Forged by Greed (5 page)

“She completely freaked out. She said we’re
the Royal heads of the opposite Races, and there is no way she’ll let me see
him again,” Jasmira said quietly, her head hanging low. “You’re the only person
who can visit me.”

“I feel privileged.” Penelope snorted.
“Sorry, you know what I mean. I wish we could go to the beach or to the mall.”

“Keep wishing, not a chance. I even told
her I need to buy new clothes for school, but she only said this can easily
wait two weeks.”

“Painful.”
 
Penelope sighed. “Nordstrom still has good things on sale. Tell her we
have
to go.”

“Yeah, good luck with that. She will say
to buy online.”

“But you need to try the stuff on. What if
something doesn’t fit? It’s such a pain to return it.” Penelope stood up and
walked to the window. The sun was high in the sky but a few large clouds
gathered on the horizon. “It’s gonna rain tonight. Blah, I hate
hate
the rain.”

“Pen, you say this every time it rains.
It’s Seattle after all.” Jasmira shrugged and walked to the window to stand
next to her friend.

 
“My
dad’s job is here, so we’re stuck. Believe me, Mom wants to move somewhere warm
so badly, but he makes really good money. Besides, our school is the best
school for Shifter kids in the country. I can’t imagine going anywhere else.”

 
“See? You’re not the only one—my grandma says
this is the main reason why so many of the double-natured live here. But I
sometimes wonder how it would be to go to a regular high school. You know, with
the human kids. I mean, we have human kids in our school, but since the owners
and the teachers are all Shifters it can’t be the same. And the whole thing is
so secretive that the humans could never even suspect anything.”

“Oh, come on. I can’t believe you’ve got
nothing better to talk about. Missing school already? You could Skype Jatred
instead.”

“I thought about it, but Grandma has those
stupid parental controls on my laptop. I’m not allowed on Skype now. She made
me promise that I won’t email him either.”

“Call him from my cell then.”

Jasmira looked sharply at Penelope. “That’s
a thought. Grandma’s out and won’t be back for a while.”

Penelope took the phone out from her Coach
wristlet bag, and, with a grin, handed it to Jasmira.

“What?” Jasmira laughed in surprise.

“What would you do without me, Princess?”
Penelope wiggled her eyebrows.

“I would die in the highest room of the
tallest tower.”

“I’m going to the kitchen to search for
some cookies. Want some?”

“No, but help yourself.
Ana baked some yesterday, I think chocolate chip.”

“Yes, I know.” Penelope rolled her eyes. “I can smell yesterday’s
baking as if it was done a minute ago.” She walked toward the door, but then
she stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around, a triumphant look on her
face.

“What?”

“I have an idea.” Penelope bit her lower lip, smiling. “Make the
call fast and have him drive over here—”

“Are you crazy—
”
Jasmira interrupted, but Penelope held up her hand.

“Shush. Have him park away, so his truck is not anywhere close to
the house. When you’re done talking to him, I’ll call your grandma and see
where she’s at and when she’s coming back.
 
I gotta make that call, otherwise she might suspect something fishy is
going on if
you
call from
my
cell. Jatred can jump over that huge
fence of yours in his wolf form. It shouldn’t be any problem for him. I’ve done
it more than once, just for kicks.”

Jasmira stood motionless, her lips parted. “You are a genius.” She
hugged her friend.

“You can thank me later. Now hurry up and don’t talk long on that
phone. If this works, he might be able to come here more often, when Grandma’s
away. You just need me here to stand watch.”

“You never stop amazing me, Pen.”

“Listen, this is how you do it—call him and tell him to drive here
fast. Then he needs to wait in the truck for your second call, which you will
make
after
I talk with your grandma
to see when she’s coming back. You got it?” Penelope arched her brows.

“Got it.”

“I need a cookie. In fact, I need a few and some chocolate milk,” Penelope
muttered, walking out of the room.

***

The black wolf trotted slowly along the tall iron fence. His coat
was thick, his deep-blue eyes looked focused and alert. The wolf stopped and
lifted his head to sniff the air, his muzzle working.

In the distance the old mansion stood silent, circled by the
manicured gardens
.
 
The wolf slowly approached the gate, peeking
cautiously through the iron spikes. There was no movement anywhere and no
people or animals were visible. His ears swiveled, trying to catch any
suspicious noise. They twitched when he strained to distinguish between the
sounds he heard. But besides the rustle of leaves, the birds’ songs, and the
rush of water from the large three-tiered fountain, he didn’t hear anything
else. He snorted and turned, then slowly walked away from the gate.

The gate itself was an architectural gem. It stood prominently
between two white stone posts, each topped
with three horizontal blocks. Each of the blocks protruded out a few inches
more than the lower one, which resulted in a formation of the thick, inverted
step-like platforms. Upon the platforms sat statues of solemn-looking leopards.
The huge figures looked down as if examining a visitor who dared to get too
close to the gate. Each leopard bore on its massive chest a large gold-colored
pendant of a sun-face. The pendants hung on thick stone chains, permanently
attached to their bearers’ necks.

The wolf stood under the trees, several yards from the fence. His
eyes were fixed on the stone statues. He growled and took a few slow steps
back. Then he sprang forward and ran full speed toward the gate. His upper lip
drew back, showing sharp, long canines. He jumped over the spikes of the fence,
his belly inches away from the pointed iron finials.
The wolf landed on the other side and left large
paw prints on the freshly mowed grass. He lost his balance but regained it
momentarily.

He heard her footsteps even before he heard her voice.

“Jatred!” From the house Jasmira ran toward him. Her long curly hair
billowed behind her. “J, you made it. You made it.”

The wolf whimpered and trotted forward to meet her.
Without slowing down, she threw herself onto him. Her hands
grabbed his thick fur.
His body was massive, and Jasmira looked like a child
hugging an uncommonly large dog. The air around them pulsed and shivered. Jatred
shifted into his human form and fell onto his back. Jasmira sprawled on top of
him. Holding his face in her hands, she kissed him. His face broke into a broad
smile.

“When is your grandma coming back?”

“She told Pen she’s gonna have lunch with a friend in Bellevue, and
then do some shopping. I’m thinking, we have a few hours.” Jasmira grinned.

“I missed you.” His smile disappeared, replaced by longing in his
blue eyes.

“I missed you too. Terribly.” Her
breath
caught in her throat. She looked at him intently.
“Let’s go inside.”
 

They walked, holding hands and stealing quick glances to the sides,
as if they expected someone to catch them at any moment. The housekeeper was
off, and the only other person there was Penelope, who watched them from the
front door. Leaning against the door frame, she sipped from a can of soda.

Halfway through their walk Jatred raised his hand in a greeting.
Penelope waved back. He took in the beautiful architecture of the house. On top
of the stairs, four massive white Ionic columns supported a burden of an
immense white pediment.
 
Embedded on the
tympanum was an intricate image of a sun face. Thick green and bloody-brown
vines grew around the columns like fat snakes, weaving themselves in and out,
looking for prey. White frames of the front façade windows contrasted with
their dark-brown wooden shutters.

“J, I’m sorry,” Jatred said quietly.

“About?”

“About all this mess. About you being grounded. About us not allowed
to see each other.”
 

Jasmira smiled and leaned toward him. “We’ll figure things out.
Maybe my Goddess can help?”

“Are you kidding me? Amber will be the first to say we can’t be
together. Same with my Goddess.” Jatred barked a humorless laugh.

“I know. Everyone says Crystal is so cold. She really
is
the Winter Goddess, it suits her. But
Amber always helps us, no matter what.”

“Fine, ask her. But I wouldn’t expect much.” Jatred shook his head,
frowning.

“Are you kids having fun? It surely doesn’t look like it,” Penelope
shouted from the door. “I thought you’d be jumping with joy to see each other.”

“We totally are.” Jasmira smiled.

“Really.” The redhead snorted. “It’s more like watching folks at a
funeral.”

Jatred laughed at that, pulling Jasmira close and kissing her hair.
She circled her arms around him, pressing her cheek onto his chest. They walked
up the front stairs, tripping and almost falling, finally letting go of each
other.

“Kids.” Penelope rolled her eyes and walked inside, straight toward
the enormous kitchen. She casually crushed the empty soda can in her hand,
rolling it into a tight shape between her fingers. “Neat.” Penelope smiled and
tossed what used to be a can into the recycling bin.

Jasmira and Jatred raced up the wide spiral wrought-iron staircase,
laughing and pushing each other out of the way.

CHAPTER 6

The Summer Realm.

That evening, after Jatred and Penelope left the mansion, the Summer
Goddess summoned Jasmira to her Realm.

“You haven’t brought me here in so long. I’ve missed the Summer
Realm,” Jasmira said, her eyes opened wide in awe. She shivered when she felt a
caress of warm, gentle breeze on her skin. The sun was high in the cloudless
sky, bathing the Realm in an aura of gold. The birds’ songs and the buzzing of
honey bees filled the air.

The Summer Goddess stood under a cluster of mature birch trees. Her
body gave the impression of being both physical and ethereal at the same time.
She was tall and slender, and this time her pale-blonde hair was braided into a
single plait on the back of her head. White and yellow flowers were woven into
the braid and also made into a thin crown, resting above her temples. She wore
a simple white tunic embroidered in small silver blossoms and a pair of loose
fitting white pants.

“Come, child. I’m happy to see you.” Jasmira heard Amber’s voice in
her mind.

The Goddess walked toward her. She took Jasmira’s hands in her own
and gave them a squeeze.

“It’s pretty in here, isn’t it? But I like the Human World better.
It’s definitely more exciting than this.”

A large meadow of tall grass and colorful blossoms stretched to the
left. Jasmira inhaled a fragrant scent of flowers that lingered in the air. She
turned right and saw a mature orchard in the distance. An abundance of ripe
fruit of many kinds hung from the branches. The butterflies, bees, and hordes
of vibrantly-colored birds, busily flew around. Some circled over the water of
a small pond at the edge of the meadow.