Forged by Greed (47 page)

They floated around, becoming either more or less
materialized. “We have to go now, but we will come to you in the In-Between,”
his father said. “You may not see us, but we will be there. Together with other
Spirits that didn’t make the match. There are many of us in the Realm.”

“Now go find Tyrrell. And stay close to him. He
was matched with a very powerful enhancing Spirit too,” Jatred’s mother said in
his mind.

He wanted to ask about the battle, and why they
died on that plane ten years ago, and about so many other things. He wanted to
know if their death was caused by Amber, as he suspected, and which college he
should choose. But they had already shrunk to their comet-like forms and zoomed
off toward the Goddess, leaving him confused.
She must have summoned them.
 
“All of them,” Jatred added aloud, seeing
thousands of tiny fire balls hurriedly following his parents to where Crystal stood
with the first Royal couple by her side.

“Jatred!” Bogdan ran to him with Lusia, Erik, and
Georgeta in tow. Andy, Ivona, and both of Lusia’s parents were right behind them.
A moment later Erik and Georgeta’s parents joined them.

Bogdan bumped fists with Jatred, grinning. Erik
did the same. Lusia and Georgeta ran up to him and hugged him fiercely.

“So you all got enhancing Spirits?” Jatred asked.

Everyone confirmed, and Andy gently grasped
Jatred’s upper arm. “We can’t find Tyrrell. But I’m sure he’s somewhere close.”

Jatred told them about how he fleetingly saw his
uncle at home, right after retrieving the Amulet from the vault, and about Crystal
summoning him back to the Realm.

“We got summoned all of the sudden too. One moment
we were at the house, and the next we were in the Realm,” Ivona said somberly.
“It’s happening, just as we were afraid it would.”

“Crystal said that Amber’s got the army and will fight.
The army!” Jatred exclaimed. “What army? Summer Shifters?
 
Why would we want to fight them? We know so
many of them, some are even friends. Are we the army too?” Fleetingly, he
thought about Jasmira.

Andy’s composed voice clashed with Jatred’s. “We are
the army. And so are the Goddess’s Garhanans. All of the enhancing Spirits have
been chosen by Crystal from among the best and the bravest. But you need to be
close to Tyrrell.”

“The Garhanans.” Jatred spat the words as if they
tasted bad in his mouth. He shook his head and added, “My parents said I have
to find Tyrrell too. They were here, in the Realm.” Jatred felt calm again.

“Yes, all our ancestors are here.” Erik’s father stood
by his son and daughter, his arm around his wife’s shoulders. “We spoke briefly
with some of ours too.”

Panic washed through Erik when he thought about
Penelope, for sure summoned to fight on the Summer’s side. He squeezed his eyes
shut and clenched his teeth.

“Wait.” Bogdan stepped closer to his father, a
look of dread flickering through his features. “Dad, the Garhanans?
Why?”

Andy sighed and smiled a sad smile. “What we are facing now is not
just the Race Historians’ debate, not book knowledge. We are going to a real
battle.” He shrugged, trying to appear unmoved by his own words for the sake of
others. “Son, you don’t know it yet, but, because of your enhancing Spirit,
right now you possess skills, knowledge, and powers that have never, and may
never again, be known to you. Trust the Spirit. He or she will guide you. You won’t
even need to think how and what to do. You are a warrior now. We all are.”

“The Garhanans blindly follow the Goddess’s orders. They will fight
not against us but with us,” Ivona added. Somehow she looked bigger, tougher
than usual. Her motherly smile was gone. The softness around her eyes had vanished,
replaced by cold determination.

“Wow, you both make it sound like this is not a big deal. Hello, is nobody
freaking out about all this?” Bogdan looked genuinely baffled. “Mom?” he peered
closely at her, but she turned her head, listening.

“Tyrrell is coming,” she announced.

Everyone followed the direction of her gaze.

In his mind, Jatred heard Tyrrell shouting his name. He rushed away
from the group, pushing through the crowd of Shifters. “Uncle!” he bellowed.
“Here. Uncle.”

Tyrrell’s chocolate-colored face appeared in the surrounding
assembly of Winter Shifters. He looked relieved when he spotted Jatred, and
soon they embraced, laughing in each other’s arms. Finally, Tyrrell held Jatred
at arm’s length. “I was so scared. You disappeared from the house in an instant.
I didn’t know what the Goddess’s intentions were.”

“But she summoned you right after, yes?”

“Yes, she did. And every Winter Shifter on the planet, as I see.
Son… I don’t know what I would do if I lost you.” Tyrrell’s voice momentarily cracked.
He cleared his throat, tears welling up in his eyes. He fiercely hugged Jatred,
fighting back the tears. Finally, he smiled sadly and said, “You’ve got a
strong and clever enhancing Spirit inside you. I can feel him.”

“You can
feel
him?”

“Of course. And if you concentrate, you will feel mine. She’s one of
the best warriors in the history of our Race.”

“She?”

“Yes. In fact, she’s your direct ancestor. The first Royal couple’s daughter.”
Tyrrell’s face relaxed. His large hands still held Jatred’s shoulders.

Jatred peered into his uncle’s eyes for a few quiet moments, and
then broke into a wide smile. “I can feel her too. Damn, she’ll kick some major
butt. Wait…” Jatred’s brows knitted together in concentration. “Man, it’s one
big family—my Spirit is yours great great grandson. Oh, he’s anxious to fight.”

By then they noticed that the rest of their friends had formed a
tight circle around them. Andy clasped Tyrrell’s hand, and so did Erik’s and
Lusia’s fathers. One by one, Georgeta, Lusia, and each of the mothers hugged
Tyrrell.

“It’s time,” Jatred said, turning his face to where in the distance
Crystal stood on a hill top. “We’ll get the weapons now. The Goddess wants to
speak with me.”

Bogdan opened his mouth to protest, but a calm look came over his
face when his enhancing Spirit took over his emotions. He nodded in agreement
and, together with the rest of their party, followed Jatred. A colorful sea of tens
of thousands of Shifters parted in the middle to let the Winter Prince pass.
Most of them have never seen him in person, but the Spirits of the Realm made
sure everyone recognized Jatred and pledged their loyalty to him.

The Winter Goddess kept her iris-free eyes on Jatred. Her skin was
covered in even more red and black tattoos than before and gleamed silver,
outlining her body in a gently pulsing halo. The tattoos moved in a slow, sinuous
motion over her skin.

He heard her voice in his head, “Prince Jatred. Trust the enhancing
Spirit. He is your ancient ancestor, just like the Spirit assigned to your
guardian, Tyrrell. Your power, speed, and skills are tremendously augmented,
and so are those of all your Shifters. Be strong for your Race and your
Goddess.”

Jatred’s heart started to hammer in his chest, but his enhancing
Spirit calmed him down. Crystal kept her eyes on Jatred, watching him closely.
He asked her with his mind, raising a strong mental shield so nobody but her
could hear, “Why can’t this be resolved peacefully? Why do we have to fight the
Summer Shifters? Some of them are our friends—”

“You think of me as a monster. I do not want this fight either,
Prince Jatred. But there is no other way.
She
won’t have it any other way.” The Winter Goddess’s voice was quiet and sad.

“You mean Amber?”

“I tried to stop her. I erased your memories about Jasmira to
prevent the scale of the Universal powers tipping to the Summer side. I even
tried to kill Jasmira in the earthquake—”

“What?” Jatred bellowed.

“I knew you wouldn’t understand. And there is no time for a lengthy
explanation. The Summer Princess’s house had Amber’s protection, just like all
my Shifters have my protection. I found a way to destroy a part of the mansion
during the earthquake. But she escaped unharmed. The old Queen, Jasmira’s
guardian, was injured, though. I doubt she was able to join Amber’s army today.
Jasmira is there without her guardian. You must stay away from the Summer
Princess. And, most of all, stay away from Amber. She will try to repair the
damage I’ve caused.”

“I am not going to hurt Jasmira, or anyone else.”

Crystal loomed over Jatred. He saw a flash of rage the moment she
spoke, her completely black eyes opened wide. “Summer creatures of torment are
dangerous. You will have to fight
them
.
I will keep Amber away from you. But don’t forget this: she will try to restore
the memories that I had erased, so you and the Summer Princess remember the
love you both shared. This is Amber’s only chance to gain control over the unleashed
powers of the Universe. If she succeeds… this world will never be the same. And
your Race will cease to exist.”

Jatred didn’t say anything, just clenched his jaws.

“Now go and join your Shifters. You are their King.” The Goddess nodded
to him, and then looked over the thousands of Shifters, all in their human
forms.

She addressed them, her voice thunderous and commanding, “Your
Spirits will choose the best weapons and tactics for the battle. Rely on the
Spirits, trust and embrace them. They will lead and protect you. Their ancient
knowledge and skills are unparalleled, and they will give you courage and
power. Now look inside you and let the Spirits guide you.”

As if on cue, all the Shifters closed their eyes. Silence descended
over the Realm. Tiny snowflakes started to fall, landing on faces, shoulders,
hair, and clothes. A strange aura of calmness came upon them. Some held hands;
some raised their arms and faces up to the cloudless sky. Crystal inhaled
deeply, closing her eyes too.

And then everything happened so quickly. A blast of freezing wind whipped
through the Realm and whirled the walls of snow around the army of Winter
Shifters. Thousands of voices joined in an ancient hymn. Words whispered by the
Spirits of the Realm in language long-forgotten, carried over the chorus. The
Goddess’s chanting rose and fell above it all. Her voice was strong and clear,
the words of an archaic form of Gaelic uttered in precision and filled with
powers known only to her.

CHAPTER 55

Human World, November 18, before
midnight.

Jasmira woke with a jolt. She lay in a recliner by her grandmother’s
bed. They were in one of the private rooms in Saint Andrew’s hospital. The room
was small but tastefully furnished. A beautiful vase with a large bouquet of
fresh white roses adorned an antique table in the corner.

Jousenne was deep asleep. Her chest rhythmically rose and fell under
a burgundy cashmere blanket. Jasmira felt sad and scared. She touched her
grandmother’s hand, enjoying the familiar feeling of her skin. Sudden panic
clutched her chest, and the room spun in front of her eyes. She tried to scream
but she couldn’t find her voice. Red and yellow flames swirled around her in a
compact mass of fire. The intensifying heat singed the spinning air.

Jasmira’s feet landed with a thump on the grass in the Summer
Realm’s meadow. She lost her balance and tumbled down, onto the field of
flowers. Sweet fragrance of the blossoms and the buzzing of insects enfolded
her. She blinked, confused, and shielded her eyes from the bright sun, high up
in the sky.

I’m in the Summer Realm?
Jasmira quickly got up and turned around, her speed preternatural.
Amber and the first Royal couple looked at her from a few yards away. Banafrit
and
Hêtshepsu were in their leopard
forms, huge and imposing. The Summer Goddess stood over ten feet tall. A long
tight tunic accentuated her slim body. Her head wasn’t human, but instead was that
of a snarling lion. Amber was the Egyptian Goddess, Bastet, and she was mad.
She did nothing to disguise her anger.

Jasmira
instinctively
took a step back. Dread washed through her, and her throat constricted. She
turned her head from side to side, trying to see what might have upset Amber so
much. But the serenity of the Realm was unchanged, and there was nobody else
besides her, the Goddess, and the pair of ancient leopards.

“Princess Jasmira,” she heard Amber’s voice in her head. “Why is
Jousenne not healed yet?”

“I… I… don’t really… know.” Jasmira was shaking from fear. “It was the
earthquake. Grandma broke her hip.”

“It was Crystal, not the earthquake!” the Goddess thundered. “She
broke my protection over your house.
 
I
am still angry with you, because you failed to keep Jatred in my Realm. I had
such a perfect plan. And you ruined it. You stupid girl.”

Jasmira winced.
 
This was a
new side of Amber that she had never before experienced. She chanced asking,
stalling for time, “What was your plan?”

The Summer Goddess regarded her in silence and said, “I told you
before. You and the Winter Prince have to be together. This is the only way to
capture the ten-thousand-year powers of the Universe. To give your Race the
ultimate power.”