Forged by Greed

by Angela Orlowski-Peart

  Jasmira smiled. Looking at the still-dark window she said, “At first we didn’t even think about the Goddesses, our differences, or our Races. It was all about just the two of us. But then finally Crystal demanded that he break up with me. She said he must stay pure to his Race, and because he’s the Winter Prince he can’t be involved with the Summer girl.”

  Penelope fidgeted in her chair but didn’t say anything.

  “We knew right away there was nothing we could do. He couldn’t possibly go against his Goddess. Well, he did anyway.” Jasmira sighed. “I have to give him that—he was stubborn to the point of putting himself in danger. He didn’t want us to break up, but Crystal gave him an ultimatum: he ends it or she will do it for him. And it will hurt him and his loved ones more than he can imagine—”

  “What? She would hurt Jatred’s uncle?” Penelope interrupted.

  “Yes. So we couldn’t stay together.” Jasmira choked on her tears. She looked away and, after a few moments, said without preamble, “You need to know about the Amulet. The Winter Shifters guard it now. I just learned more about it from Amber. She said that at the beginning of both Races, Crystal commissioned the creation of the Amulet from a group of Magicians. They had the ability to tap into the powers of the Universe—”

  “Wait, wait. Time out.” Penelope shook her head, making a “T” sign with her hands. “I know we are totally different from humans, but,” she closed her eyes and exhaled dramatically, “Magicians? Universal powers?”

  “Pen, listen. There’s more to this world than what we can see, hear, or feel with the tips of our fingers. Think about it. We became so much like humans that we now forget, as you just pointed out, about our differences. These differences came from somewhere in the past, don’t you agree?” Jasmira leaned back in her chair.

  “Okay, I’m all ears. Tell me more.”

  “Our Races have been living side-by-side in harmony for many generations. Well, more or less. The creation of the Amulet has ensured it. The group of Magicians collectively agreed to craft the Amulet, but on two conditions. One was that after one thousand years the Winter Goddess will pass the Amulet to the Summer Goddess for the next one thousand years, and so on. The Amulet goes back and forth.”

  “And the Winter Race has the Amulet now,” Penelope confirmed. “I suspect the Magicians were afraid to leave the Amulet with just one Race.”

  “Exactly. They wouldn’t settle for one of the Goddesses, and only one Race, having endless supremacy over the Universe. They decided each side needs a chance to provide stability in the world by holding the powers of the Amulet. This process of going back and forth every one thousand years will continue, as long as each Race lives. If one Race ceases to exist, the other Race keeps the Amulet eternally. But there is a catch. There can be no attempt to destroy one another.” Jasmira took a sip from her mug and made a sour face. “This is already cold, yuck.”

  “I will make a new one. You talk—I’m listening.” Penelope got up and carried the coffee carafe to the sink. “What was the Magicians’ second condition?”

  “Neither of the Goddesses can physically keep the Amulet for longer than twenty-four hours. The Amulet must remain in the leader of the Royal Family’s hands. That’s why Jatred had it all this time and not Crystal. He’s the Amulet’s Protector.”

  “I wonder what would’ve happened to Crystal or Amber if they kept the Amulet longer than allowed. Maybe it’d eat them alive.” Penelope snorted and laughed whole-heartedly, but as soon as she looked at her frowning friend, she stopped and clapped her hand over her mouth. “Sorry. I couldn’t help it.”

  Jasmira sighed. “Most of the Shifters, regardless of the Race, have no clue about all of this. The Goddesses have always kept the whole thing under wraps. And they definitely hate each other. Listen to the second condition: every ten thousand years the powers of the Universe double, but only for a certain length of time. During this time the Races must make peace, if there was a conflict.”

  “What if they don’t?” Penelope put the carafe of freshly brewed coffee on the table and went back to the large stainless-steel refrigerator. She got out a carton of cream, a can of whipped cream, and a bottle of chocolate syrup.

  “Funny, but I asked Amber the same question.” Jasmira grinned, but her smile quickly disappeared. “It has never happened in the past. Both Races have always been quite submissive to this requirement. It has to do with the increased powers of the Universe accumulated in the Amulet. The pull of the Universe’s magic is so strong that it affects the world around it. Amber said weird things always happen in nature during the ten-thousand-mark.”

  “Like all these recent disasters happening simultaneously all over the world, right?”

  “Yes. The volcanic eruptions, floods, earthquakes. The animals act weird and the weather gets all wacky. The humans get either aggressive or extremely passive. Evidently in the past that was the reason for various violent incidents.”

  “So there is a pattern to all of this. Tell me how is this Universe’s magic going to influence the Shifters?”

  “Because of our double nature the increased powers of the Universe don’t influence us like humans. The Shifters of either Race are naturally non-violent. It’s just not in our character anymore to pick a fight or go smashing everything in sight. According to Amber it was different ages ago when the Shifters were totally wild and blood-thirsty.”

  “For a moment I thought you would say something awful, like we’ll have to start hunting during the full moon or something.” Penelope forcefully exhaled.

  “I can’t even vaguely imagine you doing that.” It was Jasmira’s turn to be sarcastic. “Anyway, the point is the ten-thousand-year mark is coming really soon. In a few weeks actually—”

  “What?”

  “I know. It’s scary, but we have to know what we’re up against. And there is more—about our Goddess.”

  CHAPTER 37

  Human World, November 18, past midnight.

  “Oh yeah, the Goddess. I almost forgot.” Penelope rolled her eyes. “Go on, it’s not like I’m thinking straight anymore. I need to see a shrink. And you are coming with me.”

  “Sure. When this mess is over we will look one up.” Jasmira arched one eyebrow, looking skeptically at her friend. She took a sip of her coffee and said, “Concentrate. This part is probably the most important of all.”

  Penelope sat, resting her elbows on the table, her head in her hands. Her thick long hair twined between her fingers and fell down onto the table top. She made an impatient gesture with her hand for Jasmira to continue.

  “So, after one thousand years the Amulet must be passed from one Race to another. That’s the Magicians’ first condition. Both Races must be at peace, and that’s the second condition. But every ten thousand years the Universe’s powers can possibly give the complete authority to one Goddess and one Race only.”

  “How?”

  “The Magicians were not able to do anything about this. It’s the Universe’s way, and nobody can alter it. The Magicians were only able to capture some of the powers in the Amulet to ensure the peace between the Races and the Goddesses. In this very short time of the ten-thousand-year mark, the powers of the Universe double. If one Race’s Queen and the other Race’s King are romantically involved, then the balance is lost. It has never happened before, but if it does, one Race and its Goddess can rule over the other Race and its Goddess.”

  “But you and Jatred aren’t the Queen and the King just yet.” Penelope looked alarmed. “Wait a minute, both of your parents and Jatred’s parents died on that plane ten years ago. This wasn’t an accident.”

  “I don’t think it was. But we can only speculate. Maybe they had to be out of the picture, since neither of them would get involved with the head of the opposite Race. I don’t know about Jatred’s folks, but mine for sure were happily married. So maybe the only option for Amber to utilize the wild powers of the Universe was to get rid of the Kings and Queens? And then push
me and Jatred together.” Tears gathered in the corners of Jasmira’s eyes. She squeezed her lids shot and the tears spilled down her cheeks.

  “How long have you known this?” Penelope covered her mouth with her manicured hand.

  “I replayed the conversation with Amber in my head a few times on the plane over.” Jasmira wiped her face off with her sleeve. “That’s when it hit me. I figured both Goddesses know about the ten-thousand-year law of the Universe. Jatred and I are about to become the Queen and the King when we turn seventeen. Crystal insisted on Jatred breaking up with me, because she knew what was at stake. I told you, she even seriously threatened him. But she didn’t give him the real reason why we can’t stay together. She was just saying the Race mixing is unwise and works against the Winter Shifters’ future.”

  “So obviously Crystal is trying to stop Amber. But if you and Jatred somehow got back together during that time of double Universal powers, which Race would end up as a ruler of the other?”

  “The Race with female monarch.” Jasmira brushed a cookie crumb off the table. “And you know what? Never in the history of our Races were there a Summer Queen and a Winter King that could be together just in time for the ten-thousand-year occurrence. So, I’m guessing that’s why Amber has never been able before to do anything to tip the scale of the power to the Summer side.”

  “I wonder if there have ever been any Kings and Queens of the opposite Races that have been together.”

  “Good point. I don’t know. But something tells me that Jatred and I are not the first to do the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ drama.”

  “Romeo and Juliet. A good one.” Penelope smiled sadly. “It all makes sense now. It seems like all the puzzle pieces started to fit perfectly for Amber’s scary plan. I can just picture her doing a happy dance. Ten thousand years between each chance… wow. And there are only our two Races to pick the crowned heads from,” she continued talking to herself, a faraway look in her eyes.

  Jasmira nodded.

  Penelope fell silent, still looking into the distance, deep in thought. Finally she asked, “Amber planned the whole thing, right? How did she make your and Jatred’s parents take the same plane? That seems really odd.”

  “I don’t know how and why that happened. And maybe we’re just seeing smoke and mirrors all together. But you’re right—it’s weird that both Races’ Kings and Queens would end up traveling together,” Jasmira said, wrapping her hands around a mug of hot coffee.

  “And where is the Amulet?” Penelope stretched out her legs and put her feet on the table.

  “Jatred had it. He is the only one left from the Winter Royal Family, so the Amulet stays with him. Then I took it—”

  “What? How?” Penelope interrupted.

  “I freaked out. Because of the break-up. You remember I was a mess for weeks. Heck, all I wanted was to be back with Jatred. I know, lame, lame, lame.” Jasmira thumped her forehead on the table. “I was such a brat. But confused too. You see, his Goddess demanded of him to leave me, while my Goddess kept convincing me that Crystal’s motives are selfish and totally wrong.”

  “And you fell for that? It didn’t occur to you that something in Amber’s behavior was actually odd?” Penelope sounded incredulous.

  “I know. I see now how naïve I was… how stupid!” Jasmira pounded her fist on the table, making the coffee mugs and plates rattle. “How could I act so stupid, Pen? When I look back, I can’t understand why… what was happening to me. It’s like she did something to me; messed up with my mind. How could I even betray Jatred? I would never do that out of my own will.”

  “Amber manipulated you. There was nothing you could do about it. She’s very powerful, so don’t make an assumption that you could possibly go against her. She made you do what she wanted you to do. Stop torturing yourself over what wasn’t in your ability to prevent.”

  Jasmira hung her head. “I can’t stop.”

  They sat in silence for a long moment, before Penelope said, “So now I get why Jatred showed up here. I was completely surprised. I knew you two broke up but, for a moment, I thought you were back together and… I just didn’t know, I mean… ” Penelope shook her head. “I didn’t know what to think.”

  “I am so sorry, Pen. I wasn’t sure what to say. Or if I should keep it all a secret.” Jasmira looked uncertain. “It was ridiculous of me. I should have told you about the Amulet. About everything. You’re my best friend.”

  “It’s cool. You’ve told me now. So what happened when Jatred took you downstairs? We were looking for you. Where did you guys go?”

  Jasmira related to Penelope the recent events involving the Amulet. By the time she admitted following Amber’s demand to steal the Amulet in order to get Jatred into the Summer Realm, Penelope’s eyes were wide, her mouth hanging open.

  “I feel so stupid. But you know what? I think Amber made me do all these things. Would I ever try to bring Jatred to the Summer Realm? No, that was so irresponsible, cruel even. I would never endanger him like that. Amber somehow used the powers of the Amulet to mess my brain up. Or maybe she doesn’t even need the Amulet to do that.” Jasmira’s hands squeezed into fists, and her nails dug into the flesh of her palms.

  “Why did she even want you to bring Jatred there?”

  “I think with the help of the Amulet she could turn him against Crystal. She would make him play her game so he would only pretend we broke up. But right at the ten-thousand-year mark he and I would be together.” Jasmira put her face in her hands.

  “So Amber could only use the Amulet this way in her own Realm? Is that why she wanted Jatred there?” Penelope asked quietly.

  “Yes, that was it. When the Amulet wove itself around our wrists it was so scary. We were both terrified. It was a miracle that we were able to escape.” Tension made Jasmira’s voice crack up, and a sob tore from her throat.

  “Do you still have the Amulet?”

  “No. When we returned from the Summer Realm, we ended up somewhere in Mukilteo. We stayed out of the humans’ eyes so we could run fast, with the Shifter’s speed. We were back in my house within minutes. And then I fell asleep. But something woke me, and I felt terrified. And he was gone. Crystal summoned him—that’s what I sensed. I knew because of our bond,” Jasmira said in a weak voice.

  Both girls sat in silence. Finally Jasmira looked at Penelope. “We need some sleep. There is nothing we can do about this mess now. You said the Winter kids are coming back tomorrow?”

  “What are we gonna tell them? Anything at all? Wouldn’t that put them in danger to know all this stuff?”

  “I know it might sound like that. And you must feel like you’re in danger yourself now too. But I had to tell someone. I’m scared.” Jasmira stood up and carried her coffee mug to the sink. “On the other hand, we are all in it together. We all are Shifters, and it doesn’t matter anymore who’s in team Winter, and who’s in team Summer.”

  Penelope didn’t say anything. Absentmindedly, she picked at her nails, deep in thought.

  “Pen?” Jasmira asked.

  “It’s just so much. I have to analyze this whole thing before it even starts making any sense to me.”

  “I’m sorry. If I could do it any other way I would, but I really—”

  “Look, don’t worry.” Penelope rested her chin in her palm.

  “There is one more thing. The Universe’s powers double at the winter solstice.” Jasmira stood, her hands clasped together.

  Penelope dropped her almost empty coffee cup. It shattered into many small jagged pieces on the marble floor, sending tiny droplets of coffee in all directions.

  “Wait. You said winter solstice?” Penelope looked at her best friend, her eyes wide. “That’s like in a month.”

  “I know.”

  CHAPTER 38

  Human World, November 18, late morning.

  The heavy front door swung open, and a tall woman in her sixties entered the mansion. It was Jousenne, Jasmira’s grandmother. She looked around, he
r face pinched with concern. Her high heels clicked on the marble floor. She wore a dark-plum color suit. The perfect fit suggested the suit wasn’t purchased off-the-shelf, but rather custom-made for her. Her erect posture was commanding and imposing. She set her small Prada purse on the accent table in the hallway and continued toward the wide spiral wrought-iron staircase.

  “Jasmira!” she called out, looking up the stairs. “I’m home.”

  One of the doors on the second floor burst open, and Jasmira peeked out. Her long curly hair was swept to one side. Her two-sizes-too-large t-shirt was ripped in a few spots and overall looked worn and ragged. She wore boy-style boxers that hung loose around her slim thighs.

  “Grandma!” Jasmira shrieked and ran down the stairs. She jumped into her grandmother’s arms. She bore a striking resemblance to her grandmother. The only difference was her much darker skin, while Jousenne was quite fair. “You’re early. So awesome. I really didn’t want you to stay in Hawaii for the next few days. It’s so scary with everything going on.”

  “That’s why I decided to return sooner. I wanted to make sure I could actually catch a plane back home.” She hugged Jasmira and patted her on the back. “I wasn’t happy you decided to fly to Santa Barbara. That was so dangerous.”

  “I know. I’m sorry,” Jasmira mumbled.

  Jousenne’s expression was guarded. When Jasmira had called her from the Santa Barbara airport, Jousenne stopped her right when she started to talk about Amber. She didn’t want to discuss anything that pertained to the Goddess over the phone. Now she wasn’t sure if Jasmira was the only one in the house, since Penelope or other girlfriends often spent the night. Jousenne decided to wait and not ask any questions until she knew they were alone.

  “Anyway, the preparations for your December coronation are in full swing and I think they can manage without me for now. But you have to tell me what you want for your birthday.” Jousenne concealed her worries with a cheerful smile.