Lament of the Slave

Chapter 47: Chase

It wasn't a good feeling to be watched, to be unsure of who it might be. Friend or foe? I leaned toward the other, though. If the Castiana City Guards were watching me, I would have this feeling from the very beginning. Ever since I left the smoldering barracks buildings, and I didn't.

The feeling itself was strange. I've never had it before, not even on Earth. It was not some innate intuition. Skills may explain it, but even though I've gone through the descriptions of skills I had several times, none of them mentioned anything like that. So the last option remained.

Mutations.

Which one, though? There were so many changes in my body that I had no idea what might be the cause. It could have been one particular mutation or a combination of more. In the end, it didn't matter. It didn't change the fact that someone was interested in me and had been watching me since I came out of the Fallens Cry.

It made me anxious, worried. I didn't like it. If the person had good intentions, they would approach me as Mr. Daniel Fernbough did. They would not hide in the shadows. Not that luring an injured girl in need of help into a company was so honest.

Whoever it was, I dared to say he had plans with me. Plans that certainly did not correspond to mine and were not in my best interest. Even though it was only a tiny chance, I was afraid that I would see Roe, who came to finish the job, if I met the person watching me. This female assassin left in my heart a scar deeper than she knew.

Thinking of Roe and remembering the night I met her, I looked around the square, searching for guards. It was pretty funny when I thought about it. In my mind [Slaves], refugees and the guards didn't go very well together. Yet, I knew a lot of them personally.

Where were they now, though?

Finding the guards in a sea of citizens, merchants, and seekers turned out to be difficult. In fact, it seemed impossible to me.

I wasn't even sure if they patrolled Labyrinth Square at all.

Trying not to panic and not run to the main street leading to the City Guards Barracks and City Hall, I headed for it while pretending to be still browsing through the stalls in the square. I did that to not alert those who followed me, trying to look natural. Not sure if it was even possible with my body language, though.

Not believing that I would run away from the person with my injuries, I took a cautious approach. However, I did not leave my safety to chance. While I tried to pretend to look at the stalls and their goods, I was actually looking for the guards.

They found me first.

I mean the city guards. I was just considering climbing on crates stacked at a mineral trade stall to get a better view when they approached me from behind.

"Korra Gray?" the woman asked.

They were out of reach of my domain, keeping their distance, so I have to admit that I squealed a little in fright when she addressed me unexpectedly. But unlike their arrival, the smirk on her colleague's face did not escape my attention.

It was quite rude of him, but I couldn't care less given the situation I was in. Being watched was not good for my nerves. It made me too tense. I knew that but couldn't help myself. I was probably too paranoid too, and the feeling on the back of my neck was just a cold east wind or something, nothing more.

I really wished it was just the wind, and I'd probably consider it that, if the old jeweler hadn't warned me.

I looked at the two of them.

[Guardswoman: lvl ??]

[Bruiser: lvl ??]

These two were strong, which surprised me. Their level indicated that they were master guards, part of the A-team, which according to Vara did not patrol the city and trained in the labyrinth most of the time.