Mathieu (White Flame Trilogy) - By Paula Flumerfelt Page 0,160

arm the rest of you. Sounds fair?”

“That…that would be excellent! I will return in a few moments!” She sprung to her feet, eyes clearly disbelieving that Mathieu would really let them help.

“Good. Just come back up here, and Jo,” he put a hand on the young man’s shoulders, “will bring you to me.”

She nodded and thanked him before all but running back down the hill to where the others waited.

“Lione, once she brings some of her people up, go down and tell the rest to come up and join us. They can watch, but as for hands on, they’ll get it later with their own people. Also, find them somewhere to sleep.” Mathieu nodded to the raven before disappearing back passed the buildings. He wound across the square to where Solomon and Vincent still sat.

“What did the kid want?” Solomon questioned as soon as he was within hearing range.

“Beh.” Mathieu passed by his lover and to the wall where they had gathered and stored the Unithian soldiers’ weapons. Mathieu grunted as he lifted a crate and carried it back to where the others were. “As it turns out, we have ourselves a little rebel force of Unithians to arm.”

“…What was that?” The blond said in a flat voice.

Mathieu shrugged and popped a clip into one of guns. “Hold this.” He handed the gun to Solomon, then drew out one of the few pulse guns. Sliding off the safety cap that protected the charger, he tossed it aside and spun the small dial. “There we go.”

Solomon cleared his throat, “So you’re telling me that we’re not only going to let some Unithians into our camp, we’re going to give them weapons and expect them not to turn on us?”

“I trust Armel. So try trusting me.” Smiling softly, he leaned over and kissed Solomon’s cheek.

“Oh. You’re gay.” Armel’s voice cut into their kiss.

Mathieu looked up at her and the group she had brought with her. “Yes. This is my second in command, and boyfriend, Solomon. That one is Vincent.” Vincent grinned toothily at her, rolling onto his back and wiggling like he would have in his wolf form.

“How…” But she never added another word, instead turning to Mathieu, “So these are the people I’ve chosen.” They were a ragtag group: tall, short, strong, weak. Looking at them, they didn’t look like much.

But Mathieu wasn’t one to judge on appearance. “Welcome. I’m Mathieu. The oddly dressed ones around here are with me. So, you guys are very politely going to fight with us, from my understanding.”

One of the taller men snorted softly, “You’re the guy in charge? I’d have never guessed. From the rumors, you should be about eight feet tall with a huge battle axe.”

“Appearances are deceiving. But that isn’t why I asked Armel to gather you. In order for you guys to fight, you’ll need to know how to use a gun. Show of hands, anyone ever used a gun?”

“Oh, I have!” The smallest of the group, a girl, raised her hand. “I dated a soldier’s brother once.”

Solomon stood, “And do you think you could kill a soldier?”

She blinked, “I said dated. Not dating. There’s a reason I’m not still with him. They’ll get what they deserve.”

“Interesting.” Solomon said.

“Well at least you have some experience,” Mathieu said, not really caring about her reasoning as long as she was willing to fight. “But this is good. Alright.” He took the regular gun from the blond and ejected the magazine. With practiced ease, he broke down how the load the clip and fix any possible jams. “The rest is fairly simple. Point and pull the trigger. When it’s empty, press here to eject the clip and load another. If you run out of ammo, look around for a dead soldier.”

Armel’s nose wrinkled slightly. “What’s the other thing?”

Nodding to Solomon, he traded guns and help up the much smaller gun. “This is a pulse gun.”

“Why is it so much smaller?”

“Because this is a pistol, and that is a rifle. But this thing packs a hell of a punch. Officer issued only, however, we have a few. It’ll be up to you guys to decide who gets them. I’d recommend the best marksmen. As for using it, most of them have a safety cap. Pull it off, throw it away.” He turned the gun so they could see the back, “This dial here is to charge. It takes about five minutes, but it gets just under two hundred shots. Give it one good turn, and