Shroud: Jinn

28 - Radix

The penanggal let out a throaty hiss of air and lurched for Melati in a single move with its slimy, elongated tongue.

I lunged towards Melati and shielded her body from the vicious strike like a valorous knight, but my courage was nothing more than the bravery of a fearful peasant.

Lightning ripped through me in shocking waves as the penanggal's tongue rattled angrily like the twitchy convulsions of an electric eel against my body, honing its way through any tiny cracks that it could find, intending to weaken my defence. It lashed at my face, my arms and my back with its forky tongue like a wrathful whip.

I could feel the back of my shirt melting away in a drastic burn as the merciless tongue struck at my skin again and again. Each ruthless whack felt like hot iron against my delicate skin and the burning peel made me howl in pain. The long tongue wormed its way through the holes and intertwined itself like murderous weaves.

The edges along the lengthy tongue felt like little piercing needles that grated and sliced the skin as it moved. The torturous stings that it left on the skin was similar to painful acid burns.

I did not care how much it hurt. All I wanted to do was to keep Melati safe.

My heart wanted to utter prayers, but like my lips, they were sealed shut from fear. My teeth rattled nervously as the penanggal's tongue coiled around my neck in a loose grip and the venom at the tip of its tongue dripped hazardously and melted the wooden floor at my feet.

As sudden as the attack, it retracted its tongue and screeched into retreat. Confused, I turned my head to where it recoiled and saw the penanggal emit a mournful but powerful squall as one of its entrails got caught in one of the sharp mengkuang (screwpine) leaves.

A translucent black mass was sucked out of the creature's facial skin and warped its way into the penanggal's mouth and finally through the exposed bloodied cavity near the collarbone. As it did so, it pulled the penanggal downwards, towards Mak's Bidan rigid, cross-legged body which faced the wall lined with sharp knives.

The creature's bloody entrails did a final, frantic sweep of the transparent liquid that surrounded Mak Bidan's body in the giant tub like a formidable moat. A few droplets splashed onto my face and I quickly learned that it was vinegar.

This penanggal was different from the one that I saw two years ago. There was no menace in the penanggal's eyes as the creature stared at me. Surprisingly, now it acted completely different compared to a minute ago.

It looked frightened and exhausted. There was a humanlike emotion splattered across its face that I would never associate with such a creature. It was filled with remorse and utter sadness.

It almost looked trapped.

As the penanggal finally meshed with Mak Bidan's body, its gnarly, grotesque face slowly transformed into Mak Bidan's owlish features. However, Mak Bidan's pupils were grey and empty as though still in a devilish trance. Her eyes possessed a disturbing glassy look as she stared right through me.

Eventually, her head spun around in a brutal hundred and eighty degrees and ended with a snap of a bone as it clicked in place. The whole house trembled as a powerful force discharged from Mak Bidan's body and burst the window shutters open.

I shifted my eyes towards Melati's and hers remained unblinking as they flashed a deep red, back to black then deep red and finally back to black as though under a strange hypnotic spell of her own. At last, she collapsed, but I caught her in my arms just in time.

"Melati? Melati!" I shook her in panic.

The splosh and splash of vinegar in the giant tub made me turn back towards Mak Bidan. The wet fabric clung to her skin untidily as she clambered out of the large tub.