Free Hunt for Justice by James R. Vernon Page B

quiet and scanning the streets for any sign of life. This time of night it was rare to see anyone out and about. All three moons hung high in the sky, bathing the streets in their green, blue, and red glow. Ezzy found her gaze wandering to the river as the different colors danced along the surface of the water. Funny how she had never noticed how beautiful it looked growing up, when she had lived only a few paces away. Now, while she was on the run, Ezzy felt a little sadness creeping in, thinking about how she couldn't sit and appreciate the swirling reflection of colors. Of course, the mammoth building sitting on the opposite shore made it hard to enjoy the sights.
    The Endless Tombs towered over every building along the shoreline, including the building connected to its left side: the Temple of Kaz'ren. The temple by itself was an impressive marble structure, but the Tombs were the second largest creation in the world, second only to the Unyielding Wall. Created by Kaz'ren herself, the black stone building stretched high into the sky and was said to stretch even further deep underground. The bodies of every single person whose soul had been claimed by Kaz'ren was laid to rest in those tombs. Even those who died before the Plague.
    Ezzy's father wasn't entombed there. His body was still lost in the Deadlands. Who knew what the freaks living up there had done with him. The Soulbearers didn't travel into those lands to release a person's spirit back to Kaz'ren. Her father's spirit was stuck there in his corpse, never to be freed to return to his family. It was just another log fueling the fire of her anger towards those that had brought her family down. But again, she couldn't dwell on that now. She needed to focus on the here and now and get out of the city.
    The streets were still empty when they finally reached Melcoi Bridge. Built from bone-colored stones, the massive construction spanned the river where it flowed from Lake Melcoi. The bridge rose high into the air, leaving enough clearance for the largest river boats to pass underneath. The incline was so great that if you stood on one end, you couldn't see over the rise to the other side. Ezzy's father had said it had taken the hardiest Vilathos and the most skilled Elementalists to construct the bridge.
    Ezzy and Nolan both took one last look around before stepping off the road and onto the bridge. Normally bustling with activity during the day, the bridge felt barren and ominous at night. The only sounds to be heard were water lapping against the stone supports. Old stories of creatures from the Abyss hiding under bridges to ensnare their prey leapt into her mind for a moment before she squashed them. She was too old to be scared by such tales. The gods protected the city from the Abyss anyway, so there was nothing to worry about. Even so, Ezzy found her gaze wandering back to the Temple of Kaz'ren as they moved across the bridge.
    How long had it been since she had prayed to the goddess of the soul and afterlife? Probably just as long as it had been since she had given her last prayer to Drenks. Did the gods and goddesses even notice when a single person stopped paying their respects? The Voices, the title given to the highest priest in each of the temples, said the gods noticed, but Ezzy was skeptical of what even the Voices knew anymore. With everything that had happened to her family, it was hard to believe in anything that came from the temples. She would continue to pray to the goddess of the hunt though. Just in case.
    A hand on her arm brought Ezzy out of her thoughts. They had already reached the peak of the bridge? She glanced over at Nolan, who in turn nodded ahead of them.
    Standing on the east end of the bridge were four men. They were dressed in mismatched, multicolored clothing that made each man look unique in a ragtag sort of way. At first Ezzy thought they might just be beggars. In the low light of the moons it was difficult to make out much more