My new team would never be as good as the original. Bors and I talked over dinner about their escapades, retelling their tales that supported his excitement in me bringing them back from hiatus. Ezer had one meta ability, putting him in the lowest ranking meta tier, but one meta ability was all he needed to lay entire cities to ruin. His talent Terror was unstoppable. The ability to turn everyone’s fears against them unmatched. Terror was a toxin he emitted that could control people through madness, turning even the most valiant hunters into shivering, whimpering children.
Ezer was not only a mastermind manipulator—he was also well versed in the art of reservation. He was never without stamina. And truthfully, he had no reason to be. With the ability to make just about anyone do what he wanted, the world was his weapon. The first instant I heard of Ezer in Xion, I jumped on the opportunity. All I needed was a little devil in him, and I made him into my perfect slayer.
With his strong meta came an ego that was downright maddening and chaotic. He saw himself as a god, and had even gone against me a few times before I put him in his place. But my pride was unbreakable, and after conditioning him, I created a slave out of a scoundrel. Even so, he still had his rebellious episodes, the last of which made me pull him from service. The Shadow Troupe had an assignment that resulted in Ezer using his team to defend himself from the target, thus, resulting in their deaths. After that, I couldn’t trust him working with others, but this issue with Nero Aldeon had made me reconsider letting him out of Pandora’s box.
With the elegance of a drunk bear from his chair, Bors pardoned himself and went to the bathroom. I warned him about going to my kitchen, reminding him that I was the one who’d choose his doogie bag selection. He gave me a very unconvincing scout’s honor before he left, but I didn’t let it concern me. Bors was a loyal and trustworthy friend, where even his gluttony wouldn’t come between us. Which was a lot to be said for a man like him….
In his absence, I took the information he gave me and phoned Felix Navarro. I got off my seat and into the balcony of my dining hall, with the full moon over my head. My number would be blocked for this double agent posing as a pact dealer and hunter, so I was hoping he’d pick up the phone and answer.
After a few rings, I became doubtful, until I heard panting on the other end, followed by an, “I told you not to call me, you jackass!” he hissed. “Lose my number!”
“You have mistaken me for someone else,” I said, the sound of my voice making him quiet.
“Who is this?” he said, his voice giving off a faint hint of fear.
“Predemcer of the Org,” I answered. “Is this Felix Navarro?”
“Is this a prank?” He asked cautiously. “How did you get my number?”
“I’m curious, who did you think I was when you first answered?”
“I’m not going to answer that question until you answer mine,” he insisted.
“How else would I have gotten your phone number?”
“I’m hanging up—”
“Do it and Sara in Syracuse will be losing a finger for every day of the week,” I threatened. “But I will leave her middle finger, that way she could flick you off for making a target out of her.”
He went quiet again, this time, the duration was much longer…
“I need proof… That you’re really him….”
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“What?”
“Video call, right now.”
“What difference would a video call make? Shadow walkers can shape shift.”
“Oh no, I can tell. I got a sixth sense for that shit.”
I grunted, but I honored his request, just as long as I could see him in return.
When I turned the camera on, we exchanged glances, Felix studying my features making me weary.
“You sure sound a lot like him. I can’t say you look like him since I’ve never…” he gasped, the realization finally hitting him. “Damn it, I’m so, so sorry!” he apologized. “Listen, I thought you were Ramus calling in to haggle me, I had no idea you were legit!”
I scrunched my face at him.
“Seriously, excuse the disrespect. I didn’t mean to attack you like that. God, my heart is racing, though! I can’t believe an elite is giving me a call! The most badass elite at that! Respectfully, of course.”
“I appreciate the praise, but I didn’t call you to have my ego stroked. I called on business.”
He heaved, Felix so excited he was having trouble keeping up with his breaths. “B-b-business? With me? Like in, what, a mission?”
“You can call it that, yes.”
“Whatever you need,” he said ambitiously, ready to exact my every command. Maybe Bors was right about this kid. For a human, he did have a lot of promise in him. As a pact agent, he knew the true nature of our business………
“Hey, I also wanted to let you know that I got rid of a leak,” he added.
“A leak?
“Someone had put up a website putting all of our business out there. The spells, the cult magic, the truth. Everything! I thought we had people on top of that, but someone slipped up and allowed the internet to eat all of that shit up. The website had traffic.”
“A website?”
“It was massive.”
“Apparently, not big enough to garner our attention.”
“Either way, you don’t have to worry about it! I got it all taken care of.”
“You followed the IP address of the admin?”
“Yeah. Like I said, I took care of it,” he said behind a grin, feeling awfully proud of himself. He was inches away from asking me for a merit badge, but he wouldn’t get one. I wanted to interrogate this character myself, and I let Navarro know that.
“You’re in no position to handle Org matters without instruction,” I retorted, the smile on his face sinking. “Judging by your ownership of the issue, you handled it by digging him a grave out back. If you had any sense, you would have reported him to us promptly.”
“S-sorry to interject, Predemcer, but, I don’t have a way to reach out to—”
“Who signed your pact?”
“R-Ramus…”
“The same man who you’re trying to avoid? The same man who has recently been confirmed dead.”
“Dead?”
“Your contract will be transferred to another dealer, and this time, I will be monitoring your behavior.”
“Yes sir.”
“If you misstep, the terms of your pact activates. It is instantaneous. You are aware of that, aren’t you?”
He lowered his head. “Of course.”
“This replacement of my choosing is your contact with me and me alone. You call him if things of our concern need addressing. You don’t go out there and handle it on your own volition. With the source of the website dead, we have no way of knowing how information like that leaked. Whether a pact gone bad, a betrayal or a double agent, we are left in the dark. You understand the severity of this, Navarro?”
He nodded, “I-I understand, Predemcer. And it won’t happen again.”
“It better not. You will report to your new handler immediately. His name is Lucius Welmer. You have one hour.”
“And, the mission? My special assignment?”
“How close are you to Nero Aldeon?”
His shoulders slumped. “So, this is about Nero? The guy with the five metas?”
“Answer the question.”
“Pretty close. Our assignments are in the same location.”
“Where?”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “I thought the Org would know where hunters are stationed.”
I gave him a dark glare.
“We are at the dojo,” he said sheepishly. “In Kenji Hayashi’s dojo out in the mountains. I can give you the coordinates if you’d like.”
“I will take those coordinates from you. In the meantime, I want you to keep tabs on him for me. You will send me your report every evening without fail. My contact details will be forwarded shortly.”
“All right. Is there... um, anything about him that I should be worried about?”
The question was unexpected, but not completely without merit. So I played with it. “I don’t know, is there?”
He chuckled nervously. “Don’t know. It’s why I’m curious, really. Because, as far as I know, no one has ever had that many gifts. Had me thinking that something’s off with him.”
“Off in what way?”
“Nothing I could pinpoint, exactly.”
“Then if you’re done wasting my time, I’ll take those coordinates from you.”
“Wait, one last thing. How did Ramus die?”
“That’s no concern of yours right now. When the public knows, so will you.”