Chapter 19: Luna

　　When Luna woke up the next morning, she didn`t expect Caden to still be there. Not only was he already on his feet, but he was reorganizing her room. The box in his hands was full of an assorted mishmash of clothes, trash, and random items - some of which Luna didn`t even know she had.

　　She sat up in bed and immediately threw herself back under her covers. Her hands went to her face. Good, her mask was still on. She was safe.

　　Her attention turned back to Caden as he placed the box on her nightstand and glided around her room. The room was clean. He had cleaned it. Her nightstand was next to her bed, her wardrobe closed and tidy, and her dresser not half blown up. Everything was either placed neatly in a drawer, in boxes, or in a singular pile in the corner.

　　"Oh, hey, I hope you don`t mind. I thought I`d help out," Caden said.

　　She flushed red, "You went through my stuff," her tone was much too rude.

　　"I cleaned your stuff."

　　"Yeah, well. . . whatever."

　　She was dismissive, but how else could she say thank you so flaming much? I`ve been meaning to do that since the meeting. "There is a problem though," he said, "that spell book. I placed it in your wardrobe last night, and it`s gone."

　　"Well. . . I didn`t hide it."

　　"I know," he said, "I think Elena did. I`m going to ask her about it."

　　"No!" Luna said, putting her hands up, "I mean, no. Don`t, just let her have it."

　　He shook his head, "I can`t do that. I need that book to defeat Vance."

　　Luna was too afraid to argue further. She threw off her covers and got to her feet. Stretching her arms over her head felt amazing. She pulled on her Lady of the Stars attire and sheathed her two daggers around her belt.

　　A knock at the bedroom door startled her.

　　"Luna dear, are you awake yet?" Elena called.

　　She looked at Caden, and he shrugged. She cursed under her breath, then walked over to her door and opened it just an inch.

　　"Yes?"

　　"Are you feeling okay?" Elena asked. She wore her work attire and looked like she`d been serving drinks in the tavern.

　　Luna didn`t respond. She didn`t have to.

　　"Look, I wanted to apologize for-"

　　"Save it," Luna snapped, "I don`t need your apology. It`s fine."

　　"Can you let me in?"

　　"Uh," Luna gasped, then turned around and mouthed to Caden: leave now.

　　He didn`t move an inch.

　　Luna grunted, then turned back, "No."

　　"I don`t care if you`ve not cleaned your room. I just wanted to talk."

　　"Uh, well, no, there`s a different reason you can`t enter."

　　Elena raised an eyebrow. "What? What is it?"

　　"She has company," Caden called.

　　Luna covered her mouth with her hand, then turned around and made an obscene hand gesture at him.

　　"Oh, I see. . ." Elena flushed. Her cheeks reddened, and Luna wanted to gag. She`d never seen her sister react like that before.

　　"No, no, no, no, it`s not like that," Luna said, dismissively waving her hands in the air. She chuckled nervously and hated every single second of this interaction.

　　"Of course not," Elena said, "I wasn`t assuming anything. I was going to have you fetch the boy for later, but if he spent the night, I guess I can tell both of you this. Meet me in the tavern. I have a little assignment for you today. Oh, and Luna, wear your casual stuff. You can`t look like that."

　　"Spent the night?" Luna squeaked, "Hold on, Elena, that isn`t what!"

　　But she was gone.

　　Luna slammed her door and turned toward Caden, threatening him with one of her daggers. "You!" she said, "You can`t say that! Now Elena thinks that! That!" She couldn`t bring herself to say it.

　　"That what?" he said coyly.

　　"You know what! Nothing happened! I let you sleep in my room, and that is it!" She wanted to rip his head off.

　　Caden laughed, and the sound of it calmed her down. It was so genuine. "I`m sorry. I will be sure to tell Elena that nothing happened."

　　"No!" she complained, "Don`t say anything! Just! Let`s go!" She sheathed her dagger and killed the urge to stab him.

　　She and Caden both changed into casual attire. Leather boots, baggy pants, and an oversized dark tunic so that they don`t stand out as much in the city. She still wore her cloak and hood over her head and covered her eyes with dark lens glasses. A handkerchief covered her nose and mouth. She hated that she couldn`t bring her mask, but this felt& safe enough.

　　"Why the glasses?" Caden asked.

　　"Elena doesn`t want people to recognize me."

　　He didn`t question her further.

　　The bottom of the tavern was bustling with life. They took a seat at a nearby booth. Usually, this place was empty, but this morning, it was packed to the brim. Crown knights were sitting in circles. Travelers and vagrants situated at the bar sharing drinks. A few merchants were gambling in the back of the room. People were ordering food, and the kitchen staff would run around and collect orders. Even a bard was singing stories in the back of the room while playing a tune on a lute.

　　Elena glided around the tavern, effortlessly pouring drinks and smiling. She`d say a few words, get a few flint marks as a tip, and then move to the next table. Luna watched her sister move, hating that it was so easy for her to act cheerful. None of them knew of the monster she truly was.

　　"Here you are," Elena said. When she got to her table, she placed two random drinks in front of them. "Oh, and Luna dear, when I said to make friends with Caden, I didn`t mean -"

　　"Will you shut up!" Luna snapped, "We didn`t do anything!"

　　"Okay, okay, I`m sorry," Elena spoke with genuine pity. "We have a problem with Erodan, and I`m sending you in my place. I will be meeting up with you later, as I`m busy here for quite some time."

　　"I see you`ve re-opened," Caden said.

　　"Yes, well, have to make a living somehow." She turned away.

　　"Quick question before you go," Caden said, and Elena glanced back. "There was a book in Luna`s room last night. I brought it in after getting it from Felisha`s Shrine Cleric. Do you happen to know where it is? I must return it to her."

　　He spoke with such bright confidence, which Luna deeply admired. How was he not afraid Elena might force him to forget the book`s existence?

　　"I`ve been gone all night; just got in to open the tavern a few hours ago. Say, you`re not accusing me, are you?" Her tone was defiant. She was challenging him.

　　"No," he replied, "of course not. I`m just mapping out all my options. Perhaps I left it somewhere else."

　　"Perhaps."

　　Elena`s fake smile and happy demeanor pissed Luna off to no end. She wanted to rip her sister apart right now in the tavern. She wanted everyone to watch. In fact, she`d relish it. She paused, realizing she was channeling Isabel instinctively. She stopped; why was that girl so full of rage?

　　"You two have some work to do today," Elena said, placing a folded piece of paper on the table, "I`ll catch up with you soon."

　　After Elena left, Caden took the address and got up to leave. Luna tailed him. What else would she do? She was just glad Elena did not compel her to go. If Caden was going, she wanted to follow.

　　* * *

　　Luna followed Caden. She didn`t really know what else to do. It`s not like she could just vanish. He took her into Quadrant Two. An enormous number of people replaced the normal array of alleys and emptiness.

　　Everything was adorned with colorful pennants and banners, each displaying different sigils. Stalls and tents were scattered about, forming a marketplace that hadn`t quite been set up. There were rows of craftsmen setting up their goods to sell. At the very heart of Quadrant Two was the arena. The place where Caden would inevitably kill Vance.

　　"So many people come out for the Festival of Fire, huh," Luna said.

　　"It happens every year, and everybody goes."

　　"Elena has never let-"

　　"I`ll take you then," Caden said.

　　Why offer that? Luna sighed and silently hoped Caden wasn`t up to something. Part of her thought that perhaps Elena had offered Caden some kind of compensation for being nice to her so she`d no longer lash out and defy her. And the other part of her desperately hoped she`d made a friend.

　　He led her down an alleyway, yet she still hadn`t asked what their task was precisely or where they were going. She knew they were visiting Erodan, but where? What purpose? Should she ask? Would he tell her? She swallowed her pride.

　　"Where are we going?"

　　"Erodan`s place. It`s like this network of underground tunnels. We were called in because he called for a meeting with Elena to figure out an issue with his propaganda not being as effective as she would like."

　　He told her. Just like that. It wasn`t a "none of your business." Or "you wouldn`t understand," like she always got from Elena. He just. . . told her. She should have paid more attention when Elena explained this to them.

　　They traveled to an empty building near the wall of the city. Caden knocked on the door, and the little metal slit in the middle of it pulled back to reveal a pair of eyes.

　　"Who the hell are you?"

　　"I`m here to meet Erodan," he said, holding up the paper Elena had given him. The man scanned it cautiously, then opened the door. He was short and old and wrinkly and talked hoarsely.

　　Caden slipped through, and she followed.

　　"Woah now, little lady," the man said, stopping after Caden passed, "we let him in, not you."

　　"What?" Luna asked. She didn`t know what to do in this situation. Her hands instinctively fell to her daggers. Her heart shattered. Was her first instinct seriously to kill someone?

　　"Don`t be a Dimling, she`s with me," Caden said.

　　"Well, how am I supposed to trust her?"

　　Caden`s eye twitched, and he gestured for Luna to come in. She entered but was stopped as the man grabbed her shoulder. He mumbled something she couldn`t hear from her heart pounding in her ears. She panicked, pulling away from him and grabbing for her weapon.

　　Caden was faster. His eyes burned with rage as he grabbed Luna and gently pulled her away from the doorman. With his other hand, he lifted him off the ground by his collar. "Listen to me. I`ve had one hell of a week, and if you put another finger on her, I will burn you alive." He tossed him aside. The tiny man grunted and then closed the metal door.

　　There it was again, the cold fury of a Pyromancer. It was such a powerful force to reckon with. Was he okay? Maybe she should ask. . .

　　You wouldn`t last on your own. You always need someone to look out for you. Elena`s voice echoed in her mind. She went from Elena to Freya to Caden. Why must someone always take care of her?

　　He left briskly. Luna trailed after him as they descended a ragged staircase. The depths below unveiled an intricate network of excavated passages. It was like they just entered an enormous hovel with tunnels running in all directions. This is where the vagrants live, a city below ground, an underworld haven.

　　Each tunnel had multiple wooden beams supporting them. Lanterns dotted the ceiling, and the hallways were wide enough for multiple people to pass them.

　　After an eternity of traveling, Caden knocked on one of the many wooden doors.

　　"How do you know this is the right one?" Luna whispered.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

　　Caden pointed to the door, and in bold, brilliant letters, "Erodan Windsor" was plastered on the front. Luna flushed red, glad her dark glasses hid her embarrassment.

　　The door clicked multiple times as if it had a million locks, then opened slightly.

　　"What?" Erodan poked his head out of the door, "You. . . where is Elena? I demand to see her."

　　Caden pushed his way into the room, "Well, you get us. She`ll still be coming to the speech."

　　They stepped inside, and Erodan took a seat back at his desk. Past the door was a wide-open room that contained a large table of scattered notes, a desk, a bed, and a large board that was put up in the back of the room with a map of Belmire on it.

　　It was not just the three of them in here; a few men surrounded the back table, and a peculiar person caught Luna`s eye.

　　Ferris stood in the room, drawing on paper as he held it on the stone wall.

　　Erodan sighed, "This is all way too inconvenient. First, that monster wants me to go to her tavern unguarded, and then she invites a crown knight to my hovel."

　　"I`m a traitor, remember. Killing my own Order? You do remember the meeting, right?"

　　"Bah! You think just because I`m old, I`ve forgotten! And why should I believe you? There any proof of that?"

　　"Don`t question my loyalty. Let`s just get this done. What`s the problem?"

　　"We need to scare the Knights, make them afraid of the vagrants. Stop patrols help those in the sanctuary. Problem is, our posters are not doing enough. Our speeches are hardly effective, and the knights are still going on patrols. Get your damn Order under control already."

　　Caden placed his hands on Erodan`s desk and leaned in. "It`s been two weeks since the meeting. Patrols are cut in half; I`ve barely been doing anything at all for the Order recently outside of Elite training. There`s progress, don`t scold me because you`re bad at your job."

　　Erodan grumbled, "How do you propose we fix the issue then?"

　　"We need to come up with some kind of new story. Killing the royals is bad, but we need something worse to outrage the people. The knights will be scared out of their minds if they think vagrants will attack them or riot."

　　Luna watched quietly as Ferris padded across the room to join them.

　　"Did somebody say story?" Ferris said. "Well, tell me what we are cooking up in here?"

　　"Why are you even here?" Caden asked.

　　"Excuse me!" he exclaimed dramatically, "I`m drawing art." He held up the picture he was scribbling on, and it was the spitting image of the propaganda that Elena had commissioned to be placed around the city.

　　"Fine, you can help," Caden said.

　　Luna listened intently. While she would attend meetings like this very often with Elena, she only ever spoke up to lash out. But Elena wasn`t here, why say anything?

　　"What about the sorceress?" Erodan asked, "Can`t we spread another story about her?"

　　"That is not an option."

　　"It`s worked before. The knights are scared of her. We could just-"

　　"I said no!" Caden slammed his hands onto the table. An eerie silence washed over them. Something seemed off about him today.

　　"We can do that," Luna spoke for the first time, "if you think it`ll help. I don`t mind being the villain."

　　Caden turned to her, and his blazing eyes softened. "No, no. I said I`ll help you. I said I`d be better, remember?" he turned back, "I`ve got another idea. We can give the vagrants a scapegoat. Pin everything on a single Elite in the Order and get all the vagrants riled up to attack that one person. It could cause a riot, exactly what we need."

　　"Oh! Yes yes!" Ferris exclaimed, "Having someone to hate allows the masses to pinpoint their attention to one single thing. It`s hard to hate a massive Order, but easy to hate just one man." He leaned against the wall and put his hand to his forehead, "Ah, I love propaganda. Did you know I took a university class just to help with this part? Exciting!"

　　"If we do that," Erodan said, "who do we use? Who do we blame everything on? And how do we make it convincing?"

　　"I could forge some notes between Elites to showcase a fake conversation," Ferris offered.

　　"Yes," Caden snapped his fingers, "that`s genius. With that evidence on top of your speech, we could pull this off and have the people riot."

　　"Uhm," Luna said but quickly backtracked, putting her hands up. "Never mind."

　　"No, no," Caden said softly, "what is it?"

　　"Why do we need a riot?" she asked.

　　They all shared blank expressions as if she should already know this. She felt stupid; her question was too obvious, and she already should know the answer. But the memories of the previous meeting didn`t mention a riot. She really should have paid more attention. . .

　　"I`m sorry that was stupid. I`ll just-"

　　"It`s okay," Caden said, "we need the riot to drill up a shift between vagrants and knights. We want the knights to stop patrols, which stop vagrants from entering the sanctuary, which gives them their freedom. We want this until we can raid the palace vault, steal flint marks, launder money, then pay every single fee down here, making every hovel underneath the surface legal."

　　He just told her. She asked a question, and he just explained everything. All the new information she was told aligned with what was said at the meeting. God, why was this boy so nice to her?

　　"Thanks."

　　Caden smiled.

　　"We still don`t have our scapegoat," Erodan interjected, "Who could we possibly blame this all on?"

　　You could kill two birds with one stone and blame it all on Vance. Luna thought.

　　"Someone from Quadrant One," Caden said, "they`re all monsters."

　　"What about Kieran? She`s from your quadrant. Could you pull up dirt on her?" Erodan suggested.

　　He shook his head, "She`s too young. She hadn`t been promoted when the Royals fled."

　　"We could use Renault," Ferris suggested. He picked at his nails as they all stood in silence. "Nobody likes him."

　　Caden and Luna shared a glance.

　　"Oh my," Ferris said, "Already dead, is he? Someone`s been a busy boy." He winked in Caden`s direction.

　　"Who else is in the first Quadrant?"

　　Caden turned to Luna for answers.

　　Does he want me to speak? Luna thought. She took a deep breath. I can`t stay afraid of everything forever. Elena won`t break me.

　　"Aesar, Taryn, Hayren, Quinn, Oscar, Bellen, Gwendolyn, Parax, should I keep going?" Luna said, listing names from the registry. She had nearly finished copying every name. Elena would pester her about that soon.

　　"Thank you," Caden said, "Do any of those work?"

　　"Do we know how long they`ve been promoted? We can`t pick at random; we must choose someone specific," Erodan said.

　　Caden put a hand to his chin, then glanced down at Luna.

　　"What do you think?"

　　Luna opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Nobody had ever asked her that before. Anytime she went with Elena to any sort of meeting, she would be scolded for speaking up.

　　"Me?"

　　"Yes."

　　"You want the girl`s opinion?" Erodan asked, "What is her purpose for being here?"

　　"She`s capable," Caden snapped. "Don`t be crass."

　　Luna paused for a long time.

　　"It`s okay if you don`t have anything. I can take care of this." Caden said. He gave her a broad smile, and she wanted to capture this moment and replay it repeatedly until she forgot every other memory.

　　"I have one idea," she squeaked, "We could blame everything on Vance. That would make your people love Caden for fighting against him in the honorable duel and have the Crusaders and Knights all love him for taking out the villain in your story. Then you`d be praised instead of looked down upon for the battle."

　　Nobody said anything for a long time.

　　"Did I say something wrong?" Luna asked quietly.

　　"No, no." Caden said, "That actually could work. I wasn`t really thinking about how they`d view me, but If I`m part of this now, the vagrants should hold me in high regard. I could even give speeches after the duel."

　　"Speaking of the speech," Ferris said, "how are we going to get a riot out of them from just some letters and a name?"

　　Erodan grumbled, "I still can`t believe your leader is asking me to give speeches above ground! I`m right in the eye of assassins. I will have my head between my legs before I can even blink! What matter of drugs does she take? She`s half-crazed, that`s for sure."

　　That`s what I`ve been saying. Luna thought.

　　"Actually, that gives me an idea," Ferris said, "How do you feel about theatre?"

　　* * *

　　A week later, Luna arrived at the warehouse a few minutes before she needed to. She had her own task and was given instructions beforehand. The warehouse was an enormous space toward the bottom of Quadrant Four. She sat above it all, on the rafters that supported the ceiling. This place was one of the few buildings in Belmire with a slanted roof.

　　Inside, an enormous crowd was forming. Vagrants, merchants, citizens, and everyone but the Knights seem to flock to this meeting. How did they pull in so many people?

　　Elena& Luna thought. She also didn`t doubt the fact there was a chance these people were not here by choice.

　　She had already dawned her Lady of the Stars outfit once more. She noted everyone`s position. Caden by the window, Elena in the back, Erodan up on the podium, and even Ferris made himself blend into the crowd. Everything was in place; this was going to work.

　　The first problem was the crowd was twice as large as they expected, making an opening nearly impossible. The second problem was that Caden`s instructions were constructed by a madman. Her job was to play the hero, but she wasn`t sure she could do that.

　　She had to channel Renna for this. She was the most loud-mouthed and confident of all her predecessors but also the most volatile. The last time she channeled her this much was back when she and Caden first met. The decision came from her need to kill multiple people extremely quickly, which also caused her to hold Renna`s fiery personality. Isabel was the only other logical person to channel, but she needed confidence, not rage.

　　The speech began with Erodan lifting his arms up. "Welcome, everyone! Please settle down. I have important news to share with you all!" His voice boomed overhead, and the crowd listened to him as if he was their king. "As you know, I`ve been investigating the Elite of Belmire to discover what really happened to the Royals all those years ago. We have uncovered an important figurehead in the betrayal from so long ago."

　　People began to mutter and shift around; they looked agitated.

　　"My goal is and always will be to free our people from the sanctuary and allow us to live in peace, safe from the Order of the Crown!" Erodan said. He slammed his fist on the podium, "But this is too important to ignore! We have discovered letters from the Elite that are evidence of their betrayal! The truth must be spread, and we must remain vigilant!"

　　Vigilant was Caden`s queue. She watched him as he pulled on an Aberrant mask and finalized his disguise. He pulled out a dagger and prepared to jump through the window.

　　"There is one man behind the slaughter, one person we must band together to stop! One horrific monster of a man, he`s why the royals were killed, he`s why the sanctuary was built, he`s the reason we can`t live in peace! We must unite, we must be furious, and we must attack!"

　　Erodan was interrupted at the perfect time. Caden burst through the glass window and landed on the stage below. It was incredibly quick as he took out two of Erodan`s guards. People screamed; people fled, but Luna kept her focus on Caden.

　　He rushed Erodan, grabbed him by the collar, stabbed him in the abdomen, then threw him to the ground.

　　Now! Luna thought. She leaped from her spot, landing on Caden and kicking him in the chest. She flipped around, landing on her feet. He stumbled to the floor. "You will not take this from us!" Luna shouted. She reached for Erodan, her hands lit up with Moonlight, and she gently channeled Isabel. She placed them on his torso, and the man filled with white light. He took in a deep breath.

　　"I`ve been healed!" he exclaimed, even though he was never injured, then got to his feet. His militia guard immediately surrounded him, who all turned their spears to Caden.

　　"She resurrected him!" a vagrant called from behind her.

　　Caden stumbled back to his feet and held one of Luna`s daggers in his hand. The next act of Ferris`s play begins now.

　　She ignored the cheers, the pleading, the cries of the vagrants in the crowd. She ignored the guards around Erodan as they asked her what to do. She just focused on Caden.

　　"The next thing you`ll do is fight me," Caden had said earlier that day.

　　What the hell does that entail? She should have asked, stupid!

　　She channeled Renna further and shouted, "You`ve taken too much from this city. I will put it back together."

　　She charged him, and the two danced around each other, reflecting multiple attacks. She had to hold back to keep up with Caden`s slow speed. A few more swipes, a dodge of his blade, and then they were stuck in a stand-off parry in front of everyone.

　　"You have to stab me," Caden whispered.

　　"What?" she squeaked.

　　He grabbed her by the collar and pulled her in close, their masks nearly touching.

　　"Stab me, kick me through the wall, it`ll be fine."

　　His dagger came down toward her shoulder. She grabbed his wrist instinctively and pulled hard on Renna`s emotions in her mind. In a single swift motion, she twisted his wrist, hearing a solid crack, then stabbed him in his left side with her dagger and finally kicked him so hard in the chest that he flew through the wall of the building.

　　Guilt immediately tore at her, but he did ask. Her focus turned back to the job at hand. She couldn`t leave the crowd waiting. She needed to speak now.

　　"They will try to stop us from living freely!" Luna shouted. She channeled Renna further, tearing at a memory of her leading the charge of a platoon of soldiers. Her memories merged with Luna`s, and suddenly, they were the same person.

　　"The Order of the Crown will break us down, hurt us! We can not let them win!" she shouted, "We must fight back! We must show them we are formidable! Elite Captain Vance of the fourth quadrant set the Royals up years ago and killed them! He slaughtered the Lady of the Moon in cold blood! I am not that same hero, but I am her successor! I will do everything I can to set you free!"

　　The people bombarded her with questions about what they should do next, but that wasn`t Luna`s job. They asked her about her powers and how she healed Erodan. She`d given the speech she needed. Erodan took the stage once more, his guards no longer surrounding him.

　　"You align your loyalties with us now?" Erodan asked, reaching a hand out toward her.

　　"Absolutely," she proclaimed proudly, still speaking through Renna. She shook his hand and officially joined the vagrant militia.

　　Erodan retook the stage, and Luna jumped out of the hole in the wall and grabbed Caden, throwing him over her shoulder.

　　"We now have a chance to stop Vance once and for all! An honorable duel will happen soon, and this is our chance to support the fighter against this detested Elite and forge a victory for the vagrants!" Erodan bellowed out with newfound vigor. The crowd roared in applause.

　　She then leaped away, pushing herself upward with Moonlight. She landed on a nearby rooftop and placed Caden down on the light snowy pavement.

　　"Are you okay?" she asked, grabbing his mask and pulling it off.

　　He was smiling.

　　"You know, you didn`t have to break my wrist too."

　　"I`m so sorry," she said.

　　She stopped channeling; Renna faded from her mind.

　　Luna reached down and ripped the dagger from his abdomen. She watched as the bloody wound on his side closed up completely.

　　"Glad you didn`t stab me in the heart," he said, breathing heavily.

　　"How`s your wrist?"

　　"Healed enough," he said, flexing his fingers. "Can you let me up now?"

　　Luna was towering over him as he lay on his back. She nodded, then stood up and moved away. Caden jumped to his feet and adjusted his wrist with his hand. "Pyromancy healing is pretty quick."

　　"So, was that okay? I`ve always wanted to act in plays."

　　He laughed, "You did very well. How were you able to give a speech like that?"

　　"Renna," she said, "she was very loud-mouthed and expressive, so I channeled her."

　　"A predecessor of your& Tigress? What does that mean anyway?"

　　She nodded. "It`s where I get my magic from. . . I`m honestly not too sure."

　　"Is that why you were so yell-crazy at me when we first met? I`ve never seen you act like that before."

　　She nodded again.

　　"How many of them do you channel?"

　　"Four. Remember? Isabel, Kellin, Yelzar, Renna."

　　Caden cracked his neck, "Interesting. Let`s see what`s happening down below." He leaped up onto the lip of the roof and dangled his legs off the edge. Luna joined him and saw a vast array of alternating torch lights. She watched as vagrants poured from the building. She forced her Moonlight to drop, draining into her eyes, and the world crumbled into darkness. Specs of torchlight rippled through the city as a sea of people stormed from the warehouse and began running through the city chanting.

　　"Do you think Elena had something to do with how angry they look?"

　　"Could you see them too?" Caden asked, genuinely surprised.

　　"Them?"

　　"The red lines?"

　　"What?"

　　"I- sorry. It`s a Pyromancy thing. I& I can see her magic. Her compulsion. I can tell who she is attempting to compel. I watched her. She was compelling Erodan. A bright red line led into him, then outward, as if she was using him as some kind of conduit. That must take some incredible power."

　　"She compelled the entire crowd?"

　　"Not all of them&" He paused, then glanced down at her, "I need to go. I have to go deal with this riot."

　　"Where does the Order think you are?" she asked.

　　"Elite training. And technically, I`m not lying," he laughed. "I`ll be off now."

　　"Wait! What do I do now?"

　　"Whatever you like," he smiled and vanished into flames.

　　Luna sat awkwardly on the rooftop, unsure what to do next. She watched the people scurry into the streets and rampage through the main path of Belmire, straight toward the barracks of Quadrant Four. Should she just go back to the tavern now? Maybe there was a way to escape from here. She`d hardly interacted with Elena for an entire week.

　　"Do you come to this rooftop to relax often?" a voice called.

　　Luna spun, pulling her dagger out and stopping it inches from Ferris`s neck. "Oh, it`s you."

　　"Please, there`s only one weapon on this planet that can kill me, and that`s not it."

　　She spun the knife in her hand before sheathing it. "What do you want?"

　　"You did very well today. I wanted to congratulate you before my next trip."

　　"Right, you go through the edge of the world," she said sarcastically.

　　"I absolutely do, thank you very much," he said, snapping his fingers. "Now then," he joined her on the roof edge. "You have questions for me?"

　　She scoffed, "How did you stop Elena`s spell?"

　　"Oh, that barbaric witchcraft? It`s far too complicated to explain it to you. But I`m able to occasionally stop magic from working."

　　"Can you stop it forever?" she asked, "can you stop her?"

　　"That would be far too easy of a way to win, wouldn`t it?"

　　Luna sighed and turned away, looking outward. It had started to rain softly. "What about your friend? The one across the tempest? Could you take me with you when you visit him?"

　　"Oh, I don`t think you`d like to visit the most dangerous man on the planet just yet, but I can promise that you will meet him one day. For now, though, it`s best you stay here." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Caden still needs you."

　　She turned to face him, but he was gone. He had vanished into thin air. The mystery of the wayfarer on Elena`s crew might never be solved; perhaps he was just odd. An asset she simply could not use to free herself.

　　Freya, you`d know what to do. Luna thought. She kept herself on that rooftop for hours until she finally gave up on thinking of a way out. She had asked Caden for help and relied on him now. Perhaps that was dangerous; she didn`t care, and a few hours later, she found herself going back to Goran`s Tavern.