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Prologue
Fate stood in the doorway and watched her daughter lying on her bed, reading a book Zerina’s gentle face never failed to bring a smile to her mother
“It is tihter”
“Please, Mother, just a few more minutes? I really want to finish this story”
What was it about children, both ht sleep?
“What are you reading?” Fate ca out for the book She lifted a brow at the title, “Eleirl” Zerina curled against her mother “Are you still upset about earlier today?”
“I did not want to give one of my souls to the life that waited for the child” A tear slid down Zerina’s cheek “It will becoly by those parents”
“Zerina, listen to me well No soul can be destroyed by the actions of others It is within each of us to know right fro in the decisions we make It is those choices that will define a soul When you wanted to go down to Earth to help one of your souls, you knerong and the repercussions that would be the result Youchoice, and if not for e, the punish punished for a year by not being able to transport unless summoned is only a mild punishment compared to what Mother could have done Those were your actions, Zerina, despite constant warnings from me”
“That is different You told me not to and why Sos What if they have never been taught right fro?”
Fate sighed at her daughter’s reasoning
“No, they don’t, but Mother does She gives therained in their very soul”
Zerina lowered her head “I ignored her voice I really wanted to help that little girl Her soul is one of great beauty, but her ly, violent storreat power, yet I am not allowed to save that which I have protected and entrusted to another It’s not fair”
“I know, Zerina This time you were lucky; the next tierous when her work is interfered with In time, you will have the ability to analyze her uidelines to achieve your goals Age and experience will enable you to help the souls you hold so close to your heart”
“I aetically up at her
“Zerina, I give you fair warning; Mother won’t always be so easy on you The next time, the consequences will be severe” Fate took her oldest daughter’s hand, trying to impress on her just how severe the consequences of her actions could have been
“I prolinted in the child’s eyes
“Do not , for now, learn until such a tih to find different routes that can be taken to help those souls you want to help Noould you like me to tell you a story?”
Fate knew further recrihter She had just let her e an unwise choice She had to learn of the destructive power of e them control her
“Yes, please” Zerina smiled at her mother
Fate gathered her daughter close and began her story “There was once a young girl, born back when ti in clans She was s could survive such harsh conditions Her parents thought her weak and useless, as did her clan Yet, she not only survived, she worked hard, caring for her younger brothers and sisters Food and water were scarce, and her parents couldn’t provide for all Many ti sicker as her parents did not want to waste food on soh to survive“
“I do not like this story,” Zerina protested
Fate continued, “The young girl didn’t die quickly, her strength of will kept her alive She tried to help gather food and water Then, the day caetables that were nearby, and she heard screams and tried to hurry hoe Once there, the young girl founda shter still in his throat, unable to co able to defend her fa, and cruelly, they beat her to the ground then proceeded to torture her for hours for daring to defend her family They took her innocence and life that day, Zerina, yet her beautiful soul was as pure then as when she had been born She had great courage in life and death, facing both without fear”
Tears slid down Zerina’s cheeks
“Do you knohy I told you this story?” Fate asked her daughter
“Because I didn’t want to give ”
“Darling, I expect you to care for them, to ache for the less than perfect life they are born into, and pray they have the strength to overcohter’s hand in her own “But know that with each life a soul has, it learns You will have centuries to learn frorants them Sometimes, their lessons are harsh, so the lesson will reh their other lives”
“Yes, Mother”
S tenderly, Fate stroked the tears away and brushed a kiss across her brow
“There is so to have a child” Fate placed her daughter’s s her feel the s
“That is wonderful! I a to have a brother or sister”
Fate shter’s excitement
“This one will be a girl In tihter as well, and my last child will be a son” Zerina smiled Her first lesson in life had been to learn of Fate’s power to foresee the future while she could not see her own future Fate would be able to see her children’s “They each will have new souls except this one” Fate tightened her fingers around Zerina’s “This one will have an old soul, one deserving of a second chance at life, and you will guide her soul at birth, Zerina”
“Th
e little girl That is why you toldup and down on her bed before falling down next to her et a happy ending—you’ll see to that”
“I hope so, Zerina I intend to try with your help” Zerina, for all her young wisdorim determination in her mother’s eyes If she had, she would have been warned just to what lengths Fate would go to for the child she carried in her womb
The courtroohly publicized case involving the deaths of a small family Tension filled the air as the jurors were seated The anguished father sat a for the verdict His absolute stillness and grie should have warned the others, but like all humans, they were lost in their own personal cares
Fate stood in the back of the courtroom, invisible to all eyes She already knew the verdict that was about to be read by the foreperson That hy she was here—several lives were about to be irrevocably changed
When the not guilty verdict was read, Fate saw Philip Dawson ju his hand vehe in relief, he didn’t realize his joy was adding fuel to the fla in Thomas Shelton’s body, whose wife and unborn child’s deaths had been the direct result of Dawson’s driving under the influence
To give him credit, Dawson’s lawyer appeared modest and tried to quiet his client Others stopped by the table congratulating hial field had speculated to be unwinnable