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.
The old trees groaned under the powers of the wind. Erik pushed the massive entry door open, letting Penelope go in first. Everyone followed, ending with Georgeta, who curiously looked at the solemn warriors carved into the dark wood of the door.
***
Two hours later Georgeta put her cell phone back in her pocket. Her round baby-face scrunched up when she looked at her brother. He was engaged in a quiet conversation with Penelope. She whispered to Lusia, “We need to go. Mom was yelling when she called again. I don’t know what has gotten into her. She’s never that super strict about that ten-o’clock curfew. But tonight she keeps calling and telling us to get home.”
Lusia glanced across the room at Bogdan. He sat on a small sofa with a blond Summer Shifter, Trent. They were talking with their mouths closed—it was all done in their minds. They gesticulated and, only sometimes, Bogdan would say something in a hushed voice.
The rest of the Summer kids either scattered throughout the house or sat around the room, curiously watching the Winter guests, but not engaging in conversation. Until now, only Penelope and Erik seemed completely oblivious to the hesitant mood between the Races. They sat close together, whispering and touching hands from time to time.
“Come on.” Lusia pulled Georgeta by her hand. She took a few steps in Erik’s direction and punched him on the shoulder.
“Time to say our ‘good-byes’, big fella. You’ve got the keys to the car. Up you go.”
“Ouch.” Erik looked from Lusia to Georgeta, a half smile still playing on his lips. “Right. Sorry.” He got up quickly. “Sorry,” he mumbled again.
“There’s something weird going on, but Jasmira didn’t want to talk on the phone. She just sent me a short text, that’s all.” Penelope looked from face to face, while speaking with her mind. “You can come back tomorrow sometime. Erik, I’ll call you when she returns.” She yawned. “I’ll just stay here tonight. No sense driving home.”
Lusia shot her an uneasy look and walked to the door. She stopped in the foyer and looked down at the marble sun face image inlayed in the stone-tile floor. “This icon represents your Race, right?” her question wasn’t directed at anyone in particular.
“Yes. You can see it in many places here. Did you see the big leopard statues up front?” Trent said eagerly with a cheeky smile.
“Hard to miss them.” Lusia nodded.
By the time the group of Summer and Winter Shifters paused by the gate, the wind had almost completely died down. It was still drizzling, but the night sky started to clear out. The moon shone between lazily moving clouds.
Penelope lifted her hand to a small keypad, inconspicuously positioned on the gigantic post. Her fingers moved with a supernatural speed while entering the code. Both sides of the gate started to move with a soft swishing sound.
“Impressive,” murmured Georgeta, who was quiet since they left the house. “It looks so heavy but it hardly makes any noise,” she seemed to speak to herself, walking with her face lifted and her eyes tracing the top of the moving gate.
Penelope smiled at Georgeta and rolled her eyes again when Trent said out loud, excitement bubbling in his voice, “I know, isn’t this cool? I love this gate. And the statues are so awesome.”
They all walked to the car parked just outside the fence. Most of the S
ummer kids still kept their distance, except Penelope and Trent. Erik was the last to get in the car, not wanting to let go of Penelope’s hand. He whispered something in her ear. She nodded and a smile spread across her face.
“Ugh, come on already.” Lusia stuck her head out from the back seat and motioned impatiently to Erik. He took the hint, and, after a gentle squeeze of Penelope’s fingers, jumped swiftly into the driver’s seat.
Georgeta leaned closer to Lusia and whispered, “Come on, stop frowning. You look old when you do that.”
Lusia burst out laughing. When Erik maneuvered the car toward the road, Lusia asked Bogdan, “Who was that blond British guy? You’ve been talking football with him for the last half hour.”
“His name is Trent Wolfenton.”
“A leopard kid with a ‘wolf’ in his last name?” Georgeta snorted.
All of them grinned.
“You know, the Summer kids are really not all that different than us. Many of them are okay,” Bogdan commented.
CHAPTER 22
Human World, November 16, evening.
Jatred leaned against a graffiti-covered building. He took a long sip from a can of Dr Pepper and grimaced at its already too-warm contents. He tossed the half-empty can into a near-by garbage container, swearing. His mother would have a fit that a perfectly recyclable aluminum can ended up in the trash. Everything she did had to be environmentally appropriate.
His mother. He missed her terribly. Even more than he missed his father. Their lives ended so abruptly that one October morning, exactly ten years ago. The plane had never made it to its destination. His mother was six months pregnant. Jatred would never know the little brother he wanted to have so badly.
The morning of the accident, six-year-old Jatred woke up at his parents’ friend’s house, screaming from a nightmare. Soon he learned that a couple of the Winter kids, and one Summer girl he knew from school, lost their moms or dads in that plane crash. As he got older, he had a hard time believing it was a pure coincidence that all these Shifters ended up in New Orleans at the same time, and then booked the same airplane back to Seattle. Nobody had ever provided a better answer.
Jatred stuck his hands in his pockets and walked toward the bus stop. He tried to think of something else, but the reminiscence of his parents and his unborn baby brother kept on returning. He patted his pockets, looking for his cell phone, but didn’t find it. Great. I must have lost it somewhere.
Cold wind whipped his hair as if trying to help Jatred erase the painful memories. It started to rain, but he hardly noticed. His soaking-wet t-shirt plastered to his body. The rainwater dripped from the strands of his hair.
The bus pulled to the stop, and the door opened with a long whoosh. Jatred got in and sat by the window behind the driver. By now it was completely dark. The city lights appeared distorted by refraction stretched into long streaks on wet pavement.
Jatred yawned and rubbed his eyes. When he glanced out the rain-veined window, he saw a huge wolf sitting on a nearby sidewalk. The animal’s human eyes were fixed on Jatred.
He jerked in his seat, bumping his forehead on the glass. It can’t be! None of us would shift in front of humans. Jatred blinked and the wolf was gone. I am delusional. He turned in his seat to take another look, only to see ordinary people walking on the sidewalk. I can’t remember much from today. So weird, like having a huge hole in my memory. Like I’ve slept, but the world kept on going. Where the hell had I been all day today?
The bus came to a halt and the doors opened. Jatred saw two large wolves sitting right on the curb. One was white and the other dark gray. Behind them a beautiful leopard stretched its neck to peer inside the bus. Jatred lurched up from his seat, looking in disbelief from the creatures sitting on the sidewalk to the bus driver, who didn’t seem to notice anything out of ordinary.
Three absolutely normal-looking people walked in, glancing at Jatred. He continued to stare at them incredulously. This isn’t happening. I’m going crazy. That’s it, I’m completely nuts. Jatred squeezed his eyes shut. When he looked at the new passengers again, he expected them to shift back to the animal forms.
He got up and yelled to the driver, “Stop the bus!”
The man frowned, glancing at Jatred in his rear-view mirror. He stopped the vehicle, and let Jatred out. The driver shook his head and murmured something under his breath.
Jatred took off as if chased by a herd of wildebeests. He kept running, not looking back and not paying attention to where he was going. His boots splashed water from the puddles, only adding more moisture to his already soaked-through clothes.
He didn’t feel cold, thanks to his Winter Shifter’s tolerance to low temperatures. His heart beat rhythmically to the sound of his boots pounding on the pavement. With the corner of his eye Jatred saw a Summer Shifter in his leopard form. But when he turned his head, the image was gone. The same thing happened a few seconds later, but this time there was a pair of Winter wolves, running along, one on each side of Jatred.
Who are you all? Are you trying to tell me something? He halted and turned around, searching for the Shifters. He was alone, standing in a dark alley somewhere in downtown Seattle. A couple of large, gray rats scurried away. Sharp claws that extended from their tiny paws clicked on the pavement. The air was stale with a stench of garbage and rotten food. Huge metal trash containers were pushed against one wall, followed by a long trail of wooden crates.
“Well, well, well. What have we here?” a harsh, dry voice cackled in the shadows.
“A nice young boy, I say,” answered another voice, much lower and even raspier.
Jatred turned his head and saw two middle-aged men approaching him. Each wore several layers of mismatched clothing, a baseball hat and heavy boots. The clothes were filthy and tattered, but the boots looked new, despite the thick crust of mud stuck to them.
Jatred spat to the side and clenched his hands into fists, backing to the wall. The men laughed. They moved closer to him. Their pose showed determination. Jatred took two slow deep breaths and smiled insolently at them. For a quick moment a puzzled look crossed their heavily-lined faces.
The shorter man growled, trying to sound more self-assured. “What’s in your pockets, boy? You won’t need it anymore. Hand it over, and we’ll let you go.”
Jatred’s white teeth flashed in an inviting smirk. To irritate the men even more, he motioned to them with his hand, ending the movement with a flip of his middle finger.
“Come and get it, grandpas,” he hissed.
Both men launched at him, cursing. The moment they got close, they flew back to the opposite wall. They hit it hard with their heads and slumped down onto the cobble-stone ground. Jatred approached them and kicked each of the men to see if they were conscious. Both uttered a moan but made no attempt to get up.
“You’ll have a headache, maybe even a mild concussion. But you should be okay,” Jatred stated. He turned on his heel and walked out of the alley.
If they only knew I fought one of the Garhanans today, they would think twice about jumping me… Jatred stopped in his tracks. His eyes opened wide, and a look of disbelief settled into his handsome features. The Garhanan! Crystal made me fight one of her Garhanans.
His hands flew up and pressed the sides of his head. His fingers twisted in his hair. Did I kill it? How could I forget about that? Winter Shifters were there… Erik, I have to call Erik. Or Bogdan. Or the girls.
Jatred searched his pockets. “Crap, I forgot. I lost the phone.” He chewed on the inside of his cheek, frowning. I gotta get back home. Fast. Where is home? My home… where do I live? Damn, now I can’t even remember that.
He looked into the distance, trying to patch up the fragments of memories swirling around in his mind. His thoughts went back to his tragically-lost family, and to the parents’ best friend he came to call uncle. Uncle Tyrrell. The man who adopted Jatred. The two story red-brick house on Queen Anne.
He turned, crossed the street, and broke into
a run. It stopped raining, but the wind kept gusting in Jatred’s face, making breathing difficult. His wet t-shirt flattened against his chest, outlining his lean body. Despite his discomfort, he pushed forward, feeling more energized by the thought of his home, of something so reassuring and familiar.
The cool October night air felt refreshing on his face. In his peripheral vision he caught an image of a huge wolf running along his side. Without slowing down, he turned his head, but the figure disappeared as suddenly as it came into view. A moment later a pack of gigantic wolves materialized on his left. The wind plastered their thick, long coats to their muscular bodies. Jatred looked in the creatures’ direction but, again, the image was gone. I’m hallucinating. I’m totally losing it.
CHAPTER 23
Human World, November 16, evening.
Jatred ran up the short staircase, jumping over two steps at a time. He glanced to the sides, but the images of the huge wolves running alongside him were gone.
The front double doors to his uncle’s house had been recently repainted. A fresh coat of white paint on the window frames only added to the overall neatness of the two-story residence. A tall white picket fence encircled the estate, confining a multi-colored rose garden.
Jatred turned away from the door. He looked at the street lamps bathing the front yard in a soft glow. Small lights along the path leading to the front door illuminated the immediate area, casting bright circles on the ground. There were a few taller, antique-looking lanterns, shining a subtle light on a water fountain and a stone statue of a young slender woman in a ballet-like pose. Her outstretched arm was pointing up, and a long scarf trailed from it down to her elegantly extended foot.
Jatred pressed the front door handle, but the door resisted. He put his hand in his jeans pocket and pulled out a metal chain ending with three keys on a ring. The chain was attached to his belt loop by a climbing screwgate carabiner—a constant reminder of his favorite activity: mountain climbing. The biggest key fit snugly into the key hole and turned with no effort.
Forged by Greed Page 12
