Page 28 of I Ran Away to Evil #3
The Keeper of Fate
Gerda
I walked onto the bridge connecting to the west wing tower, some twenty floors above the ground, and simply chose not to bring my erstwhile shadow with me.
The sky bridge was reinforced with magic, and there was a protective barrier just below that would catch anyone who slipped and fell off its surface.
Ornate coral-pink railings came up to my hip on either side of the bridge.
From this vantage point, I could make out the faint shimmer of the magically engineered barriers set up by the grand duchess.
Whatever guards she had up against nefarious ne’er-do-wells portaling into the palace did not ward against bridge magic.
They were different skills entirely, but also different magics.
The portal skill tree functioned without preset points, which meant that the system directly connected from where a portal user was to the place they were going to portal to.
Bridge magic, on the other hand, made permanent connections to my controlled bridges.
There was no portal; I was just walking across a bridge.
If portal magic was founded on traveling through space, bridge magic was built on dimensional magic—and worked outside of the realm itself. It was a cheat which let me break into dungeons, bypass certain barriers, and create permanent links in a way that portals didn’t.
Making my way across the bridge, there was movement below as knights combed the palace grounds, searching for the missing Countess Julia. There was no point in hiding my presence and making myself a target, so I simply walked into the west wing and took the stairs down to my room.
“[Oracle].” Once inside, I lay down on my bed and activated my title. I wanted to see what would happen if I didn’t interfere,
[ Oracle: You are witness to the strings of Fate and her weave. The story unfolds, and the Chosen of each deity mark the way.
You have found 8/12 Chosen.
Impending Scenarios: 5/12 Chosen.
Arbiter of Shadow - The Guild Engagement
Steward of Life - The Burning Bridge
Harbinger of Dreams - The Soul Quest
Paladin of Light - The Chloe Question
Heroine of Justice - The Great Chase
Timeline access restricted.
Available Scenarios: All Scenarios within current Domain boundaries available. All Scenarios impending within 6.5 days available.
Oracle timeline: 4 mins 30 seconds.
Please select Chosen.]
[Oracle] was one of the primary reasons I could affect the story as much as I did, but it was dangerous.
I selected Paladin of Light. Green light engulfed my eyesight.
I was sitting in a warehouse’s cold floor, hands shackled above my head with Veralyn’s Enchanted Restraint Manacles. I felt weak and tired.
“You’re awake, Paladin of Light,” a voice spoke from the darkness.
“Who are you?” My heart beat faster in my chest. This was the worst time to be kidnapped! I needed to escape and find my way back to Chloe.
“I’m the Keeper of Fate.” A figure stepped closer, and I could make out a small feminine frame. “And I’m here with a proposal. I recommend you take it.”
I grinned up at the woman, hiding my unease with my winning smile. “Sorry, Keeper, but I’m already taken.”
“You should listen, because I’m willing to let your lover live … for another’s fate.”
It was hard, but I kept my lighthearted disposition. Leaning back, I crossed my legs in front of me and shrugged. “I don’t make deals with villains. If you so much as touch a hair on my wife’s head, then no god or goddess in the nine realms will be able to save you.”
My captor didn’t take the threat to heart and continued. “Oh, I’m not a villain. I am a reckoning.”
“Oh, really?” That didn’t sound good.
“I’m tired of trying to right the weave one fate at a time,” the voice grumbled. “So if I can gather enough of the fated into one place, I can get rid of them all at once!”
“I thought you said you wouldn’t harm Chloe?” I accused, knowing full well that any search party would have my love front and center.
“Yes. The necromancer, the heroine, and the duke may live.” The figure paced angrily. “But the Dark Lord must die, and his general.”
“But … why?” Curiosity got the better of me. “The entire continent has been turned on its head from the Blackfog rising. Why permanent death? You’ve even been caught targeting civilians. It makes no sense.”
“I’m like you, Paladin of Light. I have a duty, and I serve a path.
” The figure snapped her fingers, and a single pink light appeared, hovering over her shoulder.
Her hair was blonde, and her eyes were cornflower blue.
She was one of the most beautiful people I’d ever laid eyes upon.
Revulsion and adoration warred within me.
I was in love with Chloe, but for a single, heartbreaking moment, I almost felt something for the woman before me.
She lifted a hand, pink magical threads bound to each finger. One thread shimmered brighter than the rest, and a portal appeared.
“I am the Keeper of Fate”—she shot me a too-sweet smile as she reached out and grabbed my hair—“and I’m going to make everything right again.”
Without a by-your-leave, she portaled me away.
I broke from the trance, breathing erratically. It was mentally draining to wrench my mind from the four-minute scenario, and I started dry heaving from the awful feeling.
It took a while, but I eventually crawled off the bed and left from the merchant cargo area by the port city gate. It was the only part of my map with warehouses.
A knight stopped me on the second floor. “Where are you going?”
“To look around the city.”
“Have you been in the palace all day?”
“No,” I deliberately told the truth so that I wouldn’t set off any abilities. “I was helping search for our missing countess, since I was with Queen Henrietta when she got the news.”
“If you find anything, please report immediately.”
“I will.”
It took two more interrogations before I was out of the palace grounds.
I was not a travel-based character type, and I hated running, so I walked to the main thoroughfare a block away and found a rickshaw willing to take me to the northeast gate for extra coin.
The wolfman shot me a toothy grin as he bit the silver coin I gave him before pocketing it and grabbing the handles of his person-pulled carriage. I fit myself comfortably on a wooden seat, and he was off.
We were two streets from the gate when I called out, “Driver! You can let me out here!”