Page 29 of Tusks & Saddles
They came bursting through a crowd of people all surrounding the gate. Knights were holding people off and they screamed for Boone and Roger to stop their horses. Will glanced down to the compass. It gave off pulse after pulse of golden light. Simon was close. Kaffa was here. Will threw herself from Betty despite the loud protests from Boone. He couldn’t even stop her if he wanted as the wings burst from her back. Hellfire burst from her mouth as she launched over the knights into the giant gate. Just beyond it was about 500 heads of cattle mooed angrily at about 30 Paladins.
And Simon. Swinging a sword from on top of a hulking beast of a horse. Kaffa turned into a horror when she was panicked. Her legs grew five inches, her hooves turned to obsidian, and a bundle of blue/green tentacles sprouted from her mouth. Tentacles she wascurrently using to toss Paladins aside like sacks of potatoes. She even had one hog tied and used him to bat the others away from her. The second Will locked eyes with the screaming horse, Kaffa bucked. Simon launched from her back end into the air.
Will zipped through the air, catching him in her darkened claws. “You sniveling jackass, how fucking dare-”
Simon tried to swing his sword. It clanged against her wings, crumbling away like wet sand. His eyes widened in fear.
“Wanna try that again, motherfucker?” she spat, rattling him. “You trick my brother, get him drunk, break his leg. Then have the fucking nerve to sick a horde of undead, a sand slither, and more on my herd? Then you steal Kaffa? I oughta kill you.”
“Heinous cunt, go on! Drop me! Least my daddy didn’t drink himself into the grave to get away with me and my brother doesn’t need to use booze to escape me.”
Something snapped in her. It was like a rubber band, it stretched until it broke.
Simon screamed the whole way to the ground, where she used him as a landing pad. Red was the only thing she could see as she punched him. Left then right then left again. Tears spilled down her cheeks like a waterfall trickling off a cliff’s face. She wasn’t sure where she was hitting him till someone ripped her off him. Willamina Jones shrieked like a banshee. Flailing left and right until she felt the flames of Betty against her back. Boone slammed her into her Nightmare’s ribcage and jabbed a finger in her face. “Enough!”
“Fuck you!” she spat.
“Enough, Will, enough!” he warned, and she could feel the finality in his words. He glistened in his golden armor as he stepped away from her. Sword raised to the sun, the other Paladins quicklystepped away from him. The world froze as Will sucked in sharp breaths. Betty turned her head and Will raked her clawed fingers through her flaming mane. Her stomach twisted up in knots as Boone picked up Simon and handed him over to another Paladin. Fury licked up her body but before she could lurch in his direction and scream, he pointed a gloved hand at her. “Not a word.”
“That’s not—”
He stormed back in her direction. Boone snatched her by the jaw and forced her to focus on him. Their eyes battled for dominance, and she realized all too soon that he’d won this one. Her insides trembled as she ripped from his touch, taking Betty with her to calm down Kaffa. Tears continued to streak her face as she came upon the screaming horse. Upon seeing her, the tentacles dropped two Paladins to the grass. Kaffa lunged at her only to immediately drop her transformation. Will scooped up her sweet, yellow face and pulled her into her chest. Kaffa huffed and snorted, but she could feel the panic seeping out of Kaffa’s muscles. Betty draped her head over the small of Kaffa’s back, nuzzling her face slowly back and forth till the other horse let out a final, heavy breath.
Will looked back over her shoulder at Boone who was talking with a tall rock giant in similar armor. The other Paladins were shuffling the cattle into the city as fast and as organized as they could for such a massive herd.
When Boone felt her eyes on him, he glanced her way. Boone arched a brow in question. She nodded silently back at him. He gave her a single nod, returning to his conversation with the captain, likely his old captain. They seemed familiar with each other, how they slapped each other on the arm and chortled in unison.
Willamina Jones had her best friend’s horse back. While she didn’t get the revenge she wanted, it was for the best. She was clear of head enough now, with Kaffa in hand and Betty beside her torecognize that.I will chew his ear off for that later.Yet, she couldn’t even be mad at him. Boone Larokson knew her too well to know when she was flames out, there was no reasoning with her.
He must love her, because only a man who truly loved her would still approach her after that. Boone strode up from his conversation with the captain, watching her the whole time. When he stopped in front of her, his armor catching the sunlight, he stood only an inch from her. One hand to Kaffa’s mane, giving her a calming scratch behind the ears, the other to Will’s hip.
“He should be dead,” Will grumbled, planting a kiss to the top of Kaffa’s head. She let go of the horse’s head and let her pull away. Kaffa turned to Betty, seeking comfort from her stablemate. Betty dropped her flames and returned to nuzzling with her regular face on Kaffa’s neck.
“I know, but this is the stronghold. Back in Irongarde, the sheriff would let that fly. But the Paladins don’t see it that way. Stealing other people’s cattle, horse, and breaking Jacobus’ leg aren’t death sentence crimes. Though, the captain feels as though your punches were justified. So, we’re going to get the horses on the next train out of here, his treat.”
She glared up at him, but Boone was unphased. The words bubbled up in her chest as she replayed what Simon said. A broken record on repeat, all the nasty things she told herself on repeat. “He said daddy drank himself into the grave to get away from me.”
Boone sucked in a breath sharply. He grabbed her by the back of the head and pulled her forehead to his lips first. “Baby, he was just trying to rile you up. No one is drinking themselves to death in order to get away from you.”
“What if he’s right about Jacobus?” she croaked against his armor, fingers flexing as her nails found purchase in the grooves on his back.
Boone sighed. “Let me work on Jacobus. You got a ranch to take care of, Baby. Jacobus’ got his own demons to figure out and that’s not for you to fix. You already do so much for the kid. You just make sure he’s got a roof over his head, a job to stay focused on, and food on the table. I’ll do the rest.
Will furrowed her brows. “I can't ask you to do that—”
“You're not asking, I'm telling you to leave the boy to me. Now, you can ride with me back to the train station, or I can throw you over my shoulder and walk our asses there, but you’re getting on the fucking train, Willamina Jones.”
She wanted to call his bluff, but she recalled the boots incident and scowled. He smirked, grabbing her by both hips and she shot out of his hands. Will threw herself up onto Betty’s saddle. Boone snickered to himself, “Good girl.”
“Go fuck yourself,” she hissed. There wasn’t as much venom as she imagined there would be. Not as he asked Kaffa to her face if he could ride her back home. Kaffa booped his chest with her nose and snorted. Boone gingerly got up onto her saddle, taking both his reins and Will’s.
“Come on, Baby,” he flashed her a subtle smile, “let’s go home.”
Will nodded, giving him permission to lead the horses away from the shuffling herd of cows. She tried to focus on the fact they got Kaffa back.We won.Simon’s herd would be surrendered to the stronghold while they figured out who it belonged to. Someone was getting the money, but it wasn’t that bastard. At the very least he would rot in some dungeon. As anti-climactic as it felt, she knew Boone had a point. She got some swings in, she got Kaffa back, and they were going home.
Roger and Killer stood at the other end of the grassy field, waiting for them. “Boss! What now?”
“We got a train to catch,” she called out to him.
