Gerdie gave her a worried look. “You’re not losin’ your guts are ya?”
“No, I’ve got guts. I’m all kinds of gutsy,” Fate said, straightening her shoulders to hide her growing nervousness for what lay ahead. She was about to confront the person responsible for basically chucking her into shark-infested waters without a single care. It didn’t sit well with her that this evil great-aunt might still have power over her. Fate had thought the days of being a victim were well behind her.
Burning up with frustration, she clenched her fist around the parchment. She was done being knocked around on the winds like a kite without a tether. Not only had she survived running this gauntlet of hell, she’d come out the other end a warrior capable of kicking some serious ass. “Let’s do this.”
Unwrinkling the parchment, she held it out in front of her, reading, “I have turned all eight fables into their mirror opposites. The Book of Fables can no longer hold me. The lock must open and return Gerdie and I to where we came from.”
A loud metallic click sounded within the lock and the Book of Fables swung wide open. A huge shadow stretched across the room, engulfing them in darkness. Holding onto Gerdie, Fate hurtled through the black toward a pinprick of light growing larger by the second. Glimpsing the dim interior of the bookstore, she felt torn from Finn all over again. There was no way to know if she was leaving him behind forever. But the time for second-guessing had passed. She had to believe the path leading away would somehow take her back to Finn.
Epilogue
"THE FOREST OF INNITH TINE IS RESTORED…your debt is fulfilled… you are free to walk the Earth once more,” a voice rumbled from deep below the colossal oak.
At the core of the tree’s massive trunk, where all was dark and peaceful, the promise of freedom unearthed hope and expectancy. A face materialized like a half-remembered dream, kindling sparks of human emotions, forgotten and put aside. Cinnamon-brown eyes gazed back with a look of longing, igniting those sparks into flames of desire that scorched away the Earthmind, revealing a former existence.
The groan of cracking timber resounded as living wood peeled away from the body interred within the trunk. Hindered blood-flow burst into compressed veins, tissue and muscle. Limbs quivered with prickling pain. As the narrow slit curled back, light pierced the snug darkness and air blasted through the opening. Sheltered eyes watered and skin shivered with revived feeling. Stiff joints struggled to move, pushing with tremendous effort from the quiet warmth out into the harsh elements. Sunlight burned and sounds cut deep.
A tidal wave of memories slammed in with the crushing weight of the world. Ferocious currents of anger, fear and guilt bashed him about, forcing him to relive the sins of his past. When at last the punishing undertow ceased, he floated weightless to the surface, caressed by a stream of blissful recollections––of Fate. The mere thought of her sent a surge of strength throughout his body.
Rising to his feet, Finn gazed out over the sweeping forest of oaks and smiled with satisfaction at the island’s renewed majesty. Breathing in the fresh sea air, he could clearly see he was no longer needed here. Free to move on, every part of him hungered to reunite with Fate, to hold her close and kiss her without a single thread of fear. But where was she? He couldn’t feel her on the island.
Closing his eyes, he probed farther out, skimming across azure oceans, over snowy mountain peaks, golden deserts and lush forests, questing for her spirit’s dazzling red-gold flame.
It seemed as if he stood there for an eternity, searching every corner of the world, his heart growing heavier with every passing moment. Then he felt it––stretching endlessly in all directions––a barrier of sentient fire hissing with powerful magic meant to destroy whatever ventured too close.
Fate was on the other side.
Finn’s eyes flashed open and his jaw tightened as he stared at the distant horizon. “Not to worry, love,” he said under his breath. “We’ll find each other, come hell or high water. After all, it’s what we’ve grown used to.”
To Be Continued In
FATE’S KEEP
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Acknowledgements
First and foremost thanks to the love of my life, Tony, for believing in me. Without your encouragement, guidance and unwavering support, this book would not have been written. Thank you for working side by side with me in the trenches to bring this book to publication, designing the gorgeous cover and helping me to create the beautiful book trailer. And to my amazing son, Tyler, for your quiet confidence in me to write a story you enjoyed enough to read twice––an unexpected phenomenon that spoke louder than any words of praise ever could.
Thanks to my mom, Gerry, for planting the first seeds of magic in my heart with our walks in the woods to find fairy rings and my dad, Larry, for knowing I had it in me to do this. Also to the rest of my wonderful family and all my good friends for your unfailing enthusiasm, even when I had to answer “no” to that seemingly eternal question, “Did you finish your book yet?”
A big thank you to my editor, Rhonda Helms, for steering key story elements in the right direction and guiding character development to a much richer level. Huge thanks to Denise Tilley, for walking the last mile with me to catch copy editing issues, as well as the added bonus of your invaluable insights. And also to Nora Snowden for giving me great pointers on my book jacket copy. Special thanks to my beta readers, especially those I tortured with the early drafts: Thora Gislason, Vickie Hadersberger, Madelon Scott-Eichen, Nadine Tegart-Reaugh, Raquel Larson and Bonnie McRae. And a big smiley nod to all my stellar writer friends from RWA-GVC for your combined wealth of knowledge and ready support.
Thank you to Emilee Moore for gracing the cover with your beautiful face and Brian Hawkes for the photography. And much thanks to Tom Parkes for helping me construct the replica of the Book of Fables in miniature for the cover. I must also thank Sara Dorey and Stephen Brace of Here By Tomorrow for allowing us to put your amazing music, “Ballad Of A Night”, to the book trailer. Also much gratitude to Dion Tilley for pairing the perfect music to the video.
Last but not least, thank you, dear reader, for choosing this book. I hope Fate took you on a great adventure.
About the Author
T. Rae Mitchell is an incurable fantasy junkie who spent much of her youth mesmerizing her younger sisters with stories sprung from her crazy imagination. Over the years, her craving for the rush of being transported to fantastical realms became more acute. So it was only a matter of time before her habit got the best of her. Grief stricken one day upon discovering her supply had dried up (her favorite bookstore had closed), she decided she’d had enough. Abandoning her career as an award-winning graphic designer, she entered a fantasy world of her own making called, Fate's Fables, her debut novel. She lives in British Columbia with her husband and son, and has since released an urban fantasy titled, Magic Brew as she continues to work on Fate's Keep.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Epilogue
The Lonely Sorceress
A Dark Faery's Love
The Goblin Queen
The Heart Of A Troll
The Dragon Empress
Old Mother Grim
The Lightning Sword
The Bloodthirsty Oak
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Fate's Fables Boxed Set (Fables 1 - 8): One Girl's Journey Through 8 Unfortunate Fairy Tales Page 44
