The Further Adventures of A. Teague: Chapter 8


Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever owned any part of the book, "Blood and Chocolate," by Annette Curtis Klause. I do, however, love her characters, and I hope she doesn't mind me writing a story about them. It should also be noted that the locations described in this story are fictionalized versions of real places. The city of La Mesa, NM exists, but it is not the city that I am writing about. Thank you, and enjoy.


An angry sun beat down upon the La Mesa campus. At 2:00 in the afternoon, the air held oven heat and even a short jaunt outside guaranteed perspiration. Aiden, walking from Rollings Dining Center to Wauneka Hall, was pouring sweat. The cross-campus trek had rapidly devolved into a trial by fire, and a long string of epithets about having forgotten to buy a water bottle.

It helped nothing that he was wearing his shiny, new backpack with the padded fit that, true, helped his spine bear the weight, but also trapped his body heat against his skin.

That's it, Aiden vowed, I'm getting a rolling book bag. I don't care how dorky it looks.

Finally, like an ugly, squat mirage, Wauneka Hall came into view. Blessings to a thousand different deities passed through his lips as Aiden walked through the doors and made a beeline for the bathroom. Throwing his burden on the floor, Aiden cranked out several sheets of paper towel, wet them under the faucet, and started sopping up his soaking back, underarms, and face.

I'm going to need another shower today, Aiden realized, looking at his flushed, wet face. Let's hope it's worth it. He grimaced as he cranked out more sheets to dry with. He'd emailed Dr. Finch back to say that he'd meet with her after his English class, which, mercifully, went much better than his History lecture. The wonders that almost a full day of sleep can do for a mind.

Refreshed and, hopefully, less smelly, Aiden exited the restroom and climbed the stairs to Dr. Finch's office. The door was ajar, and after knocking, Aiden entered to find Dr. Finch and Abiah waiting for him.

"Ah, Mr. Teague. Come in!"

Aiden carefully closed the door behind him and sat down. "So, what did you find?"

Dr. Finch dropped the professionalism. "Not much. Almost all of the recorded methods for demon exorcism are pure superstition or completely lethal. Abiah has an idea that sounds promising, but it's untested and if it doesn't work, it could end up making things a thousand times worse."

"Gee," Aiden muttered, "that's comforting."

"Yes, well unfortunately, it's the only idea we've got. Abiah?" Dr. Finch turned to her TA.

Abiah began, "Well, theoretically this could work. You see, when a demon possesses a body, the person inside of that body has to be weak enough to not fight, or has to willingly let the demon in."

"People would do that?" Aiden asked.

"More often than you'd think. Some want power, some don't know what they're doing, and then some of them know exactly what's about to happen to them." Abiah grimaced. "There are all sorts of reasons to seek a possession, but in all cases, the host has to be open to the demon."

Dr. Finch continued, "And that's where the idea comes in. Abiah thought of it; it's incredibly clever, but also very risky."

"Yes," Abiah answered, "because the host has to open themselves to possession or be incapacitated, in theory if the host closes themselves to the possession, the demon will be forced to leave. Sort of revoking the invitation, if you will.

Since Charles was, presumably, not comatose, dying or dead at the time of possession, it stands to reason that he invited the demon."

Aiden grimaced. "Somehow that's worse than just being possessed."

Abiah pursed her lips. "It's not our place to judge."

Interrupting, Dr. Finch directed her attention to Aiden, "This is where you come in. If Abiah is correct, and I think she is, we need to find a way to help Charles expel the demon. To do this, we need to know more about him; what are his likes, his dislikes, his hopes, his dreams? What would most motivate him to get rid of this parasite?" How did he get possessed. in the first place?"

Aiden frowned, "Oh. That- that's going to be tough."

"Why?"

Aiden shrugged, "I don't know who he was before the possession. I met him when he was already Charles the super-douche." Aiden stopped, thinking.

"What?" Abiah asked.

"I met a friend of his. He came by this weekend and dropped off some books. If I could track him down, I could ask him about Charles."

"Books?"

"Yeah," Aiden started digging in his bag. "I brought them just in case. Maybe he left his name or something in them. Either that or I could internet stalk Charles until I find the friend." Pulling out the volumes, Aiden plopped them on Dr. Finch's desk and started flipping through the first one, looking for clues. Abiah pulled out Contemporary Paganism.

"These belonged to his friend?"

"Hmm?" Aiden looked up. "No. Dan-the friend, said he borrowed them from Chuck."

"Chuck?"

"That's what Charles went by before..." Aiden trailed off, the book laying limply in his hands. Before the demon, his mind finished. The real Charles.

"So," Dr. Finch began, picking up Summoning Spirits and Magical Evocation, "Charles was interested in the occult. Well, that probably explains how he came to be possessed." Sighing, she flipped through the pages, "There's still the question of 'why'?"

"Why?" Aiden asked.

"Why would a demon bother possessing a teenage boy in New Mexico, of all places?"

Aiden laughed, "I didn't realize demons were so picky."

"Demons are incorporeal entities with the infinitude of space and time at their fingertips." Dr. Finch snapped. "They don't go around possessing people for the hell of it. There has to be a reason."

Abiah chimed in, "We'll ask him when we're done. In the meantime, there's a scared boy out there stuck in his body with a demonic force that poses a grave threat to him and everyone around him. So, let's talk about helping him."

"Well," Dr. Finch began, holding the book in her hands, "We know the boy was interested in the occult and the supernatural. Enough, at least, to spend money on these ridiculous things. I can't think of a magical practitioner worth their salt who would be seen with these-"

"Wait," Abiah whispered, "wait a moment. That might be it."

"What?" Aiden asked.

"Charles, Chuck," she amended, "he owned these books, so on some level, he must have believed them."

"Okay..."

"If he believes in the spells in these books, then maybe he'll believe us if we perform a traditional exorcism."

"But those don't work," Dr. Finch objected. "They're superstitious bunk. A lot of chanting and bloodletting and herb tossing. There's no real power there."

"But if Charles believes there's power there, it might give him enough impetus to cast the demon out."

"You can't be serious." Dr. Finch said.

"I am."

"You mean the boy's going to eject the demon out of sheer force of will?"

"It's the placebo effect! If he believes strongly enough, then he will make it happen!"

"You're going to trust the placebo effect? Of all things? Abiah, be reasonable! Consider the consequences! The risks! If this fails, not only will the demon not be exorcised, but then it will also know that we are trying to get rid of it, and in all probability, it will respond by trying to get rid of us!"

"Wait, what?" Aiden latched onto the last piece of information.

Abiah sighed. "That's why the idea is so risky. If it doesn't work, we lose the element of surprise, and the demon knows who we are."

"That sounds incredibly bad."

"Because it is." Dr. Finch agreed, "Which is why we need something a little more robust than the placebo effect. Abiah, if it were so easy to will the demon away, he would have done it himself. We have to have something else. I was thinking we could get his parents out here to help draw him out."

"His parents?" Aiden asked.

"His parents, his best friend, his girlfriend, his boyfriend, whoever. Someone important to him, who could help coax him through it."

Aiden looked skeptically at Dr. Finch. "I honestly don't think that's going to work. Charles didn't seem to care much about his friend Dan when he visited, I don't think he has a girlfriend or whatever, and I'm pretty sure his parents would think you're crazy, and that's if you could even get in touch with them..." Aiden trailed off, eyes widening as he stared into nothing.

"Aiden?" Abiah touched his shoulder.

"Aiden, what is it?"

"I know why the demon chose him."

"What? Why?"

"His family. He's a McKennan; they're a political dynasty. If he wanted to, Charles could follow in his family's footsteps and go into politics." Aiden ran a hand through his hair, stunned. "Jesus. Charles wasn't after power, the demon was."

Abiah interjected, "But that's no guarantee. Just because his family-"

"Abiah, nepotism is alive and well in American politics. Ask the Bushes and the Kennedys." Dr. Finch shook her head. "I can't believe I missed that. Charles McKennan. With his connections, he could be president one day."

"And then all of the power and authority that comes with that office would be in the hands of a malevolent supernatural being." Aiden finished.

Dr. Finch raised an eyebrow. "Well put."

Aiden shrugged.

"So, you're saying that we're potentially the only force standing between this demon and control of the US military?" Abiah asked, incredulous.

Dr. Finch chuckled, "It would appear so."

"And we only have one shot at stopping it?" Aiden added.

"Yep."

"No pressure then."

"Nope."