Forged by Greed (46 page)

***

Winter Realm.

“Prince Jatred.” Crystal strode toward him, her face solemn, dark
brows drawn together. “You will get the Amulet. We need it now.”

Jatred looked around in confusion. The snow-covered Winter Realm
seemed serene and solid, as always. He squeezed his eyes shut, digging the
heels of his hands into them. When he looked again, the scene didn’t change at
all. Jatred turned his head and saw the first Royal couple, Freki and Geri, in
their wolf forms, sitting in the distance, and watching him.

“Not you two again,” he moaned.

“Go now and get the Amulet. I will get you there quickly. Be strong
for your Race and your Goddess. This is the time of the trial.” Crystal voice
lilted through the frosty air. She appeared both, physical and otherworldly.
Her body was constructed of millions of shimmering snowflakes, and then
solidifying into the form of the Celtic goddess, Morrigan. Dark tattoos covered
her pale skin and seem to slowly crawl over it.

“A trial? What trial? You’re not making me fight another of your
creatures of torment. Are you?” Jatred’s heart thudded against his ribcage.

“Go now.” She flicked her wrist. A whirl of thick snow enveloped
him, cutting off all the sounds from the Realm.

Jatred yelled in frustration, thrusting his fists through the
spinning wall of snow. There was no resistance to his blows, as if he punched
the air. Then all went still, and he stood in darkness, shaking.

    
CHAPTER 53

Human World, November 18, late
night.

Jatred’s Shifter’s eyes immediately adjusted to the dark. He
realized that he was in front of the basement vault. He took a step forward and
stared at the door.
I don’t want to do
this. I don’t want to touch the Amulet. This is bad, I can feel it.

An image of the Amulet snaking over his arm with an unexpected, terrifying
speed invaded his thoughts. He remembered the feel of an icy-cold pressure
around his arm, and how the chain of the Amulet twisted around it and bound him
to Jasmira’s wrist.
Jasmira! The Amulet
and Jasmira? When was that? Where was that?

Amber’s feline eyes with thin vertical pupils flashed in his mind. He
looked around in panic. There was nobody there. His imagination played some
cruel game with him. He wiped the beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
The trial. What did Crystal mean by that?

Jatred turned around and walked to the room opposite the gym,
maneuvering between workout equipment. He reached to one of the metal shelves,
behind a large plastic container labeled, “CLIMBING EQUIPMENT” and patted the
wall. He hooked his fingers onto a small metal circle and pulled down a
five-inch square flap. Behind it was a tiny lens. Jatred pressed his left thumb
to it, and a beam of light scanned his fingerprint. A thin drawer popped out from
underneath of the lens. Inside was a regular-looking key. He picked it up and walked
back to the gym area. He crossed the floor and inserted the key into the door.

“Here we go,” he whispered to himself. He allowed for another scan—this
time not only to his hand but also his retina. The heavy gate slid to the side
with a whoosh. Jatred walked into the small chamber. He had been there with his
uncle just two nights earlier. So much had happened since that evening. The
memories swirled in his mind, making him dizzy. He grunted and rolled his
shoulders, wincing at the recollection of his last visit to the vault. The
Amulet was gone then, and he was summoned to the Winter Realm, so Crystal could
give it back to him. She made him feel miserable, irresponsible, and stupid.

A now familiar feeling of an overwhelming anger started to claim
him. Jatred took a few deep breaths, pushing it aside.
I have to do this. Don’t know why, but I have to. I have to.

His fingers moved with supernatural speed over the keypad of the
safe. The heavy door clicked open. Pallid-blue rays punctured the darkness, the
only source of light in the vault.
You
are so much paler than I remember you. Almost colorless. Why?

He touched the Amulet, gently sliding his fingers over the jewel and
the chain. It felt cold, like a block of ice. But there was more—Jatred heard
whispers of voices from afar, growing and multiplying in amount and volume. When
he removed
  
 
his hand, the voices ceased, and the silence
resumed. He experimentally touched the Amulet again, and then withdrew his
fingers. Same thing happened every time, the voices returned, cunning and
tempting, and then ceased.

Jatred grabbed the Amulet and quickly fastened the clasp around his
neck. He slid the jewel under his t-shirt. The voices didn’t come back this time,
but the Amulet felt as glacial against his skin as always. “Man, that was
weird,” he said to himself. He secured the safe and stepped outside the gate.
Jatred closed it and locked the door with the key, touching the Amulet with his
hand through the fabric of the shirt.

After returning the key to its hiding spot, he sprinted up the
stairs. The front door banged open, and Tyrrell rushed inside, yelling,
“Jatred! Are you in here? Jatred!”

“Uncle!”

They ran toward each other, Jatred shouting, “She summoned me. She
wanted me to get the Amulet. I have it here!”

“What? Why?” Tyrrell stretched his arms forward to grab Jatred’s
shoulders. But in a split second Jatred disappeared into thin air. “No!” his
uncle shouted.

                                                                       
***

Winter Realm. The time in
Human World: Sunday, November 18, before midnight.

Jatred tumbled onto the snow-covered frozen ground. He slammed his head
and back painfully against it. Two huge black ravens circled overhead, cawing loudly.
Crystal’s face swam into view, momentarily obscuring the birds. Jatred squinted
at her.
Her face was covered
in brown tattoos running down her forehead, nose, across her cheeks and above
her eyebrows. There was a small half-moon painted on her chin.
He reached to touch the back of his skull and winced.

“Take your Amulet. I got it, as you wanted,” he said in a rush,
sitting up.

“It is not mine to take, my Prince.” The Goddess’s voice was icy.
Her pupils swelled until her eyes were entirely black.

A tight red top, cut low over her breasts, covered
only half of her lean stomach. She stood up and put her fists on her hips,
pushing back a long black coat. It was made from shiny raven feathers. A short
brown-leather skirt and a pair of laced up thick-soled leather boots completed
her outfit.

Jatred stared at her, feeling small and
insignificant. She emanated power and authority, standing ten feet tall, strong
and muscular. “Get up, Prince Jatred. It’s time to get you ready for the
battle.”

“What?” Jatred shrieked, falling back onto his
elbows. He felt nauseated with fear.

“The ten-thousand-year mark is upon us. Amber
won’t accept a peaceful exchange of the Amulet. She gathered her army and is
ready for a fight. No waiting for the winter solstice this time around.”
Crystal sounded determined.

He stared at her with incredulity, his mouth open.
“This is some kind of a joke, right? A battle? An army?”

The ravens flew toward the ground, shifting
mid-air into huge, growling wolves. They landed softly on their massive paws
without leaving imprints in the snow. The wolves trotted to Crystal and sat on
either side of her. A deep rumble reverberated in their throats, their teeth
bared.

“Oh, come on.” Jatred scooted back on his butt,
trying to put some distance between himself
and the animals. He
frowned
at them and protested, “I can do that too, you know… growling and all. I’m not
impressed.”

Three Spirits of the Realm appeared from nowhere
as tiny balls of light. They moved fast toward Jatred, long comet-like tails of
fire trailing behind them. Before he could protest, one of the Spirits zoomed
right into his chest. The contours of his body shone brightly for a second or
two. He sensed a surge of strength and instantly felt calm, the panic gone.
Thoughts of order and discipline occupied his mind, and he forgot about the
Spirit inside his body. The pair of ancient wolves watched him in silence.

“Stand up, my Prince. Time to go” Jatred heard
Crystal’s voice in his head.

The Goddess turned away, her raven-feather coat
swinging right over the snow. The first Royal couple followed closely behind
her. She strolled off. Jatred noticed her long hair was braided into a tight
plait, and two sword hilts were sticking up above her coat collar. They looked
ancient—power and magnificence forged into one. Jatred felt a pang of longing
to hold one of these beauties in his hand, to spin it around, and thrust, to
strike, and parry. These were not his thoughts or memories. His Spirit of the
Realm was preparing him for the battle.

Jatred stood up and looked from side to side. Out
of nowhere, hundreds of Shifters materialized all around him. The Spirits of
the Realm feverishly buzzed within the crowd, choosing the right match. Every
time the match was made, a Spirit entered a Shifter’s body, briefly outlining it
with bright light. More Shifters continued to arrive in the Realm, thousands of
men, women, and teenagers. All that could already shift were there, the
youngest barely fifteen.

In the distance was a series of small hills. Crystal
stood atop of one of them. The first Royal couple in their wolf forms sat by
her feet. She kept her watchful eyes on the increasing crowd of Shifters and
the Spirits of the Realm making their matches. Freki and Geri looked like
ancient sculptures, slowly moving their heads, as if inspecting the process.

The Realm was a loud place now, with Shifters’
voices and thoughts, unobstructed by mental shields. Jatred realized that, for
the first time ever, the Realm reminded him of the Human World
. It’s like a ski resort, Heavenly or Vail
in high season. But that would be just too many damn skiers.
He chuckled to
himself, taking in the crowd and the beauty of Winter Realm. Jatred felt a rush
of excitement running through his veins. He didn’t feel any fear. He actually
embraced the opportunity of a battle. These definitely were not his feelings.

A half dozen Spirits dashed by him, followed by a
single one that didn’t hurry as much. This one almost seemed as if it was looking
for someone in particular, and not just the best match. Jatred stared at it in
amusement, one corner of his mouth lifting in a crooked smile. A large group of
teenage Shifters from Australia and India stood a few yards away from Jatred. The
Spirit slowly moved around the gathering.
 
It bobbed up and down by each person until it
stopped by a tall boy, and then zoomed straight toward Jatred. It halted two
feet in front of his face and started to grow larger, more transparent, until
it looked like a glittering shadow of a woman.

She lifted her hand and touched Jatred’s cheek. He
felt a warm, gentle caress and saw the woman’s eyes—blue and shaped just like
his own. He gasped, “Mom?”

The Spirit nodded, smiling. She swirled around
him, and her human shape distorted into a blur of light. Jatred heard his
mother’s voice in his head, “I found you. I was looking everywhere, but I finally
found you.”

 
CHAPTER 54

Winter Realm.

A series of emotions washed over him—some were his
own and a few came from the enhancing Spirit inside him. He didn’t trust
himself to speak, so he only watched his mother’s Spirit restlessly floating
around him. It slowed down, and he saw an outline of his mother’s body again.
It shimmered in and out of sight.
 

Jatred heard her voice in his mind again, “We will
guide you in the In-Between. I know you will be even braver than you are, thanks
to your enhancing Spirit. He is the best of the ancient warriors, very skilled,
and knows many great tactics. But your dad and I will still watch over you. My
darling. My dearest son.”

His eyes burned with unshed tears. But then she
moved a few steps away from him, as if walking off. The enhancing Spirit
regained control over Jatred, decreasing his feelings for the mother he had
lost so long ago.

When she turned her smiling face to Jatred again,
another Spirit materialized next to her. It started to grow in size, stretching
and changing, just like she did before. Luther, Jatred’s father, stood next to
her, grinning at his son. His eyes danced over Jatred’s face and body, proud
and amazed.

“Dad?” Jatred’s voice cracked, but the enhancing
Spirit kept a strong hold on his emotions this time, not allowing for them to
take over. Jatred cleared his throat and tried again, “I can’t believe this.
Dad, Mom, you guys are really here? Really?”