Forged by Greed

by Angela Orlowski-Peart

  Jasmira looked around with interest, trying to keep her trembling voice under control. “Wow, you guys are really outdoorsy.” She was anxious to see the Amulet but she also felt unsure about her own actions. She didn’t want to think that she was betraying Jatred’s trust, but the harder she tried to push the thought out of her mind, the stronger it became.

  Jatred squeezed her hand and let go off her. He walked to the shelves, fumbled behind one of them, and retrieved a key.

  “What is that?” Jasmira asked.

  “The key to open the door to where the Amulet is. You’ll see. It’s pretty cool.”

  Jasmira’s eyes opened wide, but she didn’t comment. She followed Jatred through the gym to a door in the corner, which he unlocked with the key. Behind was a solid-metal vault gate that could only be opened with a combination of a scan of either Jatred’s or his uncle Tyrrell’s retina and one of their hand prints.

  Jatred stepped close to the gate, letting his retina and his hand be scanned. After two seconds the heavy gate slowly slid to the side. It revealed a small windowless chamber. The place was pitch-black, but they could easily see in the complete darkness.

  “Wow, that is pretty impressive.” Jasmira said slowly, turning around and examining the gate and the scan.

  “Yeah. I’m sure you have something similar. You know… for the Amulet?”

  Jasmira looked at him. “Oh… yes, Grannie has a special place. We don’t talk about that just yet.”

  Jatred laughed and hugged her close, kissing the top of her head. “Follow me.”

  They went inside the chamber. Jatred entered a long combination onto a keypad of the heavy-duty safe. The door clicked open. A blue light spilled from the inside, bathing their faces in a cold glow.

  Jasmira gasped and took one step closer. She turned to look at Jatred. “May I?”

  “Go ahead.” He nodded, smiling encouragingly.

  Very slowly she lifted her hand and touched the source of the blue light. She gently picked it up and took it out of the safe. It was a large, intricately cut blue jewel, set in a frame of thick gold wires. Delicate blue rays gleamed from the stone. The gold came up over the jewel, twisting into a long rope-chain. The clasp itself was a piece of art—gold wrought in the form of a howling wolf. Its head was lifted, the fur intricately detailed.

  “Oh, Goddess,” Jasmira whispered. “It’s beautiful.”

  They both stared at the pulsating light radiating from the gem. Jatred felt lightheaded, and something heavy settled over his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, trying to rid himself of this strange feeling. Jasmira was talking, but he couldn’t understand the words. Her voice sounded muffled and distorted as if his head was under water. Jatred couldn’t open his eyes and he felt light as a feather, and if something carried him high up, gently rocking him to sleep. Blue, gold, and white tendrils of ghostly-like matter swirled around him, encompassing him in a soft, thick cocoon.

  When he finally opened his eyes, he was sitting on the floor by the front door. Jasmira shook him and shouted his name, her voice frantic. Her face was wet from tears, and she looked scared. Jatred wanted to lie down. His head throbbed, and his mouth was dry like sandpaper.

  “What happened?” he croaked.

  “Jatred… I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do… are you okay?” Jasmira searched his face.

  “Yeah,” he said, stretching the word in a melodic way. “Why are you crying?”

  “Oh, J.” She clung onto him, holding him tight. She pulled back and looked in his eyes. “How are you feeling?”

  “A bit… weird.” He smiled tentatively. His head was spinning, and he was falling in and out of consciousness.

  “Can you get up? Let me take you to the sofa.” She pulled Jatred up with no effort and, supporting his weight, walked him to the living room. “Listen. I have to go now. But I locked up everything downstairs. Don’t worry.”

  “Locked up what?” He was confused and couldn’t focus his eyes. Jasmira’s features swam in front of his face. “I need to lie down.”

  “Okay, okay. Here, lie down here.” She helped him onto the sofa and covered him with a blanket. A moment later, he was asleep, his breathing soft and even. Jasmira wiped the tears from her face with the backs of her hands, sighed deeply, and walked out of the house, closing the door quietly behind. Somewhere deep in her mind she understood she was under Amber’s spell. But there was nothing she could do about that.

  ***

  Human World, November 16, late afternoon.

  There was a delicate, milky light coming from a ground-level source. It graced a hefty three-tier fountain. Dusk fell like a quiet ghost. The wolf moved cautiously, staying close to the center of the path. A group of Summer teenagers sat on the stairs to the mansion. A few of them were in their animal forms and growled almost inaudibly, keeping a watchful eye on the wolf. A couple others glared at him. But Jasmira had warned them to let the wolf pass. She was expecting him.

  The wolf didn’t seem to follow any scent. He walked slowly with his head straight and his eyes darting from side to side. He didn’t look back. Instead, he kept going forward, toward the red brick mansion sprawled out at the end of the path.

  His eyes were fixed on the immense, chocolate-brown double doors. Four sulky-looking warriors were carved into the wood of the doors. They bore the signs of the sun on their shields, chest plates, and fronts of their helmets.

  Snarling quietly, the wolf trotted up the long flight of stairs. He stopped half way up and his snarl got louder. He drew his upper lip back. His canines were long and sharp. Two leopards leapt to the sides of the stairs, hissing. A few teenagers slowly moved away from the doors. The door opened, and Penelope stood there, casually gazing over the whole scene.

  “Long time no see, stranger. And in your mighty wolf form, my, my.”

  “Whatever, Pen.” The wolf growled. “Is she in?”

  Penelope inspected her nails. She yawned, stretched, and turned around, walking slowly inside.

  “Are you coming in, or do you need a special invitation?” She looked at him from over her shoulder.

  The wolf followed inside the house and looked around, as if seeing the massive foyer for the first time. A wide cast-iron staircase seemed inviting, just like it always had in the past, to trot up the stairs and straight to Jasmira’s bedroom.

  Several steps past the doors, a large marble inlay decorated the floor. It depicted a bright-yellow, round sun face with male features and a disk of rays surrounding it. A massive crystal chandelier hung directly over the sun face, illuminating it in such a way that the light seemed to breathe life into it.

  The wolf stopped over the image. He stared at the sun face’s large eyes, casting an enormous shadow over it. He remained like that for a few seconds.

  When he lifted his head, he saw four Summer kids and Jasmira in the large room past the foyer. His heart leaped to his throat. All he wanted now was to hold her close.

  She stood by the window, behind a heavy wooden chair, resting her hands on the back of it. The late November sun illuminated her dark, smooth skin and her long black, curly hair. Jasmira wore a pair of distressed Gucci jean shorts over dark tights, and a body-hugging, long sleeve t-shirt with a silver guitar silk-screened on the front.

  “Why did you take it?” she heard Jatred’s voice in her head. He sounded composed, tired even and definitely not angry, as if her presence calmed his previous anxiety.

  She moved to the side of the chair, away from the window. “I only borrowed—” she started to explain.

  “Give it back, please,” Jatred interrupted. He inhaled, smelling the air around her, and closing his eyes for a moment.

  Jasmira bit her lip and took a few steps back. With no warning, the wolf jumped, changing midair into his human form. The speed swept Jatred’s black hair away from his face. Lean muscles bulged under his skin.

  He landed and grabbed Jasmira by the shoulders. She gasped and tried to push
him away. But Jatred was stronger and determined to pin her down. They both landed on the stone floor—Jasmira on her back, and Jatred on his feet, crouching over her and holding onto her. His grip was solid and prevented her from hitting the floor hard. He hovered over Jasmira with his legs on each side of her, knees bent.

  “Where is it?” he whispered.

  By now, all the teens had already abandoned the front stairs and come inside. They started changing into their human forms, backing away from the pair. The air around each of them pulsed, as if from an overload of some suddenly released energy.

  Jatred lifted Jasmira and didn’t let go of her shoulders. Their faces almost touched, and his eyes bored into hers. His facial expression softened when she looked into his eyes, pleading.

  Jatred whispered with his mind, keeping the mental shield up so only Jasmira could hear him, “J, you don’t understand how powerful the Amulet is. But you know well enough how dangerous my Goddess can be. Remember? She’ll summon me to the Winter Realm, and it won’t be pretty. Last time she threatened to hurt not only me, but others too, most likely my uncle. Is that what you want? What have you done with it?”

  Jasmira’s heart thumped in her chest. She kept thinking of the Summer Goddess and she was scared. What will Amber do when she finds out that Jatred took back the Amulet? Jasmira couldn’t fail her. The Goddess promised to help them, to fix everything that Crystal had broken. But this was Jatred! How could she do this to him? What’s happening to me? Her mind spun, and she tried to get control over it, but failed. Amber’s powers were too strong.

  Jasmira shifted her gaze to the right. Jatred’s eyes followed hers to a white door. He walked over, gently pulling her by her elbow. He pressed the handle with his free hand. Behind the door, a dim light came from the intricate wall-mounted lights. They gently illuminated a stone staircase. The stairs curved to the left and disappeared in the darkness.

  “Lead the way,” he said to Jasmira, letting her through and holding the door for her.

  She shot him a quick glance, and then raced down the stairs to a long dark hallway. He swore and took after her, but lost his balance, and staggered on the stairs, his hand on the wall.

  Jasmira sprinted through the passage, blurring as she moved with a Shifter’s speed. There were four closed doors on each side of the hallway. Big niches on both sides were occupied by white marble statues of frowning warriors. At the end of the passage, a large indoor pool was surrounded by small pieces of furniture.

  Without slowing down, Jasmira jumped into the water. She swam parallel to the pool wall, under the surface. Jatred was only a few paces away from the end of the hallway when he heard the splash of the water.

  She’s in the pool? What the hell? Jatred dashed into the room. He stopped and turned from side to side, scanning the water. He ran around the perimeter of the pool, trying to figure out what had happened to Jasmira. She wasn’t in the water. For a moment Jatred considered that she threw something into the pool to distract him, and then hid somewhere, most likely upstairs. This made sense, especially because there was another staircase, leading to the upper floor. But there was nothing in the pool, although the water seemed disturbed, as if someone had jumped in a moment ago.

  He swore quietly and shook his head. He tried to see some logic in the situation. His deep, angry growl echoed in the room, multiplied by the walls and ceilings. “Damn!” Jatred pounded his fist on his thigh. “She fooled me again.”

  CHAPTER 17

  Human World, November 16, late afternoon.

  Hushed voices carried through the hallway. The Summer kids were coming to the pool room. A long string of profanity left Jatred’s lips. He walked to the opposite staircase, and, taking two steps at a time, he rushed upstairs.

  “Where did she go? There must be another way out of here.”

  “Jasmira!” Penelope shouted. “Jatred! Where the heck are you, guys? This isn’t funny.”

  As soon as Jatred put his foot on the second floor landing, he saw something astounding.

  ***

  Summer Realm.

  Jatred looked around in confusion. The second floor was a green, grassy area, and the building around him was gone. The sun was high in the sky, the birds were singing, and a nearby forest stood, ancient and still.

  Where am I?What happened to the mansion and the Summer kids?

  Jatred shielded his eyes from the bright sun. It was getting unbearably hot, and his skin felt as if it was on fire. He scurried toward the trees to get into the shade. Despite running, the distance to the trees didn’t get any shorter. Jatred got a weird feeling that he was running in place. Without slowing down, he looked around, panting. Everything seemed normal—he actually passed points of reference on the way to the trees: a thick, red-leaf bush on the right, a group of thorn-covered trees on the left, and huge, strange looking orange flowers between the boulders. But right after he passed it all, the same scenery appeared there again, in the same order and distance. Only the forest wall in the background seemed unmoved.

  An illusion? Is there a way to use the Amulet to make this? It’s way too hot in here. Even those Winter Shifters who were well-adapted to the warm climates wouldn’t be able to withstand such heat.

  Jatred collapsed in the meadow. The grass cooled his skin, and there was a breeze. He heard the soothing, sleepy sound of ocean waves. The wind prickled his skin with hundreds of tiny sand grains. When he opened his eyes, the meadow was gone, and he lay on a sandy beach. The sun poked from behind small clouds, and the temperature dropped down many degrees. The ocean looked boundless and calm. Jatred felt relaxed. He blinked his eyes and stared at the puffy clouds, lazily moving through the sky. His blinks grew longer, and his breathing slowed.

  “Jasmira,” he whispered.

  He saw her walking on the waves, swinging the Amulet in her hand. She wore a tight crimson dress that came down to her feet. Long sleeves snugly covered her lean arms. The dress was cut low up front and stretched so taut around her chest that there was little left to the imagination. She stepped onto the sand, her pose seductive and playful. A breeze played with her hair, twirling the curly strands around her face. The bottom of her dress floated in the wind, stretching the fabric even further around her slim legs.

  “Come and get it, J,” she teased.

  “You are an illusion,” Jatred answered calmly.

  “Am I?”

  “You just walked on the water, but your dress is dry,” he snorted.

  “Clever.” She inclined her head toward him, a tiny smile playing on her lips.

  “I need to get the Amulet back.”

  Jasmira looked from Jatred to the Amulet. “I know, but what price are you ready to pay?” She was shocked at her own words. Something strong inside and around her made her feel like someone she wasn’t—seductive, calculated, and selfish. She tried to fight it, but this strange energy pushed back, and her resistance was gone, forgotten. She was a puppet again. The Summer Goddess controlled her, using the powers of the Amulet.

  Jasmira gathered her hair up with both hands, stretching her arms above and behind her head. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. A pang of yearning spread through Jatred’s body.

  “What do you want?” he asked quietly. His heart started to pound in his chest.

  “You will come back to me for good, J.” Jasmira’s voice lowered, becoming seductive.

  Jatred looked at her in disbelief. Something was odd about her. He had never seen Jasmira act this way. His eyes narrowed. But then all suspicions were gone, as if erased by some invisible force.

  Jatred tilted his head back, and a slow smile spread on his face. Leisurely, he motioned for Jasmira to come closer. Her eyes shone with anticipation, and her lips parted. Jatred watched her float toward him. Her feet never touched the sand.

  When she was near, he murmured, “I want to see my real Jasmira, not an illusion.”

  But she only smiled at him and sat down next to him. Jatred tried to caress her arm, but h
is hands slid through the air.

  “J, don’t tease me.” His voice was raspy.

  “You have to promise to stay with me forever.” She sounded and acted strange, almost as if possessed.

  “If it was only that simple. We can’t hide this from my Goddess, remember?” His mind fought the numbness that was spreading through his brain and almost wiped away all his awareness.

  Jasmira pleaded, “Why? Maybe she will understand, if she sees how much we love each other and—”

  “J,” he interrupted, “The Winter Goddess is not like your Summer Goddess. She won’t understand. She won’t even attempt to understand. I tried to explain this to you before—”

  “And I tried to live without you. I can’t. And I don’t want to.” She stomped her foot like a little girl. Her eyes welled with tears. “You’re the Winter Prince. You have the Royal blood after all,” Jasmira said stubbornly.

  “And you are the Summer Princess, J. So you know this Royal blood comes with far more responsibilities than privileges.” He paused, letting his words sink in. “You mean so much to me, but there is no way… nothing would convince Crystal. She hates Amber and all the Summer Race. I belong with the Winter people.” Jatred shut his eyes tight and held his head in his hands.

  “Then spend just one day with me here in Summer Realm,” whispered Jasmira. Tears were rolling down her smooth brown cheeks.

  “We are in the Summer Realm? How the hell did you get me here? I’m a Winter Shifter.” Jatred shot up to his feet.

  “Relax. It’s only an illusion, remember? The Amulet did this.” Jasmira looked at him, dazed.

  “No, no and no! This is not happening. Get me back to the Human World, J. Now! I’m serious. Get me out!” His eyes flicked around. “Get me out before Crystal finds out. Don’t you understand?” he shouted, frantic. His heart raced, and his blood pounded in his ears.

  Jasmira felt like someone just dumped icy water over her. She was confused, but fought to stay focused. She had never seen Jatred panic before, and this sobered her. “Okay,” she whispered. Her mouth was trembling. “But I don’t know if I can. The Amulet… the Goddess.”