Birth of a Thief: Crown Of Thieves, #0

By Paul Sating

The world refused to help her.
So she helped herself to the world.

Yuni wouldn't become a victim to fate until she was shunned for having strange powers she didn't understand.

Stopping a group of thieves from robbing local merchants earned her coin and respect she desperately needed, but it also created enemies.

And now those thieves want her to steal the most precious magical item in all of Allidor.

If she agrees, she might live to see another day. If she refuses, she'll need to rely on her blossoming skills and power she can't control or her next meal may be her last.
 

What do you do when neither path is the one you want to take?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paul Sating
• Release date: Apr 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393655459

Book preview

Birth of a Thief

Paul Sating

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

Copyright © 2020 Paul Sating

All rights reserved.

No parts of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

ASIN: B0863FZTND

To every single Patron who supports me on Patreon—because of you, I was able to invest in Allidor and the story of Crown of Thieves. Thank you for helping me journey to this world!

Birth of a Thief is a story I created for my existing fans who know me as a horror, suspense, lore, and audio drama podcast writer. It is for those who have yet to meet me, but who are looking for new fantasy.

Though I launched my author career off the back of my fiction podcast horror, suspense, thriller, dystopian, and drama stories, fantasy has always been at the core of who I am. It is my first love.

In 2020, I will begin publishing an Urban Fiction series called The Zodiac. The first four books (Bitter Aries, The Horn of Taurus, The Gemini Paradox, and Cancer's Curse) will publish. If the early books are successful, more books in the series will follow.

But in 2021, I will look to publish my first Epic Fantasy, set in the world of Allidor (which you are about to journey into). The series falls under my Crown of Thieves story. Patrons get a podcast version of future stories in this world. Episode 1, "Of Dreams and Ambitions" was released last year and the second episode is in the works. If you enjoy this story, consider becoming a Patron for even more exclusives by clicking on the link above.

Without further adieu, I welcome you to the world of Allidor!

Always be epic,

Paul

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Reviews not only help other readers find something they might like, but they help me as an author. Your reviews are important to me because they allow me to see what readers like you enjoyed about the book and what I could have done better.

Thank you to each and every one of you who takes the time to leave a review!

Chapter One - Friends and Enemies

By Allidor's eyes, Yuni Tumbruv hissed, her father's appearance nearly ruining everything she'd planned. Rolling behind the half stump of a long-dead oak tree that once provided valuable shade to her family's home, she assessed her surroundings.

Hegiel Tumbruv crossed the open plot of land, headed back to the small, decaying barn he always said he'd repair but never did. Yuni thought he'd already strapped the plow to Bayley, their draft horse, and was busy in the field. Her inattention to his whereabouts almost led to her being caught before she snuck away. Only by the blessing of Relca, the god of nature and kindness, did her presence outside the house go undetected, and the subsequent beating undelivered.

Peering above the stump, she surveyed the open field ahead. It would be difficult to cross without being detected before she reached the Whispering Woods. Hundreds of strides lay between her and freedom. If her father had been in the field, she would already be away. A quick distraction, that was all she needed. Yuni was fast enough to disappear the moment he turned his back to something like a stubborn horse or troublesome goat. But now she was caught in between two minds. If she waited him out, she would reach the forest undetected. But that meant risking her mother noticing her absence from the upstairs loft where Yuni was supposed to be patching clothes.

Neither option being attractive, Yuni, fourteen cycles old, sprang from behind the stump and cut across the field, using the thickest area of corn stalks to provide cover, careful not to move any if she could help it. Many areas were sparse, threatening a meager yield later in the season, and would be easier to navigate without drawing attention. Moving through them would be quicker. But there was too much chance moving to the dead side of the fields, closer to where her father worked.

If he were to catch me. The thought was dark and troubling, the catalyst to why she was doing this in the first place.

No, even if the healthy part of the field was slower and forced her to be more careful, it still gave her the best chance of getting away. Getting away wasn't good enough. She needed to disappear and return from this important event without either of her parents realizing that she was gone.

Her feet landing softly on the mud, Yuni's heart thudded, half from the excitement and exhilaration and half out of fear. She race toward the Whispering Woods. The trees called to her. Lately, the woods had become the only place in her tiny world where she felt like herself, where she could be herself.

As she ran deeper into the field, that nightmare world faded away, only her panting breaths and the wind whipping by filled her ears, obscuring the sounds of hopeless life on the farm.

Please Genfere, let me do this without them discovering, Yuni prayed to the god of blessings.

Genfere didn't answer as the tree line approached.

The weight of Allidor lifted from her shoulders as soon as Yuni leaped into the first row of trees in the Whispering Woods, the place where she would meet her mortal enemy. Snickering, she sprang through the trees, toward battle. War had come to Farlene … at least for her and one other.

A hundred march paces into the forest, she neared the spot where battle would commence. Yuni slowed and dropped to a crouch, moving through the underbrush and using the largest trees as cover. Varl, her enemy, would too. He could be anywhere. Even right behind her. As cautious as she'd been escaping her father's eye, she needed to be tenfold as careful with Varl.

She circled the tree, a large oak as wide as a bull, hoping to catch Varl unsuspecting if he were following her. But he wasn't on the other side. Nothing was but a green layer of lush forest that mocked her mistake in silence.

She'd anticipated him bending the rules and failed. Had he witnessed her miscalculation? Could it be part of his larger plot to destroy her?

Covering her blush, Yuni approached the agreed battle space, deftly launching herself over a fallen log and seeing the puddle on the other side at the last moment. On her descent toward the slimy water, she adjusted in mid-flight, landing one–footed on a half-submerged rock and relaunching herself before her other foot struck the brackish water. When she landed, it was not only on solid ground, but also a dried branch. It cracked under her assault. The sound seemed to fill the Whispering Woods, and she grimaced, crouching below the undersized underbrush in front of her, waiting for any sign that her enemy noticed.

Her heart started. The wind made the foliage dance a saltarello, an irreverent reaction to the grave struggle between two humans occurring in their realm.

Where are you? Yuni whispered in a low growl.

The Whispering Woods was not large, deep or dense. Plenty of sun streamed through the gaps in the trees, lighting the forest floor and illuminating the flora. That was when she saw it. A thick fig leaf swayed in the opposite direction of the others around it, against the wind.

Varl.

Yuni drew her sword, sure that it was him and not a wayward forest troll or even a boar. The poor beast would get a nasty surprise if she were wrong.

Hopefully I don't find myself on the wrong end of a tusk, Yuni smiled to herself, moving toward the unnaturally swaying bush.

Thirty paces deeper, she paused to listen.

To her left, the slight signal she'd been searching for, the crunching of a leather-covered foot on the moist forest floor. Varl had trained her how to distinguish between human and beast, and now his own lessons would initiate his demise. The battle she'd waited weeks for was about to begin.

The forest was a chaotic maze of sporadic trees and thick underbrush, perfect concealment for small animals and sneaky humans. And if Varl was anything, he was the latter.

A gust blew through the trees, overlaying the sound of the rhythmic, careful steps of the hidden figure. Yuni crept in the direction where she first heard the noise, convinced she had pinpointed the boy she was here to beat to mush. She took a straight line approach, even though she had to be careful. If she had the advantage, she wanted to keep it. A circular path was safer, but it would take longer and give Varl time to find a good defensive position.

Fifteen paces away, Yuni paused, holding her breath and listening. Nothing but wind. In frustration, she gripped the hilt of her wood sword tighter, the leather gloves creaking against its rough surface. If she was quiet enough, Varl would give his location away.

But then she lost the battle before it began.

Ah ha, a humored voice taunted from behind as the point of a sword was pressed against the base of her neck, splitting her auburn hair. She felt a snag, like he'd caught her tunic collar. You've given yourself away, handing yourself over to fate. So sloppy.

Yuni tucked her head and dove, rolling forward while bringing her sword up in a horizontal block just as he swung down at her. Wood cracked against wood, echoing around the small area of the forest. She kicked out, connecting with his shin. Varl winced and yanked his leg up instinctively. As he did Yuni, still planted on a single leg, her sweeping leg still to the side, spun in a complete circle, her leg extended and connected with his standing ankle, wiping it out.

He went down in a heap and curse. Ooof!

She was on her feet first, the advantage hers once again. From the ground, Varl, his dark eyes twinkling, wore a grin that split his short mustache and beard. His facial hair was too full, too thick for someone of sixteen cycles, but Yuni still liked it. His mature look countered his boyish temperament.