Forged by Greed (26 page)

“Well, I guess I’ll see you around.” Jatred’s lips curled slightly
at the corners as he winked at her.

Savannah opened a drawer under her computer and
pulled out two business cards. Handing them out to Tyrrell and Jatred she said,
“Feel free to call me if there is any more trouble with your phone.”

“Thank you.” Tyrrell nodded at her and stole another
quick glance at Jatred.

“I might do that.” A playful smile brightened
Jatred’s features.

Tyrrell frowned, looking from Jatred to Savannah,
but decided not to comment.

“I’m telling you, she
knows
!” Jatred whispered severely when they left the store.

“Use your mind to speak.” Tyrrell looked sharply
at him. “And keep your guards up. You never know who’s listening. And don’t
forget, the Goddess is going to summon you very soon to the Winter Realm again
—
”

“What?” Jatred stopped in his tracks.

“She can’t keep the Amulet longer than twenty
four hours. Remember? She must return it to you before the time’s up.” Tyrrell
looked at his watch. “Which should be within the next few hours. I’m keeping
your cell phone until you return, so it won’t get busted in the Realm.” Tyrrell
walked to the car, unlocked it with a push of the button on his car remote
control, and tossed the keys to Jatred. The teen grabbed them midair with one
hand. Tyrrell opened the passenger’s door and said out loud, “You drive. I’ll
sleep.”

The wind ruffled Jatred’s hair. He stopped and turned, looking back
at the store entrance. Savannah casually strolled to the window. She folded her
arms against her chest and cupped her elbows with her hands. She smiled and
waved with her fingers at Jatred.
 
Unhurriedly,
as not completely sure, she raised left hand to her ear as if holding a phone,
and mouthed to him, “Call me.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Tyrrell’s voice sounded clearly
in Jatred’s mind. “She’s a human after all. Don’t invite anymore trouble.”
                                              
 

  
    
CHAPTER
29

Winter Realm.

Sitting in the lotus position, the Winter Goddess looked at her
tightened fist. Light-blue threads of light escaped from between her fingers,
outlining them in a soft pulsing glow. She slowly uncurled her fingers, revealing
the Amulet lying on her palm.
 
Half of
the Amulet’s chain slid sluggishly off and swayed slowly in the rhythm of an
imaginary lullaby. She touched the blue gemstone with her other hand, caressing
its oval shape. The clasp in the form of a howling wolf shone in the morning
sunlight.

The Goddess blew a gentle breath, and tiny snowflakes started to fall
from the cloudless sky, forming a shimmering curtain around Crystal. The snow parted
over her head, as if there was an invisible dome.

Crystal looked into the distance. Tall broad trees stood,
surrounding the clearing where she sat on a snow-covered ground. She
outstretched her arm and whispered a few words in an ancient form of Gaelic.
Two large ravens flew from between the trees, croaking loud. They circled over
the Goddess’s head twice and landed on her extended arm. The birds tilted their
heads to one side. They looked at Crystal, and her image mirrored in the depths
of their unblinking black eyes.

“It’s time to return the Amulet to Prince Jatred before the twenty fourth
human-time hour is up,” the Goddess said without moving her lips, her voice
reverberating in the air.

One of the ravens flew up and settled on her opposite shoulder.

“The ten-thousand mark is coming soon. The Amulet’s color is lighter
with each day approaching. Soon it will become crystal-clear,”
she whispered. The long, wide sleeves
of her tunic brushed the snow covered-ground. She stood up. The ravens stayed
perched on her shoulders.

With a fluid wave of her hand the Goddess made the snow on the
ground part into a narrow path. It stretched all the way to the horizon. She
inhaled and closed her eyes, her heart-shaped lips drooping at the corners in a
sad expression. She stood motionless for a long time, until the ravens started
to fidget and make gurgling noises in their throats.

Her eyes snapped open. “Be nice. He must stay strong through this.
There is a lot to expect from him now.”

The birds shook and bristled their shiny blue-black feathers. The
Goddess watched the horizon. Her body started to shimmer and dissolve, until
she appeared merely as a silhouette constructed of countless glistening
snowflakes. She flicked her wrist, and the snow stopped falling. A tiny dark dot
appeared on the horizon. It grew bigger until it took on the shape of a huge
running wolf. His black coat was thick and glossy and his eyes focused on the
Goddess. As he came closer, he slowed down to a trot.

The ravens extended their necks and beaks forward and cawed, as if
in challenge. The Shifter stopped a few steps from Crystal, ignoring the birds.
He bowed, keeping his eyes on the Amulet. His tail was low between his hind
legs.

“Prince Jatred,” the Goddess spoke, a hint of a smile on her face.
The birds fell silent, suspiciously eyeing the wolf.

“My Goddess. You summoned me,” the wolf spoke with his mind. His
features hardened. His eyes were cold as he watched Crystal in silence.

“You are the Amulet’s Protector, my Prince. After the latest occurrences,
I decided to keep it in the Realm until your state of mind became stable again.
I see you are well now.” A faint look of worry crossed her face. She lifted the
Amulet on the palm of her hand toward the wolf. “Shift,” she ordered.

The ravens made a series of low noises in their throats. Their wings
unfurled half-way, almost as if the birds were getting ready to fly, but decided
to stay put. Crystal touched one of them, whispering something in a language
not used on Earth for a few thousand years. It turned its head toward her and
fixed the black beady eyes on her face.

“It’s time for me to tell you about the dangers ahead, my Prince.”
She cut to the heart of the matter. “Walk with me.”

Jatred stuck his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and followed
the Goddess. Her barely visible silhouette shimmered next to his solid form. They
walked on the snow-covered ground, without leaving footprints behind. The snow
started to fall again. It parted over their heads and enveloped them in a thick
white cocoon.

“Do you remember Jasmira?” the Goddess asked without preamble.

Jatred blinked. The question took him by surprise. He narrowed his
eyes, calculating his answer. Finally, he simply said, “No.”

The Goddess nodded. She looked straight ahead into the thick curtain
of snow around them. “The Amulet gives us the supremacy to control the
Universe. This comes with a lot of responsibilities. Our Race and the Summer
Race are deeply affected by the powers trapped in the Amulet. We also have an
obligation to defend humans. Every one thousand years the Amulet must pass
between our two Races. That time is coming up very soon, which means, we will
have to relinquish our Amulet protection rights to the Summer Race.”

 
When Jatred didn’t comment,
the Goddess continued, “Jasmira, the Summer Princess, will become the Amulet’s Guardian
during the upcoming winter solstice. And the Summer Goddess will gain a lot of
power because of it.” Crystal glanced at Jatred, noticing his clenched jaws and
a deep furrow between his eyebrows.

He shot her a quick look, but remained silent, waiting for her to carry
on.

“You will be turning seventeen next month, officially becoming an adult
and the King of the Winter Race,” she continued. “It will be greatly celebrated
among the members of our Race throughout the world. But you must be ready not
merely for the gala, but for the responsibility of your new position. I have to
relay some facts to you that might shock and disturb you. Just remember who you
are and what’s expected of you, my Prince.”

Jatred squared his shoulders. Crystal watched him.

“At the beginning of the Races, I commissioned the creation of the
Amulet,” the Goddess said. “A group of extremely powerful and skilled Magicians
was able to capture the powers of the Universe and construct this amazing jewel.
You already know this part of the story, so I’ll get straight to the point. They
had one condition. In addition to passing the Amulet between the Races every one
thousand years, the Magicians demanded that both Races work together, not
against each other. Sometimes this was a difficult requirement to meet. The
Shifters were wild, blood-thirsty. They didn’t live by any rules, except to protect
their own kind and hunt. And to obey their own Goddess, of course.”

Jatred nodded and kicked at the snow with his thick-soled boot. A
white clump flew out to the side, but the surface of the snow remained
undisturbed. “I have read quite a lot about that in some of the old books that
our Historical Society has.”

“Both Winter and Summer Shifters have good records, but they’re still
incomplete. Anyway, the Races have always had their differences. But after a
while we started to manage and live side-by-side in peace. Over the centuries
Amber grew hungry for power, yearning to control both Races and the humans.”

Jatred shot her an alarmed look.

She returned his gaze and said, “Every ten thousand years the powers
of the Universe double. It happens during the winter solstice. We call it the
ten-thousand-year mark. This is a very fragile time for both of our Races and
the humans as well. Every time previously I have been able to outsmart Amber. But
now she is ready for when the Amulet comes to her and fulfills her greed for
power. ”

“Is that why you had to erase my memories about Jasmira?” Jatred
asked.

“I see you’ve figured things out. Yes, I did that because this is
the only way I can keep you away from her, at least until after the
ten-thousand-year mark—”

“You can’t just get inside my head and mess up my life—” Jatred
interrupted.

Crystal spoke over him, saying, “This, unfortunately, is bigger than
you and Jasmira, Prince Jatred.” Her voice became cold and commanding. “The
ten-thousand-year mark is the only time when one of the Races can gain complete
power over the other Race and the humans, if one condition is fulfilled.”

“Gain power? So the Summer Race can
rule
over us?”

“Jatred.” The Goddess stopped walking and turned to look at him. Her
body solidified. He saw a flicker of emotion in her eyes. “The condition, I am
talking about, is that you, as the Winter Race’s future King, and Jasmira, who will
soon become the Summer Queen, must be passionately involved during the upcoming
winter solstice. If there is romance between you—a
real
love—the Universal powers trapped in the Amulet will give the
female monarch, and her Goddess, complete supremacy over both Races and the
humans.”

“Well, that sucks, doesn’t it? And this
opportunity
happens only once every ten thousand years? Why would
the Magicians do that? Shouldn’t they create the Amulet just to ensure the
balance and peace? Why leave a loophole?” He was getting both confused and
angry.

“It wasn’t up to them, if that’s what you are implying. Nobody can
overwrite the natural laws of the Universe. That loophole was there already at
the time of the Amulet’s creation. No magic, even the most powerful, can change
that. So there is only one way to save the peace in the Human World. You and
Jasmira must not be together
and in
love during the winter solstice this year.” Crystal gently stroked her ravens’
feathers. The birds’ beaks opened slightly, as if they were trying to decide
what noise to make.

“So you took the memories away only until this is over?” Jatred sounded
hopeful.

Crystal turned away from him and started walking. She crossed her
arms cover her chest, and the wide sleeves of her white tunic fell back to her
elbows.

“Why is this knowledge such a secret? If the other Shifters knew
what’s going on, we could unite and fight.”

“To prevent the panic from building up and spreading, these facts
must be handled in a secretive manner. The Shifters of either Race can’t do
anything to change the ways of the Universal powers or to restrain the Summer
Goddess from her ambitions and fantasies
.
She is very powerful and rarely merciful or considerate of those who get in her
path.”

“But there must be something we can do. We can’t just sit and wait,
keeping everything covered-up.”

“My priority is to protect you, my Prince, and the lives of all my
Shifters and the humans,” said Crystal, her expression earnest. “If the
knowledge of the Amulet and its powers spreads throughout either or both Races,
your life might be in danger. And if some of your kind, or the Summer people,
learn about the ten-thousand-year mark and its implications, both you and
Jasmira will be in grave danger. Some people would try to stop the events from
happening by simply ending your lives.”