Chapter III : Bria

The roads through Queenstown were all abandoned except for a few rotting cars and tractors on the side of the road. This would have been a good breather if it hadn’t appeared haunted. As Jett drove, he began to regret being a clairvoyant. Why did it have to be a freaking corn maze? Jett didn’t mind the hotel or the abandoned theme park, yet the corn maze bothered him.

“So, tell me, Aeon, have you ever been to one of these? A corn maze, I mean.” Jett asked, glancing over in the exorcist’s direction.

“No, I haven’t. Haunted houses, abandoned places, the crossroads, and an endless forest, but not a corn maze.” Aeon replied, looking out the window as rows of cornstalks that stretched on for miles came into view.

The clairvoyant chuckled, amused. An exorcist who had gone to every scary place imaginable. Places only people would go to in horror movies. They had never visited a typical Halloween attraction before. Gripping the steering wheel, Jett exhaled a shaky breath.

Jett hated corn mazes. He had gotten lost in one when he was younger and was followed around by lost spirits. Lost spirits who wanted his help to cross over, but he didn’t know how to help. He was too young to understand. Therefore, Jett was unable to help those souls pass on.

Driving across a rocky dirt road, they pulled up to an old barn where a sign had the name Corn Maze from Hell. The letters were crudely painted with red paint made to appear like blood. A female walked out of the barn dressed as a witch, smiling in their direction as they exited the car. “Hello, and welcome to Golden Oak University’s Corn Maze from Hell! My name is Bria,” she greeted warmly. Jett waved, “Nice to meet you, Bria. I’m Jett, and this is Aeon.”

“Oh, so you’re tourists?” Bria grinned.

Aeon nodded. “Yes, but we also have a reason for being here.”

Her bright eyes bore into Aeon as if reading their intentions. Bria then motioned towards the barn. The clairvoyant and exorcist walked inside, being followed by Bria. She must have known something was up. Closing the barn doors, Bria turned to them, her arms crossed.

“Why are you here?” she asked.

"There is a demon named Oren who will be after you. We’re here to stop him,”Aeon explained. Bria rolled her eyes. “Is this some sort of Halloween prank?” she scoffed. Jett stepped between them. “I assure you that we aren’t playing a prank on you.” The young woman sighed, her arms dropping to her sides. “I believe you,” she expressed with a sigh. A look of relief spread across Aeon’s face. “I’ll answer any questions you have.”

Bria nodded. “What do you two do, and why are you here?” she questioned.

The exorcist began to explain what both were and why they were there. The university student sat down with her head in her hands. Ever since Bria was young, she has had premonitions about events going on in her life. Warning about people and accidents that were going to happen. Her strange gift must be what Oren is after.

“How do we stop him?” Bria wondered aloud.

"We find a place to keep you safe. Put up protective barriers, and exorcise Oren from his human host that he chooses,” says Aeon, glancing at Jett, who nods in agreement.

Though they didn’t know who Oren would choose as his human host, the exorcist told Bria to act normal, as if she were unaware of anything. Since they were already there, they might as well learn about the layout of the maze. This put Jett a bit at ease. If he knew where to go, then maybe the clairvoyant wouldn’t panic.

Of course, Jett failed to tell Aeon about his fear. He hoped that this would not turn around to bite him in the butt. Aeon could see something was amiss by the look on the clairvoyant’s face. Jett was hiding something. Both glossed over the map, with Jett keeping a copy.

A car pulls into the driveway, honking its horn, causing Bria to jump and look over her shoulder. “Sorry, you two, I’d better get back to work.”

“No problem. We’ll be here if you need us,” the clairvoyant smiled and waved. When Bria left, he turned to the exorcist. Aeon tilted their head.

“Yes?” Jett chewed on his bottom lip. “I have a sinking feeling that something bad might happen.” Aeon searched the clairvoyant’s eyes as if looking for the answer and questioned, “Was someone hurt?”

Jett ran his fingers through his hair, looking at the closed barn doors.

They both sat in silence for a bit before Aeon placed a hand on the clairvoyant’s shoulder. The exorcist smiled, squeezing his shoulder. No matter what happened, they would have each other’s backs since both had stopped Oren twice from getting the two souls he needed.

Aeon could understand why the demon would be miffed. “We should get going and be on standby,” the exorcist told Jett. They dropped their hands, and the clairvoyant stood. “Yeah, we have a demon to look out for.” Jett nodded, exhaling a shaky breath. Aeon walked forward, pushing open the barn’s doors, the chill of the night air making them shiver.

It appeared more cars had shown up. Along with the scary actors who were university students, like Bria. “Should we split up?” the clairvoyant questioned as he watched Bria lead a group towards the corn maze entrance. The exorcist nodded, “I’ll head inside. Keep an eye on Bria and get a duffle bag from the boot.” Jett nodded as the two went their separate ways.

“Please be safe,” the clairvoyant whispered as he watched Aeon’s figure disappear into the corn maze.

Aeon felt like he would see Oren very soon. The last time, he didn’t seem so happy. Even though he wasn’t happy during his human life either. The man always strived for more power, along with more control over things he wanted.

The exorcist continued to follow the group, hearing people ahead of him scream and laugh. Compared to what Aeon usually encountered, this was tame. One of the scarred actors went to spook the man, and they addressed him with a nod. This confused the actor dressed as a scarecrow, who moved on to scare someone else further ahead. Aeon felt bad.

Next time, they should pretend to be startled. Up front, there was a panicked scream, and a few of the actors were yelling. Some of the customers ran past the exorcist back towards the entrance. Aeon felt their hearts thump in their chest as they pushed past the patrons. In the center of the maze is a muscular man with an executioner’s mask, wielding an ax covered in blood.

Well, the exorcist found Oren. Moving around, some of the people frozen in fear, he stopped in front of the man. Shielding the scared actors and patrons. “Get everyone to safety,” Aeon’s voice was calm yet firm. They could deal with Oren alone. They wouldn’t let anyone get hurt.

"Well, well, if it isn’t Aeon,” Oren sneered.

“I see you found yourself another host to traumatize and manipulate,” the exorcist motioned towards the scared actor the demon inhabited.

Oren scoffed, “Move,” he ordered.

Aeon shook their head, standing their ground. The demon sighed. He didn’t want to hurt Aeon, but since the exorcist wouldn’t comply with his demand, Oren would force him to. A deep chuckle resonated from under the executioner’s hood. Aeon still stood firm, unwavering, as they slowly reached into their back pocket. The demon raised his ax, gripping it tightly, swinging it down on Aeon, making contact.

Jett turned his attention toward the maze as a flock of crows flew overhead. Aeon, he said to himself as he helped usher people into the barn. The clairvoyant, along with Bria, placed protective safety measures. The university student’s eyes glistened as she looked over at Jett. Looking at the people inside, then back at Bria, he let out a shaky breath. “Go inside and close the doors,” the clairvoyant instructed.

Aeon had barely dodged the swinging ax in time, but not without consequence. Holding their right arm, they applied pressure to the deep gash. Dark red dripped onto the ground and seeped through their shirt. Oren growled, stomping towards the exorcist, getting ready to swing his weapon again.

Cursing under their breath, Aeon began to run, leading the demon deeper into the maze. Blood trailed behind the pair as they disappeared into the distance. Jett cursed, following the map he had kept since they first arrived. Stopping in the middle, he looked up from the paper in his hands—the clairvoyant spotted a blood trail.

Dropping the map, Jett began to run.

He followed the trail, his heart thumping in his ears. Please be alive, Aeon, the clairvoyant thought to himself. Up ahead, Jett could see a muscular man in an executioner mask had the exorcist cornered. Without even thinking, he ran forward, putting himself between the two.

Aeon’s eyes widened as they saw the clairvoyant’s form in front of them. Oren brought down the ax, which Jett stopped grabbing its handle and kicked the demon in the chest. This gave the clairvoyant a chance to wrench the weapon out of the demon’s hands. Oren staggered backward, holding the now sore spot on his chest.

“You!” the demon hissed, clenching his teeth.

“Yeah, me.” Jett glared at Oren, who stood up to his full height.

"Why don’t you hand over the ax, Jett? I’ll gather Bria’s soul, and I will leave. After all, your dear Aeon is injured.” Oren tempted the clairvoyant.

Jett looked back at the exorcist, who had a light sheen of sweat on their brow. “Don’t listen to him. I’m all right.” Aeon gave the clairvoyant a reassuring look. Jett gripped the ax tightly in his hands. The demon laughed. “Very well, if that’s your decision. Be ready to back it up with your actions.”

What should they do? Oren needed to be exorcised from this person’s body before he could get the ax back. The clairvoyant had forgotten to bring an extra duffle, and he didn’t know if Aeon had anything on him. The exorcist bumped him with their shoulder, looking up at him. A smile was on their face as they moved a trembling hand into their pocket.

Jett nodded. He was ready to back up honor with whatever they had planned. The exorcist concealed a small, round tin in their good hand and slowly twisted open the lid. By the faint scent, it appeared to be a type of salt paste. Aeon got some of the mix on their fingertip, and they were ready to draw a protective symbol on Oren’s human host.

The demon lunged at Jett, fighting for the ax. Using this as a distraction, Honor made their way around to Oren’s back. Oren watched the exorcist out of the corner of his eyes. When he tried to break away, Jett headbutted him, making him wince and grip onto Oren’s hands and wrists. “Focus on me, you low-rate exorcist!” the clairvoyant yelled.

“L-low rate!” Oren exclaimed, baffled at the insult. His grip on the ax was loosening, and Jett grinned. While the demon was sidetracked, Aeon reached out their fingers and extended, drawing a symbol onto Oren’s back. The exorcist finished the incantation, causing their enemy to stiffen and fall to the ground, their knees hitting the ground first. Oren tried clawing at the burning symbol on his body.

“Try all you want, but that will not come off. Now get out of your host!” Aeon commanded. The demon’s eyes blazed with rage, glowing under the mask. The symbol’s glow spread through the host’s entire body, causing an inhuman scream to erupt from his throat. Tossing his head back, Oren opened his mouth, and black smoke spilled out, shooting into the air. As soon as all the smoke cleared from his host, he fell limply to the ground.

Glaring up at the smoke, which didn’t stay around long. The exorcist stumbled, falling forward into Jett, who caught them. “Hang on, Aeon!” the clairvoyant took out his phone, calling emergency services. Oren was long gone. He was fuming over his third loss. He hadn’t managed to collect a single soul yet, and time was running out.

The emergency services arrived, providing medical care to both Oren’s host and Aeon. Jett couldn’t help but fret as he watched them stitch up his partner. Aeon’s injury was bad, so they wouldn’t be able to use their arm for a while. The exorcist’s host was awake with no memory of what had happened. At least that was a bit of a reprieve.

Once Aeon had their injury patched and put in a sling, they went to find the clairvoyant who was talking to Bria. When they walked up, both had expressions of relief on their faces, happy to see that the exorcist was okay.

“Aeon, I’m so sorry.” Jett apologized, his gaze fixed on his partner’s injured arm. Aeon shook their head and smiled, “Jett, I’m fine, so don’t worry about it. We were able to stop Oren again, and that’s all that matters. Thank you for coming to my rescue.”

The clairvoyant blushed, rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed.

“I want to thank the two of you for coming here. Suppose it hadn’t been for you two, who knows how this night could have gone? If you ever need anything, please don’t hesitate to give me a call.” Bria handed over her contact information.

The exorcist accepted it with a nod. “We will keep that in mind. Where to now?” They looked up at their partner, who straightened up to their full height. “How about a cruise, Aeon?” Jett grinned, his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “Sounds like a vacation.” Aeon held their hurt arm as they said goodbye to Bria and her classmates, getting into the car and leaving the cornfield behind.