Disclaimer: I'm not profiting from my profligate use of Mercedes Lackey's work except in terms of personal enjoyment and writing practice. What I have created myself to supplement her work is all I lay claim to.

213 reviews to date – I never thought my story would end up this long or this well read. I'm back from holidays and ready to continue the saga through the end, so read, enjoy and hopefully review!

Fireblade: Heh, cliffhangers pwn. Hopefully there'll be lots of chapters for you to read when you get back, though.

Kathleen: I thought it would be Veria as well, actually, right up until I got there. Just goes to show you – I shouldn't try to outthink myself. Glad you're enjoying my twisty plot.

Oceanmate: Treet'll manage. I'm more concerned about my ability to keep him in 'durance vile' indefinitely without him asserting himself somehow, but he should be safe and rescued as soon as I can manage it.

Wizard: Thanks! I'll try not to keep you waiting too much longer.

Ali: Glad you liked Veria in this one. She's put up with a lot over the years, I should think, but Karissa has been backed into a corner at last.

Eyes: Glad you're enjoying my story. Sorry about the long time between updates.

Anyhow, I shall go on to torment Karissa some more, because we couldn't make this easy for her after all that fuss, now could we? -evil grin- It would be a positive letdown if I didn't inflict at least a little anguish.

I hope the length of this chapter makes up for the time it took to write it. Hopefully its ok; I worked really hard on it.

Chapter 33: Finally

Lirain awoke feeling better. Not rested, exactly, but then, she hadn't had a proper rest since before Treet's departure. On the other hand, her depleted energy had been restored to a level at which she could work with a degree of finesse. This was all to the good; she would need every advantage she could get.

She used the first few moments after waking to collect herself and her thoughts. Karissa was trying extremely hard to appear still asleep and Lirain saw no reason not to snatch a few moments to prepare for the difficulties ahead. Difficulties! That was rather understating the affair, Lirain thought.

This particular case would be one of the most difficult she had ever worked. For one thing, she was used to dealing with freshly inflicted mental wounds. In that way, Mindhealing was rather akin to mending a broken bone. Catch it right after the fact and it could be splinted and set with relative ease. Allow it to grow together twisted and warped and the whole limb would have to be shattered all over again to Heal it straight. Karissa had grown to adulthood emotionally crippled, in a sense. By now, Lirain suspected, what may have started as a simple enough reaction to trauma had spread out and now permeated everything Karissa said, thought and did.

The other problem, of course, was Karissa's extreme resistance to having anyone else in her mind, much less a Healer. Karissa's honest will to accomplish this thing would probably be enough to overcome the initial resistance, but any small setback would send her reeling back inside her shields and the whole thing would have to be begun again.

It was very likely that this would happen at least once. Mindhealing was not as simple as some thought. It was, in some ways, an invasion of selfhood, one that most people instinctively fought. A Mindhealer, equipped with Empathy and the unique Mindhealing Gift, could cushion these effects and usually only the very resistant or very badly damaged patients had a truly difficult time. Karissa was both of these.

Lirain sighed. It was just like a Herald to get into a fix like this. Despite, or possibly because of the Companion, they seemed to land in an unconscionable amount of trouble. Lirain wondered why Karissa's Companion hadn't just stuck her hooves in, or at least seen to it that someone else meddled before the situation became critical.

:I have not the Gift, young Healer.: The voice sounded artificially mystical but was overlaid with a genuine tinge of regret. :I would that I could help my Chosen, but we Companions are limited even as you. I have tried since I realized the severity of her condition to urge her to seek help but she was…: Lirain detected the faintest suspicion of a snort. :…rather adamant, I'm afraid.:

Lirain blinked. A Companion, presumably Karissa's, was speaking to her. There must be a good reason for this; by all accounts it simply did not happen except under the most severe of circumstances. Lirain was no Mindspeaker, so she didn't reply, simply waited.

:You are correct, child, in imagining that I have a reason for speaking to you, but it is hardly as dire as all the stories insist it should be. I only wish to tell you that I will be here and I will help you as I can in keeping Kari calm.: There was a pregnant pause with an air of distraction to it. :Look to your patient, Healer. She awakens. And I use awakens in the loosest possible fashion.:

With that the sense of presence withdrew from Lirain's mind, leaving her alone.

Lirain stretched and sat up, smoothing down her Greens and bringing a mask of serene authority over her features.

Karissa opened first one eye and then the other. "I suppose there's no point in lying here any longer. I can't feign sleep well enough to fool an Empath, especially not when I'm a bundle of nerves." Karissa sat up and faced Lirain squarely in a way that was almost challenging. When she spoke again, however, her voice was almost pleading.

"Do you think I could put on my Whites today? I'm deathly sick of nightgowns."

It could have been procrastination, but it wasn't. Any Empath with even a modicum of training would have known at a glance that it was the grasp of a fragile woman for the only security she knew. Lirain agreed readily to the implicit request for help, although her help was barely needed at this point in Karissa's recovery.

When Karissa was attired in a fairly clean set of working Whites, she resumed her seat on the bed with Lirain sitting in a chair to the side. The silence that followed was, for the most part, more expectant than uncomfortable. That, at least, Lirain could offer by the simple expedient of body language and posture. She waited patiently for Karissa to speak.

"You know, in my years as a Herald I've occasionally wanted to get myself slightly intoxicated – and usually managed it - but this is the first time I've had this great a desire to go off and get sodden drunk. Very unHeraldic of me, I know." Her tone was flippant, but her face was anything but.

Lirain smiled gently. "And I would that I could let you. Not that I, as a Healer, can approve of finding solutions in the bottom of a bottle, but I think the situation might have warranted it if I didn't need your conscious and sober cooperation for what I'll be doing." Now that was an opening if Lirain had ever seen one. She was almost pleased with herself. Now that Karissa was awake, however, she had no room for fleeting pleasure. Her entire concentration was focused on doing what she had been trained for. Every minute detail of her own body language and speech was carefully monitored, half by the instinct that made her a Mindhealer and half by her own training. At the moment, she kept any possible projections carefully locked down though her mental fingers itched to calm and soothe.

"What are you going to be doing?" Karissa asked, neatly taking the bait.

Lirain pretended to consider for a second, although she had already mapped out most of her explanation. "It would be possible for me to simply strip you of whatever memories are causing you grief, but I will certainly not be doing that. For one thing, it would leave you changed in a way you most likely would not appreciate. Only in the direst of circumstances do we take away memories. I'm actually going to talk to you a lot, at least to begin with. Just talking, nothing more. After that, I'll use my Gift to very gently separate your past from your present. I can teach your mind what you should already consciously know – there is nothing to fear from reaching out to others, there is nothing to fear in love or trust and there is nothing to fear from Healers simply because of what they are and the Gift they bear."

Karissa nodded tensely. "Does it, ah, hurt?" She asked, flushing at having to ask such a childish question.

Lirain replied gravely. "No, it doesn't hurt per se, but you may find it uncomfortable. Any kind of Healing creates a bond between Healer and patient and generally speaking the strength and depth of the bond depends on the strength of the Healer and the profundity of the injury. Mindhealing creates a bond almost equivalent to Healing a life threatening injury because it is so very concerned with personality and selfhood. Added to that, my Gift of Mindhealing is very strong. I will be monitoring the backflow very carefully so that you wont have to deal with leakage from my personality but unless I miss my guess any level of intimacy will be uncomfortable for you at this point."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" Karissa nearly shrieked. No matter how she tried to hold on to her emotions, she felt as though she was trapped on a runaway horse with the speed of a Companion and nothing near as smooth a gait. She felt as though the room was closing in on her and the green hue of the walls combined with the medicinal smell of the House of Healing made her want to retch.

"I am not telling you this to frighten you, I am telling you this to help you. So that we can deal with it together. I will help you, your Companion will help you, and neither of us will allow harm to befall you. Whatever you think, you are safe, I promise you."

Lirain started to project a feeling of soothing calm – her stomach was roiling with Karissa's turmoil since Lirain had taken down much of her own shielding in preparation.

Karissa felt herself relax. Her fist, which she had clenched around the bedcovers, released its death grip and her tense muscles began to unknot. Suddenly she jerked up off of the bed, fighting lassitude and backed away into the opposite corner of the room, as far away from Lirain as she could get. "Stop it! Stop that right now!"

"Stop what?" Lirain asked even as realization dawned on her. So much for instinctive Mindhealing!

Karissa's face twisted. "Stop soothing me! If I do this I do it on my own terms and by my own will!"

Lirain made a conscious effort and stopped projecting, felt Karissa's anxiety come back as she noted Karissa's body stiffen and relax at one and the same time. "I'm sorry," Lirain said sincerely. "I should have known, but its hard to help."

Karissa considered this and her expression smoothed to its ordinary pinch-faced anxiety. "I suppose I understand. Healers have to Heal, so I suppose Empaths have to soothe." She spat out the last word, almost like a curse. She didn't want to need help, especially help that put her beyond controlling the situation she had found herself in.

Lirain knew she had to get a handle on Karissa's anxiety somehow, with or without the use of her Empathy. "I won't use my Gift to damp down your fear, but I have to do something or we won't get anywhere. What can I do to make this easier for you?"

Karissa looked almost hopeful for a second. "Get me out of this room! Just being in here makes my nerves thrum, makes me feel like the walls are closing in on me."

Lirain thought for a second. A tall order, but not such a bad idea. "I could borrow Rith's office. It's more comfortable than here and its not even green!"

Karissa shook her head. "Won't help. It's this blasted House of Healing, begging your pardon. Havens, just being in here has been driving me mad and combined with this stress," she gestured helplessly towards Lirain, "I won't know what to do!"

:Bring her outside, she's strong enough for that if you take it slowly. Bring her to the Grove, she will feel more comfortable closer to me.:

For the second time that day, Veria's Mindvoice echoed in Lirain's ears and Karissa showed no signs of hearing it, yet another minor wonder, to Lirain's mind.

"How about if we take a little walk to Companion's field? Perhaps the remains of the Grove temple would prove both empty and adequate for our needs."

"Yes," Karissa sighed in relief. "Outside. And Veria will be out there too." It had been a long time since Karissa had actually seen her Companion, especially for someone who was used to friendly acquaintance with the back of said Companion for most of the day. They had been in constant Mindtouch, of course, but there was nothing quite like actual physical proximity.

Unthinkingly, Lirain extended her mental senses to see how strong Karissa was. The resultant rebuff was a little like running into a wall and a little bit like walking up a flight of stairs and putting your foot up for the next step only to find that there's nothing there. In reality, it was a combination of the two. Lirain was awed. Hell of a shield. There was no violence in the rebuff it gave; just a cold awareness that refused to let anything past.

When Lirain looked up, Karissa's eyes were already on her. "I can walk," she stated flatly. Lirain didn't argue.

Despite a couple of odd looks from passing Healers, quickly averted at Karissa's monstrous scowl, Lirain and Karissa somehow made it outside. Karissa turned her face up to the pale winter sun and sighed with relief. By the time they reached the remains of the Grove temple, however, she was breathing heavily and her legs threatened to give way under her. She barely noticed the state of her body, however; Veria had beaten them to the temple.

With a glad cry, Karissa buried her face in Veria's soft mane, murmuring mental endearments she was too ashamed to mouth. Veria simply nuzzled her Chosen and cast Lirain, who has taken herself out of the way, a rather pointed look.

Lirain sternly told herself to resist the temptation of trying to reach Treet again. There was no point in squandering any of her carefully amassed energy on what she knew would be a fruitless effort; he was still blocking her out. Instead, she simply lay on her back in the grass, trying as best as she could to enjoy the unbroken peace of the surroundings while still keeping a careful watch on her patient.

After a quarter Candlemark or so of reunion, which Lirain was beginning to think might have been somewhat dragged out, Veria pointedly pushed Karissa into an upright position.

:You aren't that glad to see me, Chosen.:

:Well, I am glad to see you…: Karissa replied sheepishly.

Veria simply snorted. Karissa sighed in what might have been a put upon way if it hadn't been interrupted in the middle by a shudder hard enough to rattle her teeth. Veria's care and concern flooded Karissa and she felt able to feign some semblance of relaxation, leaning back against her Companion again.

"It's alright," Lirain said. She said it in such a way that Karissa almost wanted to believe her. "Why don't we start off easy?" She corrected herself after a raking glance that would have done the Collegium Weaponsmaster proud.

'She can see into my soul,' Karissa thought superstitiously. Exactly what she hated about Healers, that damnable clairvoyance to them.

"Easier, anyway." Lirain continued. "Tell me about being a Herald, about riding circuit. I've never been more than a few candlemarks ride out of Haven."

"I ride the border circuits." Karissa began hesitantly. "Few female Heralds do, authority issues and all, but I've never liked large cities. They give me headaches, make me feel like the world is pressing in on me. Now that I think about it, it may well be part of this supposed Gift of mine. The best times are out in the woods, all alone except for Veria. The peace, quiet, serenity, there's nothing like it. I guess you could say I'm happy with it. Except for the terrors and the nightmares, that is. Treet fixed them for a while. I think it was half by accident, though. Said I woke him up. I'm not surprised, I only wish I could manage to wake myself up. It's funny how close I came to never meeting him. I happened to by riding by a House of Healing and I stopped to check that all was well, as is my duty, and they sent me off on a wild quest. Well, not so wild but quite a quest."

Karissa was surprised at how easy it was to talk to Lirain, at least about commonplace matters. It was what she had always imagined sharing experiences with another Herald would be like. She sighed inwardly. Yet another regret to add to her trove. She had few friends among the Heralds and none so close she missed them when she left.

Karissa rattled on for a while about various things that had happened on her circuits and Lirain listened attentively, nodding occasionally. It was actually quite interesting. Though her parents were Heralds, they preferred to spend their off duty time forgetting about their work, not relating anecdotes. After a while, however, even Karissa seemed to have run out of stories to tell.

"Why don't you tell me about being Chosen?" Lirain suggested. Her few Heraldic patients had shown her that the one sure way to make a Herald more comfortable was to ask them to talk about their Companions. To her surprise, Karissa's face closed up. Obviously, something had happened. Lirain hadn't planned on hearing about the unspecified trauma this soon, but she had started the subject, so she put an attentive look on her face and prepared to brave the storm.

Karissa's gaze seemed to turn inwards. She had relived these and related moments many, many times. "It's sunny. Far too sunny, actually, especially since I'm wearing black. I'm standing on a hill. Facing away from the people, all the people, because there are too many and I fancy their thoughts are pressing on me and I cant bear it. My parents are wealthy enough to afford black mourning dresses for my mother and I, but I'd much rather be wearing pants. I don't want to be here, but I can't think where I want to be either. Then I hear gasps, the mood changes, becomes lighter, which only makes me more angry. Suddenly, I feel something on my shoulder. It must be yet another sympathetic hand. How sick I am of those! I swivel, meaning to say something moody and rude, my parents will take me to task later, but it will be worth it. I turn and see a white horse. I know what she is, she's a Companion. She probably meant to come for her, but she isn't here. The Companion bows her head, as though she can hear me, then shakes it emphatically. Then she speaks to me."

For the briefest instant, even Karissa's closed-in face glows with remembered joy.

":You, Karissa, I Choose you. We are for each other, to stand together for all time.:"

"I felt like I was sinking, drowning in blue, but it felt so wonderful, so right. And I forgot everything, forgot for the first time in days about her." Karissa sighed. "But I didn't forget for long, I couldn't. And so I never risked it again. I'm sure there would have been plenty other Heralds willing to befriend one of their own but I just couldn't do it. After a while they left me alone."

Lirain leant forward and took Karissa's cold hands in her own, reminded poignantly of that first day when she had done the same for Treet. This was the first hurdle; the first gesture of trust. Lirain looked earnestly into Karissa's frightened eyes and aimed for the second hurdle. "Tell me. All of it, from the beginning."

Karissa had relived it countless times in dreams, had told it once to Treet, an abbreviated version, but she had never allowed herself to relive the entire thing, never allowed herself to really grieve, having been thrust into the life of the Collegium so soon. She had honestly thought, along with Veria, that it was gone, that Treet had Healed whatever was wrong with her, but after a brief respite it had only gotten worse, not better. He had broken down the crumbling walls between her and her past but had been unable to fix what he had found, untrained as he was. He had bought her sanity, the completion of her bond with Veria, but nothing more. And now she would have to go back through all of it, the parts she had glossed and skimmed over would be unearthed.

Karissa stared down at her hands, fighting the urge to jerk them back. "They said we were like to be twins, Sari and I. We were born only a year apart and though we had different parents we were both blonde, fair-skinned, blue eyed. Though we looked alike we were really anything but. I was always the hoyden, or so my parents said. I think they were only half teasing. Sari was dainty and elegant and sure to find a husband with ease, though neither of us thought of it much. I don't know how my parents would have found someone willing to marry me. Our parents came to Valdemar together, out of somewhere far away. They never spoke of it much. They became guildsmen of Valdemar and were quite well off by the time I was born. We all lived in the same house because it was so huge. Servants, back yard, the whole deal, and Sari and I were let free in it." That was the easy part, comparatively. The far past. In happier, simpler days.

Lirain frowned, noticing that Karissa was falling into an almost-trance. She shot a sharp glance at Karissa's Companion, who only winked slowly. Lirain shrugged. Anything that would help was welcome.

"I wake up and it's a beautiful summer morning. Warm already, blue skies. The butterflies are out. A perfect day to go outside and play at Heralds, a favorite game of ours. I think Sari might well be Chosen someday, but I don't tell her this. She would look like something out of a tale mounted on a Companion. She hasn't wanted to go outside lately. She's been tired, a nagging cough, a slight fever. My parents and hers are worried. I hear them talking late at night because its been weeks and she hadn't healed. They speak of taking her to the House of Healing, on the Palace grounds. I would like to see the Palace, but only if Sari is well enough to go exploring with me. I run out of my room in my nightshirt, thump down the hallway, run into Sari's room shouting. And she," Karissa swallowed convulsively. "She won't wake. I shake her, tell her she's lazy. She opens her eyes and I see that she's pale and damp with sweat. Her mouth opens and closes as though she wants to speak, but she can't. I scream. Our parents come at a run and I can't move, can't speak. My mother picks up Sari in her arms even though she's nine. I am ten, but my extra year never gave me any sort of advantage. Sari's father grabs her from my mother and starts to run, tells us he's taking her to the Healers. My father grabs him by the shoulder, fingers digging deep and tells him not to be a fool. I've never seen him this afraid, never seen any of them like this. I feel invisible as though a thousand things are happening above my head. My father hitches up the horses and they load Sari into the wagon. I sneak in the back and nobody sees me. Sari lies in the bottom of the wagon and I hold her cold hand. I know that she will be better soon but I am still afraid. We get to the House of Healing and Sari is carried inside. I am forced to drop her hand but I still follow. A Healer takes her away and I want to follow, but another Healer holds me back. She is bird-thin and not expecting me to fight, I guess. I break away and run in the direction the Healers took. I hear my parents' voices and I follow them. The Healer with them looks sorrowful. '…too advanced…can't help…nothing we can do…entered the final stage…a few days if luck is with us.' I don't know what any of this means, but then my parents see me, look over, and their faces are so strange that I know there's something badly wrong. Tears glitter in their eyes and on their faces and I don't know what it means but I know it isn't good. All I see is green, green everywhere. The walls are green, the bedclothes are green, the Healer is clad in green. All that green starts to spin around me and I feel sick. The world tunnels into green and I'm awash in it." Karissa remembered that feeling of disorientation very well indeed; she almost always dreamed of it.

Lirain sensed that there was more of this story to come, though what Karissa had described already was suitably traumatic for a child to witness. There had been something that had swept Haven years back, Lirain had read about it. It started off slowly then abruptly changed into something so serious that nothing short of a Healer burning herself out could even stem the flow.

Karissa took a deep breath, surprised to find that she was shaking all over. Her hands rattled within Lirain's grip and every muscle in her body felt ready to snap with tension. She barely remembered the words she had used to tell the story. In fact, it felt as though she had gone back in time and lived it again.

"I awaken to see everything still covered in that sickly green. Something woken me up. Something inside my mind. I feel like I'm being turned inside out for someone else's inspection. Memories flash through my head as though someone else is directing them. My eyes snap open and I see a green-clad woman sitting beside me, holding my hand. Her eyes are closed and she's concentrating. I gag at the feeling and her eyes snap open, but she doesn't stop. Get out of my head! Get out of my head!" Karissa thrashed in Lirain's grip. Through the passive connection created by their physical contact and Karissa's peculiarly receptive state, Lirain knew that she was feeling everything as Karissa had felt it. An emerging Mindspeaker, her Gift had been shocked into activity and she was sharp edged with it. The Mindhealer's experimental probing had felt to her like she was being torn apart from the inside. Spurred on by panic, Karissa had flung the power she had just become aware of into blocking out everything. The Healer had found herself abruptly flung out of her working, confronted with a hysterical child.

"She looks at me as though I did something wrong and I feel ashamed because I think I hurt her but then I don't care. I don't care! And when she leaves I don't care about that either, because I know from her mind that Sari is gone. I don't believe her. I've been drugged but my head feels clear. I am staggering out the door when my parents and Sari's come in. They are carefully not looking at each other. My father sits down on the side of the bed and tells me that we are going home. He says that he doesn't know how to tell me but that Sari has gone on. He says that that's just what happens and I don't hear anything else. That's just what happens? How can I ever have anyone again, knowing that that will happen, that one day I'll find them gone. Never again! I will never care for anyone again! We go home, but I am numb, unfeeling, almost. I do not cry. Sari's parents pack their things and one morning I awake to find them gone too. My parents look grim, tell me that they felt they had to get away, but I know better. I heard their fights. They said that the gods are unfair, to take their daughter and leave me behind. My parents say nothing. Perhaps they agree. They left because of me. We have a funeral for Sari anyway. My parents make me go, but I sneak away. I pull the scissors from my pocket and slice my long braid off as high up as I can reach. If Sari is nothing now, I will be nothing too. My parents are strange and distant and everyone else I love is gone. I don't care! I don't care! I won't cry because I don't care! I won't care ever again!"

Karissa's eyed were filled with tears. One and then another dropped down her face, giving lie to her defiant proclamation. "Oh gods, oh Sari. I can't let them near me. Neither the Healers nor the Heralds. They'll see inside me, know that I am unworthy, that I lived while she d-died. They will die too, then, and I will be alone."

Lirain made soothing sounds. Gods, what a tangle. It was no wonder that Karissa was twisted up inside. She had lost half of her family in the space of a few days, with no warning whatsoever. Still burning with Karissa's feelings, she wanted to find the Mindhealer who had been so foolish as to twist her up further and strangle the woman. It was a perfectly standard procedure to attempt a sleeping probe, especially after such traumatic circumstances, and Lirain knew it, but in this case it had been utterly wrong.

Lirain forced herself to focus on the problem at hand. Half of her work was done, she knew where the roots of the problem lay. Now she would somehow overcome Karissa's shields and find her way to the deepest layer of Karissa's self. At this point, she would have to go much deeper than she ordinarily did, but she saw no alternative. She would then dull the sharp edges she found within, extricating them from the tangle that was Karissa, leaving her free to function.

Karissa had somewhat recovered by this point. She examined Lirain's face for signs of contempt for her weakness and found none. "I told you everything, then?"

"Yes, I understand now." Lirain replied. "I can help you, but I will have to use my Gift."

Karissa visibly steeled herself, fighting a rush of purely irrational panic. "Yes. Do it." She said, before she had time to think too hard.

"I am very good, really," she said, knowing it to be the truth. "Now, I need you to relax. Just relax, let everything go. Now talk to me. I don't care what you say, just keep talking.

Lirain steadied herself, having accomplished the goal of keeping Karissa occupied with something other than what lay ahead. She probed Karissa's mind gently, heard the rising pitch of Karissa's voice indicate that she had felt the touch. Karissa's shields were as intact as ever, like a brick wall around a garden, so high it seemed to touch the sky. Just as Lirain began to despair, she felt a third presence beside her.

:Hoofless sister, take my hand:

The Mindvoice was so pure that Lirain didn't stop to question. She linked with the presence, knowing it to be Karissa's Companion. The presence showed her without words the one chink in Karissa's armor, one that Treet had created: The Herald-Companion bond. With Veria's help, Lirain saw a small door in the very corner of the wall, exactly Companion sized. The door had no lock, nor did it need one. Veria pulled Lirain through from her position on the other side.

Lirain often used garden metaphors when dealing with the mind, for she had frequently wandered the Palace gardens as a child. This garden was overgrown, filled with nettles and thorns growing across the path. Lirain could have hacked her way through with her power, but the Gods only knew what that might have done to Karissa. Instead, she carefully ducked under, stepped over or brushed aside each of the thorny vines, slowly making her way down the spiraling path towards the center. Each time she touched one of the plants, some small snippet of personality or memory came to her, but she carefully turned her back on them when she could. She knew, from her tenuous tie to her physical body, that Karissa was in fairly bad shape, but she was still talking, so Lirain resolutely ignored her.

When Lirain came to the end of the path, she found a fountain, glowing softly with yellow light. She reached out a careful mental hand to it and it shrunk away. Doggedly, she stretched her hand after it, soothing it with her mind. She finally made contact with it, prepared for the disorientation that shook her to the core as she sank into the inner region of Karissa's mind. This was Karissa, completely naked to Lirain's touch. Lirain perceived only colors, seeing patches of bright angry ones along with the healthy, each extending hair thin tendrils into the others.

Lirain formed her power into a net. She swept it across and along, gathering the red patches up, carefully sieving out the least and littlest but being careful not to touch them. Once she had them all, sharp edged and pulsing within her glowing net of power, she breathed in deeply and took the malignancy within herself. Metaphorical tongue between her teeth, she used her Empathy combined with her Mindhealing Gift to go through each phobic terror and smooth it into a ball with no power to affect what was around it. Without words, she told Karissa that it was safe to love and to be loved, tied it into a loop so that every time she began to feel afraid, she would have that thought as well. Then Lirain began to work on Karissa's fear of Healers, tying in some of herself, memories of Healers as people, as helpers, memories of compassionate moments she had seen. Now that Karissa and she were firmly linked, Lirain retreated out of the wall Karissa had set up. She stood, looking up at the walls Karissa had created, and extended a hand. Her hand seemed woefully inadequate, but she simply stretched it out, waiting, sending feelings of compassion and assurance. Lirain had imagined that it would happen slowly, and at first it did, the small cracks that heralded the explosion. Then the wall was gone as though it had never been. There was a sensation of power like a rubber band flying just past Lirain's ear and the power came to rest in its rightful place with the force of a small explosion, wracking both Lirain and Karissa with pain and throwing Lirain out of Karissa's mind with a jolt that also threw her physical body backwards.

Karissa had been sitting and shaking with fear and nausea, Veria's mental arms tight around her in support. The sensation of Lirain inside her mind was so similar to the feeling she had had on the morning of Sari's death that it took all of her courage not to resist. Suddenly, she felt a subtle sensation of pulling, of beckoning, and something within her snapped. She felt both pain and discovery at once, as though a walled off part of herself was suddenly opened. She suddenly remembered a similar feeling that had disappeared after Sari's death. She was flooded with new feelings and extreme pain, pain so deep within her that she couldn't move or thing. It began to fade slowly and she opened her eyes to see Lirain looking at her with exhaustion and pride. She slowly prodded at the places within her that had always caused her pain and found that they were still raw but slowly Healing.

"Oh Gods…" She swore. She stumbled, retching, into the bushes.

Lirain got up to go to Karissa. 'I'm coming, Treet," she vowed.