Only moments after I'd cast the fire spell, my body began to shudder and shake uncontrollably. It felt as though a fifty-pound iron weight was crushing my chest. The pressure continued to build until I could hardly breathe. I could only draw painful, tremulous gasps of air. 

"Helena, what's wrong?" Lord Darius asked as he gave me a gentle shake. He tightened his grip around me when my knees buckled under the growing weight. "Helena!"

I couldn't respond.

Lord Darius supported me as I stumbled towards the nearest wall and sank to the floor. Kneeling beside me, the Shadow Rider felt my forehead, which burned like a roaring fire. 

"Water," I croaked. "I need water. It's so heavy."

"Helena, listen to me!" Lord Darius patted my cheeks in a vain attempt to draw my attention. My vision blurred, and his words evaporated like the mists upon the moors. "Did your mother ..."

Focus, Helena. I shook my head, but my vision started to go black. What is he saying?

The Shadow Rider gave my shoulders a gentle shake. "Did Aurora give you anything?" he roared as he tapped my cheeks. 

Of course, my mother's medallion! That was what was pressing upon my chest, and it grew heavier by the second. When I tried to rip the chain from my neck, it wouldn't break.

"Helena, answer me!" he shouted. Not in anger, but in concern. 

With a gasp of pain, I drew another breath. "Magic ... medallion."

"Show me," he ordered as he supported my back with his arm.

Using all my strength, I lifted the impossibly heavy jewel from beneath my bodice and gripped it in my trembling hands. The Shadow Rider recoiled when I extended the invisible talisman towards him. 

"No," he breathed. "How did you find it?"

"Can you see it?"

"Yes, I'm one of the few who can," he said, his voice laced with confusion. "Not even a Gatál or Dragonborn warrior should have the strength to carry such an artifact. Much less a young child."

"Please, help me get it off."

The Shadow Rider tried to take it, but the medallion electrocuted him with a strong current. The Shadow Rider sucked in air through his teeth and cursed as he flexed his injured hand. 

"How did you keep it hidden for so long?" he asked, stunned. "No wonder you could deflect Lord Hesse's attack." 

"What is this thing?"

He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. "Here, let me try again."

At his touch, the medallion emitted a radiant beam of white light, and raw energy blasted from the surface like tiny bolts of lightning. The force threw Lord Darius across the room until he hit the stone wall with a grunt. Chunks of stone broke off from the wall and fell on top of his body, pinning him to the floor. 

"Lord Darius!" I screamed, my throat raw. 

When I realized he was unconscious, I feared the worst. I couldn't see any blood, but the wall had almost caved in at the point of impact. 

Could anyone survive that blast? Perhaps even a disembodied Shadow Rider had his limits. 

"Lord Darius!"

The Shadow Rider didn't stir. 

My throat throbbed, raw with pain, and my tongue clamped to the roof of my mouth as though something was sucking all the water from my body. My eyes stung as though someone had taken the juice from a fire onion and squeezed it into my irises. 

Tears trickled down my cheeks at the sensation, and my vision blurred. Even though I tried to remove the medallion, it remained stuck to my chest, unwilling to move. As I crawled towards the exit, sweat dripped in rivulets down my cheeks, which were flushed with fever. 

Using all my strength, I took a gulp of air. "Help!" I yelled in a choked gasp. "Axa!"

Struggling to raise myself to my knees, I supported some of the extra weight against the wall. The cool kiss of the stone provided me with only momentary relief from the fever. 

By now the medallion felt like a boulder on my chest, squeezing the air out of my lungs. I grimaced with pain knowing full well that I had no hope of removing it. 

My fingers strained to reach the wrought-iron door handle, but my clammy hand slipped. The weight of the medallion pulled me to the floor like an anchor mooring a wayward boat. 

No. No! I will not die like this. 

With a sigh of relief, I heard the Shadow Rider stir. He tried in vain to shift the magic rubble, cursing in a dissonant language with each failed attempt. 

Amid a cacophony of hisses and guttural consonants, I recognized four words in Dragonborn dialect just before I fell unconscious. "... Kebraith Flohtrath, kahm khar."

Axa, please! Hurry!

***

When I awoke in the infirmary, the Shadow Rider was slumped in a chair beside my bed, his hand gripping the iron guard rails. Even in sleep, the man couldn't allow himself to relax. 

Blinking to clear the mist from my eyes, I stared at the stone walls lined with metal shelves and medical equipment. I was hooked up to an IV saline drip, along with either willow bark essence or the opiate potion.

In his sleep, the Shadow Rider muttered something in that same unknown language he used in the training room. It sounded like a series of guttural hisses and aspirated vowels. 

"Kh-kh-kh-r-r-r-y-y-y-s-s-s-s-s-a-a-a-a-kh-kh-kh."

"Lord Darius?" I muttered. 

He woke from his slumber with a groan and drew himself ramrod straight. "Helena? You're awake." 

"What happened?" I muttered. 

Even though I was sitting upright, I kept nodding off. Only persistent nausea kept me awake, and my stomach churned with a menacing rumble.

Lord Darius placed a gentle hand upon my forehead and lifted a glass of cold water to my lips. "Your fever is fading," he said with a sigh of relief. "Here, drink."

I took a few gulps of water, and my stomach settled a few moments later.

"Axa has been most vigilant since you arrived," the Shadow Rider said. "She's hardly left your side. I took over for her so that she could get some rest--she just finished a ten-hour shift."

Ten hours? How long have I been asleep?

Frightful images came rushing back to me. "Are you okay? Why did my medallion attack you?"

"Sh-h-h," he said as he brushed a wayward strand of my hair away from my clammy forehead. "Don't worry about me. I am almost invincible as a Shadow Rider, remember?"

I groaned as I tried to prop myself up against my pillows. My body felt like a sack of lumpy feathers that refused to cooperate. 

"You, on the other hand, need to rest. Let me worry about the medallion." Lord Darius supported my back as he straightened out my pillows. "You've been asleep off and on for three days."

Good gods! Three days? Axa definitely gave me an opiate.

"Lord Darius?"

"Mmm?"

"What does Crisa mean?"

He stood ramrod still. "Crisa?"

I furrowed my brow. "Well, it was more guttural, like this ..." 

When I tried to mimic the sound he'd made, a series of weird choking sounds tumbled from my lips. Still, the Shadow Rider must have known what I meant because he backed away from me as though I'd slapped him. 

"Where did you hear that?" he growled in an angry whisper, bending towards my ear as he stood next to my bedside. "Who said that to you?!"

Well, that wasn't the reaction I was expecting. Maybe he was swearing at me in his sleep.

"I don't know. I just ..."

"Who taught you that word?!"

I debated whether I should even tell him until I finally relented. "You muttered it ..."

"I did?" he growled. "Are you drugged, child?"

Probably.

"You said it in your sleep," I replied. "I think ..."

An ominous growl reverberated inside the Rider's chest, but he didn't respond. 

"What does it mean?"

Lord Darius gave me an frustrated snarl and strode away from me before he crossed his arms. "Never mind what it means. It doesn't matter."

"What language is it?"

"Enough questions," he snarled as he whipped his head towards me. "Just get better so that we can continue our work."

"More magic?" I croaked.

Goosebumps rose along my arms at the thought. I didn't want Lord Darius to think me a coward, but I didn't want to continue our magic lessons as long as I was wearing the dreaded medallion. 

Dear gods! Please say no.

"It's your choice," he replied, "but I wouldn't. Magic fever can prove to be fatal, and the effects of the disease worsen with each attempt at spell casting." He paused. "You might not survive another lesson."

My hand raced to my chest, and I felt the medallion through my infirmary gown. To my profound relief, the jewel had returned to its normal weight and size, but it refused to move. 

"In that case, let's stop for a while."

There go my dreams of combat training. 

"A wise choice."

I nodded with a heavy sigh. Fatigue pressed upon me, and my eyelids felt leaden. "What about Lord Hesse?" I slurred as I fought to stay awake. "He said ..."

"Sh-h-h, child," he said. "Keep calm. You can learn the physical disciplines while Axa trains you as an herbal healer. That should keep Lord Hesse content until we learn more."

"Combat training?" Despite my exhaustion, I couldn't hide my enthusiasm.

"You need to build up your muscles and learn techniques before you can train with my warriors," he explained. "Or they'll crush you, and you'll end up right back in here."

"Will Axa train me?"

"No, I will."

Stunned, I gaped at him. 

He didn't give even his best warriors private sessions. 

"Your mother's magic might put the others at risk," he said. "But the medallion can't kill me."

A part of me knew the Shadow Rider only consented to physical training because my magic had failed. Still, a small smile spread across my face at my Pyrrhic victory.

"Physical training can start next month after your seventeenth birthday," he declared. "Shall we begin the next day on the 4th of Fall?"

"You remembered my birthday?" I mumbled in a drugged stupor. 

"Of course," he said with a scoff. "Do you think I'm a fool?"

"So, you haven't given up on me?" I joked with a weak smile.  

"Rest now, Helena." He turned towards me, and his voice softened. "You are a very strong woman, with or without magic. Always remember that."

___

A/N: Thank you for reading. Let's give Helena a vote for her strength and courage in the face of all her difficulties. :D Looks like her training will go in a different direction than she expected. 

If you find something that doesn't work, or if you have any tips on how I can improve the story, please feel free to tell me. Keep in mind that this is a raw draft and subject to substantial changes.