Once again my eyelids fluttered open and I gazed at the bleak stone walls in Lord Darius' study. Squirming in my oak chair, I struggled to get comfortable after four hours of non-stop training.

"Dig deep, child!" he shouted in my face as he gripped the armrests. "You've done it before."

My gods, a drill sergeant would make a better teacher! This man has no patience.

"There aren't any flames," I explained. "In my dream, I go to the hearth, but there's nothing left. Sometimes, there isn't even a fireplace or a house at all."

"What in Hades is your problem today?" he hissed. "I thought you already mastered channeling your magical power."

"I'm trying, but I can't find it!"

"Trying is for the weak-minded," the Shadow Rider scoffed as he backed away and shook his head in frustration. "Either you succeed or you fail. And you're failing."

"I just can't see it," I yelled in frustration. "Can't you help me? We've been at this for hours."

"Again!"

With a groan of frustration, I pictured the same memory I conjured in the stony pit of Castle Halcía. This time, my stomach balled up in knots as soon as I entered my childhood home. Instead of seeing an idyllic family picture, I felt trapped in a gruesome nightmare.

Twin gargoyle pillars stood in the foyer--each tiger with a tethered dragon in one paw and a trapped falcon in the other. A cold draft whistled through the house, followed by an eerie moan. The whole house appeared as though it were covered in a shroud of dark fog.

"This isn't right," I muttered under my breath.

Shivering from the bitter cold, I made my way into the living room. When I turned towards the sofa, where my parents normally enjoyed their books for the afternoon, my hand flew to my mouth to stifle a yelp.

I barely recognized them beneath their favorite fuzzy blanket, which did little to conceal their desiccated skeletons. My parents looked as though they'd made one last desperate attempt to embrace before death. Their skulls rested against the expensive silk pillows with their chins tilted upwards and their mouths twisted in horrific screams. The sound of my mother's death cry echoed in the chamber, numbing my mind.

Stumbling towards the fireplace, I saw only a few dying embers. Almost no heat emanated from the fire, and my teeth began to chatter. A solitary log remained in the wood basket--I couldn't find any kindling, small logs, or even matches to reignite it. Desperate to drive the cold away, I threw the log on top of the embers and used the bellows to help it catch.

No luck.

The large log smothered whatever embers remained until the fire died out. Pitch darkness fell upon the entire room, and I couldn't see a foot in front of me.

A sudden creak echoed in the lounge, and I whipped around towards the source. The door to adjacent hallway had opened, and a raven perched by the open window.

"Time ... to ... die," it croaked as a gale blew through the room.

I jumped away with a gasp, and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. I felt a cold presence like icy fingers trailing upon my skin.

My chest heaved with panic, and I groped for any potential weapon. When my hand found a fire poker, I snatched the iron rod and stood ready to defend myself.

They wouldn't get me without a fight.

"Who's there?" I shouted as I gritted my teeth.

The young Halcían man from my dreams entered the room with a torch, and I exhaled a ragged breath. "Damn it," I growled as I lowered the poker. "You scared me!"

"Don't be afraid," he said in a kind voice as he approached me. A steel stand spontaneously appeared on the wall, and he placed the torch inside it. "I'm here to help."

"I'm the one who's supposed to help you," I muttered as I placed the poker back on the stone hearth. At least I could see again. "You're the lost soul."

"You think that I'm the one who's lost?" he asked, raising his eyebrows as he gestured at the fireplace. "You were trapped in the dark with the dead corpses of your parents."

I sighed. "I'm just not myself today."

"Talk to me," the young man said as he gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze. "It might help you feel better."

Even though I initially resisted him, the young man's tenderness changed my mind. "I keep missing my parents," I admitted. "My mentor is being such a taskmaster. He's never happy."

The Halcían gave me a sad smile. "Sometimes I wish I could reason with Lord Darius. He's relentless and driven by his anger--it fuels his power and drowns out everything else."

"Do you know Lord Darius well?"

He cast his eyes to the ground. "Yes, I'm afraid so."

"How?"

His eyes darted back and forth as though he were debating whether or not to tell the truth.

"Once ... long ago ... before Lord Darius became twisted and evil, we were the same person," he admitted.

"Whoa! How is that even possible?" I stared at him wide-eyed. "What happened?"

"The Gatál King made me split all goodness away from my soul," he replied. "He called the Shadow Rider spirit Lord Darius, a Gatál corruption of my true name, Dahlroth."

"So now you're two people?"

"You can see the healthy part of my soul in your dreams," he said. "What remains of me in your physical world is no more than a shell filled with dark power."

"Isn't there any way to bring you back? To reunite the two halves and return you to your former self?"

"There is no hope for me, naive girl."

"Lord Darius didn't destroy you--he preserved you in time. So, there must be hope."

Dahlroth gazed at me with a tortured expression. "You know nothing of the world, Helena. Deprived of my body, I can simply observe, powerless, as Lord Darius hurts everyone around him."

"He can't be that evil if he helped me."

"Even being with you in your dreams is dangerous." He gave me a pointed look. "You should stop telling him about our encounters."

"Wouldn't he know if his soul is speaking to me?" I asked, breathless.

"We are separate entities now," he replied. "It's not always possible for him to hear me."

"Good gods!"

"I always hear him, though. It's a curse."

His expression seemed so pained as he pursed his lips to hide a grimace. So I reached out and gave his cold hand a gentle squeeze. He gave me a wistful smile and squeezed back.

"What I'd give just to live and breathe again like you can ... even for a single day."

Gazing at my parents' skeletons, my chest felt heavy as though someone had placed an iron weight upon it. I couldn't save them, but I could save this young man from an eternity of pain.

"I'm glad you survived," I said in a firm tone. "You're stronger than him."

The young man squeezed my hand again and gave me a wry chuckle. "I enjoy these brief moments when you can see the real me. Hear me. Touch my hand without Darius' aura of evil. Even if it's only in the dark recesses of your mind. I miss those simple pleasures."

My heart ached for the man. Just when I thought it was about to implode, a thunderous roar came from the fireplace along with a burst of dazzling light. To my shock, it looked like someone had poured liquid fire upon the log as huge flames towered upwards along the chimney.

I gasped in amazement. This time around, I didn't even try to ignite the log--it happened in an instant.

"You are powerful," Dahlroth said, staring wide-eyed into the fire. "More than you know."

"Don't worry," I said, squeezing his hand. "I promise you that before I leave this castle, I will make you whole again."

"Don't be foolish, Helena. Who knows what would happen if you tried to revive me? I do not want you to face danger because of me."

"The Gatál King shouldn't have made you tear your soul apart. It isn't right."

Walking towards the fire, I scooped up all the flames and drank them like a parched woman in the desert. I didn't stop until flames burst forth from my chest. Although I felt no pain, the raw power roared inside me like a raging storm.

"Helena, stop drinking the flames," Dahlroth cried out. "You can't process that much magical force. You'll die!"

"I'll find a way to help you," I said over the rush of the flames. "I won't let you suffer anymore."

Dahlroth rushed over to me and shook me. "Wake up, please. Helena, you must wake! Now!"

I jolted in my seat, wide-eyed.

"Wake up!" Lord Darius roared, shaking me.

"I'm back," I said as I shrugged away from his touch. "Let go of me."

"Finally!" the Shadow Rider growled as he released me from his powerful grip. Clasping his hands behind his back, he began to pace in front of me. "You idiot! You can't absorb that much energy."

First, he said I wasn't trying hard enough. Now it's too much ...

"What in Hades made you react so strongly?" he hissed.

I jutted my chin. "My dreams are mine alone, Lord Darius."

"Is it because of that boy?"

"What boy?"

"That boy you want to save," Lord Darius sneered.

"We can bring him back, you know."

"You're a naive child. Dahlroth would never survive in this cruel world."

"Give him a chance!" I cried. "How could you throw away everything good about yourself?"

"I had no choice. Either Dahlroth could die a moral man, or Lord Darius could take his place and save them both. What would you have done?"

"I wouldn't have kept him locked up and thrown away the key like you did," I said. "But you can atone. You can help me save him."

The Shadow Rider pulled me toward him until his face was inches from mine. "You're coming dangerously close to a stint in the dungeon, dear Helena. If only for your own protection ..."

My heart leaped in my throat, but I couldn't let it go. Not something this important.

"That part of you sought me out for a reason," I said, feeling the fire burning in my chest. "Every time you help me, I see your soul."

"Do not meddle in the affairs of the mind," he replied in an ominous rumble. "You have neither the experience nor the strength to return the soul to the body. Only a great healer can manage."

"Then teach me!"

"Leave Dahlroth alone--that's an order. This is your final warning. Back ... down. You can't make it right. No one can. For all you know, he could have been driven mad by loneliness after all these years in the void."

I narrowed my eyes at the Rider. He isn't evil. If you don't help me, I'll figure it out myself.

"If you refuse to listen, you leave me no choice," he hissed. "Guards!"

My scalp tingled with fear when two Dragonborn three times my size marched into the study. "Yes, my Lord. Your orders?"

"Take her away," the Shadow Rider sneered with a callous wave of his hand, "and don't let her out of the dungeon until tomorrow morning." He paused. "She needs some time to cool down."

I yelped as each guard grabbed one of my arms. Lord Darius whipped his black ceremonial robes behind him. "A night in the dungeon will teach you the consequences of disobeying my direct orders."

"No, please!" I shouted as I fought and kicked to escape.

Lord Darius snapped his fingers, and I froze mid-air. How could the Shadow Rider show me such kindness and compassion one day and such scorn and disdain the next?

"Say one word about this matter to anyone," Lord Darius said, "and I will make you suffer in more ways than your wretched, little mind can fathom."

The Shadow Rider snapped his fingers again, and my knees buckled underneath me as my feet dropped to the ground with a thud.

Casting Lord Darius one last glare, I followed the Dragonborn guards without resistance. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of hurting me.

No, I won't pander to his desires. He wants me to resist--the truth hurts him too much.

___

A/N: Thank you for reading. Aww, poor Helena is struggling to control her power--let's give her a vote of support. If you have any feedback or suggestions, I welcome your thoughts/comments as well.