For Gold and Revenge by Noah Layton

Author:Noah Layton [Layton, Noah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Noah Layton Books
Published: 2020-06-27T22:00:00+00:00

12 – Boom

Grimdrom saddled up his horse and mine to a cart that contained several large barrels and a trolley around midday, which Cassandra and I helped tied it all up with lengths of rope in secure knots. Once they were comfortably in place, we wrapped it up with a considerable amount of tarpaulin, and the contents was securely hidden.

‘There aren’t enough seats for all of us up front,’ Grimdrom said. ‘One of us is going to have to ride in the back.’

‘You can,’ I said. ‘You’re the smallest, and you can’t possibly expect a lady to ride up front, can you?’

‘I’ve got a better idea,’ Grimdrom said confidently, ‘How about you ride bitch in the back because this is my horse, my cart and my explosive, and the lady can ride up front with me? I only owe you one favour, remember?’

‘My horse is there too, remember?’

I tried to think of another retort to throw at him, but Cassandra just shrugged and smiled cheekily, stooping a little and linking her arm into Grimdrom’s.

‘That sounds like a fine deal to me, Mr Barrelhood,’ she said.

‘Splendid, my dear,’ Grimdrom said. ‘Drake, sit your ass in the back. And don’t go looking like a bulldog licking piss off a nettle all the way there. There’s enough explosive in the back of this cart to blow us all to the Maker, and if we get caught with this it’ll be all of our asses. I’m trusting you to keep an eye on my precious babies.’

‘Your precious babies?’ Cassandra repeated, settling into the seat of the cart by Grimdrom’s side. ‘Why do you call them that?’

‘They are the products of my labor, therefore they are my babies,’ he said seriously, whipping the horses reigns and steering her around. ‘Every grain of powder is the product of my work, perfected and nurtured to a point of maximum explosiveness. Here.’

Grimdrom fished into his pocket and retrieved a small pouch that he handed to Cassandra. She poured a little out into her palm and examined the black powder.

‘It feels like dust.’

‘Don’t be misled. What you’re holding is incredibly dangerous. It’s a combination that I’ve been working on for years.’

‘It sounds terribly dangerous.’

‘Oh, it is. Can’t count the number of fires I’ve accidentally set off in my workshop! It became so bad at one point that I ended up spending a few weeks working on a whole new project – a concoction to put fires out quickly. Don’t fret, I’ve got a few bags of that concoction in the back… Not that it would protect us from the initial blast, that is…’

Cassandra looked over her shoulder at me with an impressed expression, then tipped the explosive powder back into the pouch and threw it across to me.

I inspected it myself then pocketed it, thinking it might come in handy later.

‘So you never wished to have any actual children of your own?’ Cassandra continued.

‘Perhaps I would have once, but my love was taken from me many a year ago.’

‘That’s

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