Forged by Greed (21 page)

CHAPTER 23

Human World, November 16,
evening.

Jatred ran up the short staircase, jumping over two steps at a time.
He glanced to the sides, but the images of the huge wolves running alongside
him were gone.

The front double doors to his uncle’s house had been recently
repainted. A fresh coat of white paint on the window frames only added to the
overall neatness of the two-story residence. A tall white picket fence
encircled the estate, confining a multi-colored rose garden.

Jatred turned away from the door. He looked at the street lamps
bathing the front yard in a soft glow. Small lights along the path leading to
the front door illuminated the immediate area, casting bright circles on the
ground. There were a few taller, antique-looking lanterns, shining a subtle
light on a water fountain and a stone statue of a young slender woman
in a ballet-like pose. Her outstretched arm was pointing up, and a long scarf
trailed from it down to her elegantly extended foot.

Jatred pressed the front door handle, but the door resisted. He put
his hand in his jeans pocket and pulled out a metal chain ending with three
keys on a ring. The chain was attached to his belt loop by a climbing screwgate
carabiner—a constant reminder of
his favorite activity: mountain climbing
.
The biggest key fit snugly into the key hole and turned with no effort.

“Uncle Tyrrell!” Jatred yelled, running through the house. “Uncle!”

A tall muscular man walked out of the den, his eyebrows raised.

“Where is the fire? And where have you been, son?” His low, booming
voice had a soothing quality. “If the mind-communication worked at a distance,
we wouldn’t have to worry about the cell phone rule.”

“I think I lost my phone. I… I… something weird is going on, I can’t
remember. But I know something strange happened,” Jatred said in a hurry, stuffing
his keys into his pocket.

His uncle regarded him in silence and, after a few seconds, inclined
his head in the direction of the den. “I found your phone on the floor. It must’ve
slid out of your pocket, when you were leaving this afternoon.”

“Oh, man.” Jatred sighed, relieved.

Tyrrell picked the cell phone from his desk and handed it to Jatred.

“You’re lucky I found it. The new one would’ve come out of your
allowance.”

Jatred tried to turn the phone on, but the screen remained blank.
“Battery’s dead,” he murmured, plugging it in to recharge. After a moment he
added, “Weird, it’s not charging. Nothing.”

Tyrrell took the phone in his large hands, unplugged and plugged it
back. “Hmm. That’s a new cell phone. Let’s hope you still have the warranty.
We’ll swing by the store tomorrow, so they can test it.”

“Okay.” Jatred shrugged.

“Anyway, tell me what’s going on.” Tyrrell sat down in a
chocolate-brown leather chair, interlacing his fingers in an inverted “V”. His tightly-curled
black hair was cropped close to his scalp. A pale-green t-shirt stretched over
his massive chest. Large muscles in his arms bulged under his dark skin. His
whole body was a product of years of strenuous and rigorous exercise. The man
was in his late forties, but only a few wrinkles attested to his age.
 
His thoughtful eyes concentrated on the Jatred’s
face.

Jatred lowered himself onto a recliner, positioned in the opposite
corner of the den. He said in a raspy voice, “Something happened to me. I kind
of remember fighting one of Crystal’s Garhanans—”

“What?!” His uncle leaned forward. “How did that happen?”

“The Amulet. I don’t know, but there was something about it.” Jatred
took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “I think I had it with me. And then
somehow I ended up with Crystal and that Garhanan.”

“Impossible. You couldn’t have had the Amulet. But wait, the Goddess
actually summoned you? I want to hear more about the fight with the Garhanan.
Is that how you got the scratches on your cheek?”

“I’m fine. I’m almost healed.” Jatred ran his hand over his cheek.
“But I’m having a hard time remembering what happened today. It’s like small
pieces of information are spinning in my mind, and I’m trying to puzzle them together.”

Tyrrell stood up and slowly walked to the window. He crossed his
arms and stuffed his hands in his armpits. He stood there silently for a while,
looking at the softly illuminated garden. When he turned back, his eyes
emanated warmth and parental concern. Tyrrell had raised Jatred since he lost
his parents in a plane crash ten years ago. Despite Jatred calling him ‘Uncle’,
he loved and cared for him like he would for his own son.

“Do you remember what happened to the Garhanan?” Tyrrell asked.

“No.”

“The Garhanans are vicious creatures. They won’t stop until the task
assigned by the Goddess is complete. I wonder what that task was.” Tyrrell
walked back to his chair.

“I just remember a lot of snow, like it always is in the Winter
Realm. There was a clearing in the woods, and that’s where the Garhanan
attacked me.”

“Were you alone?”

“No, Crystal was watching. And my friends were there. They kept a
distance, but I think they wanted to help.” Jatred tried to smile, but he only
managed a little grimace.

“I hope they knew it wouldn’t be wise to interfere. Especially in
the Goddess’s presence.” Tyrrell shook his head. “What else do you remember?
Try to concentrate on the Garhanan, and not on how it looked but on its
behavior.”

“It was violent and didn’t hold back. It definitely wanted to kill
me.”

“This doesn’t make much sense.” Tyrrell rubbed his chin
thoughtfully. “Why would Crystal expose you to such danger? You’re the Winter
Prince after all; the only one left from the immediate Royal family.”

“I don’t know. I wish I could remember. It’s like a part of my brain
got erased. ” Jatred squeezed his eyes shut and slowly rubbed his forehead
against his fist.

“You said something about the Amulet. I hope you didn’t take it from
the vault?” Tyrrell’s black eyes shone with concern.

“I think the Goddess was wearing it later. Everyone else was gone. She
wore the Amulet. Yes, she did. I’m sure of it now.”

“How could she wear it? The Amulet is in the vault in the basement
of this house,” Tyrrell said in his booming voice.

“I don’t know.” A look of hesitation crossed Jatred’s face.
  

“Come with me. Quick.”

They raced downstairs to the basement and through the gym. Mirrors
lined three walls from the floor to ceiling. Weights rested on the racks,
pushed against the fourth wall. In the corner was another door. Tyrrell opened
it with a key he carried in his hand. He stepped close to the gate, letting his
retina and his hand be scanned. When the heavy gate slid to the side he rushed
inside the windowless chamber. The place was pitch-black.

Tyrrell went straight to the large heavy-duty safe and entered a
long combination, sighing nervously. The door clicked open. One look inside the
safe confirmed his fears—the Amulet was gone. He turned slowly to look at
Jatred. Disbelief and hurt etched deep into his eyes.
  

“When did you take it? And why?” Tyrrell asked in a strained voice.
“You know perfectly well not to touch it. Its value and importance is beyond
measure—”

“Uncle, I swear, I didn’t take it. Or… I don’t remember if I did,”
Jatred interrupted. His head and shoulders sagged when he slumped against the
wall.

Tyrrell folded his arms over his muscular chest. A deep frown
puckered the spot between his eyebrows. Inside the creases, the skin looked
even darker than his normal mahogany color.
 

“I’ve never lied to you. And I’m not lying now. I don’t know how to
explain that the Amulet is not in the safe. I don’t even remember coming into
the vault since last month, when I was here with you,” Jatred said quietly, his
head hanging low.

After a long silence Tyrrell turned to close the safe. “There is no
way someone could’ve taken it from here. The vault wouldn’t open for anybody
but you or me. The safe was locked, and no one except us knows the combination.
Besides, there is no sign of a forced entry anywhere upstairs or
downstairs.”
 

Jatred chewed on his lower lip.

“Well, as crazy as it seems, I believe you.” Tyrrell sighed.

After securing the safe and the vault they went up the stairs to the
den.

“Tell me again what you
do
remember. Try to concentrate and recall all the details,” Tyrrell said. “Use
mind-to-mind communication and keep your mental guards up.”

Jatred related to his uncle the fragments of his memories from the
earlier hours—the fight with the Garhanan and his friends’ presence, the
conversation with Crystal and her wearing the Amulet, his sudden return to the
Human World and the confrontation with two homeless men, the images of both
Races’ Shifters popping up in his peripheral vision.

The grandfather clock in the hallway sleepily measured the time. It
was late at night, and all of the houses on the street were already dark. A dog
barked somewhere in the distance, and another one, closer to Tyrrell’s house, joined
in. They yapped for a while but after a few minutes got bored and fell silent.

“I still don’t understand how you ended up with Crystal.” Tyrrell
shook his head. “And how did she get the Amulet?”

Jatred’s face looked blank. Tyrrell regarded him in silence.

“What?” Jatred shrugged his shoulders.

“Did you take Jasmira down to the vault, when she was here last
time?” Tyrrell asked quietly.

“Who?” Jatred looked confused, his eyebrows lifted.

“Your ex-girlfriend. Or are you back together? I can’t keep up with
you two.”

Jatred’s eyes opened wide. “Who are you talking about?”

Tyrrell sighed. “Okay. So you don’t remember who Jasmira is either?”

“No.”

“For real? You’re not playing some kind of a game with me?”

“Uncle, I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

Tyrrell’s eyes became narrow slits, and his lips pursed. Almost a
full minute passed before he finally said, “Interesting. I think I have a
pretty good idea why Crystal got the Amulet. And why she summoned you so
suddenly.”

“Then tell me!”

“Our Goddess is able to mess with our minds, so to speak. She usually
doesn’t intrude in our lives. But, when I think about the whole situation, it
makes sense that she has removed a part of your memories.”

“Wait a minute! How… I mean….
What
?!”
Jatred sprang to his feet.

“I will explain. Just sit down and listen.” Tyrrell made a
ball-bouncing gesture with his hand. “Pretend for now that you know who Jasmira
is. She is, or was, your girlfriend. And she is the Summer Princess—”

“What?”

“Jatred, be quiet. Just bear with me. We need to get a time frame
for all that has been happening since this morning. This is Friday night, so
let’s see... today when I came home from the office Jasmira was leaving. She
seemed to be in a hurry, but I thought nothing of it. I had some stuff to fix
in the garage. It was the early afternoon. By the way, you’ve been dating, but
then you said our Goddess made it clear she wouldn’t tolerate this any longer.”

Jatred rested his forehead on his clenched fists.

Tyrrell took a deep breath and continued, “For the record, I was
against this relationship as well but, of course, you teenagers never listen to
your parents. Finally, you two decided to be
‘just friends’
.” Anyway shortly after I came home, you bolted out
of the house, mumbling something about going to Jasmira’s place. Does this ring
a bell?”

“No.”

Neither one of the Shifters said anything for a long time.

Finally Tyrrell cleared his throat and stated, “When Jasmira was
here, you must’ve taken her to the vault to show her the Amulet.” He held up
his hand when Jatred tried to protest. “I don’t know how she convinced you to
do such a stupid thing. But that’s the only logical explanation. She grabbed
the Amulet, and somehow you didn’t realize it, as crazy as it sounds. You can
be a bit of a fool around a pretty girl.”

“Oh, come on. That’s hardly—” Jatred moaned.

Tyrrell ignored him and went on. “When you finally figured out that she
left with it, you took off after her to get it back. You went to that mansion
that her grandmother owns and retrieved the Amulet. From what you just told me,
you ended up with Crystal after you got the Amulet. The Goddess can’t touch the
Summer people, since they have their own Goddess’s protection. A
very
powerful protection, as I know. So
she waited until you got the Amulet back, and then she summoned you to the
Winter Realm.”

“And all of this happened in just an hour or so?” Jatred sounded
doubtful.

“You know that time in the Winter Realm is not the same as in the
Human World. What seems to take hours there lasts only a few minutes here.”
Tyrrell nodded.