Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Dylan
I heard many sighs around me as Heidi turned to face Kimmie with an odd look. “What are you saying?”
Kimmie pointed to Marcus. “Being in a relationship with a ghost? That’s fucking disgusting!”
Marcus’ hand seemed to hold onto Erik from the way it bent, but his other was in a tight fist. I couldn’t stand to watch it.
“Is the sight of them being in love bothering you?” I asked, stealing the attention from her. “Does it scare you as a medium that ghosts are capable of feeling love? Because if that’s the case, how can you help them pass on if you believe they shouldn’t be shown any empathy?”
Kimmie blinked a few times before her mouth opened and closed, then she spluttered, “That’s entirely different! I’m not having sex with them!”
“How do you know what Marcus and Erik are doing behind closed doors?” Mike asked, joining the discussion. “You’re the one who went straight to sex after judging Marcus for having Erik by his side. Shouldn’t Erik be the one to decide what he wants to do in the afterlife?”
Heidi clapped before we could argue any further.
“Ghosts have free will. That is the mediums way of offering them the respect they deserve.” She leveled a glare at Kimmie.
“We protect ghosts first and foremost and only banish them if they’re a danger to humans.
If Erik is happy with Marcus, then so be it. That is no crime.”
“I actually think it’s cute,” Thor said, grinning at Marcus.
“If I die before my wife then I would want to follow her around, too, if she’d let me.
I sadly wouldn’t be able to still talk to her like you can, but if it was possible then dying wouldn’t feel as scary.
At least I wouldn’t be gone from her life until I chose otherwise. ”
“Erik is waiting for me to join him,” Marcus admitted shyly. “He died before we could get engaged and has chosen to stay beside me until my time comes.”
Heidi smiled at Marcus. “I think it’s wonderful! And because of your bond, you helped the castle and the friendly ghosts within. We’re most grateful for that.” She gave the room a quick glance. “I have to speak with them privately so go back to your new case; it should be an easy one to take on.”
Her team left the room, Kimmie looking sour as she passed us, but then we were left with Heidi and the room suddenly felt much warmer without the angry medium in it.
“I spoke briefly with Rino,” Heidi began, looking at Mike. “Did you see the ghost’s final moments while you banished her?”
Mike gasped softly. He’d told me what had happened and how traumatic it had been. I was glad we’d eaten beforehand because we were both left feeling nauseous once he was done explaining it all to me.
He nodded. “And some random memories too that she thought of when she realized she was about to die.”
Marcus’ eyes widened, but he didn’t comment on it, just allowed Mike to talk this through with Heidi.
She nodded. “You have a gift, or a curse, however you wish to interpret it. It’s a rare ability among mediums and it is most helpful in cases where we don’t have enough information.
But.” She held up a hand to stop his protests.
“It can also be extremely traumatizing, which is why it is up to you if you wish to never banish another ghost again. Because with your ability, you will experience it every single time you perform a banishment.”
I felt the small tremors that went through Mike’s body at the news, so I tightened my hold on his hand, even if it pained me with my wounds. Comforting Mike was more important that my aching hand, though, so I kept a firmer grip on him as Heidi continued to speak.
“Are you sure it’s every time?” Mike asked, his tone lacking any hope.
Her smile was kind and full of understanding.
“I’ve met one with the same ability and heard of another.
Neither of them could banish ghosts without having their final moments shown in their minds, and only one of them chose to continue with banishments and is picky about which cases she takes.
The other is firmly against ever banishing ghosts again, his last time had him throwing up and he occasionally still has nightmares about it. ”
Mike’s eyes widened. “It was that bad?”
She nodded grimly. “Serial killer. The murderer… he um... thought about the people he’d killed and how he reveled in murdering them while he died of old age. The poor medium saw and felt all of it.”
“You’re never doing that ever again!” I demanded, tucking Mike closer to my side. “You don’t deserve to experience that sort of trauma. No one does.”
Heidi nodded, clearly agreeing with me. “If it was me, I wouldn’t do it either. We have to think about ourselves as well. And being a medium means that you already give much of your life to help ghosts. No one would blame you, Mike, if you refuse to do it.”
Mike nodded, looking almost as drained as he’d been yesterday.
“I prefer never to experience it again. I was lucky that my ghost had a quick death. The pain was there, but it had been so quick I didn’t really get to feel it.
The worst part was the knowledge that she would die, and I felt that fear as if it was my own. ”
Marcus let out a shaky exhale. “I had no idea.”
I spoke for Mike, knowing he needed to gather himself. “Mike didn’t tell me until last night. It was a shock to him and until now we hadn’t known what it was either.”
“I’m just glad you weren’t alone when it happened,” Marcus said, stepping closer to Mike to squeeze his shoulder. “I don’t know if this will mean anything, but I wouldn’t have continued banishing ghosts either.”
That seemed to break Mike’s silence. “Really?”
Marcus nodded.
“Thank you,” Mike whispered, smiling weakly.
“I think we’ll head back to our hotel now,” I announced, sensing that Mike needed time to process this news.
“I understand,” Heidi smiled. “I’ll talk to Rino and explain further. I did tell him I knew about Mike’s extra ability, but we didn’t have time to talk details. He only knows a little about it, so I’ll update him fully.”
“Thank you,” I said, offering her my hand. “We hope to return again some day and work more cases.”
“I hope you do,” she smiled, shaking my hand.
Rino had told us we didn’t have to take the other two cases when I’d spoken with him this morning and I figured this had to be the reason why.
He knew Mike needed some time to process what had happened and even though he hadn’t been told all the details, I’d given him enough so he could understand what Mike had been through.
We left the headquarters and once Marcus had dropped us off, we promised to still meet up with them later for dinner. It was rather fun having a double date where I couldn’t see or talk with one of the participants, but Mike needed a proper goodbye and so did I.
“Damn, you look amazing,” I gushed, turning Mike around to appreciate his butt. “Is this for Erik’s benefit?” I teased, palming his ass.
He blushed, but didn’t deny it. I just smirked at him knowingly.
Erik meant a lot to him and it was cute that he wanted to look good for their last night together, at least for a while.
We had no idea when we would see them again, which was why Marcus had made reservations at an amazing restaurant for us.
One Erik and Marcus had frequented together many times when they went out on dates.
“You look perfect yourself,” Mike grinned as he eyed my dress shirt and sweatpants combo.
Now I was glad the pants were black; at least I could pretend they were a conscious choice.
I really hoped Marcus had told the restaurant about my appearance.
I didn’t want to wear denim and risk the fabric rubbing against my stitches.
“I know,” I said, returning his grin.
He shook his head but continued to smile fondly at me. “I really need this tonight. Just us and friends, no work.”
I completely agreed with him on that. “How about Norway?” I asked, kissing his cheek because he was just too adorable to resist.
He blinked in surprise. “Norway?”
I just nodded, kissing down his neck. “For one whole week. Just you.” Kiss. “And me.” Kiss.
He moaned and moved his head so I had more room to kiss. “I like the sound of that.”
“Good,” I whispered. “Because we’re leaving tomorrow.”
That had his attention. “What? Tomorrow?!”
I nodded, ignoring his protest when I tried to resume the kissing. I wasn’t done showering him with my love. “Rino already gave us his approval.”
“Is it a vacation?” he asked, a tad breathlessly.
“Hmm, a whole week where the only thing we have to do is relax and have some… fun.”
He shivered, then swallowed, “I’d like that.”
I smiled against his neck; he had no idea how much fun we were about to have.
A loud ping interrupted us.
“They’re here!” Mike exclaimed, grabbing his phone eagerly. “I’ll tell them we’re coming.” I just smiled and followed Mike out to the elevator.
Once we were outside, we found Marcus waving from the closest corner and we hurried over to him. “Hey!” he greeted, smiling warmly at us. “Did you manage to get some rest?”
“We did,” Mike replied, smiling back at them both. I sometimes hated that I couldn’t see Erik, but maybe that was for the best. I would much rather be Mike’s anchor than just another medium. At least as his anchor I could help him.
“I’m glad. That Kimmie was a mean bitch,” Marcus grumbled as we followed him down the street. He’d said that the restaurant was a ten-minute walk from our hotel, and a nice evening stroll was preferred over taking a taxi.
“She was,” I agreed easily. “It was clear that she had some opinions on how others should live their lives.”
Marcus scoffed. “For her to have such demands of others, I fail to see how she can be a good medium.”
“Or,” Mike began, “She was feeling down because we’d managed to do something she failed to do herself and she lashed out, mentioning the first thing she could latch onto.”
Marcus seemed to think that over. “Hmm, perhaps. Still a bitch, though.”
“Oh, for sure,” I agreed with a grin. “When we come back here, we only want to work with you and Erik.”
That earned me a soft smile. “I can’t wait.”
“Oh, wow!” Mike exclaimed and I turned to face the building he was so awed by. It had lots of fairy lights outside and ivy that grew up the sides of the front, creating an inviting environment.
“This is it,” Marcus announced, seemingly pleased by our reaction. “Cozy, isn’t it?”
“Romantic is more like it,” I smiled, following Marcus inside.