Riddle of Fate by Tania Johansson Page B

apparently unaware of who she was.
    Her jaw started aching and she realised she was clenching her teeth. Relief flooded through her when she pushed the door open to exit the hallway.
    She gasped.
    The lawman who had arrested her in the foyer turned to face her. He was three feet from her and from the look on his face, he recognised her immediately. He paled and launched himself at her. He pressed her against the wall, his forearm squeezing against her throat.
    Then he yelped as Derrin wrenched him off her. Grabbing him by the collar and belt, Derrin threw the man to the ground. Eyes wild, the guard looked around for his assailant. Seeing no one else, his gaze settled back on Khaya. He opened his mouth to call for backup. Derrin’s fist connected with his mouth before he could get a sound out.
    The guard skidded across the floor and lay still when he stopped. Rubbing her throat, Khaya walked over to him. Blood trickled down from his nose and the corner of his mouth. “Is he dead?” Khaya asked.
    “No,” Derrin said.
    She looked at his chest. Was he breathing? “How do you know?”
    “If he was dead, there would be a Collector here by now. Come.” Derrin led her out by a side door. Woods bordered the building and Khaya sighed with relief once they were under the cover of the trees.
    “How were you able to do that anyway?” Khaya asked. “Hit him, I mean.”
    Derrin snorted. “I said I was an angel, not a ghost.”
    Derrin didn’t stop or let up on the pace for what seemed a long time. Finally, Khaya put a hand on his arm. “I have to rest,” she gasped. “Can we rest for a while?”
    He looked back at her with concern etched into his face. For a moment he again seemed so familiar. But surely, if she’d met him before, she would never have forgotten those dark eyes. Or the dimple.  
     
     

Chapter Fifteen
    Getting Acquainted
     
     
    Night was drawing in by the time they reached Derrin’s cottage. He pushed the door open and dust swirled down. “I thought you said you’d been staying here,” Khaya said, wriggling her nose as if she was fighting the urge to sneeze.
    “I have. I don’t normally use doors.”
    “Oh,” she said. “Of course you don’t.”
    The cottage was dilapidated. Derrin hadn’t even noticed the state of it before. Suddenly, he felt as though he should have cleaned it up a bit. He dusted a chair down for her. “Sit, I’ll put a kettle on for you.” He was glad he’d thought as far as getting a few essentials in case the need to bring her here arose.
    She perched on the edge of the chair, her hands on her knees. She was touching as little of the chair as she could. “I must confess,” she said, glancing around the room, “when you said you’d been staying in an empty house you’d found, I was worried the owner might turn up. That concern at least has been put to rest. How long have you been staying here?”
    “A few months,” he said with a shrug.
    “Really?” she said, the corners of her mouth turning down.
    “I’ve not spent much time here,” he muttered defensively as he put the cup of tea in front of her. “How long have you known Brier?” he asked when he sat down on a rickety chair across from her.
    She flinched at the name. “Long enough to know he wouldn’t have done this to me deliberately.”
    Derrin couldn’t stop himself from snorting. Seeing her indignant stare, he said, “Oh, I’m sorry, did he stumble and land with you in tow in the lawmen’s offices?”
    “Don’t be so ridiculous. He was only trying to help me. He thought it my best chance at clearing my name and returning to a normal life.”
    She was serious. She actually still believed the man had her best interests at heart.
    “First of all, I know for a fact Brier is working with some… people who mean you harm. Secondly, when has your life ever been ‘normal’ and why would you want to return to the way things were?”
    Khaya had been sitting with folded arms, but they now dropped