NOVEL NEXT Chapter 90: Deja vu
'Deja vu.'
There was no other way to describe it. Like yesterday, I left the barracks gates, heading for Seeker's Square to stop in City Hall. Like yesterday, the stone cobbles chilled my bare feet. Like yesterday...okay, to be fair, that was about it. Unlike yesterday, I was no longer naked, had a backpack on my back, a copper ring with magic storage on my hand, and a city guard watching my tail.
Yeah, despite what Captain Rayden said about the lack of funding and people at her disposal, she had sent someone to watch my ass. And not just mine, but Scoresby's and Ria's too. At least, that's how much she promised me when I agreed to be the bait. She assured me that she would ensure those around me would not get hurt - and that at the cost of her own money and favors. As if the hatred in her voice when she spoke of the mind mages wasn't enough, this determination of hers to get them out of her city no matter what it took, spoke volumes.
'If only I wasn't her way of doing it.'
As a bait, I was supposed to let them believe that no one in the city suspected what I really was, that the city guards only thought I was a half-Terr gal who had just arrived in Castiana and had bad luck, that my unique look made me desirable. True, in fact, I got an invitation to work at Tender Way, apparently one of the best whorehouses in the city.
'Not a chance. Seriously! I'd rather starve than take the job.'
Sure, Marcus - er, I mean Chief Healer Ardaivel'cas - did say that having sex shouldn't be an issue for me once I get some birth control stuff. In other words, the way that core messed me up down there wouldn't hold me back from doing the job. But that wasn't how I grew up, how my parents raised me, and even though they weren't here, I wasn't going to let them or myself down. Besides, right now, just the thought of touching myself was giving me goosebumps, let alone allowing someone else near my body.
'Stop it, Korra! Not the issue at hand.'
And it wasn’t. The core might have been an issue I'd rather have taken care of straight away, but one that could wait. First of all, I needed to make sure Ria was okay. Stupid? That I barely knew the little kitare? Sure. But she was one of the few people I knew in the city and the only one besides Scoresby who had grown on me in that short time I was here.
So, yes, that's why the Seeker's Square, that's why I was heading to City Hall, a place I'd rather avoid for the noise, not because Rayden sent me here with a note, but because I wanted to say I was sorry.
'Oh, shit!' The swear almost slipped from my lips instead of the apology I had been working on in my head on the way.
Not that anyone would hear. The main lobby of City Hall was arguably even noisier than I remembered and just as busy. It took me a moment to get my bearings, even though I had come here with a clear intention. When I did, though, I lined up in the queue at the counter behind which stood Enola, the receptionist I'd spoken to yesterday, the one who warned me to bring the little guide back safely.
'And I failed at that.'
Yeah, I was here to face the consequences of not doing so.
And the long wait for my turn wasn't helping, making my mind wade into the muddy waters. Is she gonna yell at me? Rayden said everything should be fine and taken care of. They supposedly paid for little guide's services as well. Yet...
'What if Ria won't even want to see me?'
It would hurt, but I would understand.
Sighing to myself, hoping to find forgiveness from the little kitsune, my eyes fell on the notice boards set up in the lobby, surrounded by crowds of people. Unlike my ears, I had to press against my head, and my eyes didn't become keener with the mutations. At this distance I simply couldn't make out what was written on the hundreds of notes posted there, whether they were job offers, guidelines or just plain advertising.
Frustrating, for sure.
Rayden did say it was a matter of more shady places, places dealing with slaves, but I couldn't help wondering if the Hunting Call on my tail was posted somewhere there after all.
'Won't they think you know about them? Because of the note, I mean the Call?' I asked Rayden and Marcus when they explained their plan. A legitimate question, right? It would make the whole bait thing pointless. Well, according to them, it was part of the "game". Just as Rayden had no way of knowing where the mind mages would come from, if at all, they, in turn, had no way of knowing if the Castiana City Guards knew about them or not. Something along the lines of we know that they know that we know...simply a headache.
"NEXT!" The receptionist's shout cut into my ears regardless of how tightly I pressed them to my skull, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"M-me, that's me," I stammered, stepping over to the counter. "Hi, hello, Enola."
Sweating bullets I watched the woman adjust her uniform, a frown forming on her forehead as she took a look at me, no doubt gearing up to give me a good piece of her mind.
"Hello, Grey."
"Oh, y-you remember me?"
Honestly, I wish she hadn't.
"Hard to forget someone like you."
'Yeah, someone who got their little guide in harm's way. Okay, here it was.' I thought to myself, took a breath, and opened my mouth to say my apology before Enola could say a word more. I didn't quite make it, though.
""I came to say sorry, I...""
""Look, I apologize on behalf of...""
We both paused, looking at each other, confused.
"You're not mad at me?"
"You took that question rightout of my mouth, Grey. Aren't you here to complain about Ria?"
"W-what? Why would I?"
'Seriously, did I miss something?'
The frown on her face gave way to wonder and then to a smile. "Most people would. Just to confirm, you're not here to complain about what happened yesterday."
"No, not at all."
"Thank you, I mean it, Grey. Ria will be happy. She was worried."
"I was worried about her too. Is she all right?"
Enola chuckled. "I wish I could say she was more worried about losing her job, but no. She's been asking about you all morning - among other things."
'She has? And she's here? Wait!'
"She might lose her job?"
"We can't have guides here who have deliberately led the client into danger. That is one of the main rules."
"No. No, she didn't. Those guys..." I said, determined to defend the little kitare, only to pause. "How much do you know about what happened yesterday?"
"Just that you were attacked, which shouldn't have happened. But don't worry; we always wait for the official report before taking measures with the guides."
"You do?" I breathed a sigh of relief. The fact that I died in that alley hadn't reached them yet, and hopefully never would.
"We've had several scam cases in the past where our guides have been falsely accused and punished. Wait a minute, will you? I'll get a colleague to cover for me and bring you to see Ria.”
'She wasn't going to call her here, like last time?'
Not that I minded.
"O-okay," I stammered out as the jitters at the prospect of visiting a new place kicked in.