“First option is to keep her hopped up on drugs,” Mildred said.
“That’ll mean carrying her with us,” Ryan said. “We stay on the boat, that won’t be much of a problem. Just one less blaster, which she almost is now. But once we leave, carrying her would be hard on the rest of us.” And the truth also was that he couldn’t tolerate the idea of Krysty mind numbed and not capable of taking care of herself. The beautiful redhead was independent and proud, qualities that had drawn him to her.
“We could,” Mildred suggested, “leave her somewhere. With one of us.”
Ryan shook his head. “We’re in hostile territory, and splitting us up isn’t something I’m going to do.”
“Might not have a choice,” Mildred pointed out.
“Make that choice when it’s time,” Ryan said. “Not before.”
She nodded, accepting his decision. “Just playing devil’s advocate, Ryan. You leave her behind unless there’s just cause, you’ll be leaving me behind, as well. We’ve been through too much to consider giving up now.”
“What else?” Ryan asked.
“Hypnosis is a possibility I would be willing to consider,” Doc said.
“What are you planning on doing with hypnosis?” Ryan asked.
“Perhaps I could help Krysty build a wall against the old crone’s personality,” Doc said. “By whatever means she employed to connive her way into Krysty’s mind, she is only there because Krysty has not found a way to get rid of her.”
“Why not just hypnotize the woman?” Ryan asked. “Have her chill herself inside Krysty’s head and leave Krysty alone?”
“Treating her like a multiple personality sounds like an answer,” Mildred said. “But there’s some problems with that.”
“Exactly,” Doc said. “At the moment, Krysty is the dominant personality of the two. We might upset that delicate balance by calling for the harridan that is possessing her. Once we get her to the forefront, she might not be so easily returned.”
“What Doc wants to work on is breaking the communication between Krysty and the old woman,” Mildred said. “Maybe if Krysty had more time and was in a quiet place, she’d be able to do it on her own.”
“That’s not going to happen now,” Ryan said.
“No,” Doc agreed, “it is not.”
“There is one other option,” Mildred said.
Ryan looked at her.
“We could perform an exorcism,” she went on.
“Madam,” Doc said, lifting his eyebrows in consternation, “I cannot believe you would suggest such a thing. How can you even entertain the notion of ghosts and call yourself a person of science?”
“Everybody believes in ghosts,” Mildred said. “Or at least they admit to the possibility.”
“I would in nowise agree to that blanket statement,” Doc objected.
“No? But I’ll bet you bought into every ghost story old Shakespeare ever wrote.”
“I beg your pardon. The bard included ghosts only as dramatic license, a plot device that kept a good story rolling along at a nice clip.”
“I’m not talking about ghosts,” Mildred went on. “I’m talking about belief systems. Maybe that old woman only has a toehold in Krysty’s psyche because of her gifts and her belief in things supernatural. You ever talked to her about ghosts, Ryan?”
Ryan couldn’t remember and said so. There were more important things they had to talk about every day than some threat that existed only in folklore.
“Maybe if we had an exorcism and Krysty believed hard enough, it would be able to help her build that wall against that old woman like Doc was talking about,” Mildred said. “We give her a crutch to believe in, maybe her own belief systems will kick in and deny the woman’s existence.”
“Denying a problem’s worse than facing it head-on,” Ryan said.
“We’re just trying to buy some time,” Mildred explained. “Your call.”
Grudgingly Ryan gave his acceptance. “When?”
“After nightfall,” Mildred said. “By then maybe we’ll be at this trader Annie’s place and off the river for the night.”
Ryan nodded.
“And pray tell, dear lady,” Doc said, “how many exorcisms have you hosted?”
“This’ll be my first,” Mildred admitted.
“Fireblast!” Ryan snarled. “This isn’t the time to be figuring out if mebbe you can and mebbe you can’t.”