"I'm not sure what you're talking about." It wouldn't hurt to make sure, just in case he's being tricky. 

His eyes darkened to green and the remaining kindness that was there before flit away. 

"I knew you come here sooner or later, my dreams showed of your coming."

He paused.

"A great evil bound to a mortal."

He scooted closer. 

"The spirits in my dreams have whispered the truth."

"The god is not the great evil, he is the one suppressing it."

Her hands turned cold and a breath stopped short, she gaped, frozen, unable to speak.

Running away and fighting weren't an option. The god-Unnamed was ill. 

A line of pain coursed down her back, the rest dulled compared to it.

He ignored her twitching.

"They gave me a divine mission." His grin was unsettling.

He took the item from his robe out, a weird long pointed object with a bulb at the end of the handle. 

She swallowed. 

"Can you guess what it is?"

He poked her cheek. "Guess."

"A strange knife?"

He shook his head.

"Wrong!" 

A knock on the door. 

"Dark ones silence this woman!" He double tapped her forehead. 

Parcival and Han entered and came over. The priest glared behind them. 

"Feeling any better?"

" ... " Attempting to say no or anything similar resulted in total paralysis. 

Parcival frowned and pat her hand. He went over to the priest, they talked in hushed tones. Parcival shook his head, then looked her way. 

The priest stamped a foot and spoke quickly. Parcival sighed, then nodded. 

He came back. 

"I need to leave for now, I'll come see how you're doing in five days. You need to heal, priests of Olenus can do no harm, so you'll be safe."

He squeezed her hand before abandoning the room.

Han waved as he left. The closed the door. 

Can't blame them am a broken mess. 

The priest picked up a tall bench and placed it next to her, he sat. 

"I was a little cruel with you earlier."

A little? Her eyes narrowed.

His hand slowly reached over with the same two fingers.

She closed her eyes. I can't stand it. 

Tap. 

She blinked all head movement returned. A tightness on the throat increased and then released. 

"There, now to continue without interference. I didn't tell you everything. The evil, it's possible to draw it out. But, it will cause great pain." 

Huh?

"Draw out the god?" She tilted her head up some.

He waved the bulbous object near her face.

"No, the other one."

"There is no other." 

She raised an eyebrow. Insane, he's completely insane. 

"It doesn't matter. With the state you're in the pain will draw it to the surface."

"Stop!"

Ignoring her, he stood then went to a shelf behind them, removed the bulb and in its place attached a long tube to it. 

Not tubes again. 

Her breathing quickened and chest tightened. Get away, got to get away.

The floor was at least a foot down. Tensing each hand, the left one could still make a fist. The right broken. Rolling to the floor would be a risk. 

He took the thin tubing, attaching it to a long tall coil that stood on a stand next to the wall near the foot of the bed, it reached up through the ceiling. A thin chain dangled down.

"Stop!"

He snaked the tubing over her body and stuck it into her neck. The blood filled it and ran down into the tubing.

A scream broke free, her head arched back while clawing the bed with the left hand. 

The priest pushed her back down. 

"Jaekn the mighty dark one, release this poor wretched creature!"

He went back to the coiled tubing and pulled on a thin chain that hung from the ceiling.

A humming, then slurping came from above. The machine pumped up and down, each time it did it sucked out more blood until the coils turned crimson as a thin stream of light from a window slant lit it.

He sat down again, watching her, and occasionally the coils too. 

"Strange. It should have came out by now."

"If I could move, I would kill you." Her voice thin as wet paper.

"You'll apologize later."

Crack. Pop. 

"What in the world was that?" he said. 

"That idiot priest, is my natural healing ability, as I'm Elvin. But as you set nothing my bones are healing as they broke!"

"I ... just wanted to .. free you."

She bit her left hand to avoid screaming as right leg healed, bent. 

"Humm ..."

Won't be long now, the tubing had have pumped out about a pint and a half or so. How to get out of this mess?

Her heart beat quickened and her body vibrated. Her face cooled as did much of the upper body. 

"I've decided. I'll first set your leg and arm then decide what to do," idiot priest said.

"Take the tubing out first." 

"No. It keeps you and the spirit weak. I'll slow it down, it's pumping the blood out too fast."

He went back over to the contraption and tugged the chain slightly. The pumping slowed, was losing about half as much. Great, now a painful, slow death. 

The idiot went over to a desk by the window slit and picked up a small scroll. 

"I need my tools."

He left the room, closing and locking the door. 

Tools? Pointed objects and hatchets came to mind.

The hollow tubing in her neck sent a shock of pain through her. Reaching over with her left hand, she strained to reach it. 

It took a while, but it finally came out. She cupped her good hand over the wound and laid back down, panting. Can't black out.

Full bloods healed far quicker, this wasn't necessarily a blessing depending on the injury. She laid back and waited. 

The blood in the tubing poured out soaking the blanket. What was it a little over sixty, some years ago? 

"Mother you're bleeding!" She clung to her dress.

"No, I won't leave you!" She buried her face blocking out the horrible sounds of weapons clashing and shouts.

Mother pulled her off, placing the wounded arm in front of her. "Look. it's fine, it's healing already. Do as I tell you!" Merryn sniffed. The cut started to disappear.

"I'll be fine, you need to go! Run to Grandfather's house, hurry!"

A human soldier jumped down from an outdoor stairwell and landed in front before she could take even a step. 

Mother appeared behind the man, grabbed the back of his jacket and tossed him several feet away. 

She clapped her hands, sharply. "Go!"

She startled, while running off ahead. Smoke from burning houses stung her nose, and made it hard to see. Several times an Elvin solder fought any human that tried to kill her. 

The grass stained red with blood was slippery. She fell down on it, before finding the walkway again. 

Where am I? "Grandfather!" Don't cry too big to cry. 

She rubbed her stinging eyes with the back of a hand. "Grandfather!"

A figure waved though the smoke.

"Merry! Over here!" 

She ran to him. They left the city and went down to his house hidden inside the hill. Grandma flung open the door.

The door opened, Grandfather? She blinked. No idiot priest. He carried a thin, long wooden plank. Damn, couldn't heal fast enough. 

A weakness started in the left arm and couldn't lift it. The blood still flowed from the wound.

Voices in the hallway and shouting. Footsteps rang on the marble an all too familiar sound. Quickened footsteps always ...

"Out of my way! Do you know who I am?"

Annoying tears blurred her sight. She blinked them away. 

"How dare you intrude on this temple!"

"Temple my asrse, you're all zealots!" said Parcival.

The idiot priest bent over her. 

"You don't mind well, do you?" He pointed to the tubing. 

She ground her teeth.

He closed the door and pushed the desk in front of it, he placed the plain on it.

"Master said to fix you and that you didn't have a second spirit in you." His expression was like that of eating rotten meat. 

He picked up the tubing and dropped it over the bed's end.

Fists pounded on the door. 

"Merryn!"

"Par-" the priest covered her mouth with his rough hands.

She tried to pull it off with her left, but he just pressed down harder. This wasn't right a mere human shouldn't be stronger, had to be the injuries? 

The pounding changed to a slamming that shook it. 

"Master also said ... he is coming for you."

She bit on the edge of his hand. 

"Ouch!"

He took her badly healed broken arm in both hands, yanking and pushing on it simultaneously. 

She sucked in several deep breaths, eyes watering. 

The slamming of the door stopped and the clang of metal started.

"I come back to help you and you bite me!" He shook his head. 

He pulled the blanket off of the broken leg. 

"First to fix you up a bit as it's unsightly."

Going back to the table, he picked up the plank and slid it under the broken leg. His moments blurred, his hands were palms down as he hit down hard while yanking on the broken part.

His hands glowed as he made the bones aline. She stared at the ceiling, as it spun around unable to speak or move.

Crak. Her back straightened and the pinching pain left. 

Skittt. Thump.

A sword burst through the door. 

"Merryn!"

He tried to hold her down. Fist connected with jaw, he stumbled back a few steps, with eyebrows raised.

She cracked her knuckles. 

"That was a mistake. All. Of. It."

The neck wound still wasn't closed yet. No time to worry about it. 

Sliding off the bed she stepped over, wobbling some avoiding the pool of blood. 

Nothing wanted to move, her head hung to the side. Get it. Together. 

He backed away. Grinning. 

She paused.

"Good." he said.

"Good? Good?" She hobbled over making the stiff legs move.

"Master need to know. He need to know if it really was you." 

He bent down while keeping eye contact and dipped his fingers in the blood. Scooting over he drew a fast, simple rune then stood on it. 

His body and clothing fell off like ashes. Underneath a different, lighter one showed through. Bright green eyes that contrasted his scorching red hair and pale skin. A hawk like nose made way to a strong jawline. 

"Jason."

"You do remember me. Maxwell is coming, there's no point running away. Tell your guard dogs to back off. Although, I'm sure Master would enjoy making them howl." 

A step forward. Then another. The pain lessened on her neck, the limbs still pained from movement and were wooden.

Crashing and hacking at the door. It splintered down the middle, two hands pulled on the wood, it groaned collapsing off its pegs to the floor. 

She didn't flinch or look to see. Probably Parcival. All that mattered was getting to Jason. Have enough energy left to bash his head into the wall. With all his tricks he can't go through the walls. 

His face twitched as she half stepped, half hobbled over. 

A foot away, he backed into a corner. 

"Didn't think this through did you human?" She hissed at him. 

"How? Why? The poison killed you, so how?" The rune smeared under her feet. 

"Poison is difficult to cure, injuries however ..." 

Jason looked over at the doorway. "You can't let her do this, don't you have a code?" 

"I'm sorry what was that?" Parcival said. 

Another step. She grabbed his head and bounced it on the wall. He slid down holding it in his hands. She ground her teeth again. Stiffly she knelled down and waited. He looked up. 

"Next time the treaty won't save you."

Next time. I need rest. 

She made it to the doorway and leaned against it. "Forget this town, let's take the mountain path." 

Parcival picked her up. 

"Thank you."

"We're friends, right?"

She smiled.