Immortal (29 page)

“Is that all?” the priest asked gently.

Agios said, “Father Nicholas gave me a gift already. This is plenty.”

Hesitantly, the priest asked, “Sir, some say you are the bishop's uncle—Nicholas, too. Is that your name?”

“It's a good name,” Agios said.
Yes. I would be honored to share it
.

Despite the offers of hospitality, Nicholas took the red cloak back to his small room and sat looking at it. It was a symbol of the true, precious gift that Nicholas had left him, one so priceless it took his breath away. Already he could feel himself fading into mist and memory, a myth of a man who would point to the cross and beyond—to the resurrection. His role was to teach men and women how to give—and to give them all what Agios himself had always needed:

Hope
.

Agios would remind them all of Christ and his promise, and he would inspire them to follow his example, to serve until Jesus's mission was truly complete, until all the ends of the earth would hear and believe.

Agios took Nicholas's cloak and swept it over his own shoulders. It was a perfect fit. The robe spilled to the floor in lustrous folds, and the gold and white hems sparkled in the lamplight. Agios turned up the hood, hiding his face save his long, snowy beard, shouldered his pack, and left the room.

The night was cold and clear, the stars a million points of light in the dark veil above him. But one star glowed especially for him. The North Star that had graced the sky when he was still a boy so many years ago shone eternally in the heavens, winking as if God Himself were whispering to Agios.

Maybe He was.

Glory
.

Glory and majesty, honor and praise, all glory to the highest.

Agios knew he had become a part of the story that would transform the world. It had the power to make men and women whole, to change everything, because it had already changed everything in him.

Until all the ends of the earth shall hear
.

“Lead me home,” Agios whispered, a prayer that would live on his lips in the days and years and ages to come. And then he shouldered his pack and started walking north, toward that place where the stars always shone clearest.

Though he walked through darkness, his heart was filled with light, for he knew that his work was only just beginning. The entirety of his life to this point had merely been to prepare him for what he was to do next: bring hope to the hopeless and joy to the joyless. He would serve mankind by reminding them every year that a King had been born who had died for their sins.

There, at the top of the world, Agios would spend long nights watching the frigid sky, waiting for the one star that would never set. That impossibly bright star, which had first appeared at a time of great sadness and anger in his life, would usher in a new era of joy and celebration.

For when that star returned to the heavens, the Lord would return from the heavens to the earth.

ALSO BY GLENN BECK

It IS About Islam: Exposing the Truth About ISIS, Al Qaeda, and the Caliphate

Dreamers and Deceivers: True Stories of the Heroes and Villains Who Made America

Miracles and Massacres: True and Untold Stories of the Making of America

The Eye of Moloch

Control: Exposing the Truth About Guns

Agenda 21

Cowards: What Politicians, Radicals, and the Media Refuse to Say

Being George Washington: The Indispensable Man, as You've Never Seen Him

Snow Angel

The Original Argument: The Federalists' Case for the Constitution, Adapted for the 21st Century

The 7: Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life

Broke: The Plan to Restore Our Trust, Truth, and Treasure

The Overton Window

Idiots Unplugged: Truth for Those Who Care to Listen
(audiobook)

The Christmas Sweater: A Picture Book

Arguing with Idiots: How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government

Glenn Beck's Common Sense: The Case Against an Out-of-Control Government, Inspired by Thomas Paine

America's March to Socialism: Why We're One Step Closer to Giant Missile Parades
(audiobook)

The Christmas Sweater

An Inconvenient Book: Real Solutions to the World's Biggest Problems

The Real America: Early Writings from the Heart and Heartland

Threshold Editions/Mercury Radio Arts

An Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1230 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2015 by Mercury Radio Arts, Inc.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Threshold Editions Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Threshold Editions/Mercury Radio Arts hardcover edition October 2015

THRESHOLD EDITIONS and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

GLENN BECK is a trademark of Mercury Radio Arts, Inc.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or
[email protected]
.

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 866-248-3049 or visit our website at
www.simonspeakers.com
.

Interior design by Jessica Shatan Heslin/Studio Shatan, Inc.

Jacket design by Joel West

Jacket illustration by Raphael Crump

Author photograph by George Lange

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-1-4767-9884-4

ISBN 978-1-4767-9890-5 (ebook)