Forged by Greed (22 page)

“Well, I knew
that
,”
Jatred protested, his face scornful.

Tyrrell looked at Jatred. “Too bad you can’t recall how Jasmira was
able to snatch the Amulet. I’m dying to know for sure how this whole thing
happened.”

“Me too, since none of it makes any sense to me,” Jatred snapped,
meeting Tyrrell’s eyes.

“Maybe not, but listen. It’s time to get some answers. We need to
talk with Andy and Ivona Tornwood. They are the Race historians. They know a
bit more about the Amulet than I do.”

“Bogdan’s parents,” Jatred stated, looking at Tyrrell. “You see? I
remember
them
.”

“Yeah, that’s cute.” Tyrrell snorted. “The Amulet is ancient and it
has amazing powers. Nobody knows the full extent of its capacity. From what you
told me, Jasmira was able to use it. Although without proper training I can’t
imagine how. I wonder…” his voice trailed off. He stood up and walked to the
phone on his computer desk. He stopped abruptly and slowly turned around, a
look of shock on his face. “It was Amber! She had to guide Jasmira. This is
more serious that I thought.”

“The Summer Goddess? Wait, are you going to call them now?” Jatred
protested.

“Do you really think this can wait till morning?”

“No. I guess not,” Jatred said quietly.

“And it shouldn’t. Okay, let me talk with the Tornwoods. I’m sure
they will be anxious to see you even tonight. But you definitely need some rest,”
Tyrrell murmured, pressing a speed-dial button on the phone, his dark eyes
pinched with concern.

Jatred sat, leaning forward, his elbows digging into his thighs. He
held his head in his hands, listening to Tyrrell’s brief phone call.

“They wanted us to come right away, but we settled for tomorrow
morning instead. We figured you are safe now. The Amulet is safe with the
Goddess. There is nothing we can do… we just wait…” Tyrrell trailed off. He
walked to the window and stood motionless, looking into the night.

“Uncle,” Jatred said quietly. “I just remembered something.”

“What?” Tyrrell quickly turned around to look at Jatred.

“I was in the Summer Realm.”

                          
                                         
CHAPTER
24
              

Human World, November 17,
morning.

“And that’s exactly what I want
you to do,” said Amber, uncrossing her long legs and standing up. She picked up
her small Hermès purse, opened it, and took a business card from it.

“Here. When you are ready to leave,
call my limo driver. He’ll take you back to my jet. I need go now to see our
California Shifters and I’m running late.” Amber handed the card to Jasmira.
She lifted Jasmira’s chin with her manicured finger and kissed her on the
forehead. “Be strong, my child. I have a lot of trust in you.”

She walked to the door, stopped,
and turned to Jasmira. Her eyes were calculating, and her lips curled up in a
hard smile. “You are the Summer Race’s Princess. Remember your responsibilities
to your Race and to me. Don’t disappoint me, or there will be consequences.”

Jasmira dug her fingernails into
the flesh of her palms to control her rage. When the door closed behind the
Goddess, she punched a beaded pillow that adorned a burgundy custom made sofa.
Her eyes flickered to the authentic Ming dynasty vase placed in a thick-glass
display case. She fought an urge to smash the vase, not because she was afraid
of the Goddess, but because she knew its historical value. She gritted her
teeth, looking around the beautifully decorated apartment for something less
precious to destroy.

The cell phone in Jasmira’s pocket
shrilled. The sound brought her back to her senses. She took the phone from her
skirt pocket and looked at it, trying to decide if she should answer. Finally,
she tapped the screen and brought it up to her ear.

“What took you so long to pick up,
girlfriend? And why haven’t you returned any of my calls. First Jatred shows up
in his wolf form; then he chases you around like a mad goat, and then you
disappear without a trace. What the hell is going on? I’m going crazy here!” Penelope’s
raised voice sounded so loud, that Jasmira pulled the phone away and made an
unattractive face.

“Stop yelling. I can hear you just
fine. Anyway, I left you a note that I’m off to Santa Barbara,” Jasmira said evenly.

“Yeah, yeah, a note. I got the
stupid note. But I still don’t know what the heck you’re doing, flying on
Amber’s private jet out of the blue. And last night we had
company
.”

“What company? What are you
talking about? Is my grandma back already from Hawaii?” Jasmira’s eyebrows shot
up in surprise.

“The Winter kids were, looking for
you,” Penelope said in a much calmer manner. “They wanted to talk about Jatred.
And no, your grandma’s not here. I thought she wouldn’t be back for another
week.”

“Are they still there? I’ll be on
the plane to Seattle as soon as I can. That’s if I can get on it, being a
minor. I’m not taking Amber’s stupid jet. Well, just keep them occupied somehow,
I don’t know.” Jasmira shook her head.

“Do you want me to play checkers
with them?” Penelope snorted. “No, they are gone, thank Goddess. Well, I don’t
mind Erik, of course. He’s a hottie.”

There was a long pause, before Jasmira
spoke again, “Uhm… Pen? Don’t do anything stupid.”

“Like what?” Penelope sounded
taken aback.

“Like getting involved with the
Winter guy.”

“Look who’s talking—”

“Pen, this isn’t the time to do
that. We have a problem on our hands. I’ll tell you more when I arrive,”
Jasmira interrupted.

“They said Crystal made Jatred fight
one of her Garhanans,” Penelope said somberly.

Jasmira gasped. Her voice shook
when she said, “I knew it. I felt something went wrong. We still have that bond,
even after the break-up. I can easily sense his emotions. Is he hurt? Where is
he?”

“Jatred won. The Garhanan wasn’t
so lucky. But Crystal was too angry about the Amulet. She
froze
Jatred. And now his friends don’t know what to do.”

“What?” she screeched. “Froze him?
 
What do you mean
froze
him? I’m catching the next plane to Seattle. I’ll see you
guys in a few hours. By the way, things got really screwed up with Amber too. Sorry,
I gotta go,” Jasmira said unsteadily and ended the call. She seized her
overnight bag and jean jacket and left the apartment, dialing Amber’s limo
driver.

                                              
   
CHAPTER 25

Human World, November 17,
morning.

The pages of the book were thin and almost transparent. A light-yellow
hue slightly darker at the edges reminded Bogdan of how old this book was. His gloved
fingers traced the elaborately embellished first letter of the starting
paragraph. White and silver snowdrop flowers spiraled around the letter,
spreading their delicate petals and the elongated green leaves. The picture’s
backdrop carefully depicted interlocking snowflakes. It seemed to shimmer,
teasing the reader’s eye and making him believe the snow was really falling.

Bogdan leaned closer over the page. The book was heavy and large.
Its leather binding shone, polished by the many hands that held it over the
centuries. Bogdan’s parents watched him in silence.

“And this has been really drawn by hand?” Bogdan asked in disbelief.

“Not only the illustrations, but all the letters have been done by
hand too. No computers were available back then. Today a similar effect can be
easily achieved using computer graphics.” His mother smiled that warm,
understanding smile he loved so much.

Built-in dark cherry-wood bookcases stretched to the ceiling on
every wall in the spacious basement study. They housed hundreds of volumes, many
leather-bound. A small table equipped with a laptop and a printer stood in a
corner. Next to it was the large, solid two-sided desk that matched the
bookcases. Two thick books, a binder, and some loose pages of paper covered in
neat handwriting were arranged on the desk. A couple of pens and a large magnifying
glass lay scattered next to an antique letter opener.

Bogdan had been in this room only a few times. As long as he could
remember, it always remained locked. Only his parents were allowed in. They
often had visitors from the Winter Shifter community, but very few got an
invitation to walk through the metal fire-proof door. The only window, small
and positioned between two bookcases, was outfitted with a thick steel sliding
cover. The cover rested on the beefy-looking brackets. It was ready to slide
back up with a punch of a button.

A heavy-duty safe stood under the window. It looked grim and out of place
next to the dark-cherry furniture pieces. Its burly door stood ajar, the inside
revealing a few books and other objects wrapped in white flannel. The safe,
just like the door to the study, would open only to either of Bogdan’s parents’
thumb print and retina scan.

“The History of The Winter Race dates back to the early third
century.” Bogdan’s father’s voice had a smooth, soothing quality. “It is a
marvel. Did you know that our Race, in the times of The Roman Empire, had already
been making paper? It was long before the humans had in that part of the world.
Of course the Shifters in China were the first to invent the paper, but it
remains a mystery if it was our Race or the Summer Race. Either way, only a very
few books from that era had survived. And
this
is the only one that depicts the Winter Race’s history.”

He took his glasses off and looked at his wife. “Ivona, when did we
learn there are no known duplicates of the book? Wasn’t it at the last Winter
Shifters’ Society Convention in Anchorage?”

“Yes, Andy. And only a very few know that
we
have the only copy of the Book.” She nodded, wrapping her arm
around her husband and leaning close to him. “If there are any replicas, the
owners keep them a secret from everyone.”

“It’s possible.” Bogdan’s father gently caressed Ivona’s hand.

“Anyway, this one is the original. It has been in our family for
centuries, passed from generation to generation. We have made several digital
copies of the Book and other extremely valuable documents. These files are stored
in various banks throughout the US, Europe, and Australia,” Bogdan’s mother
added, smiling warmly at her husband. She spoke with a faint Polish accent,
softened by the years of living in the States.

“How come I’ve never heard of the Book?” Bogdan’s eyes opened wide behind
his metal-rimmed glasses.
 

“Darling,” his mother said after a pause. She spoke kindly, looking
straight into her son’s eyes. “This book contains the most sacred information
about our Race, a knowledge that must remain protected from humans, Summer Shifters,
and even from many of our own.”

“We’ve waited to share this with you for your own safety. The longer
you didn’t learn about all the facts, the longer you were out of harm's way,”
added Andy.

“It doesn’t make any sense. What do you mean ‘for my own safety’?
Like I’m going to advertise on Facebook that my folks have this incredibly
amazing book of our Race in their possession? Maybe you should have more
confidence in me on this one, just like you trust me with everything else?” Bogdan
felt a flush of scarlet creeping up from behind his ears to the tip of his nose.

“Oh, dear.” Ivona clasped her hands in her lap and looked to her
husband for help.

“You know from our discussions in the past that we will pass on all
our historical knowledge and resources to you.” Bogdan’s father took his own
glasses off and rubbed his gray eyes. “Our hope is that you will guard it as we
do, and as the generations of our ancestors have.
 
We also expect you to continue the research
and involvement in our Race’s Historical Society. But some parts of this
knowledge are strictly confidential. Everyone who’s admitted to learn these
facts must first become an adult. And then be sworn in by the Society.” Andy
replaced the glasses on the bridge of his nose and looked at his wife. She
nodded and smiled to both of them.

“Honey, Dad and I have decided to introduce you into this slowly.
Thankfully you have turned out to be a responsible and a very sensible
teenager.” She reached over and gently stroked Bogdan’s arm. His face started
to relax, and his regular pale complexion soon replaced the angry coloring.

 
“In fact, just last night Dad
and I discussed how to execute the plan of easing you into the basics even
before your seventeenth birthday.”

Bogdan looked expectantly from his mother to his father.

“This book contains most likely every detail from the beginning of
our Race which, nearly all our Historians agree, was long before
The Paleolithic Era,” said Andy.