Forged by Greed (6 page)

“It’s really beautiful and so peaceful,” said Jasmira. “It’s like…
uhm, a computer-generated picture.”

Amber laughed, studying Jasmira. “A very long time ago there was a
group of incredibly skilled Magicians. I will tell you about them and their
work some other time. They have helped me with the creation of this Realm.”

Jasmira stared at the Goddess, but before she could ask to hear more
about those powerful Magicians, Amber motioned for her to follow. Jasmira felt
disappointed. She sensed the Magicians played some significant role, and for
some unsettling reason Amber wanted to keep that knowledge a secret.

“I want you to meet someone special.” The Goddess walked in the
direction of the pond.

They passed the pond and continued toward the forest behind. The
tall trees stood close together as if guarding something precious. Jasmira’s
footsteps sounded muffled. The soles of her Toms shoes were thin, and she felt
the softness of the forest floor covered in pine needles. Knotted roots
protruded from the ground in places, and thick vines ran between some of the
tree trunks. As they walked, the vines parted, pine cones rolled to the sides,
and the soil swallowed the roots, leaving the path flat and obstacle-free for
them to pass through. After they walked by, all of the objects hurriedly returned
to their previous positions.

Jasmira kept turning her head, watching in amazement the scene
around and behind her. The sun squeezed its bright rays through the thick
canopy of trees. Long arrows of light shot down to the forest floor,
illuminating in its way the butterflies and colorful bugs. She heard gentle
buzzing of the bugs’ wings and the sweet notes of the birds singing above.

They were deep in the forest where the trees grew close to each
other. Amber lifted her hands, and the tree trunks right in front of them
arched to the sides, widening the path. Jasmira gasped in surprise, watching
the trees bounce back upright, behind them. Jasmira felt again like a
five-year-old, when she was summoned to the Summer Realm for the first time.
Her parents had to take her to Disneyland immediately afterwards to cover up
for the girl’s stories about “the world of magic”, that she liked to tell
everyone.

The women came to a clearing in the woods, where a pond shimmered,
encircled by a thick row of colorful flowers. A few white water lilies dotted
the surface of the water, their large leaves providing a resting spot for huge
dragonflies.

Jasmira opened her mouth in awe. Amber watched her, smiling.

“Does this look like a computer-generated scene too?”

Jasmira gave a shaky laugh, unsure if Amber was making fun of her,
or if the question was genuine. She decided it was a joke, and relaxed. Amber
motioned for her to follow toward the pond.

Jasmira gasped—now the water lilies were clustered at the opposite
edges of the pond, like a curtain that just opened to reveal a main stage
behind. An image of several leopards playfully chasing each other appeared on
the surface. The pond radiated a soft light, and the image retained a fluid-like
look of the water.

“What is this?”

“Watch,” Amber whispered.

Right above the water appeared a shimmering, vapor-like substance.
Long thin wisps of vapor swirled lazily around. It reminded Jasmira of a ghost,
and she glanced at Amber, unsure of what to expect. Standing by the edge of the
pond, the Goddess whispered something in a language long forgotten. The foggy
matter slowly rose and sculpted itself into a translucent form of a slim woman,
her hair cascading down to the water. Right next to her, the figure of a young
man started to form and lift. His hair was shoulder length, and he was taller
than the woman.

Jasmira’s heart pounded, and she thought her breathing was the
loudest sound around. Moving closer to the Goddess made her feel safer. Amber touched
Jasmira’s back, smiling reassuringly. The figures floating in front of them
turned their faces to look at Jasmira. Their large eyes had the look of a smooth
stone sculpture.

“This is our Race’s first Royal couple,
Hêtshepsu and
Banafrit.” The Goddess gestured at the male, and
then at the female. She glanced at Jasmira and continued, “And
this
is our Princess, Jasmira, soon to
become the Race’s Queen.”

The ghostly couple remained unmoved, their stone-like eyes fixed on Jasmira.
They didn’t speak, only stared at her. Jasmira felt a trickle of sweat rolling
down her neck and back, and her legs trembled. The light emanating from the
water became thicker and brighter, completely enveloping
Hêtshepsu and
Banafrit. It started to form
a dazzling column of a liquid fire around them. With a burst of scorching air,
it shot up straight to the cloudless sky.

Jasmira shrieked and covered her face, instinctively taking two steps
back. She heard the Goddess’s tranquil voice in her mind telling her to calm
down. Jasmira looked at Amber incredulously, her mouth open.
 
Two huge ghostly leopards jumped out of the
light, and disappeared into the woods.

“What was
that
?” Jasmira screeched.

Amber raised one brow, her eyes following the vanishing leopards. “
That
was the first Royal couple. I’m
sorry, they aren’t very friendly.”

“I’ll say! Why did they ignore me like that?”

“I wouldn’t worry too much. Spirits in the Summer Realm don’t follow
any conventions or socially accepted rules of behavior,” Amber said evenly, not
a hint of apology in her voice.

“They didn’t say a single word. Why did you even want me to meet
them?”

The Goddess studied her for a moment, before saying, “As the future
Queen of the Summer Race you need to know your ancestry. You are a direct
descendant of the first Royal couple. On your father’s side, that is. Your
mother was not Royalty.”

“Yes, I know. I grew up with this knowledge. I just wish I could
remember her… and my dad too.” Jasmira frowned, looking away.

The Goddess watched Jasmira, her eyes narrowing. “Tell me more about
that boy, Jatred. You really like him?”

Jasmira tensed. She felt her cheeks burning. “You already know?”

“Of course. Do you think something like that would escape me?” Amber
laughed.

Jasmira looked at the Goddess, startled. She slowly exhaled through
her mouth, the tension in her muscles receding. “And you’re not angry with me?
He’s a
Winter
Shifter.”

“Not only a Winter Shifter, but their Race’s Prince. And no, I’m not
angry.”

Jasmira bit her lip, her eyes troubled.

“Love is the most wonderful human feeling. You know how much I like
the human side of my Shifters. I’m happy you’re in love,” Amber said, opening
her hands wide. “I don’t like using clichés, but treasure your love. Make it
grow and don’t let go, since it sounds like he’s worth the effort.”

Jasmira could hardly believe her ears. She felt a huge weight
sliding off her shoulders.

The Goddess smiled, her head tilted to the side. Jasmira took a step
closer and hugged her.

“Come, I’ll send you back to the Human World. I’m sure your grandma
is waiting,” the Goddess said softly. Her brows were drawn together in a deep
frown, her eyes narrowed. But at this moment Jasmira couldn’t see her face.

CHAPTER 7

Human World, August 14.

Jatred turned the chair around and straddled it. Jasmira shook her
head, listening to Penelope arguing on the phone with her mother.

“What’s that about?” he asked.

“Money, what else? Penelope wants to go shopping, but her mom says
she’s already run the credit card balance through the roof.”

“Hey, we should go chasing in the woods,” Jatred said, his face
animated.

“Sure. Grandma shouldn’t be back until late, so that gives me plenty
of time to kick your butt. As always.”

Jatred hooted, getting up from the chair. He put his hands on Jasmira’s
waist and, with no effort, lifted her off the floor. She squealed with delight
and steadied herself by placing her hands on his shoulders. Slowly he let her
slide down until her feet almost touched the floor. Jasmira kissed his lips,
her feet in black Prada flats dangling in the air.

Penelope stormed into the kitchen, fuming. She sat in the same chair
that Jatred just vacated and, crossing her arms hotly over her chest, said, “I
need a
job
.”

Jatred and Jasmira looked at each other.

“School starts soon. I suppose you could start looking, but—”

Before Jasmira finished, Penelope interrupted, “I could, but it
takes time to find a suitable job. I’m not going to bag groceries, thank you
very much.”

Jasmira knelt next to her best friend. “Is your mom giving you a
hard time about money again?”

“Yes, what else? I mean, do I really spend so much?”

When nobody offered any comment, Penelope added, “Yeah, I guess I
do. Okay, maybe Mom has a point but, the truth is, I have my needs too.”

All three of them burst out laughing.

Penelope shrugged. “I’ve been thinking about getting a job for a
while. It’s just… so hard to be stuck in some job in the summer. My neighbor,
Savannah works on weekends with her mom at the AT&T store, but… I don’t
know. That sounds boring.”

“It might not be a bad idea. You’ll have your own cash and, if you
don’t like it, you can always quit, right?” Jasmira patted Penelope on the
hand, and then turned to look at Jatred for support.

He stood, leaning against the door frame, his hands in his khaki
shorts pockets, ankles crossed. A tight white tank top accentuated his lean
body.

“Last summer, when Erik broke his arm, I remember two Shifter girls
from our school worked at Doctor Bigbee’s clinic. They were at the front desk,
helping with the phones and stuff.”

“What do you think?” Jasmira sat back on her heels, looking at
Penelope. “Doctor Bigbee is a Shifter. I bet he prefers us, not humans, working
for him. At least three of his nurses are double-natured too.”

“He’s a
Winter
Shifter and
so are those nurses,” Penelope muttered.
 

“I don’t think he cares. Everyone goes to his clinic—both Winter and
Summer Shifters,” Jatred commented.

Penelope pursed her lips, considering. “Okay, I’ll start there.
Maybe miraculously he’ll have an opening.”

“You were thinking about medical school anyway. I mean, are you
still?” Jasmira asked.

“Yeah, yeah, I was. I don’t know what I want. I’ll be taking the AP
psychology course this year, so who knows what I’ll decide.” Penelope rolled
her eyes and impatiently waved her hand. “I’ll call him tomorrow.”

“No, go there today. In person,” Jasmira insisted.

“I can’t leave you two
unguarded
.”
Penelope made quotation marks in the air with her fingers.

“Nonsense. Grandma won’t be back until late evening, and you’ve
already done more than enough. You’ve been trapped here with us for two weeks.”
Jasmira laughed.

“No, we don’t know when she might—” Penelope protested, but Jasmira didn’t
let her finish, saying, “We’ll be fine. Go.”

“Don’t worry, Pen. We’re just gonna run in the woods for a bit, and
then I need to head back anyway. Uncle gets off work early. He wants me to go
kayaking with him,” said Jatred.