MEDIUM - Chapter 24: Chapter 24

MEDIUM.
Adrian Brooke.
Ari was exhausted, and it wasn't because of school, no, it was actually the bakery that had needed all his effort, since the extension they've had a lot more customers and the influx in demand has had an impact on staff meaning Renee would need all hands on deck when  they were free. "Now can I sit down?" Ari whined as he had just waited tables and helped in the kitchen all day, which was the equivalent of all the parted shifts. "Yes Adrian you can, you cannot imagine how grateful I am for the help, it means a lot, soon we'll be closing up, the contractor said the next part of the remodel couldn't happen with people around, I trust he'll be done in a week so in that week hopefully I can fully resign from work and find a willing extra set of hands." Renee explained as they sat in the kitchen with a cooling batch of chocolate brownies next to them.
"How is our little wolf doing?" Renee asked as Johnny walked in, he looked better than previous days, it had been a week after his encounter with their family, and Ari along with the family had been helping Johnny and Enzo find balance without Kyle, the bond was broken, Adrian knew that, when he looked at Johnny and felt the string of fate, there was only one, connected to Enzo, and it might be represented as a string but it was more, Ari knew that. "He's feeling better, actually got out of the house today." Adrian replied as he used his psychic powers to actually have a conversation with Johnny. "I needed the fresh air, plus Enzo had to show up to class today which left me alone at home today, I couldn't stand the tv noise." Johnny replied through the psychic link as Renee went over to hug him. "I'm glad you're just up and walking little brother." Ari stated as he smiled toward the two.
"Say, can I get a warm brownie?" Johnny spoke looking at the tray as Renee let go of him. "Yeah sure, this is why I bake after all." Renee grinned making Adrian chuckle, he was glad Johnny was feeling better. The lights suddenly flickered on and off, it made Ari frown questioningly. "What was that?" Renee asked as he felt around with magic but came up with nothing, then the lights suddenly brightened way too much, it was as if they were being ignited with too much electricity, so they started popping, each one in the kitchen bursting into tiny pieces of glass. "Everyone get out!" Renee screamed at his other workers and they all rushed out but not Adrian, there was something familiar about the light bursts. So he allowed himself to see and when he did he found the source.
"Could you please stop that?" He asked the woman, pale white skin, she seemed so dried out as if she had no blood or water in her, then it clicked in Adrian's mind, she died through electrocution hence why she was affecting everything electrical near her. "I don't know how." She whispered as another wave of electricity rolled off her causing the cafe lights to burst aswell. "Relax, look at me and relax." Adrian coaxed the ghost as he opened his palm and orange flames flickered into being. "Can you feel them?" He asked and the woman nodded. "I'm so cold, thank you." She muttered coming closer. "Wait, how is this possible, how can you see me?" She moved back afraid but Adrian raised his hands to show he wasn't going to harm her.
"I'm a psychic, I can see the manifestation of remnants left by old life." He explained and she turned her head, confused. "I can see ghosts, ghouls, the whole non existent mystical creatures, and I'm assuming you felt a pull here and I'm also assuming you died violently." Adrian explained it all, going through each  statement with slow tentative grasp so she understood. "I didn't even know I died, well I knew but then, now it feels real." She replied and Adrian understood, it never feels real until you can't feel anything and the cold of the aether sets in. "Maybe I can help, it's why you were drawn here." He added and she came closer with a nod, the electricity sparked again and Adrian knew this was the last place they needed to be.
"Okay, come with me and focus on the tug you feel when I ignite my flame." He stated and allowed his protective flames to come to life, the young woman followed Adrian out the back door, Renee and Johnny were already there talking to firefighters, it seems Renee had thought they were experiencing an electrical fire. So he gestured Johnny to the side. "I took care of it, it's a ghost I have to help, can you cover for me with Renee, tell him I just need to help her and I'll be back, hopefully early, but I'll be okay and I'll text regularly." He explained to his brother who nodded right then, hugged the air out of him then released him. "Be careful out there, we don't know what our deranged family is up to." Johnny muttered and Adrian nodded before turning to the ghost.
"Sorry, I have an overprotective family, what do you remember, of the time you died?" Ari questioned and the woman hummed. "I worked for a law firm, it's in mid town, a client and I were having a meeting, my boss had tasked me with helping the client understand his situation, ofcourse I was just an intern so I wouldn't be representing anyone, the client asked that we go to his house, he claimed he would be more comfortable there, I agreed of course because there was no harm in it, I'd done the same with other clients for a long period of time, this was no different, we were on our way, the north side suburbs—." She explained and Adrian snapped his finger teleporting both himself and the ghost to the north side. "How did you?" She demanded looking at him in awe.
"Magic, —continue." He told the woman. "He lived in this neighborhood but we hadn't gotten here when it happened, we were near the power plant development area just passing by when the car was suddenly rammed into from the side." She went on as the space around Adrian and the woman changed, as she explained the scene of what happened began playing in front of Adrian and the woman. "Exactly like that, we didn't get out on our own, two men dragged us out, my client died because the car had rammed directly into his side." Adrian could see it happen, the crash happened with an armoured car, no human could've survived that crash. "I fortunately had my seatbelt on and the airbag deployed on time, but I was still hurt, they dragged me inside, I was half conscious, aware but unable to do anything, they didn't know what to do with me since their target had been killed, they threw me into the transformer but even before the electrocution started I felt detached." She finished explaining as Adrian stood there unable to form words.
Mystics were cruel when provoked but this cruelty humanity had against it's own, it caused an unease to form within Adrian, and to think the culprits got away with it. "I'm truly sorry for how you died." Adrian whispered as the crackle of his flame was the only thing filling the space. "Thank you for listening." She replied as Adrian knew what to do next. "Do you have family, of any kind that you would like to contact?" Adrian asked and the woman shook her head in refusal. "The only family I ever had was my boss, I'd like to say something to him but I don't think it matters." She stated and Adrian wondered why, it's not as if he wasn't significant. "Do you know the reason why you can't find peace?" Adrian asked and she shook her head in refusal.
A lot of the times when people die they are confused, when they find clarity and realization they are also required to find the reason why they can't find peace, a lot of the times it's easy to find the reason on their own but for ghosts like this woman, Adrian knew she had a yearning, maybe it was justice, or finally saying the right words to her boss. "Well I have a feeling that you're still here because your body still hasn't been found even though your accident happened about two weeks ago I reckon, and also because you haven't said goodbye to a significant person in your life." He explained as his feet hovered off the ground and then he shot up into the sky with the woman right next to him. "Names are special when you're a ghost, don't just give it to anyone but I will ask you only once because I need someway of reporting to the police where your body is and address your boss." He explained and she seemed surprised.
"Why would my name be special?" She asked and Adrian chuckled. "There are far more terrifying things in the world than thugs or make believe characters from movies, spirits exist and so does everything that could ensalve you here and you're unable to find peace, just by knowing your name, I'm trying to help you, it's why I asked so I'm hoping you'll find peace before an encounter with any other nasty characters." Adrian replied as electricity sparked around the woman, she was uneasy, more like terrified but Adrian understood. "It's Anika, —Anika Merrow."  She whispered and Adrian nodded. "First the police." Adrian asserted as he snapped his fingers in mid air, then vanished in blinding orange light.
"The world seems different now I understand but trust me, when you find yourself in peace, it'll be better." Adrian promised Anika as they appeared by the police station, it remimded him of the times he'd trusted the wrong man, ofcourse he'd helped his family but in the end it was all for a price. "Adrian." Someone called out and Ari whipped around to face his uncle, he knew that because he was connected to Johnny, and what his brother knew about their paternal family, he knew. "I'm sorry do I know you?" Adrian questioned as he faced the man. "No, I suppose you don't, —I'm Mikhail Sovietro." He offered a hand and Adrian looked at the man as if he were mental, with what he knew now shaking that hand may very well be a death warrant.
"Constó." Adrian whispered the spell freezing Mikhail completely. "What are you doing kiddo?" Mihkail struggled as Adrian did a head dive into Mikhail, the man didn't even know as now Adrian had perfected the art, he found out all of Mikhail's secrets, all that he planned to do with them and his family, what he was trying to do to Skyler but failed, he went deeper into his uncle's mind and began placing subtle instructions, it would all come in handy one day, as Adrian walked out of Mikhail's mind he set his spell on the man's mind, someone very skilled in mental prowess could sense his spell but not the rest of his instructions, those were too deeply embedded.
"I didn't like the Sovietro clan before, I don't like them now." Adrian spat as he released his spell and walked into the building. "What was that, it felt cold and harsh, like a thousand voices spoke at once." Anika explained coming closer to Adrian's fire, he'd conjured the flames only for her so no one else could see them. "Don't worry, it's gonna be okay." He reassured but Adrian himself wondered how far true that was, he felt the cold too, to him it wasn't harsh, it was familiar, it felt as if that darkness was a manifestation of him, in some way so he didn't shy away from it.
"Hello, I'm Adrian, could I speak to detective Mornell?" Adrian asked the front desk receptionist who nodded as she smiled and directed Adrian to where the defective was, it was the small cafeteria on the second floor. "How do you know all this?" Anika muttered and Adrian chuckled. "I've had dealings with the police many many times before, I find detective Mornell is the one I can truly work with, she's still skeptical but when things make sense she tends to get things done." Adrian expained to his ghost friend in the elevator, it opened on the second floor, and Adrian crossed a busy hallway to the small cafeteria. Ari wondered where the woman was until he spotted her, she was seated with a group of her colleagues, or so Adrian hoped.
Most men would be intimidated by Mornell, she was on her way to getting a promotion, she out of all the detectives Adrian had worked with had a good track record to believe in the mystic side of things, even for a human, so Adrian waved across the room toward her and she immediately perked up with a smile that got brighter when she saw Adrian. "Ari, —hello, it's been a while." She greeted with an embrace and Adrian was actually glad to be hugged by someone almost his 5'7 height. "I've been busy, school, work, family, it never gets easy." Adrian replied and they both chuckled. "I know what that feels like." She replied gently whilst pushing back her curly blonde bob past her shoulders.
"I assume you're on official business then?" She asked and Adrian nodded, that's when her game face came on and she led Adrian back to the elevator then to the third floor where her office was. "Whatchu got for me?" Mornell asked as they were finally behind a closed door, he wondered where her partner was but it didn't matter. "A woman was killed two weeks ago, a hit job gone wrong, she was caught in the scuffle, they threw her body into the developing power plant, a transformer." Adrian explained as Mornell winced. "What's her name, I need to see if I can find a missing person's report in the database if it was made." Mornell stated as she pushed a piece of paper and gave it to Adrian with a pen, she knew the rules, don't speak the name of the innocent dead if they had manifested around Adrian, so Adrian wrote down the name.
"A report was made a day after she went missing by a Harold Dean, her boss and adoptive father." Mornell replied and the woman glitched in and out of existence, as the electricity fluctuated in the room. "I did tell you ghosts cause electrical phenomena if they were killed by it." Adrian teased the beautiful detective who just chuckled. "Do you have anything else to tell me?" She asked and Adrian nodded, he explained  what he had been told by Anika and where to find her body exactly. "Sosphis metvagho kekhtu." Adrian whispered the spell, not even the ghost could hear it as he placed his palms on two sheets of paper Mornell had offered, on them were the images of the people who caused the incident. "Hey I know these guys, they are part of a syndicate my other friend has been investigating, Adrian, —goodness you just gave his case a break, he's gonna be ecstatic." Mornell explained as Adrian chuckled looking at the happy detective then the ghost.
"Don't worry, I'll get a team on this as soon as possible, we should have the body soon and then we can finally nab these guys, thank you so much Adrian." Mornell offered her profound thanks before she left to order everyone into action. "You have a surprisingly good effect on people." Anika muttered and Adrian chuckled. "I surprise myself too, come lets go find Harold." The mention of the name made a stir in Anika that clearly Adrian saw but he just smiled, a feeling told him that was his last stop. He made it out of the police precinct without any complications, Mornell honked her car once as she drove off north bound. As for Adrian, he headed into the city, midtown exactly, it wasn't a far walk from where the precinct was to where Anika worked, as they walked the electrical surges Anika emitted were suddenly gone, her skin changed to a healthy looking tone, her hair nolonger spiky.
Adrian knew she was regaining her old form, being prepared by the energies of the world for what came next. As Ari and Anika made it to the law firm Anika sighed in her ghostly form. "This is it." Adrian muttered as Anika nodded and they walked in. "Hello welcome to Dean Holdings, how can I help you?" The friendly receptionist mumbled as he put the phone down. "Hello, I'm Adrian Brooke, I'd like to see mister Dean himself." Adrian replied and it seemed the receptionist deflated. "I'm sorry sir, mister Dean is currently not accepting any guests, he's instructed all his appointments cancelled, you'll have to come another day." He expressed sadly and Adrian knew he was telling the truth, the man he sought to find was currently in his office telling everyone to leave him alone.
"I understand but it's important, absonom." Adrian whispered and the man fell unconscious, he then looked around to see of anyone was there and no one was, he vanished and appeared in the man's office, what surprised Adrian was that mister Dean was a mystic, an old one. "What is it now?" He groaned as he turned to face Adrian. "It is unlike a vampire to be so disheveled mister Dean." Adrian called out shocking both mister Dean and Anika. "Vampire, how, —he's no vampire, he doesn't sparkle." Anika protested and Adrian rolled his eyes, leave it to a human to assume vampires sparkled. "Unlike the make believe stories we've been told, vampires don't sparkle, they don't burn in the sunlight unless cursed, and they can live very regular lives." Adrian explained looking at Anika but since Dean couldn't see Anika, he thought Adrian was a stupid kid, talking to imaginary people.
"Kid, get out, I don't have time for these games." Dean grumbled as he stood up, in the blink of an eye he had Adrian by his throat but Adrian became intangible as his body burst into orange leaves then appeared behind Dean. "I am Adrian Brooke, the medium, and I didn't come here for games either, I came with your daughter Anika." Adrian explained as he waved his hand next to him and Anika's form appeared, she was still intangible but visible as Adrian allowed Dean to see what he saw temporarily. "Hello Harold." She mused as Harold Dean tried to hug her but his hands went through. "She has no physical form anymore." Adrian muttered as he nodded toward Anika. "I'll give you some privacy." He offered before walking out the door and into the lovely hallway decorated with African art pieces, Adrian smiled as he recognized some of them, only Harold must have collected them since he was an old vampire.
"A surprise to find you here." Mikhail stated as he appeared from the elevator that opened into the hallway. "A surprise indeed." Adrian muttered as he ignored the rest of Mikhail, he wondered if the man was here to see Dean but instead he went for an office further past Dean's which made him sigh in relief, so this was where Mikhail and his paternal family had gotten the papers to bring to court in the case for their father to claim them back, fate really did have a way of unfolding hidden things. As Adrian waited for thirty minutes more he felt a tug back where Anika was, so he walked back in, the woman finally looked like she had found herself and peace. "Thank you Adrian Brooke, for everything, and I hope you figure out your family troubles." She muttered as Adrian nodded and released his spell, a swirling white portal appeared behind Anika and she moved into it, Adrian restricted himself from seeing what was beyond, he didn't need to, he knew.
Harold Dean watched the portal close and Adrian finally find a restful smile on his face. "Thank you, the world is cruel, I had thought to give her a better life but it seems it is my curse to doom those I love." Harold Dean mumbled and Adrian shook his head in refusal, he held the man's hand, light golden skin that contrasted with his but more so beautiful. "You are not cursed, you've just lost your way, and I think you need to find it again, and maybe for once let yourself love, it's not an easy decision, I've seen what you've gone through so I know, but consider it." Adrian offered as he hugged the 6'3 vampire before turning to leave. "Thank you again, Adrian Brooke—." Then it seems something struck Harold. "Are you the Adrian Brooke, your father Neill Sovietro?" Harold asked and Adrian sighed. "Unfortunately." Adrian mumbled in disdain but Harold smiled. "I'd like to return the favor."