Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Mike
Dylan’s warm hand in mine helped ease some of my fear as we walked through the huge front doors.
The entrance floor was a pattern of gleaming light brown and darker brown tiles.
There was a big staircase further ahead and many hallways and doors at both sides.
This could very well take us ages if the ghosts didn’t find us first.
“Look at those statues,” Dylan murmured, taking in the décor like one would in a museum.
I simply nodded in agreement. They were beautiful, and obviously old.
The wall to our right was filled with landscape paintings, all with some kind of landmark that seemed to be from at least a hundred years ago.
The walls also had small plates on them with information on where to go.
It was clear this was a castle for visitors to browse through, though I assumed it was with a guide watching over them.
I wouldn’t have trusted people alone in this place, it was simply too beautiful and valuable to risk.
“According to the sign here,” Marcus said, pointing to a silver sign. “The bedrooms are all upstairs. Perhaps we should check the entire downstairs before heading there, just in case?”
“Fine by me,” I agreed, following his lead. Erik was walking slightly ahead, clearly acting as a bodyguard to Marcus, even if he couldn’t do much. It was endearing to witness.
“This place is massive,” Marcus stated with a bit of irritation laced in his tone. It was clear he wanted to just ditch this case and be with Erik, but knowing we’d helped Erik find him was enough for him not to abandon us here without help.
“I think the kitchens are this way.”
“Kitchens?” I questioned Marcus. All the signs were in Danish but I was still surprised that there was more than one kitchen.
“It said kitchens, so I guess it means it has a big one, and maybe a smaller one for the staff,” Marcus explained. “To be honest, this is my first time visiting a castle as well.”
“Really?” Dylan asked. “If I lived here, I would’ve visited them all.”
Marcus just smirked knowingly at Dylan. “So, I take it that means you’ve visited all the museums in your state? Or perhaps the famous landmarks?”
I snickered at Dylan’s sheepish expression. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
Marcus just laughed as we continued down a long hallway. “I’ve truly always wanted to visit a castle, but with them being so accessible, I just never bothered. Not until now.”
“I get why people get married here,” Erik added, smiling lovingly at his boyfriend, fiancé? I had no idea what they were to each other now that Erik was a ghost, but I would think of them as fiancées considering they’d both wanted to propose.
The smile Marcus gave him was a pained one, full of regret and grief.
They would never actually get married, no matter what, that could never legally happen with Erik being dead.
I wondered if other mediums had been with ghosts romantically, and had stayed with them until they’d died.
Perhaps marrying a ghost as a medium wouldn’t be too weird.
If the human lived somewhere without any ghosts, they could touch the ghost as if they were alive.
That would be enough for someone in love.
It would’ve been enough for me if Dylan were to—Nope! Not going there.
“I can sense one of them nearby,” Erik announced, walking a little faster.
We followed, me tugging Dylan along. I didn’t bother telling him what Erik had said, he seemed truly intent on just following our lead and trusting us, no reason to waste time telling him what he would soon learn anyway.
There were three doors ahead, one of them a thick wooden door that Erik passed straight through.
“I think that’s the kitchen,” Marcus said, opening the door with us following close behind. I didn’t want to risk anything happening to Marcus, and even if the ghost couldn’t do anything—or it seemed that way at least since Erik was taking up some of the energy—I still wanted to stay close.
The kitchen was a darker one, with rich wooden cabinets, stone walls and copper accents around the room. Two huge windows overlooked the garden to the left where the ghost sat, gazing outside while ignoring our presence completely. Erik was standing next to her, looking slightly worried.
“Are you well?” Erik asked, and it was such a weird question to ask someone who was dead that I almost laughed.
Luckily, I caught myself in time and remembered they still had feelings and felt as though they were alive, just without the need to sleep, eat, and drink, and of course the lack of bathroom breaks and showers.
The ghost sighed, then turned to face Erik. Her expression was pained and filled with regret and worry. “I hope to be soon, young man,” she replied. “My name is Hanne, I take it that the men behind you are the new mediums?”
Erik nodded. “You heard they were coming?”
She shook her head. “I just figured as much. We’ve already had six mediums try to deal with the wretched woman in our attic.
Sadly, they either got injured or scared out of here.
” She leveled a look at Erik, “Maybe you being here will help with that. I noticed I couldn’t touch the window like I’m used to. Is that why you’re with them?”
“Just happy coincidence,” Erik assured her. “But what do you mean six mediums? We only heard of five?”
“There was one who came in the middle of the night with equipment. Lots of electronic stuff and what I think was a radio. He was talking to himself about how he wanted to catch the ghost on camera.”
Marcus and I groaned.
“That wasn’t a medium,” Erik smiled kindly, but his eyes held the same exasperation as we felt. “It was likely an eager ghost hunter who wasn’t allowed to be here.”
“Then I will no longer feel bad for his injury,” Hanne stated primly. “How utterly shameless of him to break into a castle such as this and make such a ruckus.” She scoffed. “The youth these days.”
I couldn’t help but grin at that.
Marcus stepped closer to Erik and Hanne, giving her a winning smile. “What can you tell us about the ghost in the attic?”
The attic. I mentally scoffed. So, lame and utterly unoriginal.
Hanne shrugged in a very ladylike way. “One day she was just here, screaming and destroying things. Fritz and I try to keep our distance, but she’s everywhere. Her favorite place is the attic and she seems protective of the room.”
I made a mental note of the other ghost’s name, Fritz, then asked, “Have you tried speaking with her?”
Hanne nodded. “I have. Several times. Not that it did me any good. She screamed her head off, then stomped away angrily. Fritz tried as well, but she doesn’t seem to like men much, or perhaps it was just Fritz. She kicked his shin and he’s stayed clear of her ever since.”
Erik laughed softly at that, not that it was truly funny, but he likely figured Hanne needed some lightness to brighten her situation.
It was clear she wasn’t happy with the newest addition to the household, but she couldn’t do anything about it.
Now that Erik was here, the ghost couldn’t harm the others, but that also meant they couldn’t touch things as they were used to.
It had to be a boring existence to just watch people come and go.
“Fritz is likely hiding away in the library right now,” Hanne said, her dismissal obvious. “I hope he can share more, but I wouldn’t count on it.”
Marcus nodded. “Thank you for your time. I hope that we can help you out, and soon.”
“I hope so too, young man.” She smiled at him. “I’ll be here if you need me. I can’t do much, sadly, but at least you’ll know where I am.”
We left the big kitchen, intent on finding Fritz and seeing if he had any useful information.
I understood why they kept their distance, but now they shouldn’t fear her as much as before.
That hopefully meant that Fritz could help us find her.
Hanne didn’t seem inclined to leave her spot, but I figured Fritz would hate the new ghost enough to want to aid us as much as possible.
I wouldn’t enjoy getting kicked myself, so I hoped he felt the same way.
“The library must be upstairs,” Marcus sighed as we once again found ourselves in the castle’s foyer. We’d looked through all the rooms on the ground floor by now and were tired of searching for Fritz.
“Are there any signs that mention the library?” Dylan asked, walking towards the stairs with me in tow.
“No,” Marcus said, following us up the stairs. “I think we have to look through all the rooms, unless Erik will be able to sense him as we approach.”
“It wasn’t much of a help with Hanne,” Erik reminded us. “I only felt her presence once we were a few steps away.”
“It’s still a help if we don’t have to check each room but just pass them by,” I said, smiling back at Erik. He was a huge help and needed to know as much.
“Thank you,” he said, returning my smile.
The upstairs held even more rooms, and I was getting annoyed and less enthused about the beautiful interior.
I could tell Marcus felt the same, his need to be with Erik spurring him forward with intent.
I would need to buy a fruit basket or something for the man once we were done in Denmark.
Unless you gave them sm?rrebr?d or pastries here as thanks? I would need to google that.
“In here!” Erik announced, flying forward to a door that looked identical to the others. We were right behind him, eager to get to Fritz and find out more.
Marcus opened the door, the creak it made enough to announce our presence to Fritz, who was thankfully waiting for us inside, sitting, or rather, hovering over a leather chair in the corner.
“Fantastic,” he drawled. “They sent children this time.”
“Hello,” I said, waving awkwardly as I ignored the comment on us being children. The only young one here was Dylan, and it wasn’t as though he was a teenager anymore.