Gavin stepped out into the street and hunched down to stay low and blend into the crowd as much as he could. He weaved through the people, heading toward the meeting point. He stayed to the side of the street and moved past the seamstress shop, glancing through the window to see the arrangement of colorful dresses displayed. The proprietor, a woman named Marlowe who’d lived in this section of the city for decades, tottered around the shop, unmindful of him. He looked in the window of the next storefront and saw it empty. He kept his attention all around him, looking from storefront to storefront, before focusing on the crowd.
As he walked, there was a familiar sense that somebody was following him. He took a few side turns and twisted through the streets to see if there was anyone behind him, but he didn’t see anyone. The crowd looked the way it should, and there was no sign he needed to be worried about. Perhaps there was nothing.
Typically, Gavin wasn’t one to jump at shadows. He was trained too well for that. Maybe it was a matter of everything they’d been through and that he felt his time in Yoran was coming to an end. Or maybe it was more a matter of Cyran’s betrayal. That had troubled him, more than he’d admitted to the others. Gavin was normally a much better judge of character, and having Cyran betray him in such a way made Gavin doubt who he could trust.
He turned another corner, and it seemed as if somebody trailed after him. This time, he caught sight of a flash of brightly colored fabric, which reminded him of Hamish. But Hamish had been Cyran wearing an illusion.
So if it wasn’t him, who was it?
Rather than continuing to push onward and risking his meeting being interrupted by somebody following him, Gavin decided that he needed to investigate. The potential employer could wait. They would have to understand. And by taking his time, Gavin was protecting them. He switched directions, changing course to move back along the street but in a way that wouldn’t be observed quite as easily.
The activity around here was sparse. There were other people out, but none of them seemed to pay him any mind. This wasn’t uncommon, and Gavin had grown accustomed to people ignoring him. It was only to be expected, since he kept himself covered by his cloak and made a point of drawing himself down so that he didn’t look nearly as large or threatening.
Besides, it was more than just his size, it was a matter of how much attention he paid. He knew better than to focus on too many of the people in the streets so that he didn’t draw their notice. Gavin looked for trends instead, and as he scanned the street, he didn’t see any patterns emerge.
Only… there.
One man kept making a loop. He looked as if he were trying to avoid glancing in Gavin’s direction, but he wasn’t doing a good a job of it. He was lean; dressed in gray pants and a jacket. Different than the bright fabric that he’d seen before. Which meant a second person was watching.
His hair was shorn, and there was a scar across his forehead. Gavin didn’t see any sign of weapons. A soldier, but not one who was prepared to attack.
Gavin continued looking for other signs of movement. Where there was one, especially one who was unarmed, he suspected there would be another.
Why are they watching me, though? Did they know what I was doing here?
He didn’t see how such a thing would be possible. He was only coming for information, not to take a job yet. There wasn’t any reason for somebody to follow him.
Unless they knew he’d been summoned.
Could they be the ones who’d summoned me?
Gavin was more on edge than he’d been before Cyran had used him. He made his way along the street, looking for any other signs of movement.
It was times like these where he thought that Gaspar would have been beneficial. Having the old thief with him provided another set of eyes, and he couldn’t deny that Gaspar was incredibly skilled at searching for patterns. Not that he would ever tell Gaspar that.
He didn’t see anything else and slipped back along the street. The other man made another circle and Gavin followed, taking up a path behind him. The man turned a corner, and Gavin darted forward and jammed his fist into his side. He pulled him toward an alley and set him on the ground.
Gavin crouched across from him, holding a knife in hand. “Why are you following me?”
The man blinked, wincing. “I’m not following you. I don’t know—”
Gavin jabbed the knife toward him. “I’ve been watching you. You keep making passes behind me. You’re following me. I want to know why.”
“Like I said, I’m not following you.”
He debated how aggressive to be. He didn’t know anything about this man. He might have been following Gavin, but that wasn’t reason to stab him. Besides, he still thought he might be able to get information out of him.
“What were you doing?” Gavin asked. “I observed you making three circuits around the block.”
“You saw what?”
“I saw you. Now, if you want to keep denying you were circling the block, go right ahead. I saw it. Unless you give me a good answer as to what you were doing and why you
