Forged by Greed (28 page)

“I better go. See you later.” Penelope tried to keep her expression
indifferent, but failed miserably.

“Yeah.” Jatred nodded.

Penelope pressed her lips into a tight smile. “Bye, Savannah.” She
turned around and walked to her car.

Jatred and Savannah followed her with their gaze.

“That was… interesting,” Savannah said when Penelope drove off. “Was
she upset about something?”

“About my ex. I’m sorry. Look, don’t worry about that.” Jatred faced
Savannah, his hands clasped behind his back. He watched her, the smile gone
from his face. For a moment, when a gust of wind tossed her straight blond hair,
he thought it looked black and curly. He blinked, but the vision was gone. She
shivered again.

“You’re cold. You should go inside.”

“I’m all right.” She shrugged and smiled. Something caught her
attention and she leaned closer to Jatred. She looked keenly at the gold
rope-chain barely visible above his t-shirt. “That’s so pretty. What is it?”

The jewel pulsed with an icy energy against Jatred’s skin.
Amulet. I must get it home.”

 
“I should let you
go. I’ll see you tomorrow night. Should I pick you up from here?”

A look of disappointment crossed Savannah’s face. “Yeah. Sure.”

“Okay then. See you.” He smiled tentatively, and then took a few
steps backwards. She stood by the shabby gate, her hand on the metal handle.
She smiled and waved to him. Jatred stuck his hands in his armpits and, turning
around, quickly strode away. His hand shot to his chest where the Amulet
pressed gently against his skin, the icy feeling gone.

                                               
     
CHAPTER
31

Human World, November 17, early
afternoon.

“You’re back! Are you okay?” Tyrrell sprang to his feet and walked
hurriedly toward Jatred.

“I’m fine.” Jatred winced and coughed.

“Did she give you the Amulet?”

“Yep.” Jatred pulled the Amulet from under his t-shirt.

“Let’s put it in the vault.” Tyrrell’s face relaxed at the sight of
the jewel. “Where did you end up this time?”

“In the muddy grass at the park down the street.” Jatred dropped his
rolled-up hoodie onto the floor. He kicked off his muddy Converse shoes and
rushed after Tyrrell to the basement.

“I don’t like this summoning,” Tyrrell murmured, his voice deep. “I
knew the Goddess was going to call you to the Realm but still… You’re in the
house with me one second and gone the next. At least she didn’t keep you long.”

Jatred didn’t say anything. He looked down at the Amulet hanging
from his neck and slid his fingers over it. Tyrrell stole a quick glance at Jatred.
They entered the basement without turning the lights on. Their eyes adjusted
quickly to the darkness as they maneuvered between the shelves.

“We didn’t do much of anything outdoors this fall,” Tyrrell
commented. “The preparations for your coronation are to blame for it. Good
thing we’ll climb tomorrow morning.”

Jatred winced.
The coronation.
So weird, like we lived a couple centuries ago.
The thought reminded him of
something, or rather of someone.
I talked
about this with… who was that?
He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. In
his mind he saw dark-brown eyes, the same color as his uncle’s. But these
belonged to a girl. She rolled them in mocking exasperation.

“You have nothing to say to that?” Tyrrell grunted. “Relax, it’s
just a tradition, something for the Winter people to celebrate. The Historical
Society is almost done with everything.”

Tyrrell’s voice brought Jatred back to reality. “Yeah?” He sounded
semi-interested.

“You don’t seem impressed.” Tyrrell’s laugh rumbled through the
basement. “I know. It might feel a bit intimidating.”

“A bit? That’s an understatement. The whole idea is out-of-date.”

“Jatred, you’ll be fine. Everyone knows it’s just a tradition.
You’re not expected to do much,” Tyrrell said, scanning his retina and the palm
of his hand on the security device by the vault entrance.

A heavy gate slid to the side with a low whoosh. They entered the small
chamber. Jatred reached to the back of his neck and unfastened the clasp. Tyrrell
opened the safe, and Jatred gently deposited the Amulet inside. He exhaled
loudly, closed the hefty door to the safe, and turned the knob to lock it.

“Done.” Jatred stated with a nod, his face somber.

“Done.” Tyrrell mimicked him, his eyes almost iris-free in the
darkness.

                                                           
   
***

Human World, November 17,
late afternoon.

“Go from the other side!” Erik yelled to Bogdan as he started to ride
his skateboard down one of the park’s concrete slopes. The board smoothly slid
over the bottom and up the opposite wall. When he reached the top, Erik brought
the board up to a jump with a twist of his legs. He took a complete turn
mid-air, his gray t-shirt bunching up at the hips over his baggy-fit jeans.

Bogdan rode his skateboard down over the edge, just as Erik started
to ride back from the opposite concrete slope. They passed each other on the
bottom with a shout, and each rushed up the wall across from one another. At the
top, Bogdan turned the board in a fast motion, bending his knees and briefly
grasping onto the front part with his left hand. He let go of the board and
rolled it down the slope toward Erik who was fast approaching from the opposite
side. Both Shifters wore baseball hats positioned backwards on their heads.
Erik’s blond strands escaped from under his cap, gently curling away and then up.

“Go, babe! Woo-hoo!” yelled Lusia, scooting closer to Georgeta and
watching Bogdan.

The girls sat under a large, brightly-colored umbrella. Georgeta
giggled. “Wonder which one will fall first.”

“I bet it will be Bogdan.” Lusia laughed.

“I wouldn’t be so sure, you know.” Georgeta shook her head, and her
dark curls bounced. “Erik is good, all right, but he gets too crazy. He pushes
his limits too much.”

“I guess he didn’t learn from last year’s fall when he broke his
arm.” Lusia snorted. “Thank Goddess for Doctor Bigbee and his staff. If a human
physician saw Erik’s X-rays he wouldn’t have a clue what’s going on with this boy’s
bones.”

“I can only imagine what they would think of the Shifter’s bone
structure. But I suppose Erik tries to be semi-careful. He realized he couldn’t
play football for a while with another injury.
And
he would have to wear that cast and pretend he’s healing slowly,
like humans. Remember? Just like last summer. He hated it, but we wouldn’t let
him out of the house without the cast.”

“The humans would freak out that his bone was intact just one week
after it got broken. Oh, I remember it way too well.” Lusia rolled her eyes.
“Erik was as grumpy as an old woman.”

The small park on Queen Anne was deserted due to rain and cold. The
four teenagers had the place all to themselves. The boys continued various
acrobatics with their skateboards, and the girls chatted and laughed.

“Bogdan, your cell’s ringing.” Lusia shouted.

“Pick it up,” Bogdan yelled back, smiling widely at his girlfriend.

Lusia shrugged and reached for the phone. “It’s Jatred,” she said to
Georgeta, looking at the screen, and then pressing the green button.

“Jatred, this is Lusia. You’re okay. I was so worried. Bogdan said
he saw you this morning. But I was still freaking out, you know me.”

She murmured something in response to what Jatred was saying to her,
nodded a few times with a low “Uhm,” and finally said in a mock exasperation,
“Then come over here,” and then, “Yes,” and “Good. We should still be here. Just
get your butt over as soon as you can, geez. I hate this rain, and those two
clowns are set on riding their skateboards, no matter what.”

“Is he coming?” Georgeta asked, as soon as Lusia hung up.

“I guess so,” Lusia said, scratching her spiked hair. “He sounded
weird… I don’t know, just… just not like himself.”

“He’s been through a lot with the Goddess.” Georgeta bit her lower
lip and looked away.

“I know. I wonder what’s going on. Are we still going back to that
mansion tomorrow? To talk with Jasmira?”

“That’s what Erik said after flirting with Penelope on the phone for
an hour.” Georgeta rolled her eyes. “Do you think it’s a good idea after all?”

“We need to find out what’s happening. I mean, when we went there
last night, we didn’t even know for sure where Jatred was, and what Crystal was
planning to do. But now he’s back so I don’t know. You’re not so sure
yourself?”

“Nope. Let’s see what Jatred has to say.”

Bogdan kicked his skateboard forward and casually walked behind it
toward Lusia and Georgeta.

“Who called?” He squeezed between the girls and put his arms around
Lusia. He pulled her close him and kissed her on the lips.

“Eww, not in public. Get a room, you two.” Georgeta covered her eyes
in pretend repulsion.
 

“Jatred will be here any minute.” Lusia caressed Bogdan’s cheek.
“But he sounded strange, like he was unfocused or something. It was hard to get
a straight answer from him.”

Bogdan grunted and pulled his t-shirt off. He wore a lose-fitting
long-sleeve shirt underneath and started to remove this one too, but Lusia
stopped him, laughing. “Oh no, you don’t. You forget there are humans around?
For them it’s cold, you know. At least pretend you’re one of them.”

“What humans? Do you see anybody?” Bogdan took his hat off and
tousled his hair with his hand.

“He refuses to wear a jacket even when we snowboard,” Lusia said to
Georgeta.

“I can’t blame him. I prefer to dress lightly myself, even in the
snow. A t-shirt or two is all I can stand.” Georgeta snorted.

“You see? No pretense.” Bogdan gestured at Georgeta. “That’s what I
like about you, little one.” He put his arms around her and squeezed.

“Who are you calling a little one? You’re not so big yourself. Just
tall and scrawny.” She wriggled out of his arms.

“I was referring to your
age
.”
He laughed. “You’re barely fifteen. Just a little puppy.”

He grinned. Lusia giggled.

They heard a long piercing whistle and turned their heads toward the
sound. Jatred rode his skateboard on the sidewalk. He wore baggy knee-length
shorts, frayed in places, and a loose t-shirt. A blue and white bandana was
tied snug around his forehead in a wide head-band style. Strands of jet-black
hair escaped from under the fabric and hung loose past his earlobes.

“Jatred!” both girls shrieked and jumped to their feet, running to
him.

Bogdan’s face broke into a wide grin. Erik hopped off his skateboard
and strode to join the rest of his friends, his steps long and bouncy. He wiped
sweat off his face with his sleeve and said, “Good to see you, stranger.”

Jatred removed his ear-buds and stuffed them into his shorts pocket,
next to his iPod. “Hey.” He smiled at the approaching Shifters. The girls
jumped onto him, screaming and laughing. He was forced off his skateboard and
staggered, bending his knees and stretching his arms out to the sides for
balance. “Wow, wait,” was all he was able to say before he fell backward onto
the grass next to the sidewalk, with the girls sprawled on top of him.

“The guy gets banged up a little, and look at this welcoming
committee! Where is a basket with cookies?” Erik laughed, lifting Georgeta up
to her feet. Bogdan grabbed onto Lusia’s waist and pulled her small body off
Jatred with ease.
 

“Well?” Jatred lay on his back, his face set in an expectant mask.
He extended his arm and looked eagerly from Bogdan to Erik.

“Come on, you big baby.” Grinning, Bogdan grasped onto Jatred’s hand
and pulled him up.
 
He clapped Jatred on
the back, and Erik did the same.

“Good, you’ve got your board. Wanna do some runs?” Bogdan asked.

“Yeah.” The corners of Jatred’s mouth twitched.

“Wait a minute. Are you gonna tell us anything? What’s going on with
Crystal?” Lusia asked.

“Lusia, I already told you everything,” Bogdan said. “Let him do a
few runs on the board first.”

Jatred nodded and kicked his skateboard in front of him.

“I know. I’m glad you’re fine though.” Lusia shrugged and hooked her
fingers around Bogdan’s jeans pocket.

“We were worried about you,” Georgeta chimed in.

Jatred bit his lower lip. “I know. Thanks, guys. This whole thing…”
He took a deep breath and shrugged. “I’m a little wigged out. It’s crazy. Well,
let me skate a bit. I could use some fun for a change.”