He cut her off with a wave of his hand. “Of course. Get some sleep. I’ll be here in the morning.”
Chapter Twenty Five
Unexpected
Derrin spent the night Leaping from one place to the next around the house. He still expected the Collectors to turn up looking for him.
Khaya’s revelations churned in his thoughts, as though running on a loop. It felt too easy, too simple. But if they weren’t setting her free, what was their plan? It bothered him like an itch you can’t reach.
Shortly after dawn, he Leapt back to the kitchen. Feeling idle, he stoked the fire and made porridge. As he stirred the thick mixture, he was lost once again in his thoughts. He jumped when Khaya spoke behind him. “That’s kind of you.”
She wore a deep yellow dress, with white birds embroidered around the hem and neckline. Her dark hair was loose, and even with its slight curl, reached down to her waist.
He forced a smile. “Helps while away the time. Sleep well?” As he said it, he noticed her red eyes.
“I managed to get a little sleep.” She gazed at him and pursed her lips together.
Was that guilt in her eyes?
“I need to ask you something,” she said.
He sat down at the table and waited for her to continue.
“Why are you helping me?” she asked, sitting down across from him. “Is it out of guilt?”
“I wouldn’t say guilt.”
“What would you say then?”
“I felt… responsible for you. I didn’t want you to suffer for my mistake.”
She leaned back in her chair, her mouth ajar. “Your mistake?” she asked, voice soft.
“I broke the Collector’s laws. I broke my vows. It isn’t something I am proud of.”
She sat quietly, picking at her nails, staring down at her hands in her lap. He realised a tear was rolling down her cheek. He put a finger under her chin and lifted her head up. “What is troubling you so?”
She took a shuddering breath, wiping away the tear. “If we were back at that day, would you change what you did? Would you let me die?”
“That is what I was meant to do,” he said and she looked away from him, a frown creasing her brow. “But I don’t think I would be strong enough to do it,” he continued. “And knowing you now, seeing what a remarkable woman you’ve turned into, I am certain I was sent to you that day for a reason.
“So, even though I know it was not what I was supposed to do, I would do it again because it was what I was meant to do.”
A small smile flickered across her lips, before it faltered again. “Well, now that I’m not being hunted anymore, you are relieved of your self-imposed duty. You can move on and leave me.”
“Is that what you want?” he asked, clasping his hands together under the table.
“I don’t think what I want is relevant.”
“It is to me. Tell me, is that what you want? You want me to leave?”
She hesitated and his stomach twisted. It is and she doesn’t know how to tell him.
“I wish I was selfless enough to send you away,” she whispered eventually. “You would be safer far away from me.”
He leapt to his feet, casting his gaze around the room. “Are they coming?”
“No,” she said. “I haven’t laid a trap for you.” She stood and walked over to the cooking pot, taking up the spoon and stirring the bubbling porridge. With her back to him, she said, “There is another condition to my freedom.”
“What?”
“I am to hand you over to them.”
“Oh,” he said, sitting back down and running a hand through his hair. “I see.”
“The Collectors told me that you didn’t truly care about me. That you were helping me to soothe your guilty conscience. They told me you admitted you made a mistake at your hearing. They said I was nothing more than your error.”
“You didn’t believe all of that, did you?” he asked, voice rising. “They were trying to poison us against each other. They were manipulating you.”
“I know that now. At the time, I wasn’t sure. You hadn’t exactly been forthcoming with information.”
For a while, the only sounds were the bubbling porridge, the scrape from the spoon stirring the contents of the pot and the crackle of the fire.
“I will go to them,” Derrin said. If accepting his punishment meant granting Khaya a peaceful life, he would do it.
She swung around to face him. “Are you mad? You most definitively will not.”
“They will leave you alone if I do. I can atone for what I did.”
“I thought we’ve decided you didn’t do anything wrong. Moreover, that it wasn’t by your design that it happened at all. Unless you see yourself as the deity who brought about ‘divine intervention’,” she added with a lopsided smile.
“What do you suggest we do, then?”
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Khaya felt as though a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She didn’t know if she ever entirely believed what Meir and Garelle had told her, but it had set off alarm bells for her.
Looking at Derrin then, she didn’t know why she’d doubted him. He was willing to give himself up to the Collectors if it meant her freedom! She grinned at him.
“What are you smiling at?” he asked. “What plan is brewing in that mind of yours?”
She shook her head. “I don’t really know. But now that we are on the same page, I’m confident we’ll find a way around this.”
He lifted one eyebrow. “That’s great, but we can’t count the souls while the people still live.”
She cocked her head. What a strange expression. “We have one advantage.”
“What’s that?”
“They don’t know we have reconciled. They think I’ve turned against you and maybe even that you were never truly acting for my best interest. We can use that.”
“How?”
“That’s what we’ll have to figure out.” She paused. “There was something else that I’ve been meaning to ask you about.
“I had a Foretelling and initially, I couldn’t remember much at all, but it’s been coming back to me. I’ve seen you standing before a council who are passing judgement on you. There is one man in particular who speaks. He wears a heavy gold earring and –”
“The Highest,” Derrin breathed.
“Who’s that? Is he a Collector, too?”
“The Order is the senior council of Collectors, the Masters. The man wearing the earring is at their head. The Highest. Do you know if that could have been a vision of a past event? Or are your foretellings always of the future?”
“The future. Always.”
Derrin closed his eyes, his mouth pulling into a thin line. “That means I will be caught. And sentenced. Was this man with the earring at the mansion?”
“No. I spoke with Meir and Garelle.”
“You are positive the Highest was not there? Did they leave the room at any time to confer with someone else?
“No. I’m sure.”
“Wait, do you mean you spoke to Meir and Garelle directly?”
“Yes. I wondered how that was possible as well. Garelle refused to tell me. Do you know if some Collectors can make themselves be seen?”
“No. We can choose to allow people to hear us when we speak, but not to be seen.”
“Does it really matter?” she asked.
He shrugged. “While we have no answer to it, we’ll have to put it aside. The more intriguing part is that the Highest wasn’t present.”
“He could have just delegated this role. If he is the Highest, he might leave certain tasks up to the others.”
“No,” Derrin said, voice firm, “if he’d known about this, he would have been there to deal with you. This is the biggest upset in Collector history – there is no way he would have delegated that responsibility.”
“What do you think it means?”
“I’m not sure yet, but it could be our salvation.” He p
aused. “For now, I think it best if we spend as little time together as possible. You need to return to your normal routine. I’m certain they will be watching you to ensure you are fulfilling your agreement.”
“What are you going to do?” she asked, disappointed.
“I’m going to return to the Hall of Angels.”
“Where is that?”
“That is where I received my judgement. It’s where the Order would meet if there was a problem.”
“I don’t like the sound of this. What if you’re found?”
“If there is a rift in the Order, we need to know about it. If they are planning something other than what they told you – we need to know about it. This is the only way.”
“Be careful,” she said, her hand reaching towards him, but he was gone before she could touch his arm.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Derrin Leapt to the upper alcoves, the dark shadows making him all but invisible to anyone standing on the ground below. The cavernous room was empty, the five daises at the front of the room the only clue as to the true purpose of this place.
He always felt uncomfortable being back in this room – the place where he was sentenced and, it would seem, would be sentenced again. Not today, he thought, and pushed Khaya’s troublesome foretelling from his mind.
It was disappointing to find no one in the room. He’d been certain that with the recent upheavals, the Order would be convening. Leaning his back against the wall, he considered his options. They were few.
There was movement below as Meir appeared, and shortly after, Heran. “Do you know why the meeting has been called?” Heran asked.
“Most likely, the Highest wishes us to update him on our progress with the girl.”
“What do we tell him? What if he suspects?” Heran said, nervously tucking his flaxen hair behind his ears.
“You, will say as little as possible. In fact, don’t speak unless the Highest asks you something directly.” Meir studied him for a moment. “Even then, hesitate so that I can interject.”
Garelle appeared. “What are you two whispering about?” Her long red braid hung over her shoulder.
“I’m telling Heran to calm down. You have the situation in hand.”
“I do. You two best not buckle now. Our plan is nearly complete.”
The Highest appeared together with another woman. Derrin didn’t recognise her, but she had to be a member of the Order, a Master in other words, if she was included in this meeting. Her auburn hair was short, shaved close to her head at the back and a bit longer at the top. Her large eyes looked owl-like in her petite face. Unexpectedly, she took up a place next to the Highest. The rest of the Collectors lined up in front of him.
The Highest studied them, a heavy silence hanging in the air. “Tell me,” he said eventually, “has our approach worked? Did the mortal succeed?”
“He gained her trust,” Meir began, but was interrupted.
“And lost it again,” Garelle said. “I knew this approach would prove futile. We cannot let any of our plans hinge on the actions of a mortal.” That gained her a disdainful look from Meir.
“Continue,” the Highest said, nodding at Garelle.
“The girl appears to have formed a bond with Derrin,” she said, her mouth turning down in distaste. “We are not certain why she is able to see him, but she is. She appears to be attached – perhaps even a little in love – with him.”
A round of laughter mocked the flutter in Derrin’s stomach. He’d been so focused on keeping a rein on his emotions, he hadn’t really considered Khaya’s.
“What of it?” the Highest said.
“We are working on turning them against each other.”
The Highest’s nose wrinkled. “Garelle, this sounds a lot like games you are playing. You are fond of your games, I know, but I want this situation resolved.”
Garelle’s chin lifted. “I assure you I am not playing any games. My aim is to have both the girl and Derrin brought to justice. And to do it in a timely manner.”
“And you have still not been able to capture her?”
“No,” Garelle said. “She eludes us. I am certain that once we have Derrin and Khaya mistrusting each other, they will crumble – falling right into my hands.”
“I want to be informed as soon as she is secured. I will not let her slip through our hands. I will deal with her personally.”
Garelle bowed and the Highest nodded his bald head. “Now, I have matters to discuss with Reez,” he said, indicating the woman next to him. She’d remained quiet and Derrin wondered what her purpose was at this meeting.
Meir studied Reez with narrowed eyes before disappearing from the room.
Once they were alone, the Highest clasped his hands behind his back and, getting down from his dais, paced up and down. “I don’t need you to tell me that they are withholding information from me,” he said without looking at Reez.
She stood with her hands folded in front of her, watching the Highest as he strode across the room. Her face was calm, but her eyes betrayed her concern.
The Highest stopped, his back still to Reez. He stared up at the ceiling, as though able to see the inky sky beyond. Derrin shrunk back into the shadows. “What I need you to tell me is whether any of what they told me directly was a lie.”
“I regret to confirm your suspicions. They were not being truthful.”
“You are certain?”
“With my ability, there is no doubt.”
The Highest ran a hand over his head and touched his golden earring as if to confirm to himself that he was still the Highest Master. “Speak to them, find out who is involved.”
She nodded and disappeared from the room.
Derrin considered using the opportunity created by this apparent dissension to speak directly with the Highest. The risk of being captured was too great, though. The Highest might be finding his stars are falling from the sky, but he would uphold the Collectors’ laws.
Derrin would have to find a different way. Perhaps Zera would still remember the friendship they once shared.
Chapter Twenty Six
An Old Ally
Khaya spent an anxious day waiting for Derrin’s return. She should have gone back to work. How could she do that, though, if the lawmen were still looking for her? The Company, she knew, wouldn’t be a problem since they seemed to be run by the Collectors.
When there was a knock at her door in the afternoon, she used her spyhole to see who was outside. Peater. She debated with herself whether to let him in.
He knocked again. With a sigh, she pulled the door open a tad and peered at him. “Khaya,” he said with a smile, “it’s good to see you are well. I was told that I should expect you back to work as normal today. May I come in?” His fear was obvious behind his smile.
She leaned away and coughed behind the door. “I don’t feel all that well,” she said, making her voice rough. “I didn’t want to give the rest of the staff my cold.”
He waved a hand. “Understandable. Take all the time you need. I just wanted to assure you that we are all looking forward to your return. We’ve missed you.”
Of course they have. “That’s kind. I will be back at work as soon as I’m better.”
“As I say,” Peater said, taking a step back, “take as much time as you need.” With a wave, he turned and strode away.
What would the other employees think? That they’d finally proven she wasn’t going crazy? And now they welcome her back? It made her stomach sour. The Company men were tucked so far into the pocket of the Collectors that they would never see the light of day again.
She closed the door and turned. Her breath caught. “Ah, Derrin! You scared me.” She put a hand to her chest, her heart fluttering underneath it.
He grinned, his dimple showing. “Sorry. Who was at the door? Phalio?”
“Peater. Wanted to make sure I know I was welcome to return to the library.”
“I thought you were going in today.”
/>
“I couldn’t face them. I didn’t want to answer anyone’s questions. Not yet.” She started walking toward the kitchen. “Tea?”
“No, thanks.”
“Right. I forgot. You're not 'technically' alive, so you don't need food or drink. Did you go to the Hall of Angels?”
“Yes,” Derrin said as he sat down at the square kitchen table. “Garelle and Meir are up to something. And they’re lying to the Highest about it.”
Khaya sat down with her cup of tea. “This is good.”
“Maybe. For us, right now, but this is a catastrophe. We cannot allow Garelle and Meir to succeed. It would be disastrous.”
“At least our two goals are aligned. We have to expose their schemes to the Highest. I think we should approach him.”
“Even if we could, we shouldn’t. He is a stickler for laws and rules. There is no telling what he might do. We’d be holding our wrists out, ready to be chained.” He shook his head.
“What do you suggest we do, then?”
“I know someone who might help us.”
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Zera used to have a few places she would go when she was in need of peace and solitude. Used to. That was a long time ago. The top of the cathedral in Ijena had been Derrin’s last hope. He sat atop the roof, staring up at the dusting of stars in the murky sky. There was just a sliver of moon visible.
He sighed.
He had no other way of contacting Zera. Short of going into the Middle Realm. And that would be as good as signing his own damnation order.
“What are you doing here? Trying to get me damned alongside you?”
Derrin spun at her voice. “Zera!” he said and couldn’t stop from smiling. She didn't seem to share his delight. She stood with her arms folded across her chest and her foot tapping the roof at a fast beat. As always, her white hair was in multiple braids. Zera must have been near her seventies when she died and he’d never been able to extract from her the reason she had to serve as a Collector. He never could imagine her doing anything criminal.
Riddle of Fate Page 17
