Chapter Fifteen
Dylan
Mike had been nervous all morning and was now pacing the living room floor.
“Relax, Sweetheart,” I soothed, rubbing his back. “I’m with you, remember?”
He nodded. “I guess getting drained twice in that mansion makes me dread going there. But you’re right, things are different now.”
“They’re better,” I agreed. Because things were better for Mike already.
Rino had told us he planned on doing the same type of training as before, but with me in tow now.
If Mike succeeded in all his tests, we could travel in two weeks’ time to help Erik.
Rino had been excited on our behalf and already had a few cases we could help with in Denmark, which I looked forward to, especially because one of the cases involved a castle.
I checked my watch and gave Mike a confident grin. “It’s time.”
We joined hands as we left our apartment, content to keep touching. I would forever be touching him if he wished for it. Maybe it was our bond, but just holding his hand soothed my insides and made me relax.
Because Mike still had Erik with him at all times, we decided that I should drive, mostly so Mike could focus on keeping his energy in check.
Something that was normal with mediums and their anchors, mostly because mediums often got tired after working a case.
I had no idea, but according to Rino, mediums could get drained just by talking to ghosts.
Pete didn’t and neither did their mother, but Mike was definitely one of those mediums who would need breaks, and lots of peace and quiet after work.
I didn’t mind helping him with that at all.
The mansion came into view and soon I was back inside the medium headquarters, one ghost and one medium in tow.
We walked through the many hallways together in silence, and I could tell Mike was steeling himself for failure already.
My poor man really needed today to go well.
When we reached Rino’s office, Linda stepped through the door just as Mike was about to knock.
“Mom?” he questioned, eyeing her with suspicion.
“My boys!” She just hugged us both, ignoring his question completely.
“Nice to see you, Linda,” I grinned, hugging her back.
She batted my arm. “It’s Mom to you.”
“Sorry, Mom,” I winced.
“That’s better.”
Rino stood in the open doorway smirking at us. “If you’re done with your little family reunion…”
We hurried inside his office, smiling sheepishly as we went.
Rino had us sitting on armchairs in front of his desk while he sat on a huge red leather office chair.
“Linda is actually here to drop something off.” He took out a bracelet with black crystals.
“Black tourmaline,” he explained. “I had your mother search for this exact stone for extra protection.” He then took out another one, identical to the other. “I need you both to wear it.”
“What does it do?” I asked, taking the offered bracelet.
“It protects against negative energy and helps with grounding. Trust me, you’ll need it once you get started.”
“Because I’ll faint otherwise?” Mike questioned, clearly still sad that he couldn’t handle basic training.
Rino shook his head. “No, it’s because you’re a bonded partnership. Most anchors need help warding off negative energy and as a medium, you need Dylan to help ground you. He can’t do that if his energy is off. The stones are simply another added security for you both.”
“Thank you,” we both said, placing the bracelets on our wrist. At least it was black and would go with most outfits.
Rino seemed pleased with that. “Now that that’s out of the way, ready to start?”
“That went well,” I grinned, so damn proud of my man.
Mike blushed. “It did, didn’t it? I mean I didn’t faint this time, and I even got to meet all the ghosts at once! How cool is that?”
I smiled as I paid for our takeaway, happy to see Mike’s whole demeanor regarding his work change just from one successful training session.
I figured a detour to his favorite burger place was deserved.
Mike was so excited about accomplishing his first workday that he didn’t even seem to realize I was buying his favorite burger and milkshake. But he would.
The only thing we had to do today was to sit with all the ghosts in the mansion and simply talk.
I could only hear whatever Mike said, but Erik had written down their answers so I could feel a little more involved, which I appreciated.
Tomorrow, Rino had us assigned to a real case with a medium named Kyle.
I was so damn excited to get on a real case!
We weren’t told anything other than Kyle would pick us up in the morning around nine.
Mike and Erik talked as we drove the rest of the way home and I was happy to let them enjoy themselves. It was clear that Erik cared for Mike and he’d been so patient with him, even though he really wanted to see Marcus again.
Once we were home, I helped Mike carry our food. His happiness was overflowing as we settled on the couch, enjoying TV and burgers. It was so damn easy to please my man.
Kyle picked us up as promised and I was surprised to see that he was around my age, and then I learned he was the Kyle that had trained with Pete, which meant I’d already heard plenty about him. If Pete liked him, then I did, too. Simple as that.
“Where are we headed?” Mike asked, already itching to get to the real work.
“A spa,” Kyle replied, handing Mike his phone with the address on it. “All I know is that the owner is certain the place is cursed, but it hasn’t always been.”
“And this case is a rather tame one, I take it?” I had to ask. I knew Mike could handle ghost energy now, but those had been friendly and understanding ghosts. We had no idea if this spa ghost was a nasty one or not.
Kyle shrugged. “We never really know on new cases. I guess we’ll find out soon.”
“Seriously?!” I gaped. “You never know beforehand what you’re walking into?”
“Well, often if people tell us that stuff is falling off the walls and things have hit them, then we know it won’t be an easy case, but things like this one where the lights are turning on and off, we guess it can’t be too bad, you know?”
Mike and I just nodded dumbly. Guess we’d see if I was about to lose my shit or not. I was not ready for Mike to be in any kind of danger. No, thank you.
We arrived at the spa and walked toward the entrance finding it unlocked as promised. The owner hurried to greet us at the reception area and he bowed many times in thanks. Even I could tell he was spooked out of his mind just being here. He was a shorter man of Asian descent with greying hair.
“Thank you so much for coming,” the man said, shaking our hands eagerly. “I can’t tell you how happy I am that you can help.”
Kyle smiled kindly at the man, gesturing for him to show us where the problem was. “We’ll do our best to deal with it today, if we can.”
“I hope you can,” the man sighed. “I’m Yurin, the owner.”
Kyle introduced us as we were guided through hallways until we reached the pool area, which was where Yurin stopped.
“Oh,” Mike whispered, looking around the room.
“We’ll begin in here,” Kyle stated, smiling at Yurin. “We’ll find you once we’re done.”
“Oh, alright,” Yurin said, looking pleased to escape. “I’ll be working behind the desk in the reception area.”
Once he’d left, Kyle and Mike straightened and glared in the direction of two Jacuzzis in the far corner, tucked away by the many exotic looking plants. My hand never left Mike’s as we walked with purpose along the pool, making our way to their destination.
“Hello,” Kyle said once we were closer.
Mike leaned in to whisper, “It’s a woman, around fifty I would say. She’s clearly angry over something.”
I nodded, focusing on holding on to my man. This was my whole purpose here, soothing him and helping with his energy.
“And he never did?” Kyle asked, then nodded when it seemed the lady had responded. “What do you want us to help with?” He nodded again. “We can do that.”
Mike whispered again, “She’s his sister and died here a few weeks ago.” Mike swallowed. “Her body is still on the roof.”
I was about to blurt “Is Yurin a murderer?!”, but remembered myself in time.
Kyle continued to talk to the poor ghost, while Mike whispered their conversation to me.
“She wasn’t supposed to be here, which is why her brother still has no idea she’s dead.
She wants him to know so her body can be removed.
She’s saying something about plants she wanted to tend to but was locked up there by mistake.
She didn’t have her phone on her, since it had been broken a few days prior.
She tried calling for help but no one heard her. She froze to death.”
It was my time to swallow. My work was about people who’d died, but somehow, I hadn’t thought about how their deaths would affect me, until now.
“She wants to go before he finds her. She doesn’t want to be here for the grieving period,” Kyle informed us. “Mike, you will help assist her into the light and I’ll help if needed. She’s happy to help out a new medium.”
Mike seemed nervous and a bit sheepish for not paying attention, having translated for me.
At least the ghost seemed kind and understanding.
I’d feared this would be dangerous, but it seemed so far to be the perfect first case to work on together.
A kind ghost and patience were what Mike needed.
I couldn’t really count Erik as our first case, considering it was still ongoing and would be for a good while yet.
Kyle moved closer to the right and Mike followed with me in tow. “Use your right hand to grab her energy. Now, once you feel like you’re holding her essence in your hand, close your fist.”
Mike did as he was instructed.
“If you were to free her of a person, you would push the essence toward the floor or ground. Since she wants to pass, you are to guide it upwards, letting it flow freely out of this building and towards the light.”
Mike raised his hand and the room suddenly seemed warmer, somehow.
“Very good!” Kyle praised with a beaming grin. “When you get a better hang of it, you can do it without using hand gestures. I, for example, can just will it to go wherever I please by using my fingers discreetly. It’s better for when you need to work without anyone noticing.”
“I just assisted my first ghost,” Mike breathed, his face lighting up with pride.
I kissed the hand that was laced with mine. “I’m so proud of you, sweetheart.”
Kyle rolled his eyes at us with a smirk. “I’m telling Rino I need more praise during work, you two are just too adorable to watch.”
Mike looked confused for a second, then seemed to catch what Kyle meant. “Wait… Are you dating our boss?”
Kyle bit his bottom lip before smiling widely. “I sure am.”
“Damn,” I laughed. “I hadn’t seen that coming.”