Free Riddle of Fate by Tania Johansson

the Company setting her up, then who?
     
    ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
     
    Derrin found Brier at a tavern not far from Merrit’s home. He did enjoy the predictability of human actions. Brier was sitting alone in the far corner, his back to the wall. He had the hood of his cloak pulled up over his head and his eyes were hidden in shadows. It was clear, though, that he was keeping watch. But, was he waiting for someone or was he afraid someone was coming to look for him?
    For a moment, he thought Brier’s gaze settled on him before scanning the room again. That was impossible. Humans could not see him. He still didn't really understand why Khaya could. It had to be related to what happened all those years ago, but he didn’t understand it any more than he understood why most humans clung to life so.
    Two men entered the tavern. No, not men. There was no mistaking a Collector for a man. Yet, Brier clearly saw them. And stranger still, the Collectors strode over to him – sat down across from him.
    In all the decades that Derrin had been a Collector, he had only once come across a human able to see a Collector, and that was Khaya. And she was different. She was connected to him. Even if she couldn’t remember him.
    Derrin kept his head down. He couldn’t risk the Collectors seeing him. They were too far away for him to hear what was said, but he didn’t need to. This meeting confirmed it. Brier was the human the Order had sent after Khaya. Where did Merrit’s death fit into their plans? It didn’t make sense. Did he kill Merrit? And if he did, to what purpose?
    Derrin slipped out of the tavern before being seen. He walked into a nearby alley before Leaping back to the Orange Tree Inn. Collectors were able to see where a doorway for a Leap had been made – as well as where it led – a good ten minutes after it was made.
    Derrin tapped on the door before walking in. He frowned as he pushed the door open. The room was dark and no lamp had been lit. His stomach became a hard pit of tension as he stepped into the room, not knowing what he would find. A faint burnt smell hung in the air. “Khaya?”
    A whimper.
    “Khaya, are you hurt?” he asked.
    She didn’t answer. He squinted to see her silhouette huddled on the bed, her back leaning against the wall. Derrin lit a lamp.
    Her eyes were red rimmed. She sat staring at him without saying a word. Then he saw it. The bag he’d given her was on the floor. The drawstring was still pulled tight, but there was no longer any movement.
    “What happened?” he asked, knowing – more or less – what the answer was going to be.
    She gave no response apart from her mouth pulling into a tight line. He picked up the bag and pulled it open. He grimaced. “What happened?” he repeated.
    “I did what you asked. I used my cursed ability. Did you know what would happen?”
    “Did I know you would kill it? No, of course not.”
    “It was an accident,” she hissed through clenched teeth.
    “I’m sure it was, Khaya. Do you want to tell me what happened?”
    She swallowed hard and, turning her face away, blinked back tears. She took a moment to compose herself before speaking. “I tried to look inside the bag with my ability. Took me a while before I managed to sense it in there. It was amazing.” A small smile appeared on her lips and she looked up at him. “I could see its little heart beating, the blood rushing from one chamber to the next and through its body. I saw its lungs fill and empty of air.” She fell silent and was staring at the wall as though watching it all again. “Then I found its nerves. Remarkable. Like little lightning bolts shooting from one part of the body to the next. I couldn’t draw my attention away from it. I… I don’t know what happened. One moment I was just watching it, the next –” her voice faltered. “I got so fixated on this display and I wanted to see more of it. The next thing I knew, there wasn’t anything happening at all. Its heart had