Forged by Greed (27 page)

Jatred stopped in his tracks, a look of incredulity on his face. He
shook his head and resumed walking, catching up to the Goddess.

“Remember. If both Races’ Royal heads are romantically involved
during this year’s winter solstice, they
will
set the wheels in motion for Amber. The powers of the Universe are
always channeled through each Race’s King and Queen. And when these powers are
unleashed by your and Jasmira’s love, even the Amulet won’t be able to stop the
Summer Goddess.”

“So you just took a liberty of removing a part of my memories?
Without asking—”

“Prince Jatred!” Crystal whipped her face around, her eyes blazing. The
ravens took to the wing in a hurry. “I had no choice. Too much is at stake. You
simply must not be involved with Jasmira. Don’t you understand?”

The air around the Goddess exploded into thousands of tiny icicles.
They rushed out in all directions. Jatred’s body throbbed in pain where the
icicles stabbed him. He gasped, ducking low, and covered his head with his
hands. Heavy dark clouds appeared from nowhere and hung low over their heads. Thunder
shook the area and a bolt of lightning split the clouds. Freezing rain fell
over him, prickling his skin like miniature daggers. The flesh on his exposed
hands and neck was covered in small red marks. Blood oozed from each spot in
thin wavy streaks. He clenched his teeth. Crystal’s frenzy lasted for almost a
whole minute, but then the storm receded and revealed a blue sky above.

Jatred looked up at the Goddess. His head was still tucked between
his shoulders. She transformed into Gaia, an ancient Greek goddess of creation.
She stood close to twenty feet tall. Her long green hair fell in cascades over
her shoulders and down past her waist. An abundance of green leaves, twigs,
flowers, and seeds were woven through her tresses, making them vibrant with
life. Tiny animals, birds and bugs crawled and hopped along the length of her
hair. The Goddess’s pale-blue eyes didn’t have any pupils, and her skin took on
a green hue.

She raised her arms to the sides. Her long lime-colored gown flowed
in the cool breeze. When she gazed down at the startled Jatred, her lips didn’t
move, but he heard a clear whisper in his mind, “Prince Jatred. Obey your
Goddess and protect your Race. Have faith in me. I will lead you through
hardship. Go now and be vigilant.”

Slowly, she moved her arm forward.
 
Jatred looked at her hand. She opened her fist, revealing the Amulet. A
series of blue rays burst outward in a symphony of brilliant display. The
Amulet flew to him, and the chain slithered around his neck like a snake. The
clasp fastened itself in place. The Amulet felt as cold as an ice cube against
his skin.

A series of images ran in front of Jatred’s eyes, like a
fast-forwarded movie. He saw himself as a toddler with his laughing parents on
the floor behind him; uncle Tyrrell, much younger, throwing him up in the air,
and catching the giggling two-year-old in his arms; Jatred running with a soccer
ball and kicking it hard at his father, who guarded the goal, then jumping, his
little five-year-old fist pounding the air; himself again, encircling his small
arms around his mother, his ear pressed onto her pregnant belly, listening
intently; six-year-old Jatred, wailing in Tyrrell’s tight embrace, his small face
stained with tears, his skinny body shuddering from uncontrolled sobs.

                                               
    
CHAPTER
30

Human World, November 17,
early afternoon.

Jatred lay on his back, panting, his eyes opened wide. Cold drops of
rain drummed on his face. He rolled onto his side and propped himself up on his
elbow. He looked around, trying to decide what to do next.
If these visits to the Winter Realm continue, I’ve gotta figure out a
way to get thrown out of there right inside my house. Preferably onto my bed, and
not in some random location. Damn rain, it’s so freakin’ muddy here.

He assessed his appearance and cursed. Thick dirt that had stuck in
clumps to his clothes and Converse shoes was running in the rain, leaving brown
streaks on the fabric.

“Jatred?” He heard a girl saying his name, a note of disbelief in
her voice. A pair of worn-out tall boots with metal buckles transitioning into
tight blue-jeans materialized in front of him. Savannah looked down at him
incredulously. She wore a short green jacket and a round flat-crowned hat, pushed
to the back of her head.

“Oh, hey, Savannah,” Jatred managed a small smile, raising his hand
in greeting. He was still propped up on one elbow, trying to look comfortable
and matter-of-factly. “Long time no see.”

“What are you doing lying in the mud? What happened?”

“Uhm… nothing.” He shrugged and got up, smiling.

She fixed him with an odd look. Her eyes traveled from the dirt
smudges on Jatred’s face to his muddy shoes. The corners of her mouth twitched.
“You call
that
nothing?”

“Do you live close by?” he asked, as if his disheveled looks had not
been a subject of their conversation. “I could walk you home, if you want.”

“Sure. It’s just a few blocks from here.” She smiled and started
walking. “I always cut through this park when I walk home from work.”

“You’re coming back from work already? What time is it?”

“Must be just a few minutes after one. I left the store at one. On
Saturdays I work there only a few hours,” she said, stealing a side-glance at Jatred.

I’ve been gone only for about
five minutes. Funny, how the concept of time is so much different in the Winter
Realm. I could never get used to it. It totally felt like hours.
He scratched his head and looked sheepishly at Savannah. He cleared
his throat and asked, “So. Do you work every day?”

“Nah. I go to school. I just help my mom on Saturdays. She’s the
manager of that store,” she said, swinging her small purple backpack back and
forth. “When Dad left us, I decided to contribute to our ridiculously low
budget. It just felt right to help her, especially because she… kinda struggles
with some… uhm, bad habits.”

“Sorry to hear about that. And about your dad—”

“It’s okay. He wasn’t really my dad, just a stepfather. And not even
a good one.” She shrugged, her face indifferent.

“Where do you go to school?” Jatred took his muddy jacket off and,
rolling it into a ball, stuffed it under his arm.

“Waldorf High School.” Savannah looked at Jatred, who now wore only
a semi-clean black t-shirt and his mud-splattered jeans. “Aren’t you a bit
cold?”

“No,” he said uncaringly.

She was silent for a long moment. “Yep, I guessed that much.” She
nodded, fixing him with a knowing glance.

Jatred lifted his brows and laughed. “What? I usually don’t feel
cold.”

“That’s what I thought.” She stopped in her tracks and faced him.
“Are you one of them? I mean, like Logan?”

Jatred looked away, smiling. He bit his lower lip and returned his
gaze to Savannah, studying her features. “What do
you
think?” His eyes bored into hers.

“I think you are.”

“Are you afraid of me?” Jatred’s smile disappeared.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of, when you know what you’re dealing
with,” she said somberly. “And I know. I know a lot about your kind.”

“So you should also know we aren’t much different from humans,” he
whispered, leaning close to her ear, and then pulling back to study her
reaction.

She held his gaze in silence. Something relaxed in her features, and
a small smile returned to her lips. “No. I think you’re better than us.”

“How did you figure out what I am?”

“Logan taught me. It’s something in your face, like an animal face underlying
the human features. Or your eyes maybe. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Logan should keep his mouth shut.”

“But we were together. I figured out right away he wasn’t like us…
like humans. He wouldn’t say anything, but I kept nagging him.”

Jatred pulled the front of his t-shirt up, revealing his flat
stomach with strong abdominal muscles bulging under his skin. He wiped the rain
off his face with the shirt and tugged the fabric down into place. Savannah
watched him in silence, one of her eyebrows lifted. She smiled awkwardly when
she realized he’d noticed. She shivered and shook her head. Drops of water danced
off her hat, rolling down over her jacket.

“You’re freezing. I would’ve offered this, but …” He motioned to the
bundle under his arm, smiling broadly.

“But it’s covered in muck,” she finished his sentence, laughing.
“Thank you anyway. That was very considerate of you.”

She casually bumped her shoulder into his arm. Jatred looked as if
he was trying not to laugh.

“So you and Logan are not together anymore?”

“No.” She swung her backpack and looked expectantly at Jatred. He
returned her gaze and grinned. She laughed softly and bit her lower lip.

“Then, can I see you again? Soon maybe?” he asked, looking away.
“Not like a date. Just to hang out, you know.” He kicked a round pebble to the
side of the path.

She tilted her head to one side, considering. “Uhm, yeah. That would
be fine, I suppose.”

“Tomorrow night?” The corners of his mouth lifted. He kicked another
small rock. Two black crows, grazing in the grass, jumped up with a screech and
flew away.
 

“Let me think about that.” She casually bumped her shoulder into him
again.

He laughed and stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets.

“I have violin practice tomorrow at eleven. Then I need to finish my
homework, but I should be done by four or so.”

“Dinner then. My treat,” he said. “Violin, huh?”

“Yep, I’ve been playing since I was seven.”

“I wish I could say I’m musically talented.” Jatred grinned. “But
that would be a long stretch.”

“I’m sure you have some talents.” Savannah let out a short laugh.

“If you stick around, you might see plenty of them.”

“This is where I live.” She stopped in front of a small rambler
house.

Green moss grew in patches on the roof. The paint was peeling from
the window frames, and one of the gutters was broken. The grass in the tiny
yard was mowed though, and flowers were planted along the fence.

Savannah followed Jatred’s gaze and said quietly, embarrassed, “It’s
not much. But it’s ours.”

“Not everyone can live in a mansion.” Jatred smiled and shrugged.
Something tugged at his consciousness after he said that, but he couldn’t put
his finger on it. He frowned and looked away, suddenly deep in thought.
Mansion, mansion, mansion. What about a
mansion?
A vision of a very large house with a three-tiered fountain in
front of it swirled in his mind. He didn’t hear Savannah’s answer, and she had
to touch his arm to get his attention.

“Jatred?” Someone called out his name.

They both turned and saw Penelope, a look of surprise on her face.
She stopped her white Audi by the opposite curb and hopped out of the car, keys
in hand. Her long red tresses cascaded down her back..

“Jatred, for Goddess’s sake. You’re okay!” she shouted with her mind
to him. “Jasmira is going crazy over all this.” And out loud she added, trying
to keep her voice casual, “Hi, Savannah.” She stopped in front of them and looked
at Jatred, assessing his messy appearance. Then her gaze fell back on Savannah standing
close to him.

“Hi, Pen. What’s up?” Jatred tipped his chin, smiling to Penelope,
and then added with his mind, “Not as okay as I was before, but still alive.
Let’s not talk about this now.”

Penelope glanced between their faces. “You know each other?”

“Yeah. Kind of.” Savannah shivered and wrapped her arms around
herself.

Jatred gently touched her arm and asked, “Are you cold?”

At that motion Penelope’s eyes got wider. She opened her mouth but
no sound came out.

“Oh, I’m fine. Don’t worry.” Savannah shook her head.

“Jatred, what are you doing?” Penelope’s voice sounded alarmed in
his head.

He ignored her remark and instead said, “Nice wheels. New?”

Penelope looked at him. She no longer tried to keep worry out of her
face when she said with her mind, “Jatred, you have to see Jasmira. It wasn’t
her fault. She was tricked by—”

Jatred’s eyebrows drew together, and the muscles of his jaw clenched.
“No idea who you’re talking about. Everyone tells me about her. But I don’t
remember anything.”
 

Savannah looked from Penelope to Jatred in silence. She didn’t hear
them speak in each other’s head, but suspected it. Slowly, she slid her hand
around Jatred’s arm and leaned closer to him, causing Penelope to glare at her.

Noticing Penelope’s expression, Jatred breathed a small laugh and
shook his head, “Okay, Pen. It’s cool.”