Tyche's Trials

By Mary Kit Caelsto

Rota is calling.

The magical island has called Tyche home. Before she can take her place on the Council of Good Fortune, she must undergo the island's trials. Is she still worthy of sitting with her fellow goddesses? Or has the events since Rota last called her home rendered her unable to continue her duties. The island demands only the most worthy to join its causes. Will Tyche survive the ghosts of her past and live to secure the future?

Author's Note: These stories stand alone, though reading Tyche's other stories will help provide a fuller picture of the goddess' role among us.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mary Kit Caelsto
• Release date: Apr 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005992705

Book preview

Tyche’s Trials

A Par Impar Story

Mary Kit Caelsto

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Par Impar Front Matter

Other Par Impar Stories

Newsletter CTA

Also by

The Arrival

Trojan Man Mistake Part 1

Trojan Man Mistake Part 2

The Lady Luck Part 1

The Lady Luck Part 2

Laddie’s Famine

Return to Par Impar

Hidden

Tonic Chords

Songs and Horns

About The Author

The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized editions and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated. Permission is granted to make ONE backup copy for archival purposes.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, places, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

TYCHE’S TRIALS

Copyright © Mary Kit Caelsto, 2020

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Cover Art © 2020

Cover art by Epona Author Solutions

Book formatting by Epona Author Solutions (http://www.eponaauthorsolutions.com)

Electronic Publication Date: April 2021

A previous version of this story was included in a collaborative project; however, this story has been revised to remove any refrences to them.

This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author.

TRADEMARK ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Par Impar and Rota are trademarks of Fortuna de Conatibus.

Looking for more stories of Par Impar?

Visit www.parimpar.club to read more stories set in the Caribbean resort open to magical and mythical creatures alike. New stories are posted twice a month.

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List of Par Impar Stories

In addition to the ongoing stories published on our website, the following are books/collections also produced by Par Impar and Fortuna dea Conatibus

Bad Luck Titan (free on our website)

From The Deep

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Currently offering God Plucked, a free serialized novel set in the Radio Arcanum world.

Also by the Author

Women’s Fiction

Noble Dreams Series

Steady on Course

Standing on Course

Correction on Course

Walking on Course

Course Perfect

Shadbelly Faults

Husband On Board

Double Clear

Riding Double

Rosettes & Rompers

Crossed Rails

International Obstacles

Baby Green

Mare Stare

Future Courses

Noble Dreams Year 1 (boxed set books 1-5)

Noble Dreams Year 2 (boxed sets book 6-10)

Western Star Series

Spins Are Wild

Turn & Burn

In the Chute

Back In The Saddle

Winning It All

Western Star (boxed set)

Racehorses & Romance

Racing Home

Claiming His Irish Trainer

His Irish Proposal

Fantasy/Magic Realism

World of the Musimagium and Radio Arcana

Hidden

Tonic Chords

Songs & Horns

Discovery of Songs

Songs & Paperwork

Songs & Fury

Chasing Neptune’s Cat

Tempus Magic

The Pegasus Project

Pegasus In Flight

Draco Magus

Radio Arcanum

Racing Luck

The Arrival

My sister stood on the banks of Rota wearing a white dress. Her long, dark hair hung in a braid down her back. Her white shift covered her from head to toes, shoulders to wrists, and was so out of character for Plouto, I suspected she might be an apparition instead.

Thank you, Tristran, I told the boatman as I disembarked. It was good to see you again, even if it was under these circumstances.

Same to you, Lady Luck. Tristran turned to his wheel as I stepped onto the dock and walked across the pier toward the beach.

You came, Plouto said, her husky voice seemingly at one with the night.

Rota called. What could I do? I shrugged and hated the tremor of fear racing through me. Rota never called without exacting a price.

The Council is ready. You’re the last to arrive. Her somber tone reinforced how serious the situation was and how long I’d tarried.

I nodded.

Come this way. You must begin the trials immediately. She led me over the sandy beach, through a small wooden gate leading to a jungle-like garden. Tall palm trees blocked out the moon. A bat crossed the distance between them, pausing to snatch an insect from midair. The scent of salt faded to be replaced by the heady aroma of night blooming flowers. She opened a wooden door set into the stone face of the main complex. The hallway led down stairs into a rarely used chamber.

I entered and stared at the thin mattress covered in a blanket the color of the deepest ocean and a matching pillow. Without saying anything, I lay down. Will you be my guard? I asked.

Plouto nodded. I will.

Thank you. I closed my eyes. A moment later pungent smoke filled the room, a mixture of mugwort, myrica gale, damiana, and celastrus paniculatus. The herbs had been chosen for their ability to work on the mind and to raise hidden memories. That was the part that worried me. I’d done too much over the centuries, interfered too little, and when the time came to be judged, I may not be worthy.

The door closed and I knew Plouto stood outside. She’d be awake for as long as it took for me to complete the trial. I would have liked to sit down, have tea, maybe even discuss the situation with the other ladies. That they didn’t allow me worried me further.

I’d been among humans too long. I’d let myself get pulled into Olympus’ games and dalliances as if I were one of them. I wasn’t. Not anymore. Not really ever.

And what were they doing to make things different for mortals, to help the world become the Elysian fields that we’d always imagined? I had no answers and as anger wouldn’t help me with the trials, I let it fade from my awareness.

Four images flashed in my mind. A Trojan Horse, my pirate ship, the potato famine, and a radio tower. Each one imprinted on me my failures, my complete lack of follow through when it came to my obligations, and the ways in which I’d failed the Council. Things had been so much easier