Agon (22 page)

“
You talk about your house
as if you expect to be set free. Is that how you feel? That you
should be a free man?” The other man—he had no idea what his name
was—smiled as he leaned back against the table Judith and her
husband were sitting at. Jerry glanced at his attorney, who was
still shaking his head. Jerry hadn’t practiced on this question, so
he wasn’t sure how to answer it.

“
I do feel as if I should
be free. Being locked up, well, I’ve done that before, and I don’t
think it’s right that I be tricked into being there
again.”

“
You were tricked? How
so?” This one he knew. The man pulled a notepad his way before he
continued. “You signed a confession to the fact that you murdered a
great many people. It says here that you’ve also admitted to being
a drug lord, selling women for pleasure, as well as a long list of
other crimes. Yet you feel you should be free.”

“
I was sitting alone in a
restaurant when I received a phone call from my niece, Judith
Craft. She said she’d give me my money if I were to sign the house
over to her. I had no idea that I was signing those false
documents.”

“
You didn’t read them, I’m
assuming?” Jerry shook his head, but before he could clarify
anything, the lawyer continued. “Why is that? A man of your obvious
business sense didn’t read over something that was given to him by
a niece that he had said repeatedly that he hates? I would think
you’d be wanting to bring in a whole table of lawyers for that.”
The room laughed a little and had Jerry’s temper flare
up.

“
Yeah, I hated her, but
she owed me. I needed her, and she failed me at every turn.” The
lawyer asked him how she’d failed him. “She has these freak
abilities and she wouldn’t help me with a few things using them.
What sort of child doesn’t want to help someone that provided for
them? She’s ungrateful.”

“
And how did you provide
for her?” He thumbed through the file again. “It says here you
murdered her father, even served twelve years for the crime. And
during that time, you never had a single visit from her, and we
can’t find a single check that you might have written for her care.
How is it you were providing for her?”

He had no idea. The man was confusing
him, and he looked at his lawyer. The man looked livid, and he made
a gesture of washing his hands. Jerry knew what that meant. He’d
fucked himself and Pedro was finished with him. Fuck it then. If he
went down, so would Judith.

“
I’m not sure you would
realize, but she was abused as a kid. She paid me to take out her
father.” The room seemed to come alive all of the sudden. “Her
daddy used to lock her in a dog cage at night so she would do his
bidding. I never told anyone before about this, but it was her that
made me kill my own brother.”

“
And you did it.” The
lawyer nodded when Jerry did. “Is it true you and your brother were
having a fight? And that it was over the fact that you wanted Mrs.
Guardian for your own use? The reason I bring this up is because
you have opened the door, so to speak. And for this reason alone,
you’ve been trying to kidnap Mrs. Guardian for several
years.”

“
Who the hell is Mrs.
Guardian?” The judge slammed his gavel down hard twice. “I don’t
know who that is. We were talking about my niece and her evil ways,
not this other person.”

“
It’s your niece, Mr.
Craft. Her husband is there, and his name is Agon Guardian.” Judith
waved at him and blew a kiss. Jerry dodged it like a fool, and that
set the room to laughing at him again. He was going to fucking
enjoy killing the bitch.

“
I don’t know what you’re
talking about. I’m her only living relative and she goes and tricks
me into sh…stuff so I get into trouble. I told her I’d sign things
over to her so she could make decisions on my behalf while I was
away. I never knew what I was signing because I trusted her. I’ll
never do that again.” Because there would be no one to trust, Jerry
thought to himself as he continued. “She was supposed to watch my
businesses and property for a limited time while I was vacationing.
And she had to go and try to make it more permanent.”

Jerry was back on familiar ground now
and looked at Pedro. He still looked mad, but Jerry thought he was
getting it fixed. When the attorney asked him to read something for
him, Jerry took it without thinking. He was reading it when he
realized what it was.

“
Is this what I signed
over?” The attorney nodded, and he looked at Pedro. “You said this
wasn’t going to be brought up. What the hell are you doing sitting
there? Get up and fix this.”

“
Are you saying this isn’t
what you did to all these people? I’m sorry, but as you’ve admitted
several times, you signed this. I just assumed you’d read it at
some point.” The lawyer took it back and sat down. “It’s all here
that you murdered these people. How about if we go over each one
and you tell us what happened to them?”

“
Do you have any idea how
long ago I might have done some of those people? Christ, it was
years and years…you can’t expect me to remember every man I put a
bullet in.” No one said a word, and he looked around the room. “I
suppose each and every one of you remember every little thing you
did from the time you were a kid until now. Fuck, I had to keep a
record where I kept them hidden so I’d not bury someone there
twice.”

He realized what he was saying the
moment Pedro stood up. Mother fucking shit balls of fire. He’d just
confessed. He started to stand himself, thinking…well, he had no
idea what he was thinking when two guards, these armed, came toward
him.

“
I’m not going back to
jail. I was tricked again. I didn’t kill anyone.” The lawyer held
up a notebook that Jerry knew. “Where the hell did you get that?
That’s my property. You give me that right now.”

“
So, you admit this is
yours?” Jerry nodded and put out his hand. This was simply too
much. “And you wrote all the information within?”

“
Of course I did. What
kind of fool do you take me for anyway? I have to keep things
straight. I had people owing me and when they didn’t pay, I had to
know where the other bodies were so I’d not dig up somebody else.
It’s only common sense.” His lawyer started for the back of the
room, and Jerry called for him. “Get your skinny ass back here.
This is your job, and I want you to get me free of this shit. I got
plans for my niece over there.”

“
And what are your plans,
Mr. Craft?” It was a trick question and Jerry knew it. What the
hell did they think he was going to do to her?

“
I’m fucking going to kill
her. Look at the mess she’s got me in. It’s the least she deserves.
I’m not going to jail again. I was tricked.” The guards came toward
him again and he realized that’s just where he was going. “I’m not
going back. I’m telling you right fucking now, I’m not going back
to prison. I’ve got shit to do. And people to kill.”

He was being pulled away when he
looked up at the man who had tormented him several times over the
past two weeks. Feathers and other things were left in his cell
until he had started lining them up in neat rows on the bed above
him. When he stood up, Jerry watched as he spread his wings out and
walked toward him. Jerry could not believe that this was really
happening to him. As soon as the man touched him, Jerry started
screaming. The horror, he knew, was just beginning.

By the time he was returned to his
cell, Jerry had been sedated. It didn’t help him that much. He had
a front row ticket to every person he’d ever killed and how they
had suffered at his hand by a running movie in his head. And when
he begged for it to stop, the movie would slow enough that he could
not just see what he’d done, but also hear each scream as it rang
into his mind. Jerry just knew he was going to be seeing this for
the rest of his life.

~~~

“
You should see the
building now. I swear to you, it is as if we have taken a step back
in time and the entire place is from the nineteen-twenties.” Agon
looked over at Judith when she didn’t comment. She’d been quiet
since they’d left the courthouse.

“
I have been there. I
heard that you are ready to open in a few days.” Agon looked at
Lily when she spoke. Her short shake of her head had him thinking
she wanted him to believe that Judith was all right, but he could
feel that she was not. Standing up, he took her hand into his and
pulled her up.

“
I need a moment or two,
please.” He didn’t care if they agreed with him or not. He needed
to talk to Judith. As soon as they were in the yard beside the
barn, he pulled her into his arms. “You will be fine, you know. I
have you.”

“
I know. But he’s…I guess
he really was going to kill me when he thought he was going to be
free.” Agon didn’t say anything, but held her. “I’d like to take a
walk. Do you think anyone would mind?”

“
It will not matter to
them. I wish to show you something anyway.” They moved along the
house, and he could see the roofers tearing the old off as the new
was being put on the other side. He had to laugh every time he saw
the protectors with their wings wide, taking stacks of roofing
material to the top of the house. He wondered if any of them had
ever thought that they’d be doing something like this. Agon waved
at Dan when he came into view, then moved them to the
orchard.

“
The trees are doing
great.” He nodded and reached up to take a lovely apple from the
tree they were near. “I’ve been working on some jam recipes
yesterday and last night. I think I might have it.”

“
I’m sure you do.” She bit
into the apple and moaned. He knew it was delicious and when she
offered the fruit to him, he took a bite as well. “There are
peaches coming on as well. As well as the grapes that we trimmed
last week are coming along very nicely.”

He steered her to the field he’d been
working on by himself. He had wanted to surprise her, but he felt
she needed to see this today. He only hoped he had it
right.

As soon as she saw it, she stopped and
looked at him. Agon wasn’t sure he’d done it correctly until she
squealed. Delighted that she was happy, he followed her as she
practically danced to the herb garden. Agon was so relieved that he
had to sit down.

“
It’s wonderful.” He
nodded and watched her as she walked along the stones he’d placed
himself. “You did this? For me?”

“
I did. I had an idea that
with all the other things you are planning to make that you would
also enjoy making your own sauces. I looked up all the herbs I
could think you’d need and had to go to several places to get the
ones that were not carried here or in this area. I had no idea that
there were so many purposes for one herb.” She laughed as she
pinched a sprig of lemon verbena off the bush. He’d learned their
names as well.

She moved toward him as she brought
the herb to her nose. Agon loved the way she moved, and he leaned
back on his elbows when she sat beside him. As she moved over his
hips, he reached under her skirt and cupped her bottom.

“
You are naked here
again.” She nodded and rolled her hips forward. “I think that
taking you out here in the woods would feel very
lovely.”

“
I’ve been told that
outdoor sex is amazing.” She pulled her blouse over her head and
dropped it beside her. “I’ve also been warned about something else.
I’ve been talking to Kala.”

He was only about half listening to
her as he cupped her breasts into his palms. Agon loved the weight
and feel of them as he rolled her nipple with his thumb and finger.
When she ran her fingers down his chest, he felt a cool breeze and
realized that she had figured out how to make them naked. But when
she touched him again, he nearly cried out.

“
It’s my feather. And
yours, too. I took one this morning. It didn’t hurt me, so taking
one from you was no problem.” She ran the two feathers down his
chest again and over his nipple. Agon laid back and let her have
her way with him.

“
You can use mine, too.”
He took it but didn’t touch her with it. He’d been talking to Riss
and knew other uses for the feather than to simply touch. When she
lay back on the grass, he leaned over her and ran the feather over
her nipple and down to her navel.

“
I have been thinking of
the night I found you wanting. I’ve never been told about the
vibrating phallus before.” She nodded and he moved the feather
again. “To see you like that again would be a great
thing.”

He had to take two breaths before he
could continue. The feather was almost forgotten when he saw her
open her legs for him. She was wanton, and he loved her for it.
Moving to settle between her opened legs, Agon teased her flesh
with the feather. Touching her pretty womanhood with it had her
moaning.

“
Tell me what you wish for
me to do to you.” She moaned again. “I will make love to you soon,
but for now, I would very much like to give you pleasure. A great
deal of it.”

“
She told me that you
could use it like a vibrator. Show me.” He moved it gently over her
opening, and she moaned again. “More, Agon. Please, I need
more.”

He enjoyed watching her as he played
with her. She was soaking the ground beneath her bottom, and he
wanted to drink from her. Leaning down so that he could taste her,
he ran the feather over her opening again and nipped at her nubbin.
Her screams had him pressing his tongue against her over and over,
lapping up what he could as she came again and again. When he
lifted his head, he looked at her.