The Psychic Next Door

Chapter 26: Together

The Beast stared at me for a moment, then violently shook its head, like a dog with a chew toy, before it released Luc, flinging him into the far wall. I flinched as I watched Luc tumble to the floor and fought back the urge to rush to his side; if I did that, the thing would capitalize on my distractedness and tear us both to pieces.

So I stayed where I was, staring it down. For once, the creature didn't lash out at me. It watched me, bobbing its head, like it was waiting to see what I'd do. It seemed like the more physical it became, the more it could actually think.

Dammit, I cursed to myself. I was counting on this thing being stupid and blind with fury like before.

As it watched me, its eyes widened and then narrowed, moving over me... like it was waiting for something to happen. I assumed it was trying to throw me around like it had in our previous encounters, but this time nothing happened. I remained rooted to my place, not willing to give up an inch of my ground.

Maybe the more physical it became, the less psychic power it had. Or maybe I was wrong, and the only thing stopping it from crushing me was just the pure force of my will, my lack of fear. Maybe that was what it took to defeat it—to face it head on, refusing to give into the fear that it bred.

Either way, I had no idea what to expect.

Tired of waiting, it lashed out, its magma‑like claws slicing through the air towards me. But being whole made it slower too. I dodged to the side, and its talons just missed—cutting into the wall behind me instead, gouging deep into the already damaged drywall. Though it was slower, it was still immensely powerful. I feared what it would mean if those claws made contact with my soft flesh and bone.

It paused for a moment and flicked its many eyes around the room before settling back on me—to my horror, four more pairs burst into existence on its face, nestling next to the others. Its mouth full of twisted, burning fangs split wide, stretching across the swirling mass of air, curving into a hideous grin like the Cheshire Cat's. It was happy, and there was a great, wrenching twist in my gut as I realized why.

I had made a fatal mistake; when I had dodged to the side, I had gone the wrong way. Now the Beast was between Luc and me... and the Beast knew what that meant.

It turned its massive head towards Luc's limp form and opened its massive mouth, ready to consume him and let me watch as it did.

"No!" I screamed. My hands fumbled over the debris next to me, and I began to chuck whatever I could reach at the wavering form of the creature, hoping to distract it from its new objective. Splinters of wood, chunks of metal, and a twisted half of my laptop connected with the back of what I assumed was its head. It didn't even flinch.

I scraped the ground, desperate for something else to throw. My raw, burned hand closed around a small pile of salt that had fallen out of the ritual doll when I had been thrown against the wall. It made my burns sting, literally rubbing salt into my wounds.

An idea half-formed in my head; did the purifying effects of the salt in the spell carry over to the real world?

Hoping for something, any kind of reaction, I picked up a handful and threw it at the back of the Beast's head.

The salt hit dead-on, sizzling like drops of water thrown on a hot pan. The Beast screamed. It whipped its face back to me, expression no longer playful but twisted with a malice that shook me to my core. I had really pissed it off this time.

But I couldn't waste time being frightened. I grabbed whatever was left of the salt on the floor, ignoring the pain as it dug into my hand, and charged towards the Beast. All eight of its eyes widened in shock for a moment, but it quickly centred itself and roared in retaliation, warning me what it would mean if we were to come into contact.