Hunt for Justice (13 page)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

A Deal Struck

Ezzy had enjoyed the spicy seasonings Shayua used in her cooking. The blend of sweet and spicy flavors Shayua had added to the meal made even the normally bland rabbit stew taste like a meal created in the finest of inns. Ezzy had lain down for the night full and content, and although she would never admit it, she did feel safer with Shayua there.

And then she awoke with her stomach screaming at her. The rest of her night was spent in the fetal position while her companions slept peacefully. After a night of a war raging in her stomach, Ezzy decided that Shayua could pull her weight doing something other than cooking for the group. 

When the sun finally started to rise, she felt exhausted. She stayed in her blankets while the others packed things up. At one point, Shayua made some unflattering remarks about her laziness, which motivated her to finally get moving. How the woman could constantly eat food with those spices and still function was beyond her. And how had Nolan gotten a good night's sleep as well? She had expected his constitution to be the weakest out of the three of them. Apparently the man had an iron stomach. Not wanting to look like a wimp, Ezzy mustered her strength and kept from complaining as they headed out.

Trees started to speckle the land at first as they moved south, interrupting the plains that they had been traveling over for the last few days. Then the trees grew thicker as they found the true edge of the forest towards the end of the afternoon. With all of the logging limited to the west side of the Melcoi River, the forest was slowly spreading north on this side. The section where the road ran through was supposed to be relatively clear, but they had chosen to enter the woods much father east. The bounty hunter had been annoyed by the decision but hadn't argued with it. Much.

As they began making their way through the forest, Ezzy couldn't help but wonder about their strange new companion. She had met a few bounty hunters in her time, but Shayua was like none she had ever met before. And it wasn't just because of her extraordinary appearance. Any bounty hunter hired by Ezzy's father had been a mixture of cockiness and abrasiveness. All they had cared about was the money her father promised to pay them. There had been a few times that Ezzy had snuck out of her room to hear her father arguing with a bounty hunter over a botched job or a mark that had turned up dead instead of captured. Those didn't seem to follow this code that Shayua had mentioned, although they all claimed to follow Avien'zia.

Shayua was different. Going by her actions and what she said, Shayua took her role as a bounty hunter seriously and the rules involved as law. Ezzy didn't know much about Avien'zia, but it seemed that Shayua's devotion to her goddess was absolute. Which made the fact that the woman had given up on her bounty all the more confusing. Wouldn't the deliberate refusal to complete a bounty anger the goddess? Had her decision been based on some side of Avien'zia that Ezzy didn't know, or did it have something to do with where she came from? It was frustrating to realize that she knew so little about Avien'zia and many of the other deities and their practices. And she couldn't ask the woman about her heritage. Ezzy would have to try a different tactic with the woman to get some answers.

As they trudged their way through the forest, stepping around trees and saplings or pushing through dense overgrowth, Ezzy tried to think of the best way to get the woman to open up. In the end, she decided to on focus on her bounty hunter aspect and see if that made her open up more about her religion.

"So, how long have you been a bounty hunter?"

Shayua stepped around a sapling before replying. "I started training when I was eight and took my first contract when I was fifteen. So since my first contract, it's been ten years."

"You started training at the age of eight?"

"Yes, my mother bought me an apprenticeship through the temple."

"And that's normal?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Her voice grew cold.

"I don't know, I meant no offense." Ezzy brushed a branch out of her way to give her time to choose her next words. "I know very little about Avien'zia's temple. I've spent most of my life devoted mostly to Drenks, but with everything that's happened to my family, I no longer pray to him. Since I started looking for the person or people responsible for my family's downfall, I've been considering giving my prayers to Avien'zia."

"You have abandoned your patron deity?" She made it sound like Ezzy had slaughtered a whole village.

"He has abandoned me and my family! My family devoted decades in service to him, and now we've been torn down to nothing. All because of the actions of one man. Either that one man was more powerful than a god or my god abandoned my family first."

Ezzy hadn't meant to raise her voice. She neve
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intende
d
to get upset when she thought about what happened to her family. Her emotions were like a pile of tinder sitting next to a candle. All it took was the smallest push to knock that candle over and start a blaze. Struggling to get her temper under control, she took out her aggression on a nearby plant, trampling it under her boot. Shayua grew quiet for a moment. When she finally spoke, her tone had changed. It sounded...understanding.

"If what you say is true, I understand why you would disregard such a fickle deity. So, you wish to follow Avien'zia now because..."

"I want to hunt down the man that caused all of it. I want to bring him to justice. And I'm willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish that goal."

Shayua stopped and spun around so suddenly that Ezzy put her arms up in defense. The bounty hunter gripped Ezzy's shoulders with her strong hands and looked directly into her eyes.

"Esmerelda Ciantar. I understand now why I found your bounty. Why I felt the desire not to complete it. Avien'zia must have put me on the path to you for a higher cause."

"Oh?" Ezzy had no idea what the woman was talking about. She kept quiet and waited to see where this was going.

"You have prayed to Avien'zia, yes? Prayed for help in finding this man?"

"Almost every day."

"I believe your prayers have been answered. Avien'zia has placed me in your life to see if you are worthy of her blessings. I will join your hunt. Train you. Test you. Make you a true hunter of men. This man and all men will come to fear Esmerelda Ciantar even more than her metal monster."

"Ezzy," Nolan cut in, "I don't think--"

"You don't need to think, Thaljori, as this decision is out of your hands. It's out of all of our hands. It clearly is the will of the goddess." Returning her attention to Ezzy, Shayua's grip on her shoulders tightened to the point of being almost painful. "You must see that this is what is supposed to happen, yes?"

"I don't know. It's hard to believe a goddess would take a personal interest in me..."

"That is because you are used to following a god that sits back and lets his worshippers send him praises for boons he has not caused and blames others for their failures. Your former god sits and eats and grows fat with overindulgence while his followers battle it out for even the smallest scraps of his attention. Avien'zia watches out for her people. She makes our arrows fly true. Allows us to hear the slightest rustle of an animal we hunt. Shows our eyes even the smallest tracks while in pursuit of our bounties."

"I haven't noticed any of this since I started praying--"

Shayua released her shoulders and stepped back.

"Giving her lip service and asking for favors does not make you a true servant of Avien'zia. Many hunters of either men or animals make the same mistake, either from ignorance or laziness. Those willing to listen to the sermon of her Voice, decipher their true meanings, and follow their instructions are the ones that become close to the goddess."

"And you're willing to teach me what it means to follow her completely? To gain the heightened senses and abilities?"

Ezzy wasn't sure if she believed everything Shayua was saying, but it had captured her interest. Did the deities of their realm exert more of their influence than she had been led to believe? Even if half of what she said was true, the chance to gain Shayua's skills would be hard to pass up. Especially combined with her control of Paz.

"I can teach you how to hunt and fight, how to live in a way Avien'zia would find pleasing. Whether she takes an interest, no one can say. We cannot begin to comprehend the thoughts of the gods."

"Please teach me, Shayua." Nolan let out a snort behind her but she ignored it. "I want to learn."

"Do not ask for this so eagerly. You need to understand something before you make any commitment to this life. If I'm to instruct you, that means you must follow my instructions and orders. The man that trained me was a harsh and unforgiving mentor. There were days I wanted to kill him, but I humbled myself and followed his instructions to the letter. I would be doing him and Avien'zia an injustice if I expected any less from you. I will not waste my time if you are only going to follow what I say when it is convenient for you."

"I will follow your instructions on the condition they don't interfere with my plans of finding justice for my father."

Another snort from Nolan. The man needed to keep his opinions to himself. She could follow orders when she agreed to it. If everything Shayua was saying was true, she would gratefully swallow her pride to have even the slightest advantage of catch this Ean Sangrave.

"Can I ask questions?" Ezzy continued.

"Questions are not a problem. I expect you to have many questions about what we do. It's defiance that won't be tolerated."

"I swear, Shayua, I won't let you down. Train me."

The grin that appeared on Shayua's face was solemn.

"Excellent. May Avien'zia smile on us both this day. Now, hold out your hand."

Ezzy did as she was told then pulled it back as Shayua pulled out one of her many knives. That earned her a growl from the woman.

"An agreement this important must be made in blood, Esmerelda. Avien'zia would be content with nothing less."

"How much blood?"

"Hold on," Nolan said, limping over to stand almost between the two women. "This is going too far."

"This is no concern of yours, Thaljori." Shayua went to push him out of the way but he raised his staff and pointed it at her face.

"Ezzy is more of a concern of mine than she is of yours. You've had your turn to speak, now she will hear what I have to say."

He turned his back on Shayua, something Ezzy would never have done after threatening the massive woman, and raised his free hand in a soothing manner.

"I understand you want to find this Ean fellow and bring him to justice for what he did to your family. Believe me, I want to see the same thing. Your father was one of the few people I could call a friend."

He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and pulled her closer, his voice dropping to a whisper.

"But I'm scared this path will lead you down a dark path. You already hold so much anger. I'm afraid learning to follow a goddess that gets a thrill out of a hunt and killing will just make that anger settle deeper inside you. Left unchecked, it will consume you. I won't let that happen."

His fears were unnecessary, of course, but his words were still appreciated. After all this was said and done, she would make sure that her friend was well taken care of for the rest of his life. Even if she was the one that had to do it.

"You're overreacting, Nolan. She's offering me a way to take better care of myself. I hate to admit it, but you know those rabbits I said I caught a few days ago? Well, I actually got them from--"

"Yes, yes, I figured you bought them. You're not really listening to what I'm saying..."

"You're worried that I'll become some killing machine. I get it. It's not going to happen, Nolan. Plus, I have you around to keep me grounded."

"I won't always be around, Ezzy."

"Why would you say something like that? Ok, never mind, I don't want to talk about it. I'm going to train with Shayua. My decision is final."

"Stubborn girl..." Nolan mumbled as he stalked away as fast as his injured leg could carry him. Ezzy took a step to go after him, but Shayua stuck out an arm to block her path.

"Let him go. You are an adult and must make your own decisions. He either will accept it or not. Now hold out your hand."

Ezzy did as she was told. When Shayua placed the blade of the knife across her palm, fear almost made her pull her hand back again. What was she getting herself into? Then she pictured her father. The last time she had seen him. Hugging him good-bye, not knowing it was for the last time. She steeled her resolve.

Her hand trembled as Shayua grasped her wrist. As much as Ezzy wanted to put on a brave face, when the blade cut into her skin, she cried out in pain. Shayua squeezed her wrist a few times until the blood dribbled down her hand. Then the bounty hunter cut into her own hand, took Ezzy's hand in her own, and squeezed even harder.