by Zac Atie
”Keep them to yourself. I’ve already warned you not to relay this to anyone…” Veronica says. “Understand that I should have killed you back there, and would have if not for the heroic charade you tried to put on. Though, we are not done yet. I still have questions for you.”
”What questions?” Bastion sighs, a bit annoyed at Veronica’s arrogance and reluctance to answer his questions. “Firstly, the Medallion. How did you use it to find me?” She asks.
”I closed my eyes while… I don’t know how to explain, it was like drawing energy from it. I saw you… you were glowing, along with the killer… silhouettes.” He said.
”That’s what we call hollow sight.” Veronica said. “The fact that you drew from magic means one of two things. You’re a rare human who has a strong Magic Pool that he’s been able to tap into, or you’re the son of a Magi.”
”Well… what do you think I am?” Bastion asked, squinting at the question, not sure what either of those were.
”I don’t know. Likely the first.” Veronica said. “Do you know your parents?”
”No.” Bastion said.
”Have you… had the…” Veronica starts, waiting for Bastion to realize what she’s hinting at, but Bastion doesn’t. “Have you ever desired to be a vampire?”
”What? What kind of dumb question is that?” Bastion asks.
”Never mind, obviously you’re not a Magi.” Veronica scoffs, then hurries on, not letting him pursue the subject “Second question. How are you hiding your aura?”
”What’s an Aura?” Bastion asks
”You know… the sort of presence you feel around people. The silhouettes, the reason you were being a creep and staring at me.” She says, watching Bastion begin to blush. “How come I can’t detect it? How come the killer couldn’t? What say you?”
”Heck knows. I'm not actually doing anything.” Bastion said, asking himself if she really just said ‘what say you’.
”Third question, had any training in magic?” Veronica asked.
”Erm… no, not from anyone. I sort of just… came across it myself.” Bastion mumbles.
”With the medallions?” Veronica asks.
”Yes. Well, no, sort of. I had some other training as well, at my haven.” Bastion says. Veronica squints at him, not understanding what he meant by ‘haven’. “There’s this… place, in the park. I was drawn to it as a kid. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, I went there for everything,.. Lunch, study, sleep… It was great, till I got my hands on that medallion, and the night at the beach… Yeah…” Bastion said, but realized that Veronica was no longer walking by his side. “Veronica?” He asks, turning around to a staring, bewildered Veronica.
“This haven of yours…” She began “It’s a place of magic? Out in the open?”
”Yeah, well, I guess you could call it that... It feels a little like that to me, though... Are you okay?” Bastion said. Veronica’s eyes widened, and for a moment, it looked as if she was about to smile. “Take me there! Come on!” She yells, grabbing his hand and pulling him to the park.
Chapter Three – Answers
Sebastian Slater
”I found it!” Veronica exclaimed, almost in a whisper, staring at the platform. “This is incredible, unbelievable, fantastic! 16 years ago, on this very stage, a portal was opened. All of the English Magi felt this tremor, and came running, looking for the location to Voltrin’s vault, and It was I who was the first to find it!”
”Alright, err, first of all...” Bastion began. “First of all, YOU did not find it. I did. Second of all, does this deed of mine come with a reward? Perhaps answers?”
”Yes… Yes I suppose I could tell you… though I do need to state something.” Veronica began. “I need to state that finding this place at such a young age was a monumental, if a strange, feat. There are those who are stronger than you and I combined that could not find this place… yet you…”
”I what?” Bastion asks.
”You can’t be a simple, normal human, oh no. Nor are you some ordinary son of a Magi, as you entailed earlier.” Veronica says, sitting down. “You have some incredible potential… Not only did you sense this place, and trained here, but you were able to hide your Aura from the killer and the rest of the Magi posted here, those who may have brought you harm or kidnapped you in your vulnerable, child-like state. I… I’d like you bring you back to our base, my home, in Korreal.”
”Korreal?” Bastion laughs, thinking it’s a stupid name. “Sorry, where is this Korreal?”
”We have bases, small settlements with huge undergrounds to keep out of the watchful eyes of humans. They don’t know we exist. If they did, they would never leave us alone. Our existence would never be the same. Korreal is over in the surrey hills, a countryside not all that far from here.” She said “I have a lot of answers for you… about Sanctum, the Magi… Incredible things that will be beyond your imagination. Things that will shimmer the world as you know it, and change it into something with less limits.”
”Well… shoot away, I got loads of time.” He said.
”No.” Veronica said.
”Uhm, what?” Bastion pondered.
”No. I want you to decide. Are you coming to live with us, and train as a Magi, or are you staying here?” Veronica prods. ”Wh- I can’t just decide to up and go with you! I mean, the end of school exams are coming up and everything! Plus, just leave my friends and family behind?” Bastion snaps, and Veronica realizes what he’s saying.
“Of course…family…” Veronica says “I suppose people with family should never be in a hurry to tarnish what they have.” She gets up and heads towards the gate. “Meet me at the train station on the Monday after the exams. I can’t stay any longer than that, I'm sorry. Remember, there’s the normal life, the human life, which you obviously do not fit in, with your addictions, depressions and your lust to follow your instincts… The life of a caged animal.” She pauses “Then there’s the Magi life. While not a glamorous life, I believe that you’d be a vital member of our group, to make our lives better. Do not talk to me again, until that day. Remember, this discussion never happened if you decide against our order. I know where you live.”
”Wait, cant you jus-“Bastion begins, but Veronica simply leaves, without a care for Bastion’s words, and walks away from the park. “Goddamnit.” Bastion sighs, and sits down on the platform, thinking about what Veronica said. There are many things he has to consider before leaving. To just up and leave Talia, Vander, his mother… His hard earned grades will be meaningless, he’ll likely face constant danger and will only find friends within his Magi community… Plus, this talk about portals, and Paragons? On the upside, he likely wouldn’t be driven insane from his depression, though he doesn’t know if it’s something that will pass, since it only came up after he began seeing the glowing silhouettes of people. Then, something hit him. He forgot to tell her about Number 3, the one who was disappearing every time Bastion saw him… though it was too late now. With the long hours of teaching Talia, the fight with the red-faced fiend, the fire and this talk about Mages, he felt he had done his deeds for the day, and went off home to rest.
Exam week, Monday. The school was in shock and awe about the tragedy that conspired in the assembly, though it was a godsend for the younger students who were sent home until repairs were made. No such luck for the Year 10’s and 11’s, who had to complete their exams. There were two exams per day, one in the daytime, the other in the afternoon, which rendered the students to look at this fortnight of exams as a normal day in school. The morning exams went fine, as Bastion was writing down answers to questions that seemed elementary to him, smiling as he knew that it would make his mother proud, though he was not sure if he could keep it up. All he could think about was magic, magic, magic, and of course, what he was going to do about Veronica’s offer. He kept weighing the pedestals, and he constantly came back to the same conclusion, to stay here, to fight the addiction. Why would he just abandon everything f
or a life he could never come back from? Veronica was hardly friendly, was this a common mindset among the Magi people? On the other hand, if he stayed here, he may always feel like an addict trying to ignore the hit that was waiting for him a reach away. That was not certain, however. Bastion came out of the exam hall to a complaining Talia, who wanted to know why he walked out on her, though, luckily for him, he had made up an excuse beforehand. He also saw Veronica, who cursed as Bastion approached her, and she sighed and hissed at him to back off, a gesture that he failed to heed. Eventually, Veronica stopped, and dragged Bastion off into a corner somewhere, practically slamming him against the wall in fury with her forearm. “What the HELL do you want?” Veronica snaps at him, furious. “I told you not to talk to me again, we’re going to get found out!”
”Found out about what, am I dragging you off to a back alley for a snog or something? No, I just want to talk about the magic. I need to kno-”
”No, I told you...” She begins, but Bastion interrupts her with puppy eyes.
”Look… I need your help… please. I’ve only just been introduced to this whole magic thing, and I… I just want to know… will the addictions stop? Can I just ignore the magic, or will it eat away at me till I'm torn apart by my depression? Please, you have to help me… I feel like I’m alone here. Who else do I have to turn to?” Bastion pleaded. ”Bastion, people are...“ Veronica retorts, but Bastion grabs her arm.
”Please…” He pleads.
”Alright… alright…” Veronica sighs, giving in, shaking Bastion off her in frustration. “You can’t ignore it. it’s always going to be there, but… you can learn to suppress it, to accept it as a part of you and have it stop bothering you… devote your time to learning that, and you’ll feel better, but you’ll never feel normal.” Veronica places her hand on his chest, looking away from him. Magic flows into Bastion’s body, and the toll of the depression begins to dwindle. It’s still there, begging him to be let out, but it’s no longer jumping on his back. “How does that feel? Will you remember how to do that?”
”Thanks Veronica.” Bastion smiles warmly, then laughs “I think you’re starting to like me.” Bastion turns away and leaves, ignoring Veronica’s huff at his statement, then notices one of Talia’s friends whispering to her girlfriend. Of course, she was one of the ones watching, and of course, she’ll end up relaying this to Talia. This is going to be another headache to deal with.
Tuesday. After the day of exams, he goes on a hunt for Talia, who surprisingly wasn’t looking for him. He checks near the gates, waiting for her be on her way to leave, so he can talk to her, be straight with her, before anything gets out of control. He’s staying for good, and not only is he scared to lose Talia over nothing, he’s scared to lose one more reason to leave behind his old life. Though it’s not Talia who ends up coming to the gate first, it’s Vander. “Hey.” Vander says, though he doesn’t seem all that normal. “Err, hey.” Bastion replies.
”Fire thing was crazy, huh? Almost get the hunch it was some arsonist. You know, arsonists always rub me the wrong way. They always talk about fire as if it’s their sex slave or something. Know anything about this?” He asks.
”No, why, do you?” Bastion asks, sensing that there’s something odd about Vander. He’s usually cheery and happy, but right now he has some sort of a sorrowful look on his face.
”No… No, I don’t, but…” Vander starts, “We need to talk. I have plans for something, a trip, and I need your help. We’re going to somewhere in Germany.”
”Germany?” Bastion asks, remembering that Vander could speak German. “What for?”
”A project, a German TV show. Remember the archery training I was doing?” Vander asks “Well, this is part of it. Your sword skills are needed. Talia can come too, I mean, we’ll all be paid. Fun, right?”
”So this was the big reveal? A TV show?” Bastion asks, “Not that I'm complaining, it seems pretty cool. I don’t know, I’ll see.”
”Have you got anything better to do during the six week holiday?” Vander asks. Bastion smiled as he thought in his head. ‘Yes, learning dark secrets of the arcane with a bunch of Magician lunatics.’ Though he never said so. “I don’t know yet, is all… I’ll think about it.” Bastion smiles.
”Well, I don’t want to rush you, but I'm going in exactly a week from now, on Monday.” Vander forces a laugh, then waves and leaves with a goodbye. As he waves Vander away, he spots Talia in the crowd outside the gate, walking down the road. The fact that she passed him must mean she’s rather angry at something, and it was rather easy to guess what it was. Trying to run after her now would end in failure, since getting through the crowd would be hard and he’d likely end up losing her. He decides to give up, and go home till tomorrow.
Wednesday. After the morning exams, Bastion grabs a bite to eat and goes looking for Talia. He couldn’t find her anywhere, so he ends up approaching one of Talia’s friends. “Err, hey, Alice?” Bastion asks, smiling, “Do you know where Talia is?” Alice looks at Bastion with a dirty, grudging look. Bastion grinded his teeth, and sighed quietly.
“She doesn’t have an afternoon exam today, so she went home.” Alice huffed.
”What? Why, how come?” Bastion asked.
”The afternoon exam is for GCSE courses, Talia has a BTEC that relies on coursework to make up her grade. She doesn’t have an exam for IT or PE.” Alice said.
”Oh, I didn’t know.” Bastion sighs, “Guess I missed her.” Bastion was about to say goodbye, when Alice’s bitch mode turned on and she began to provoke him “Well, maybe you should examine Talia’s timetable rather than examining other girls” She snapped.
”Well, first of all, that doesn’t make any sense, because I’d much rather examine a female body than a timetable all day. Second of all, I don’t examine any other girls than Talia.” Bastion snapped back.
“Oh, you don’t? You just make a habit of getting into dark corners with them?” Alice retorted.
“Actually, she pulled me into the corner to talk about something… secret, and I-“ Bastion began.
”Secret? Oh that makes it all better, doesn’t it?” Alice laughed.
”No, it’s not like that…” Bastion sighs, knowing he’s digging an even deeper hole for himself.
”Then what is it like? What was the “secret”, that you’ve got a little fantasy of cheating on your girlfriend?” Alice snaps
”Can you please just tell Talia-“ Bastion begins
”No, you tell her yourself, you go and get on your knees and explain yourself. Quit being a scumbag!” Alice roared.
”How about... fuck off?” Bastion snapped back, and stormed off, ignoring Alice’s angry ranting in the background.
Afternoon exams seemed like the beginning of the hard stuff, because not only were the exams themselves hard, but what was going on in Bastion’s head was also distracting. He had to worry about not only the whole Magi business, but the grief that was likely to come with the whole Veronica debate. Perhaps that trip to Germany wasn’t such a bad idea, get away from both problems for a while, come back to a cooled off Talia and a non-existent Veronica. There was also the problem of the depression. It had come back to him, pretty hard, and he’d suppressed it, but it didn’t feel as suppressed as it had when Veronica had first done it. After the exams were over, he left with a dreary feeling, as if he could swear he had made a ton of mistakes on his exam and he’d be lucky just to get a pass. It made him feel sick, and he knew he had to sort out his problems pretty soon, or else he’d end up failing everything, and his life would be full of depression. Depression, depression, depression. A normal life would be heaven to him. He couldn’t ignore the magic, but learn to suppress it, like Veronica said, so he left the school grounds and made his way toward the Haven for a bit of training. Perhaps if he trained at manipulating and using his magic better, privately and bit by bit, he’d be able to suppress these feelings. Hell, maybe, he’d learn to do even more cool things, that would actually m
ake his life better! However, while he was passing through town, he ended up seeing somebody wave, through the window of a burger bar, but he couldn’t make out who it was due to the sun glares on the window. He decided to try his luck and walk into the bar, just in case by chance it turned out to be Talia, however, upon entering through the doors of the deserted bar, he saw the one and only Vander. “Hey, come over here.” Vander said, waving him over. Bastion complied, and sat at the table with him. “What’s up?” Bastion asked. “I would have thought you’d be here with Leticia.”
”Nah, no, me and Leticia are through.” Vander says.
”Oh, I'm sorry…” Bastion says, “What happened… unless, it’s you don’t wanna talk about it.”
”Nah, I'm not bothered. It was getting too serious.” Vander says, smiling.
”Too serious? You mean, you were beginning to love one another?” Bastion sighs.
”Yeah, I'm not really up for that, honestly. Our relationship was pleasure only, in my eyes.” Vander says.
“Is that kind of thing really so bad and foreign to you?” Bastion ask, and Vander sighs.
”Oh, don’t be a woman.” Vander groans “To each their own, I don’t want a loving relationship that will end up in a bad marriage. I’d rather hop from girl to girl in my youth… besides, are you any better?”
”The hell’s that supposed to mean?” Bastion snaps, but Vander submits.
”No, no, I'm kidding, chillout.” Vander says “Anyways. Have you given any thought to the trip?” Bastion was getting the whole ‘nagging friend who you owe money to’ vibe from Vander. ”You know… with the whole Talia vs. Veronica, and exams and all that bollocks, it actually looks as if I’ll be coming along.” Bastion sighs “It’ll be like a vacation.”