The Psychic Next Door

Chapter 12: Pieces

The waitress dropped off two lunch specials—a BLT with a side of fries—and refilled our coffee as we sat in silence. Polly waited until she was out of earshot, then pulled out the little book and laid it on the table between us. She gently ran her hands over it, brushing her fingers against the embossed lettering like she was stroking a cat. I could tell by the wild look in her eyes that she was excited; immediately after we got the book, she had made me drive to the nearest restaurant so we could read it.

My own excitement was tempered by the woman's verdict: cursed. I was cursed...

"I guess that proves it then," Polly said, finally breaking the silence.

"Proves what?"

"That Luc is behind it," she said like it was obvious. "She said you were cursed... Curses are a kind of spell, right? So, that means someone has to cast them and purposefully target someone. They're not random, or location-based, like hauntings."

I sighed. "That doesn't mean it was him."

Polly narrowed her eyes at me. "We've been over this. Who else could it be?"

Just like the times before, I had no rebuttal. I turned my attention to the fries on my plate and began pushing them around. Polly went back to the book, flipping its cover open, revealing yellowed pages inside. There was a small block of tiny handwriting on the first page; Polly had to lean in close to read it.

"'For Elizabeth,'" she read aloud. "'May no harm come to you or those you love. Protect all that is precious.' I wonder who Elizabeth was..." She turned to the next page. It was dense with text, the tiny writing reaching each edge of the page.

"Do... do you think this is really g-going to help?" I asked, my voice breaking slightly. I wasn't so sure how much I trusted the idea of spells and curses. No matter how far I delved into this new world, my logical side still fought against it. Sure, I could believe in transparent monsters that attacked unseen and could come and go as easily as fog... but spells? Somehow that was still beyond me, and I couldn't completely trust that the contents of the book would help.

"Couldn't hurt to try something, right?" she reasoned with me. I watched as she flipped through the pages with a sharp hunger in her eyes. It was almost funny how quickly she had settled into this world of the paranormal. Once she had accepted that the creature tormenting us was a reality, everything else just followed suit.

"Blessing a home... Amulets for protection in dreams..." Polly muttered to herself, reading out the titles of the spells; they all fit the descriptor on the front, all of the protective nature. "Boundary protection spells... Potion to dull the temper..."

"You could use that," I said before I could stop myself.

"Ha, ha, ha," Polly laughed sarcastically but didn't look up. "It's... Oh, ugh, it's meant for abusive spouses. Yikes. I wouldn't have used a potion, I would've used a poison." She flipped to the next page. She continued to read out the titles of spells. The book had everything, spells for things I didn't even know you would need protection for, all lining the pages in delicate and tiny handwritten script.

"Ah-ha!" Polly cheered suddenly. She spun the book around and pushed it towards me.

Polly had left it open to the last page she was reading. I touched it gently, expecting the pages to be brittle with age, but they weren't, in fact, they felt very resilient beneath my fingers. I wondered if this book had a protective spell of its own... I leaned in close and had to squint to read the tiny writing.

Binding Spell

To protect oneself from another who means you harm. If another conspires to use their magic to bring you misfortune weave this bind to sap them of their misused powers.