Alcingeria

Chapter Sixty: Now Is The Time

Chapter Sixty Now Is The Time:

Friday July 9th 1690

I went to bed shortly after our talk. I woke up to the sound of someone bursting through my door. I sat bolt upright in surprise, fearing the worst. Had Queen Yuka's men come to arrest me? Had Lawrence sold me out?

"Redmond, we're meeting now!" I heard a familiar voice call nervously.

Stella. I kicked myself for even beginning to suspect Lawrence. I knew he could be trusted.

"What?" I asked groggily. "Why am I always the last one called?"

"That doesn't matter, come on."

I could tell she was really nervous. This must have been it then, the meeting we'd been waiting for. I got out of bed and grabbed my weapons. I had finished cleaning my pistol and I had the flint replaced by the resident blacksmith. I also had my weapons sharpened and returned to me during the night. Lawrence oversaw the process, ensuring it was done as fast as possible.

As Stella practically dragged me out of my room, Lawrence was on his way in and shot me a knowing glance. I just nodded, going along with Stella. We went the familiar way through to Estaire's room. As I thought, Queen Yuka was absent from her throne. We made our way in, finding everyone else already assembled. I noticed immediately that Edwin and his men now had muskets.

"Bringing in the big guns, are you?" I asked wryly.

"It's the best we can do without lugging cannon around," he shrugged. "Besides, every law enforcement officer is issued a musket and trained in firearms."

"How come we've never seen you carry before?" Robert asked.

"Not a fan of the randomness firearms operate on," he shrugged. "I'll use a gun if I need to, but my sword is much more reliable. That being said, I won't deny the advantage these will give us in close quarters."

He motioned to everyone else, who I saw had pistols. Erin checked the priming on hers, seeming to know roughly what she was doing. That didn't surprise me, as she was very book smart. Raymond, Martha and Francella, though, were being showed how to operate them by Robert, Don and Macalister.

"How did you all get those?" I asked.

"I broke into the storage room in the foyer," Stella shrugged.

Seeing my confused expression, she laughed.

"I can be pretty stealthy when I want to be, remember?" She asked. "Most of Queen Yuka's forces must be guarding the real treasure, because that place was only overseen by a blacksmith. After he went home for the night, I just slipped in and grabbed what we needed."

"That's awesome, Stella!" I laughed. "That'll give us a bit more of an advantage."

She beamed back at me.

"I think you all know why I've called you here," Estaire said, clearing her throat. "Now is the time to attack. My mother is out inspecting the troops in the town square, and Alice is with her. Vulrock's army marches out tomorrow at dawn. It's now or never."

"Remember the plan, everyone." Edwin looked to each one of us, meeting our eyes. "None of us need to die here if we're careful."

"We didn't factor in vampires being part of this," Stella said uneasily. "Is this still going to work?"

"Lucky for you all, I managed to record some information over the years on them," Estaire said with a small grin. "I'll tell you everything I know."