Victim of Fate Read Online Free PDF

turned back to her.
    The man was tall and thick, no doubt stronger
than even the blacksmith's son that had tried to court her. His
eyes were what drew her; he searched out everything he could with
them and she saw an intelligence that was captivating and
frightening at the same time. The priest was handsome but this man,
this warrior, he was a man who would make things happen.
    "The villagers have begged for help but no
one has listened to them. The army is busy and the church has
little interest in non-religious disturbances. So it has fallen to
this ragged crew. An unlikely collection of rabble," Therion said.
"But you may watch them come and fail. This is my gift to you."
    "Why would you do this? Have I not given
everything to you?" she said. She grimaced, realizing she'd
forgotten to address him properly.
    "No, you haven't," he said.
    "Then take it, Master, please," she begged.
She didn't want him to have anything but she didn't want the pain
and anguish any more. She hoped that once he'd had enough of her,
she might yet be released. Life as the wife of a dull farmhand
didn't seem so bad to her anymore.
    "I have plans for you, child. But you're not
ready. You still hold out on me. Only when you've fully become mine
will you be ready."
    "What must I do?"
    He laughed in his cruel and wicked way that
still sent chills down her spine. "There are many things you must
learn to do. Things you must offer and give freely of yourself. But
a part of you must also die before you will be ready." He turned to
stare at the mirror. One man with a beard and mustache stared up
into the air, his eyes searching for something that he could not
find. Therion frowned until the man turned his gaze back upon his
comrades that were rising from the table. "I think watching these
fools die will be the first step in your journey to becoming my
apprentice."
    Rosalyn jerked her eyes from the mirror to
him. His apprentice? She couldn't be an apprentice; she was a
woman! Women couldn't be wizards and even if they could, it
required a brilliant mind and the legacy of demons, dragons, or
faeries. Or so she'd been told. Her parents were honest and pure
peasants. Her vision grew blurry as her chest tightened at the
thought of her parents. Living a simple life seemed like a
wonderful thing. Why did she have to be so stupid and go to the
stream in the forest instead of the one closer to her home?
    She took a breath and squared her shoulders.
She'd just proved how stupid she was. His apprentice? Never! She
couldn't learn to use magic and even if she could, she'd never be a
witch. Witches were evil women. They were hated and hunted down
whenever they were found. What sort of life would that be? No
better than what she had now. No, she had to find a way to escape,
and if that meant doing whatever it took to make him believe she
was truly and fully his, then she would do it.
    "Yes, Master," she said to him. "Whatever
your wish is, I will obey."
    "You're a crafty one, I think," Therion said
as he watched her. "But so young and beautiful. I look forward to
this battle of wills and of wits."
    She nodded her head and dropped to her knees
with her head bowed.
    "No, no," he said. "Watch the show. I'll have
no further tasks or experiments for you, at least not until you see
what happens to them. I'll return with some food in a little
while."
    Rosalyn lifted her head to the mirror and
watched the men mounting their horses and heading out the gate of
the city. Were they days or weeks away? She had no idea, but she
had to watch. Failing to please him would be failing herself as
well.
     
     
     
     

Chapter 5
     
    The hamlet of Fairhaven reminded Alto of
Highpeak when they discovered the city after it had been sacked.
The only difference was the lack of destruction and dead bodies. It
was small even as villages went, with a single inn and a general
store. A nearby smithy that tended to shoeing horses and mending
plows looked abandoned. Aside from a handful of houses, the