"I think I would like to hear more of these memories, if they aren't secret," Mom answered carefully. She didn't want to reveal that Amber had told her more than she should have, and she wasn't entirely up to speed on the internal politics of the Rainbow Knights.

"Okay," Amber nodded, "Mel isn't here though, so we can't know for sure if the memories are real."

"You were away, Violet said. Your spirit was removed from your body. Natural dreams don't do that, neither do prophetic dreams. So it's either a memory, or someone's interfered with the crystal computers to give you a false memory."

"You look like you're listening intently," Mom said after Amber nodded.

"Yeah, sorry. And I agree, the memory's probably real. Even if the Enemy is commanding these monsters, which I'm not sure about, she doesn't seem to have all kinds of ancient technology like we did in those old memories. So I don't think she can interfere with the computer things. That would be Belmadir's specialty, or Violet's, or mine. I never saw Ammadrine do anything with technology, or with memories and spirits. Anyway... this dream I just had, or memory, or whatever."

She shook her head, took a deep breath, and tried to remember. She didn't know if it was a good idea to talk about it or not; she certainly didn't want to tell Jack and the others all of the details, because it would only give them more ammunition to demonise Ammadrine, and as much as she wanted to believe what people were telling her, it just didn't seem right to think of her friend as the enemy.

"Don't lie to me," Amber didn't even notice the words until they were coming out of her mouth. She took a deep breath and almost immediately felt herself starting to panic, wondering just how many of her thoughts Alex was aware of, and instinctively trying to push the teacher out of her mind. But she forced herself to stay in control, imagining this was just another kind of battle. She knew she could interrupt the connection now, it wasn't like Amma and that janitor guy. She could kick Alex out of her mind with a thought, but to do so would be declaring that she was allied with the Enemy.

"I didn't mean..." she stammered

"And don't panic, either. Remember, I am the Master of the Archives, or that's what they tell me Gethrase's official title was. My responsibility is to record the truth, no matter how unpleasant or embarrassing. I will not judge you for keeping secrets from the others, but I expect to know the truth. And I promise you, I will not share anything you are not ready to share, unless it places the Rainbow Knights in danger. Can I assume that you understand that much, at least? From everything I have seen, and all the memories that the others have recounted, I see no reason to believe that you or Orsertro would ever act against the best interests of the group. So please, tell me what is worrying you so."

"I..." Amber knew she couldn't keep this secret. She was terrified, but if she didn't speak that would be just as much an admission of guilt. "I don't believe Ammadrine is our enemy. There, I said it. Jack says the evidence is too strong, but I'm sure we're missing something. In the past lives, Ammadrine confided in me. Told me secrets that could have torn the whole group apart if they got out. She trusted me, and she did everything she could to make sure those things didn't cause a problem. Maybe she banished herself, because she thought that would stop the problem. She might be the Enemy, yeah, the one who betrayed the group and left us. But I don't believe she's a bad person. And we've been trying to find her, so I can ask her when there isn't a monster to threaten us. Is that good enough for you? Are you going to tell Jack I'm going against his plans, and have me as the Enemy too?"

"I trust your judgement," Alex answered carefully. "I trust Jack's opinions as well, but where there is room for interpretation, I am not going to enforce one possible answer. Looking for Ammadrine alone does not put the others in danger, though I'm sure you are aware of the danger to yourself. But why would she allow herself to be seen as the Enemy, if that were not the case?"

"All we know about the Enemy is that she caused a problem between the Rainbow Knights, and almost destroyed the group. We don't know if that was deliberate," Amber chose her words carefully. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to tell Alex the whole story, not without something to prove she wouldn't pass it on to the others. "She was upset, she started to have human feelings, but she didn't really know how to deal with them."

"Anger? Jealousy? I believe I've heard Nico use the word 'tainted' of Ammadrine, though she barely even appears in the others' memories."

"Love. She was in love with one of the other Knights, and she wasn't sure if she was allowed to show it, because they were worried about human feelings weakening their powers. I think that's what they mean by taint. It means she was too human, thinking like a person instead of being a perfect soldier."

"I see. Do you know if the object of her affection–"

"Nico and Madir. I've not been in love yet, but I know that if you like more than one person, they might end up fighting."

"And that's why it was a problem?" Alex spoke aloud this time, "The Knights were squabbling among themselves over a love triangle, and demons took advantage of a sentry's lapse in concentration."

"That's what I figured," Mom answered, "What Amber's told me is a bit vague, like she doesn't understand the memories well enough to remember them clearly. Maybe she couldn't decide between those two guys, or maybe it was them interested in her, but one way or another there's a triangle there. Even if it's two men fighting over her, and she did all the right things, removing her from the group seems like a logical way to solve the problem."

"I see that. Very well, Amber. And Miss Crookshanks. I can understand why you have been keeping secrets. I will ask you for whatever details you can recall from those dreams, only to record in the archives, in the hope that if we fail, subsequent generations will not be–"

She stopped, and took a sharp breath. Mom glanced at the seat beside her in panic, and saw that Amber was apparently well aside from eyes wide in terror.

"Hurry!" Amber gasped, as the car started to pull over, "There's a monster, we need to be there!"

"Maybe Ammadrine doesn't want to talk about what happened?" Alex guessed, "Or the others didn't give her a chance. If you're right, I can only hope that this doesn't take us to a place where talking is no longer an option."