Contacts.

Helga wasn’t delusional enough to not realize she was… stuck, in a way. Her desire to catch that Spirit of Lust had blinded her to some very important things, one of which being that… she failed a mission she had been hired for, losing the entire backup squad in the process.

She’d been tasked with finding a mirrorkin by one of the underworld hotshots, and it just so happened that stalking Will led her to one. Then that woman had to get in the way, and Will almost…!

No, no point in dwelling on that. The fact was that she failed the mission, wasted the teleport crystal she’d been given, and even lost the amazing find that was the Spirit of Lust inside Will. Now all she had was a useless boy as a prisoner and an eager client waiting for a report on the mirrorkin search.

And now said eager client got tired of waiting and was calling her work phone directly.

With a lump in her throat, Helga answered. “Hello?”

“Report. Do you have it?” The voice on the phone was deep, too deep. Distorted, intentionally so. One of those mob bosses who never shows their face and almost always talks through proxies. In fact, it was very likely Helga wasn’t actually talking to the real boss, but someone pretending to be him.

“...” It was the last thing Helga wanted to do, but self-preservation comes before personal desires. She’d have to give this one up. “No. It was a bust. The entire team got wiped by an amazon.” Helga could almost hear the phone cracking on the other side. Her heart froze, but she quickly added the part that could save her life. “However, I believe I found a lead to something else you might be interested in.”

“Speak quickly.”

“I found a guy possessed by a Spirit of Lust. The spirit escaped, but the connection to him was strong. She’ll be back for him. I have the boy as bait. I just need to set something up and wait for the spirit to bite.”

“...” The man behind the phone breathed loudly, and Helga didn’t know if it was his way of intimidating people or just a very annoying habit. “I will send someone else to take care of this. Support him. Fill him in and let him have the kid. We’ll see if you’re telling the truth or not. If this one’s a bust as well, you won’t be doing any kind of work anymore.”

“...” Helga’s legs shook, her heart beat painfully quickly. “Relax, I’m not shitting you. I almost had her in a crystal, but she managed to escape. She could very well be roaming the city as a ghost, so you could keep your eyes open for that, too.”

“We will. Contact me if you learn anything new.”

“Of course. And as for the payment for the previous job…”

“The one you failed?”

“...”

“We’ll be in touch.”

The client hung up, and Helga had to resist the urge to throw her phone against a wall. Fucking amazon and fucking Will fucking everything up! Fucking spirit running away! Fucking creepy boss not paying her for the job!

Now the boss was gonna get his hands on the Spirit of Lust instead of her, but if she hadn’t offered it, she could very well have been silenced. And if the rumors she’d heard about his research were true, then she really didn’t want to be on his bad side. No, the man paid handsomely, but considering her own powers and having learned why he wanted a mirrorkin found and why he’d be interested in a spirit of lust… The wisest move would be to stop doing business with him altogether, get completely off his radar.

Well, nevermind that. For now, Helga had to focus on getting some results. She’d go check Will more thoroughly. With how deep his connection to the spirit was, there was bound to be some of that energy lingering in him. That should help set up a trap for the spirit to find. Other than that, it was true that Helga was stuck. She was mostly counting on the spirit coming back for him, but considering how hard it was for spirits to find a new host, it wasn’t like her bet had terrible odds. And if the boss was sending someone, then…

“Hm?”

Her work phone rang again. She couldn’t imagine the boss having forgotten something and calling her again, so it couldn’t be that. After checking, she confirmed it was a call from The Office.

Helga clicked her tongue. The last thing she needed was more work, but… She answered.

“Hello?”

“Lady Cooper, good afternoon.” The man behind the phone this time sounded normal. Old, tired, polite. “I call to inform you that a message has been left for you. As always, The Office respects your privacy, making sure that the message is safe while keeping its content for your ears only. Would you like to hear it now or have it sent to you for later hearing?”

Helga sighed. “Both. Let me hear it now and send me a copy.”

“Very well, Lady Cooper. Have a good day.”

There was a long, drawn out beep that was suddenly cut short. Then, the voice of a woman.

“Hello, this is Amelia Wilson, co-founder of the Seventh Circle Consultation Office. I wish to get in contact with Helga Cooper to talk matters relating to William Sawyer and an escaped Spirit of Lust. We have found the spirit. She told us most of what happened. We have her trapped in a woman’s body, but we want the boy back. She wants to rescue Will but we don’t care about her. We’re willing to trade her for him. Name your conditions, but name them quickly. After a day, we’ll sell her to the highest bidder. Hope to hear for you soon, Ms. Cooper.”

“...” The message ended, and Helga found herself staring at her phone.

Already figured out it was her, huh? Well, at least it meant they were telling the truth. They had the spirit and it ratted her out.

Was that one of the women Will was with at the last gathering? What was the deal here? Why would they trade a valuable asset for a useless, worthless guy? Unless Will had them convinced that all the powers came from him instead of the spirit, but nobody could be that dumb. Heh, maybe they did fall in love with him? Whatever. If they had the spirit, Helga had to meet them.

Of course, she would meet them on her own terms, with all the backup the boss could provide. And with a Higher Spirit on the line, Helga was willing to bet he’d bring a whole army. Or worse… His new project.