Forged by Greed (25 page)

“Both Races? Together?” Bogdan sounded incredulous.

“Yes. In some instances, throughout the centuries, our Races worked
side by side. Shaolin was one of the main ‘projects’ that brought Winter and
Summer Shifters together,” Ivona answered.

“Wow. This gets better and better.” Jatred looked at Bogdan.

 
“Wicked.” Bogdan flashed a
grin.

“Okay, boys. Let’s try to return to the subject,” Tyrell interjected.
“Jatred, I think you’re right about the spirit that entered your body in the Realm.
It must have given you skills to overtake that Garhanan.”

“Yeah. He was good!” Bogdan couldn’t restrain his enthusiasm. “Like
a killing machine. Man, I couldn’t believe my eyes how strong and fast his punches
were. And when he jumped on the monster—”

“Bogdan, let’s not go off on a tangent again.” Ivona stopped him
from recounting the fight. He turned to glance at her, a look of child-like
excitement on his face. Ivona continued, “We can talk about the fight later. So
far, it looks like we are on to something. Why would the Goddess need to erase
Jatred’s memories about Jasmira?”

The room fell silent. Everyone looked at Jatred who, in turn, stared
at Bogdan.

“Did you say I had a crush on that girl?” he finally asked.

“Dude.” Bogdan laughed.

Jatred held his eyes, waiting for him to say more, but Tyrrell
commented, “As the Race’s King-to-be, you were not supposed to date a Summer
Shifter at all, especially one of Royal blood. I wish I knew before it was too
late. Before you two established a bond. After that… it didn’t even matter if
you stopped seeing each other. ”

Bogdan shook his head in disbelief. “She had you wrapped around her
little finger. Look, Jasmira is okay, she’s one of those girls that you can
trust,” he said soberly, stealing a quick glance at Tyrrell. “None of us tried
to tell you not to mess with the Summer Princess. Well, except Lusia, of
course. Even Erik who wouldn’t ever consider dating a Summer chick… well, until
recently, that is—”

“What do you mean by that?” Ivona interrupted.

Bogdan shrugged. “Erik likes Penelope. That’s all.”

“I know who Penelope is,” said Jatred, deep in thought, his brows
drawn together.

“She’s Jasmira’s best friend, bro,” Bogdan said.

“So you say. Again—I have no clue who is Jasmira.” Jatred moved
impatiently in his chair. “Can someone think why these memories were so
dangerous that Crystal had to rob me of them?”

The adults looked at each other as if they suddenly discovered
something daunting. Andy shot up to his feet, slapping his forehead. “Jatred
was right about the ten-thousand-mark. It must be. But what about it would make
Crystal go to such unorthodox measures?”
 

“Andy,” Ivona said quietly, getting her husband’s attention. “I
think we know what’s at stake.” She looked from Andy to Jatred and back.

Andy nodded, understanding what she wanted to say.

“Tyrrell,” she spoke with her mind, keeping her mental guard strong,
so the boys wouldn’t hear her. “What exactly does Jatred know about his
parents’ death?”

  
CHAPTER 28

Human World, November 17,
around noon.

“No, I think I got enough of this mess,” Jatred said. “I just want
to go home to figure things out with Uncle. Or not. I don’t know.”

“Bro, you got to come with me to Jasmira’s house, I’m sure she has
some answers for you—”

“Why the hell do you insist that I have something to do with her?
Why would I want to be with a leopard-girl to begin with?” Jatred interrupted,
turning to look at Bogdan, his expression angry. The wind gusted and ruffled
his hair. Jatred pushed a thick strand of hair from in front of his eyes and
looked away. “Look, I need some time.
This
…”
He shook his head as in disbelief. “This thing with Crystal messing with my
memories… and now your parents suspect that Amber has something to do with my
parents’ death. Then there’s some Summer girl that I can’t even remember, but
everyone says was my girlfriend. I don’t need any more talking for a while.”
Jatred kicked a small pebble. It hit the house, bounced off, and sailed away
into the bushes.

“That’s cool.” Bogdan stuffed his hands deep in his jeans pockets.
“Call me later if you wanna come over and hang out. Erik might want to drop in,
and the girls too. Or we can go to the skateboard park.” He looked at Jatred.

Jatred turned his head toward the adults. Tyrrell and Bogdan’s
parents stood by the gate, talking. They kept their mental guards up, so the
boys were unable to hear them.

Jatred’s eyes narrowed.
They
have their mental shields on. What are they talking about? I bet it’s about my
parents’ death. Why was that a secret for all these years? Were they afraid I
couldn’t handle the truth and might have done something stupid? Like what?
Accuse the Summer Goddess of plotting it all along and then getting myself
killed too?

“What?” Jatred looked back at his friend, only catching the last two
words.

Bogdan’s expression didn’t change as he repeated his invitation.

“I’ll try. My skateboard needs new wheels though.” A tiny smile
crossed Jatred’s face but it was gone as fast as it appeared. He looked away
again.

“Jatred,” Tyrrell called out, opening the gate. “Let’s go.”

The boys looked at each other in silence. Jatred nodded to Bogdan
and took a few heavy steps toward his uncle before turning around.

“I’ll call you later. You know… yeah, the skateboard park.”

***

“Why haven’t you ever told me about my parents?” Jatred struggled to
keep the anger and disappointment out of his voice.

“It’s only a suspicion. We don’t have proof.” Tyrrell shot him a
quick glance from over the steering wheel. “Look… ” He rubbed his forehead,
keeping his eyes on the road. “It’s not like we can do something. Even if it
was true that Amber made that plane crash—”

“And what about our Goddess?” Jatred interrupted, his face pained.

Tyrrell took a deep breath, exhaling slowly through his nose. “Your
parents were my best friends, we were like a family. I’ve never been that close
to anyone, even to my own folks. I would give my own life to bring them back. But
I can’t speculate on what our Goddess is planning. She’s very wise and never
acts on a whim—”

“On
a whim
?! My parents
were killed! Mom was pregnant—”

“I know, I know. And it was ten years ago. You would have thought Crystal
had enough time to act. But remember—time for the Goddess is not the same as
time for us. She’s ancient and our ten years are merely as a few hours for
her.”

They drove for a few moments in silence, each one deep in thoughts.

“The Winter Goddess is most likely waiting for the ten-thousand-mark,
which is coming soon though.” Tyrrell paused, meeting Jatred’s eyes. “It’s
difficult to wait, I know.”

“So we just sit and
wait
?”
There was no humor in Jatred’s smile.

“It’s hard for me too, but—yes.” Tyrrell stared hard at his adoptive
son.

Jatred clenched his teeth and closed his eyes. He slammed the back
of his head onto the head-rest. He pressed a button on the passenger door. The
window slid open a few inches. Cool air rushed inside, soothing his burning
cheeks.

Tyrrell kept stealing quick glances at Jatred who stubbornly avoided
his uncle’s eyes. Tyrrell turned the car into a shopping center and parked in
front of AT&T store.

“Let’s see what they can do about your iPhone.”

The store was filled with customers. Four people distinguished by
their AT&T-issued shirts were busy, assisting the patrons.

“I’ll be right with you, folks.” A slender, pretty teenage girl waved
to Jatred and Tyrrell. After a couple of minutes she approached them with a
friendly smile. “How can I help you today?” She looked at Jatred with interest.

“Can you take a look at his iPhone? The battery won’t charge.” Tyrrell
pointed to Jatred after a few seconds, when he realized Jatred was going to
stay silent.

“What happened to it?” she asked, looking intently at Jatred, a friendly
smile never leaving her face.

“Uhm… it got busted. Somehow. Dropped on the floor.” Jatred shrugged,
glancing uncomfortably away.

She took the phone and tossed her long blond hair. “Let’s go to my
computer, so I can access your account. What’s your phone number?”

Jatred squinted and glanced around the store, answering the
question.

She kept glancing at him from under her heavily-made black lashes as
if she was assessing him.

Jatred tugged at the sleeve of his jacket, put his hands in his
pockets, then pulled them out, adjusted his hood, zipped the jacket, tugged at
the other sleeve, and cleared his throat. Tyrrell looked at Jatred suspiciously
but didn’t say anything.

 
“What school do you go to?” she
asked, taking the battery out of the phone.

 
“Queen Anne Academy of the Arts
and Sciences,” Jatred said, his voice flat.

“Mhmm, that’s the private school just down the street from here?” She
smiled. “I like the architecture of that building. Must be quite old.”

“I guess.” He shrugged.

Tyrrell raised one eyebrow at Jatred, but again, didn’t comment. He
knew Jatred was fascinated with the school building, although it didn’t
surprise him that Jatred decided not to elaborate. He was often shy when
talking with the attractive girls.

“I know a couple of people who go there,” she said a
matter-of-factly. “Logan
Donovan
and
Penelope Stephanopoulos. I bet you know them too.
It’s such a small school after all.” Her eyes locked with Jatred’s.

“Yeah, I know them. Both, actually.” Jatred glanced at the
company-issued name tag on her blouse.
Savannah.
Cool name.
Hope she doesn’t have a
clue they’re Shifters. Why is she looking at me so strangely? She’s very
pretty.

“I put a new battery in. It should work just fine.” She cleared her
throat. “But it needs to be recharged soon.”

Tyrrell took a credit card from his wallet and slid it
across the glass counter toward Savannah. She looked at him and
then at Jatred and smiled. “There is no charge. I just had a spare battery in
my desk.”

Jatred stared at the phone, but his mind was wandering.

Bogdan and Lusia know a
couple of human families that work with our Historical Society. They have
obviously learned who we are. I wonder if this girl… Savannah.

“Thank you.” Tyrrell nodded with a smile. Jatred quickly chimed in,
thanking Savannah for her help.

“Uncle,” Jatred said with his mind, keeping his mental guard up. “Do
you think she knows we are Shifters?”

Tyrrell looked at Jatred in disbelief and answered him in the same
way of mental communication, “You suspect that, just because she knows a couple
of kids from your school?”

“I’m not sure. Just have a strong feeling.”

“Not very many humans have the slightest idea about us. And those
who do are rather special and work very closely with us or the Summer Race. We
can talk later,” Tyrrell commented. “Now let’s go.”

 
“So,” Jatred said out loud. “Savannah…
so where do you know Logan and Penelope from?”

“Penelope lives on my street. Her house is the only one with a huge fence
and all those thick old trees planted along it. Like a fortress.” She gave a
small giggle but stopped short, looking from Jatred to Tyrrell.

Jatred held her eyes, waiting for her to say more. Tyrrell listened
intently, pretending to check the iPhone’s features.

“A fortress, huh?” Jatred finally laughed, his shoulders relaxing.
“Do you know her well?”

“No, not really. She isn’t exactly a friendly kind. But I know
Logan. He’s my ex-boyfriend,” she said, her smile fading. “I mean, we are still
friends, you know. But we aren’t together anymore.”

Jatred saw a flicker of doubt in her eyes and pressed on, “Logan is
in my class. I’ve never seen you with him.”

“He’s funny that way. Never really liked being in public with me.” Savannah
gathered her long blond hair with both hands at the back of her head, as if
pulling it into a ponytail.

Tyrrell and Jatred exchanged a quick glance. “You still think she
doesn’t
know?” Jatred asked with his
mind.

Jatred contemplated an appropriate response to her comment. “Logan
likes to keep to himself. In fact, I’ve never seen him with any girl.”

Tyrrell cleared his throat and glared at Jatred, wanting him to end
the conversation and leave the store.