Stolen Fate (18 page)

A cloud drifted over the perfection of the afternoon. “Logan got me out.”

Her head whipped toward him. “Really?”

“Aye. We’ve been friends for ages—you were right about that. He was my partner when I robbed the Scottish Museum of Antiquities and was there the night it blew up. He was never caught for it.” He thought back to what Logan had told him. “It bothered him that I took the fall, especially since I saved his life when we first met. And I’ve kept his secret.”

“Secret?”

“Aye.” Logan had given him permission to tell her. “Logan is actually the god Loki.”

“Are you serious? He’s been missing for centuries!”

“Not missing, just hiding. He can shapeshift, which helps.”

“And he took your place?” Disbelief tinged her voice.

“Logan does no’ care for many, but when he does, it’s true. It was his turn, he said.”

“Wow. Just, wow. I never would have expected that. He’s so damn ruthless and self-interested, at least according to the myths.”

“It’s who the mortals created him to be. They believed him to be that, so he was. But ideas have a life of their own. Loki’s his own man. Though they’ve been created by belief, all the gods are. They’re no’ always what we think they are.”

“Nay, I suppose no’. But how’d he get you out?”

“He figured out a way to get on campus and took my place in the cell.” Guilt ate at him, a gnawing sensation that chewed at his insides. But he’d get Logan out.

“How is that even possible?”

“He got onto the campus using whatever Carthe gave him in exchange for the Book of Worlds.” Though from what Loki had said in the cell, he hadn’t been intending to use it to free Ian. He wanted to be on campus for another reason, though Ian didn’t know what it was. “He used his shapeshifting ability to sneak in under the guise of one of the guards.”

“And you used your invisibility to get out?”

“Aye. I walked out of the prison behind another when he opened the main door.”

“Oh my gods. So you’re on the run from the university”

Dread sent a spike through Ian’s gut. “Aye. Logan is in my prison cell, shapeshifted into my form. I canna go back to Scotland or they’ll know something is amiss.” And he couldn’t go back until he had a way to free Loki.

“Oh, shite.”

The distress in her tone twisted his heart. This was what he’d been afraid of. She wanted to work for the university. He couldn’t go anywhere near the place.

“I know it’s been such a short period of time,” he said. “And I’m no' expecting you to profess love or want to marry me right out of the gate, but I want to keep seeing you. I care for you, Fiona. More than I’ve ever cared for anyone.”

She kissed him. “I wanted to visit you, but could no’. I dinna have clearance for some reason. I came to Spain to try to get over some of the pain of losing you, but it’s no’ working. I doona even enjoy working for the university anymore.”

“I’m sorry. You wanted it so badly.”

“I thought I did. But I want to be with you. I’ll go with you. We’ll hunt for artifacts on our own.”

He grinned, joy singing through him.

“But no’ for money. We canna sell them. We have to turn them over to a museum for conservation and display. I doona know how we’ll fund it, but we’ll find a way. Could you be happy like that?”

“As long as you and I are creeping around old tombs and archaeological sites finding treasure, I’ll be just fine. And I can fund the expeditions. The money I put in the bank before I was imprisoned has done quite well. Interest is an amazing thing.”

Her jaw slackened. “Interest? Over a hundred years? That’s enormous.”

“Aye. And I know just what we’ll go hunting for first.”

“What?”

He dug into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “Logan gave me this when he got me out. Whatever is at the end of this map will get Loki out of prison. After that, it’s just you, me, and adventure.”

“And Fluffy Black.”

He smiled. “Aye.”

She leaned up and kissed him. “I think I love you.”

A warmth burst in his chest that pushed out any coldness. He pulled her down to him for a hard kiss. “I think it’s more than mutual.”

She grinned, and in her smile he saw the light of a future brighter than any he’d ever imagined.
 

THANK YOU!

Thank you so much for reading
Stolen Fate.
I loved writing this story and hope you enjoyed reading it!

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If you liked
Stolen Fate
, the other books in the series are
Braving Fate
,
Soulceress
, and
Rogue Soul
,
and they’re available now.
 

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The museum in this book, called the Scottish Museum of Antiquities, was based off of the real National Museum of Scotland, located in Edinburgh. The National Museum is an amazing place, full of artifacts and history from dozens of periods.
 

The cat in this story, Fluffy Black, is based off of a very sweet stray cat who came into our lives for too short a period. Illness took her too soon, so I tried to immortalize her here, in the pages of
Stolen Fate
. I hope you liked her, and will consider adopting a stray cat or dog if they ever come into your life (perhaps you already have :-).

GLOSSARY

Aether - The invisible substance that connects the afterworlds and earth. It is both nothing and everything.

Aetherwalking - A method of traveling through the aether to access the afterworlds or different places on earth. Some Mytheans have this power and can bring another person with them.

Afterworld - A heaven or hell created by mortal belief. Mortals can access them only through death. Some Mytheans can aetherwalk to them.

Immortal University - An organization created thousands of years ago to protect Mytheans and keep them secret from mortals.
 
It was initially founded as a true university, hence the name, but over time it morphed into an institution with greater power and responsibility. The university’s primary goal is to maintain the secrecy of Mytheans and to keep the gods from warring to obtain more followers. They do this primarily through diplomacy. The university also provides services to Mytheans that
they can’t get elsewhere, lest mortals figure out that their clients never die. Things like education, health services, and banking.
 

Historious -
 
Mytheans who have the ability to
locate valuable artwork and artifacts, as well as perform a limited amount of magic
.
Their long-dead ancestors had been disciples of the Celtic god Gwydion, a god of magic and the arts. The skill had passed down through the generations, which were few, as immortals rarely reproduced.

Mortals - Humans. They are unaware of the existence of Mytheans or that all heavens and hells truly exist. They are immortal in the sense that their soul will pass on to whatever afterworld they believe in.

Mythean - Supernatural individuals created by mortal belief. They are gods and goddesses, demons and monsters, witches and other supernatural creatures. They are immortal in the sense that if they live on earth, only beheading or grievous injury from magic can kill them. If they are killed their soul will pass on to an afterworld. Secrecy from mortals is one of their highest priorities. Some Mytheans, particularly species of demons and some gods, are trapped in their afterworlds. Others have access to both earth and the afterworlds.

Mythean Guardians - Powerful mortals made immortal, or other supernatural beings who serve at the Praesidium. They protect those mortals and Mytheans who are important to the fate of humanity.

Praesidium - The protection division of the Immortal University. Mythean Guardians work here. Their job is to protect those important to humanity and maintain law and order by keeping Mytheans secret from humans and keeping the gods from warring.

Soulceresses - Mytheans who fuel their power by draining the immortal power of other Mytheans’ souls. When fueled by the power of others, they can manifest their magic with a thought. They are hated by other Mytheans because of this. They also have the ability to see the evil in a person’s soul.

Sylph - An ancient air spirit from a religion that is lost to memory. Sylphs and their descendents have the ability to attain invisibility by becoming one with the air. They are also able to manipulate the wind.
 

Books by Linsey Hall

Braving Fate

Soulceress

Rogue Soul

Stolen Fate

ABOUT LINSEY

Before becoming a romance novelist, Linsey Hall was a nautical archaeologist who studied shipwrecks from Hawaii and the Yukon to the UK and the Mediterranean. She credits the historical romances of the 70’s, 80’s, and 90's with her love of history and her career as an archaeologist. After a decade of tromping around the globe in search of old bits of stuff that people left lying about, she settled down and started penning her own romance novels. Her debut series, the Mythean Arcana, draws upon her love of history and the paranormal elements that she can't help but include. Several books may or may not feature her cats.

This is a work of fiction. All reference to events, persons, and locale are used fictitiously, except where documented in historical record. Names, characters, and places are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright 2014 by Linsey Hall

Published by Bonnie Doon Press LLC

Digital Edition 1.0
 

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form, except in instances of quotation used in critical articles or book review. Where such permission is sufficient, the author grants the right to strip any DRM which may be applied to this work.

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ISBN 978-1-942085-30-0
 
(eBook)

ISBN 978-1-942085-31-7 (Paperback)