Hunt for Justice (8 page)

CHAPTER NINE

Party on the Bridge

Nolan knew that the night was about to go downhill quickly.

"Hello, gentlemen," cross-scar said as the bounty hunters approached. "We're just concluding some business here."

One of the bounty hunters, the taller man named Ben who Nolan saw earlier, glanced at Ezzy first, and let his gaze wander over the four thieves. He smirked.

"This one is ours," he said, gesturing towards Ezzy. "I don't care about the other one. Step aside and let us take her, then you can 'conclude your business' with the man."

The three other thieves tensed, but the thief in charge kept his cool.

"Our business," Cross-scar said, "involves whichever of these two is carrying their coin purse. So how about you let us finish an
d
the
n
you take the girl."

"This girl has a bounty on her. I intend to bring her in and take whatever possessions she might have. That includes the money she has on her. Now, step aside before you get in over your head."

"A bounty, you say?" The thief glanced at Ezzy and licked his lips. "Well, that certainly is interesting. Sorry to disappoint you, but we found her first. The bounty and her possessions are ours. Why don't the four of you take your fancy armor down to the nearest inn and try to impress the local wenches. 'Cause I'll tell you right now, it don't impress me very much."

This was not going well at all. Nolan began to take a few slow steps towards Ezzy while the thief and bounty hunter continued to exchange words.

"I don't need to impress you, river rat," Ben scoffed. "I also don't need to waste my time warning you to stay out of our way. I'm attempting to save myself the hassle of killing you first and then having to hunt down the girl when she most likely flees during the fight."

"Well then, I guess to the winner goes the spoils, as me and my men aren't about to back down."

"So be it." Ben gestured towards both Nolan and Ezzy with his sword. "The two of you stand off to the side. If you try and run, I swear
,
whe
n
I catch you, I'll tan your hides so badly before I bring you in that you won't be able to sit for the rest of the season."

Ezzy of course made the mature gesture of sticking out her tongue at the man as Nolan pulled her towards the side of the bridge.

"Now that our prize is on hold," the leader of the thieves said, "let's see who the better men are."

That was the only warning the man gave before his pack of thugs charged at the bounty hunters. The two groups met with the clash of steel on steel. Men grunted as they blocked blows. Dry mortar and stone were kicked up into the air as the men jockeyed for position. The sound of battle echoed off the bridge and over the water below.

Nolan was surprised to see that the two groups looked evenly matched when it came to skill with a weapon. His first impression of the thieves had been that they were a simple pack of thugs whose decaying armor matched their fighting abilities. But these men were holding their own against the bounty hunters. The thieves wielded their blades like seasoned men, parrying thrusts and performing combinations that Nolan wouldn't expect from common thugs. The thieves must have had training from somewhere, maybe ex-city guards or even former bounty hunters themselves. At the beginning of the melee, it looked like either side could come out on top.

Training can only take a warrior so far, though. Equipment plays a large part, especially in a battle between equally skilled individuals, and the bounty hunters' gear was far superior. Their blades looked better maintained and more importantly, their Soushade armor kept them better protected. The blades of the thieves couldn't penetrate the thick leather armor. Even the heaviest slashes couldn't cut completely through, and piercing stabs only succeeded in pushing the bounty hunters back. As the battle progressed, Nolan couldn't see a single bloody scratch on any of the bounty hunters.

The same couldn't be said for the thieves. Dark red stains bloomed in various places on each of their clothing. The bounty hunters were getting progressively better at finding the weak areas of the thieves' armor or striking areas not protected by anything other than cloth. One of the thieves was already starting to show signs of fatigue, either from the battle or from the multiple dark stains that painted his clothes. It didn't look like the fight was going to last much longer,

The first man to fall though wasn't the heavily wounded thief. The lead thief, with the cross-shaped scar, lunged at Ben's neck--one of the few unprotected parts on his body. The strike missed and left the thief wide open. The bounty hunter slid his own blade into the chest of the thief with one swift stroke. A sickening gurgle was the only sound that escaped Cross-scar's mouth as the thief collapsed onto the blade. The bounty hunter shouldered the man off his weapon and wiped his sword on the dying man's body, spraying droplets of blood onto the bridge.

The loss of their leader dampened the will to fight in the other three thieves. They disengaged and raised their hands into the air.

"Enough!" one of the men yelled. "We surrender."

"We was just following orders," another said as he tossed his weapon to the ground.

The three bounty hunters looked to the man named Ben. He gave them a nod. The well-trained men lowered their swords, although they still seemed tense and ready to act.

"The three of you need to leave," Ben said to the thieves. "Now."

The words were barely out of his mouth when the thieves started running west. Ben watched them go with a smirk, then rounded on Ezzy and Nolan.

"You two certainly don't seem worth the small bounty placed on you. The old man can barely get around, and you," he gestured at Ezzy, "look a little too fancy to be much of a fighter. And the bounty is just on you, girl?"

"Send the rest of your goons away," Ezzy retorted, "and I'll show you how much of a fighter I am."

That got a laugh out of Ben and his followers. And a sigh from Nolan.

"Well, you may have the clothes of someone well off," Ben said, "but you've got the spirit of someone from Fisher's Row. I know you did quite a bit of damage out in Wethrintir. What are you? A simple magus that can sling energy around? Maybe an Elementalist with control over one of the elements? With all of the physical damage to the town you caused it would make sense that you have some control over one of the elements. You certainly didn't destroy a few buildings with just your mouth."

"Maybe I am a magic user. Maybe we both are," she said, nodding towards Nolan. "Do you think the four of you could handle us?"

"Of course we could handle you, even if I believed you were magic users, which I don't. We're professional bounty hunters, miss. We train to take down any mark."

"And how do you fools know we aren't magic users?"

Nolan inwardly groaned. Did she have to keep insulting the men?

"Simple," Ben replied, not showing a hint of anger at the insult. "You were about to be taken by a bunch of worthless thieves. A quick show of any kind of magical skill would have scared them off in a--"

Thumping sounds, like the beating of drums, cut him off. All four bounty hunters began looking around for the source of the noise as it grew nearer. Nolan didn't have to guess. He glanced over at Ezzy.

She was actually smirking at the men!

"Well," she said in a sarcastic tone, "Let's see if you are trained for this."

A slight tremor in the stone bridge made them all glance to the east. Paz's head wobbled into view first as the Vilathos stomped its way up the bridge. By the time its massive iron body was completely in view, the bounty hunters had managed to overcome their shock.

"Vilathos!" one of the men yelled.

"Take out the one controlling it!" Ben yelled.

He was pointing at Nolan.

"Dung," Nolan murmured and immediately threw himself to the ground. There was a whooshing sound as something flew over his head. The move saved him from being struck by whatever the men had thrown, but he landed hard on his bad knee. A sharp pain jolted up his leg, making his stomach churn. He would be feeling that for days to come. Assuming they survived tonight, of course.

Rolling to the side, he watched as Paz crashed into the group of bounty hunters. Bodies dove in every direction. Three of the men, including Ben, had managed to jump out of the way, but the fourth man had not been quick enough. The force of Paz charging knocked the man clear into the air and over the side of the bridge. The remaining bounty hunters were back on their feet in a heartbeat, but by that time, Ezzy was in full control of the situation.

She had Paz grab one of the men with a giant hand and lift him off the ground. Another of the men pulled a dagger from his belt, but let out a yelp as Paz tossed his friend right at him. The two crashed together and rolled about in a mess of bodies. Ben tried to get to Nolan, but had to dodge out of the way as Paz took a swipe at him.

Unfortunately that did not stop the bounty hunter from releasing a small knife in Nolan's direction.

The blade struck the front of Nolan's left shoulder and sunk in deep. While not a heavy blade, the force of the impact did knock him from his side to his back. The pain was intense, but he was used to worse. It was nothing compared to the process of bonding a Vilathos.

Thankfully, by the time Nolan managed to roll back to his side, the fight was over. The two unnamed bounty hunters were fleeing back towards the west side of the river, and Ben was in the firm grasp of Paz. Four metal fingers were wrapped around the man's torso, leaving his arms and hands free. Ben was struggling against the massive metal hand, but had a defeated look on his face.

"If you are going to kill me," he said, looking directly at Nolan, "get it over with."

Letting out a laugh, Ezzy approached the dangling man.

"Speak to me. Paz is under my control. I won't kill you, but I am disappointed in all of the trouble you've caused. I had hoped to get more time with my family before leaving the city. Hearing you were after me ruined my night."

Nolan let out a loud cough.

Ezzy gave him an apologetic look.

"Of course that also includes the knife sticking out of your shoulder. I thought that went without saying." She turned back to Ben while pointing a thumb in Nolan's direction. "I'm going to have to get a Healer or Saniteal to look at his wound now. And that will cost money."

Ben smirked at her...until she began going through his pockets.

"Oh you can't be serious," Ben growled down at her. "You're robbing me?"

"Not robbing. You are just paying for my friend's medical bill."

"If you think for one second I'll give you a single co--"

Ben was cut off as Paz began to violently shake him in the air.

"Sorry," Ezzy cupped a hand to her ear, "what was that? I didn't quite hear what you said."

Paz gave the man a few more shakes before it stopped.

"Fine, fine." Reaching into the back of his pants, Ben pulled out a small pouch and started working at the drawstrings holding it closed.

"I'm sure whatever you have will be more than enough."

Ezzy snatched the pouch out of his hands. He tried to grab it from her, but Paz lifted him higher into the air.

"Now wait just a minute, if you think I'm going to let you just walk off with all of my money, you're mistaken."

"Oh, I know you weren't going to just let us walk off either way. That's why I got your coins first."

"Wha--"

Whatever else Ben was going to say, it changed to a surprised yell as Paz threw the man over the side of the bridge.

"Ezzy!" Nolan yelled as he struggled to his feet. It was difficult to do with a throbbing knee and favoring his left shoulder. "What did you do?"

"I made sure he didn't follow us, that's what I did. The river will hopefully take him out of the city before he can make it to shore. I doubt he will come right after us, soaking wet and tired from swimming against the current."

"He might since you robbed him of all of his money."

"Oh, I doubt it's all of his money. No one is stupid enough to travel with all of their money on them. Plus, I don't know how you could feel bad for the man with his knife still sticking out of your shoulder."

He decided not to argue with that.

"Yes well, pull this thing out of me and let's get going. I'll wrap it as we walk. We'll have to wait until we get to Shade to find someone to patch this up. Let's get off this bridge before anyone else shows up."

"Oh, I can patch you up. We can't leave that wound unattended for the thirteen or so days it will take to walk to Shade. It could get infected or something."

"We can't go looking for a Healer now. It's too late. Plus, that's the first place Ben will look."