Bastion: O-Men: Liege’s Legion

by Elaine Levine

  It had gone on so long now that he may have destroyed their shot at a life together.

  And now it would have to go on longer while Bastion gave Flynn a chance to lose interest in these people.

  He hated giving that bastard anything, but there was much more at stake than Bastion’s own dreams and hopes.

  The night was well progressed by the time Bastion made it to Grumpy’s Beer Haul, the college bar in Fort Collins he and the guys preferred. His friends had a table already. It was good to see all of them together. They wouldn’t have that opportunity once Merc left for South America.

  Two women ran up to him and tried to lead him over to the table. Instead, he caught their hands. “I have news to tell you.”

  The girls giggled and shimmied closer to him. He had no hunger for them—hadn’t ever hungered for them. Their frequent ménage à trois encounters had let him pretend he was still normal, still human.

  All of that was in the past, now that he’d found Selena.

  “Our time together is over. I have found the woman I love.” He wanted to break up the mutant way, saving himself and them drama, but he felt he owed them the opportunity to process their feelings in their own way, so he did it with words instead of compulsions.

  Surprisingly, both girls hugged him and wished him well. When they left, Bastion sat at the table. The guys were staring at him as if he’d sprouted a second head.

  “’Sup, assholes?” Bastion said.

  “So it’s true.” Acier spoke first, looking at the two coeds Bastion had just fired.

  “I didn’t tell them about her.” Merc held up his hands.

  “As if we wouldn’t know,” Guerre said. “You never keep yourself so separate from us.”

  Merc laughed. “It has been nice not having Bastion live-stream his every thought.”

  “Where is she?” Acier asked.

  Bastion looked at Liege then Acier. “It’s complicated.”

  Acier didn’t buy that. “Is she your light or not?”

  “She is. But I have not—we have not—actually spoken in person. Much. Not in a way I’ve let her remember, anyway.”

  “So you’re shit at being someone’s light, is what you’re saying, mate,” Merc said, still grinning.

  “She’s a warrior and is a package deal with her team. To come out to her, I’d have to come out to them. And doing that means they’d have to step into our reality. So, oui, I’m shit at it.” Worse than just being bad at it, he’d likely killed any shot they’d had at a future.

  “Given Flynn’s interest in her team,” Liege said, “bringing them into our reality is going to happen sooner rather than later. I’d like you to stay at the fort for a few days, let things cool down with Flynn.”

  “I’m not finished my reconnaissance up there. And I don’t know how long I can be away from Selena.”

  “Selena, is it?” Merc asked. “I like that name.”

  Bastion ignored that. “Owen Tremaine, your equivalent on her team, is getting married this weekend. His father is a mutant. I should be up there right now.”

  Guerre looked at Liege. “Someone in the resistance is modifying humans too?”

  Bastion nodded. “This is part of what we need to understand.”

  “Maybe it is time you brought them in, Liege,” Merc said.

  Bastion looked to see if Acier shared that opinion. “You don’t agree, Acier?”

  Acier’s hard blue eyes shifted to Bastion. “I suppose it was only a matter of time.”

  Bastion tried to drill into that cryptic comment, but Acier wasn’t letting anyone dig through his mind, which, of course, made Bastion all the more curious.

  Guerre broke the awkward silence. “Wait until you see the fort, Bastion. Summer is nearly finished working on the greenhouse in the pool room. It looks like a jungle. And she put in a kitchen garden with all the herbs you’ll ever want.”

  “Liege’s missus has a soft spot for you, mate,” Merc said. “But enough about Bastion. Let’s talk about me.”

  Bastion frowned. “I’m suffering, Merc. I could use a little more focus.”

  “Mm-mm. I’ll be leaving soon.”

  “Already?” Bastion’s gaze shot from Merc to Liege and back.

  “There have been Santo sightings in Colombia. I’ve got to fetch him back.”

  “Oh.” His departure would thin the team here considerably. And with Flynn going ape shit, it wasn’t a good time to be down a man.

  Maybe it was time they brought Selena and her team in.

  14

  Bastion sat next to Selena on her bed, stretching his legs out to cross them at the ankles. He hated to wake her—she’d been sleeping so restlessly. It was all his fault, he knew.

  He put her into a d trance. What he’d come to say could wait.

  He wanted to check in with her before the wedding, which he wouldn’t be able to attend after all. Flynn had summoned him and Liege for a meetup. Bastion wasn’t going to mention it because he didn’t know when he could be back. And besides, he could always visit her like this, as his astral self. Given that he was appearing inside the dome of protection he’d put on the compound, visits like these shouldn’t cause an energy flux detectable to Flynn.

  Bastion sat next to her for hours. When dawn neared, he lifted his sleep compulsion so they could talk.

  She gasped when she saw him, then scrambled out of bed, instantly alert.

  “You are extraordinarily stubborn,” he said.

  Selena’s gaze darted around the room. She grabbed her phone, checking first for alerts. Bastion zapped it with an EMF pulse. She reached for the security necklace that she always wore, but Bastion hid it from her.

  She tossed her phone to the ground and pressed her wrists against her temples as terrible thoughts slammed through her mind.

  It hurt that she still thought him a monster, but given all these stolen moments, he supposed he’d earned that. Her eyes darted over to her nightstand where her pistol lay.

  Bastion flipped the light on. “Go ahead, shoot your bed.” He disappeared then reappeared in the same place. “I’m not here, so you won’t be shooting me.”

  Selena rubbed her forehead. “I asked you to leave me alone.”

  “I tried. It would seem I have a weakness I did not anticipate.”

  “Oh? What would that be?”

  “You. Come back to bed. We need to talk. I don’t like it when you block me from your mind.”

  “Too bad. My mind, my rules.”

  “I would honor that were so much not at stake.”

  “Where are you? I mean the physical you.”

  “I am not far. Just a few hours away.” He gestured to the half of the bed he wasn’t occupying. “Please, let us talk. I will not touch you.”

  “Get out of my bed first.”

  He disappeared, then reappeared next to her. “Is this better?”

  Selena’s eyes moved up his chest, neck, and beard. When their eyes met, his gaze held hers captive. Her nostrils flared as she scented him. That, more than anything else, turned him on.

  Her thoughts were easy to read tonight, probably because she’d been so abruptly roused from sleep. She thought he smelled delicious, then wished he didn’t. She was furious with herself for thinking something pleasing about him.

  Bastion laughed. “It is my own scent you are enjoying. My pheromones trigger a chemical response in you, as yours do in me. It is distinctive, addictive.”

  “Except you aren’t here, so I can’t smell you at all.”

  “You have a clear memory of my scent.” He gave her a half-grin. “I wish you could know what you smell like to me. In a sea of a thousand sweet-smelling women, I would find you with my eyes covered and hands bound.”

  “Just what I wanted. My very own bloodhound.”

  He laughed again. She couldn’t pull her eyes from his smile. He gestured again toward her bed. “Please. I have said I won’t touch you.”

  “And you always keep your word.”
/>
  He sighed. “Not always. I’ve failed more times than I’d like to admit. I won’t fail you, however.”

  Selena adjusted her pillows then sat on her bed. When she looked up, Bastion wasn’t where she’d left him.

  “I’m here.” He was now sitting on her dresser, across from the foot of her bed.

  “Since we’re having this awesome convo, let’s start with your real name,” Selena said.

  “I’ve had many names over many years. I shed them like a snake sheds his skin, having grown out of what he was. So call me what I am. I am the walls that protect you. I am your fortress. I am your Bastion.”

  “I don’t need protecting.”

  “You do, but you don’t know it yet. All of you here need protection.”

  “Someone purporting to be my bastion would not harm those I love.”

  “Have I harmed your team? I could have, at any point, eliminated them, killed them gently in their sleep, leaving their women to wake next to dead partners. They are as defenseless as infants to me. Your men are not my enemies, that much I’ve learned.”

  “So what do you want?”

  Her. The two of them together. He wanted the life the Matchmaker had given them, for as long as he could have it before the curse separated them.

  But that wasn’t an answer she was ready for, so he gave her another, also true, answer. “The Ratcliffs.”

  Selena shrugged. “I don’t know where they are.”

  “Find out and tell me.”

  “So you can kill them?”

  “No.”

  “Why, then?”

  He flickered out. Bastion! Damn you. I will not let you use me.

  Bastion hadn’t gone anywhere at all, except to disappear from her sight. He’d tried to keep things light—and fast-moving—hoping to just check in on her before going with Liege to meet Flynn’s mysterious summons. He lingered now to make sure she was all right. He was only in astral form, so if his visit triggered her, he’d need to find Ace and compel her to check on Selena.

  He watched as she did a check of all the nooks and crannies in her room, looking for him. When she didn’t find him, she shut off all the lights and climbed back into bed. Folded up tight against the headboard, she was anything but relaxed. At least she wasn’t so worked up that she returned to her hell in the bathroom.

  Owen and Addy were having their wedding rehearsal tonight, so the whole day, really the whole weekend, would be a festive one.

  Selena was happy for them, but so not in a joy-joy place herself. How could she be? Bastion had stolen everything from her. Her team. Her future. Her sanity.

  Selena swiped the heel of her hand across her eyes. They were angry tears, born of frustration. She was cornered and she knew it, something she’d promised herself she’d never let happen again.

  Someone knocked on her door. She didn’t answer it, but they came in anyway—Owen and Ace.

  Selena ignored them as she continued shoving things into her duffel bag. Owen leaned against her dresser, next to a column of empty, opened drawers. Ace moved about the room, probably checking for Bastion.

  “Talk to us,” Owen said, folding his arms.

  “I’m leaving. I’m done,” Selena said.

  “Where are you going?” he asked.

  Selena straightened. She looked at him then at the wall behind him, no ready answer coming to mind.

  “This is because of Bastion, isn’t it?” Ace asked.

  Selena glared at her.

  “Is he here?” Owen asked.

  She resumed packing. “He’s not here. He’s somewhere three hours or so from here.”

  “How do you know?” Owen asked.

  “He told me.” Selena stared at her open duffel bag. “He was here, this morning.” She shook her head. “Not exactly here, but”—she waved her hands around the room—“here.” She didn’t think Bastion was in the room with them—physically or otherwise—but then, how would she really know?

  Owen started toward her, then began rubbing his temple. Selena backed away from him, holding a hand out. “Get away from me.”

  He stood his ground, wincing from what had to be pain blazing in his brain. “Selena, you have to stop. You’re not going anywhere.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I mean get back. Go back over there.” She pointed to where he’d just been leaning against her dresser.

  He did back up a step, and another, and as he did so, the pain in his head must have eased—more with each step. “What the hell’s going on?”

  “It’s Bastion. He’s doing that.”

  “So he is here.” Owen looked around the room. Ace shook her head.

  “No. He’s not in here.” Selena waved her arms around again, indicating the room, then poked at her head. “He’s in here.” Selena covered her mouth with her hand, fighting back a ragged sob. “I have to go. He can get to us through me. He doesn’t have to be here to attack us.”

  “You’re saying he caused the pain I just felt?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  Selena sent Ace an embarrassed glance. “Because you and I— Because I had feelings for you once. Sort of.”

  “Is he hurting you?” Owen’s eyes narrowed.

  Selena shook her head then gave Owen a terrified look. “How do I know that he’s real? What if this is some psychedelic-induced craze? Or a full-on mental breakdown? How do I know?”

  “I know. You aren’t crazy.”

  “And Bastion’s real,” Ace said. “We just had a debrief on him with the Ratcliffs.”

  “You aren’t off the team, Sel,” Owen said.

  “My being here endangers all of you,” Selena said. “I have to go.”

  Owen sighed. “Maybe that is best. For now. Finish packing. I’m going to send you someplace safe.”

  “Where?”

  “Away from us. I can’t tell you specifics. Just know that it’s only until this blows over—or until we know how to deal with him. You’ll leave after the wedding.”

  “I should go now.”

  “I don’t have arrangements made yet.” Owen started to leave, but paused. “Please avoid the bunker for now, but other than that, there are no restrictions on your movements in the house. You aren’t going to reveal anything Bastion hasn’t already seen. Don’t leave the property.”

  Ace confronted Owen in the hallway. “She’s not going alone.”

  Owen was heading toward the back stairs, forcing her to keep pace with him. “She won’t be alone.”

  “I’m going with her. I told her I had her back.”

  Owen sent Ace a glare. “We all have each other’s back. You’re staying here.”

  Ace stopped walking. Owen stopped too. She gave him a wounded look, then pivoted and went back to Selena’s room.

  Ace slammed the door open, making Selena jump. Selena sat on the edge of her bed as Ace paced angrily. “Owen won’t let me go with you.”

  “It’s for the best. Bastion is ruthless. He’ll use anyone or anything to get back into this house. I wouldn’t let you go either.”

  Ace stopped. “I promised to have your back.”

  Selena reached up and took Ace’s hand, dragging her over to sit on the bed. “I have to tell you something, something I should have said long ago.” She hadn’t wanted to say anything before and still didn’t want to now, but on the off chance Bastion might think to use it to blackmail her, she had to unload.

  “What?”

  “I had a crush on Val. Well, sort of a crush. Nothing happened.”

  Ace busted out laughing. “Of course you did. Have you seen Val?”

  Selena chuckled. “I had one on Owen too. Nothing happened there either.”

  “I get it. Owen does nothing for me, but I can see that he might for you.”

  Selena looked at Ace, still feeling worried. “You forgive me?”

  “Fuck yeah. I figure crushes are like trying samples at Costco—they give a little taste of a bigger dish you may or may not
want to commit to.”

  “How many crushes have you had?” Selena asked.

  “One.” Ace grinned. They both knew it was on Val.

  “I’m glad you two are together. And I’m glad Owen and Addy are getting married. You all faced some pretty long odds and made it anyway. I’m going to miss you.”

  “I guess communications with you will be frozen.”

  Selena nodded. “I don’t know what Bastion’s fully capable of. I don’t want to take any chances.”

  Ace got up and started toward the door. “Fine. We’ll do this for a while. But if you need me, then fuck Owen. I’m there—wherever there is.”

  The field Flynn had picked for their meeting was a section of open grazing land. The only witnesses were the giant power lines and the surrounding wind turbines. The land that far east of the mountains was basically flat, but this had a slight hill that let them see in all directions for miles.

  Bastion and Liege had both scanned the area for ghouls or other Omnis hidden behind Flynn’s illusions.

  None were there.

  Flynn parked and came over to join them. He held his arms wide, gloved hands palms up, greeting them as if they were long-lost family members. No one had ever been fooled by his twisted brand of charm, not now, not in the camps.

  “Look how we can meet and negotiate like civilized partners,” Flynn said, steam from his breath rising into the crisp night.

  “If we were civilized, we’d have been able to meet at a library or bar, somewhere warm and busy,” Liege said.

  “Aw, my friend. I am sorry to disappoint. I thought meeting here would give you comfort in being able to see around us for such a great distance. Not a ghoul in sight.” Flynn laughed. “Shall we get started with our negotiations? I have what you want. You have what I want…”

  “I’m listening,” Liege said.

  “You want your daughter and her social endeavors off-limits.”

  “Both are off-limits.”