Page 33 of Hearts Etched in Glass
Climbing over the gate into Snatch’s corral, I show him the sugar cubes. “Want ’em? Then work for ’em.” I swear he narrows his eyes at me, then peers back at Spunk who is lingering by the gate. Snatch snorts in his direction like a warning, as I climb atop the saddle. We begin galloping, then the breeze grazes my neck as we gain momentum. Every corded piece of my muscles is tense, as I get ready for the potential moment for Snatch to fling me off his back or be terribly disappointed, like all the other times I have ridden him.
To my goddamned surprise, he goes around the first barrel, swifter than wind and sleeker than silk. Then he makes my heart skip a beat as we round the next one with precision and then the next.
This fucker could do it all along but was messing with me. All it took was a damn young buck to get his ass into gear. I jump off his back, shouting my triumph, but peer around to find the only person there is Roger. Hishands are in his hair, mouth agape, as he stands stunned on the gate.
“You see that?” I exclaim knife handing in his direction, excitement thrumming through my veins. “Finally! You fucking see that?” Reaching into my pocket I give Snatch all the sugar cubes and rub his snout. “Just needed to get you motivated, huh? Bastard.”
He snorts into my hand, lapping up the rest of the sugar cubes. Spunk whinnies, tossing his head in the air. “I’ll be back to ya. Pipe down.” I laugh. “Let me go check on Tilly and the gang.”
I hear the thunderous roar of a motorbike come around the horse barn as gravel crunches beneath my boots. The bike has a brilliant matte black color that takes my breath away. A short, stout woman sits atop it. She is wearing leather riding gloves, a brown jacket, riders’ goggles and a matte black helmet to match. She pulls up to park next to my bike, and I nearly fall on my ass, for I see the Loki staff strapped to the back of it.
Baba?
“No fucking way,” I mutter under my breath.
When she gets off the motorbike, her hands clutch either side of the helmet, pulling it off and tousling herlong, white hair. My strides are quick to reach her, for I have never seen her ride and I am intrigued.
“Where the hell do you even store your bike, Baba?” Coming up to her, I pet the side of the gas tank, then feel a quick slap on my hand.
“Ask permission before you pet Rita,” she demands, then unbuckles her staff and begins walking towards the barn, where Tilly is learning to shoot with Biscuit and Marcus.
“You really not going to tell me?” Following her into the barn. The echo of a gun firing, ricochets off the wooden walls. Baba nods her head in Tilly’s direction, a look of pride spreading across her features as she watches her take aim and shoot at the cans and other makeshift targets before her.
Not a bad shot either.
“Alright, everyone!” Baba motions for us to come to the table on the far side of the barn. “We have two days until the hunt. We need to ruin them, I want ideas.” Sitting back in a wooden folding chair, she reaches for a pen and paper and begins scribbling down notes.
“Tilly! I want you to use the shotgun next, figure out which guns you prefer and then I’ll buy whichever you like best, darling,” she yells over in her direction.
I turn the chair around. Straddling it and sit beside Baba, as Kenneth stands against the wall. Marcus and Biscuit continue shooting with Tilly, the cocking of a shotgun is heard in the distance.
“So, the rich prick is Marcus’s dom and the lanky bellend is Tilly’s ex?” Baba asks.
I nod, the anger bubbling just beneath the surface of my skin.
“I think we should just shoot them in the head, be done with it and bury them on their farm. Or burn the bodies in the bonfire during the hunt,” Kenneth remarks as he pulls out a cigarette.
“Too boring,” Baba replies, then gazes up at me, her eyes hopeful.
“Well, they want us to hunt on their land and spend the night in some tents, yeah? We can fill the tents up with adders. That would be fucking hilarious.” I respond.
Baba shrugs her shoulders. “Good, but I want more. We also need to think of how they are going to retaliate.No way they are letting this be a regular hunting party. I have a feeling the lanky bellend is going to get his friends or brother involved to try and harm you.”
Kenneth snorts, “They can’t fucking harm us.”
“Can’t have that arrogant thinking. Always be ready for an attack. Always have a plan. Never be too confident that you aren’t vulnerable. All it takes is one diseased rat to kill a town.” Kenneth rolls his eyes at Baba and she flicks something off the table and it hits him in the forehead.
“Do the camping but stay alert. We arrive in the evening and are supposed to hunt in the early morning, so, why not hunt before they do. They will not expect us to be unleashing our plan the moment we get there.” Baba explains.
I lean in towards her. “What do you mean?”
A wicked smile crawls across her face.
“I’m going to bake them some goodies. Cupcakes, cookies, a nice parting gift as I bid you ‘good luck’ on your hunting trip. They will think I have gone, but I shall stay behind. I've got someone stalking the land as we speak, creating vantage points for us.” Baba picks up her pen and begins scribbling down more items.
“You’re fucking terrifying,” I say. Her words make my own heart race as an eerie feeling crawls down my skin.
“I’m not done yet.” Her eyes flash with malice, as she holds up a finger. “The cupcakes and baked goods will be laced with hallucinogens, drugging anyone that eats them, so do not fucking eat them. Tilly and Marcus will hide in the shadows with me, stealing their weapons as you all have a dick rubbing party around the bonfire.”
