Chapter 15: Caden

　　Caden stumbled out of the doorway like a frightened animal. He left the barracks as quickly as possible, heading straight toward the palace.

　　Kaelea doesn`t remember. . . he thought, nearly tumbling over himself. Fear smoldered in his heart. He was burning. Despite the cold open air flowing through his lungs, he felt like he was on fire again.

　　The only person who could be behind this was Luna. Just when he thought she might have warmed up to him and stopped being a horrible person, she ripped the memories from Kaelea just as she showed him memories of Isabel. How could anyone destroy something so precious?

　　He dashed through the palace entrance, passing a few guards with nervous steps. He barreled up the stairs to the sleeping quarters and stopped in front of one of the wooden doors at the back of the palace. He knocked four times.

　　Caden was too distraught to notice the shouting from behind him. Three guards made a beeline after him, shouting about the Princess not taking visitors now.

　　For a moment, darkness clouded him. He thought about raising his hand and burning them all, turning them into nothing but ash and cinder. He shook his head; his fear was still burning. What was wrong with him?

　　Felisha opened her door finally, "Yes? Oh my, I didn`t expect the squire-" she paused.

　　"You can`t be here!" a knight grabbed Caden`s arm but immediately let go as they met eyes.

　　Two more knights arrived.

　　"Oh, it`s quite all right," Felisha spoke with authority. "He`s here for a favor after spilling on one of my guests, isn`t that, right?"

　　Caden said nothing. He just nodded.

　　She shooed the guards and pulled Caden inside. He didn`t get any details of the room. He couldn`t see; he was still burning, and the outlines of his vision turned red.

　　The door closed, and he heard the guards walk a small distance; they were keeping watch.

　　"Why are you here?" she whispered, "this is dangerous. You cannot come here unannounced."

　　Caden couldn`t muster a reply.

　　"Speak, boy!" she demanded.

　　He looked up at her; she was unhappy, and her hands were on her hips.

　　"Do you. . . remember the Meeting?"

　　"Of course I do."

　　"The one. . . at Goran`s Tavern."

　　"Obviously."

　　"By the Crown. . ." he whispered, "thank God you remember. I spoke with Kaelea; she has no recollection of the meeting at all."

　　Felisha looked guilty. She glanced away and placed her hands behind her back.

　　"You knew?" Caden asked.

　　"Elena said she would handle it. . . I just figured-"

　　Caden was shocked. He stopped listening. These were people`s memories. Their hopes, dreams, and lives lived. They could not be stolen by another human being. That was taboo, unlawful, horrid. He would be miserable if he had lost even a single memory of Isabel. He needed to stop this. This was not worth getting his revenge.

　　"Luna is behind it," Caden said quickly, "She was able to show me memories of other people and claims she learned to fight through that ability as well. It`s pretty obvious she can take memories too. She`s been playing me. . ."

　　"Playing you?"

　　"I thought we were finally getting along," Caden muttered, crossing his arms. "What do we do?"

　　"I`m not sure," Felisha managed. She sighed, relaxing and sitting in a nearby chair. "You can not stay here very long. If that girl is behind this, we need to be cautious. I`ve heard of . . . memory magic before, but it`s children`s stories."

　　"Is it Cryomancy?"

　　"Hardly. To be fair, I wouldn`t even know. I`m here to obtain information about that magic, just to know what the hell is wrong with me."

　　"Perhaps it`s linked to the registry."

　　"What?"

　　"My task was to steal the names of the Crown Knights, remember?"

　　Felisha put a hand to her forehead, and now even she looked frightened, "I am afraid not. Was I still there when you were given that assignment?"

　　"Yes."

　　"By the Crown. . ."

　　"A ripped memory," Caden whispered.

　　Felisha covered her mouth, stifling a gasp.

　　"I`m going to fix this," he said, "I`m going to put an end to this and force Luna to fix yours and Kaelea`s memory."

　　Felisha studied Caden, "You have fire to your words now. I do hope you succeed."

　　A knock at the door startled them, "Everything okay in there, Princess?"

　　"You should go," Felisha said, then spoke louder, "Yes! Everything`s okay!"

　　Caden`s fear migrated to rage. Luna had played them all, acting like a victim this whole time about not wanting to work with Elena. Wanting freedom? Caden didn`t care if the stories of her actions were true or not anymore.

　　He said no more words to the Princess and left the palace. Luna had gotten away with too much, and now he would stop her.

　　* * *

　　It took Caden three days to find her. She was on her own, out on some mission, probably to kill someone. He had practically vanished from the Order, and for those three days, he was a predator hunting his prey. No more memories were going to be taken.

　　He had confronted Elena about this yesterday, hoping she could give insight into Kaelea`s memory problem.

　　"Lost memories?" she had said while pouring a drink for herself. "I mean, I`ll admit my play was not one of a paragon. I just bribed her into being silent by offering to pay her father`s medical bills. She seemed to agree with that offer. If it`s questions about memories, just ask Luna."

　　That had pretty much confirmed Caden`s hypothesis. Luna had done this of her own accord, not under Elena`s orders. Again, always messing with the plan, Elena was right about her.

　　What`s the purpose of stealing memories, though? He thought, was it just to defy Elena? He tightened his grip on the lip of the rooftop. A few buildings away, Luna stood perched as well, and Caden made sure to stay out of range and wait until she jumped to the ground before he struck.

　　She landed in the alley. He jumped. Leaping from the building was dangerous, but Kieran had already taught him to slow his fall using Heat. Blasting out small flames from his hands or feet was exceptionally helpful. But it was definitely not as fast as Luna`s Moonlight.

　　The Defiant Flame burst into full life as Caden slammed directly into Luna. He toppled her over, bringing her to the ground with his momentum. She retaliated, bringing her dagger up to his neck. He ducked down, their noses almost touching. He grabbed her wrist, and an invisible force threw her out from underneath him. He fell onto the pavement and just barely dodged an attack from above.

　　Caden launched himself into the air with the force of flames hitting the ground. The momentum carried him upward. He drew his sword mid-air and dived down onto Luna`s location.

　　She decided to parry the attack, leaving Caden floating in mid-air for a moment as sparks of flames and frost danced around the two combatants.

　　The only way to win was to overwhelm her and keep her on the defensive. So, every attack was frenzied and swift. He would land and swipe multiple times with his sword, forcing her to dodge or move back. He`d throw punches between sword swipes. Yet, Luna dodged or parried every attack perfectly.

　　It only fueled his rage further at how talented this girl was. She had said nothing to him so far, and even though her vision was obscured through her mask, he was matched and overpowered within seconds. Now, he was on the defensive, parrying her strikes. An opening occurred; he lunged, and she threw him off balance and tossed him over her shoulder as if he were nothing.

　　He twirled in the air but landed on his feet like a cat. He lunged, she parried, then grabbed his wrist as his sword whisked past her face. She tore his sword from his hand and changed her fighting style completely.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

　　Normally, she had a few frequent stances that she would utilize to deflect his attacks. But now, she was using his own sword to attack him aggressively. She slashed his shoulder, and he barely got out of the way.

　　He dashed backward, blasting flames in front of him. Is she unstoppable?

　　She dropped his sword and lunged through the flames like a rabid animal. The roles were now reversed. He was the prey. Dodging a flurry of blows was much more challenging than expected. This was like fighting thirteen Kierans at the same time.

　　The worst part was that Luna kept grazing him. Her dagger would slice open his left arm, leg, hips, shoulder, and face. Blood splattered the floor and the pavement as Heat moved to revitalize the wounds. She cut him everywhere as if she was trying to skin him alive.

　　Luna was fast, so fast he couldn`t see her. She could have killed him ten times over, yet chose not to. The most horrifying part was that she hadn`t said anything yet. Why?

　　A few grueling seconds passed, although it felt like hours. She kicked him in the chest, sending him hurtling backward. He tumbled over himself like a ball rolling down a mountain before landing on his back. He kept breathing hard, and every muscle ached. Heat quickly rippled through his body to stitch himself back together.

　　Caden`s attempt to get up was met with Luna holding his own sword to his throat.

　　"How many times do I have to say that I am not your enemy?" she snapped, "Do not attack me. You will never stand a chance." She sheathed his sword and threw it back down to him. "And you dare critique my outbursts? Look at you. You vanished for three days and left me to write down your stupid registry by myself, then randomly decided to jump me in an alleyway. What is wrong with you?"

　　He`d not recovered; he just kept sucking in air as if it was the last breath he`d ever take.

　　Luna scoffed under her mask and spat on the floor next to him.

　　"You!" he shouted through deep breaths, "You. Stole. Her. Memories. Whatever you used to show me Isabel`s last moment, you used again to. . . You did that to Kaelea! You took away her recollection of the meeting." He sat up, using his hands to keep balance.

　　"What the hell are you on about?"

　　"I don`t know how you did it! But it`s the same thing! Elena even said memory magic is your thing!"

　　"Oh yes, trusting Elena`s word, you are such a Dimling," Luna said. "It`s called channeling, and It allows me to view memories of my predecessors, or my own memories, to learn and fit my role as the Tigress. You should know this already! I do not and could not ever affect other people`s memories!"

　　"I know you`re behind this! Drop your stupid act already!"

　　She grabbed Caden by the collar and pulled him close. "I have done nothing but sit and obey Elena`s every command since the flaming dawn of time! I have no such ability to erase memories, and even if I did, I wouldn`t be able to use it unless she commanded me to! If you want someone to attack for no reason, fight her!" she threw him to the floor, "not that you stand a flaming chance. She has fail safes for her fail safes. If you can`t beat me, you sure as hell can`t beat Elena, let alone the man you`re after. Just shut your damn mouth, train in your Pyromancy, and leave me alone!"

　　Luna had not yelled like this since their first fight.

　　Caden did not believe her. "It had to be you! Elena said you`re the one with memory magic, and I know that to be true! She bribed Kaelea to stay silent. Why bother erasing memories on top of that?" he shouted, pulling himself to his feet.

　　"And you trust Elena`s word? She lies about everything!"

　　"I trust her over you, slag!"

　　Luna grimaced at the word, and Caden felt a slight victory rise within his chest.

　　"What the hell did I ever do to you!" Luna screamed, flailing her arms around. "Why must you hate the very fact that I exist? I already hate myself enough! I don`t need you to rub it in!"

　　"You killed that squad! People I respected!" He got to his feet.

　　"Because Elena ordered me to!"

　　Caden crossed his arms, "Oh, so what? Did she mind control and force you into doing all these things?"

　　Luna stomped on the pavement - shattering it - and threw her arms up into the air. "YES!"

　　Caden laughed, "What?"

　　"YES!" she repeated, "That is exactly what she does! She tells me to do something, and I simply cannot fight against her! She tells me to steal, and I steal. She tells me to kill, and I kill. She tells me to spy, and I spy! She tells me to befriend the likes of you, and I`m forced to want to do that! What don`t you understand about this? And it`s not just me either! She has Erodan under her spell, the Princess, and the only people she doesn`t seem to have a hold on are you and that half-crazed man Solaris!

　　"Can`t you see?" she lowered her voice, "Elena has everything the way she wants. You can`t face her. You can`t fight her and expect to win. She is dangerous. She is after something horrifying, and I don`t know what that is," she paused, "I`m scared." She added pensively with a hand over her mouth. She tore her gaze from him.

　　"Have you not tried to fight her?"

　　"You can`t!"

　　"I would," he spoke softer, clearer, "fight until I win. . ."

　　"Then you`re a flaming idiot," she laughed, "It doesn`t matter. None of this flaming matters! Just leave me alone, replace me as her goddamn pet, and let me live a life. . . my life."

　　"Why didn`t you tell me any of this before?"

　　Luna spun around, taking a broad, aggressive stance. "You wouldn`t understand! You never would! Why would you? You`re a stupid knight with a grudge against his own people! Why should I tell you anything about myself? Why would you ever care? You`d never offer to help, and you`d never fight against Elena for me! There`s no point for you to ever know any of this!"

　　"I. . ."

　　"Save it!" she screamed, "Save your words. . ." she spoke softer, "Save them for someone who matters. Just do your training. Be a good soldier. Elena can`t control you as she does me. . . you`re safe, you don`t have to be afraid. Just. . . leave me alone." Luna pulled her hood closer to her head.

　　Was she crying? He thought.

　　Caden opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. What could he possibly say to all of that? Would saying I`m sorry even matter? A pit formed in the bottom of his stomach. By the Crown, he was drowning in guilt.

　　Before he said anything, Luna jumped away - dashing in mid-air. It pulled her upward in an arc and dragged her through the air as if she were the wind itself. Blue sparks rippled outward from her back, and then she vanished.

　　He couldn`t help but feel this pit in his heart ripping at his insides. Guilt. That`s what it was, and although his mind wasn`t completely changed about Luna, his perception was forever altered.

　　Is what she said true? Caden thought, or was this also an act? He didn`t know. In fact, he didn`t think he`d ever know what was true or false about Luna`s existence. She was a mysterious force. A girl trapped within the body of the cosmos.

　　If Luna was being mistreated by Elena, he`d have to stick up for her, right? But wasn`t Luna evil? No. I was so wrong about her, Caden thought. He realized at that moment that every story about Luna was false. Every possible thing he thought he knew was invalid. In fact, he didn`t know a single thing about her. Luna was not an evil person, or she was at least trying to be good. But, she was being used by an evil person to create more chaos. That was worse than if she was just malevolent.

　　Controlled by a puppet master. . . if Elena truly does have this magic and is behind Kaelea`s amnesia, I can`t just confront her about it. Or she`d steal my memories, too. I need to learn more.

　　"I think it`s time to open that forbidden spell book," he mumbled. Luna would definitely not help him after what he just did, and while it would be all kinds of treason to ask a knight to read him a forbidden book - perhaps he could finally try and convince Mia to read it to him. The guilt still ate at him. He should have known. How could he have been so stupid?

　　* * *

　　Caden found Mia the next day in a group of other Knights. They were all a reasonable distance down the road from barracks four. He exited under the portcullis and approached the group.

　　They were all jeering and talking about some new poster that had been put up.

　　"Apparently, there`s a ton of them all over town," one said. "It`s been going on for, like, a week or so."

　　He glanced up at the poster. It looked as if it had been quickly glued onto one of the tenement buildings. The depiction was a man with an Elite scarf killing the nobles of Belmire. It was pretty brutal, too, and held the caption, "Arm yourselves! They will come for you next!"

　　This must be Elena spreading her propaganda. Part of him wondered if she had used posters to spread the tale of Luna, and after their conversation yesterday. . . He didn`t know just how much - if any - of those stories were true. He ignored it and pushed through the sea of knights to get Mia`s attention.

　　"Oh hey!" Mia said, turning toward him, "Did you see what the vagrants have been making?" she pointed to the poster.

　　"Yeah, it`s. . . interesting, I guess," he said, "Can I ask you something?"

　　Mia wrinkled her nose, "Sure, what`s up?"

　　Caden grabbed her by the arm and moved her away from the group. They slowed down once they got into an alleyway. "Do you remember why I had you initially start to teach me Belasy?"

　　"To read a book?"

　　"Yeah."

　　"Have you had any luck?"

　　"Not quite. . ."

　　"So," she snickered, "you want me to read the book for you?"

　　Caden flushed and glanced away, "Yes, that can work, but. . . don`t tell anyone, okay? It`s a secret."

　　"Is it embarrassing?" she asked, a hand on her chin, a sly smile crawling over her face.

　　"No! No! It`s. . . oh, just come with me!"

　　Caden took her into the barracks. He silently hoped she would miss that the book was full of forbidden magic. Still, he needed to know if the book had anything to do with erasing memories. So, he took the risk, stupid as it was.

　　They sat down in the corner of the mess hall together, and he took the book from his pocket and handed it to her.

　　She opened it, talking about nonsense at her family`s tonic shop, and surfed through the pages. He admired how she didn`t mind being a Squire. She didn`t have this innate craving for power that Caden did.

　　"The Secrets of Pyromancy," she laughed, "what a stupid name."

　　"Is there anything about memories in there?"

　　Mia raised an eyebrow. "Memories? Lemme check."

　　She used her finger to point to the page, dragging it down through the contents.

　　Caden watched and listened intently.

　　"Let`s start here& there are three forms to Pyromancy. Daybreakers, the Soldiers who fight in battle. Flameslingers, the Spirits, who fight from range. And Emberwards, the forbidden scholars. . ." she paused, her eyes went wide, "Caden, where did you get this book? This is discussing the forbidden magic of the mind!"

　　That`s kind of the point. . . Caden thought.

　　"I got it from the Library in the palace. I`m sure it`s safe."

　　Mia shook her head. "You knew this was forbidden the whole time! That`s why you waited to ask me to read it to you! This is why you asked me to teach you Belasy? Why would you be harboring this? We could get locked up!"

　　Caden worriedly glanced around before attempting to grab the book. She moved it away like a bully stealing a child`s toy. He didn`t feel remorse for learning forbidden magic; apparently, others would not uphold that same value.

　　"I`m sorry, it`s tough to explain. . ."

　　"This is why you wanted to keep it a secret, too!" Mia said, "Look, I have to report this."

　　"No," Caden said quickly. His voice filled with authority.

　　The Defiant Flame danced around in his mind. He saw a red thread fire from his body and attach itself to Mia. She didn`t notice, and Caden`s hand passed through it.

　　"What? I shouldn`t- okay. I don`t need to report this. Look, I like you, all right?" she flushed red, "So, I won`t turn you in, but I`ll keep this safe, and nobody has to know about it."

　　"Please, give me the book," Caden said, the same authority echoing through his voice. The invisible red string burned with hot fire and drained his Heat.

　　"Give? Sure, I guess you can hold onto it better than me," Mia relented, handing him the book. Caden quickly put it away.

　　What is this string? Why is it here? Why did she listen to me?

　　"There are lots of problems with the vagrants," Mia said, concerned, "We should focus on that for now. I`m very close to being kicked from the Order as it is. . . if you want to learn Belasy or read that book, I`m not the girl for you. But, if you want to hang out," she smiled, "go for a nice walk or something, sometime. . . I`d be the perfect girl for that."

　　Caden`s mind was focused entirely on something else. This red string was still attached to her.

　　Disappear. Caden thought. The string vanished. He jumped.

　　"Are you okay? Sorry, was that kind of fast?" Mia said, flushing and covering her face with her hands.

　　"No. No. Yeah. That`s fine. Sounds fun, Mia," Caden said, getting to his feet. "Look, I`m sorry, this was fun and all, but. . . I need to go."

　　She nodded in understanding, "You have a lot of secrets, don`t you?"

　　He did not reply.

　　She giggled, "I understand. I`d like to help you, but I really need this job. I can`t risk being caught with that. They are just looking for an excuse to throw me out, you know?"

　　"Yeah. I need to leave. Sorry, talk later?"

　　Mia replied, but Caden had already dashed for the door. More questions, so many more questions. The red line? Mia`s compliance?

　　Elena would have answers. But Caden would not confront Elena the next day, nor did he think he`d ever be able to. After what Luna said, the only person he could possibly trust with questions on Pyromancy. . . was Solaris. Even that would be risky, but. . . he knew Isabel, right? How bad could the guy be?