by Kimbra Swain
“I barely graduated from high school,” he said.
“I don't call a 4.0 GPA barely,” I replied.
“I had other issues,” he said.
I motioned over to the couch, and we both sat down. “What issues?”
“I got in a fight. I got into a lot of fights, actually. My dad had to beg the principal not to kick me out of school before graduation,” he admitted hanging his head in shame.
“Why were you fighting?” I asked.
“It was something stupid. It was over a girl,” he admitted.
“Tell me what happened, please,” I requested. It might help him to open up to me. Start building a solid foundation for trust between us.
“I don't know,” he said. He was very reluctant to share info with me. I thought it would take time to trust me. Once he started the story though, he could not stop.
“It was two weeks before school was out, and I had completed all my classes. I used to sneak into the gym or out to the dugout on the baseball field with my girlfriend, Joy Hamilton. She was so beautiful. She had blonde hair and dark brown eyes. I loved her and thought she was the one. I had dated lots of other girls, but none of them made me feel like her.”
He stopped for a moment like he wanted to ponder on that memory for a moment. I sat silently and waited. “I will never forget it. I was supposed to meet her during second period in the gym. I got there and waited. Fifteen or so minutes had gone by, and she didn't show. Maybe, I misunderstood where she wanted to meet. Checking all of our normal spots, I couldn’t find her. I was walking back to the school when I thought I heard her voice. The voice came from the direction of the football field, so I went that way. I got closer to the field, and I could hear them both. The noise was coming from the equipment shed, and the sounds were unmistakable. I opened the door, and Scott Woodford was fucking her brains out. I screamed at them. He told me to shut up because he was almost done. I punched him in the face. Joy screamed and told me I was an idiot. He got up and took a couple of swings at me. This guy was the most physically fit guy I've ever seen in my life. He slept with every girl in high school. I was so angry. He could have had any of them, but he took my girl. I punched him until my knuckles bled. Joy got between us, naked and sweaty. I asked her why she did it. She said, because she heard that he was the best, and wanted to try it out. Her explanation didn’t make sense to me because we had talked about getting married. We had talked about our future, and she gave it all away to see if he was a good fuck,” he paused again. The anger over the situation rippled across his face in renewed pain. He composed himself and continued.
“I left the school and walked home. When I got there, dad was waiting on me, and I told him what happened. I thought he was going to be pissed, but he took me back to the school and defended me. They let me stay in school and graduate, but the principal made me apologize to them. After graduation, I avoided everyone. My friends wanted to party, but I just didn't care. Right before I started classes at UCLA, Joy showed up at my house in tears. I didn't want her to come inside, but my mother let her in. She proceeded to tell me that she was pregnant. I told her to go find Scott, but she swore that the child was mine. My mom and dad talked to her parents. They agreed that I should postpone classes to get a job. She never told any of them about Scott, so they all just assumed it was mine. She insisted that it was, and no one would believe me. They wanted me to be a man and live up to the expectations of a father. To please my parents, I got a job here in the city. I started working and sending the money to Joy’s parents. I would try to visit her on weekends, but she didn't want to see me. My gut told me that the child was not mine. When she was born, I requested as my legal right for the child to be tested. My parents hated me for requesting such a thing. When the hospital handed me the paper saying it wasn't mine, I moved to Los Angeles permanently. My parents always tried to get me to come home. They tried the night they died. I regret not moving back, but it was too late. They were gone.”
He held back the tears. I didn't. My heart broke for him. His life was ruined in a matter of months over a stupid girl who abused his heart.
“Don't cry over me, Abby. I got what I deserved.” He got up and walked away from the couch. For so long I'd heard the stories like Lukas’. A kid with a bright future that got yanked away by ridiculous nonsense and tragedy. Every canvas crew member we trained in the Boulder facility had lived those stories.
Freely admitting that I am not the most compassionate woman in the world, I felt terrible for Lukas and hoped he would decide to work for the Agency. I could give him all the things he missed out on and right the wrong.
I approached him, and he turned his face from me. His fists were clenched. I hugged him as hard as I could and continued to hug him until he let the anger go.
“Lukas, I cannot bring your parents back. That's a magic that no one possesses. But I can give you the life that was taken from you. I can give you the opportunity to do good in this world and make your parents proud. It will be your choice,” I said to him quietly.
“I don't deserve that, Abby.”
“We all get a chance to redeem ourselves in this world. I’m not much of a church girl, but I do have some friends in high places. I know now, without a doubt, that you were put in my path for me to provide you with this opportunity. You have to choose your path, but hear me out and then decide. I have faith in you, Lukas Castille,” I said.
I felt him release the tension. He put his arms around me and hugged me back. “Okay, Professor Davenport, teach me.”
“My pleasure,” I said and went back to the couch as he joined me. I cast a small spell, and the chalk lifted off the tray and started writing what I wanted it to write.
“I'll never get used to that shit,” He said.
“How dare you call my magic, shit!”
“I'm a bad student. You might have to punish me,” he teased.
“In your dreams,” I returned. “Now pay attention.” I responded to his flirt with sarcasm, but I couldn't stop myself from blushing at it. I cleared my throat, so I could continue. I had the chalk write the proper name of the Agency across the top of the board. “Kenward, Blake and Shanahan, Inc. is a world-wide provider of financial services, security services and legal services. It is a legitimate company with solid assets and employees. However, it is a front for the Agency. Our primary function is to ensure that the world keeps turning. It might sound cliché, but if you only knew how many times we've teetered on the edge of oblivion, it would scare you to death. The founder of the Agency is Gregory Theodoard. This has been his primary goal since he came into being. You probably know him from your history classes as the Greek Titan, Hyperion.”
“You are joking, right?” he said.
“I'm not,” I said.
“Look. I admit that your magic is real. Look at that piece of chalk. I'm not denying that at all. But if you think for a minute, Abigail, that I'm going to believe that your boss is a Greek Titan, you must think I'm an idiot. Is this a test?”
“He's also my grandfather,” I simply added.
He was astonished, and typically unbelieving. “I'm calling bullshit.”
“I need you to suspend disbelief for a few moments. A bit of history before we proceed. I promise when I am done, you will believe.” He nodded, so I continued. “Hyperion is the father of Helios, the sun god, Selene, the moon goddess and Eos, the dawn goddess. Many don't know this, but Eos’s deity should have really included twilight. She covers everything between day and night. These three working in conjunction ensure that the world keeps turning. Hyperion is known as the god of watchfulness, wisdom and light. Kenward means guardian or advisor. Blake means bright. Shanahan means wise one. The names in the Agency’s name aren't people who founded the company. They are the embodiment of the one founder, Hyperion.”
“I'm not sold,” he said.
“Good. Skepticism can be a good tool, and you will use it for many days to come. Plus, it makes me work harder.” I stood up r
olling the chalkboard away from the couch into the darkness. He leaned forward on the couch anticipating what I would do. I called my ball of lightning to my hand, tilted my hand to the left, and placed my left hand just outside the crackling ball of energy. “Capitulum quintum,” I spoke in Latin and moved my palms outward. As I did, the ball of lightning grew. It grew past my hands until my entire body was engulfed in it. I motioned with my hands downward, and the ball crashed down around me searing a perfect circle into the hardwood floor. His eyes were wide, and he looked afraid. I stepped out of the circle, smiling at him to put him at ease. I pulled a small knife out of my pocket and cut my finger. As I touched the edge of the circle, a wind swirled around the room, and I could feel the circle settle into place.
“This is a mystic circle. It can be used for protection. It can be used to trap supernatural creatures. But for my purposes today, I’m going to summon a powerful entity. If you use a circle in this way, power is everything. If you are more powerful than the one you summon, then the circle will hold. If you aren't, then whatever you summon will pass through it with no resistance. I'm going to summon something far more powerful than myself.”
“Wait! You just said the circle won't hold it.”
“Yep. Hold onto your horses.”
“Oh shit, Abby, for real?”
I grinned at him because it was funny watching him squirm. “I am Abigail Sophia Davenport. I summon you, Gregory Theodoard, leader of the Agency.” I paused, and nothing happened. He was going to make me summon him thrice. “Hyperion, Titan, father of Helios, Selene, and Eos, I summon thee.”
“Guess he's busy,” Lukas said relieved.
“Wait for it,” I said as I gathered my voice for the last call. “Hyperion, guardian of the earth and master of the watch, by right and by blood I call you henceforth.”
There was a loud clap of thunder and the earth trembled. The inside of the circle simmered and a white-haired man with a finely trimmed beard appeared. He wore a white suit with a navy and white striped shirt. He finished it off with a navy dotted tie. Grandfather always looked quite dapper.
“Child, one of these days you are going to summon me while I'm in the shitter. Then you will regret summoning me without forewarning when you see my lily-white ass,” he joked.
“Yuck! That is a visual I did not need. Besides, you don't go to the shitter,” I countered.
“Quite right,” he said and passed through the circle with ease. He hugged me and turned to Lukas.
Poor Lukas was as white as a tombstone in moonlight, and just as still. I was sure that he stopped breathing. I walked over to him and nudged him a bit. He mumbled, “Holy shit.”
I shook my head.
“Lukas Castille, please meet my grandfather, Gregory Theodoard.”
Absentmindedly, and probably because I told him to yesterday, Lukas offered his hand to shake with Gregory. I went to slap it down. Gregory exerted the smallest bit of power, and I missed Lukas’s arm about the moment the Titan clamped down on his hand. Lukas’s eyes bulged out of his head.
“Nice to meet you, son. I've heard great things about you. You might just turn out to be the best proxy Abby ever trained,” Gregory said, and released his hand.
Lukas shook it. “Thank you, sir. I'm honored. Wait, proxy? Abby, you said yesterday I would be a good canvas leader.”
“I changed my mind,” I said.
Lukas looked stunned. Gregory laughed and put his arm around him. “Lukas, you are old enough to know, it's a woman’s prerogative to change her mind.”
“Oh, please, get out of here with your chauvinist bullshit. I just realized how perfect he would be as proxy,” I explained and smiled at them both. If Grandfather didn't like him, he wouldn't be so jovial.
“She summons me and then tells me to leave. Thank you for proving my point, Abby.”
“You always make me regret summoning you,” I said to him.
“As I should, I’m a very busy man, and I don’t have time for your object lessons,” he said. He turned to Lukas, “Mr. Castille, Abigail is stubborn and extremely frustrating, but she knows her job. She will never lie to you, and she will protect you with her life. Do not underestimate her, or her belief in you.”
He turned back smiled at me, shimmering out of sight.
Lukas dropped back on the couch like someone let the air out of his balloon. I just looked at him. “I can't be proxy, Abby.”
“I just summoned a Greek Titan, and all you have to say is, I can't do it!” I teased him.
“I believe you are telling the truth about him now. Is that what you want me to say?” I realized then he was genuinely frustrated.
“I was going to offer you proxy, because I believe you will be the best one I've ever trained. He said that because he knows my mind. He can read it if he wishes. Lukas, I know you can do it.” I tried to sound as positive and encouraging as possible.
He put his head in his hands. “The best one ever, huh?”
“Yes.”
“I'm not sure,” he admitted.
“That's fine. I'm not officially offering it yet. I still want you to grasp what you are getting yourself into, and that process may take several days,” I said. “Will you give me the chance?”
“It's your time to waste,” he said. “In the meantime, I will have a nice place to sleep and nice clothes.”
“Even if you don’t take the job Lukas, you will have all of those things from now on. I keep my promises,” I told him.
I pulled the chalkboard back over. I laid out all the hierarchy of the Agency from top to bottom, Gregory to canvas crews. He seemed impressed, but not swayed. This wasn’t going to work for Lukas. I would have to figure out a way to prove to him that he was exactly what Los Angeles needed.
Ashley came in the room. “Lunch is here,” she announced.
I looked at the clock. I didn’t realize that we had been in there for so long.
“Go grab something to eat. We will start back later,” I said.
“You coming too?” he asked as he headed to the door.
“Yeah, just give me a few minutes,” I replied. Ashley patted him on the shoulder as he went out the door.
“Bulla,” I said and sat down on the couch.
“That good, huh?” she said.
“He believes, and he gets it. He just doesn’t want to do it. He told me his story, and partially he’s hung up on the idea that he doesn’t deserve it. I know for sure that all this time, I’ve been waiting on him. He’s it. He’s the proxy. I just am beside myself to figure out how to convince him of it,” I said as she came and sat down beside me.
“He’s cute,” she said. I looked at her and wrinkled my forehead. “Oh, please, don’t look at me like you didn’t notice.”
“Why are you perpetually trying to fix me up?” I asked.
“That’s what best friends do. You need to either get laid in a meaningless relationship, start something new with new possibilities, or just go back to Lincoln.”
“My choices are Jay, Lukas or Lincoln?”
“Pretty much,” she shrugged.
“None of the above. I’m hungry,” I said.
“Abby?”
“Yeah?”
“Give him a chance,” she said.
“Which one?”
“Lukas.”
“You are nuts. I just met him. You seem to think I want to jump him already. He’s not interested in me,” I said.
“No, he’s intimidated by you. Doesn’t mean he isn’t interested. Besides a pretty girl can make a guy do anything she wants,” she said.
“That is positively evil, Ashley Montgomery! He’s already had one girl abuse him like that, and I won’t do it,” I said.
“Very well. Don’t be surprised when he leaves,” she said.
I shook my head and walked out to the side room where the whole team was gathered eating a catered spread full of pastas and salads. Jay and Lukas sat at a table. They were laughing. Tony and Tommy were each filling a
plate. Aiden and Fayola were in the back corner. They just got engaged. Fayola wasn’t part of the team, but she was family. Ashley walked past me into the room. She grabbed a plate while chatting with the twins. There were moments like this when the hole in my heart screams like a wind blowing through a dark cave. Lincoln’s calm and quiet confidence strengthened me. Now, I just felt weak. Suddenly I wasn’t hungry anymore. I turned back out of the room and took the elevator to the loft.
Sometimes this place could be completely normal, but most of the time, it was bizarre and abstruse. I sat and ate with Jay. He seemed to be the most normal person of the group. He looked familiar to me, like at one time he used to be famous or something. We chatted about cars. He surprised me when he said that Abby was fond of fast and rare cars. I was sure Ashley had some sort of intuitive abilities. She always had stuff ready like she knew what was going to happen. Somehow, she knew I was craving baked ziti, and that’s what was for lunch. I thought I saw Abby come into the room, but now I didn’t see her.
“She went back out the door,” Jay said.
“Oh, I just noticed she wasn’t here,” I said. “You and she have a thing?”
“I wish, man. She’s way out of my league,” he said.
“She seems like she’s out of everyone’s league,” I said. “She’s damn intimidating. I think I would have left already, but I’m afraid she would hunt me down.”
“She takes the job very seriously. Even more so now that Lincoln is gone,” he said.
“Ashley mentioned his name. Who was he?” I asked.
“They were together for a long time. He fucked up. She’s too stubborn to forgive him. He’s the only one I’ve ever known to be in her league,” he said.
I decided to change the subject. I got the impression from Jay that this Lincoln guy would eventually be back in the picture. “Besides the Jaguar, what else do you have here in Los Angeles?”
Jay and I talked about cars for about an hour. Ashley came and joined us for a little while. She did not know a thing about cars, but she was funny. She definitely had some sort of gift. I would ask Abby about it. It made me think that perhaps every person in this room had some sort of gift.