Fate's Fables Special Edition: One Girl's Journey Through 8 Unfortunate Fairy Tales (Fate's Journey Book 1) Read online

  FATE'S FABLES

  One Girl's Journey Through 8 Unfortunate Fairy Tales

  BOOK I OF FATE'S JOURNEY

  By T. Rae Mitchell

  Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

  This beautifully intricate fantasy, with its feisty heroine, breath-taking action and heart-wrenching romance, will delight fans of The Lunar Chronicles and Court of Thorns and Roses.

  SPECIAL EDITION NOVEL WITH BONUS PREQUEL

  BOOK DESCRIPTION

  Reality sucks. Make-believe rocks. That's been Fate Floyd's motto for as long as she's been a fantasy geek. But now she can hardly tell what's real and what's not. She's been spelled and mysteriously trapped within a deadly fairy tale world bound by the Book of Fables. Her only way home is to travel through the book's 8 unfortunate fairy tales and change them into happily-ever-afters. And if dealing with scheming sorceresses, greedy goblins and heartless faeries isn't enough to test her sanity, there's Finn. The Scottish boy who looks like he stepped straight out of her dreams. As it turns out, make-believe isn't as fun as Fate thought it would be. The reality is, her road to freedom isn't straight, and danger lurks around every bend.

  This Special Edition of Fate's Fables, One Girl's Journey Through 8 Unfortunate Fairy Tales, is the complete novel. Also included (and in the print edition), is the thrilling Bonus Prequel, Chaos In The Keep.

  BONUS PREQUEL - Chaos In The Keep: Hidden in the deepest of space, the darkest of magic is caged in a place called the Keep. When the Keep Guardian makes a mistake that could unleash chaos throughout the universe, she's forced to find her successor, who just happens to be Fate Floyd. (Fifty pages of additional content, only available in this version).

  For an exhilarating adventure, read Fate's Fables Special Edition today and enter a magical world of darkly enchanted fairy tales!

  For a FREE GIFT and a chance to WIN a Fate's Fables Special Edition paperback, sign up for T. Rae Mitchell's newsletter.

  Click here for your Free Gift

  PRAISE FOR FATE’S FABLES

  “ONE OF THE BEST AND MOST UNIQUE FANTASY STORIES I HAVE READ IN A LONG TIME.”

  “I couldn’t get enough of this book and with every page I felt myself overcome with a wide range of emotions. The action scenes in this tale will have you on the edge of your seat with your heart pounding, while the romance will leave you longing for someone to hold. Fans of Gail Carson Levine and Cassandra Clare will want to add T. Rae Mitchell to their reading list. ” ~ Readers' Favorite Editorial Review ★★★★★

  ‘THIS BOOK WAS EVERYTHING I’VE BEEN MISSING IN THE YOUNG ADULT SCENE.”

  “It has the imagery and the storyline of a great fantasy novel. I have not read anything this imaginative since Lord of the Rings or even Harry Potter. The book is so beautifully and creatively written that I was lost in the story the minute I started.” ~ The Passionate Bookworm ★★★★★

  "NOT YOUR TYPICAL YA"

  "T. Rae Mitchell has taken our love for fairy tales and put a spin on the idea by intertwining her main characters into the fate of each fable. As a lover of fairy tales, I was intrigued throughout the whole book.” ~ Top Knot Librarian ★★★★★

  “PREPARE TO BE SWOONED”

  “If like me, you cannot live without romance, you will not be disappointed. His name is Finn and he has a Scottish accent.” ~ Book Cupid ★★★★

  “FRESH AND ORIGINAL FANTASY!”

  “Fate's Fables is unlike any other fantasy novel I have read. Ms. Mitchell has a unique writing style with a quality almost like great fantasy novels of the past such as Lord of the Rings.” ~ A Walk On Words ★★★★★

  "A FANTASTICAL PAGE TURNER"

  "I seriously couldn’t put it down. Poisoned oaks, druids, faeries, and trolls….. Fantasy buffs will be all over this first novel in the Fate’s Journey series." ~ A Book And A Latte ★★★★★

  “FABULOUS MIX OF FANTASY, FABLES AND YA ROMANCE!”

  “…a great adventure with danger and twists and turns along the way. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series."~ Tia's Kindle Shelf ★★★★★

  Fate's Fables Special Edition Novel with Bonus Prequel: One Girl's Journey Through 8 Unfortunate Fairy Tales

  Book I of Fate's Journey

  By T. Rae Mitchell

  First Editon published January 2013

  Second Edition published July 2013

  Third Edition published September 2015

  Special Edition published November 2016

  ISBN 978-0991798711 (ebook)

  ISBN 978-0991798704 (paperback)

  Copyright © 2013, 2015, 2016 T. Rae Mitchell

  Cover design © 2016 by Terry Mitchell

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.

  Original Mix Media Inc.

  1685 H Street #1046, Blaine, WA 98230

  www.traemitchell.com

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  The Lonely Sorceress

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  A Dark Faery's Love

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  The Goblin Queen

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  The Heart Of A Troll

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  The Dragon Empress

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Old Mother Grim

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  The Lightning Sword

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  The Bloodthirsty Oak

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Epilogue

  Bonus Prequel: Chaos In The Keep

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  FATE STILL COULDN'T BELIEVE all these people were here to see her. No matter how many book signings she’d done, she never got used to the rising level of excitement or the increasing numbers showing up at each location on her tour. Was her book really that good? She doubted it. More than likely her surprising success was just another big fluke in a long list of others.

  When you’re cursed with a name like Fate, your luck is never what you’d call ordinary. Whenever it’s good–which isn’t as much as Fate would like–her luck is awesome. Like the time she found a diamond tennis bracelet in the hidden pocket of a purse she bought at a thrift store,
or an early edition Green Lantern comic she got at a garage sale for a buck and sold for $10,000, which she was thrilled about. Until she heard on the news a week later that the comic was actually worth a quarter of a million.

  That’s pretty much how life goes for Fate. The little bits of good luck she gets inevitably turn sour. But when her luck is bad, it's downright terrible and very often bizarre. A meteor, of all things, destroyed the car her dad gave her on her sixteenth birthday. She’s the only one to get pooped on by a flock of seagulls while standing in the middle of a huge lineup waiting to get into a concert. Out of everyone at a high school football game, a bat chose her hair to get tangled up in, which turned her into a freaked out, screaming hot mess in front of her whole school. They still haven’t stopped calling her Batty.

  And of course, there was the incident with the worms back in grade school. That one left the deepest scar. Fate shivered and took a deep breath as she forced the traumatic experience from her mind, choosing instead to focus on this nice piece of luck with her book.

  She’d been making up stories since she first learned to write and had often toyed with the idea of being an author someday. She simply never expected her career to begin, let alone take off, before she graduated high school. Either way, Fate was determined to enjoy her dream come true before her name jinxed it into a nightmare.

  But maybe this time would be different. So far there’d been no signs of her good luck sliding into the crapper. The book tour had actually gone better than she could’ve imagined. After starting in New York and traveling to five other major cities across the country, she was back in Seattle––home sweet home.

  She glanced up at the Seattle Public Library’s tiered auditorium. Sun filtered in through the angled expanse of diamond-shaped windows high overhead, casting criss-crossed shadows over the multitude of people waiting to have their books signed. A group of uneasy library staff members did their best to usher fans into an orderly line, but the unexpected volume proved challenging.

  Four dark-winged Punk pixies spread out in front of Fate’s table, blocking her view of the crowd behind them. Lately more people had been showing up dressed like her book’s characters. They were the really hardcore fans. And the coolest. It was like her own personal Halloween.

  She complimented the girls on their costumes and went back to scribbling Fate Floyd inside their copies of Magic Brew. A guy dressed as a shadow elf pushed past the pixies. When Fate saw his eyes sweep over her, she blushed, rethinking the wool tartan mini and snug blouse she’d chosen to wear. He seemed emboldened by her discomfort, because he tilted in the other direction––in a not too subtle way––and followed the line of her bare legs from her Doc Martens to the short hem of her skirt.

  A girl dressed as a Goth witch in vintage black and lace-up boots stepped forward, elbowing him hard in the ribs. She didn’t look happy about his ogling.

  Fate tugged at her hem and smiled ruefully.

  “Ow! Er…hi, Fate,” the elf said, his waxed anime-style spikes wobbling on top of his head. He held out his book, holding firm when she grasped it. “We represent the very first and best unofficial dedicated Magic Brew fan club website on the ‘net.”

  Fate waited for more but he trailed off, staring at her with a stupefied grin.

  The witch let out an annoyed huff and pushed him aside. “And we’re proud to announce that we’re holding the first official Magic Brew Convention at the Paramount tonight. We’re really hoping you’ll attend––as the guest of honor, of course.”

  “Wow. Really?” Fate was stunned. Now she had her own personal Comic-Con. “Uh, yeah!”

  It was the witch’s turn to look surprised. “Uh…oh good. I was worried since we’re telling you so last-minute.” The rigidity in her posture relaxed. “Okay, we’ll send the limo for you at nine. It’ll be stocked with all your favorite foods.” She smiled proudly. “We have them listed on our website.”

  Fate thought about it while she signed their books. The list couldn’t be that extensive: Mounds of Parmesan with anything Italian underneath, and chocolate-covered everything, except maraschino cherries and fruit cream.

  “May I cut in?” a smooth voice interrupted.

  Thanking her, the witch and elf stepped aside as a tall slender guy in his early twenties came forward. He was dressed as a warlock from her book, looking regal and sexy with his long sable hair blending into an ebony overcoat. He doffed his top hat and gave her a graceful bow. Poised there, he leaned in closer, his mirrored sunglasses catching a twin reflection of her.

  Spotting her wild mane of auburn curls filling the frames, she ran a hand over her hair in a lame attempt at taming the volume. She wished she’d worn a ponytail. She had to admit, the flip side of all this attention was the magnification of every irksome flaw she’d neglected to attend to. But hey, these were her peeps, right? Nobody here was calling her Batty.

  He removed his sunglasses, revealing sky-blue eyes rimmed with eyeliner applied way more expertly than hers. He pulled a black silk rose from his lapel. “Allow me to introduce myself,” he said, handing her the flower.

  Smiling, she twirled the rose. “I already know. Rade Silverhand. You look so much like I imagined him. Better, actually.”

  He seemed to grow a few inches taller.

  She picked up the pen, ready to sign his book. “And your real name?”

  “Unimportant,” he said, sighing with a wave of his gloved hand.

  She understood. He was in character. And who could blame him for casting aside his normal persona? Who wasn’t either bored or troubled with their own story and only too happy to leap into someone else’s? It further confirmed her motto: Reality sucks. Make-believe rocks.

  All of a sudden, three boisterous green goblins wearing hooded purple boxing robes clambered around the table. “Hey, you’re holding up the line,” one of them said, his row of plastic vampire fangs making it hard to speak with any dignity. “How bout letting ush in for our turn?”

  Fate stifled a chuckle behind her hand. They were more comical than scary-looking, with warty gray rubber noses sticking out like sore thumbs on the green makeup covering their faces. She was about to respond when the warlock lifted his walking cane, smacking it across their chests. “Back, inferior scum! Retreat to your squalid sewers before I’m forced to vanquish you with my shadow fire!”

  The goblin with the loose fangs rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, Shteve. You know that doeshn’t work on demon goblinsh. We’ll jusht abshorb your dark power and turn it back on you.”

  “The name’s Rade, half-breed.”

  Fate laughed out loud, amazed by how much they were throwing themselves into their roles. But when all three of them lurched at Steve, she jumped to her feet so fast her chair tipped over. The warlock dodged them with surprising skill, but his stately carriage crumbled the moment his top hat was knocked off and crushed under a goblin’s boot. As Steve came at them with cane swinging and a litany of curses, the goblins grabbed hold of the other end of his cane and a clumsy tug-of-war ensued. Fake noses, ears and fangs flew in all directions.

  “Hey guys, stop,” Fate said, raising her voice. Distressed by this unforeseen turn of events, she looked for Eustace, her steadfast father. Always neatly dressed in slacks, with shirt and tie under a sweater and blazer, he stood by the side door. He was her tall pillar of strength, protective, kind and eternally patient. Part of a dying breed, Eustace was a true gentleman in every sense of the word. Giving her a reassuring wink, he gestured to let her know that security was already on the way. Then he returned his attention to Lana, her publicist, who hadn’t stopped jabbering at him for one second.

  Fate narrowed her eyes on Lana. She didn’t care for the way the woman had been looking at Eustace throughout the month-long book tour. Like she even had a chance with the confirmed widower. Eustace was just being nice. He listened to everyone in that caring, attentive way with his head tilted and thick, silver-dusted hair falling down over a quizzical expression. Then aga
in, that was pure catnip to cougars like Lana.

  Laughing at something Eustace said, Lana turned and trotted over, her speed hindered by high heels and small steps enforced by a narrow skirt. Her smooth coif bounced neatly around her polished face and red lipstick. She bent to speak in Fate’s ear, her perfume enveloping her client in a cloud of floral fruitiness. “This is fantastic! We couldn’t ask for better publicity. I’ll send out the press release.” Without waiting for Fate’s response, she snapped a photo and started speed texting.

  “How can this be good?” Fate muttered. Did this happen to other writers? Or were her readers going nuts because the book was all about a gangland war between supernatural species? Had she ruined everything by unintentionally glamorizing violence? It wouldn’t be the first time something delish had spoiled earlier than the best-before date.

  The skirmish continued with a tangle of purple robes and black silk rolling about the floor with the occasional grunting face rising up for air. They were so jumbled together, it seemed as though they might stay that way until security arrived to break them up. But much to everyone’s surprise, they got back on their feet.

  Two of the goblins had Steve by the arms, while the third prodded him in the ribs with his own cane. The goblin doing the poking shoved his fangs back in his mouth and glared at the disheveled warlock, whose dark eye makeup had streaked down each side of his flushed face. “Admit you’ve losht thish battle, and we’ll take mershy on you, warlock.”

  Steve lifted his chin. “Never.” He kicked the goblin between the legs, which took the confrontation to a whole new level.

  As the security guards pushed their way past the crowds circling the scuffle, a sudden rumbling distracted Fate. The floor heaved beneath her feet. The walls leaned at threatening angles. Frightened, she grabbed the table, realizing quickly that no one else was reacting to it. Everyone carried on, distracted only by the immediate mayhem. The hairs on her arms stood up.