Book Five: Save Yourself — 21.

Donna arrives at Colin’s guarded hospital room, immediately mistrusting his private security—two bulky men whose appearance suggests ties to a rebranded outfit from her Cherokee Island trauma. Inside, Colin lies critically injured, his body failing from multiple gunshot wounds and surgery.

Colin orders Donna to retrieve a glass flask from the Cabinet, “the blood of St. Helen,” admitting it has preserved his youth and could swiftly restore him if ingested and poured into his wounds. Donna realizes he concealed this discovery for years.

Before using the blood, Colin insists on neutralizing threats: Amanda Fellows and Tana Nighswander. Counting on King Sorrow to finish off Gwen, he proposes summoning another Philip—Elwood Hondo—using the conch and Wolf Messing’s helmet, arguing his nearness to death will draw the entity. He frames their cause as righteous, dismissing Donna’s moral objections and invoking past violence as justification.

Donna challenges Colin’s claims about being the “good guys” and recalls their losses, including Van and Arthur. Colin minimizes and reframes their actions, pressing her to comply. She reluctantly agrees to fetch the items but remains unconvinced.

Outside, the guards identify their firm as Rohan Security, “used to be something else,” reinforcing Donna’s suspicion they’re remnants of the old mercenary outfit with removed tattoos. She refuses to return soon and leaves on her crutch. It is twenty-three days until Easter.