Spellbound

03

Two friends sat on an Amtrak headed into Essex Junction Station. They had come a long way from Manhattan, New York, and looked forward to finally getting some mobility again. Despite the crisp air of the northeastern winter, being cooped up in a train car for over ten hours wasn't necessarily an entertaining alternative. The inviting lights of the train station was a welcome change from the gray flurries that covered much their journey. One of them sighed, knowing that they'd have to pay more mind to their behavior in the public. The other began anxiously walking back and forth, anticipating what was to come. The conductor came over the intercom, announcing their arrival and calling for offloading. The pair stepped out into the pavilion, where they were met by one more waiting under a light dusting of fresh snowfall. They smirked, a welcome signature amongst their group.

The trio walked together along the street, enjoying the sights and getting to know their venue. Being so close to the holidays meant there was a lot to experience, even if the city they were in was minuscule compared to their own home. They were toward the outskirts of the block as one of them stopped at a newspaper stand. They pulled a map out of the shelf and shook hands with the vendor.

They laid out the map at a bus stop, analyzing the city. One of them laid down their finger at a nearby street, looking up at their companions with meaning. "He was last seen here. I lost track of him last night, after he got into the city. I've managed to find a few leads to track down, but we will have to split up to follow them all," said one. The others nodded with understanding, and the first took out a pen. He circled a few spots on the map near the area he pointed at.

"Quite a few parties are being held in the next few days. I'm expecting him to show up either here at this one..." they pointed to a residency, whose house took up enough space to fill three small homes. "...or this place here. Lots of people are supposed to be coming here for some kind of tree lighting ceremony. It'd be easy enough to pick someone out from the crowd." He circled another spot on the map, a downtown courtyard in front of a library. The other two sighed, knowing full well that both of these events were going to make their job harder. They spent the next couple of minutes deliberating on their plan, and finished just in time as the bus rolled up.

The two who came off the train got right back onto another automobile. The last one out on the street waved to them, smirking as they did at the train station. The two friends picked a bench at the end of the bus, sitting back to get in one last respite before going to work.  One tapping their foot with anticipation, the other observing small town life out their window.

"Our first real mission, huh?" said the sightseer. The other chuckled. The both of them had been looking forward to this for a long time, but it still seemed pretty unreal being strangers in a strange land. "Try not to disappoint the headmaster, Erik," they continued. The anxious one known as Erik chuckled, lightly tapping the other on the shoulder. "I'm not the one you need to worry about, Aurora!" he replied. "If anything, I think Bastion seemed pretty high-and-mighty back there." The girl staring out the window giggled a little. She leaned over and playfully shoved Erik. "Let him have his fun," she said. "He needs to be able to let loose when he's traveling." Erik shrugged. He knew that his friend liked to travel, but he still didn't like the feeling of being commanded. He knew just as well of the stakes and consequences of the mission. Erik took out a torn shard of paper from his jacket pocket. On it was a circled block where their man was supposedly going to show up. He knew that if he nailed this, he might finally get some respect from his friends. Hopefully, Bastion could take him seriously...

As the bus drove off in the distance, Bastion tucked away his torn piece of the map. He would be handling his own locale, dropping by a library down the street from a university. Today wouldn't be his first mission, yet it felt like a test. Something was riding on this, he could feel it. The air was crisp with the wintertime hustle and bustle, and yet it still felt dense and heavy. Bastion shook his face and rubbed his eyes. Maybe I'm just jumpy. It's all just because I haven't been out recently. Bastion came up with a dozen reasons why he felt the way he did, yet he couldn't shake that feeling. It was how the headmaster always said:

"Nothing is more truthful than the feeling in your gut."

Bastion chuckled to himself as he began walking down the street. It was close to the evening, just about time for him to let loose. He turned a corner and found himself in an alley behind a storefront. He checked both ways at either end of the alley behind placing himself behind a dumpster, just out of view from the street. Bastion rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck before he took in a deep breath. "About that time," he let out before perking his ears.

Almost seamlessly, the tip of his ear let out a click, and the rounded edge sharpened as it grew out two inches. Nearly simultaneously, a tuft of hair sprouted from just behind it to cover the new surface. Bastion let out a grunt as he watched his nose wriggle, and shortly thereafter sprout forth to form a grizzly snout. His teeth filed down to fangs and poked out from his lip, and his grunt turned into a low growl.

Bastion shook his head, taking a quick glimpse into a shattered mirror in the dumpster next to him. "Still gives me the chills," he muttered as he combed his hair around with his hand. He glanced up toward the rooftop, where the smoke from the heating ducts poured into the evening sky. Bastion tipped back and forth from his heels to his toes a few times before crouching low to the ground. With a grunt, he pushed off the pavement and heaved himself into the air.

He threw himself onto the building wall in front of him, latching onto pipes, nicks in the bricks, anything his enhanced eyesight could pick out as he ascended. He made it to the ledge within seconds, and lifted himself onto the roof with little effort. His view was immediately improved, as the cityscape seemed to level out with his ascension. Bastion stopped at the opposite ledge, where he crouched down and closed his eyes. He let out a deep breath, and concentrated on his hearing. If this guy was out there, he would find him. Bastion had been studying this man for weeks. He knew where he liked to be, what he ate, how fast he walked, everything. With his unique advantage, Bastion would not fail in finding this guy. He was counting on it.

He sat there, perched for just over an hour when he heard it. That familiar laugh. A cackling sort of laughter that you would hear from an old hermit. It followed by a gentle whimper, and the ever so subtle sliding of a tongue over a pair of lips. It was him, and Bastion had found him. He stood up and gave a toothy grin, wild-eyed and eager. The hunt was on, and it was up to his unsuspecting prey as to which ground he would stumble upon: his, or his friends. "Let the games... begin," he mumbled.