Forged by Greed (19 page)

A thick pillow of snow, covering
Jatred’s body, cracked and large chunks started to slide off. Like an ancient
warrior, he rose in a slow but determined motion, uncurling his arms and
lifting his head. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and looked at Crystal.
Jatred tilted his head back and shook his hair, then knelt on one knee.
          
“My Goddess,” Jatred said in a
raspy voice. “Did you summon me?”

Crystal smiled and touched the
Amulet. “Do you know what this is?”

“It’s the Amulet.”

“Do you remember you are the one
to keep and protect it with your own life?” Crystal continued her
investigation.

Jatred’s brows drew together,
forcing his smooth forehead to crease. “Yes, I remember. Our Race has it in
their possession right now, before it must pass back to the Summer.”

“Do you remember fighting one of
my Garhanans?” Crystal’s smile disappeared.

“A
Garhanan
?” Jatred said the name slowly, shocked. “No. Did I do something
wrong?”

“Yes, my child. But you are
forgiven.” She looked at him sharply. “Actually, I want you to forget that
Garhanan for now.” She slowly moved her hand in front of his face.

Jatred felt as if something cold
stabbed at his brain. He winced and squeezed his eyes, staggering to the side.

Crystal seized his wrist and touched
her other hand to Jatred’s cheek, making his icy pain subside. She smiled and
took his hand in hers. “Now I will send you back to the Human World.”

They walked together, not leaving
any tracks in a deep undisturbed snow. From behind, next to the tall broad-shouldered
Jatred, the Goddess looked like a slender teenage girl. Soon their bodies
started to shimmer and dissolve in the cold, winter air.

                                          
         
        
CHAPTER
21

Human World, November 16,
evening.

Erik killed the engine and parked
the car a few paces north off a huge wrought-iron gate, along a solid-looking fence.
The four of them got out slowly and glanced around. In the distance they saw a
breathtaking mansion, encircled by manicured gardens. A wide path stretched toward
the house from the gate.
 
Tall,
well-maintained shrubs framed the path on both sides. Mature trees stood in a
compact row behind the hedges. Cool wind attacked their branches, tearing off
the last batches of yellow and brown leaves. Antique bronze lanterns cast a
soft milky light along both sides of the pathway.

Every thirty feet, the hedge
broke into a clean-cut gap occupied by an old, stone statue of a warrior. Some
were depicted wearing short tunics and tall boots. Others had long sweeping
capes over their body armor. All the sculptures held at least one weapon: a
sword, a pike, or a bow. An image of a sun face was visible on each warrior’s
breast plate. It was a copy of the sun face carved into the pendants on the
gate leopards.

“Holy shit,” Bogdan said under
his breath, his eyes scanning the area.

Lusia whistled, and Erik
exhaled loudly.

“Told ya.” Georgeta smugly crossed
her arms over her chest.

 
The statues stood tall as if guarding the
grounds.
 
Although there were patches of
an old, attractive patina on them, they were scrubbed clean of any dirt and
moss. Only delicate, thin vines were left to sparsely encircle their squat
bases. Tiny white flowers marched up the vines, ignoring the little brown ants
that busily ran over the stony surface.

Bogdan approached the gate and
examined it closely. He ran his long slim fingers over it and pushed, but the
gate didn’t budge.

“Looks like we have to climb,”
Bogdan said in a hushed voice.

 
The rest of them moved toward the fence, in
complete silence. Each of the teenagers jumped swiftly onto the iron spikes. With
blurry speed, they climbed up onto the sharp finials, and leaped down to the
other side.

Everyone landed lightly on the
grass and stayed in the crouching position. They looked around for a sign of
any movement, but all was still and quiet. Only the bitter wind was proving its
vicious powers, tugging on their hair and clothes.

Erik nodded to the others. His
long, muscular body was tense and ready to react. The soft light of a lantern outlined
his shape. He swiftly changed into a huge golden wolf, looking as impressive as
he did in his human form. The shape-shifting resulted in the rippling and
quivering of the air around him, as if a giant soap bubble encircled him.

The others transformed too. Bogdan
became a dark-brown lean wolf with an elongated muzzle. Lusia stood next to him,
sniffing the air. Her coat was a lighter shade and shinier than Bogdan’s. She
was the slimmest of them all, just as the gray-coated Georgeta was definitely
the roundest. Georgeta’s jet black eyes sparkled with joy. It was apparent that,
despite the situation, she immensely enjoyed her wolf form. Her bushy tail
swished from side to side, thumping on Erik’s muscular leg.

They slowly walked forward,
observing the area and sniffing the air. When the smell of the other species hit
their muzzles, all of them let out a low growl. Seconds later several leopards
ran toward them from various directions. The wolves were surrounded, but they
didn’t show any signs of panic. They expected to be discovered by now. The leopards
slowed down and were cautiously closing in. There were more than ten of them.

When they came to a halt, a
bright-red leopard leisurely came out from the circle, and moved closer to the
wolves. She stopped directly in front of Erik, lifted her head, and smelled the
air around him. She unhurriedly circled him, not taking her eyes off of his
massive body. He followed her with his gaze and then looked at Georgeta, who,
even in her wolf form, was able to frown.

“Is this a social visit?” the
red leopard posed a question with her mind. It was directed at Erik.

“I wouldn’t call it that,” he
answered calmly in the same mind-reaching manner.

“But you realize you’re
trespassing, no? This is private property,” the she-leopard said
matter-of-factly, peering straight into Erik’s blue eyes.

“Erik, this is Penelope
Stephanopoulos,” Georgeta interjected calmly.

“I know,” was all he said.

Erik’s eyes didn’t leave
Penelope’s. They stood gazing at each other while the other leopards started to
look uncertain and fidgeted.

Bogdan moved closer to Erik
and said, “We need to talk. Jatred is in trouble, and we have to speak with
Jasmira. Is she here?”

“No, Jasmira just left for
Santa Barbara.” Penelope pulled her eyes away from Erik and looked, with no
apparent interest, at Bogdan. After a short moment she returned her gaze to
Erik. The air around her shook and rippled, and she changed back to her human
form. She wore a pair of tight ankle-length jeans and a red long-sleeved Tory
Burch sweater that hugged her upper body. Slowly, she put her hands on her hips
and raised her chin. Her lips curled up at the corners, and her perfectly
shaped eyebrows gently lifted.

 
The rest of the leopards and all the wolves shifted.
The two groups stood facing each other, waiting for the next move. Penelope’s
laughter broke the silence and set the Summer people at ease. She locked her eyes
with Erik’s.

“Penelope, you have Jasmira’s number,
right? We need to talk with her.” Lusia’s voice brought Erik back to reality.
He looked at her, blinked twice, and turned his face to Georgeta, who gaped at
him in disbelief.

“Well, yeah.
Of course
I have her number.” Penelope
tossed her thick copper hair with a quick movement of her head.

“Jatred is in trouble with our
Goddess, and we think Jasmira can help,” Lusia continued.

“I really don’t know how you
can stand Crystal.” Penelope folded her arms over her chest. “It must be
miserable to be under her
protection
.”
She made quotation marks in the air with her fingers.

“Whatever, Penelope. That’s
clearly not any of your concern. Let us worry about our Goddess, while you
indulge in your perfect problem-free life,” snapped Lusia.

“Hey! That wasn’t cool,
Penelope. None of us talks trash about your Goddess.” Bogdan put his arm
protectively around Lusia.

At that moment all of the
Summer and Winter teens started to talk at the same time, getting closer to
each other. Harsh words were exchanged, and some of the Summer kids looked very
angry. Their rising voices had a definite edge.

“Hey! Easy!” Erik said loudly,
lifting
his arms up with the palms forward
. “Easy,” he repeated, looking
from face to face. “We didn’t come here to fight. We only want to help our
friend.” Erik was taller than everyone else in the crowd. His muscular body
must have counted for something, since the shouting subsided, and only a couple
of Summer teenagers muttered under their breaths.

Penelope looked at Erik and
smiled. He caught her gaze and smiled back. He took two slow steps forward to
stand close to her.

“Look, Penelope,” Erik said in
a pleasant voice. “Can you help us?”

“Sure. Why not.” She looked at
him from under her long lashes.

“For starters, we would like
to contact Jasmira right away,” he said, the corners of his lips twitching. A
sudden gust of wind tossed Erik’s blond hair over his eyes. He shook his head, flipping
the hair back.

“Well, are you all going to
stand here until morning then? Let’s go inside, for Goddess’s sake. I’m
freezing.” Penelope looked at the others.

Everyone turned to walk toward
the well-lit mansion towering over the grounds. The Winter teens maintained a
distance from the Summer teens. Both groups kept stealing curious, but
uncertain, glances at each other.

“What’s up with Erik? He’s acting
like a complete fool,” Lusia whispered to Bogdan and Georgeta.

“Penelope happened to him.”
Georgeta yawned. “She has a way with guys. If she sets her mind on one, she’ll
get him sooner or later.”

“I’ve never seen him like that.”
Lusia shook her head.

“Maybe he’s just playing his
part,” interjected Bogdan quietly.

“Huh?” Lusia looked at her
boyfriend incredulously.

“We’re outnumbered. And they
don’t have to help us unless, let’s say, Erik makes Penelope think he wouldn’t
like it if she didn’t cooperate,” Bogdan said.

“So Erik flirts with Penelope
to get in touch with Jasmira?” Lusia’s voice turned even more skeptical. “And
you really believe that?”

“Maybe, I don’t know. Probably
not.” Bogdan shrugged.
“I don’t know
what to believe anymore.”

“I don’t think Erik would simply
flirt to just get something from a girl. He’s under her spell,” murmured Georgeta.

“A spell? Is she a witch?” Bogdan
let up a derisive snort.

“Don’t make fun of me, buddy. I
don’t believe in witchcraft. I was speaking figuratively.” Georgeta grunted.
“She’s very attractive, and Erik likes good-looking girls. That’s all.”

“I’ll keep an eye on him. We aren’t
leaving him here with the leopard chick.” Bodgan grinned. “Relax, Lusia.” He
nudged his girlfriend, who kept frowning and burning a hole in Erik’s back with
her concern-filled eyes. “You were laughing when Georgeta said Penelope has a
crush on Erik. And now you are upset?”

“I didn’t think he would ever
drool over a leopard girl. And suddenly we are mixing with the Summer kids?
Just like that? ” Lusia whispered with her mind.

“It’s gonna be fine. Don’t fret
too much.” Bogdan hugged her.

Georgeta stared at Erik and
Penelope. They walked in front of everyone else, talking in hushed voices, and staying
close to each other. A few times Erik touched the small of Penelope’s back. She
giggled, casually bumping her shoulder against his arm.