“It was an attempted cleansing,” she said finally. Her voice had none of the joy and light that were typical in the manner in which she usually spoke to him. “There is an unwelcome spirit of some sort that has found its way to you.”
Kre nodded, unsure of how to explain fully what had happened with the Ancient priest and the spirit of his son. He was more unsure if he should even try to explain it or if that would only make matters worse. So, he maintained his silence, despite knowing that it was causing a rift between him and one of the few friends he had left. Despite the anguish that such knowledge caused in his heart.
“I can sense that my words have troubled you greatly,” she said again, her voice softer, but still not quite back to normal. Kre remembered now that she could read his emotions like an expert Ranger reading tracks in fresh mud.
However, though she could sense his emotion, she was not able to perfectly discern the reasons why he felt the way he did. Given the situation, Bel could only make an educated guess that Kre’s despair was the result of her informing him that he was partially possessed by an unwelcome spirit. “I am saddened that I am the bearer of bad news regarding your current situation, but I am more so that the news grows worse.
“I cannot cleanse your mind of this creature. I cannot even ascertain what it is or what it desires. It has a strong hold on you, and I fear that trying to excise it will only result in severe injury to you, or worse.”
Kre nodded again. This time the sick-to-his-stomach feeling was the result of her words and not because he felt guilt at hiding something from her. Well, not fully at least. He still felt terrible that he was hold back information that might help her understand the situation better and even possibly help him, but some part of him wanted to keep the spirit of the young man a secret from her, at least for a little longer so that he could better understand the situation himself.
That’s what he told himself at least. How true it was… he couldn’t even tell.
“Though I cannot rid you of this parasite, I have at least subdued it for a while. It is dormant, but I know not for how long. Hopefully long enough for me to think on this more and come up with a way to separate the two of you.”
“Thank you,” Kre said, meaning it. Even though he didn’t want to share the full story with Bel, he did appreciate that the shadow spirit was neither screaming in a blind rage nor rifling through his memories.
He could also sense that their time here in this dream state was nearing an end. “Was that you?” he asked tentatively. “In the fire, I mean.”
Silence again. This time for much longer.
“What you saw,” she began slowly, selecting her words carefully, “were images that your mind created in order to try and make sense of something incredibly overwhelming.