tushanshu_logs | Blinded by Faith

Entry tags:

Blinded by Faith

Characters: Valdis, Kratos and, later, Raine and others
Date: May 14th, 2017 (2018 in game)
Location: The Ritual Chamber beneath the Palace Gardens
Situation: Valdis, searching for answers regarding Malicant, has decided to meditate where he once had his followers sacrifice countless kedan and pour their blood into Tu Vishan.
Warnings/Rating: Pain, Possession, Blood and Violence

Recent events hadd left Valdis feeling ill. The accusations leveled at her over the network, her 'fight' with Pepper. Her attempts to distance herself from people she cared about to protect them from potential scrutiny. Perhaps she was overreacting, but she needed to do something. That something came to mind when she was cleaning out one of the drawers in her office and she found the keys to the sealed palace underground. She had once planned to revisit the place where Malicant had solidified his power. She needed answers that no one, not even the cultists, could give her.

The last time she had been in the ritual chamber, Dante had to threaten to shoot her to get her to leave and she doubted the lingering death had faded so much that she could handle it alone. So she messaged the one person whom she felt wouldn't ask too many questions and still agree to help. Now she waited underneath the tree, having left Revelations at her home because she felt the blade may interfere with her ability to merge with the darkness. The night was just beginning, hopefully he would actually show up, Valdis didn't relish doing this alone.

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It wasn't much of a message, and Valdis wasn't someone from whom Kratos expected correspondence. Nevertheless, the fact she'd sent it implied something urgent; and he knew the spot.

As soon as he received the message and was in a position to do so, Kratos lightstepped into the garden, away from anyone else's eyes. He chose to walk the rest of the short distance without wings in view, his hand on Flamberge's hilt and senses alert.

"What's the trouble?" he asked when he came near enough and was sure that only Valdis's mana-signature was present.

Valdis sensed him coming long before he actually appeared, but that didn't make it any less disconcerting to see him appear when he still felt so faint. He seemed a bit more tense than was strictly necessary, but she supposed she hadn't given him much to go on.

"No trouble."

Yet.

"I just need your help."

And hopefully he would be willing to give it.

"There used to be a Palace here, these," She held up the keys, "will get us in to what is left of it."

'No trouble' and 'I need your help', given what had happened the last time they met, seemed contradictory.

"That doesn't explain what you need my help with," he noted, meeting her under the tree. The shadows of it weren't a deterrent to his gaze as he examined her. His head tipped. "You're not wearing your sword."

He would have thought, after losing it, that she would take her sword everywhere; and even if not, from the stories he's heard about the palace and the dungeons under it, being armed would seem prudent. Yet she wasn't. Curious.

"I suppose it doesn't," she conceded, "Essentially, I need some backup. Last time I was in the lowest levels it wasn't exactly pleasant." Though she really wasn't concerned about losing herself this time, "There's nothing down there but lingering death and ritual magicks, so if something goes wrong, I don't want to be armed."

Because it would be easier for him to stop her if she didn't have a holy weapon at her disposal. Not that she thought it would be necessary, just as an extra precaution.

"I see." 'Unpleasant' could describe a lot of things, but nothing that Kratos was concerned about being overmatched by. He was more interested in the implication that he'd have to fight her.

"Do you expect me to have to fight you?" he asked, just to be certain, and watching her face unblinkingly. She did have that odd duality of light and darkness about her ... demonic and angelic never really meant good things, in one place. Hm.

"I don't expect to be attacking you, no," Valdis replied, tipping her head and eyeing him with scrutiny. "I just don't relish dying on my own blade again. The last time something went wrong and I tried to stop myself, that nearly happened."

Would have, if not for Bakura.

"And I do not anticipate being a danger to you."

If only because he was probably just as skilled with his own sword as she was hers.

It wasn't a very good explanation, but the questions it raised didn't get in the way of the answers it gave. After a moment Kratos nodded.

"Very well. Lead the way."

She was right; he didn't expect her to be much of a danger to him either. But it sounded like there were other dangers down there, if not physical ones. He wasn't quite as good at those.

Good enough, though. He waited for her direction.

Valdis swept past him, weaving through the garden until she reached a wall, one of the few remains of the palace. She took the key she had shown Kratos and stuck it into lock, opening the door with little difficulty despite the rusted hinges, which groaned and squeaked as the door opened inward. She led him down the dark stairs, moving mostly by instinct. She hadn't been down here since Malicant had first abandoned the place, but the sense of death was still strong enough to follow.

The place was just as grisly the second time as the first. The ritual chamber hadn't been cleansed, though that was likely impossible. There had been too much death. The bloodstains on the ground, the grooves that led to the central hole in the shell. The runes carved in circles around it. It felt evil here, even after all this time, it felt like suffering, fear and death. Instead of being intoxicating, like it once had, it just made her feel ill. Without a word, Valdis walked over to the central circle, nearest the breach in Tu Vishan's shell.

Kratos followed apace, stoic and wary, but keeping an eye on surroundings rather than on Valdis. He didn't know where this was a place other people should know about.

But when they reached the door, he could smell the lingering stench even from up here; and his attention snapped forward, on what might be down below. Sense of smell was scaled down, eyesight sharpened for the darkness.

It was a kind of darkness he didn't usually experience. The kind where things festered, just as truly as others boiled under the harsh glare of light. Neither was inherently good; but at least the mana of light was more familiar to him than darkness. There wasn't much of it, the deeper they went; like the darkness was scouring him to the most basic parts of him.

It felt like Niflheim.

He did not want imagine being in Niflheim.

Finding the chamber at the end was not a comfort, and by the time they reach it, Kratos is about as taut as a coiled spring. Not panicked, not hesitant; but tense, and aware of the atmosphere. He followed wordlessly after Valdis with his hand on Flamberge's hilt, expanding his senses -- all of them, as much as he could bear -- to ensure they were there alone.

For now.

Kratos was tense, she could feel that as clearly as if it were her own tension. But it wasn't, Valdis felt relatively calm, though she had been mentally prepared for this, unlike him.

"There's no one here," she told him, "Only the dead."

She lowered herself to the ground, crossing her legs and resting her hands, palms up, on her knees. Then she closed her eyes, slowed her breathing and tried to sink into the energy of the place. The death. The darkness. The silence. There was nothing here. She took a breath, held it and then slowly released it, relaxing, trying to reach further into herself and her surroundings.

"The dead are danger enough," Kratos answered grimly, keeping his hand on his sword. He paced around the circle in which Valdis seated herself, checking the ground and the surrounds to his satisfaction before standing behind her. Not too close -- but close enough that he could defend her, even from threads in front of her.

Or have the advantage, in the event that she turned out to be wrong -- that he would have to fight her.

The space between his shoulder-blades itched, his wings wishing to be pulled. He tamped down on the urge to fight darkness with light. For the moment, remaining innocuous was best.

Valdis sank into the darkness, there truly was nothing here. She felt the lingering agony of those sacrificed, the remaining fear, things that would never fade. Then there was something. A condensation of fear and pain, someone, or something. Valdis tensed as it reached back toward her and began to withdraw from it. But if it held answers...she paused in her retreat and let it approach. Curiosity trickled from the dark shadow.

Who are you? She asked.

The city, tell me about the city.

That wasn't what she was looking for, Valdis jerked her mind backward, but the other being was faster. Pain exploded in her head, like the creature sought to tear the information from her mind. She didn't know if she was screaming but the pain cut into her like claws.

The city.

Valdis pushed back against the pain, refusing to answer as it began to force itself into her memories of Keeliai. The Void responded but couldn't stop the other creature from ripping through the memories it had already accessed. When it was done there, it tried to move deeper.

***

Her body was shaking, but she managed to not make a sound, though blood began to leak from her closed eyes, streaming down her cheeks. Her hands had balled into fists, her nails cutting into her palms. And if Kratos was paying attention, he would notice a shift in her mana, from two...to three.

Kratos kept his awareness outstretched, as much on their surrounds as on Valdis, From behind, he couldn't see the blood on her cheeks; but he caught the quiver in her, first a fine tremble and then something stronger.

And there was something --

It felt a bit like the mana-shift after a crystal had been introduced to someone, but explicitly of darkness, and a darkness unlike the one already present. That darkness was the darkness of a demon; they were potentially cruel, and very definitely violent, but for the most part acting as to their natures.

This was different. It felt more akin to their surroundings, like Niflheim, a kind of lurking danger seeking to strip everything bare.

"Valdis?" His voice was low, but sharp, seeing if she was capable of responding.

Valdis tried to tear herself away from the creature digging into her. The Void shrieked with rage, fangs bared as it snapped at the unseen being.

TELL ME.

The pain intensified, like the creature was now trying to cause more pain than actually getting information. But it still ripped through memories, slashing at the seven headed serpent as it did so. A fierce howl filled her ears and a flash of white as Hila passed her consciousness, adding her own defense against the intruder. But the intruder was still gaining ground, slowly, so slowly.

***

Valdis coughed, blood now dripping from her nose even as it continued to stream down her cheeks. She couldn't hear Kratos.

***

Suddenly, the Void retreated, knocking Hila aside as it did so, lunging in a new direction.

***

And then her heart stopped.

No, that was not usual; and no response, to boot. Kratos took a step closer, and abruptly he realised that the blood he smelled was not simply the dried residue of thousands of victims, but fresh --

Her mana flickered, like a star being cut off, or suspended; still a presence there, mostly dark, and twisted like it was still caught by something connected; but still. Gone.

Kratos stood over her and light flared in a circle around them, instantaneous, pushing back the darkness like it was a physical thing. Motes sprang up from the layered patterns on the floor, light suffused with healing inside the circle. It took the space of two heartbeats; this was healing combined with light combined with Guardian. It didn't need preparation, with him.

Guardian Field.

He did not release his grip on his sword.

Death, far more sudden that usual, reversed almost as suddenly. As her heart began to beat again, Valdis gasped, her lungs filling with air. The other presence hadn't vanished, yet the pain had stopped and the Void slunk away, almost as if it were wounded, hissing as it went. But the onslaught had stopped. Her cheeks were wet, and without opening her eyes she lifted a hand to bush away the tears, or at least, what she had thought were tears.

The scent of fresh blood filled her senses and she choked on her next breath. But her taut muscles relaxed, the nightmare seemingly over. Now she would just have to figure out if she could leave under her own power. At first she couldn't form any words, just taking the time to breath.

"What did you do?"

Because he had to have done something, she didn't think that creature was ever letting go.

Edited 2017-05-11 23:10 (UTC)

There. Her mana was back, as it should be. No arte existed that could bring back the dead -- but her mana hadn't been completely gone, either. Perhaps it had been enough, combined with abilities of her own.

Kratos stayed where he was, stationed over her and on guard, examining her with his mana sense more than his eyes. Stable, and her inherent darkness seemed to have left room for the light. But that other darkness was still there too.

"Guardian Field. It's a protective barrier combined with light mana and a healing arte," he answered. "Do you need more healing?"

Well, he was stoic as ever, but she supposed that came with his age. Someone that old, combined with his ability to essentially shut off his emotions, had to have seen more than most her age.

"Guardian Field," She repeated slowly, opening her eyes as she spoke, "That's not like Raine's magic."

It had felt different, almost like it had been chasing away the pain instead of numbing it.

"I'm fine."

Though she wasn't actually certain of that. Her vision was a bit fuzzy, but she thought she might be able to stand. The death wasn't violent enough to have required as much energy as some in order to heal. She took a breath and slowly uncrossed her legs, placing her hands on the ground for leverage as she sought the strength to stand. The movement sent sharp, but brief pain racing through her head and her vision went black for a moment before clearing. The reaction was enough for her to sit back down, it was better to not overdo it.

"I just need a few minutes."

"Raine doesn't know this arte." Raine's method of using light mana had always been the sort to take a bull by its horns, and make it work; a cutting edge of illumination. That wasn't in Guardian's nature, which was shaped differently to Raine's Force Field, even though the results were the same.

It was obvious Valdis wasn't getting up in the next minute or so. Kratos judged their surroundings safe enough to kneel by her even with his hand still on his sword. He put his other hand on the back of her neck, wordlessly casting First Aid to heal her a little more.

This one had no light mana in it, but illuminated their immediate area with the soft green glow of elementalless arte. "Don't push it."

A healing arte that Raine didn't know, that seemed strange to think about, Valdis had always believed Raine to be unmatched when it came to healing magic. She took another breath, stiffening slightly when he knelt next to her and put his hand on her neck. The soft glow was soothing, though Valdis didn't think it would do much.

"Thank you," she replied, "But unless you have a spell to restore energy, I won't be walking out of here anytime soon."

That was hard to admit, but she was tired, fighting with that unknown creature had been exhausting on its own, but the reset the Void had initiated to stop it had been just as draining. If it had been one or the other, perhaps the recovery would be faster.

"Unfortunately, no. That is something for which we'll need Raine." Kratos had never quite mastered the ability to encourage someone else's mana levels upward, though Martel had tried to teach him. He'd just never been able to order someone else's mana around like that.

But, in this case, it wasn't that much of an issue. "If there's nothing else here you need to see or do," said Kratos, "I'll carry you to the Healer's Guild."

He wanted Raine to get a feel for Valdis's mana, too. He could be imagining it, in this oppressive place. He didn't think so -- but he could be.

Great. The last thing Valdis wanted to do was explain what she had done, and what had happened, to Raine. She was definitely in for a lecture. The prospect of being carried to the Healers Guild was highly embarrassing to think about and she was covered in blood. They would be a sight walking down the street, but she didn't really have a choice and she really didn't want to stay here longer than needed.

"I don't want to stay here," she replied quietly, "It might come back and I don't think my defenses are up for another attack like that."

The Void was oddly distant and she could barely feel Hila.

"You might have to take the long way, I don't want people seeing me like this."

Pride was talking, but she couldn't really help that.

... Hm. She was probably right; people seeing the police chief in this state was not a good look, and would only make the situation more complicated. Though perhaps not worse.

"It may make you a more sympathetic figure," he pointed out, but it wasn't a serious suggestion. Most people on the network post he had seen had risen up in support as it was; adding to the unmitigated gossip would only spiral out of control. "But I don't believe we'll need to put on a public display."

Particularly as she seemed to be suggesting a danger, should they take too long remaining. Kratos bent to pick her up in a bridal carry, gentle for all the effortlessness in the motion. "You may want to close your eyes. I can transport us instantaneously, but it can be blinding."

Valdis frowned at him, "I don't need sympathetic, if word got back to cultists about this, they might do something stupid."

Like think she was weak and she definitely couldn't have that, but Kratos was already lifting her from the ground and she couldn't help but remember when Dante had done the same, though she had been furious with him, another life it seemed. She still missed him...

"Instantaneously?" She put one arm over his shoulders, helping to support herself, though it didn't really seem like her needed her help. Instant didn't sound fun, but she took a breath and closed her eyes.

He was developing a habit of bearing injured persons to the Healer's Guild, it seemed. His wings spilled from his back, tendrils of light which patterned shadows on the floor and illuminated just a little more than he really wanted to see.

It was so dark here that light was like a beacon, and no trouble at all to reach for; and it was obvious when they'd left, one heartbeat standing in that oppressive darkness and the next, in the Healer's Guild and the courtyard which was fast becoming his destination spot.

"Alright." Kratos started moving toward the door hardly before he let his wings fade. He'd taken pains not to show them to Sherlock, and then shown them to Devin outright; it seemed foolish to be concerned, now.

Raine had more lately become accustomed to feeling that sort of mana, the light and the gathering and the suddenness of it. Her work wasn't time-sensitive and if an angel was arriving so quickly, then likely something was wrong; Raine set down her pen and took up her staff, and headed for the courtyard she knew well.

Kratos, it seemed, had already started moving, for she ran into him before she reached the courtyard in question. He carried-- Valdis?

Something must have gone wrong indeed. "What happened?" she asked, already moving to direct them somewhere Kratos could put Valdis down.

Valdis opened her eyes just in time to see the wings made of light vanish into nothingness. She flinched, an involuntary response to legends of angels, but the angels in her world lacked wings. Kratos' pace was brisk, so she wasn't sure how long she was trying to process the information before she heard footsteps headed toward them. She turned her head at the sound of Raine's voice, smiling sheepishly. She must be a sight, with blood streaks from her eyes and nose, it might have been funny considering how many times similar things had happened, except the situation did not warrant amusement.

"I went back into the Ritual Chamber," she replied, looking at the ground, "Something was down there Raine, it tired to take over, but the Void forced a reset..."

A flinch was better than a recoil, or an attempt to be put down. Kratos would take it. He nodded at Raine, obeying her direction.

So there had been something down there. "She was shaking," he explained, "and bleeding from her eyes and nose. Her mana changed shape, and then suspended for a moment. I believe I've healed any injuries, but her mana still seems off, to me. Do you feel it?"

The difference had felt stronger in the chamber.

Raine would be more concerned for anyone who wasn't Valdis; fresh blood meant injuries. Valdis, however, was healed. ...And yet not strong enough to walk on her own.

Her expression grew more troubled as she drew Kratos and Valdis into a solitary room and directed Kratos to set Valdis down on the bed. "By that you mean the Void killed you?" she inquired, with the blank sort of professionalism about Valdis's potential death that came from having been exposed to Valdis's nature more than a few times. "What sort of thing, and how did it try to take over?"

At Kratos's prompting Raine tilted her head and half-closed her eyes, considering Valdis with senses that weren't sight, carefully shaping her own mana. "Inspect magic. ...hm."

That wasn't a good feeling; as far as mana went, Raine had only experienced similar in places both dark and full of hate. When she broke off her expression was tighter around the eyes, and her mouth drew down a little. Concerned.

"Yes," Valdis replied as Kratos put her down. She was strong enough to sit up on her own, she might even be able to stand, but not worth trying now. "It tried to fight off the intruder, but it wasn't strong enough." Which was deeply troubling. "My ka went at it too, but she couldn't hold it back either...It wanted to know what has been going on in Keeliai for the last few years, it...has been trapped? I didn't want to tell it anything, so it decided to tear the information from my memories. If the Void hadn't stopped my heart, it might have done more than that."

Valdis watched Raine closely as she used her spell, not entirely heartened by the look on the woman's face.

"What?"

Kratos set Valdis down gently and then stepped back, crossing his arms and frowning. So the suspension of her mana had been a death, of a kind -- though a process Raine was familiar with, it seemed. That was unnerving.

Ka wasn't something Kratos immediately recognised either, though it sounded like a word he knew from the Triet area in days long past. Either way, it sounded like Valdis wasn't alone in her soul at the best of times, let alone now.

"If the intruder is gone, it's left something behind," he said grimly. "Your mana is usually light and darkness combined -- I'm guessing this Void is the darkness?" He glanced toward Raine for confirmation, more than Valdis, seeing as Raine was more familiar with mana. "It feels demonic, but honestly so. This -- other presence -- seems more like a blight, or a sickness."

Either it had poisoned Valdis in some fashion, or hadn't actually left. Either option was not a good one. Valdis was weakened, but didn't seem ill; but that didn't mean much. Mana corruption wasn't instantaneous.

Kratos wasn't wrong. Raine nodded to him, agreeing. "Something like that, yes. The Void is -- a complicated interference. I've dealt with it before." Kratos would intuit for himself, more than likely, that it didn't like light; or, if the situation arose, she would inform him, but it was something Valdis had brought to her initially in confidence. "I'm put a little in mind of the Devil's Arms, in point of fact--" Kratos was from a different time, naturally, but perhaps he knew something of them in his age. "Do you know anything of them, or of Abyssion?"

That was getting a little aside from herself, but it might be a useful point of comparison. Raine looked back to Valdis, clearly troubled now. "That's... a strong intruder, to be able to fight both such things. Do you know what it got, or what else it might have wanted? And... hm. It's possible I may be able to purify what remains with Resurrection, but as I believe I've mentioned, that arte has the potential to behave idiosyncratically across world boundaries."

"A blight?" That definitely did not sound like something she wanted, but at least it was a minor thing compared to what could have happened. She didn't understand the exchange between Raine and Kratos, but that didn't sound encouraging either, nor did the admission that whatever it was had been powerful. She had never been so grateful for the Void, and she didn't think that was a good thing.

"I don't particularly want another passenger hanging around," she commented, "One is enough."

But the entity had been strong. If it left something behind, would that fragment hold on just as tightly? But not trying to expel it could be just as dangerous. She didn't need another dark creature festering inside of her essence.

"We can at least try."

"Abyssion?" Kratos tipped his head, his frown deepening. "No, I've heard of no such person. The Devil's Arms and Nebilim, however, yes -- he was a legend from some centuries before my time. I know he was real, because the demons in Nilfheim spoke of him."

What they said had made Kratos glad Nebilim had been killed long before he was ever born, and hope that Nebilim never managed to return. ... He was about to find out Lloyd had fought him, wasn't he? His son seemed incapable of not prodding all the darkest nooks and crannies of Aselia.

"If this feels like the Devil's Arms, then we should try to purge it in any way possible," said Kratos grimly. If even half the stories he'd heard were true, having something like that linger was not a good thing. "What do you need me to do?"

Raine knew better than he did how Resurrection worked, here; he could hold Valdis down or left Raine some of his strength, whichever was the most useful.

"Ah," Raine said, to Kratos's frown. "Yes. Abyssion was a wandering swordsman we met in Flanoir, who carried a sword named Nebilim." Kratos should be able to follow what had happened there. "Later we were required to fight him."

She didn't carry Heart of Chaos. It was an unsettling weapon, and despite its strength she wanted no part of it.

"I'd like you to hold Valdis, if she doesn't object." This with a glance between the two of them. "If it's a malevolent entity lingering, it may try to fight anything I can do. Valdis, if you're certain you want me to try, let me know immediately if something begins to hurt." Resurrection shouldn't hurt. If it did, something was wrong. Perhaps the entity; perhaps an adverse interaction with the Void. She couldn't know for sure.

"Other than that, this should be simple." Raine's mouth twisted wryly. When was anything with either of these people ever simple?

Again, Valdis had no idea what they were talking about, but Nebilim sounded familiar. Though most likely for a different reason than what they were referencing.

"If we don't try and something happens," Valdis reasoned, "Then we are complicit."

Though she didn't appreciate the idea of being restrained, if something did go wrong, she didn't want to risk injuring the Healer.

"And I don't object..."

But she highly doubted this would be as simple as it sounded, nothing ever was.

"Very well. Lean against me." Kratos put a hand on Valdis's shoulder to help her upright, and then sat behind her, so she could rest against his chest. From there, an arm around her shoulders and one around her waist, pinning her arms, would keep her effectively down.

The embrace was firm, but gentle; not quite keeping her uncomfortable pinned, unless it proved necessary.

"Then we'll try." Raine waited for Kratos to move, watching both of them, and after they were settled drew from one deep pocket the unicorn's horn, still faintly iridescent even now. "Try to relax."

She knew what Valdis should feel like, without that strange hint of a passenger. Perhaps focusing there, as well, would help. Raine drew breath and began to cast, careful and precise, lining up her mana in the pattern she knew so well from Boltzman's book. "Resurrection," she said finally, firm and intent, and prismed light like wings fell over Valdis.

Valdis took a breath, trying very hard to not turn around and push Kratos away, it was easier thought about than done and relaxing was even more difficult. The hold was snug, but not restrictive, though that didn't help any as her instincts were telling her to fight. But she didn't, she simply closed her eyes and breathed.

The moment she heard Raine speak the word, pain exploded in her skull as whatever had lingered, fought to stay where it was. If she could hold on long enough, perhaps the intruder would let go and Raine's magic would finish it. Valdis held her breath, not realizing that her eyes had begun to bleed again or that every muscle had stiffened. If she didn't focus on the pain, then perhaps it would go away.

This time, Kratos paid more attention to Valdis's face, for all that he was behind her again; he was closer this time. She didn't struggle, but it was clear when she tensed, clear when she trembled for the pain she wasn't setting loose.

This time, Kratos didn't hesitate by asking if she could hear him.

"Maintain Resurrection," Kratos commanded Raine as light flared in a circle around the bed, motes drifting up; Guardian Field activated. It had helped last time. Perhaps, in combination with Resurrection, it would do something more than it had before.

Somehow, the impulse to listen to Kratos in battle had lingered; the commanding tone was long familiar. Normally Resurrection was something cast and released, not a maintained shape-- but Raine reached out automatically, trying to refresh the arte over Valdis. "What are you doing?"

Valdis was bleeding. She hadn't said anything of pain, but perhaps she meant not to, no matter what-- Raine couldn't tell. "That's all I can manage without starting over," she said at length, mana starting to ebb.

The creature, whatever it was, dug in, tearing at her mind almost as fiercely as before, trying to merge itself beyond removal. The low hissing of the Void came to the surface, but the serpent didn't appear, probably still too weakened from the first attack. Even still, Valdis was greatly aware of what the Void might do if this went on any longer.

"Stop."

She meant to say it quietly, evenly, but it came out as a high pitched shriek.

It was that split second of choice -- to continue, or not -- which was eminently familiar. A little push might destroy the entity, despite the current pain. A little push might be too much for Valdis.

He nodded assent at Raine and let Guardian Field fade away, replacing illuminating healing light with the softer, less cutting green of First Aid.

"Did it make a difference?" he asked Raine.

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Blinded by Faith

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