Agon (13 page)

“
You should come to me
when I call.” Agon didn’t acknowledge the man who he had known all
his life. “I have something I need you to do.”

“
I’ll not leave her.”
Michael stood in front of him, and Agon looked down at him. “You
will try to make me and may succeed, but I will not leave
willingly. Not ever again.”

Michael stared at him for several
seconds before nodding. As soon as the surgeon said that he was
finished, Agon moved closer to the bed and took her hand into his
again. Kissing it gently on the back, he leaned to her mouth and
gave her as much of himself as he could in the form of his breath.
He waited. In seconds her heart skipped several beats before it
picked up a little better. As she was moved to another room, Agon
reached for Riss again.

I will need you to do some
things for her. I believe I have defied Michael and Boss one too
many times and when this is over, I believe they will punish me in
ways that I would not like to think about too hard.
Riss said nothing, but Agon knew the consequences
for saving a life that was not his to save.
I should like for you to keep her safe, please. I have monies
that I’d like for you to—

No. I will not. You will
have to deal with this…what were you thinking stepping in like
this? Boss is livid, and He said you must be punished severely. I
have never seen Him so angry in all my lifetime.
Agon knew that his friend would do whatever Boss
told him, and he did not blame him at all for being upset with him
as well.
You will go to Him. Now, Agon. He
will speak to you now. I will watch over Judith for you, but He
wishes you to come now. I would do so now before whatever He has
planned for you comes before He can speak.

Agon said he’d go now, and he waited
only long enough for Riss to come to him so that he could watch
Judith. As soon as he appeared, Agon hugged his friend tightly to
him and told him how much he loved him. Before he left him, knowing
it would more than likely be the last time he saw him, Agon hugged
him again and disappeared.

Chapter 7

Boss watched the man pace. He wanted
to go and hug him, but was fearful that all would be lost if He
did. Things were going to have to go the way they were set or
Judith would still die. He was both in awe of Agon for his bravery
and upset that the man had done what he’d done. Few, very few,
would live after defying Him.

When he was showed into the room with
Him, Michael sat down across from Him. Agon stood near the door and
gripped whatever it was he had in his hand. Boss knew, of course,
and again was proud of him. When He motioned for him to have a
seat, Agon nodded but only moved to stand near His desk.

“
I have brought You my
things. All that was given to me when I was created.” The packet
was laid on the desk, but He did not touch it. “I’ve shamed myself
as much as I have You, and I know that things will…I only ask that
You know I acted on my own. No one helped me in any way with my
decision in the course of actions that—”

“
Riss says that he told
you to go to Judith. Conley said that he allowed you to hit him so
that you could go to her as well. Kala has informed me that she
told you where to go and that she drove you to the house to defy
Me. All these people tell Me that they acted alone and that you
were only doing what they bid because you feared for them. They,
too, have offered Me their things in the hopes that I’d punish them
instead of you.”

“
I do not know what to say
about that. They did not help me in any way. This I swear to You. I
did not fear for anyone but the woman that I love.” Agon stood up
straighter and pointed to the thing on the desk. “I would ask that
You not make anyone suffer for what I did. No one helped me in any
way, no one allowed me anything but told me to stay where You had
told me and to heed Your words.”

“
Yet you did not.” Agon
nodded and dropped to his knees again. “You would ask Me
forgiveness now, Agon? After the fact that had you not stepped in
where you were expressly told not to go, that Judith would be dead
now?”

“
I do not ask You for
forgiveness, my Lord. I know that it would not be given, and I do
not wish to plead for my life but that of Judith.” Boss leaned back
in His chair as Agon continued. “I should like for her to be given
the chance to live a full and happy life. I have…you know that I
have given her a part of me so she will not die, but I would ask
that she help with the training of others like Riss. She has a good
heart and a wonderful mind. I believe she will be a good addition
to his team.”

“
So you think that because
you saved her, you should be responsible for her life now?” Agon
shook his head and pointed to the packet on his desk again. Boss
picked it up and dumped the contents on the table. What was in it
surprised even Him. “You wish for her to have this?”

“
Yes. I wish for her to
have all that I am. And I do feel responsible for her, and no
matter when my death comes, I will continue to do so then too. She
is…she will forever be my wife; if not in life, then in my heart
for sure.” Boss picked up the medallion and held it up by the
chain. The glimmering gold reflected off the walls, and Boss put it
back on the desk as He ran His fingers over it. The change was
immediate and He smiled.

“
You will convince her to
marry you posthaste.” Agon looked at Him with a confused look. “If
she does not agree, and I mean immediately, then you and I will
continue to have this conversation, but the outcome will not be a
good one. She will be your wife today or there will be no hope for
you.”

“
But she is…what I mean to
say, my Lord, how will I do that when she is still recovering from
her surgery?” Agon looked at Michael when He didn’t say anything.
“She was near death when I left her. I cannot see how she will be
agreeing to anything when she is not in a state of mind to agree or
disagree with me.”

“
I have…she is in the
hallway. Not her but her spirit. And just so that you know, her
spirit is just as stubborn as she is.” Agon stood up and then
dropped again. Boss let him go with a wave, and he moved out of the
room.

Boss sat there for several seconds
before He looked at Michael. “You are very sly, My good man. How
did you do this without My knowledge?” Michael laughed, and Boss
lifted His brow. “You will tell Me or I shall simply
look.”

“
I have a trick or two up
my sleeve as well. You were surprised, were you not, that he would
give over something that would end his life so horribly? The risk
of giving you his soul back in the form of the medallion would have
cost us all dearly. I did not…I knew that he loved her, but not to
what extent.” Boss looked at the new crest that was Agon’s to have.
“The other world would have welcomed him.”

“
But he was never theirs
to take, and now he will marry or I will have to think of something
cleverer to blackmail him with.” Michael nodded, and they both
turned to the door when a loud voice penetrated the thick wood.
“However, after this, he may ask Me to send him on his way rather
than face her again. She is…how is it they say?
Pig-stronged?”

“
I believe it is
pig-headed. And she is that and more.” Another noise had them both
standing, but neither of them moved to see what was going on. “She
will make him happy once he convinces her that she is going to be
so.”

“
I do believe you are
correct. And in the meantime, it will be fun to watch them get to
the point.” Boss looked down at the medallion again. “She will need
to be marked soon. I do not wish to see her in such a state again.
See to it as soon as possible.”

Michael nodded and left Him. Boss knew
that it would be a few hours before Agon came to Him again. He
looked at the pictures on the wall that served as his wallpaper. He
had been looking at these men and women for nearly a thousand
years, waiting for the other halves to be born. He glanced at
Galin’s picture and wondered what the man would think when he found
his own wife was so close. Sadly, he opened his computer and
started to work, knowing that whatever he thought, it was as good
as done. And as soon as things progressed with Galin’s wife to be,
He’d have to work twice as hard to help her. Things were about to
heat up for the girl and her nephew.

~~~

“
I will not be
blackmailed.” Judith paced the large room and tried to think what
she was doing there and not…well, dead. She knew that Jerry had
shot her several times and had stabbed her even more. By all
accounts she should be dead. But the man sitting on the oversized
bed only had one thought in his head, and that was for her to marry
him.

“
I would hope that you
would come into this easily.” She stopped her pacing to stare at
him when he spoke. “There is much to be said for marriage. And we
will have a long and very productive one.”

“
You think…productive? How
the hell…productive? Are you planning to put me to work as soon as
the ‘I dos’ are said?” He looked at her as if he had no idea what
she was talking about, but she knew that he did. Just knew it. “I
suppose you want me to do the things I wouldn’t do for my uncle.
Well, it’s not going to happen, buddy. I’m not going to help you
get rich with my horrors.”

“
I do not need your money.
I have…we have plenty of our own. Not counting yours, Riss tells me
that we will never have to spend anything but the interest to live
very nicely.” Agon frowned as he stood up. “I do not know what my
interest in the money has to do with us living, but he assured me
that there is more than enough to go around.”

“
He doesn’t mean your
interest, but the money you can earn by having your money in a
bank.” Judith shook her head. “You’re distracting me again. I was
telling you that Boss or whatever it is you call Him will just have
to get over it. There is no reason whatsoever for me to marry you.
I’m perfectly happy to be alone.”

“
Yet you called for me.”
Judith backed away from Agon when he started for her. “You called
for me and I knew to come to you. It was that and your love for me
that saved you.”

“
I don’t love you. I like
you well enough, but I don’t love you.” He was close enough for her
to touch him, yet she put her hands behind her back. “Why are you
forever standing practically on top of me?”

“
Because I would like
nothing more than to be inside of you.” He touched his mouth to her
shoulder, and she closed her eyes. “I was not aware that in this
form I could touch you. Do you have any idea what your skin tastes
like to me? How your scent seemingly was made for me and only
me?”

“
What do you mean ‘in this
form’?” His mouth moved over her shoulder to her throat and she
tilted her head back so he could nip at her skin. “Answer me,
please?”

“
You are a spirit here in
this place. Your body is recuperating at the hospital after the
surgery. Will you let me taste your mouth again, Judith?” She
nodded, and his mouth made its way to just below her ear, then to
her mouth. He drew her lower lip into his mouth as she reached for
and held onto the dresser behind her. “You are so warm and
inviting.”

“
Agon, you’re not going to
make love to me. I don’t want you to.” She knew he had figured out
she was lying when he chuckled. Before she could pull him from her
body, if she ever wanted to, he ran his tongue over her lips.
“Agon, you’re not playing fair.”

“
And I have no wish to
play at all unless it is with your body.” He took her mouth again,
this time devouring her as he lifted her up and sat her on the
dresser she had been using as a post. Wrapping her legs around him,
she tore at his clothing to simply touch him. When his chest was
bared to her, she pushed him back enough that she could take his
nipple into her mouth and suckle it. His fingers curled into her
hair and instead of pulling her away, he pressed her harder to
him.

When he did lift her head up, she
looked into his eyes and saw that he did truly love her. As much as
she knew that love was not real, she knew that he would show her
things that no one had ever shown her before. Happiness for one
thing, unconditional love for the second.

“
You love me.” He nodded
and pulled her mouth to his for a gentle kiss. “I don’t know how to
love you, Agon. I have never loved anyone before.”

“
I would love to show you.
I will…I cannot help but to love you no matter what.” He picked her
up again, this time cradled in his arms. “I would very much like to
make love to you now. To be buried deep within you would be
something we can both enjoy.”

She knew he was right and let him lay
her on the bed. They’d had sex before, not a great deal of it but
enough that she knew that he was inexperienced in it. But she knew
that this time would be different, this time he would not just tell
her he loved her, but he would show her as well. As he stood over
her staring down at her, she felt her body flush with need. His
smile told her he knew it too.

“
Take off your clothes.”
He stood there looking at her when she repeated herself. “I want to
see you, all of you.”

“
You will return the
favor?” She nodded as he pulled his shirt over his head. “There are
ways for me to be naked without this removing of clothing one piece
at a time. And I can do the same to you. But I want to see you take
them off for me, take each garment off and drop it to the floor
like this.”