Chapter 18
Colt
I pull my phone from my pocket and hold the power button.
The screen lights up. Immediately, it starts having what can only be described as a complete mental breakdown.
Missed call.
Missed call.
Missed call.
Missed call.
…
Jesus Christ.
Mihai.
Thirty-two missed calls.
Twelve messages.
Yeah… He’s definitely planned my funeral.
I hit his name before the phone has a chance to explode from all the notifications.
It rings once.
Twice.
On the third ring—
“You absolute dickhead!”
I pull the phone away from my ear.
“Good morning to you too.”
“Good morning? GOOD MORNING?” he practically yells. “Where the hell have you been? I was five minutes away from calling the police!”
“I appreciate the concern.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I really don’t.”
“You disappear for two days into Romania’s most haunted forest and then casually call me like you’ve been grocery shopping!”
“I was busy.”
“Oh? Fighting demons?”
“…Close enough.”
He sighs dramatically.
“I swear to God, one day you’re going to die doing something unbelievably stupid.”
“I’ve survived so far.”
“Against all statistical probability.”
“I’ve always liked being special.”
“You are special.”
“Aww.”
“I didn’t mean it as a compliment.”
“I know.”
A beat of silence passes.
“Listen,” I say, my voice turning serious. “We need to talk.”
“…Okay.” He says quietly.
“But not on this phone.”
“What?”
“I’m gonna call you back from my work phone.”
Silence.
“…Colt.”
“Yeah?”
“What the fuck happened?”
“I’ll explain.”
“Why can’t you explain now?”
“Because I’d rather not discuss this over a phone that isn’t encrypted.”
Another pause.
“…Did the Legion send you another contract already?”
“No.”
“Did you piss off D?”
“No.”
“…Did you kill someone you weren’t supposed to?”
“I literally get paid to kill people.”
“You know exactly what I mean.”
“I do.”
“So what the hell is going on?”
I let out a sigh.
“Mihai.”
“What?”
“I’ll tell you everything if you let me fucking hang up and call you back.”
Another silence.
“…Fine.”
“Thank you.”
“But if this ends with you telling me you’ve somehow befriended the Witch of Hoia Baciu, I’m driving over there myself.”
I blink.
“…Yeah…”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You hesitated.”
“I didn’t.”
“You absolutely did.”
“I’ll call you back.”
“Colt—”
I end the call before he can dig himself any deeper.
Forty long, agonizing minutes later, after somehow explaining to Mihai how I’d wandered into Romania’s most haunted forest, ended up having the best sex of my entire life with an ancient cursed witch, and somehow managed to fall so violently in love with her that being away from her for more than five minutes suddenly felt like a respiratory condition…
…Yeah. I know. Life comes at you fast.
Somewhere in the middle of the conversation, I also had to explain that there were now armed hunters after her and that, for reasons I still couldn’t fully explain myself, saving her had become my number one priority.
Yolo, I guess.
Of course, Mihai called me every name under the sun. I’m fairly certain I picked up three new Romanian swear words, all of which I’ll have to ask Amara to translate later. Assuming they aren’t the kind that get you slapped.
Somewhere between calling me the biggest idiot he’d ever met and questioning whether I’d suffered permanent brain damage, he finally agreed to help.
See?
I knew he’d come around.
Now, judging by the current situation, two assassins and one ancient cursed witch against God knows how many heavily armed hunters isn’t exactly what military experts would call a balanced fight.
Which means I have to do something I absolutely hate.
Ask for help.
I pull the Legion phone from my backpack and stare at the small red button hidden beneath the protective metal cover.
Emergency use only.
Well…
If a centuries-old witch is about to be hunted by an army of trigger-happy lunatics carrying anti-magic talismans, I’d say we’ve earned the right to call this an emergency.
I flip the cover open.
Funny thing is, I have absolutely no idea what this button actually does.
In all the years I’ve worked for D, I’ve never needed backup.
Never had to ask.
Never even considered it.
So this…
This is new.
I stare at the button for another second.
“…Well.”
I shrug.
“Guess we’re about to find out.”
Then I press it.
As I’m about to head back to Amara, the Legion phone starts vibrating in my pocket.
Huh.
That’s new.
I pull it out and stare at the unfamiliar number for half a second before answering.
“Hello?”
Who the hell am I even talking to?
The Legion is so secretive that, in all these years, I’ve only met a handful of the other assassins, and that was only because we’d been assigned to the same missions. Everyone else might as well be ghosts.
A calm male voice answers immediately.
“Damien speaking. What’s the emergency?”
…
Fuck me sideways.
I stop walking.
“Damien?”
“Yes.”
“As in… D?”
“Yes.”
“The D?”
A brief silence.
“…I suppose.”
Holly marshmallows!
I straighten instinctively, as if the man can somehow see me through the phone.
“Oh. Right. Uh…”
Real professional, Colt.
“Sorry. I just… honestly never expected to talk to you.”
“You pressed the emergency button.”
“…Fair point.”
“So,” he says, still impossibly calm, “are you hurt?”
It’s the voice that catches me off guard more than anything.
No shouting.
No panic.
No arrogance.
Just the kind of quiet confidence that belongs to someone who never has to remind anyone he’s in charge.
I suddenly understand why nobody has ever questioned his orders.
“I’m not hurt,” I say. “Not anymore.”
“Good. What’s the emergency?”
“I’m at Hoia Baciu Forest.” I take a breath. “This is going to sound insane, but… me and Amara.”
“…Amara?”
“The Witch of Baciu. We need your help.”
“Understood.”
I frown.
“…That’s it?”
“I’ll be there.”
The line goes dead. I stare at the phone for a long second before slowly lowering it.
Well… That was significantly less complicated than I expected. Then again, I’d just invited the leader of the Skullbound Legion to meet an immortal witch living in Romania’s most haunted forest.
Somehow, I have a feeling the hunters are about to discover they picked the wrong forest.