Disclaimer: I definitely own my uber-confusing and twisted plot twist. But nothing else.

Heh. I'm updating again, and it's a long one, too. Whee! Anyway, everyone seems to be guessing that this letter bodes very little good, and I'm not even going to try to deny it. After all, I fully intend to torment my poor protagonists one last time before we hit the ending. I'm hoping this won't get unrealistic or unbelievable, but something had to happen with his family, they can't just leave him alone, they aren't the type. Anyway, I got a lot of reviews on the last chapter, so thanks everyone. Seriously, my plot should twist more often if this is the kind of attention I get for it.

On another note, I just realized that it's been over a year since I first started this story, and it really doesnt feel that long, but it's been great, and I think the story's gotten better and I'm glad I've stuck with a project for this long, and all that other stuff one says when one reaches an anniversary, consider it said. Anyway, happy one year birthday, Greens, and cheers to all my reviewers!

Fireblade: His tail is definitely deep in the fire this time, that's all I'm saying. And Karissa will be otherwise occupied. Although she still has a few major parts to play before this is all out.

Silent: Certainly something nasty. And Holderkin aren't always as subtle as purposeful emotional abuse.

Tenshi: Nope, I don't trust it either. It certainly isn't very Holderkin like…

Wishing: I think Lirain thinks exactly that, actually, and a few other things as well. She isn't particularly happy at the moment, I'm afraid.

Ocean: Not quitting. I'm even trying to update faster, I'm so pleased with myself.

Anyway, next chapter coming up. For the moment, I'm afraid we're leaving Treet and Lirain on a cliffhanger and moving back to our favorite Herald for a few chapters. She has, with her usual bad timing, gotten herself into a tight spot as well. Bear in mind that the reason she is allowed to run around being a danger to herself and everyone else is that she really has nobody close enough to realize what is going on and she is VERY good at shielding everything away.

Chapter 26: A Nasty Fever

They didn't usually assign female Heralds to the border circuits. Except for her. She couldn't even rail at fate, she had asked for it. She often did. The quiet, the solitude, it made her feel alive. The smaller villages, tranquil and submissive to her, were far easier for her to deal with than the larger cities. It was a patchwork cure at best, drowning her troubles in the forests, but it did for her what most Heralds turned to debauchery and carefree fun for. There was no one she trusted enough to call lover and so she often found herself unable to purge the pain of the Heraldic duty from her body, especially after a particularly nasty case.

The last village had chosen the onset of winter to contract a fever, and Veria wasn't speaking to her. These two occurrences were related, of course, she thought ruefully. She had approached the village with only the usual caution, her weak Gift of Mindhearing combined with the lack of any Gifted minds within the village rendering her unable to tell that there was something wrong. She had ridden through the open gates and been greeted by silence. Upon investigation, she had discovered a Herald's bad dream, if not quite a nightmare. Almost the whole village had been struck with one of the winter-onset fevers both common to this area and extremely contagious. The sick were well taken care of in the hands of the healthy, who had known what to do in this situation since they were toddling, but a Healer would be needed to see the village back on its feet.

Karissa had remounted Veria, grit her teeth and ridden for the nearest Temple. When it was absolutely necessary to fetch a Healer, she often did as she had done then, throwing herself into a trance-like state so that afterwards the presence of a Healer not only near her but riding pillion on her sacred preserve, her Companion, would seem nothing more than a dream, like one of the nightmares she so often had, and be so unclear in memory as to have never happened. She knew that it would leave her in a state of trembling exhaustion as soon as she snapped out of it, but what could she do?

As soon as she reached the village, the Healer had slid off of Veria's back without help, her satchel over her shoulder. She had quizzed Karissa, who was still on her Companion, about everything she had seen and heard, then headed off into the village at a run, assuring Karissa as she left that she wasn't needed and should continue with her circuit before she "caught the Gods-be-damned thing herself".

As soon as the Healer had disappeared into a nearby building, Karissa slid off of Veria and went to her knees in the as yet shallow snow, bringing herself back to reality as the icy substance melted through her Whites.

:There's a small Inn here we can stay in: Veria sent firmly. :I know it isn't the custom, but the Innkeeper is otherwise occupied and the upper rooms are completely empty:

Karissa had reluctantly but wearily agreed, and they had bedded down in the small village Inn/Tavern, unbeknownst to the Innkeeper, and had left only a waytoken behind them as evidence of their stay the next morning.

On their way out the Healer had run after them with an exasperated and disapproving frown. "Herald, you slept here all night. I must check you to make sure you haven't contracted the fever, the contagion has been spread all through the village by this point and the last thing you want is to be spreading it all down the Border."

Karissa could feel Veria's gentle nudging in her mind. Her throat began to clog and she tried to force something resembling speech past her suddenly frozen lips. She would have been backing away frantically if she hadn't been mounted on an obstinately unmoving Companion. The thought of a Healer mindlinked with her, even just the cursory link needed to check if she had contracted the fever, horrified her. She opened her mouth to agree, although she had no idea how she would manage such a thing, but she betrayed herself and a choked "No!" escaped her.

The Healer looked at her quizzically. "Pardon me?"

"I feel fine."

"You would. The fever won't start to operate in your body for around twenty Candlemarks after the first exposure. Now, it wont take but a moment, I shan't delay you at all," the Healer said, slipping into her most effective Healer Knows Best voice.

"I'm not sick!" She knew she sounded petulant and decidedly un-Heraldic, but she wasn't even in conscious control of herself anymore. All she knew was that she would do whatever it took to get out of this situation.

She nudged Veria, who stood stalk still as though she were an obstinate horse. :Chosen…:

That one thought conveyed everything Veria wanted it to, but it was to no avail.

With the mental equivalent of gritted teeth, Karissa stared down the Healer, not bothering to cajole Veria. :If I have to run all the way back to Haven on foot in the snow I am leaving now: she said as she began to dismount.

With an aggravated snort, Veria began to trot, falling into her most bouncing gait with Karissa still halfway out of the saddle. It was only long practice that kept Karissa from being dumped into the snow, and it was a near enough thing as it was. At the same time, Karissa was subjected to an ear blistering mental lecture about how far exactly through Karse Veria would kick her if she came down with the fever and possibly even if she didn't. With a final thought about obstinate Heralds who endangered entire countrysides with their antics, Veria had firmly blocked Karissa out and they had continued along that way ever since, with Veria still subjecting Karissa to the least even gait known to Companion or man, or so it seemed.

At first, the dizziness seemed to be simple reaction shock, a delayed reaction to bring shut out by her Companion and having to face a Healer. Karissa began to sway, although Veria had curtailed her antics somewhat by that point. It had begun to snow again and each flake felt like an icy pinprick upon her burning forehead. She raised a gloved hand to her own head, feeling the mother of all headaches beginning behind her eyes. Everything felt fogged, and it was lucky that Veria was going slowly, because not a moment later, Karissa fell out of her saddle and went to her knees in the snow for the second time in as many days. Before she fainted away completely, she felt a surprisingly gentle Mindtouch from her Companion.

:You poor stupid Herald, you're burning up.: Veria said ruefully, her anger all but melted away. She knew her Chosen was still no more able to control herself than ever, even after this many years. Something would have to be done about that when they got back to Haven, it was becoming a danger. Veria shoved that thought away for later, leaving a part of her mind to the monumental task of plotting a way to get Karissa into the hands of the Mindhealers.

Veria, also, went to her knees in the snow and curled up around her Chosen, sharing her warmth while using her Gifts to look for anyone she could contact for help.

A few miles away, a Herald just recovering from a broken leg was nudged out of his mid-morning nap by an urgent call from his Companion. Herald Arin, incidently, was the Herald Karissa had been sent to replace. He had been planning to begin his journey back to Haven the next day.

:What is it, Deri: Arin asked sleepily.

:I've just been contacted by another Companion, the one who took over your circuit. She says her Herald has fallen ill on the trail, she suspects it was the winter fever currently going around, and she requests that a Healer be sent.:

:Well, you know I cant stand to see a damsel in distress: Arin joked. He took the directions from Deri's mind and rang the small bell left by the Healers in case he needed anything.

A few seconds later a Healer came at a run and Arin passed on his message. Since his leg was as good as healed, he offered Deri's and his services to carry the Healer, since he knew the way.

A few short minutes later, Deri, his Herald and a willing Healer were racing through the accumulating snow as Deri reassured Veria that help was on the way.

Veria, lying in the snow, didn't even notice the cold. She crooned softly to Karissa, who had moved from complete unconsciousness into a feverish tossing. Veria would have felt better with a blanket over them or at least something between Karissa and the ground, but she put those thoughts out of her mind as well and concentrated on supporting her fallen Herald, thanking any listening Gods that this had happened now, when their bond was close enough for Veria to lend Karissa energy and hold her condition stable. Companions could not Heal, but they could help.

Veria didn't hear the approaching hoofbeats, and Deri was forced to render her a rude mental shout before she looked up, her expression quickly changing from affront to extreme relief. She sent a mental burst of pure gratitude and staggered to her feet.

The Healer was already dismounting as Arin lifted Karissa into his arms.

"She's stable," the Healer said with relief after doing a fast check, "but she's got a nasty case of the fever. She'll have to be brought to the Temple."

At Veria's direction, Arin lifted the still-unconscious Karissa into her saddle and mounted behind her while Deri carried the Healer.

:I guess that scorches the Haven idea: Deri said ruefully. He had been looking forward to a decent rest.

:Yes, we'll have to take over their circuit. It's a good thing we were here to do so.:

:Veria has given us permission to take their supplies and things, so we should be set.:

When they arrived at the Temple, Arin walked carefully back to his room to retrieve his things, leaving Karissa in the care of the Healer. With reluctance, Veria allowed the Healer to call for help to transport Karissa inside.

As they manhandled her into a bed and carefully fed her a potion which would reduce the symptoms of her illness, Karissa began to come to. She opened her eyes and, seeing the shade of pale green which surrounded her, muttered something which sounded vaguely like "Oh, shit," followed by something which the Healers passed off as delirious rambling about how far into Karse she would find herself come morning, then promptly passed out again.

The Healer then took up a position near Karissa's bed and took one of her clammy hands. She began to summon the bright green energy of her Gift, expecting a fairly straightforward job.

Upon touching Karissa's mind in an attempt to sink in far enough to dispel the fever, the Healer was shocked to discover the sheer extent of the shields Karissa had placed around herself. Shields that would not fall in sickness or sleep or even dire illness worse than what was present then. The Healer cautiously touched one, proffering the desire to Heal which usually allowed her to pass through Heraldic patients' wards unharmed. To her surprise, the wards didn't even respond to her "credentials". She called for a more experienced Healer and after a brief examination he concurred with her initial assessment that to take down these shields by force could even be fatal, given the energy contained within them.

Karissa began to regain consciousness again at this inopportune moment and, as though through a haze, she heard the Healer's words.

"It's no wonder she came down with the first passing illness, she's pouring every drop of energy she has straight into those bedamned shields of hers. It's a wonder she gets any use out of her Gifts at all, with that sort of thing going on. In fact, although she shows only a weak Gift of Mindspeaking in practice, I'd hazard my Greens that she should be a very strong Mindspeaker, and would be if she wasn't pouring every scrap of psychic energy elsewhere. At the moment, into fighting anything I try to do for her."

"She'll have to be moved to Haven, then?" The other Healer asked.

"As soon as possible. Ordinarily I would allow her to stay here and try to nurse her back to health without the use of my Gift, but I don't know that she has the energy to fight this off, and she's fighting anything I try to do. She's only lucky the situation didn't explode before this. Besides, she's a Herald. She can't go on like this and we have no MindHealers here. Her Companion can stabilize her for the journey, according to my knowledge of Heralds."

Before passing into potion-induced haze again, Karissa blessed the Gods for the respite this would give her. She would find a way out of this. She felt a momentary pride in the strength of her shields, even through her shame at her inability to accept help from the Healers.

Veria also greeted the decision with relief. Ideally, she would rather not have to move her Chosen, especially not all the way to Haven and half-Healed, but given the spikes of terror she had been subjected to every time Karissa realized where she was, she would be just as glad to have Karissa where the Mindhealers could take care of her.