Page 46 of Fateless

“Halek, what is going on?” I asked, sliding into the seat beside him. “This isn’t like you. What happened in the fight with the abomination?”

He gave me a mournful, blue-eyed stare, then let out a heavy sigh. “I guess it’s not your fault,” he murmured, staring into his drink. “You’re the Fateless, whatever that means. I don’t know much about it.”

“I don’t know anything about being Fateless,” I told him in a whisper. I could feel Raithe’s eyes on me and deliberately did not look at him. “I don’t even know what a Fatelessis,much lessif I am one or not. But what does that have to do with whatever is happening here?”

Halek continued to stare into his mug. “I think... no, I’m pretty certain that monster was supposed to kill me,” he finally confessed. “I couldfeelit. While the three of us were fighting, before you came back, I suddenly knew. And for just a second, I was relieved. I thought I had cheated it, back in the ancient city.”

Kysa frowned. “Cheated what?” she asked. “Death?”

“My fate,” Halek said, looking up at the insect rider. “Fatechasers know when their destiny has come,” he explained. “Like I told Sparrow earlier, we can’t predict how it happens, but we do know it when it arrives. I was ready this time. I was prepared. I had already cheated it once—this was just Fate catching up with me.”

Kysa shook her head. “I apologize,” she murmured, looking both bewildered and incredulous. “The ways of the Fatechasers make little sense to me.”

“It’s all right. You’re in good company.” Halek gazed at me again, and his eyes were haunted. “I was ready to meet my fate. But then... you came back. And just like that, it was gone. I’m still here and...” He swallowed. “My fate is still out there, waiting for me.”

I frowned at the implied accusation. “I’m not sorry that you’re alive, Halek,” I said. “I would help you again, if it came to that.”

“I know. And I don’t want you to apologize. This isn’t your fault, Sparrow. I just...” Halek paused, and the mug between his fingers shook as he stared at it. “I’m afraid now,” he whispered. “I’ve never feared my own death before, but I have this terriblefeeling that I have somehow cheated Fate and thrown off the balance of the world. And the longer I’m alive, the worse my fate will be when it finally catches up.”

I put a hand on his arm, making him flinch, though he didn’t look at me. “How close is it now?” he whispered. “Am I going to step out of this room and be impaled by a guard chasing down a thief? Or will the shelf above my cot snap and crush my skull in my sleep? Maybe I’ll just get tossed overboard by a random gust of wind. Anything could happen.”

“Anything could happen,” Raithe agreed. “To any of us. At any time. Every step, no matter which direction we go, brings us closer to meeting our fate.Howyou take those steps is what matters.”

“Yes,” Kysa broke in. “The iylvahn understands. A warrior steps proudly, unafraid of what Fate puts in their path. Will you let this so-called destiny paralyze you into not moving at all?”

“I...” Halek scrubbed a hand through his shock of blond hair. “You don’t understand,” he muttered. “I have never been afraid of death. I’ve never shied away from what could be the end for me. But now I feel that I’ve somehow... missed what I was supposed to do. I’ve cheated Fate, and the repercussions are coming. They could be lurking around any corner, and the uncertainty is driving me mad. How can I keep going, knowing that? If it didn’t go against the entire Fatechaser creed, I’d throw myself overboard right now and save Fate the trouble.”

“Or...” I bumped his shoulder with mine. “You could keep living, keep defying Fate, for as long as you can. You know it’s coming. You’ll be ready when it arrives. But until then, each dayis a blessing you didn’t have before. You can do things Fate or destiny never expected.”

Halek blinked, staring at me for a long moment. “That’s an... interesting thought,” he finally mused. “A Fatechaser who defies their fate? Who dodges when it comes for them?” A shadow of his old grin crept across his face. “It’s almost blasphemous.”

I shrugged. “It’s what I would do.”

“Of course you would. You’re Sparrow. The Fateless. You don’t—” Halek suddenly sat straight up, his eyes going wide. “Oh,” he breathed. “I get it. I understand now.”

I frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“You’rethe reason.” He turned, his face so close I could see myself in the deep blue of his gaze. The hint of alcohol lingered on his breath as he smiled. “Every time I was about to meet my fate, you appeared, and it vanished. You’re my lucky charm, my protection amulet. As long as you’re here, Fate can’t get me.”

I leaned back. He was obviously drunk and not thinking straight. “I don’t know if it works that way, Halek.”

“It doesn’t,” Raithe muttered beside us.

“No, it makes perfect sense!” Halek threw an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close. Strangely enough, I didn’t mind. “You and me, Sparrow,” he slurred, lifting his mug in a drunken toast. “Nothing can stop us. We’ll laugh in Fate’s fate... face Fate... Fate’s...” He coughed. “We’ll laugh at Fate together. You’re stuck with me now.”

I met Kysa’s gaze across the table, and she shook her head. “The ways of outsiders are strange indeed,” she mused.

Seventeen

It would take six days for the sand strider to reach the port of Damassi on the other side of the Dust Sea. To pass the time, I wandered the strider’s innards, familiarizing myself with the vessel, from the upper decks to the deep lower bowels where most of the d’wevryn crew lived and worked. I memorized the layout, taking note of good escape routes, hidey-holes, and places I could lose any potential attackers in the labyrinthine corridors of the strider.

Evenings were spent either in the tavern or the common spaces with Halek. Sometimes, Raithe joined us, and on rare occasions, Kysa would appear, when her duties as a scout permitted. The insect rider seemed fascinated with us, and me in particular; she would often ask me about Kovass and its fall to the Deathless King. But talking about Kovass and my life before brought up painful memories, and I avoided the subject when I could. But the insect rider was persistent.

“You know you cannot keep running forever,” she told me one evening. We were back in the cramped, dingy tavern, the smell of grease and pipe smoke thick on the air. Halek had been roped into a game of Triple Fang by the d’wevryn regulars, and I pitied their ignorance. The Fatechaser had nearly the same uncanny luck as I did when it came to dice. The difference was,he was charismatic and well liked enough to get away with it.

I smirked to hide the unease tracing a cold finger up my spine, and leaned back with a shrug. “I can give it my best shot.”

“The Deathless King will come for us all,” the insect rider went on, ignoring my last statement. Apparently, the Scarab Clan had their own legends of the Deathless Kings. “If everyone runs away, his empire will only grow, swallowing kingdoms like a sandstorm. If there is no resistance, the Deathless King will not stop until every living thing is consumed. There will be nowhere to run. Better to face him, to slow that tide, than to cower in fear, waiting for him to find you.”

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