Moving Objects

Chapter 27

"Put on your coat! I want to show you something!"

He did as I asked and got his stuff on and followed me outside. The wind thankfully had started to die down as we made our way to the closest exit of Court. The Guardian stationed there was no stranger to me exiting here. We made our way across the ward line and I breathed slowly as I let my guard down. Thankfully this time I wasn't bombarded with spirits, just the one I was looking for.

"Do you trust me?" I asked, turning to look at Dimitri.

"Of course," he said taking my gloved hand.

I nodded and looked back to Ivan's ghost. "What if I told you that I have met Ivan?"

Dimitri frowned, not understanding what I meant.

"Tell me something only you and him would know," I said to Ivan. Dimitri gathered quickly that I was speaking to a ghost, but it hadn't registered who yet.

The look of amusement on Ivan's face was contagious. "When we were seventeen, Dimitri and I snuck into the Guardians lounge to steal booze and caught two of our teachers having sex on the couch. Dimitri was mortified but I ended up laughing so loud that they realized they were caught. The one teacher was so embarrassed that she couldn't look either of us in the eye for the rest of the year."

I laughed so hard that I doubled over, clench my stomach as I tried to repeat what Ivan had said. The look on Dimitri's face was a real kodak moment and I watched him figure it out.

"Ivan?"

I took a few deep breathes to stifle my laugh and nodded at him. His mouth gaped open like a fish as he tried to form words, but nothing comes out. Ivan's snickering didn't help with me trying to laugh, and I sputtered into giggles again. Dimitri gave me a look but tugged me towards him, wrapping his arm around my shoulder while I slipped mine around his waist.

"You can hear him?"

I nodded and smiled up at him. For forty minutes Dimitri voiced questions and I relayed them back, all the while with a soft smile on his face. I felt like maybe he was getting closure he didn't know he needed, but I could tell that Ivan was feeling the same closure.

"I want you to know that I didn't blame you for a second," Ivan implored, "You couldn't have known, and I watched you beat yourself up over it. I was starting to worry about you and this wonderful creature came into your life."

I shook my head with a laugh as I repeated what he said to Dimitri, and he chuckled quietly to himself as he kissed the top of my head. I could feel the tension leaving his body as I spoke and I tilted my head up to look at him.

"This is goodbye, isn't it? You won't be around after this?" Dimitri asked quietly.

I looked at Ivan and I could see it clearly on his face. This was it. Ivan frowned and nodded his head.

"I've been here longer than I should have. I was always hoping I'd be able to find a way to speak to you one last time, and I have."

"He said it's time," I said to Dimitri quietly. I hugged Dimitri tightly before letting go, waiting for him to say his peace to Ivan. I had a sad smile on my face as I watched the two and I could tell that Dimitri was finally feeling peace.

"You should know something," Ivan said, turning back to face us. I turned to look at him and found a soft smile on his face.

"I hear things on this side. Things will be different now. What you did defies the laws of nature for us, maybe that's not the only law of nature you'll defy."

My brows furrowed together as he laughed, shaking his head before turning back around and walking away. He was gone by the fifth step, fading into the air like mist.