The Psychic Next Door

Chapter 24: Guest

Mrs. Malik crossed the threshold without even a twitch. She walked forward a bit and stood in the centre of the room—just past the dividing line of the curtain—looking around the apartment with casual curiosity. We all watched her with bated breath, hoping that she would just take her cheque and leave.

"Love what you've done with the place."

I saw Mrs. Malik's mouth move, and I heard the words echo through the room, but I couldn't piece the two together. The voice that escaped the grandmother's lips was not her own. Her accent was gone, and in its place was a smooth, sweet voice, with perfect annunciation.

I turned to face my companions, searching their faces for answers, examining their reactions. But my mere surprise was nothing in comparison to the expressions of pure horror etched on Polly's and Luc's faces. Their eyes were pulled wide and their brows creased in pained disbelief; their mouths gaped in quiet dismay.

Mrs. Malik turned to Polly and smiled sweetly like she always did, but there was something unnerving about it this time. She tilted her head slightly to the side, studying Polly like she was some unique curio.

"Hello, Polly," she said, at last, her voice still unnaturally silky.

"Lilly?" Polly choked.

My surprise turned to matching dread as Mrs. Malik's skin suddenly started to melt away. Her wrinkles and excess flesh seemed to absorb inward and tauten, smoothing out her complexion. Her stature changed; she shot upwards a few inches and the plump form vanished to reveal a slim, attractive figure, the now too-big dress hanging awkwardly on her frame. The hair, once tight salt-and-pepper curls, began to grow out, fading from dark grey to honey-gold as it tumbled down in gentle waves over the now petite shoulders.

Lillian stood before us in place of Mrs. Malik. There was still the strong family resemblance between her and Polly I'd seen in the pictures, but something was off. She looked altered, her features slightly tweaked, as if her face was an imperfect sculpture done by an artist who hadn't quite mastered the skill; you could see the similarities and tell who it was... But there was still something that was undeniably wrong.

"Oh, G-God..." Polly stuttered. "Lillian?"

Lillian just casually shrugged, like she had been caught violating curfew instead of trying to kill her sister and her friends.

Polly's face crumpled like her features were fighting between a sneer and a sob, the pain of the betrayal obvious in her features. "I thought... I thought you were dead!"

The smile that was spread across Lillian's face just got wider.

"But... you tried to kill us!" Polly said. "Why?!"

Lillian's face finally fell into a scowl; she almost looked inhuman with rage. "Because you got in my way."

"What the hell happened to you?" Polly wailed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Lillian ignored her sister's distress and let the huge dress she had been masquerading in slide off her model-perfect body to the ground. She didn't seem at all bothered by her nudity or the horror that was plain on our faces.

"So this is where you've been hiding out," Lillian muttered to herself, her face slipping back to its pretty plastic perfection that matched her new form. Her eyes traced the room, falling on the golden script that encircled it. "This is how you've been keeping my boy out."

As she spoke of the Beast, its growl turned into a full wail next door, and I could hear it tearing into the floor and walls—like it knew that its master was in here and it was trying to claw its way through to join her.

"Well, that's easy enough to fix now that I've crossed your barrier," Lillian smirked. She closed her eyes and we were plunged into an eerie silence as the Beast's howling and screaming stopped.

Then, I felt the air change in the apartment.

My muscles seized in anticipation of the pain, waiting for it to come at any second, waiting for it to rip me apart.

Suddenly Luc was at my side, pulling me close. "Listen to me," he whispered in my ear, "She's going to call that thing in here, but once it's in here, the barrier will still stand. It won't be able to cross the boundary to leave. I have enough power to trap her—and it—in here with me, but you and Polly need to get out!"

My heart seared. "I'm not letting you stay here!"

"You don't have a choice, Rach—"

A hideous growl filled the room; the noise was louder than ever. The sound and the fear cut into me like a blade plunging into my head. It disabled some part of my brain, paralyzing me. I could see it now, hovering just behind Luc.

More hideous and powerful than ever, its huge and hunched body wavered like pure heat on a hot desert road. Its four glowing eyes were wreathed in flame, and its teeth and claws were all shaped out of what seemed like blades of magma. Its gaze fell on me, and it screamed in triumph. I could hear Lillian's victorious shrieking laughter over the Beast's terrible din.

"You bitch!"

I turned in time to see Polly launch herself at Lillian, eyes blazing with murderous rage to match her sister's wicked fury. Lillian screamed in pain as soon as they made contact, and the two began thrashing; Polly seemed to have a death grip on a mass of her sister's hair.

In my distraction, I hadn't realized Luc had released me until I felt myself being pulled away; a force dragged us apart. I screamed, fearful that it was the Beast, ready to destroy me at last. But the concentration and sadness that clouded Luc's eyes told me that this was his doing, that he was the one lifting me and pushing me out the door, out of the apartment.

I landed roughly on the sidewalk with a thump that was muffled by an infuriated roar from both Lillian and the Beast. But the slamming of the door cut them off. Lillian and the Beast were trapped inside... with Luc and Polly.

🔮

So it was Lillian all along...
But with Luc trapped, what can Rachel do?