Forged by Greed (34 page)

“I know. I’m sorry,” Jasmira mumbled.

Jousenne’s expression was guarded. When Jasmira had called her from
the Santa Barbara airport, Jousenne stopped her right when she started to talk
about Amber. She didn’t want to discuss anything that pertained to the Goddess over
the phone. Now she wasn’t sure if Jasmira was the only one in the house, since
Penelope or other girlfriends often spent the night. Jousenne decided to wait
and not ask any questions until she knew they were alone.

 
“Anyway, the preparations for
your December coronation are in full swing and I think they can manage without
me for now. But you have to tell me what you want for your birthday.” Jousenne
concealed her worries with a cheerful smile.

“Oh, Grannie… nothing really. I’m so happy you are here.”

“Just think about it, only two more weeks. It’s a special birthday
after all, and you deserve a special gift. It’s not every day the Summer
Princess becomes the Race’s Queen, you know.”
 

“I’m scared. I’m not ready to be the Queen.”

“Nonsense. You will be just fine.” Holding Jasmira by her shoulders,
Jousenne looked hard at her and added with her mind. “We have a lot to talk
about.”

“Mrs. Rosewater.” Penelope rushed out from another bedroom, her
Hello Kitty t-shirt two sizes too large for her slender body.

Jousenne Rosewater opened her arms, and hugged her. “Penelope,
darling. I’m glad to see you.” She sighed, looking from one girl to the other.
“Looks like you two just rolled out of bed, and didn’t even have any
breakfast.”

Jasmira smiled and shrugged.

“I need to change and freshen up after my trip.” Jousenne slid her
fingers over her up-do. “You girls get ready for breakfast. I assume we have
food in this house?”

“Ana has been taking good care of us. I think she bought groceries
yesterday,” Penelope said. “She’s a wonderful housekeeper.”

“Yes, she is. One of a few on our Society’s approved list of human
contacts. Now, off you go. I want to see you both downstairs in a half hour.”

***

“Follow me. I need to show you something,” Jousenne said to her
granddaughter. She turned and walked toward the door that led to the lower
level of the mansion. Her beautiful suit was gone, replaced by a tight-fitting black
top and pants. “I had to wait until Penelope left to do this.”

“But I told her all that Amber said about the Amulet and our Race.”
A look of panic flickered through Jasmira’s eyes.

Jousenne hesitated, and then nodded. “In any other circumstances I
would say this wasn’t a smart idea, since this knowledge is not for everyone.”
Jousenne looked hard at Jasmira. “But you might need your friends’ support so…”
she trailed off lost in her thought. “And Penelope is a very smart girl, after
all.”

“The Winter kids were here when I was still in Santa Barbara,” Jasmira
said in a rush, “I think they might be of some help to us—”

“Jasmira,” Jousenne interrupted in a decisive, yet reserved voice.
“They are the members of the rival Race.”

“Granny, please,” Jasmira pleaded. “I don’t mean to be rude, but
things have changed from what it was like twenty or more years ago. Our Races
are not all that different after all.”

“The Goddess won’t like it. I hope she doesn’t find out.” Jousenne
sighed, shaking her head. She opened her arms and motioned to Jasmira. “Come
here. You are your Mother’s daughter. She was such a peace-loving person.” She
hugged Jasmira and pulled away to look at her, a small frown settling between
her brows.

“What is it, Grannie?”

“When your father brought your mom here from Ethiopia, I wasn’t sure
what to expect. After all, she was a complete stranger. I didn’t know her
family all that well, just from the Historical Society conventions. Although
those were not really social interactions. But there she was—a stunning tall
dark beauty, so gentle and trusting. And she was a gorgeous black leopard. Just
like you are. I could not have wished for a better daughter-in-law.”

“You miss her,” Jasmira said gently.

“Yes, I miss them both, your mom and your dad.” She sighed, and a
shadow of a smile crossed her face. “You look just like her.”

“No, everyone says I look like
you
.”
Jasmira smiled too. “Like a darker version of you.”

“Come. There’s something very important you need to know about.”
Jousenne patted Jasmira’s arm.
She opened the door
and flipped one of the light switches, more to enjoy the look of the antique
lamps than by necessity.

Thin beams of faint light cast by the wall-mounted lamps lit the
wide stairs. The staircase curved sharply to the left and vanished out of
sight, behind the corner of a stone wall.

 
They walked
through the hallway, passing several closed doors on each side and the white
marble statues of solemn-looking warriors. As soon as the corridor opened to
the indoor pool area, Jasmira’s thoughts wandered back to Jatred. He had no
idea how she had managed to escape him. She had never told him, or anyone else,
about the two secret channels that could be opened in the walls of the pool.

A few small chairs and tables were set around the pool, together
with eight chaise longues. On each end was a wide, built-in cabinet that held
towels and blankets. A tall curved water slide was positioned in the far corner
of the pool, next to one of the ladders.

Jasmira glanced around. She enjoyed swimming but was surprised that
her grandmother suddenly wanted to do a few laps with her. “I’m not wearing a
swim suit. Wait, I think I’ve got one in the cabinet here.”

“We won’t be changing into the swim suits. Come.” Jousenne answered
calmly and lowered herself into the water.

“Grannie! Swimming in your clothes?” Jasmira’s mouth dropped open.
She could hardly believe her eyes. “What are you doing?”

“I told you, I need to show you something. Don’t worry, just follow
me.” Jousenne waddled in the water toward the pool’s wall, getting deeper with
each step, until she had to swim. Treading the water, she turned to look at her
granddaughter.

“You remember, there are two secret passages—each in the opposite
side. This one here,” she spoke using her mind and nodding toward the nearest
wall of the pool with her chin, “leads to a small chamber. The second one, over
there,” she looked to the other side, “goes up and outside into the garden.”

“Yep, I know.” Jasmira shrugged. “Grannie, really, the water is
heated so why the clothes?”

“Never mind that. We have to dive to get to the chamber. Do you
recall which block of stone to press to open it?” Jousenne looked at Jasmira
who walked alongside of the pool.

Jasmira took a deep breath and jumped in.

They swam the length of the pool. Their eyes opened wide under the
water, scanning the wall. Jasmira’s long hair flowed behind her in a train of
loose curls. Small bubbles of air escaped their lips and nostrils, rushing to
the surface.

Brown and gray stone tiles covered the walls and the floor of the
pool. Jousenne pointed at one of the square tiles. She pulled a silver chain
with a small key from under her tightly-fitting top. She slipped it over her
head and tried to fit it into a lock hidden between the decorative tiles.

When Jousenne turned the key, they both came up for a quick breath
of air, dived back down, and put both hands flat on the wall, next to the lock.
They pressed with their bodies, their feet kicking fast in the water. A long
crack appeared in the wall, making a shape of a small door. The right side of
the door started to swing inside the wall, while the left side swayed out,
revealing a dark passage behind.

The Shifters disappeared inside the pitch-black entrance. Adjusting
to the lack of light the irises of their eyes contracted into thin slivers of
color around their enlarged pupils. They came up, gulping the air in deep, fast
mouthfuls, the hair plastered to their heads like shiny wet scarves. Soon the
floor went sharply upward, and they felt the ground under their feet. Bolstering
themselves on the rough rocks that protruded from the walls, they waddled in
the water. A wall ended the passage in front of them.
 

CHAPTER 39
   

Human World, November 18,
late morning.

“There are towels and blankets inside.” Jousenne approached the wall
and squatted down, running her hands over it, right above the floor. When she
found another hidden lock, she fit the key in and turned it once. With a series
of clicks, a newly outlined door in the wall started to swing in the same
fashion as the one that opened the passage earlier.

Past it, a metal vault gate guarded the access to whatever was
hidden behind. Jousenne slid open a metal flap on the left side of the door. It
uncovered two squares—one was shiny, silver-like, and the second, directly above
the first one, looked like thick dark-gray glass. She placed her hand upon the
lower square, letting it scan her palm. Next, she put her left eye close to the
glass-like square. It scanned her retina with a slide of dim blue-light.
Immediately after the scan was complete, the gate glided to the side, revealing
a closet-sized dark chamber.

Jousenne stepped in, motioning for Jasmira to follow. Inside was a massive
safe. A small stack of blankets and towels was placed on top. Jousenne offered
a towel and a blanket to Jasmira and took some for herself before entering a number
combination into the safe’s keypad. With a single click, the heavy door of the
safe popped open. Jousenne reached inside and pulled out a dark-blue velvet box
with a domed lid. She turned to Jasmira.

 
“Ten years ago, after your
parents’ death, I had this chamber built. Nobody except the people who
constructed it for me, knows about it. And they are friends sworn to secrecy.”
A small smile crossed Jousenne’s face. “And absolutely nobody knows what I hide
in here.”

“What is it?” Jasmira moved closer, her eyes on the domed lid.

“An antidote.”

“
A what?
” Jasmira’s eyes opened
wide and her brows arched.

“This is the counterpart to the Amulet’s powers. I’m sorry I wasn’t
the one to explain this whole thing to you.” Jousenne looked away. “My plan was
to tell you about the Amulet, its powers, and the ten-thousand-year mark when I
returned from Hawaii. But, from what you told me today, Amber had a different
strategy.”

“Grandma, don’t blame yourself.” Jasmira rubbed her wrist
absentmindedly. “You couldn’t predict what she was doing—”

“I should’ve predicted,” Jousenne interrupted in a level, decisive
voice. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Jasmira, before I show you
what’s in the box I need to tell you more. Your father… my son, was the Summer
King. The Kings and the Queens hold the highest positions in our Race, everyone
knows that. But what nobody else around here knows is that your mother was a
direct
descendant of one of
the Magicians who created the Amulet. This knowledge has been always kept a
secret. Only the line of descendants and the Summer Royal couple would know
that. Even our Goddess has been always kept in the dark about it.”

Jasmira gasped. “How is this possible? I knew Mom
wasn’t Royalty, but she became the Summer Queen after she married Dad
.”

“No, Asteron wasn’t of Royal blood, although she
carried herself like a true Queen.” Jousenne smiled at her thoughts.

Jasmira shivered and pulled the towel closer
around herself. “The Magicians weren’t Royalty, right?”

“The Magicians weren’t even Shifters or humans.
Think of them as spirits; or like the angels in some of the cultures are
believed to be. They’ve produced children with the Shifter women.” Jousenne
looked at Jasmira, expecting her to question this statement.

Jasmira gaped.
 

“The first Royal couple was called into being
after the creation of the Amulet. The same happened with the Winter Race.
Actually…” Jousenne hesitated. “Amber has already told you this
—
the Amulet was
commissioned by the Winter Goddess, and she chose her first Royal couple
shortly after. Amber had chosen
her
first
Royal couple too. But each Goddess had a different way of deciding on the whole
process. Both Goddesses required the candidates to the throne to fight to the death,
which back then was nothing out of ordinary.”

“What? Why?”

“At the beginning, both Races were more animals
than humans. They hunted on a daily basis, just like the regular leopards and
wolves do. Fighting and killing was a part of their very nature. I hope it
doesn’t surprise you that the first Summer Royal couple won the competition by
slaying their opponents. This was a fair and square fight, but… what I’m trying
to say is, our Races have evolved so much that we aren’t the same anymore.”

“I guess not. I don’t particularly feel like a
blood-thirsty animal.” Jasmira made a disgusted face.