Forged by Greed Read online

  The Winter Realm! Of course.

  Slowly, he turned around. She stood a few feet behind him, barely visible, almost translucent. She shimmered in the sun like a diamonds-encrusted ice statue. Crystal, the only creature he’d ever dreaded in his life. She was obeyed and feared by all Winter Shape Shifters. She was the Law and the Ruler. And she wasn’t merciful.

  “My Goddess,” Jatred said with his mind, his heart pounding against his rib cage. He felt uneasy, unsure why he was summoned here.

  “You wonder why I summoned you.” Crystal smiled, as if hearing his thoughts. “The girl.” Her smile disappeared, replaced by a frown. Her body solidified, becoming like a human’s.

  The wolf didn’t offer a comment. He stared at the Goddess, and what he saw in her expression scared him. She stood more than eight feet tall. Her long dark hair tumbled down her shoulders. Wavy and straight lines were tattooed on the upper half of her face, and a narrow half-moon—on each cheek. A skin-tight silver top cinched at Crystal’s small waist. Her lean arms were bare and adorned in wide silver bracelets. Round metal rivets ran down the side seams of her snug-fitting leather pants. The snow crunched under the thick soles of her knee-high boots, when she slowly walked around the wolf, her arms crossed over her chest. Jatred turned his head and watched the sun reflecting off the metal buckles on Crystal’s boots.

  The Goddess stopped in front of him. The snow was intact; she didn’t leave footprints on the soft, white surface.

  The wolf kept his tail low between his hind legs. He dropped his head down, lifting his shoulder blades, his eyes on the Goddess. The fur on the back of his neck and along his spine stood on end, making him look even bigger than he was.

  “You must end it immediately. I will not tolerate your involvement with the Summer Princess.” Crystal’s expression was firm, her eyes cold.

  Jatred lowered his head even more.

  “No! She. Is. A. Summer. Princess!” the Winter Goddess enunciated each word forcefully and distinctly. “There is too much at stake. Our Races do not belong together. This is not a request. This is your duty as the Race’s future King.”

  Jatred instinctively crouched low, taking a step back. He put his ears down and looked at Crystal’s face. Her icy expression began to thaw. She was beautiful, strong, and commanding. The wolf didn’t look away until he caught a small movement in his peripheral vision. By the edge of the forest a pair of huge wolves sat back on their haunches. One of them was black, like Jatred, and the other was snow-white. They were even bigger than he was, and there was something ancient about them.

  Crystal followed Jatred’s gaze and turned her head toward the trees.

  “Do you remember the first Royal couple, Freki and Geri?” Her voice was free of emotion.

  “I’ve met them a while ago. When I was maybe twelve. Or eleven. I don’t recall them being super friendly.”

  Crystal nodded, her eyes still on the wolves. They got up, turned and slowly walked away, disappearing in the thicket of the snow-blanketed trees.

  “I see not much has changed since,” Jatred said.

  A small smile flickered across the Goddess’s heart-shaped lips. She crossed her arms over her chest again. The silver top she wore reflected the sun in hundreds of tiny specks of light on her arms.

  “Go now and remember what you have to do.” She turned and walked toward the snow-covered mountain peaks visible on the horizon. Her body began to shimmer and dissolve in the air, and soon Jatred saw only a mere silhouette of the Goddess. Two huge black ravens flew to her, cawing loudly. They circled over her head, high up in the air as they continued flying above her.

  When Jatred shifted into his human form, Crystal flicked her hand without stopping or looking back at him. He felt a rush of freezing wind and saw a mass of snowflakes whirling around him in an impenetrable wall of whiteness.

  ***

  Human World. August 20, around midnight.

  Jatred’s eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness. He lay on his back on the ground, wincing. A broken tree branch pressed against his spine. Pain soared between his shoulder blades. He gritted his teeth and hissed a long string of profanity. The night forest was quiet, only a breeze ruffled the tree tops above him. The dark sky twinkled with millions of stars. With a heave Jatred got up and staggered. He grunted and steadied himself, his hand on a tree.

  Something huge was crashing through the forest toward him. He heard Jasmira’s voice calling his name, and the black leopard leaped at him, knocking him down to the ground. The air went out from his lungs, and another spasm of pain seized his back.

  “What happened?” she shouted, shifting into her human form. Her long hair tumbled onto his face, covering his mouth and nose. He shook his head and coughed, gulping the air.

  She rolled off of him and helped him sit up.

  Jatred arched his back in pain, swearing. “The Goddess summoned me.”

  “I knew it. I felt it!” Jasmira shrieked. “Why?”

  Jatred looked away, deep in thought. He tried to decide if he should tell Jasmira about the Goddess’s demand.

  “What did she want?” She leaned tentatively toward him, waiting for an explanation.

  Jatred sighed and looked at Jasmira. His heart skipped a beat, and a knot formed in the pit of his stomach.

  “She wants you to leave me, right?” Jasmira tensed, her eyes alarmed. The anxiety overtook her, and she started to shake. Jatred drew her to him and held her close.

  “Shh, don’t worry, don’t worry, shh, don’t worry,” he whispered until the words sank in.

  She pulled away and looked at him. “The Summer Goddess said it’s fine. She said we can be together. She understands… she knows I love you, so why doesn’t Crystal leave us alone?” Jasmira searched Jatred’s face.

  He was aware that, at this moment, she looked for comfort in him. She wanted to hear that there was nothing to worry about. He pondered his options, and, smiling, lifted Jasmira’s chin. “We are fine. Don’t freak out. It was just,” he shrugged, “she wanted to see me. That’s all. Hey, how is your stomach? Still okay?”

  Her shoulders sank in relief. She smiled and kissed him. “I’m fine. My stomach is fine. For a moment I was so scared.”

  “I know. Everything’s cool.” Jatred held her tight.

  She took a deep breath, inhaling his scent. She couldn’t see his face—his jaw clenched, and he squeezed his eyes shut, as if trying to get rid of guilt. It wasn’t really a lie; he just withheld a few facts from her. It was true, that Crystal had summoned him, but he didn’t share with Jasmira what was demanded of him now. Keeping the truth from her weighed on his conscience and he agonized over the best way of breaking it to her. But not yet, not right now—now Jatred only wanted to feel Jasmira’s warmth, her breath on his skin, her heart beating in unison with his.

  She sighed and wriggled out of his embrace. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “Do you wanna chase me?”

  Jatred’s looked at her in silence, still deep in thought.

  “What’s wrong? Something did happen in the Winter Realm, right?” She looked at him in dismay. “J, you’re hiding something from me. Aren’t you?”

  He tried to look completely taken aback by this accusation. “Relax, you’re so edgy today. Nothing happened.” He wished he had said something sensible, more profound, but his brain went blank.

  “Sorry. It’s just… you were gone so suddenly.”

  “Crystal does things like that. She summons us without warning.” He was trying to divert her from the terrifying truth, to shield her from it. He knew Jasmira would panic, when she finally learned what really happened in the Winter Realm, and he wanted to better prepare her for the news.

  “And you were gone only for a few minutes.”

  “Yeah, I suppose. Well, you know why. Time in the Winter Realm is different than here. Isn’t it the same with the Summer Realm? Good thing Crystal didn’t dump me somewhere on the other side of town. I’ve heard when she dismisse
s someone from the Realm, they can find themselves miles away from where you were before she summoned.”

  “J, I felt your fear. The bond always makes me feel what you’re going through.”

  “I know. I feel you too. And, yeah, I was scared. One second I’m here with you and the other, I’m in the snow, standing in front of my Goddess. It freaked me out.”

  She leaned closer and kissed him on the lips. “But you’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

  Jatred closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her. Any pain that lingered in his heart vanished under her touch. An owl hooted somewhere in the trees, then took to wing and soared past them, disappearing in the darkness.

  CHAPTER 11

  Human World. August 26, late morning.

  “Uncle wants to drive to the Cascades and go hiking in the Blanchard Mountain. We went there a couple years ago, and it was a blast. There are caves with bats around the Oyster Dome. Man, it’s so freaky. And the views are really cool,” Jatred talked fast, his face animated. He pinched the cell phone between his shoulder and his ear, packing a few essentials into a battered backpack.

  “I haven’t seen you in a week,” Jasmira protested. Her voice, coming over the phone line, carried a sad note. “How long are you gonna be gone?”

  “Uhm… a few days. We’ll camp somewhere. He hasn’t shifted in a while and really needs to go chasing through the woods. I could use it too.”

  Jasmira sighed heavily. “Okay.”

  “J, don’t be upset. Uncle has been talking about hiking for a month now. I owe him,” Jatred said gently. “I will make it up to you when we come back. I promise.”

  “You’d better.”

  “What are you up to?” He opened a drawer in his dresser and pulled a few pairs of socks.

  “I don’t know. This is the last week before school starts. I wanted to do something fun.”

  “Go swimming then. You’ve got a killer pool.” Jatred stuffed the socks into the backpack and walked to the closet.

  “Maybe. Pen and I are in that pool every day. She probably invited a huge crowd over again.” Jasmira rolled her eyes.

  “Jatred! We are leaving in ten minutes,” a low, booming voice called out from downstairs. Tyrrell, Jatred’s uncle, was in the kitchen, packing lunch for both of them.

  Jatred covered the phone with his hand and hollered, “I’ll be down in a minute.”

  “Gotta go. I love you. I’ll see you in a few days,” he said quietly.

  “I can’t say I’m happy. But I’m not going to whine. Well, have fun.” Jasmira sighed wistfully.

  “I’ll call you tonight,” Jatred said, swinging the backpack onto his shoulder and walking out of the room.

  ***

  “Our summer vacation is almost over,” Penelope groaned, stretching out on the chaise longue. She smoothed the edges of a white towel that covered the chaise cushion. Oversized black Fendi sunglasses shaded her eyes and almost half of her face.

  “Get out of the sun. You’re gonna get skin cancer,” Jasmira murmured. She lay next to her friend under a huge tilted umbrella.

  “I’m wearing sunblock. Relax. I need my sunshine.” Penelope peered from over her sunglasses at Jasmira. “I’m not as lucky as you are. You’re so dark; you’ve got this gorgeous permanent tan all year long.”

  Jasmira laughed. “That’s one of the advantages of being half-Ethiopian.”

  “Look at me,” Penelope complained. “I’m Greek. I should have dark hair and possibly dark skin too. But no, I have to be pale and redhead.” She puffed and lay her head down again.

  Several Summer teenagers played volleyball in the pool, shrieking and splashing each other with water. The ball ended up soaring out of the pool and hitting Penelope’s knee. She tore her sunglasses off and yelled, “Watch it, Trent! I will personally toss you out of the pool if you do that again.”

  “Sorry.” The blond teenage boy laughed, waving at her.

  “You’d think he’d be more mature now that he finally got his ability to shift,” Penelope said under her breath.

  “I didn’t know the shifting ability makes anybody more mature.” Jasmira laughed.

  “Geez, everyone knows that.” Penelope snorted.

  Jasmira tossed an ice cube at her friend. It landed on Penelope’s stomach, and she gasped. She brushed it off with the back of her hand, grabbed a plastic tumbler from a side table next to her, and flung the contents at Jasmira. Water and ice cubes hit Jasmira square in the chest. She shrieked and jumped off her chaise.

  “Okay, truce!” Penelope yelled. She outstretched her arms in front of her, palms out.

  “No truce, traitor,” Jasmira modulated her voice to make it sound like the old witch from Wizard of Oz movie. “I’m gonna get you, my pretty.”

  Jasmira seized a soda can and shook it vigorously. Penelope scrambled out from the chaise longue and ran toward the pool, stopping at the edge to see if Jasmira was following. Jasmira ran full speed at Penelope, the spraying soda can in hand. Without slowing down she rammed into Penelope, pushing her in the pool. The girls screeched, slamming into the water.

  Everyone cheered and hooted, waiting for them to surface. They both came up for air, laughing and trying to shove each other under the water.

  “Fine, you win!” Penelope hollered, scrambling to get away from Jasmira.

  Jasmira gave a laugh of pretend venom and swiftly got out of the pool. She reached out and offered Penelope a hand. Penelope graciously accepted with a pleasant smile. In one rapid motion she pulled Jasmira back into the water. Jasmira fell into the pool, squealing.

  Penelope didn’t wait for her friend to resurface. Instead, she climbed out, and ran toward the cabana, her body a blur of motion. Jasmira grabbed the ball, bobbing on the water next to her, and, with measured precision, threw it at Penelope’s back. The ball sailed through the air. Penelope ducked and rolled on the lawn. The ball hit one of the cabana’s windows, shattering it and disappearing inside.

  “Whoa!” the small crowd shouted.

  “Oops.” Penelope made a face and turned to look at Jasmira, who watched, half-immersed in the water. “Your grandma won’t like it.”

  Jasmira waved her hand and shouted back, “Sorry, Pen! I didn’t mean to throw it that hard.”

  “Yes, you did.” Penelope walked back. “Forgot your strength again?” She bent down to pick up her sunglasses off the pavers, and then lay down on the chaise longue.

  Jasmira trotted toward her, leaving wet foot prints on the concrete. She flung herself down onto the chaise and said, “Ana needs to get her repair guys here to take care of that window.”

  Penelope stretched with a yawn. “Oh, the sun feels so good.” She turned to look at Jasmira. “You haven’t said a word about Jatred lately. What’s up?”

  “Nothing. I mean… I don’t know.” Jasmira reached for a towel. “Last week we only talked on the phone. I haven’t seen him since we went running in the woods that one night.”

  “That doesn’t sound like you two.” Penelope yawned again.

  “He seems distracted or something. It’s so weird.” Jasmira got up and wrapped the towel around her shoulders. She shrugged indifferently. “I don’t want to seem needy, so I don’t pressure him.”

  “Yep. You shouldn’t. There is nothing worse than a whiny chick. Or a guy, for that matter.” Penelope inspected her nails. “I need a manicure. Let’s go this afternoon.”

  “Only if we get smoothies afterwards.”

  “Sure,” Penelope murmured.

  Laying down on the chaise longue, Jasmira turned her face away from Penelope. She put her mental shield up, not wanting anyone to hear her thoughts. She didn’t feel like discussing this particular problem at the moment. He’s avoiding me. I know he’s doing it on purpose. It must be because of the Winter Goddess. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, her worried frown deepening. The joy, she felt only moments earlier while playing with her friends evaporated, replaced by gloom and disappointment.
>
  Jasmira closed her eyes, and her breathing slowed.

  ***

  “J, run! Run! Run!” Jatred yelled, pushing her out of the way. Instinctively she shifted into her leopard form, leaped forward and ran, her head low between her shoulder blades. Hoping that Jatred was racing right behind her, she turned her head to get a better look.

  In her peripheral vision she saw Jatred change into the wolf and heard his angry growl mix with a roar of some beast. She stopped running and spun around. An ugly creature slowly circled the black wolf.

  “Must be a Winter Garhanan,” she thought. Terrified, she watched the huge beast creeping closer to Jatred. Its small beady eyes were fixed on the wolf, its thick arms ending in sharp black claws. The scant white fur on the Garhanan’s body was long and wispy, barely covering gray thick skin. An odor emanating from the monster reminded Jasmira of rotten meat.

  The Garhanan roared, throwing its arms to the sides, fingers splayed, and pushing its colossal chest and head forward, as if in challenge. The wolf snarled, his upper lip pulled back, revealing long canines. He crouched low to the ground. His fur stood on end on his neck and upper back. Jasmira knew Jatred was about to charge; he was just calculating the Garhanan’s strengths and weaknesses.

  She didn’t wait for the wolf to attack.

  “Jasmira, get back!” she heard Jatred’s voice in her mind. She ignored him and dove straight for the white-furred monster. It heard her paws pounding on the ground and turned its head to look at her. As if waiting for that moment, the wolf lunged at the Garhanan. His sharp teeth easily sank through the monster’s skin and bulging muscle, all the way to the bone.

  “J, watch out!” Jasmira screamed with her mind, sprinting toward them.

  The monster bellowed in pain. It flung its arm, hitting the wolf with a bone-crunching sound. Jatred flew off the beast, ripping a chunk of flesh from its shoulder. His head hit a thick tree. A yelp escaped the wolf, and he dropped to the ground, motionless.