Riddle of Fate

by Tania Johansson

  But Derrin wouldn’t be able to find her if she left. Fool, she cursed herself. He wasn’t coming back. She swallowed the knot in her throat. She had to move on. She couldn’t face staying.

  She turned to fetch her belongings. Taking the first step onto the staircase she froze. How could she have forgotten about Yarissa? The poor girl. Held to ransom. Threatened with the murder of her mother. Could she really help her?

  She had to.

  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  Khaya reached for the library door. Her hand was trembling. She took a deep breath, clenching and unclenching her fist, giving her hand a shake. Gritting her teeth, she pushed through the door and marched up the stairs. She didn’t allow herself to pause before striding through the door to the right.

  Eyes fixed on Peater’s office door, she ignored the sudden silence, the eyes burning holes in her. She knocked briefly before going in.

  Peater’s chair scraped as he stood. He dismissed a man who was vaguely familiar from the room. The man stared at Khaya with wide eyes before regaining his wits. He shot Peater a grateful look and practically ran from the office.

  She turned around and locked the door. Peater still stood, his arms folded across his chest. “You don’t look happy to see me, Peater,” Khaya said.

  “Um, I guess I am just surprised to see you. I’m glad to have you with us again. You are, of course, welcome back.”

  “I’m not here to come back to work.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I’m not returning to work. I simply have a matter that needs to be dealt with. A loose end I need to tie up.”

  “I thought you understood,” Peater said. “Once you’ve worked for us, seen what you’ve seen, you can’t leave. You are bound to us. You signed the contract.”

  “Do me a favour. Don’t talk about honouring contracts. Not three days ago, you were hunting me. Trying to get me executed.”

  “We believed you posed a threat to society, that you –”

  “Stop it,” Khaya said, cutting him off. “I don’t care about your explanations. I don’t care about my contract.”

  “Very well. Why are you here then?”

  “Yarissa.”

  Peater swallowed, but he showed no other reaction.

  “I know you are keeping her mother someplace. I’m going to ask you nicely to release the girl and her mother.”

  “I don’t know what –”

  “Stop!” she spat, holding up her hand. “Let’s cut through the chaff. I know it’s true and you know it. You also know I don’t need to ask nicely. Don’t make me insist.”

  Peater’s lips pursed and his adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “I can’t let her go.”

  “Sure you can. Only question is how you’re going to do it. Now, get Yarissa and let’s go see her mother.”

  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  Khaya looked back the way they had come through the marketplace. It wouldn’t surprise her if Peater had somehow managed to indicate to someone to follow them. They turned down a narrow alleyway between rows of houses.

  Yarissa’s face remained still, showing no emotion as they walked along the road. Khaya grimaced when the girl – again – cracked her knuckles. She’d been doing that since they left the library.

  “How much further,” Yarissa asked.

  “Round that corner, two blocks ahead,” Peater said, gesturing with his hand.

  “If you try anything,” Khaya said, “there will be painful consequences for you.”

  “I’m guessing that’s what’s in store for me no matter what I do,” he mumbled.

  Khaya didn’t want to hurt him. She didn’t want to hurt anyone, but if he forced her hand… She hoped he would cooperate.

  “It’s that house up ahead,” Peater said. “The one with the open window.”

  Yarissa made to run to it, but Khaya grabbed her arm. “We don’t know how many of them are in there. Be patient. We will get her out shortly.”

  The girl scowled, but did not push ahead. “After you,” Khaya said to Peater as they approached the door.

  He rapped his knuckles on the door, three times in quick succession and then once again after a brief pause. The door swung open and a woman in her later years glared at them. Her eyelids drooped, as though she was half asleep. Her thin lips pulled down at the corners. “I only agreed to this on the condition that I was to be left unbothered,” she said. “You are bothering me.”

  “I apologise, Mareta,” Peater said. “You’ll be delighted that I am taking Elease off your hands today.”

  Mareta didn’t look pleased, muttering as she let them in. Yarissa dashed forward. “Mother!” she called before Khaya could stop her.

  A scrambling noise came from the first floor above their heads and Yarissa flew up the stairs. Khaya shoved Peater ahead of her to follow the girl. A yelp came from somewhere upstairs and Khaya gave Peater another push. “Go!” she barked.

  “Let go of her!” a woman screamed.

  Khaya grabbed Peater by the arm and dragged him to where the yell had come from. The windows were covered by a thick black curtain and the small bedroom was stuffy. A woman stood on a small cot that was pushed up against the far wall, her fingers twisted into her scruffy brown hair. Her cheeks were gaunt and pale.

  Res, Khaya’s cat-like colleague, held Yarissa by the throat. His nails were extended into claws. Red pinpricks bloomed where they pierced her skin. She had her neck stretched, her back pressed up against the wall. Her eyes darted around the room.

  Why hadn’t Yarissa used her ability to bind his ability? Khaya took hold of Res’s body with her Insight. Taking control of his hands first, she forced him to release his grip on Yarissa.

  Res made a furious hissing sound, his nose wrinkling in a snarl. Khaya felt him fighting back against her, but it was a futile struggle. She’d never liked him, but now she felt hatred boiling her blood.

  Yarissa’s hands balled into fists and she lashed out, smacking Res across the face. He reeled back, losing his balance and landing with a crash on the ground. “I trusted you!” Yarissa screeched. “You pretended to be my friend! All this time, you knew where my mother was.” While still glaring at Res, she rushed over to her mother who jumped from the bed and embraced her daughter.

  Khaya turned to speak to Peater. He was gone. “Yarissa,” she said, interrupting their tearful reunion, “we need to leave. Peater is gone and I believe it won’t be long before he returns with more people to stop you from escaping.”

  Yarissa nodded, wiping the tears from her face. She grabbed her mother’s hand and pulled her along.

  They ran from the house and didn’t slow until they were several roads away. Having turned down a narrow path between houses, they stood with their backs against a building, catching their breaths.

  Khaya stuck her hand into her pocket and pulled out a pouch. She held it out to Yarissa’s mother. The woman took it hesitantly. “What’s this?”

  The coins inside made a tinkling noise as she took it from Khaya. “It will be enough to get you a horse and some supplies.”

  The woman nearly dropped the pouch as if it suddenly burnt her. “We can’t possibly take this,” she said, holding it out at arm’s length.

  Khaya held both hands up. “Please, take it. I have no need of it. Please,” she repeated when the woman still hesitated.

  Yarissa threw her arms around Khaya, hugging her tightly. “Thank you! How can we ever repay you?”

  “Just make sure you get far away from here and never allow the Company to get their filthy claws in you again.”

  Yarissa stepped back and took the pouch from her mother who mouthed a ‘thank you’. The pair trotted away. Khaya took a certain pleasure in watching the crowd swallow them. It was made all the sweeter knowing what a blow this would be to the Company.

  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  “Derrin, please come with us,” the Highest said and strode from the Hall of Angels.

  He followed the Highest to his stud
y, running through all that had been said. It had gone well. Better, in fact, than they could have hoped for. They had Meir and Garelle exactly where they wanted them. Their lies were tripping them up, twisting around them like spiders being trapped by their own webs.

  A knock at the door. “Enter!” the Highest called.

  The Collector who Derrin had seen tell the Highest of Garelle and Meir’s deception walked in. She was taller than he remembered, but her hair – short at the back and longer at the top – gave her a young appearance.

  “Reez, thank you for coming,” the Highest said. He turned to Derrin. “I have just a few questions for you before we go back in.”

  “You don’t trust me?”

  “I believe you have honourable intentions, but I have to be sure. You understand, don’t you?”

  The Highest didn’t want to look a fool should some untruth come to light before all the gathered Collectors, Derrin thought. Perhaps he was still having trouble accepting the truth of the matter.

  He was about to have a rude awakening then. Derrin nodded.

  The Highest closed the door behind them, shutting out the other Masters. He paced up and down. “I think they’ve spun themselves a nice thick web of lies now.”

  “Are we moving to phase two then?”

  “Yes, it’s time.” He stopped pacing and regarded Derrin with something akin to regret. “You realise that none of this can influence your own situation?”

  “I never expected it to.”

  Reez sat down beside the Highest, her eyes fixed on Derrin. “Reez is able to say if someone is telling the truth or not.”

  “I know,” Derrin said.

  “How… actually, I don’t want to know,” the Highest said, rubbing the side of his nose. “So, what was your motivation for coming to speak with me in the first place?”

  “The Collectors were being threatened as a whole. I couldn’t stand by and watch them attack you.”

  “This is true,” Reez said, “but there is more.”

  Derrin glared at the woman. She was unmoved. Silence hung in the air. “I needed to get away from Khaya,” he finally said.

  The Highest’s eyebrows arched. Obviously not the answer he was expecting. “Why?”

  “I don’t think it is relevant,” Derrin said.

  “I cannot afford you the luxury of choosing what information to reveal,” the Highest said, leaning forward in his chair. “Too much is at stake. Why did you need to get away from her? Is she dangerous?”

  “No,” Derrin gave a small laugh. “I was getting too close to her,” he said, keeping his eyes to the ground. “I was afraid that if I didn’t leave her now, I wouldn’t be strong enough to do it. She deserves more than… more than what I could give her.”

  “You love her?”

  He nodded, unable to admit it in words. The Highest blew out a breath. “You have got yourself all tangled up, haven’t you?

  “Does she know you will not return to her?”

  “She knows.”

  “And all you’ve told me about Garelle, Meir and Seb is true?”

  “To the best of my knowledge.”

  “Just one last thing,” the Highest said, “where is Khaya now?”

  “Why do you need to know?”

  “As I’ve said, what’s happened won’t change anything for you. And neither will it for her. She is still living a life that she was never meant to have.”

  “So you approve of her being killed? Through Collector interference?”

  “No. As much as I feel that would be the simplest solution, we cannot allow it. She is to be banished from all human contact. She is to live an isolated life. A solitary existence, but still more than what she was meant for. She should be grateful for it.”

  “No!” Derrin said, leaping to his feet and sending his chair crashing back. “I was willing to sacrifice myself to help you, but I won’t offer her up to you on a plate. She doesn’t deserve a life of loneliness. I won’t allow you to deprive her of a life. To be shut away like a diseased dog. Without her, I wouldn’t have had half – less than half – of the information that I gave you.”

  “Calm down, Derrin,” the Highest said. “We will be eternally grateful for her service, but she cannot remain as she is. You should have known we wouldn’t simply give up, stop trying to restore the natural balance.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I won’t tell you where she is. What can you do to me that you won’t do anyway? I am to be sent to damnation – an eternity of suffering. All you could do to me pales in comparison.”

  The Highest shook his head, his mouth turned down at the corners. There was sadness in his eyes. “We will find her. Sooner or later.”

  Like you found me? Derrin kept his silence, hoping with all his might that Khaya had run.

  “Wait outside,” the Highest said. “Reez and I have a few matters to discuss before the hearing reconvenes.”

  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  Derrin stood before the daises. Two Masters he didn’t know personally had taken the places of Garelle and Meir. Reez stood in front of the Highest. She wore the silver mantle of the Highest’s attendant.

  Garelle and Meir were led in from the back of the room. Meir still struggled against those who held him. “I am a Master! You will unhand me this instant!” His protests fell on deaf ears.

  Garelle’s face was icy. She stared at Derrin. The only emotion that was apparent in that glare, was hate. Her eyes burned with it. Once they were next to Derrin, silence fell as the Highest held up a hand. “I am sure you have all noticed my attendant. Reez is here as a Truth Seeker.”

  Whispers sprang up throughout the room and quickly rose to a buzz. All knew of Truth Seekers – in theory. Only once before had one been raised. A Truth Seeker was called upon if discord rose among two or more Collectors and all other means of settling the dispute had been exhausted.

  “Let the record show,” the Highest bellowed and the room quietened, “Reez has an ability to tell lie from truth.” His gaze shifted to Garelle and Meir. “For those who stand before the Order today, let this be a warning: If you lie, it will be known.”

  Meir fidgeted with the ring on his third finger. Not once did he meet the Highest’s gaze. Suddenly his head snapped up, his jaw set and he started to shimmer. After a moment his form became solid again and he cast around frantically. Again, he flickered.

  “We have placed a ward over the room, Meir,” the Highest said. “No one can Leap in or out. You will have to face questioning. There is no escape for you.”

  “Oh, I wasn’t trying to…” he stumbled, “I mean I wasn’t going to run.”

  “Let us continue,” the Highest said, brushing aside Meir’s denial. “Garelle Prect and Meir Ambir, you are charged with conspiring against the Collectors. Garelle, were you leading an attempt to undermine the authority of the Highest of the Collectors?”

  “I was leading, in accordance with your orders, an attempt to detain Derrin Rhai and to monitor and track Khaya Pherela. We were to ensure that she was exiled. She is to live a life devoid of any human interaction.”

  “Truth,” Reez said.

  “Did you not, then, offer Khaya Pherela her life and acceptance to the Collectors in exchange for Derrin Rhai?”

  “Yes, I did,” she said through gritted teeth.

  “As you don’t have the authority to offer anyone such a deal,” the Highest said, “what was the plan?”

  “The plan was to get Derrin in to face justice by any means necessary. If that meant giving a human false hope, then I, for one, was happy to do that.”

  “So, you never intended for her to become a Collector at the end of her natural life?” the Highest asked.

  “As you said, I don’t command the authority to extend such a deal.”

  “You wench!” Derrin burst out. “Do you have no morals?”

  “Do not question my morals,” Garelle said. “Not you, oath breaker.”

  “Garelle,” the Highest said, giving Derrin a reproach
ful look, “were you ever intent on doing anything that you didn’t consider in the best interests of the Collectors?”

  “All I have done, I considered to be for the good of the Collectors.”

  “Was it your intention to overthrow my rule?”

  “No.”

  The Highest paused, looking to Reez. She nodded, looking as surprised as Derrin felt. He wanted to shout that Reez must be mistaken. It had to be a lie. They’d conspired. They’d broken Collector laws.

  “Meir,” the Highest said, “was it your intention to overthrow my rule? Were you conspiring against the Collectors?”

  “No, we might have made mistakes, but we thought we would achieve a greater good.”

  “Made mistakes?” Derrin asked, shaking his head. “Try broken laws. You two are more hypocritical than a murdering priest. You orchestrated the deaths of at least two mortals.”

  “What?” Garelle and Meir said at the same time.

  “Don’t pretend to be innocent. Reez will reveal your lies. Leena and Merrit were murdered and whoever did it, took great pains to make it look like Khaya was the perpetrator. You wanted her to be accused of the murders so that if the lawmen didn’t hang her, the Company would dispose of her to cover their own tracks.”

  “We didn’t do that,” Garelle said.

  “Reez,” Derrin said, “please expose them. Tell everyone here the truth. These two are not true to our oaths.”

  “What they’ve said is true,” Reez replied. “I don’t detect deception in their words.”

  “No,” Derrin said, “that’s not possible. You must be mistaken!”

  “Where truth and lies are concerned,” Reez said calmly, “I am never mistaken.”

  “What was your plan then?” Derrin asked, pointing a finger at Garelle. “How were you planning to bring Khaya to so-called justice?”

  “We weren’t sure how to proceed. We had Brier befriend her, but we hadn't determined how to utilise their relationship. At one point we hoped he would act out on his own, murder her. He was passionate about our laws. But for the time being, we were watching her, observing her in her day-to-day life. When she discovered her second ability, we hoped the Company would take care of the problem for us.”