Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Mike
I all but flew out of the car, Erik right beside me as we approached Marcus.
The way Erik had choked out Marcus’ name, the ache I’d felt when I heard the emotion behind it.
I couldn’t not run to the man. I felt like I needed to finally give Erik what he’d longed for.
I thought of myself being in Erik’s shoes and seeing Dylan after five years apart.
I couldn’t even fathom what he must’ve been feeling.
“Marcus,” Erik sobbed as he ran closer. Marcus turned and to my surprise, he wasn’t looking at me but at—
“Erik!”
What?! He could see him?!
“You can see me?” Erik sobbed, now right in front of Marcus, his eyes wide and full of tears.
“Of course I can, skat, but where the hell have you been?! I looked everywhere for you!” Marcus sounded angry but his face was fond as his eyes filled with tears of relief and love.
“I was locked away in… a box,” Erik explained.
“A box?” Marcus questioned, tilting his head.
Erik stepped closer, brushing his hand over Marcus’ cheek. His hand went through his skin, leaving both men looking miserable when they realized they couldn’t touch. There were simply too many ghosts on the property with Erik here now. But that might actually be a help for us.
Dylan was beside me, taking my hand in his and I mentally slapped myself for forgetting I needed him with me.
“Can you translate what skat means?” I whispered, my eyes not leaving the men in front of me.
“Oh, sure,” Dyl said, ignoring the scene in front of us and taking out his phone.
“I was going to propose to you that day,” Erik said, his eyes locked on Marcus’. I couldn’t look away. The way both men cried as they watched each other. The longing. The love.
“You were?” Marcus asked, his voice choked up as he laughed. “I was, too.”
“Really?” Erik asked, his eyes bright.
Marcus nodded, then laughed again. “It all turned to shit so fast, though. I tried to find your spirit so you could be attached to me, but you were nowhere to be seen.”
“At first I was inside the box,” Erik explained. “Then I finally found a way out but couldn’t move away from where the box laid. It wasn’t until Mike touched the box that I was freed.”
Marcus’ eyes left Erik and landed on me, a soft smile spread across his face. “You must be Mike.” Something about the way he’d spoken now changed, but I couldn’t quite tell what the difference was.
“I am,” I confirmed. “The box had turned into a cursed object, leaving him locked onto me instead of the location.”
“Oh, I see,” Marcus said, a hand on his chin as if deep in thought. “I hope you don’t mind me taking Erik from you. But I need him with me again.”
“You sure?” I asked, eyeing both men.
Marcus nodded. “I won’t risk losing him again.”
“But, skat, I’m not the same man anymore. I won’t stay and risk your unhappiness,” Erik said.
“I don’t care if you’re alive or dead, Erik. You’re mine and I will only ever want you. Soon enough, I will join you anyway and then we’ll be together forever.”
It was clear Marcus had never told Erik that he was a medium, but Erik didn’t seem to mind the secrecy, he was mostly staring at Marcus with so much love that I felt tears threaten to escape.
“Skat means treasure and it is what you call a loved one, often a partner or your children,” Dylan explained, reminding me I had him look it up.
“Thank you,” I grinned, kissing his cheek.
“Anytime,” he grinned, then faced Marcus. “I’m Dylan, nice to meet you.”
Marcus grabbed his hand, looking a tad embarrassed by his tears. “Nice to meet you.”
“I apologize in advance if I have to ask questions while we work together,” Dylan said. “I’m Mike’s anchor and I only understood some of what you were saying before.”
I gave Dylan a confused look. “He was speaking English, Dyl. I get that you couldn’t hear Erik, but Marcus and I spoke English.”
Dylan shook his head. “No, you didn’t.”
Marcus looked just as confused before he shrugged. “Might be a communication thing. I’ve never really thought about how we communicate with them, simply because I speak several languages.”
“Fair enough,” Dylan nodded. “I’ll wait on you to translate for me if needed. I trust your judgement of what I need to know and when.”
I adored Dylan. Many wouldn’t be comfortable in this situation, not knowing what was happening all the time. However, he knew we had to focus on the ghosts and he wanted to be as helpful as possible. He truly was the best anchor a medium could have.
Suddenly, I felt lighter somehow and shot a glance towards Marcus.
He was pulling Erik free of me and though the sight should thrill me, I liked Erik and I wasn’t ready to see him go.
I didn't have the chance to protest before I suddenly felt our connection snap. Without powers, I wouldn’t have felt anything, but I did.
I wished I didn’t. I knew Erik was meant to be with Marcus and I came to Denmark to leave him here, but seeing Marcus today hadn’t been the plan.
I’d selfishly thought we would have more time before he left my side.
“My man is back where he belongs,” Marcus rasped, his voice choked.
“And this time, I’ll never leave,” Erik vowed.
Dylan leaned in and whispered, “So, I take it they’re happy and Erik isn’t stuck to you anymore?”
I could only nod. The loss I’d felt had hit harder than expected, but I also knew this was the way it was supposed to be. Erik would stay with Marcus and hopefully that meant I would still get to see and hear him. Perhaps, once Dylan and I moved on, he could even text me from Marcus’ phone.
“Thank you,” Marcus said, looking at Dylan and me, “for bringing my Erik back to me.”
“It was our pleasure,” Dylan replied, smiling with that boyish charm I loved so much.
“I want to take my time and thank you properly over dinner soon, but work must come first, sadly.” Marcus stared at the castle next to us, with the stone walls and high windows.
His gaze hardened into determination. “I’ve not seen or touched the man I love for five years and seven months.
I want this done so I can take him home and shower him with affection. Please, let’s get started.”
Erik was swooning hard next to Marcus, his eyes gleaming with love and hunger for his man.
My thoughts wandered to how it would be for a ghost and a human to have sex.
Then I quickly cleared my mind from the oddly disturbing—yet insanely arousing—images my mind had conjured into existence.
I would not linger on those thoughts here. Not now. Later, perhaps.
“Then let’s get inside,” Dylan said, his voice full of determination.
“Before we do,” Marcus held out a staying hand, “I’ve been informed that two of the ghosts inside are friendly and have, until now, been happy here. A new ghost was added recently, a reluctant ghost and that’s the one we’re here to get rid of.”
“The other ghosts wish to stay?” I asked, needing the confirmation.
“Yes. They’ve been here for centuries. A woman in her fifties and her grandson, who’s in his seventies.
They’re happy here and wish to stay in their family home, even with their current descendants having moved out.
It’s used for weddings and other events now.
The daughter of the current owner lives just ten minutes away.
She’s our contact and her father, the owner of the castle, is too old to care for it.
He lives in a retirement home in the next town over. ”
“What do we know of the newly added ghost?” I asked, already dreading it.
The castle itself was gorgeous and clearly old, but it was maintained well.
I could imagine Dylan and I getting married here.
It was truly a gorgeous place, with the big lawn and trees in the distance.
I could even spot a lake further down the property.
Marcus took out his phone and began reading aloud. “We have two notes from previous mediums. One, the ghost is a female around her mid-twenties. And two, she seems angry and hostile. That’s it. We have no idea how she got here, or why she’s so angry.”
“Great,” I muttered.
Marcus gave me a pained smile. He was clearly just as excited as I was to enter the looming castle. “I don’t know about your experience with these types of ghosts. I just spoke to your boss Rino and I kind of lost it when I heard how new you were.”
I could only shrug sheepishly. “We weren’t informed that other mediums had given up the case. We thought we would be the first ones here.”
Marcus gave us a tense smile. “And that was why I lost my shit while talking to Rino. He hadn’t known either, by the way.”
“Fun,” Dylan dead-panned.
“I guess we’ll just lean on you since you have more experience,” I declared, smiling brightly to hopefully ease the tension.
Marcus shook his head smiling, “To think I’d planned on working as a social worker.
It wasn’t until Erik died, that I decided to become a medium instead of suppressing my powers.
I’ve worked all over the world as a medium to try and distract my broken heart.
I only came back to deal with this case because I was promised help from your boss.
With that said, I haven’t dealt with anything like this before either, and only have five years of experience myself. ”
“I’ll help you out as much as possible,” Erik offered smoothly. “And we’ll talk about what has happened while I was stuck in Africa once this case is done.” Erik gave Marcus a pointed look that I quickly looked away from.
“Okay, skat. I can’t wait,” Marcus grinned widely at him.
“What did he say?” Dylan asked.
“Erik will help us,” I explained. “Which means there’s no reason for us to stall any longer.”
“Hey, when did Marie leave?” Erik asked, looking at the spot where her car had been parked.
“Oh, yeah, when did she leave?” I pointed to the empty spot.
Dylan looked to where I pointed and shrugged. “She left right after I ran out after you. She said goodbye and told us to call if we needed help, medical or otherwise.”
“Well, that’s reassuring,” Marcus muttered, then stalked towards the front doors.
“Very,” I agreed, then reluctantly followed.