I scanned for what I prayed would be there — stared into the depths of the darkness, where the horrific red eyed creatures crawled. Then I saw it. Denser black than even the shadows around it, a pulsing orb of blackness at the heart of darkness. The eye of the abyss.
I prayed to any God that was listening and heaved myself upwards. My broken bones screamed and cracked as I lifted my working arm.
I plunged my hand into The Sorrow’s chest.
Unimaginable pain — burning and freezing and crushing and bursting all at the same time, raced up my arm. My fingers closed around the soul. It felt slippery. Raw meat coated in oil. The Sorrow let out a piercing shriek as I tugged backwards with every remaining ounce of strength. It snapped free. My fist slipped out of the darkness. Little wet strings of black ichor covered my hand all the way down to the wrist. The orb beat like a giant heart in my hand.
I drove The Sorrow’s own soul into the vortex.
The soul eater made a scream so loud and high pitched I thought my eardrums would burst. It tried to claw at its own face. A white light appeared in the centre of the vortex and grew. The exposed patches of darkness were overpowered by the growing brightness. The creatures squealed and vanished. The light shone through the cracks in the armour like rays of sunlight through openings in a curtain. It grew so bright that it seemed to draw all the other swirling colours into it. The giant sword clattered to the ground and dissolved into a black puddle. The Sorrow threw back its head and exploded in a shower of light. I shielded my eyes with a broken hand, but not before I saw thousands of souls shoot up in a fountain of pure energy. Something shot into my mouth, snapping my head backwards with incredible force. I knew beyond a doubt it was my soul returning to its rightful place. When the light had dimmed enough for me to look again, I saw the freed souls snaking their way into the sky. As soon as they hit the clouds, the Red Storm was consumed by light. The clouds dissolved and the rain stopped falling. Something tickled my arm. I looked down to see the black substance coiling its way up my wrist and onto my forearm. It spiralled and looped into various shapes and then set like dry ink. It had turned itself into some kind of strange tattoo. I was too tired to care.
Ignoring the excruciating pain, I heaved myself onto my feet and limped as fast as I could all the way to the entrance, where Gabriella’s body lay. As I grew near, I could feel my bones start to piece their way back together.
My heart broke all over again to see her lifeless, rain soaked body. The water had washed her blood into a shimmering pink halo. With Faru’s Farsight, I noticed something else. In the centre of her chest — so small and faint it was barely there at all — was her soul.
I knelt down to her body and lifted her towards me. I stared into her closed eyes and prayed for something to work. For a moment nothing did. I felt despair dragging away hope once again. Then I felt the charges start. They were no more than a tingle at first, but they grew quickly, gathering power. My body began to shudder; Gabriella’s body did the same. Behind her shining skin, I could see the little blue orb uncurl like a waking animal. It slid slowly up to her throat. I felt my own chest becoming warm. With my free hand, I ripped open my shirt. A bright blue light glowed in the centre.
An overwhelming need to cough seized my chest. I coughed a little, but the feeling didn’t pass. I hacked again with as much force as I could manage. My jaw unhinged and the blue light poured from my mouth. It surged towards Gabriella. Her own mouth fell gently open and tiny snake of light rolled out. Mine connected with hers and instantly Gabriella’s body arched upwards. Her soul grew brighter and more powerful. It changed from a pale blue, going through every shade until it became an electric blue. Her wound knitted itself back together, leaving nothing but a long, pink line.
The souls released each other and snapped back into our bodies. My head was thrown backwards, popping my neck with a loud crack. Gabriella’s eyes flew open and she gasped for air.
“Ella,” I wept, as tears of happiness flowed down my cheeks.
I wrapped my arms around her. Gabriella pressed into me so tightly it felt like we were going to merge into one person. I could feel from her own shaking body that she was crying too.
Over her shoulder, I saw that without The Sorrow, all of the Depraved had died. Somehow in death, they appeared more human. Each one wore an expression of utter serenity. The Sorrow’s steed was lying on its side — eyeballs rolling wildly in their socket. A ball of energy descended from the sky and settled nearby. The Unicorn looked at it and made a soft whinnying sound. Its eyes changed from red to pale blue and the madness was replaced by tranquillity. It looked towards me and then lay its head down and fell silent. I closed my eyes and held Gabriella close. Faru, it’s over. I know. We’re almost there. Hold on. There was no shudder before his answer. He hadn’t left me.
Scores of cars and bikes appeared in front of us. They screeched to a stop a few yards away from where Gabriella and I sat holding each other. Faru was inside the lead car. The Sage stepped down and nodded his head towards me.
“Come on,” I whispered into my soulmate’s ear. “Let's go home.”
I picked her up in my arms and carried her towards the waiting convoy.
EPILOGUE
Gabriella’s hands pressed gently over my eyes.
“No peeking!” she laughed as she maneuvered me through the mansion grounds.
“You better not walk me into a tree!”
I could hear the sound of band music not too far away. It sounded familiar. Then I heard the sounds of a large crowd of people talking and laughing. My curiosity started to peak. “Come on,” I whinged, “tell me what’s going on!”
“Not yet, almost there…okay you can open them now.”
Gabriella removed her hands and I gasped. We were standing inside a Marquee tent the size of a football pitch. Someone had stolen Narnia. Snow, Christmas trees and towering ice sculptures were everywhere I looked. Fridges carved from frosted ice were lined with beers and wine. Waitresses dressed in white dresses walked around with cakes and mince pies on platters. Silver banners with CHRISTMAS BALL II written on them lined the sides. A canopy of white balloons floated above our heads. The tent was filled with pretty much every sixth former from Chapter Hill high school. But out of everything, what really blew my mind was the fact that Soulfire was playing on stage. A load of people were gathered on a dance floor below, jumping around to the music. “W-what is all this?” I asked in confusion. “A second attempt at the Christmas Ball,” smiled Gabriella, “because we never got to enjoy ours.” “This is incredible…how did you manage it?” “I asked Faru. He’s a pretty powerful guy you know.” I laughed. “I’m convinced.”
Mikey weaved towards us from the crowd, his hand linked with Scarlett’s. The other clutched a beer. He gave me a hug, almost spilling the contents down the new shirt Gabriella had bought me.
“Alex, this party is sick! I can’t believe Soulfire are actually here!” Scarlett rolled her eyes. “Fifth beer,” she said. “Don’t tell Mum!” Mikey said with an unsubtle wink. “I won’t,” I promised, trying to keep a straight face.
At that moment, the song ended and the marquee was filled with clapping and cheers. A waitress glided over to me, a multitude of drinks balanced on her silver dish. She plucked a beer from the top and handed it to me. “For you Mr Eden,” she said and moved back off again. I took a large swig and put my arm around Gabriella, kissing the top of her head. “Thank you so much.” “You deserve nothing less,” she said kissing me on the lips.
I saw Tim in the centre of the dance floor. He was doing his best to avoid Lucy, who was nagging him about something. When he noticed me, he raised a beer and gave a knowing smile. I gestured mine towards him.