Forged by Greed

by Angela Orlowski-Peart

  Jatred slid his thumb across the screen to answer the call. He pressed the phone to his ear but didn’t say anything.

  “J?” Jasmira’s voice quivered.

  He stood transfixed, his heart pounding. The bond. It was with her. We still have it.

  “We need to talk. J? Please don’t hang up. Listen, I… at the hospital today…” She sighed and continued in a stronger voice, “I didn’t want to believe that you really couldn’t remember me. But this whole thing is bigger than us. Ask anyone, they will tell you, and maybe then you will remember.”

  “They keep telling me that; everyone does. I don’t even need to ask.” He talked just above whisper, his eyes closed. “I can’t remember anything about you. About us. But I just realized we have a bond.”

  “J! We do. It’s not as strong as before, but we have it. Okay, try to use it to recall something. Anything. At the hospital you remembered the ducks, right?”

  “Yeah. And the shirt. That yellow one you wore today.”

  “I thought about this and I know it was a real memory, not just a trick of your mind. It was like this: Crystal made you break up with me. Actually, she tried a few times, but you wouldn’t listen. Then she threatened to hurt your uncle. You took me to Arboretum. It was at the beginning of September. We sat in the Japanese garden by the water, and there were those little ducks. I had my yellow t-shirt on, the same as today. That’s what you remembered. You see?”

  Silence between them spread in a lengthy wave. Jatred gnawed on his upper lip, his brows knitted together. He narrowed his eyes, thinking, concentrating. Finally, he exhaled loudly, deflating his cheeks, and said, “Nothing. That’s all I’ve got. The yellow tee and the ducks.”

  “Give it some time. Maybe it’s like when a person gets amnesia after an accident. They don’t remember much at first, but then slowly things start coming back.” Jasmira sounded hopeful, desperate even.

  Jatred squeezed his eyes, and then shook his head. “I don’t know. This pisses me off. I can’t remember a thing about you.”

  “At least now you sound as you believe that I was in your life,” she said quietly.

  There was more silence.

  Finally Jasmira said, “That day at the Arboretum, you said that you will always remember everything. That I am the best thing that has ever happened to you.” Her voice caught with a sharp intake of breath.

  Jatred’s throat constricted and he felt his heart skip a beat. His mind did a weird flip, allowing for an invasion of another vision—a huge antique chandelier that hung from the ceiling right by the main door of his school. The earth-mimicking sphere rotated slowly between sweeping, rounded arms which ended in elongated candle-shaped electric lights. Jatred smiled at his thoughts. This was his favorite place in school. During the winter months, when the days were short, the sphere would light up with the first sign of dusk.

  In his vision he almost felt a slender, dark-skinned arm of a girl, encircling his torso, the warmth seeping through his shirt. Long black curls framed Jasmira’s happy face. He gasped and said urgently, “I remember sitting on the stairs at school. And you came and sat next to me. And you wrapped your arm around me.”

  “Yes.” she laughed in delight. “That actually happened many times. We sat on those stairs often, watching the Earth chandelier. Think more.”

  Jatred focused on a large framed photograph of Bogdan and Lusia. It hung on the downstairs hallway wall in the Tornwoods’ house. The couple held hands and smiled at each other. The look on their faces was of nothing else but contentment, trust, and familiarity. Jatred knew this look. But he was sure it wasn’t in an intimate way, not first hand. It felt to him as if he remembered it from a movie. He sighed and said, resigned, “Nothing else.”

  Jasmira forced an upbeat note into her voice. “Well, in just one day you managed to retrieve two memories. I think that’s pretty damn great.”

  “Are you always so positive?”

  Jatred heard her talking to someone. Her voice came through muffled, as if she put her hand on the phone. After a short exchange she said to him, “I need to return to my grandma. They’ve finished putting her hip in a cast. I have to convince her to stay at the hospital. We are safer here than at home, but I doubt she will listen.”

  “I remember your grandma,” he spoke in a rush. “She got really upset with me in the woods… wait a minute. Did that really happen? That little thought just popped into my head. But what woods, and why do I remember your grandma there?”

  “We shifted and went running through the forest on my property. She came home early and somehow knew you were there with me. And you remember that.” Jasmira sounded excited again.

  Jatred made a noncommittal noise and glanced at another photo. This one hung on the opposite wall of the hallway. Ivona Tornwood, much younger and a few pounds slimmer, held a two-year-old Bogdan on her hip. The kid was sucking on his thumb and cuddling up to her. Jatred shook his head and forced himself to concentrate on retrieving that one memory from the void of his mind.

  “It was back in August, before the beginning of school,” Jasmira tried to help. “Sunny, warm, the birds were singing. Pen just left my house to talk about a job with Doctor Bigbee. Anything ring a bell?”

  He winced. “No. Nothing else.” He gritted his teeth in frustration.

  Jasmira wavered for a moment, and then concealed disappointment in her voice. “Okay. Give it a rest now. Maybe later.”

  He felt anger building up inside him, surging through his veins, choking his breathing. His face felt hot, and a trickle of sweat ran down his temple; another traveled between his shoulder blades, stomach, and his arms, soaking into the fabric of his torn shirt.

  “I gotta go,” Jatred said. “Yeah, sure. Later.” He ended the call and went back to the Tornwoods’ living room. His uncle had just arrived and now he was talking with Andy and Ivona.

  Bogdan and Lusia huddled together, speaking with their minds. They kept the conversation private, using their mental shields. Jatred sat in the chair opposite the couple. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees, and kept his eyes on the dark screen of the cell phone, as if trying to see beyond it.

  Lusia looked at Jatred, and then exchanged glances with Bogdan. “Jatred? Is everything okay?”

  At first Jatred didn’t hear her, deep in his thoughts. When she repeated the question, he lifted his eyes, startled, and looked at his friends for a moment.

  “Bro. What’s up?” Bogdan asked.

  “Nothing. I’m cool,” Jatred said in a raspy voice, trying to conceal the anger that kept obliterating his normally peaceful nature. When he thought about Jasmira, the anger evaporated, leaving him confused and unsure of his own feelings.

  CHAPTER 51

  Human World, November 18, evening.

  Amber strolled on the wet sand. Cool water splashed her legs. The sun had set long ago, but she still thought about its beauty, unchanged since the beginning of time. She recalled how earlier that afternoon the sun had hidden behind a puffy cloud, its rays extending out like elongated golden arrows, framing the edges in a halo of bright gilt.

  By now the small beach was almost empty. Only three couples walked along the water: one some two hundred yards in front of Amber, and two others even further behind her. A small group of teenagers sat in a circle around a bonfire, laughing and talking. A lonely seagull ran hurriedly in front of the Goddess, its spindly legs moving fast. It took to the wing, screeching as if in alarm, disturbing the soothing sound of the ocean waves. Amber frowned. She turned her head to watch the creature fly off. Several large flocks of birds moved fast in the sky, away from the shore.

  The water retreated toward the ocean from under her feet, as if sucked by a gigantic invisible vacuum, foaming and bubbling. And then she felt it: an accumulated energy of something huge, approaching recklessly, unstoppable. She closed her eyes and listened, feeling the gentle breeze quickly becoming a wild wind, tugging on her hair and clothes. When Amber looked again, she sa
w a massive angry wave stretched over the horizon. Dark water rolled forward, piled up over sixty feet tall. A murmur-like hum declared danger, replacing the calming sounds of the regular waves.

  Tsunami, the Goddess thought calmly. She turned her body to face the ocean, watching the wall of water bowl forward, toward the beach, toward her. White streaks of foam rolled on top of the surf, like strands of blond hair on a livid giant’s head. And then the sirens began to blare out, warning the people to run for safety.

  The humans saw the wave but instead of moving, most of them stood, pointing. All of the teens whipped out their cell phones and started to take pictures. Two older couples ran in the direction of the houses, the women screeching in terror. The teens followed, finally realizing the impending threat.

  The roar of the tsunami became like thunder, as if enraged by a lack of response from the peacefully quiet shore. Amber lifted her arms, palms forward, her eyes on the approaching danger. She shouted a long phrase into the deafening sound of the tsunami in a language that hadn’t been spoken on Earth in a few thousand years. She enunciated each word, repeating the phrase three times, her strong voice carrying over the violent wind.

  The wall of water was almost upon her when she felt another powerful presence. Amber’s face contorted in rage when she saw Crystal standing on the sand about hundred yards away, her feet bare. The other Goddess’s pose was identical to Amber’s—her arms outstretched in front of her, palms flat, the eyes on the ocean. Crystal’s voice boomed over the storm. She kept bellowing in an ancient form of Gaelic. Her long hair wafted around her head, the color changing from dark-brown to silver and back. She turned her face toward Amber, and her lips curled in a vicious smile. The Winter Goddess’s eyes had no irises. They appeared to be all black pupils. Her heavily tattooed skin gleamed silver, creating a bright halo around her. The red and black tattoos seemed to crawl over her skin, pulsing in and out of sight.

  The wave slammed onto the Goddesses’ open palms. It couldn’t penetrate the invisible wall they created in front of them. The wall stretched for miles along the shore, the water crashing with unearthly force upon it. A loud rumble like an airplane engine enveloped them. Both Goddesses kept up their chanting, their voices lilting over the deafening noise.

  Amber’s pupils became vertical slits. Her body lengthened, and she became the Egyptian goddess Bastet. Although her head didn’t transform into the lion’s head, her features resembled those of a wild cat. A spiraled script covered her body. The shining lines of the text were reminiscent of liquid gold. They moved like miniature snakes on her skin. Single letters kept separating and slowly flaking away, like tiny fiery sparks. Static sizzled through her hair in short electric snaps. She turned her head to look at Crystal, her long sharp teeth bare.

  “How dare you come here now?” she roared.

  “I’m not here to rescue you!” the Winter Goddess shouted back. She strained against the force in front of her. “I’m obliged to protect the humans and Shifters.”

  “I can take care of the humans and Shifters myself. Go back to your beloved Realm before all your precious snow melts down.”

  “You self-centered monster. Why won’t you just disappear for good so I don’t have to deal with you?” Crystal hissed. Her face contorted with rage, her arms pressed forward, holding the invisible wall of protection.

  “Bitch. You can’t destroy me.” Amber spat. Her eyes started to gleam bright-green, the vertical slits so thin they were barely visible. She too strained against the wave, pushing onto the barrier with all her might.

  The new waves piled on top of the first one. The water kept rising and spilling over the wall of protection. Both Goddesses immediately reverted to chanting their incantations. Amber closed her eyes, her brows knotted close together. Crystal shouted in a harsh voice, uttering each word clearly. The protective wall grew upward to further contain the ocean’s rage. The sides of the barrier stretched along the shore for miles in both directions. They started to pulse and angle forward.

  The Winter Goddess turned her head to shoot Amber a hateful look. Her body strained against the pressing ocean. “Where were you when the other disasters struck? How did you protect the humans and Shifters in hurricanes and tornadoes? How about the earthquakes and the other tsunamis? Do you even care how many of them have died all over the planet? You just happened to be here right now, before the tsunami. You didn’t come to protect anyone!”

  Crystal’s body lengthened and grew. Her silver aura pulsed and blazed in short bright snaps of light. She stood more than ten feet tall, matching Amber’s height. She laughed a maddening laugh, her now-completely black eyes wide opened. She became the Celtic goddess Morrigan, strong and commanding.

  “Don’t try to sound so noble, Crystal!” Amber shouted over the rage of the storm. “We can’t protect them all. The Universal powers of the ten-thousand-year mark are unleashed. The disasters will keep coming. It happens every ten thousand years, so don’t act like you can save this world from what needs to happen. It will come and go. That’s the way it has always been.”

  “You think you love humans and their world. But the only thing you care about is yourself. I would destroy you in a blink of an eye, if it wasn’t for the balance between the Winter and Summer Races. What a shame there must be the two of us. I just wish I had a better company!” the Winter Goddess shouted, her voice mixing with the roar of the tsunami.

  “Keep wishing, you fool; it’s your pathetic existence that will soon come to an end.”

  “I know what you are planning. But you’re as stupid as you have always been. Over two and a half million human-years of your existence and still no wisdom has come to you.” Crystal’s face twisted with anger.

  “Enough!” Amber screamed, her eyes bulging. With a supernatural speed she took one hand off the protective barrier. A blazing ball of fire shot out from between her fingers toward Crystal. But the Winter Goddess easily tossed it aside with a flick of her wrist, her other palm still pressed against the invisible wall.

  The ground under their feet started to shake violently when an earthquake added its powers to the massive tsunami. The barrier slanted forward, and the water spilled over as from a gigantic barrel. The Goddesses returned to chanting, their hands back on the wall. They seemed not to pay much attention to the earthquake, despite its strength. Regardless of their efforts, the wall kept tilting. Both ends, many miles in each direction, slowly folded toward the shore, releasing the violence of water to ravish the land.

  The Goddesses bellowed like enraged animals. Their incantations became frantic and faster than before. The barrier shattered. The madness of the tsunami smashed onto the beach-front homes and beyond. It covered everything in sight and claimed all that stood in its path. The wave tore through the land. It carried pieces of buildings, fences, cars, trees and shrubs, all piled together as if in an insane parade away from the ocean.

  A few people who disregarded the warning sirens until now, rushed out of their beach-front homes. They were swept off by the infuriated water, their bodies disappearing under the surface, their screams silenced.

  But where the Goddesses stood, the wall of the ocean separated. It created two narrow corridors for them. Crystal and Amber remained unmoved and untouched by the rushing water. They watched the destruction happening in front of their eyes, a look of defeat on their faces. More gigantic waves were on the way to the shore to finish the devastation that the first one started.

  Crystal turned her head to watch Amber. She could clearly see through the water. The Summer Goddess, still in the form of Egyptian Bastet, looked ancient and spent. Her youthful appearance, always worn among the humans, was forgotten.

  “The ten-thousand-year powers of the Universe are stronger than us. As always. Go back to your Realm, Amber,” Crystal’s angry voice reverberated in the Summer Goddess’s mind. When Amber looked at where the Winter Goddess had stood a moment earlier, the latter was gone, her water path vanished.

  CHAPTER 5
2

  Human World, November 18, late night.

  Jatred stepped outside the Tornwoods’ house. He stood at the bottom of long staircase that led to the front door. The wind intensified, and heavy rain was falling in angled sheets. Jatred’s clothes and hair were soaked through immediately, but he barely paid that any attention. He watched the dark sky torn time and time again by long bolts of lightning. The storm was passing, and the temperature was rapidly dropping. Jatred’s breath puffed in front of his face in thick cloud before disappearing into the cold air.

  Something was nagging him inside, but he didn’t know what it was. It made his heart pound and his hands shake. He felt almost scared, but still unsure of what. And then the anger returned. Jatred clenched his teeth and balled his hands into tight fists, his nails digging into the skin of his palms. With a deep, animal-like growl he twisted to the side and punched the thick trunk of a nearby pine tree. The tree shuddered and a shower of needles fell over Jatred, followed by a few thick branches. One of them hit his shoulder, and he snarled in pain. He anger was gone as fast as it began.

  “Ivona really likes this tree. She spends hours every year decorating it for Christmas. She won’t be pleased if you knock it down.” Jatred heard Tyrrell’s low voice in his mind.

  He turned and saw his uncle unhurriedly walking down the stairs.

  “I wasn’t knocking it down,” Jatred said, trying to brush the tree needles off from his wet t-shirt.

  “Maybe not, but don’t forget your Shifter’s strength.”

  The front door to the house opened, and Lusia came out, followed by Bogdan. They walked down the stairs and joined Tyrrell and Jatred.

  “Are you okay?” Lusia’s face was pinched in concern. She wore a nose ring and several earrings in each ear. Rain didn’t have any effect on her short, spiked hair, since it was protected with layers of super-hold hairspray.