add, “try not to take as long with this case as you did with the last one, Rayne.”

 I rolled my eyes but kept them cast down at the papers in my lap; I may have been mocking but I wasn't stupid. It was then that I properly took notice of the first page in this guy, Jesse's, file. The first page held the man's police record.

 “Wait, you said this was a corruption case right?” I asked, but my question fell into the empty air of my room. Lucifer was already gone.

 It didn't make any sense. Corruption cases were just that, the goal was to make the human colour their soul with the taint of sin, which meant that the marks were always of the purest sort. Typically religious activists – the nice kind, not the wired culty kind – members of the clergy, charity workers, even just those ridiculously pure and innocent members of any community; one thing they generally would all have in common was a complete lack of a police record.

 By the looks of things this guy didn't need too much help in the corruption department. They weren't extremely bad things he'd done, nothing that would ever land his name on the other list, but things like drunk and disorderly, possession of weed for personal use, one for teenage vandalism, was about as extreme as it got. All minor misdemeanour’s in the the grand scheme of things, but he was about as far and away from the perfect candidate for corruption as you could get. What possible threat could this guy pose to the balance of the world?

 The rest of the file offered few answers, its one blessing being that it was so short I was able to jump in the shower and grab a few hours of sleep before it was time to head up to the Receiving Chamber and travel the Void back to Earth. My time in Hell had been far too fleeting for my tastes, but I knew beyond a doubt there was no chance in convincing Lucifer to let me stay any longer; and there was no way I was ending up in the breeding programme.

 Going up to work with such little knowledge of the case that the file offered, and no idea of how exactly I was supposed to 'help' this guy corrupt his soul any further – I really couldn't fathom why he'd even shown up in the Soothsayer's visions, but a job was a job and I went where I was told. But damn I really did hate detective work.

 So I was back in England again with no alias, no cover story and no plan of attack, and Lucifer wanted me to get this one done quicker than the last? Yeah, no way that could ever go wrong.