Chapter Forty-One
Sephie
I really had to hand it to the guys. They were so attentive to my needs this time. They were struggling just as much as I was about being here. They were all trying to hide it, but I could tell every single one of them was just as nervous as I was. It seemed to help them deal with that when they could be closer to me, just as it helped me. I wasn’t going to complain.
Adrik kept me close. He did have to let go of me a few times when greeting people, but for the most part, he kept one arm around me while he shook hands with literally every person in attendance. It meant I could feel what he felt when he touched people. It was fascinating.
Most people here were overwhelmingly good. When Adrik would shake their hand, it was a momentary feeling of joy. There were a few, however, who had some darkness behind them, but nothing that made any of us worry. Only once did I feel Ivan’s bubble go up. Strangely, it was for one of the hospital administrators who had stopped to speak to Adrik. He had very soft hands and an even softer handshake. The kind of handshake that gave you the creeps right away.
I happily stayed blissfully cut off from that conversation while it happened. I took the opportunity to ask Ivan if he could see anything. He showed me what he saw when he looked at the administrator. He wasn’t completely consumed by his demon, but the demon had a very tight hold over the man. The demon itself was clearly defined. The man was older, with a slightly bent-over posture, like he’d spent hours poring over balance sheets. Once I saw what Ivan saw, I wondered if it wasn’t the weight of the demon on his back that was causing his poor posture.
I turned my head away from Adrik and the administrator, making eye contact with Stephen as I pretended to cough. I cut my eyes toward the administrator, which meant Stephen was to find the opportunity to speak in front of him to see if we could scare the demon away. He stepped closer to us, to get a sense of the conversation that Adrik was having and interjected a question at the perfect moment.
We all watched as the man suddenly had a coughing attack, almost like he was choking. Ivan still had his bubble up around me, but he was still showing me what he could see. The demon was making a last-ditch effort to get inside, trying to get away from Stephen, which is what was causing the man to cough. His body was trying to reject it.
Stephen was standing just on the other side of Adrik, slightly behind him. I held my hand out to Stephen, who readily took it. He could then see what Ivan was seeing. He spoke a second time and even went to help the man. As soon as Stephen touched the man, Ivan could see the demon just vanish. Stephen’s eyes went a little wide, but he kept himself under control. Once the man stopped coughing, Stephen returned to stand just behind Adrik once more.
This time, he grabbed my hand, showing me what had just happened. When he touched the man, he could feel the rage from the demon, who actually spoke to him. I could hear it say, “You’ll never get all of us.” Then it laughed as it was vanishing.
I got chills as I watched what Stephen had seen. Adrik and Ivan both felt it immediately and I was hit with a wave of fiery anger from both of them. I didn’t mean to laugh, but I did. It caused everyone to look at me. It appeared that I was laughing at this man having a coughing attack in front of me.
I cleared my throat, looking at the man. “Sorry. I laugh when I’m nervous,” I told him, hoping that was enough of an explanation to grant me some grace and make me not look like a giant asshole.
The administrator surprised me by laughing with me. “It’s okay. That came out of nowhere, but I actually feel much better now,” he said, excusing himself as he grabbed someone who was walking by.
The guys took the opportunity to close in on me and Adrik, cutting anyone else off for just a moment. I quickly shared what we’d just witnessed with both Andrei and Misha as Ivan shared it with Adrik.
“That was different,” Adrik said. “He’s the only one so far tonight. Honestly, I was expecting more.”
Battista took the opportunity of us being mostly alone to walk to the mayor. He interrupted the conversation the mayor was having and pulled him toward us. It was good to be ridiculously wealthy, apparently.
Before they could make it all the way to us, Adrik made sure I was okay. “You’re okay now? I felt you get cold.”
“I’m okay. You and Ivan are really quick now. It wasn’t like it was with Ilya this time. I just got the chills when I heard it speak to Stephen, but I appreciate the heat boost. I’ll never turn that down,” I said, smiling up at him.
He smiled softly at me, pressing his lips to mine once again just before the mayor walked up. The guys stepped back enough that Battista and the mayor could talk to Adrik, but made it such that no one else could approach them and interrupt the conversation we’d been trying to make happen for hours now.
Adrik’s hand was around my waist as he shook hands with the mayor. I felt a moment of joy when Adrik touched him and nothing else. Ivan shared what he saw. The mayor still had a dark form over him, but it couldn’t gain a hold of him. It was still trying. It would move when the mayor moved, but it wasn’t completely attached yet. I discreetly offered Stephen my hand so he could see what Ivan was seeing and know what to do. He once again stepped closer, paying attention to the conversation, waiting for the perfect time to interject.
Adrik and the mayor had spoken before, but they tried to keep their interactions limited. It was obvious that Battista had also spoken to the mayor before, as those two were familiar with each other. There was a level of comfort between them that only happened when you’d had several conversations with a person.
Doug, the mayor, told Adrik quietly, “I’ve been speaking with my district attorney. We’re really working hard to find something definitive on the doctor so we can charge him. Honestly, I don’t want you to turn him over to us until I know we have something that will stick. He’s wreaked havoc on this city for a very long time. If we can’t get the justice system to take care of him, then you need to.”
“I might have what you’re looking for,” Adrik told him. “We’ve come across some records from the boss who paid him to create brawn in the first place. They’re quite detailed. Before I turn them over to your DA, I’d like to meet him, however.”
Doug looked momentarily surprised, which made me tense, but he followed it with, “I just assumed you’d met him before.” He looked around the room, adding, “He’s here somewhere, but if you don’t get a chance to meet him tonight, I’ll arrange a meeting. Somehow. I’m fairly certain that Henry is having me followed,” he said so quietly that we almost missed it.
“What does your DA think about Henry?” Stephen asked. Doug looked surprised that Stephen spoke, but when he saw that Adrik was waiting for an answer, he continued with the conversation. As he did, Ivan shared what he was seeing once again. Just like with the hospital administrator, the demon that looked like a dark cloud just behind the mayor was frantic to get in.
Doug answered, “He’s ready to charge him. If you have more information on him, I would love it.” He barely got his sentence out when he, too, started coughing uncontrollably. Almost violently. Once again, Stephen reached out and touched the mayor’s arm, asking if he was okay or if he needed help. When he did, Ivan could see the dark cloud behind the mayor disappear.
“That’s twice now that someone has coughed uncontrollably in front of us. People are going to start wondering what the hell we’re doing,” I told Ivan.
“Saving lives is sometimes messy business, princess,” Ivan said. He glanced at me, giving me a wink.
Stephen let go of the mayor, returning to his spot just behind Adrik. He discreetly grabbed my hand, passing on the information he’d gotten when he touched the mayor. Unlike the administrator, who’s demon was starting to attach firmly, the mayor’s demon was barely hanging on. I wasn’t sure if that had something to do with the fact that the first one could speak but the second one made no sounds when it vanished.
Andrei, who had been quietly watching everything, pushed what he could see to me. It was clear that the mayor had holes in his aura. He needed Viktor. The only problem was, we weren’t sure how to get him to agree to it and we couldn’t do it here, in front of everyone. We weren’t sure if Kostya could hide himself and hide the effects of what he was doing when he and Viktor fixed someone. For us, it was visibly obvious. We weren’t sure we could do it discreetly yet, so we didn’t want to take that chance.
Viktor, to his credit, had somewhat come around since Stephen had forcibly helped him. He did, however, seem completely relieved to know that he was mostly off the hook for his special services tonight when we discussed it prior to coming to the hotel. This time, I didn’t get the feeling from him that he was avoiding us. It was more that he was overwhelmed with making sure that we, mostly me, would be safe while we were at the event. Knowing he would somehow need to also use his gift while we were there was too much for him to handle.
We would figure out a way to help the mayor at a later date. We’d bought him some time tonight, but he was still vulnerable.
The mayor and Adrik continued discussing a few things, mostly options on how to meet in the future. Doug asked, “How long are you planning on staying tonight? It would be easy if you could meet Eric tonight.” He glanced around the room once again, then turned back to Adrik. “I haven’t seen Henry. He should be here, but I haven’t seen him yet. It would work out well if you could talk to my district attorney without Henry seeing.”
Adrik looked at Ivan. “Have you seen Henry yet?” Ivan shook his head no. Adrik then looked at Battista. He didn’t need to say anything. Battista simply said, “Leave it to me,” and left. Doug and Adrik both chuckled, continuing on with their conversation.
It wasn’t two minutes later and Battista came back with Eric, the district attorney, in tow. While they were walking the remaining distance to us, I asked Misha if he could find out where Henry was. I told him to take Stephen’s place just behind Adrik if he needed a boost, but I suddenly had a nagging feeling about Henry’s whereabouts.
Judging by what little I knew of Henry, he wasn’t the type to turn down any sort of extra attention. Events like this one always came with plenty of extra attention for important people. It didn’t make sense for him to not be here, unless there was something more important for him to take care of.
While Adrik was talking to Eric and Doug, I felt Misha move closer to us. He gently tugged on the sleeve of my dress, asking for my hand that was resting on the back of Adrik’s shoulder. I held it out for him, never turning to look at him. Eric, Doug, and Battista were none the wiser to what was happening behind us.
It didn’t take Misha very long to find Henry. It was the moment Misha had been fearing for months now. We caught Henry with his pants down. Literally. I felt Misha trying so hard not to laugh, which made it even more difficult for me to keep a straight face. I finally had to turn my head, trying to hide my face in Adrik’s shoulder. I caught sight of Misha, who was still behind us, and we both almost lost it.
I, somehow, miraculously managed to get myself under control. When Henry was brought up again in the conversation, I innocently asked if he was married, suggesting that maybe his spouse was taking longer or was perhaps ill. Adrik knew something was happening. He knew I didn’t ask questions that I didn’t already know the answer to.
“He is married, but his wife is here. I spoke to her earlier,” Eric said.
“Then perhaps he has a girlfriend,” I said. I said it in a way to make them think I was joking, but Adrik knew we’d caught him participating in extracurricular activities.
It was clear that Eric and Doug at least suspected something as well. They both looked at each other when I made the comment about the girlfriend. I picked up on it, asking them, “Do you know who she is or do you only suspect?” They both looked at me, wide-eyed. “Now, now, gentlemen. This isn’t the first time anyone here has heard of indiscretions of married men. However, judging by your reaction to my earlier statement, made mostly in jest, you not only know who this other woman is but she’s someone of some importance.”
Doug looked at me, then looked to Adrik. “Is she always so observant?”
Adrik looked at me, a small smile on his face. “More, usually. She’s been quiet tonight. But we all know she’s right. You can come clean on who the woman is or we can find out later.”
Eric sighed. “She’s one of the representatives for the city. Henry is trying to use her to get rid of Doug, as well as keep his job. They started the affair when Henry started to really believe he could get rid of Doug.”
“Rude,” I said.
“I assume his wife is none the wiser? What of her husband?” Adrik asked.
“His wife is clueless. Her wife is also clueless,” Eric said, smirking.
“Well, that’s a plot twist none of us were expecting. Suddenly no man wants to chastise Henry for making the lesbian switch teams. I did not expect that from him. High fives will abound once this gets out,” I said.
They all laughed loudly, which of course, caused everyone in the ballroom to look toward us. Before my panic could get any worse, the guys moved in closer, blocking me from view, while Adrik tightened his hold on me. I silently thanked all of them.
“You wouldn’t be wrong in any other case,” Eric said, still laughing. “But apparently she has a bit of a reputation. She will ‘allegedly’ sleep with anything she thinks will get her more power and clout,” he said, with air quotes for emphasis.
“Her mother must be so proud,” I said, causing another round of laughter. “The question is, gentlemen, can we use this lovely nugget of information to our advantage? Who is her wife?”
“Her wife is a teacher, but she comes from a wealthy family, which is why the representative married her,” Doug said.
I scoffed. “That’s easy then. Tell the wife, take away the family money and the rep goes away. Make it public that it was Henry and she stops helping him, because essentially, he’s the one who’s ruined her.”
“I fucking love you, princess,” Ivan told me silently.
Doug and Eric mulled over what I’d just said, then they both looked at Adrik in appreciation. Eric looked to me, asking, “Do you need a job?”
“Sorry, boys, I’m available for consultations only,” I said, smiling at them.
Eric handed Adrik his card anyway. “If she ever changes her mind, I could use someone who’s this good at strategy.”
Adrik chuckled, but he still took the card. “I’m not sure you could afford her full time, but maybe we can work something out on a case-by-case basis,” he said, smirking at them both.
Battista was enjoying this conversation as well. He said to me, in Italian, “I would like you all to accompany me to every event like this that I attend. I know you’ve been working on things that cannot be mentioned in mixed company all night, as well as this. I have to admit, I’ve never had so much fun at a soul-sucking fundraiser before tonight,” he said, winking at me.
I responded, still in Italian, that I was happy I could be of service, and that we did need to have a discussion at some point, but likely not here. He nodded his head, excusing himself from the conversation. Doug and Eric remained for a few more minutes, before excusing themselves as well, leaving us mostly alone once more.
Adrik looked at me, then glanced at Misha. “What did you two see?” he asked. I quickly shared the movie clip that Misha and I saw of Henry with his pants down with the representative on her knees in front of him. I would not have pegged her as a lesbian watching her do that.
He laughed. “Her definition of lesbian is very different from mine,” he said. Finally, Misha and I were able to laugh about it. Misha had shared it with Andrei already, so I showed Stephen while Adrik showed Ivan. Misha and Andrei teamed up to push it to Viktor. Even he got a laugh out of it.
“It was my worst nightmare finally realized,” Misha said.
“At least it wasn’t someone you really know. Like you weren’t looking for your sister and you found that instead,” I said, still laughing at the whole situation.
“Oh, dear God, I’m never going looking for my sister now,” Misha said, his eyes the size of dinner plates. It caused another round of laughter from everyone.
Strangely, it meant that no one else approached Adrik to talk to him. He looked busy. Either that, or every single person in the room had already come up to him. It could go either way, really. Whatever the reason, we enjoyed a few moments of just us, laughing at the high strangeness that seemed to be with us wherever we went now.
We ended up staying for a little while longer. We decided we wanted to see how long it would take Henry to show up. Of course, there were bets made. Even Vitaliy and Battista got in on it. They’d been busy making their own bets from the sidelines the entire night already.
“Vitaliy, can I just tell you that I love you even more now that I know you enjoy doing this as well?” I said to him, in Italian, so Battista could also understand. Battista was quickly endearing himself to all of us as well. We still needed to have a conversation about him warning us next time he needed our services, but otherwise, he was proving to be extremely helpful to us. I could see why Vitaliy fostered that relationship over the years.
He smirked at me, raising his glass toward me. I caught myself thinking about how much I enjoyed having Vitaliy around, which is something I never thought I would say. The relationship between Vitaliy and Adrik was quickly approaching a normal father and son relationship as well. I was happy he decided to stay in the city a little longer. At this point, it felt like we could use all the help we could get.
Henry finally made an appearance at the fundraiser. Adrik won the bet pool, calling the precise minute that Henry would show up. The representative showed up not five minutes after him, looking quite flushed and somewhat messy, which, of course, meant that all of us snickered as she walked by. Even Eric caught our attention from across the ballroom, giving us a not-so-subtle nod as we all saw both of them arrive almost at the same time.
Even though we were enjoying their arrival, I felt Ivan stiffen when he saw Henry walk past us. He shared what he was seeing with me and Adrik. We could clearly see that not only had his demon found an entry point, but it was now running the show. It was now the shadow behind Henry’s face.
I grabbed Stephen’s hand, sharing the information with him. He looked around, then leaned in toward me so he could say quietly, “Is it wrong that I’m looking forward to that one? He’s been on my shit list ever since he decided he was smarter than us.”
I laughed quietly. “I don’t think that’s wrong, Yoden. I think you are the only person who can knock him back a few pegs. In the best way possible,” I said. His smile beamed at me as he squeezed my hand, effectively telling me how much he loved me.
Henry surprised us by approaching us shortly after he arrived. We all instinctively tensed when we saw him coming. Battista and Vitaliy were still standing with us, as well. As he walked toward us, we quickly came up with a strategy for how to handle him.
“I don’t think Stephen needs to say anything this time. He’s already after us, we don’t need to give him another reason right now,” I said. I tried to send it to everyone at the same time. I wasn’t sure if I was that good yet, but I was hoping I would be, just to save time. I saw Andrei reach over and touch Stephen’s arm. Stephen looked at me, nodding once. He’d gotten the message.
“That was impressive, princess. I also agree. I think we make him think he’s still got the upper hand,” Ivan said.
“Agreed. It’s going to make his fall off the pedestal he’s put himself on that much sweeter for me,” Adrik said. I was thankful for his contacts. I knew without a doubt that his eyes had just switched to black. His anger was obvious.
I felt Ivan’s bubble go up as soon as Henry made it to us. He walked to Battista and Vitaliy first, shaking their hands, making a comment about the length of time it had been since he’d seen either one of them.
“I’m surprised Battista knows Henry. And yet, I’m not surprised either. Is there anyone that man doesn’t know?” I thought out loud. I heard a couple of them clear their throats to keep from laughing.
After Vitaliy shook Henry’s hand, he looked straight at me, his face completely hard and tense. I nodded discreetly, indicating we’d already picked up on it. His face softened immediately and he gave me a wink. I couldn’t be sure, but I think he was proud at that moment.
“Everyone look at Vitaliy. Just not at once. He’s being a cheeseball. He can’t not show how proud he is that we already know something is off with Henry,” I told everyone.
They all managed to discreetly glance at Vitaliy. I could feel their amusement at his expression, but Adrik was surprised by it. I cut everyone else off and said to him only, “Don’t be surprised. He’s very proud of you. He just sucks at showing it. That’s what I’m here for. I’m gonna drag it out of him if it’s the last thing I do.”
Adrik chuckled, leaning over to kiss my cheek quickly before Henry walked up to us. Ivan’s bubble was still up, but he had learned how to keep it from cutting me off from everyone, which I appreciated. I could feel Adrik’s nausea as he shook Henry’s hand, but it was fainter than normal with Ivan being a barrier. I shook his hand as well, hoping I didn’t get some massive download when I touched him. I’d already seen way more of him than I ever wanted to tonight.
We exchanged pleasantries and made excruciatingly boring small talk. Finally, Henry brought up the mayor. “Any progress with that?” he asked quietly.
“We’re still looking for information. Our source found a few things, but not enough yet. He’s still looking,” Adrik said. “What have you decided on the information on Ricardo?”
Henry was surprised at the question. He stammered for a moment, which made it obvious he was trying to lie. “I haven’t given it to him yet. I’m still not sure I can trust him or the DA. I’m thinking of going around him.”
“Bubba, are you seeing what I’m seeing?” I asked, knowing he was likely also snooping through Henry’s head as he talked.
“Oh yeah. He thinks his switch-hitting girlfriend can help him make the evidence we found on Ricardo fit Boss instead. He’s already given her everything,” he told me.
“He gave her everything right away, too. He’s much dumber than I thought he would be,” I responded. “I want to get closer to her. I would be willing to bet she’s playing him for something. I want to know her angle.”
“I completely agree, spider monkey.”
“Going around him to whom?” Adrik asked Henry. He already knew the answer. We all did. He just wanted to see if Henry would say it.
“I’ve vetted one of the politicians. She can help us. I trust her,” Henry said confidently.
“I hope you’ve vetted her thoroughly,” I said, with a hint of sarcasm that the guys picked up on. I could hear them all laughing in my head, but outwardly, not a single one of them cracked a smile.
It caught Henry off-guard. He blushed. “I have. I’m very thorough,” he said.
“I would hope so. For her sake. Ricardo is a dangerous man. There’s no telling what he’s capable of,” I said.
“You just made him clench a little, spider monkey,” Andrei said, laughing.
“Good. That was my hope. I want him a little nervous. Can you see where the switch-hitter is? Now I know I need to get closer to her. You’re coming with me.”
“This has been the most fun I’ve had at one of these functions. In the history of ever.”
Once Henry left us, I explained that I felt I needed to get closer to Henry’s switch-hitter. We caught Battista and Vitaliy up on the plot twist involving Henry that Misha and I had seen earlier. Battista looked at me, completely amused. “I can introduce you, if you like.”
Adrik bristled immediately. “I don’t like that idea.”
Vitaliy agreed with Adrik. “I don’t either. Malishka, you don’t need to actually talk to her, do you? You just need to be close to her?”
“Right. I don’t need to talk to her. But if Andrei and I can get close to her, we can take a peek and see what we can find out,” I said. Battista thought for a moment. I’d never seen him smile as much as he had tonight. He was absolutely gleeful at the events that had transpired so far.
“You know a doctor from the hospital, no?” he asked me.
I nodded. “Dr. Williams.”
“I need his help. We’re going to discuss a new wing for the hospital, but we’ll need her input,” Battista said. “It’ll be obvious if all of you follow me, but Sephie has already been seen with just two of you. Sephie introduces me to the doctor, he and I go to the representative while Sephie stays in the background, but close enough she can get what she needs from the representative.”
“We should warn poor Dr. Williams that he’s part of our plot,” I said.
“Why would we do that? He’s getting a new wing out of this plot,” Battista said, very matter-of-factly. I just stood and stared at him for a moment. He laughed. “Money is a means to an end, Sephie. I will gladly spend it on something that will help the people of the city if it means I can be devious.” He grinned at me.
There really is something to this generational wealth thing.
“Ivan and Andrei, go with her,” Adrik said. He pulled me closer, kissing my temple. “We’ll be close by. You’ll be able to see us the whole time,” he said quietly.
Battista offered me his arm as we set off to find Dr. Williams. As luck would have it, he wasn’t far from the representative. This should be easy.
Ivan showed me and Andrei what he could see as we got closer to the representative. Just like Henry, her demon had gained access and was the shadow behind her face. Unlike Henry, her demon was even more defined and more prominent, which I was beginning to learn meant that it had been running the show for quite some time.
Dr. Williams’s face brightened when he saw me approach him. “Hello again, Sephie,” he said, smiling warmly at me.
“Dr. Williams, I would like you to meet my dear friend Battista. You’re going to be very happy to meet him, in fact,” I said.
Battista extended his hand to Dr. Williams, introducing himself. He got right to the point, telling Dr. Williams that he had heard about what great work he did for both me and Ivan, which I didn’t even know Battista knew about, and he had decided that the hospital needed a new wing added on.
“Because I’m not a citizen, however, I believe we need to get some kind of approval to move this process forward?” Battista asked innocently.
Dr. Williams looked shocked. He just stood in front of us for a moment, unable to speak. Ivan laughed. “Remember to breathe, Doc.”
Dr. Williams looked at Ivan, now snapped back to reality. His mind started racing, as his excitement level increased. He quickly looked around the ballroom, his eyes landing on the representative who wasn’t very far away. He pointed to her, saying, “She’s the person we need to speak to.”
“I’ll let you two do just that,” I said, winking at Dr. Williams. He objected, wanting me to come with them. I smiled warmly at him, saying, “I enjoy this anonymous thing too. Ivan and I already have a legend told about us among the hospital staff. That’s enough for me.” He laughed loudly but motioned for Battista to follow him to speak to Henry’s switch hitter.
As they walked to her and began talking, Andrei and I got to work. Before we started, I told Ivan he needed to lower his bubble. “You’re very quick now, Squish. I have full confidence you’ll catch anything before it gets to me, but I need full access to her to go fishing .”
I could feel his discomfort at the thought of lowering his bubble, but he did so. Begrudgingly.
Andrei and I quickly snooped through her head as she was talking to Battista and Dr. Williams. She was quite excited about the possibility of getting a new wing for the hospital, but not for the reasons one would think. She was already planning on ways to launder money through the project, taking a significant portion for herself, of course. She was also planning on making the publicity around the project all about her, making it seem like she was the one who made this happen.
She knew everything about Ricardo. She was in touch with Ricardo, just as Henry likely was by now. She was following his orders when it came to anything to do with the city. She was going to be slightly more problematic to get rid of than I originally thought. But not impossible. She was just more connected than I thought she would be. I should’ve known.
Instead of waiting for Battista, we quietly left and went to join Adrik and the others once again. Ilya caught us walking back toward the group. “Sephie, something’s happening and I can’t explain it,” he said urgently.
“To you?” I asked.
He shook his head no. “No, not to me. It’s the wait staff that’s here. I was by the door to the kitchen a moment ago. One of them is having some kind of attack. They’re trying to keep it quiet, but nobody knows what to do. The person is screaming that she can see ghosts.”
Ivan quickly told the group to go to the kitchen as we followed Ilya. We tried to be as discreet as possible, but it was difficult given the size of the men I choose to keep company with. Most people noticed us leaving toward the kitchen, but their curiosity was short-lived as there was an auction starting right at the same moment.
When we got to the kitchen, there was one poor girl being held down by three others. She was still struggling, urgently telling people that she could see things no one else could see. They thought she was being violent and a danger to everyone around her. In truth, she was scared out of her mind.
After a quick glance to Ivan, he removed the three guys holding her down so she could sit up on her own. She was just a little thing. She was definitely younger than me, with blonde hair and pretty grey eyes. I’m sure when she wasn’t scared for her life, she was quite adorable. I knelt down in front of her, as calmly as I could, asking her what she was seeing. “There’s an older man out there. He has a ghost standing next to him.”
“The older man, can you describe him for me?”
She described Vitaliy perfectly. It was Lena she was seeing.
“Is that all you’re seeing?” I asked.
“No. She glanced around the room, her eyes landing on Viktor before looking away. There’s another one,” she said in almost a whisper.
“She’s seeing Lena and Kostya. Get everyone else out of here.”
The room was cleared in a matter of seconds.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Jessica.”
“Hi Jessica. I’m Sephie. Can you stand up on your own, Jessica?”
She nodded, standing up. I stood up with her, but I was careful not to touch her. If she could see Lena and Kostya, I wasn’t sure what else she would be able to see. I didn’t want to scare her any more than she already was.
“The other one you see, it’s a little boy, isn’t it?” I asked her.
Her eyes got wide. “You … You can see them too?”
“I can’t right now, but I have in the past. What I’m going to tell you might be difficult for you to believe right now, but you’re not seeing ghosts, Jessica. They’re angels.” I paused, mostly to gauge her reaction. Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought about what I just said. “The two men associated with those angels are very special men. Those angels watch over them. There’s nothing to be scared of. You have a special gift. You can see things most people can’t.”
“Angels are … real?” she asked.
“Very real. I have more than one that keep watch over me. One is just very busy and pops in and out as his schedule allows,” I said, smiling at her. “The other one is with me all the time.” She scanned the room, her eyes landing on Ivan.
“He looks different from the others,” she said. She was trying to be quiet enough that Ivan wouldn’t be able to hear.
“He is different. He needs to be to stay with me all the time,” I said. I could feel her starting to relax. Her curiosity was overtaking her fear now. “There’s no reason to fear what you’re seeing, Jessica.”
“Nobody else would believe me. They called me crazy. They said I was on drugs or having a mental breakdown,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes. The urge to hug her was getting very strong.
“Most people don’t believe what they can’t see, but you have a very special gift. Unfortunately, you’re also going to need to be very discerning with whom you share your gift. People don’t always understand. They see different as a threat not something to be cherished. You’re going to have to protect yourself,” I said.
“How do you know? Why do you believe me?”
I reached out and touched her, letting her see everything she could see. “Because I’m different too.”