Authors: James R. Vernon
CHAPTER TWELVE
Temple Bounty - 35 Silver (Alive)
A nudge in Ezzy's back stirred her from her dreams. Dreams of warm beds, fancy clothes, and five-course meals.
"Let me sleep a little longer," Ezzy mumbled. She rolled off her side and onto her stomach, burying her head underneath her arms. "It can't be morning already."
"Get up," an unfamiliar voice growled. "Now."
The words were followed by a harder blow to her side. Not enough to hurt, but it made its point.
Ezzy made a show of slowing turning onto her back. Keeping her eyes closed, she focused on her bond and looked through Paz's eyes. Or at least she tried to look through its eyes. Something was covering them. Not good.
Pushing herself up on her elbows, she opened her eyes to find she had been pulled out of her tent. More disturbing was the point of an arrow was almost touching her nose.
"Don't try anything, girl," a female voice said. "I know that metal monstrosity is yours to command. If I so much as hear a squeak from it, this arrow will be the last thing you see."
Ezzy's gaze followed the arrow up, past the tautly drawn bow, to the person wielding it. The woman behind the bow was like no one she had ever seen before. She looked human, with a thin face, her short black hair tied in a knot behind her head. Her dark grey eyes were staring down the shaft of that arrow with a look that showed she meant business. But that was where her similarities to Ezzy's race stopped.
The woman's skin was a crimson red, as if on fire. It was the strangest thing, and she had seen Taruun before with their marble-like skin. The woman's lower canine teeth peeked out from her lips, just enough for Ezzy to see their sharp points. Those grey eyes were slightly slanted and set deeper into her face behind a small nose. Her face might be considered pretty, if on the masculine side, by some if it wasn't for the skin and teeth. She was taller than any woman Ezzy had ever seen before. Taller than most men she knew, and her outfit did little to hide the muscles underneath. If it wasn't for the hint of features only found on a woman, Ezzy might have mistaken her for a man.
She wore the clothes of a bounty hunter. A brown leather shirt adorned with pockets, both large and small, covered her broad shoulders. Leather shorts fell down to her knees while her boots came up almost as high. A thick belt wrapped around her waist, various pouches and knives hung from every open space. The fletching of arrows peeked over her back, as well as the hilt of a weapon.
All in all, the woman was intimidating, and that was saying a lot as Ezzy was rarely intimidated by people.
"Get to your feet. Slowly. Wake your partner. I want to be on the road heading to Lurthalan before the end of the day."
Not feeling the need to respond, Ezzy got to her feet. She couldn't help but stare at the woman. What made her skin that color? Was it paint? The only race Ezzy knew of that had such colorful skin were the Umdaer in the south, but they were supposed to look far from human. Was this woman a mix? Could the races mix?
"Stop staring and move." Her voice made it clear she did not appreciate Ezzy's gaze.
Ezzy gave a smirk then turned her back on the strange woman and moved towards Nolan's still sleeping form. The woman might look tough, but Ezzy wasn't about to show her any fear. The bounty hunter had the advantage, but that could change in an instant. Plus, the bounty was for Ezzy alive, so the woman couldn't kill her. All she needed was one opportunity to catch her off guard.
Kneeling down, she reached into Nolan's tent and shook his foot until the man showed signs of waking.
"Wake up," she said loudly and in an overly sweet voice. "We have company."
"What?" he mumbled. "A merchant or something?"
"No, a particularly ugly bounty hunter."
Ezzy glanced back to see if her words had gotten a rise out of the woman. The bounty hunter smiled at her, showing even more of those two lower fangs. No matter. She was probably used to people calling her names.
"A what?" Nolan pushed the blankets off and sat up. As soon as his eyes found the woman, they widened. "What in the Abyss is that?"
"My name is Shayua Durluin, and I'm the person that will be collecting your bounty," she grunted at him. "Now get up and get your things ready to move."
Shayua lowered her bow as they started to move about the camp, but she kept an arrow nocked. Ezzy put the tents away and gathered their things as Nolan stretched. To Ezzy, he still looked weak. Whatever toll the re-bonding had on his body and mind, it clearly took a while to recover. He looked like he could topple over at any moment.
Once she had things packed, she took a step towards his walking stick. If Shayua wasn't going to let Paz anywhere near them, he at least needed the staff to move on his own.
A sharp twang was the only warning she had before an arrow buried itself right in front of her feet.
She hopped back unable to stop the small shriek from escaping her mouth.
"Do not even think about it," Shayua said. Another arrow was already notched.
"He needs it. He can barely stand as it is, walking without it will be impossible."
"Then let him pick it up. You can carry all of your supplies."
"My Vilathos can--"
"Stay far behind us. I don't want that thing within sprinting distance. You can carry the supplies. The added weight will keep you from trying anything foolish."
"If you say so."
Ezzy grabbed the two packs containing their things and stood glaring at the woman while Nolan limped over and picked up his staff. When everyone was set, Shayua motioned for them to start walking ahead of her. Ezzy watched from the corner of her eye as the woman walked over and pulled her arrow from the ground, returning it to the quiver on her back. Counting the one still ready to fire, the bounty hunter had fifteen or so arrows. Might come in handy to remember that.
Or it might not. Ezzy was just looking for anything she might use to get the upper hand at some point.
They moved in the opposite direction of the Unyielding Wall, Ezzy at the lead with Nolan close behind. Shayua kept her distance behind them, with the bow still ready to fire. They moved at a slow pace. Despite being in excellent shape, two packs were still a lot for Ezzy to lug around. She kept glancing back and each time the other woman's eyes were locked on her. This Shayua was all business. Escape would be a little more difficult than Ezzy had hoped.
"So," she said, glancing back at the towering woman. "Been a bounty hunter long?"
"You don't need to open your mouth to walk."
"That might not be entirely true," Nolan said under his breath.
Why did the man choose now to make jokes? Ezzy shot him a look but decided against commenting on what he said and instead offered, "I'm sure a little conversation won't magically help us escape. It might help the walk go a little faster."
Ezzy received a grunt for a reply. She took that as an opportunity to continue.
"I've never seen anyone that looks...like you. If you were part Taruun that would explain the height, but I've never seen anyone with your skin color before."
"Then I suppose you've never been very far south." Ezzy barely heard the words Shayua muttered. South? From Shade? The Wall was said to do strange things to people, but she had never heard of anything as dramatic as a drastic change in skin color. Certainly she didn't mean Rensen. Where else was there? She had heard of a new village that had been founded a few years ago on the southern end of Rensen forest. Did she mean there? If she meant further south, that would affirm that she had at least a little Umdaer in her.
"So where are you from?"
"Lurthalan."
"No, seriously."
"I was raised in Lurthalan, grew up in the temple of Avien'zia, and made my first kill when I was eleven. That's all you need to know."
"That doesn't explain your...uh, bizarre skin tone."
The woman was next to her in a heartbeat, and just as fast had a hand around Ezzy's throat and lifting her into the air. Ezzy's eyes bulged as she struggled to breathe. She beat at the woman's arms with her hands, but she might as well have been striking hardwood. Even the kicks she sent at the woman's stomach seemed to go unnoticed. And all the while she held Ezzy and her packs in the air.
"Stop it!" Nolan sounded scared, but things were becoming hazy to Ezzy. "You're killing her."
"Listen, little girl." Shayua's voice was low, but she could have been yelling for all Ezzy's oxygen-deprived brain could tell. "You will not mention my skin, or where I come from, or anything about my past. You are a bounty. Nothing more. Do I make myself clear?"
Ezzy tried to say yes, but it came out as a gurgle. She began to nod her head enthusiastically. Anything to be free of the woman's iron grip. Just as spots began to swim across her eyes, Shayua released her. Ezzy crumpled to the ground. The packs slid off her shoulders as she drew in deep, gasping breaths. A hand touched her shoulder, and she flinched but then relaxed as she realized it was Nolan.
"Are you alright?" The amount of concern painted across his face made the pain in her throat soften. A little.
"Yes."
"I don't think you should push her buttons anymore. She seems like the type to forget about money if she gets angry enough."
"I wasn't trying to set her off. I was just curious."
"Well, wherever she's from, they don't seem to like curious people."
"Agreed."
Ezzy let him help her up. Her first instinct was to glare at the other woman, but common sense won out and she instead turned her back to Shayua. Nolan was right, best to just avoid provoking the bounty hunter until they could figure out a way to escape. Speaking of which...
"Can I start my Vithalos moving yet?"
"Yes. But keep it far behind us."
The groan of a bowstring being stretched back was all the warning Ezzy needed to know what would happen if Paz got too close.
They walked on in silence for the rest of the day. In the beginning, Ezzy would glance back from time to time to check on their captor. The only change she noticed in the bounty hunter's demeanor was a deepening scowl that sunk each time their eyes met. It was doubtful they would be able to escape in the middle of the day anyway. Best to wait until night.
By the time they reached the cobblestone road that ran north towards Lurthalan and south towards Shade, the sun was just touching the tips of the Skyfall Mountains to the west. Shayua had them stop and set up camp a little ways off the road. As Ezzy and Nolan made a camp fire and spread out their sleeping bags, Shayua sat and watched them. She had slung her bow over her back, replacing it with a knife she twirled between her crimson fingers. The fact that the woman watched while Ezzy worked started to annoy her to no end. When Shayua told them not to bother with the tents, her annoyance bubbled over.
"I wonder," Ezzy said, not directing the words towards anyone in particular, "if she slipped and cut herself, would she even notice?"
"Ezzy..." Nolan warned.
"It was just a stray thought, Nolan. I mean, if she bled could we even tell? Or is her blood a different color than ours?"
"Shall we compare?"
Shayua rose and started walking towards her, knife in hand. Ezzy tried to take a step back but the stronger woman grabbed her wrist. She yanked and strained, trying to get her arm free, until Shayua brought the knife right up to Ezzy's face.
"I bleed red." Shayua slid the blade across the back of her own hand, twisting it to show Ezzy while keeping an iron grip on her wrist. "Let's see if it's the same shade as yours."
"Stop this!" Nolan took a few steps forward but stopped as Shayua pointed the blade in his direction.
"I am simply answering her question. The spoiled girl needs to learn that she cannot always say whatever she wishes."
"Yes, I agree. It's a lesson I've been trying to teach her this past year. She is a difficult student."
"Maybe that is because you coddle her. I will not be that gentle."
Ezzy gave a squeak as the woman placed the edge of the blade against the back of her hand.
"Stop," Nolan pleaded. "Don't hurt her."
Shayua glanced back at him over her shoulder for a few moments, then grunted and released Ezzy's hand.
"Think of this as her last chance to watch her words. The bounty just says to bring her in alive, it says nothing about what condition she must be in."
"I understand. She will watch her tongue. You have my word on it."
He glared at Ezzy. She returned his look for a moment, then rolled her eyes and nodded. Shayua missed the gesture as her attention was focused on Nolan.
"Good." Shayua licked the blood off her hand. "I will hold you responsible for reminding her of what will happen if she steps out of line. To both of you."