The Psychic Next Door

Chapter 23: Blood

It had only been a month, and I was already going stir crazy; if I had to spend another here, I might go completely mad. But how long would we have to stay? Two months? Six months? A year? Forever?

The insidious whisper returned, wondering if I sacrificed myself, if that would be enough to satiate the Beast, and it would just leave Polly and Luc alone. But the logical part fought back again, knowing that the Beast wasn't that discerning, but I hoped that its mysterious master would be... If it truly had a master at all.

A cough snapped me out of my internal conversation. I looked up at Luc first, but he wasn't looking at me. He was looking across the room, at Polly. She was standing, the blanket she was usually swathed in jumbled at her feet. For a moment, she just stood there, looking at us, and the look on her face was cautious.

It was plain to see that her internal battle still raged on. She opened her mouth a few times to speak, but she would pause and then close it again. It seemed that she was trying to find the words to say something she wasn't sure she even wanted to say.

"Would..." she managed, finally. "Would it help if you read my cards?"

My mouth fell open as I surveyed her face. Her brow was still knotted, her wide jaw still set, but her cool eyes were no longer hard, like the ice was melting. They shifted to meet mine, and for a moment a strange look of remorse crossed her face. I realized then... she was doing this for me. My bitterness disappeared, and I tried to force a smile to my face that would be genuine.

"Uh, well," Luc stammered, sounding just as surprised. "It might. We can certainly try."

I leapt out of the chair to allow Polly to sit before she could change her mind, and moved to stand beside Luc. Polly cautiously crossed the room, not looking at us, and quietly took her seat across from him.

There was a heavy moment of silence while Luc just took in the situation before him. Polly was allowing herself to trust him, even if just a little. Was it enough to return his powers? Or at least enough control the cards properly?

He cleared his throat and went to work.

Just like before, Luc spread out the cards in front of him in the same intricate array, then once all the cards were down, he began to slowly flip them over, revealing their faces. I cringed each time a repeat from my usual spread showed up, but this time there was definitely some diversity; it wasn't exactly the same, and that alone was enough to make my heart soar with hope.

Luc raised an eyebrow, evidently confused by the new spread before him. "Huh."

"What?" Polly asked in a hushed tone, her eyes wide and expecting.

"This doesn't make sense," Luc said, picking up a few cards and examining them closer. "This can't be right."

"What is it?"

"It's the same as Rachel's spread, except..." He paused and looked up me before looking at Polly. "It says your blood is your enemy."

My brow mashed together as I tried to figure out what it meant. It didn't seem to make sense to Polly either. "What does that even mean?" she asked, her voice back to being sharp with annoyance.

"It means a relative is trying to kill you," Luc said, still looking as confused as ever.

Well, that wasn't so far fetched. I wasn't entirely sure about Polly's family structure, but perhaps there was a family member who disapproved of Lillian and Luc and wanted to make them suffer. After all, I'd had experience with some less than sound-minded family... and that sounded like something a bitter relative would do.