Chapter 7: Caden

　　"I brought him here like you asked."

　　"And why is he unconscious?"

　　"You said to rough him up a little."

　　"Luna. . . I said not to kill him."

　　"He`s not dead," she said, then whispered, "Are you dead?"

　　Caden didn`t reply. Was she talking to him?

　　"What happened?"

　　"He attacked me. I defended myself."

　　"Don`t lie. . ."

　　She grumbled, "He started it!"

　　Caden felt horrible. He heard two voices bickering back and forth, but he couldn`t see anything. His head was reeling in agony, with waves of pain tingling through his skin.

　　"How could you have hurt him this badly? Tell me what happened." That voice was so familiar. Elena, from the palace. Isabel`s old friend. Why was she speaking with. . . the Lady of the Stars?

　　"I tried getting him to come nicely. I threatened him, and he was stubborn. He`s a stupid boy, so Renna suggested flirting with him," She made a gagging sound, "and that also didn`t

　　work. He`s horrible! And he called me slag! You know how I hate that!"

　　The inflection in Luna`s voice changed often as she spoke. She has a lower natural voice, but as she is more emotional, it increases in pitch, and she squeaks like a child.

　　"I`ve never seen you like this before," said Elena, "What has he done to you to make you act out in such a way?"

　　Caden`s vision cut in. He was looking at his knees and could barely move. Once he visualized the environment, he realized he was sitting in a chair. Blood dripped from his mouth; his hands were bound behind his back. The room was bright - no. The Defiant Flame was raging in his mind, brighter than ever, and he couldn`t turn it off.

　　"When I see him. . ." Luna`s voice was so soft, "Or, when I was interacting with him. I was channeling Isabel."

　　"Really?" Elena sounded surprised, "Did you see any new memories? Of the Palace?"

　　"One. Of her, after she left the palace, she was dashing through the city to escape The Crown."

　　Was she running from The Crown? Was he even real? Caden thought.

　　"So, just those two then? Nothing else? Maybe if you try again."

　　"I`ve been trying since I got here."

　　Elena sighed deeply. "Well, keep going. And I don`t care what he said to you. There`s no need for this kind of violence."

　　Caden glanced up. They were in an underground hovel with a few lanterns on the wall. The two girls were talking in front of the staircase that led to the surface.

　　"You don`t understand," cried Luna, "He`s maddening! I want to punch that stupid smirk off his face!"

　　"Slag. . ." Caden murmured with a smile.

　　"What did you say?" Luna stomped over to him and grabbed him by his hair, forcing his head back. She drew her dagger and placed it on his leg. "Pyromancers heal fast, right? I`m sure this won`t kill you." The same wicked smile was all he could see.

　　The Defiant Flame roared within him, and he realized he felt similar to her; for some reason, everything about Luna pissed him off. Maybe it was because she was a half-crazed murderous vagrant or because she wore that ridiculous costume. He didn`t know for sure.

　　"You crazed vagrant woman. . ." he mumbled so softly.

　　"Speak up!"

　　"Control yourself, sister," Elena snapped.

　　Luna stepped away, sheathing her dagger. Her mask made it hard to tell what she looked like, but her darker skin contrasted Elena`s bronze complexion. Caden never would have guessed these girls were sisters.

　　"Whatever," snapped Luna. She turned her back on both of them, crossing her arms like a child who just had her toy taken away.

　　"Don`t hurt him any more than you already have," Elena said. She bent down to look Caden in the eye. "He might be a Pyromancer, but he hasn`t Kindled," she paused, "Caden Arkell, can you hear me?"

　　He glanced up, meeting her soft eyes. Elena was gorgeous up close. She had tied back dark hair with a chunk of bangs covering the left side of her face. She had freckles that flickered across her cheeks and a warm smile.

　　Caden groaned in reply.

　　"Good, he`s alive," Elena said.

　　"How long. . . have I been here?" he managed.

　　"About a day, night has already fallen a second time."

　　He was sure the Order thought he died with Twill`s Squad.

　　"Oh, come on," said Luna, "I didn`t hit him that hard. I`ve run you through with a sword before, and you shrugged that off like it was nothing."

　　That doesn`t surprise me.

　　"That`s different. I had already Kindled, so I was able to heal."

　　"Kindled?" Her voice was raised in pitch with the question.

　　"When Pyromancers activate their magic."

　　"I don`t have magic. . ." Caden said weakly.

　　Elena laughed. "Oh, yes you do, child."

　　"Wait," Luna said, sounding defeated. "So, I beat him half to death, and he can`t even heal?"

　　"Yes."

　　"Oh. . ." her voice dropped. "Why didn`t I have some kind of Kindling?"

　　"You`re the Tigress. You have Lunarmancy, not Pyromancy."

　　"You said you had Isabel`s magic," Caden managed, "This. . . Lunarmancy?"

　　Luna opened her mouth to speak, then closed it.

　　Elena grabbed his shoulders, "Yes, she does. It`s complicated. But Luna didn`t kill her for the magic. The day your sister died, a lot of things happened. Inevitably, she was the one to obtain Isabel`s powers."

　　"But she never talked about her."

　　"Isabel had many secrets."

　　Caden sighed; he knew that much to be true.

　　"So, your sister is the Lady of the Stars? But you said she was dangerous," Caden said. He pulled on his bonds, trying to push himself toward freedom.

　　"Yes, she is dangerous. And. . . also, my sister, well. . . half-sister. But we all have the same goal: to bring justice for Isabel."

　　Caden winced in pain as Elena placed her hand on his face. She inspected him all over, looking for wounds, then turned toward Luna. "Did you stab him?"

　　"Why would I?" Everything that girl said made her sound like a spoiled brat.

　　"Answer the bloody question," Elena snapped, her voice full of harsh authority. He`d never heard her talk like that.

　　"No!" shouted Luna, "Why do you think I would stab him? We can`t all be psychopaths like you, Elena! I wish not to stab random boys I meet solely because they piss me the hell off!"

　　"Luna," she scolded, "Don`t act like you didn`t do this to the poor boy."

　　Luna gasped. For a moment, Caden thought she might feel regret. She turned away, then, in the littlest voice, said: "No, I did not stab him."Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

　　"Good," she spun back to face Caden, "You should heal up nicely when you Kindle. I can provide you some Heat to help, but I`m not sure it`ll work."

　　"You really think I have Pyromancy?"

　　Caden recalled the torches going out on his dawn patrol and Vance`s odd behavior. Perhaps he was investigating hints of the magic within him.

　　Elena grasped him firmly, and a warm adrenaline rush ripped through him. He felt lightheaded, as if his blood had suddenly begun to flow faster. It was. . . magic. She had healed him with magic.

　　"I know you do. The fact little Luna over there can channel her powers infinitely with you nearby is proof of it," she pointed to the Lady of the Stars.

　　Caden glanced over, and Luna was staring off into space. "Elena, why do you work with her? I get she`s your sister, but she`s evil and a vagrant."

　　"Let me apologize for my sister`s outbursts. She`s very hotheaded and loves violence and killing. She`s dangerous, and I`m sorry she killed your squad. She was supposed to just bring you here to me, not hurt you, your poor thing," she glanced down at Caden with genuine pity written on her face.

　　Luna scoffed, "That`s not -"

　　"Quiet!" Elena snapped, and she obeyed.

　　"Can you untie me?"

　　"Of course, just promise you won`t attack my sister."

　　"I won`t." He glared at Luna with unbridled ferocity. Whatever happened next, he needed to get Luna thrown into the dungeons of quadrant two, or even better, kill her himself. That girl, whatever darkness she held, was bleeding through her; she was drowning in it.

　　"Why did she bring me here? I would have met with you if you asked."

　　"You would have reported your whereabouts to the Order, and well, they would suspect me. I brought you here for a proposition, but one nobody can know about," Elena said, untying him. The restraints dropped, and Caden tried to get up to his feet but nearly fell over. Elena caught him and placed him back in the chair.

　　"Easy, don`t run out of here yet."

　　"What proposition? Treason? Like you told me earlier?"

　　A look of horror stretched across Elena`s face. For a split second - Caden thought she was afraid of him. Then she coughed into her hand and took a step away.

　　"I never said that," she said quickly. "What are you talking about?"

　　"You did, remember? You said you had propositioned Felisha for some kind of job that knights wouldn`t like."

　　"And." She glanced back at Luna. "Did you tell anyone?"

　　Caden was silent, suddenly afraid. There was a hidden evil in that girl, one that was deep within, not written on her sleeve like Luna. "No," he finally said.

　　"Good." She began to pace around the room, hands clasped behind her back. "In that case, before I offer you the proposition, I want to show you this. I know who killed Isabel."

　　The phrase echoed in his mind one hundred times over.

　　"Have you turned them in? Gathered evidence? What do you have on them?" Caden asked desperately. "Who, I must know, who is it?"

　　"First," Elena said, "If I tell you, what will you do?"

　　"Turn them into the Order."

　　She shook her head, "Be honest."

　　Caden thought for a long while. He realized that Elena must have known how he felt. "Kill them," he said, "I`ll kill them myself. With my own sword."

　　Elena smiled. "I like honesty. Very well, let me tell you why you`re here. We have the same goal, and I`ll give you the opportunity to kill the man responsible for Isabel`s death." She reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "There`s an address, date, and time here. It`s to finish Isabel`s life work. I`ll show you what she stole from the palace. Come to this meeting next week. You`ll be given tasks and power beyond your imagination."

　　"Is that why my Defiant Flame is burning infinitely?"

　　Elena giggled, "Is that what you call it?"

　　Caden flushed red. "Well, I didn`t -"

　　"That is your Pyromancy. Your Flame. It`s the amount of Heat you have within you. But no, I`m not doing anything to make your Heat infinite right now." Elena pointed behind her at the tiny assassin who was currently flicking her hand through the air and poking particles of white and blue magic. "That`s the reason you have power, Caden," she said, "Luna grants you strength, infinite Heat. Pyromancers can store energy by stealing flames around them. Then exert themselves to cast spells."

　　The torches on the wall. Caden thought. It all made sense now. He was a Pyromancer.

　　"But why does someone so bloody annoying have to be the one to give me power?"

　　Elena laughed.

　　"I heard that!" snapped Luna.

　　"I wasn`t trying to keep my voice down!"

　　"Stupid Dimling!"

　　"Desperate Slag!"

　　"Why, you stupid son of a -" Luna stomped toward him.

　　"Children, please relax," Elena said, keeping her away.

　　"I hate you," said Luna.

　　"I hate you," Caden said. "Filthy vagrant."

　　She grunted like an animal, and Elena ushered her away.

　　"But, yes, Caden, she gives you power."

　　"So, she was at the palace the whole time? I knew it!"

　　"I was supposed to be invisible," she said, crossing her arms. "You cost me. . ." she paused, "You`re an idiot. Stupid boy."

　　"Enough," Elena raised her voice, and everyone was silent. "Here`s the deal. I need you to keep this all quiet. Nobody in the Order can know about this. In exchange, I`ll tell you who killed Isabel and provide you with Luna`s presence to help you kill him. I want you at that meeting, understood?"

　　Caden thought for a moment about what she was asking. It was akin to treason. It was breaking the rules. . . but if she really did have the answers for him, he could at least go undercover and report his findings to the Order much later. "I`ll do it."

　　"Good," Elena said, snapping her fingers, "Now, Luna dear, come here a moment."

　　Luna walked over to them, her hood and skull mask making her look quite intimidating. If she wasn`t a stupid blabbering idiot underneath - Caden would probably be scared of her.

　　"What," she barked.

　　"Show him the memory you have access to."

　　Luna froze, then murmured: "Don`t you think that`s a bad idea?"

　　"No. We need to show him who did it, right?"

　　"Can`t you just say it`s. . ."

　　"No. That`s enough; do as I command."

　　"Whatever you say, big sister, anything for you," she said sarcastically.

　　Luna stood before Caden, then bent over, getting close to him.

　　"Do you have to be this close?"

　　"Do you have to smell this bad?"

　　Caden glared at her, then smirked. "Do you have to be such a slag?"

　　She put one hand on his shoulder and squeezed much harder than he thought someone of her size ever could. Her other hand poked his forehead with a curious finger.

　　"I hate you," she said. "Now get ready."

　　"For?"

　　Elena said, "Isabel was the Tigress, and now Luna is. It`s some sort of magic passed down throughout generations, and I`m still uncovering more information about this. . . shard. They have past lives and share memories," she paused. "You`re about to see the one memory of Isabel she can access."

　　Caden didn`t quite understand what that meant, but he`d do it if it gave him answers.

　　"Is it going to hurt?"

　　"I wish," Luna snickered.

　　And then the world vanished. Caden`s vision snapped to black, and when he could finally see again, all his surroundings had changed. He was lying face down on the snow. The blood-red clouds above had just begun to produce light. A single tree loomed over him, and he could see the wall of Belmire rising behind him. He was outside, near - perhaps the western gate. He wasn`t quite sure.

　　"Come on, get up," Luna popped into his field of vision and pulled him by his shirt to his feet. For someone so small, she was extremely strong.

　　"Where are we?"

　　"The memory, dumbass."

　　"I know that! But where?"

　　"Outside the western wall. This was the only memory captured for some reason. Look, there." She pointed away from her. Across the clearing, Isabel strode toward the wall. She looked so lifelike; she was tired and dragged her feet across the ground, but he could tell it was her.

　　Caden ran.

　　"You can`t interact with a memory," Luna shouted.

　　He arrived at Isabel`s side. "Izzy, hey, what happened to you? Are you okay? Where did you go? Where are you? What day is it?"

　　He waved in her face, but she completely ignored him, walking right up to the wall and placing her hand on it. She put her other hand to her head and winced in pain.

　　"I told you; she can`t hear you. It`s her memory. How stupid are you?" Luna said, crossing her arms. She pointed at Isabel, "Now, watch."

　　Caden noticed one of the knights patrolling the city wall had spotted her, and he had slowly been sneaking up on her location this whole time - but he had just faded into view. He was blurry, and Caden could barely tell who he was.

　　He snapped his fingers, and a ball of fire erupted from his hands and flew toward Isabel.

　　"Look out!" Caden shouted.

　　"She still can`t hear you," Luna sneered.

　　Isabel seemed to react to his call and dashed to the side. It was like an invisible hand plucked her out of the way. Blood dripped from her mouth as she turned to face the man, and a magical dagger appeared out of thin air. She grabbed it.

　　"I still don`t know how she does that," Luna mumbled.

　　As soon as she turned, the adversary became visible. He recognized him. The man was much younger, but. . .

　　"Vance," said Caden, "Elite Captain Vance. . ."

　　"Yeah, he`s the Elite I`ve been trying to kill for months. Elena wants him dead just as much as you."

　　Caden stood there, watching in awe as Vance and Isabel danced in a blur of steel, flame, and frost. They fought elegantly for moments before his bladed mace hit Isabel on the side. It ripped her abdomen, and she screamed. She reached out with both hands, and white and blue light erupted from them. An orb ripped through the air with a trail of light following it. It slammed into Vance and sent him hurtling to the ground.

　　"I also don`t know how she did that. . ." Luna whispered.

　　The world vanished after that, leaving Caden standing alone in a room of black. Luna appeared next to him.

　　"Hey! What the hell? I want to see how it ends!"

　　"This is all I have access to," said Luna. "Let`s go, there`s nothing left for us here."

　　"Do we know what happens next?"

　　"Elena says you found her in the alley and that she was killed by a Pyromancer. So, she escaped. Vance chased her into the city and then killed her. Very obvious what happened next." She placed a hand on Caden`s shoulder. "Come on, there`s nothing left for us here. You`re waking up now."

　　He blinked, and he was back in the small hovel. Elena stood over him, and Luna ripped her grip from him and practically ran away. Had time passed? He lost interest as a torrent of rage ripped through him.

　　Vance knew. This entire time that he had been on his squad, Vance knew that he was the one who killed Isabel. His Defiant Flame flared to life, then burst, shattering itself. From within, the sensation of the Defiant Flame usually felt like a small ember - but now it was a blazing tempest. He was burning.

　　"Vance. . ." Caden muttered. His vision bled, and he only saw in shades of red. Heat radiated out from him, and the air began to burn.

　　"Yes, that is the man we are after. You know of him?" Elena asked.

　　Caden gripped the chair he sat in, then stood up. He took a step forward.

　　"Are you all right?" Elena asked.

　　"He seemed fine in the memory."

　　"He`s processing it."

　　"Is he Kindling?"

　　"I doubt that would be the case."

　　GO TO HIM. . . the Defiant Flame spoke. A fragment of madness erupted in his mind, and it spoke to him. Some voice, some entity, something alive. It was. . . speaking to him.

　　GO TO HIM, it repeated, BURN.

　　Caden relinquished a scream of rage so pure that it conjured physical flames around him.

　　"Hm, that was faster than I expected," Elena said, backed away, grabbed Luna by the arm, and vanished, leaving only a trace of flames in their wake.

　　HE KNEW, said the Defiant Flame. All this time, Caden had labeled Vance as a good man because he was a high-ranking member of the Order. Why would someone so full of evil hide among us? He was a spy, a member working against the Crown. He was wicked, tainted, horrid. No wonder he treated everyone so poorly.

　　Follow the rules that are in place for you; don`t make your own. Isabel`s voice echoed in his mind.

　　Caden`s skin burst into flames, filling the room with hot and searing fire.

　　Nobody in the entire world deserves to get hurt.

　　Caden had tried his best to honor those words and do things by the rules of the Crown. He couldn`t live exactly how she wanted him to, but he tried to follow her wishes. However, he will no longer obey. His world shattered as the flames consumed him - but he did not burn. Everything he touched was lit ablaze. He realized something new as he burst up the steps of the hovel and exploded into the main path of Belmire.

　　Isabel was horribly wrong; Caden had always been righteous.

　　He was going to find Vance and send him to hell. That would be justice.