The Daughter of Fate

By Jessica Albee

It started with Death and Creation.
It ended with death.

A young woman's fate entangled with the fate of the most unlikely of men. Recent college grad Mackenzie Blake finds herself in a unique predicament when her grandfather tells her that she bears the power of a fate. Anything she writes will come to pass. Learning about her family and her past, she soon finds herself on the run from all sorts of creatures and people including a handsome, charming man by the name of Father Gabriel Vella.

Father Gabriel Vella was dying. Heart cancer, a rare and inoperable version. He was at the end of his life, he knew it. He was seventy-five after all, but when he falls into a coma, the fates disguised as god come to him. They make him a deal. Agreeing to the deal, he begins to hunt down Mackenzie Blake, only knowing her by the tattoo on her back. What happens when a priest who fails to kill a heretic meets a young woman desperate to survive?

What happens when the supernatural collides with the real and the two pair up? Can the two of them survive when the rest of the world is against them?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wolf Paw Publications
• Release date: Aug 20, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311821683

Jessica Albee

Jess Albee grew up and still lives in Massachusetts in United States with her husband, children and cats. She is married with two kids and she currently working as a certified nursing assistant.When she finds a spare moment, she lives her passion as an author.

Book preview

Prologue

Mornings always came too quickly and today it was no different. Her eyes opened slowly as she heard the sound of rain hitting the roof. God, she hated when it rained and it always seemed to rain on bad days; like the day her husband was killed, and of course, it had rained on the day she buried him. She finally sat up in bed, trying not to feel sad as she looked over at her nightstand. Next to her lamp was her wedding photo, she scooted to the edge of the bed and picked it up. She had been wearing a mostly black dress, but it had some white, and he wore a tux that matched her dress, but he wore no tie or bow tie. They had found them in France, and him wanting her to be happy and feel beautiful, had bought it for her. It had taken a lot of convincing to get him to wear something other than his clerical clothing, but it had been well worth the argument.

She ran her finger over her husband's face as a smile formed on her lips. She brought the picture to her lips and placed a kiss to his face. It had been eighteen years since he died and still, she missed him. She could still feel him next to her in the bed they used to share. She put the picture down on the table and made her way to the kitchen. She had meant to have coffee, read the paper, and relax, but time had come to an end for her, she could feel it. She looked at the date on the newspaper and felt a sense of dread, time was ending for her sooner then she thought. She decided that if today was the day she was going to die; she wasn't going to worry about what she ate and drank. She opened the bottle of red wine she kept in case of emergency, and poured herself a glass.

She took the glass of wine up to her room and put it on the table next to her bed before carrying herself to the bookshelf. If this was going to be the end for her then she wanted a good book by her side before she went. She ran her fingers over the binding of the books until she hit a photo album. She pulled it out and brought it to the bed. She grabbed her wine and opened the album. She flipped through, finding pictures from her wedding and pictures from different trips they made during the times he did missionary work. She smiled as she found one of her favorite pictures. He was helping to rebuild homes in America after a horrible natural disaster hit. He was drinking a bottle of water, with no shirt on, the sun glistening off the sweat on his bare chest. It was the first, and only, time he went without a shirt in public. He had been wearing dark, dirty jeans and work boots. She had snapped the picture and even though he hated it, he never complained about her having it.

She spent the day drinking wine, and looking through her photo albums. When she felt like it was the time, she replaced the photo albums just the way they had been. She leaned against the shelf for a moment, and after a few minutes, she went to the nightstand where the bottle of wine sat and poured herself one last glass of wine. Before she took a sip, she raised the glass in a kind of salute in the direction of her husband’s picture.

Well, I guess this is it. She kissed her fingertips and placed them against the picture frame. I'll see you soon.

A cold shiver crept down her back as she moved, so that she was standing in front of the window and stared down at the street below her. She knew what was coming next, it had been a long time coming and she was ready. She was tired, on top of which, it was cold, and it had started to rain again. It’s a perfect day to die, she thought to herself when she felt the room get colder. She knew he was here; she had been feeling his presence now for a long time, so when he finally arrived, she was ready. The door opened as she took another sip from her glass. She could hear him moving closer to her, then, he stopped right behind her. She could smell the decay on him and she knew that it was finally her time. She looked into the glass pane and what she saw didn't surprise her. She already knew, she had known for a long time. He didn't move and he didn't say a word for the moment. He just stood patiently behind her, waiting for her to be at peace.

I understand that this has to come to pass, Grandfather, Her voice was soft as she kept His gaze in the reflection of the windowpane. She wasn't afraid of him nor was she afraid to die. She just had one question before she did. Why him?

Because it had to be. Came the raspy response of the creature behind her. She nodded slowly, and took one last sip of wine. His hand touched her shoulder gently, almost lovingly. Then she fell to the floor of her bedroom.

The wine in her hand crashed to the ground next to her, staining the white carpet red.

Chapter 1

Twenty-five years earlier

He leaned back in the chair of the waiting room as he waited to be seen by the doctor for his test results. About a week ago, he ended up in the emergency room after nearly passing out during a sermon. He had grown weak and tired in the last few weeks and his heart had been giving him some issues. He ran a hand over his short hair in impatience. Usually, he was a very patient person, but he had been waiting for over a week to find out the results of his tests, all while he had been getting more tired. He had work to do and he wanted to get what he needed so he could get back to it. He closed his eyes for a moment while he leaned his head back against the headrest of the chair.

Gabriel Vella? he heard the nurse call out and he got up. He followed her into the doctor's office. "I’m just here to be consulted about the test results," he silently reminded himself, though he felt a feeling of dread he couldn’t explain. The nurse led him into the doctor's office. The older man stood up and held out his hand and Gabriel took it.

Doctor.

Father, the doctor motioned to the chair across from him. Have a seat, there's something we need to discuss. Gabriel sat down and leaned back in the chair. He kept his eyes on the doctor as the man opened a folder on the desk. "We went through all your tests, twice, and they all came up with the same results. You have cancer."

Excuse me? Gabriel couldn't believe what he was hearing. He ran a hand over his face as he took a deep breath, waiting for the doctor to continue.

"You have Angio Sarcoma, cancer of the heart... and surgery is not an option. The doctor seemed sympathetic, but Gabriel was too overwhelmed to listen to the sound of his voice. If we do surgery you will die."

I'm going to die anyway! His tone was a bit angry. He took a deep breath, calming himself down. I'm sorry. What are all my options?

You don't have any options... The doctor sighed, watching Gabriel. There isn't anything we can do. At this rate, you'll be dead in about three months. I am truly sorry, Father.

Never be sorry for God's will. Gabriel smiled weakly at the doctor. If it was truly his time to die, he would accept it. God would take him into his arms and Gabriel could be at peace. How wrong could one man be? If it is my time, I will accept it; because, Doctor, everything withers and dies.

You're taking this well.

Like I said, everything dies, it happens to be my time. Gabriel shook the doctor's hand before leaving the office. For some unknown reason, despite being somewhat at peace, a sense of dread ran down the priest's back.

Chapter 2

One year later

Late. Of course she was late, it was the day of her last final and she was racing down the hall almost a half hour late. She skidded to a stop in front of the lecture hall where she was going to be taking her mythology final. She took a deep breath, straightened her shirt, and entered the room. Everyone looked up at her as she entered and she felt herself blush from embarrassment. She moved slowly towards the teacher who was sitting behind the desk. He was a rather short man probably about five foot six, in his sixties, with salt and pepper colored hair. His eyes were gold, just like hers, which she thought was pretty cool, and he was a kind man. He smiled up at her as she put down the pile of papers in her hand on his desk. She took a moment to breathe as she looked at him.

I'm sorry, Professor Blake. Oh yeah and he had the same last name as her, which fascinated her. ... I didn't get much sleep last night, I was up late studying. Which was a complete lie. Her friends had dragged her out last night to celebrate her last final. She woke up that morning with a bad hangover and a new tattoo on her back.

I'm sure. He smiled and winked almost knowingly before handing her a test. She felt herself blush at his attention. He was one of those professors that most people had a crush on, including some of the boys. Have a seat, Miss. Blake.

Thank you.

Mackenzie spent the next hour and a half trying to make it through the final with a massive headache. She was successful and was pretty sure that she had at least passed with a B. She handed the professor her test and told him she would see him at graduation. He thanked her for being in his class and let her leave. She glanced at her watch and realized that because of her being late for her final, she was going to be late meeting her grandfather for lunch. She hated being late for anything with her grandfather. He was a punctual person, so she usually got a lecture if she was late for anything, today would be no different. She adjusted the backpack on her shoulders and took off at a run across campus. She was not paying attention to where she was going and ran into a woman.

I'm so sorry. She stopped to make sure the woman was okay. I'm late for lunch.

It's alright, just be more careful. The woman helped steady Mackenzie, since she almost fell over. Mackenzie blushed in embarrassment for the second time that day and ran off after thanking the woman. The woman turned to a tall elderly man, with a rather luscious white beard, who stood next to her. "So that was her?"

Yeah. The man spoke, crossing his arms over his chest.

"She's very young... are you positive? The woman spoke softly looking at the man standing next to her... The man nodded. How can someone so young be the cause of so much destruction?"

I don't know, but that's the one your sisters want dead. The man spoke softly. He put his arm around the woman's shoulder and she sighed. She leaned her head against his shoulder. The man spoke again. Problem is, she's one of the last... if she dies, we can't succeed.

So what are you saying? The woman watched the college students around them rush to their next final or whatever else they were doing. They continued to walk across the campus, this time they walked hand in hand rather than his arm around her shoulder.

I suggest we use her to our own advantages. The man looked at her for a moment. We could do exactly what we want; we could just use her...

Oh, you are a clever, clever man.

I know.

***

Mackenzie dropped the bag off her shoulder as the herd of horses went racing through the streets. She couldn't believe it. This was way out of the ordinary. No way would a herd of mustangs be racing down a busy street in London, and what made it worse was it seemed so familiar, though she couldn't figure out where she had seen such a spectacle. As she tried to think, she noticed there were cops in cars following behind the horses. Finally, it occurred to her. She wrote this when she was in third grade. At least it ended well, but still, this was not possible. Her phone went off and she swore under her breath. She would have loved to stay and see how this played out, but she was much more concerned about getting a lecture from her grandfather, then she was curious about this.

She grabbed the bag off the floor and ran off in the direction of the restaurant. She sighed as she pulled open the door and looked over at the man who was her grandfather. She rarely, if ever called her grandfather by anything but his name, Elliot. She smiled shakily as he stood up. She was suddenly feeling very tired. She watched her grandfather’s face change from annoyance to worry.

Kenzie, what's wrong? He spoke with a very strong Irish accent.

Elliot, there was ... Horses and... Streets... and. she couldn't catch her breath and then her eyes closed; there was nothing else she could do. She couldn't open her eyes and the last thing she remembered was landing in the arms of her grandfather.

Chapter 3

Gabriel sighed deeply as he got out of his old beat up truck. He looked up at the hospital

Reviews for The Daughter of Fate

[s.cuanam_policar · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

***I did the newest round of editing on this work and thus cannot speak of any errors I may have or may not have found***This story follows Mackenzie Blake and Gabriel Vella. Mackenzie, a girl raised by her grandparents after her parents are killed, is being hunted by Gabriel. Gabriel, a priest, tasked with the job of ridding the world of Mackenzie, by the Holy Trinity, finds that carrying out this task, one that would guarantee him entrance into Heaven, is a lot harder than he'd have thought.God isn't the only one that wants Mackenzie dead, Gabriel learns this the hard way as mythological creatures start attacking them from every corner.I really loved this book. I did the first round edits back in 2013 and did the 3rd and final edits which are the new revisions to the uploaded book. The story never gets old, and I never get tired of reading it.While the story is fast-paced and jumps through nearly a decade of time in so few pages, it doesn't leave the reader confused. The story flows continuously, and the characters are nicely developed.I think many of us would like Michael's full story, as that seems to be the only mildly confusing element to the story. Once his story is told the questions he leaves wide open in this book will be answered.The only other aspect of this story I think could use expanding on.. is the professor mentioned in chapter 2. He's only mentioned the one time, but there is relevance in the fact that he's not only gifted like Mackenzie, but has her last name. While this won't bother most readers, it will annoy some since it seems like a hole in the story. I would suggest reintroducing this character into a future book and perhaps expanding on him so we can find out why he has the same last name as Mackenzie.I do know Jessica is working on book 2 of this series and I personally can't wait to read it.I give this book 5 of 5 stars.

[t1774ny · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I received this book in exchange for an honest review (LoP or Lovers of Paranormal).

As of now (did not finish the book) my rating is more like 2.5

I was so excited that this book was offered to be reviewed as I already had it in my wish list/want to read list since I was undecided about buying it.

I thought I would enjoy the book because the synopsis was so interesting and it looked like something I would like. It could be that I’m just very busy at the moment with life (uni and work) but I couldn’t finish this book. I didn’t read a lot (possibly just up to chapter 2 or 3). But I will still post up my review and if/when I finish this book I will edit my review.

The beginning really pulled me in. I wanted to know more about the female protagonist and I was ready to be emotionally invested to her story. What I believe the author had done was writing the ending at the beginning as a way to pull the reader in so they’ll wonder, “What happened to so-and-so? How did she get into that situation” and etc. I usually don’t mind that kind of technique of showing the “future” of the story but this time it irked me because the rest of the pacing of the story didn’t work for me.
A man given a second chance and I just knew that he would fall in love with the woman and lose his life in exchange but what made it weird for me was that the man was a Catholic priest and he is mentally aged 70-something (even if his body is back to its youth). I couldn’t accept that the age gap and the life style would work out for the woman and the man. I liked where they met, which was at the hospital.

I’m not sure why but I couldn’t find the urge to read on. Hopefully when I’m not so busy I’ll finish this book.