Draconic Testament (5 page)

”No…no…” Bastion said. Talia often was able to make Bastion feel better about things that bothered him, like when his dog died, who he named Bahamut, though he lied to Talia saying he named it after a being within Arabic Mythology, when it was actually from Dungeons and Dragons. However, the thing that was bothering Bastion was the whole killer thing, and if he should follow through with it or if he’d end up getting himself or others hurt. If he told Talia that that was the thing that was bothering him, she’d almost instantly tell him not to go through with it, perhaps even scold him for thinking about going through that again… but Bastion had faith in his abilities.
”It’s just… let me ask you something.” Bastion said, deciding he’d trick her. “If you yourself had this power, no, this… talent to stop something that may bring harm to other people…”
”Would I use it?” Talia finishes, squinting her eyes.
”Yeah…” Bastion sighed.
”Well, of course.” Talia says, kissing Bastion again.
”But...” Bastion managed to splutter with Talia’s tongue halfway down his throat.
”What?” Talia sighs, as she pulls away.
”What if it could backfire… hurt you, or perhaps the ones closest to you?” Bastion wheezes. Talia raised her eyebrow, suspicious. “What are you up to, eh?” Talia prods. “Wait, is this about the killing?” Bastion hesitated.
”No, no it’s not.” Bastion lied, but Talia picked up on it.
”You’re lying, Goddamnit.” Talia snaps. “The hell are you thinking, still going after him, who do you think you are, superman?” Bastion almost laughs as he thinks that she isn’t far off.
”No, look… There’s just… information. Information that I could acquire easily, I'm just…”
”Look, Bastion. The killer doesn’t know who you are” Talia says. “He’s not after you. The information is left confidential.”
”I know… it’s just.” Bastion begins.
”If you can do anything… anything, to stop more lives being taken… you should do it. What if it’s one of your friends who are next? You’ll be distraught… or… what about if it’s your little girlfriend, Veronica?” Talia teases, giggling at Bastion’s groan.
”What if it’s… at least a little dangerous?” Bastion asks.
”Stop beating round the bush, how dangerous is a little dangerous?” Talia asks.
”Like, checking out an abandoned apartment sort of dangerous?” Bastion asks. Talia frowns.
”No freakin’ way, Bastion…” Talia begins.
”If it wasn’t me. If it was somebody else who knew how to fight, like I do. What about them?” Bastion groans.
”Then I would, but it IS you…” Talia whimpers.
”I’ll take Vander with me.” Bastion says. “I won’t be alone, you know Vander can fight too, he’s been in eno-“
”Alright, alright” Talia sighs. “I know, I'm being a little selfish… but be careful.” She says, as she kisses Bastion. “So… you’re ok with it? You think it’s worth it?” Bastion whispers.
”…Yeah… Sure…” Talia admits, and then hugs Bastion tight. Bastion smiled, knowing that his involvement in the case has been approved by the person he holds most dear, and the one he trusts the most. Vander is a very good friend, but he’s far too worked up about this… for what reason, Bastion doesn’t know. “I gotta go.” Talia said, pulling away. “Every fortnight, I got grandma coming over.” Bastion kisses her goodbye, and then sets off home.
Bastion enters his house to be greeted by his mother, who had her jacket on with her handbag. Bastion recalled that his mother had asked him to hold the fort because she was going out to her friends for a while. “Took your time, didn’t you?” His mother sighs, “Thought you’d never come!”
”Ah… sorry…” Bastion mumbles. It was lucky that he actually came by because he had forgotten. He gave his mother a kiss goodbye, and watched as she left the house. “Great. Now what?” Bastion sighs, taking out the medallion and fiddling with it. He went into his living room, with his large TV, and sat down on the couch. The room was clean and silent, not a sound being made save the grandfather clock. He sat there, examining the medallion even further. He had all the time in the world to mess around with it now. He closed his eyes… and to his surprise, the Medallion was actually a little stronger now. He concluded that the reason this was is because he stored some energy in the medallion while at the Haven, and therefore, until that energy is used up, he can see things to the extent that he could in the Haven. He couldn’t believe he was thinking about the medallion like this, but it seemed to be the only thing that made sense among all of the crazy things that had happened recently. “Perhaps things aren’t so bad, then.” He said. He could use this as if it’s a portable gaming device, charge it up for times that he’s not able to get to the haven, like now. “Can’t believe I'm simply taking all of this so well. Perhaps I am crazy.” Bastion tells himself, juggling the medallion. Bastion had lived with the supernatural sense from a young, impressionable age. It’s been a part of his life for a long time, and although it’s shocking he’s in these predicaments, he doesn’t feel that it’s beyond belief. Bastion stops juggling the medallion, and sits upright, staring into it. “Now… Where are you, number four?” He asks, rhetorically, as he closes his eyes and the environments around him simply fade to black, all except the few small, glowing figures off into the distance. Veronica was leaving her Library, earlier than usual. Bastion wondered why, but concluded that it wasn’t important, though he’d check back later just incase. Number 2 was in a shopping mall, doing some shopping, going from shop to shop, a few blocks away from number 4, who was actually still in the same abandoned apartment, though he was holding some sort of… sword. He was caressing it, stroking it, his eyes closed, saying something, stopping, then talking again. Bastion felt as if he could go further this time, make out more features. He clenches his teeth and focuses, straining his magic toward the man, trying to get his face out in the open. However, he fails to see his face. What he does accomplish, though, is being able to hear. He begins to hear small sounds of machinery, presumably cars, in the background, cars passing by, and behind all the noises of everyday tasks, he can hear the minute sound of the killer’s voice. He focuses on the exact spot that he was focusing on when he heard the noises, and the sounds become clearer. The cars become louder, to the point of deafening him, only the sounds were distorted.
Bastion focuses harder, clearing the majority of the distortion from the noises in the area, and the cars seemed to dim. The voice’s volume rises. The killer could be heard perfectly. “That I’ve already killed didn’t know where he was. Perhaps he’s dead already. Have you checked the deaths of children the pas-” The killer says, but stops, as if he was interrupted. Was he talking to himself? Perhaps the killer was crazy, but if he was, then surely he would have been caught by now. “There’s hardly any left. I think there’s only one, actually. Once he’s gone… Yes. But, isn’t that moving out of the boundaries of magical activity? Going to Brighton would-… I promise, if we don’t find the bastard or the paladin here, we won’t find him anyw-“ The noise becomes distorted again, and he can only make out fragments of what he’s saying that doesn’t make any sense, however, he’s already heard enough. The glow disappears, and the zooming focused vision also decreases fast until he can no longer see anything off in the distance. He opened his eyes and looked at the medallion. It had no more power to it. He’d need to recharge to see more… but how come he could see things fine the night of the murder? What had gone so great then? He tried to stir up any more power within the medallion, closing his eyes and focusing again, but it was no use, he only got tiny flashes of glowing presences. He sighs, slumping back in his couch, now having to wait for his mother to get home before he could continue spying on the killer, waiting for his next move. He decided to turn on the TV, on the news, to see if there was any additional news on the killings. Turns out there wasn’t, but Bastion was being mentioned as an unidentified witness, although he hardly saw anything. Looking around the room, Bastion tries to think of something to take his obsessive mind of the killings, to dig his claws into. Perhaps reading? Perhaps he should go on the computer, and play some games? He sighs as the possibilities seem to be lost on him… then he catches something in his eye. He squints, trying to figure out what it was, near the window. But he doesn’t see it. But… then he sees it again, something glowing… Then, Bastion realizes, he’s not seeing something with his eyes open… but rather, with them closed, while he’s blinking. So, he closes his eyes, and sees one, singular glowing figure, and knows exactly who it is, right away. Veronica. And she was passing near his house. He jolted out of his seat, and closed the curtains to his living room before Veronica could come into view of the windows, then he closed his eyes, watching as she appeared, passing behind the small wall. He figures she’d just continue… when she stops, at the iron, paint encrusted, gates. Bastion hoped that she’d just turn, and walk away, like some sort of flesh, eating monster from a horror movie, trying to sniff out it’s prey, but instead, she opens the gates and makes her way toward the door. Bastion curses, taking a step back, then looks at the medallion. “What now? Can’t just give you up?” Bastion thinks to himself, and hides the medallion in his back pocket.
The doorbell rang as Bastion headed for the door. “Coming!” He shouted, entering his hallway and walking to the door. He stops in front of it and draws a deep breath, then opens the door slightly, peeking his head out to a rather pale, expressionless Veronica, though it was clear she was not all that happy. She didn’t have her school clothes on, so she had literally walked here in her black blouse and long skirt. Might as well of wore a bonnet too, and spoke like Mary Poppins. “Oh…Veronica!” Bastion exclaims, acting surprised, following his act with an embarrassed chuckle. “What, uh, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Bastion asks. Veronica looks around for anybody watching, then asks “Your home, correct?” Bastion pauses for a second, then Veronica answers. “May I come in? I have a query.” Bastion cursed under his breath, as he submitted and letting her in, knowing that his mother would have been angry for not inviting her in, in the first place. “Come on in.” He says reluctantly, as Veronica took off her shoes and entered. Only now does he really notice how small she actually is, the tip of her head only really comes up to his chin. “Come on in here.” Bastion says, ushering her inside, sitting her down in the living room, in his mother’s armchair then pouring her a cup of tea in the kitchen. Bastion walks into the living room with the tea, and passes to a surprised Veronica, who thanks him awkwardly, and then he sits down at an adjacent couch. “So, uhh. What can I help you with?” Bastion asks. Veronica sips the tea, and puts in down on the coffee table.
”Well… I just wanted to ask you about the murder…” Veronica says “What did you see, exactly?” Bastion sat there, puzzled by her question. “I can’t tell you anymore than I told the police, I'm afraid. Even if I could, I doubt I’d actually be allowed to. I was there when the blood was still fresh and hot, but I saw nobody.”
”I see.” Veronica said “Somehow, I doubt that.” Bastion frowns.
”You know, you don’t seem to like me much. Are you here to antagonize me?” Bastion snapped.
”No, I jus-“ Veronica begins.
”I mean, last time I visited you, you practically kicked me out.” Bastion said “Perhaps I’ll return the favour.” Veronica sighed, looking at Bastion.
”This was another person I knew, Sebastian.” Veronica sighs, then puts her head in her hands. “I'm sorry, I just… it’s my sister.” Bastion pauses at the news. “She was right there. She was round my house, we were playing and… talking, and then she left. And she ended up dead.” Bastion looks to the ground. “I didn’t know… I… I'm sorry, I-“
”She was a good person. She didn’t deserve this…” Veronica says, sadly. She didn’t seem to be crying, which he’d expect off a girl, but he figured she was probably less emotional than most. Bastion thought about the medallion, the one he took from the dead girl. “Was I wrong?” He thought. “Is the medallion simply a sign of love between sisters? Was I thinking too much into the whole thing.”
”She didn’t deserve this. She was a good person, worked with animals, donated to charity. So sweet, she was… She had a family who loved her dearly…” Veronica continues. Bastion got out of his seat and knelt in front of Veronica, and held the medallion in front of her. “This was on her. The medallion is a match to yours… I thought it could help me in the investigation, I swear I wasn’t looting her, I-“ Bastion begins pleading his case sympathetically, but is cut off as Veronica snatches the medallion. “Many thanks, now keep your nose out of this.” She says, face dry in her usual, close to angry, expressionless face, then she gets up, and heads for the door. Bastion knelt there, stunned for a few seconds, then he regains himself quickly. “Wait. Wait a second, what the hell?” Bastion begins, running into the corridor, but it was too late. Veronica was out the door, and gone, rushing off down the road. “What the fuck was...” Bastion began, at a loss for words. What had happened? Was he tricked, or did Veronica have a strange sense of sorrow? Was that an act? Does she actually have a sister? If she did, surely she would have taken days off, even have people around the school gossiping and surrounding her like they did to him. “Ah, SHIT!” Bastion shouts, losing his cool, kicking the wall of hid corridor. He paces back and forth, thinking about this. Shall he chase her down, and take the amulet? No, that would be bad, especially in broad daylight. It could look like a mugging, she could scream and cry… or she might even hurt him, who knows, she’s one of the few in the whole city that glows like that. He couldn’t call the police, because he had stolen evidence from the crime scene, and kept it stashed in his sock. In the end, Bastion sighs, back against the wall, cooling off… then decides to rein it in, and give up. He’ll have to do without the medallion, even if it was crucial for looking out for the killer during times away from the haven. He decides to sit back down, and watch the history channel.