Alcingeria Chapter Sixty Four: A Debt To Pay

In this final chapter of Alcingeria Volume One, many debts are paid.

Chapter Sixty Four A Debt To Pay:

Friday July 9^th 1690

            “What the Hell is going on?” Queen Yuka asked, looking around the room.

Her slate grey eyes fell on the ashes of all the slain vampires. They then fell on us.

            “You! I trusted you! I’ll have you all hung!” She shouted at all of us.

Another guard walked into the room.

            “No sign of the bombers, your majesty. They must have escaped into the tunnels.” He told the Queen.

            “Find them! They can’t have gone far. Bring them here, I want to know who helped these traitors destroy Vulrock’s chance at glory!” The Queen barked.

A few guards left the room. She then looked to all of us. I don’t know about the others, but I trembled beneath her gaze. The adrenaline from the fight had worn off and was replaced with sheer terror. From what I’d heard, Queen Yuka doesn’t take kindly to traitors. I heard that she has them tortured before their executions!

            “You know what? I think I’ll just kill you now. I’m sick of looking at your treacherous faces.” The Queen spat.

She took aim with her machine gun. We were all frozen in fear. Her slate grey eyes were dark with rage. She looked down the sights of her weapon. Her eyes then brightened slightly. She lowered the firearm.

            “I have a better idea.” She said.

She then forced the machine gun into Estaire’s hands.

            “You’ll be Queen someday, Estaire. You need to learn to be malevolent! You must be feared! You need to learn to execute traitors without a second thought.” Her mother said sternly.

Estaire held the machine gun uncertainly.

            “What? Mother! You can’t make me do this!” She objected.

Queen Yuka looked at her daughter with a look that resembled shame.

            “Estaire! You will not go against my word! As Queen of Vulrock, I order you to execute these traitors!” She shouted.

            “But mother! They’re my friends!” Estaire pleaded, tears forming in her light violet eyes.

            “No, they were your friends. Now they are nothing but traitors.” The Queen reasoned impatiently.

            “Mother, please don’t make me do this!” Estaire begged.

            “Estaire! I said shoot them!” Her mother shouted in rage.

Estaire looked to the ground for a few moments. She then raised the fully automatic firearm to her shoulder… Aiming it at us! We were all so shocked, we couldn’t say anything. No one could reason with her, fear choked us all.

            “Do it! Do it now!” Queen Yuka barked.

Estaire’s finger tightened on the trigger. My stomach dropped to my feet, I was terrified. So this is how I would die. I looked to the others to see they were looking at Estaire with pleading looks, we were all trembling. Estaire’s finger tightened on the trigger even more.

Princess Estaire then whirled around and unleashed a barrage of automatic gunfire on her mother! Queen Yuka screamed as the bullets tore through her, red blotches were blooming like morbid roses on her royal gown.

The once feared tyrant Queen of Vulrock now lay on the cold hard ground, dying.

Everyone in the room stood staring at Princess Estaire in absolute shock. What she just did was so out of character, so unexpected that the entire room was silent for well over a minute. Estaire then dropped the machine gun and kneeled next to her mother, crying.

            “Why? Why mother? Why did you have to become so corrupt? Why did you have to make me do this?” She choked, tears streaming down her face.

All of the guards backed up. My friends and I backed up a few steps as well. Ceberus stepped to the right, he was around twenty feet away from us. I guess he didn’t want to be near us in case Estaire tried to shoot us. I can’t say that I blame him. Estaire kneeled over her mother’s corpse, still sobbing.

            “No! You fools!” Alice shrieked.

We all turned to her in surprise, we had momentarily forgotten she was there.

            “I was going to use my curse in this war to extend my own life!” Alice screamed at us.

There was so much tension and fear in the room, you could almost taste it. Alice’s face contorted with anger.

            “You foiled my plan to extend my own life, for that you’ll all pay!” Alice cried.

As she spoke, she raised her hands slowly. I could see the strain in her face as she fought against the urge to scream in pain from her wound. Black swirls of energy gathered all around her, becoming less and less translucent by the second. She must be casting a spell with her mind! After about two seconds, the dark swirls were now fully opaque. Alice brought her arms down quickly, aiming them at us! The black swirls of energy joined and formed a single orb as she lowered her arms. When they were aimed at us, the orb shot forward!

            “No!” Ceberus shouted.

He began sprinting from where he was standing twenty feet away. He ran towards us.

            “Ceberus what are you doing!?” Martha asked in horror.

            “Ceberus! Don’t!” William cried.

It was no use. Ceberus had a devoted look in his eye. It would take an entire military battalion to stop him. Ceberus leaped through the air in front of us, taking the full force of the black orb.

The orb hit him with a deafening, hollow, smack! The orb disappeared, leaving behind only small swirling black tendrils that evaporated momentarily. Ceberus fell to the floor, limp.

            “Ceberus!” Martha cried in worry.

His back was to us, so Martha turned him over.

            “Ceberus, speak to me!” She said, beginning to cry.

Walden flew over to Ceberus, his eyes filled with worry and fear. Just then, Ceberus’s eyes opened a crack.

            “Ceberus!” William exclaimed.

He coughed weakly, his eyes were glassy and unfocused.

            “Martha, I… I love you…” Ceberus managed to get out.

            “I love you too.” Martha said compassionately as she kissed him.

Martha pulled away after a few seconds. Ceberus’s eyes began to shut.

            “No, Ceberus! Ceberus! Stay with me man!” Walden said frantically, hovering over Ceberus’s chest.

Walden’s words were in vain. Ceberus’s eyes were half closed.

            “Walden…” Ceberus whispered.

            “Yeah buddy?” Walden asked, tearing up.

Ceberus coughed, we were losing him.

            “Consider my debt to you… Repaid…” Ceberus whispered.

Those were Ceberus Cole’s last words.

            “Ceberus! Ceberus…” Walden wilted.

We heard the clanking of metal armor. We looked over to see that the sixty guards in the room had removed their helmets. Their expressions were pained and sad.

Alice began laughing. She raised her good hand, aiming it at us.

            “The same fate will meet all of you!” She shouted.

            “Not if I can help it!” Robert cried.

He pulled out his flintlock and quickly took aim on Alice. He pulled the trigger. Alice was slowed down considerably by the wound that Ceberus had given her. Robert’s bullet hit her in the chest. Alice fell to the ground, dead.

Princess Estaire had turned to us as well. We all had a moment of silence for those who had died. It was Estaire who broke the silence.

            “I will have a funeral arranged for Ceberus. He is a hero, and he should be sent off like one.” Estaire told us sadly.

            “Princes, what about Alice?” The head guard asked.

            “Leave her here. She was helping my mother, she would have played a big part in the war. She’s already killed numerous people.” Estarie told him.

            “And… Your mother?” Asked the head guard nervously.

Estaire’s light violet eyes hardened.

            “She doesn’t deserve a funeral. She will pay for her sins by spending an eternity in Hell.” Estaire said coldly.

The guards gasped. No one had ever heard Estaire talk like that. Just then, the guards bowed.

            “What are you doing?” Estaire asked, confused.

            “We are bowing to you, your highness.” The head guard told her.

            “’your highness’?” Estaire asked, confused.

            “Don’t you see? You are the Queen of Vulrock now.” The head guard told her.

Estaire gasped. She just realized that by killing her mother, she had inherited the throne.

            “The tyrannous Queen is dead! Long live the new Queen!” The head guard shouted.

“The tyrannous Queen is dead! Long live the new Queen!” The other guards shouted in unison.

            “Queen Estaire, what are we to do with your mother?” Asked the head guard, eyeing the corpse of Queen Yuka nervously.

Estaire looked at her mother’s body with disgust and hatred.

            “Burn it at the stake. Give her soul a taste of what the rest of eternity will be like.” Estaire said coldly and bitterly.

            “Y-yes your highness.” The head guard responded nervously.

The head guard was about to turn around, but he hesitated.

            “Is there anywhere in particular you would like it done?” Asked the head guard.

Estaire thought for a moment.

            “Yes, in fact there is. Do it in the throne room. Gather up all that is left of the machine guns and anything else she used magic to develop. I want it all to burn along with her.” Estaire replied.

The head guard nodded and turned to his men.

            “You heard her lads! Prepare a pyre in the throne room! Gather all that’s left of the machine guns and any other magical technology and throw it on! We need someone to grab the body, let’s move!” He barked.

The guards all scattered. Two men grabbed Queen Yuka’s corpse and dragged it out of the room. We all bowed to the new Queen of Vulrock.

            “Please, don’t do that.” Estaire told us.

We all stood back up.

            “Sorry.” Francella apologized.

            “Estaire, thank you so much for helping us. With the silver jewelry and for not turning corrupt.” Erin rejoiced.

            “Yes, thank you so much Estaire! Thanks to you, the war is stopped!” Stella cheered.

Estaire looked to the ground sadly.

            “I am not proud of what I did, but I had to do it. If I didn’t put an end to her rain of tyranny, no one would. She would have started the war that would have thrown Alcingeria into chaos and many more people would have died.” Estaire told us.

            “Don’t be ashamed, Estaire. She may have been your mother, but she was evil.” I told her.

            “I know. I didn’t hate her, I loved her, but her evil deeds had tainted her soul. She was evil and she had to be stopped.” Estaire explained.

I remembered how Estaire had said how her mother would have started the war that would have throne Alcingeria into chaos. This reminded me of one thing.

            “Estaire, did you see Edwin and his men on your way here?” I asked.

Estaire nodded.

            “Yes, they escaped into the tunnels at the end of the corridor. There is nothing there, just some abandoned rooms. They hid there.” Estaire explained.

As if on cue, the three renegade law enforcement officers walked into the research facility. They all carried explosives.

            “Okay, the storehouses are destroyed. The machine guns are blown to smithereens!” Darwin cheered.

They all looked around the room, eyeing all the ashes on the floor, the bloodstains, and Ceberus’s corpse.

            “What happened here?” Edwin asked.

I filled him in on what had happened.

            “You shot your mother, Estaire? That means…” Edwin trailed off.

He and his men bowed.

            “You are the Queen of Vulrock.” Edward finished.

            “Please rise.” Estaire said.

The three men obeyed.

            “I’m sorry about Ceberus.” Darwin said sadly.

            “He died saving us all.” Raymond said, looking at Ceberus’s body.

            “Sacrifice yourself to save many. What a way to go.” Edwin said with respect.

There was a moment of silence as we respected what Ceberus had done.

            “Okay, we need to move out. We need to blow this place sky high.” Edwin told us.

            “Agreed.” Darwin stated.

            “I’ll get Ceberus.” Martha said, on the verge of tears.

            “I’ll help you.” William told her.

They both walked over and carefully lifted Ceberus off the ground.

            “You guys go, we’ll handle the explosives.” Edwin told us.

We all listened to him and began walking out of the research facility. We backtracked and made it back to the staircase. We walked up it, only to find that the secret passage was closed.

            “Wait a minute, I’m sensing the presence of some enchantment. It’s faint, bit it’s there.” Tabatha told us.

She ran her hands across the wall until we heard a click! And the secret passageway opened.

            “I couldn’t feel any enchantment before.” Tabatha stated confusedly.

            “You did use quite a bit of magic down there, maybe you grew stronger in your magical abilities?” Antoinette suggested.

We found ourselves in the throne room. We saw that Queen Yuka’s pyre was almost ready, her corpse lay slumped in her throne. We then heard a huge explosion go off. Momentarily, Edwin and his men ran up from the passageway. It closed behind them.

            “That’s the last of it.” Edwin announced proudly.

The guards cheered, so did we.

            “Weren’t they trying to hunt us down ten minutes ago?” Edward laughed.

            “That was on the old Queen’s orders. When Estaire killed her mother, that must have rendered the order null and void.” Edwin speculated.

            “What does it matter? We stopped the war!” Stella rejoiced.

Stella grabbed Erin and Erin grabbed Francella. Pretty soon we were all in a big group hug.

            “We did it! We did it!” Macalister cheered.

            “The war was stopped!” Don shouted in joy and relief.

Tabatha put a hand on Don’s shoulder, turning him around.

            “Come here, you.” She said with a grin.

She pulled Don into a kiss. After a few seconds they pulled away, smiling.

            “Oh, we found this in one of the storehouses. I thought that maybe one of you witches could make some use of this.” Edwin said, pulling a book bound in burgundy leather. It had dark emerald green trim. Tabatha’s eyes widened.

            “That’s a spell book!” She exclaimed, taking it from him.

Edwin chuckled as Tabatha flipped through it.

            “I’d take it you can make some use of it then?” Edwin asked.

Tabatha giggled with joy.

            “Oh, more than ‘some’ use. Thank you so much!” She said with a grin.

            “You’re Welcome, Tabatha.” Edwin replied.

A guard burst through the throne room doors.

            “Sir! The battalions once under Queen Yuka’s supreme command are waiting outside! They wish to see Queen Estaire as well as the burning of her mother’s body.” He explained.

The head guard nodded.

            “Send them in.” He ordered.

The guard rushed out the door. A minute later, hundreds of men were filing into the throne room. By the time they were finished, the throne room was packed.

            “Your highness! The pyre is ready!” The head guard told Estaire.

She nodded somberly.

            “Very well. Put her body on and light it.” Estaire ordered.

The head guard was a little nervous as he fidgeted with his hands a bit.

            “Well… Uh… The others and I thought it would be more fitting if… You were to do it.” He stammered.

Estaire thought this over for a few seconds. She then nodded.

            “I agree. I should be the one to do this.” She said.

She walked over to the throne and pulled her mother’s corpse off of it and dragged it across the floor. She pulled it onto the pyre.

Edwin leaned close to Martha.

            “We can take Ceberus down to the chapel if you’d like.” He offered.

Martha shook her head.

            “No, Ceberus would want to watch this.” She said.

Edwin nodded.

            “I understand.” He said.

The head guard handed Estaire a torch. Now that I think about it, the mouth of the passageway was dark when we came back up, because Tabatha had trouble finding the hidden switch. He must’ve taken the torch from the secret passageway. Estaire eyed her mother’s corpse.

            “Repent for your sins.” She muttered.

She then dropped the torch onto the pyre. The wood along the machine gun remnants burned strongly. The flames soon consumed the tyrant Queen.

            “Long live Queen Estaire!” The head guard shouted.

            “Long live Queen Estaire!” Everyone in the room echoed.

We all watched as Queen Yuka’s body was engulfed in flames. The war was stopped and the machine guns were destroyed. We lost some good men along the way, they would be forever mourned. What would we do next? Only time will tell.

 

To Be Continued In Alcingeria Volume Two

Author's Note

Please tell me what you think! More to come in Alcingeria Volume Two!