Chapter 3 Chase
Chase
“Chase, I’ll give you a million dollars if you stop by Dustin’s Donuts,” Faust begged.
I hadn’t eaten any of the birthday cake before leaving the apartment, and Faust was miffed about it. Too bad. If anyone had any reason to be miffed, it was me. I had a freaking demon inhabiting my body.
“No,” I stated. “Also, what happened to you not lying?”
“Nothing has changed. I don’t lie.”
“You do not have a million dollars, asshole,” I muttered.
The man I’d just passed on the street raised an offended eyebrow at me.
Shit. I still wasn’t used to Faust’s voice. It was so vivid and loud that it sounded corporeal, not tucked away in my head. It felt more natural to reply out loud than to ‘think’ back my replies to him.
Having a conversation with the demon in my apartment was one thing, but in public, it got weird fast.
“Sorry, I wasn’t talking to you,” I apologized to the affronted dude.
He glared at me a second longer before walking away.
“Cool. Now everyone thinks I’m crazy,” I said under my breath.
“You will be crazy if you bypass Dustin’s Donuts without buying me one.”
“I’m not buying you a damn donut. I’m getting you exorcised,” I snapped.
That came out louder than intended. Multiple people on the street stared at me suspiciously and walked around me in a wide berth.
I flushed. I’d been doing that a lot lately, but this time it was from embarrassment, not because I was thinking about Sagitta.
Before I died from shame, I passed the empty unit beside Dustin’s Donuts, turned the corner, and ducked into the alley. Faust whined like a baby, but I ignored him. I just wanted my normal life back. The sooner I was rid of this demonic diva, the better.
When I didn’t see the temple, I dug out Sagitta’s crumpled note from my pocket. Two blocks behind the donut place, he’d said. I kept walking until I saw a bunch of fancy red spires erupting into the grey sky. Nothing else in the city looked like that, so I assumed I’d come to the right place.
Finally I emerged on a clean, quiet side street.
I sucked in a breath. Past the iron gate and ginkgo trees stood a low, sprawling temple.
It looked calm and noble compared to the rest of the city.
Accents of black, purple, and gold adorned the temple’s roof.
It didn’t resemble any particular religious building I’d ever seen; it was more like an architectural mishmash.
The tall front gate was unlocked, so I cautiously slipped inside. The temple grounds seemed unnaturally quiet for a place tucked into a city block. The trees and surrounding buildings must’ve dampened the noise.
There wasn’t a front door, or a greeting area, or anything. The entrance led directly into an outdoor hallway, half covered by an angled roof. The floors were shiny dark wood, like they were polished daily. I felt bad stomping on them with my dirty sneakers.
Beneath the roof, the hall was lined with closed doors. On the opposite side, the walkway opened to an outdoor courtyard. It featured a manicured garden with topiaries and a spacious pond with a mini-waterfall.
Admittedly, the pond piqued my interest, but that wasn’t why I was here.
Sagitta had summoned me. So, how was I supposed to find him?
As I explored the halls, I passed a few people.
They all seemed too busy to talk, but none spared me a second glance, so it must not have been unusual to have visitors.
The people were of various ages, and all dressed differently.
I guessed the temple had no strict dress code.
It reminded me more of a university campus than a religious institution.
Finally, I gave up and decided to ask for help from the next person I saw.
Ahead of me, a tall man with thick-framed glasses exited a door. His sweater vest and tie reminded me of a professor. A few other folks walking by gave him a respectful nod, so I assumed he was important around here.
“What do you think? Is Sexy Prof your type?” Faust teased.
I gritted my teeth and bit back a reply. I had to concentrate.
“Hey,” I greeted the professor. “I’m kinda lost. Could you help me out?”
The man with glasses appeared to be in a rush, but he stopped and straightened anyway. “Oh, hello, yes. What can I do for you?”
“I’m looking for someone named Sagitta?”
The professor nodded. “Ah, are you a client? Yes, he’s most likely in the back courtyard.
Just follow this hall and swing a left.” He pointed in its direction.
“He’s excellent at what he does. You won’t be disappointed.
” With a sheepish chuckle, he pushed up his glasses. “Actually, I trained him myself.”
“Oh?” I asked. “Are you, like, a teacher around here?”
“Yes!” He thrust out his hand, and I shook it. His bony knuckles stuck out like speed bumps. “I’m Dr. Luminis Fairfax, senior professor of demonology.”
If he’d said that to me yesterday, I would’ve laughed. But now that a demon was literally inside my head, it didn’t seem as funny.
“Huh. I didn’t know that was a thing,” I said.
Fairfax’s eyes lit up. He popped open his briefcase, pulled out a pamphlet, and eagerly handed it to me. Normally, I politely declined papers shoved at me by strangers, but I accepted his offering.
“Demons can be frightening, but with the right skills and mindset, they’re nothing to be afraid of.
” Fairfax beamed. He looked like he was holding himself back from giving me a personal lecture.
Then he checked his watch and jolted. “Oops, I’m running late for my flight—demonology conference in Alberta. Good luck!”
Fairfax stumbled, nearly tripped on his half-tied shoelaces, then ran down the hall on his lanky legs.
I watched him go, then mumbled, “Luminis Fairfax, Sagitta... why does everyone have such a weird name around here?”
I continued in the direction the prof instructed me to go, but I was curious, so I pulled out the pamphlet. I could walk and read at the same time.
DEMONS & YOU!
Professor Fairfax’s Brief Guide to Demon Interaction [Client Edition]
Rule 1. Names have power. Named demons are stronger than unnamed ones. Never let a demon know your real name!
Well, shit. Step one failed. Still, that explained the weird names. They were like stage names, or pen names.
Rule 2. Words have power. Never converse with a demon. If a demon speaks to you, ignore it. NEVER make deals with a demon!
I grimaced. I’d been chatting up a storm with Faust all morning. Call me immature, but it was difficult to ignore his goading. At least I hadn’t made any deals with him.
Except that one time when I agreed to look at him in the mirror. But nothing catastrophic had happened, so I guess it was fine.
Rule 3. Demon hierarchy is based on strength. In general, larger demons are stronger. Small lesser demons, like imps, are weak & easy to exorcise. Mid-sized incubi, succubi, ghosts, and satyrs are common pests. In most cases, you are dealing with one of the above.
But don’t fret! Our expert exorcists will have you demon-free in no time.
I noticed in the mirror that Faust was shorter than me. Was he considered a mid-sized demon?
“What kind of demon are you?” I asked.
He sighed like a restless child on a road trip. “A bored one. Can we move on? Better yet, can we go buy donuts?”
I rolled my eyes. I was already walking deeper into the temple grounds on my quest to find Sagitta. I wasn’t about to leave now.
Rule 4. Demons break through the veil in 2 ways. One is by infusing their essence into inanimate objects. Avoid occult items, even toys. They are more dangeorus than they seem!
“He made a typo,” Faust pointed out.
I shrugged. “Hey man, spelling is hard.”
“The man is a professor. Do humans have no standards?”
As a guy who nearly failed English, I had no room to judge. I kept reading rule four.
The other way is direct summoning. Only highly trained exorcists may summon demons. Do not be alarmed if your exorcist summons a demon to aid in your exorcism.
Rule 5. Demonic persistence. Please be advised that if an exorcist deems it necessary, they may keep in touch with the client post-exorcism for up to one week to ensure the demon is well & truly gone.
After this grace period, the client is either deemed demon-free, or the case will be transferred to a more senior exorcist.
Underneath the fifth rule was a smiley face and contact info for Fairfax’s office.
I shut the pamphlet and stuck it in the back pocket of my jeans.
“Do you have anything to say about this?” I asked Faust.
“The font choice is atrocious.”
I snorted. He wasn’t wrong.
I walked until I reached the back courtyard. It was empty and quiet. I didn’t see a soul, and my footsteps seemed to echo against the polished wood floors.
“Uh... hello?” I called. “Anyone home?”
No response.
Faust yawned. “See? Temple boring. Can we go now?”
“He’s gotta be here somewhere.”
“Tragedy strikes: Hot Stranger has stood up our hero. The only way to quell his suffering? A twelve-pack from Dustin’s Donuts.”
Stepping into the courtyard, I cupped my hands over my mouth and called, “Yo! Sagitta, are you here? I got your note!”
“Try a megaphone next time,” Faust muttered. Somehow, I felt him covering his ears, like I’d hurt them by yelling. That seemed like a bad sign. Not only did I hear his voice, but now I could visualize what he was doing in my mind, too.
The exorcism couldn’t come soon enough.
“Not that you asked, but you should probably know that we’re being watched,” Faust said offhandedly.
I’d gotten so used to ignoring his quips that I almost didn’t pay attention to his remark. But then his words sunk in and I stopped moving.
“What?” I asked, quieter.
“Nothing.”
“Repeat what you said.”
Faust scoffed. “Why should I? You’ve been ignoring me since we passed Dustin’s Donuts.”
“Because all you talk about is donuts. It’s annoying, dude!”
“Oh, please. I have the power to be a hundred times more annoying. Is that what you want?”
I groaned in frustration. “No! Please, just tell me what you said.”