I hear her screams only for a moment. All sounds and feelings within me seem to dissipate as her soul is dragged out of her body and drawn into mine. The power, both of her pure soul and the magic imbued within it, takes my breath away. My eternal emptiness is filled with warmth and light. I see things, flashes of memories that do not belong to me. I see a young girl laughing as she rides a white horse. Next, she spins in an open field with a homemade doll held high in her hands. I witness the attack of a town by Noble-lords; the girl, sobbing, is taken while her family is slaughtered. My insides shudder. Bowing my head, I look down at the limp body in my arms. The reality of what I've done hits me.

“Syndel?” I say, lowering her to the ground. “Syndel?” Either she is dead or she has become a feral monster. She may have no memory of her former life, no memory of me. And it's my fault.

Cress.

I blink at her. It was her voice that spoke, yet her eyes are closed and her lips have not moved. My eyes focus on the slight rise and fall of her chest. She's alive. “I'm here,” I whisper.

And I am with you. Together, we will defeat him. He has broken free!

I look up in time to see Mulogo's body quiver with renewed movement. He slowly turns to face me, glowering with rage.

“You fool! I will end your pitiful existence. It is only a myth that a Soulless cannot die and I will take pleasure in proving it to you!” Spreading his arms wide, his cloak billowing like wings, he swoops toward me, a mass of black mist gathering in each hand.

I don't know what to do to defend myself, but that doesn't matter. Syndel is with me. My own arms seem to rise of their own accord, creating a shield of silvery light in front of me. Mulogo barrels into it and is thrown backward. Staggering, he rights himself and looks at me with genuine concern in his cruel eyes.

“How?” he gasps. “A Soulless cannot use magic.”

“Unless he takes the soul of a Sikari who can,” I say, casting a glance at Syndel's motionless form with a mixture of gratitude and sorrow. How I long to see her bright eyes and the golden glow of her aura. Frowning, I look back at the sorcerer, realizing I have not seen his aura. I strain my eyes to see past the black cloak and evil power. His ancient body is frail, his insides withered, held together by swirls of the frigid black mist. If he has a soul it is nothing but blackness. And yet, deeper still, I sense the souls of thousands, shrunken and crammed together without care. Their auras are faint, their hope all but gone.

I suddenly know what I need to do.

The sorcerer faces me fully, his filthy mist amassing around him. I feel its biting chill. I wait. There may only be one chance. The mist moves, but not toward me. It flies in every direction, once again finding each of the Soulless who lie scattered throughout the clearing. A tremor runs through their prone bodies, lifting them to their feet. They jerk and twitch as if controlled by puppet strings. I have no time to think before the first wave advances. I spin where I stand, letting loose a blast of silvery light, just as Syndel had done to momentarily freeze Mulogo. The Soulless halt, but are replaced by the next wave. I repeat the spell, but the Soulless keep coming. I start feeling the draining effects of the magic. I need a new strategy.

Think of all you have, says Syndel's soft voice, sounding more distant now.

All I have? My own strength, the power of her soul, the magic of the Sikari, and . . .

My hand goes to my chest, feeling the pendant beneath my tunic. What more can it do? I suddenly lift it out and hold it up. Using what energy I have left, I pour it all into the pendant, calling for the blood fire that had once nearly destroyed me. If it doesn't stop the Soulless, nothing will. The flames erupt, spewing from the pendant and racing around the clearing. The Soulless, despite the sorcerer's control, cower and scream. They fall back to the ground, writhing in pain. Mulogo, connected to them by his mist, shrieks loudest of all.

My chance has come. Darting forward, passing through the flames unharmed, I grab the sorcerer by the shoulders and shove him to the ground. I lean over him, my hand poised above his face. Pain and fear shine in his yellowed eyes. I almost pity him.

“Now that you've given in to what you are,” he says, spittle running down his chin, “you won't be able to stop.”

“But I'm not like the others,” I say. “I'm not like you.”

He glares and I feel his hatred. “You're wrong. You will soon wish you had let me kill you.” One of his skeletal hands juts upward, piercing through my chest. My whole body stiffens. With a jeer, he grabs the heart beneath my ribs and pulls it out. He holds it up with a victorious cry. I blink at it, watching it beat steadily in his grasp. It begins to glow and dissolve, leaking between his fingers like soft, glittering sand. I know instantly the heart he took is not mine. Mulogo's expression falters.

“What is this?” he says.

I almost want to laugh. “The heart of a man who gave his soul for the woman he loved. And now I will set his soul free.”

I lower my hand over his face and spread my fingers, willing the souls to come. The sorcerer's screams shake the ground. He claws at my arm, his body twisting with agony. The imprisoned souls begin to emerge, their auras flickering. They come faster, filling the air around me. Most of them are nothing more than orbs of dim light, while others have more human shapes and features. As the last of them break free, something grabs hold of my hand. My eyes widen as cold, biting mist entangles my wrist and creeps up my arm. Mulogo's screams turn to laughter.

“If this is my end, I will not go alone,” the sorcerer declares, his crimson eyes flashing as the mist envelops both of us, crushing and burning. The blood fire is extinguished and the pendant at my chest shatters.

I scream, feeling parts of me decay into nothing. The rest of me will soon follow.

I am no one. I am nothing.

I am a Soulless, and I am about to die.

My eyes fall shut. I try desperately to imagine a face. I must see her one last time. Syndel?

She doesn't respond, though I know her soul is still inside me. What will happen to it when I'm gone? Will it find its way back to her? Will she—

Mulogo's crazed laughter suddenly halts as small dots of light break through the shroud of mist. The dots widen into holes. Light shines down on us—light from a thousand souls. Their presence gives me relief from the pain, though Mulogo is terrified.

“No!” he bellows. “You cannot do this!”

The souls move and stretch toward each other until all of them are joined. As one, they dive. They pulsate with one last burst of light, shattering the mist. Mulogo is silent, motionless. I'm able to move my hand away from him. I look at his stricken face, seeing nothing in his reddened eyes. Whether he is dead or merely stunned, I do not know. But his power is undoubtedly broken.

I shift my attention to the souls, watching as they separate once again. After hovering near me a moment longer, they flit away like shooting stars. Some don't go far. I watch in fascination as about a dozen souls remain in the clearing, each sinking into the trembling body of a Soulless on the ground, taking the place of the souls stolen by the creature out of hunger and greed. The newly liberated souls fly to where they belong.

They are returning home.

I get to my feet, turning one way and then another. I watch the darkness, waiting for it to come. My soul.

We shall all be released from our torment.

That was Bronek's promise. He did not necessarily mean death. Our torment will end when we are whole again.

Minutes pass. More souls come, finding their way to the remaining Soulless, making them Soulless no more. Only a few rise from the ground as if waking from a long and terrible sleep. The others, abused and separated for far too long, are granted the freedom of death. I continue to wait, knowing it will come.

I feel it before I see it. To my left comes a light, dimmed after our many years apart, but it is enough. Shutting my eyes, I spread my arms as if to welcome an old friend. Peace and warmth enter my body. Memories I know are my own fill my thoughts. My parents and my brother and sister, my friends and home. I know who I am. Tears spill down my cheeks.

I know my real name.

Yet, as these things come flooding back, I feel a loss of something else. My eyes open, seeing a familiar aura leave me and float across the clearing to the last figure lying on the grass. I rush to her side just as the light of her soul fills her once again.

“Syndel!” I say, grabbing her hands in mine, willing her to open her eyes. The wait is excruciating.

Her head moves from side to side, her expression tight as if pain still lingers. She opens her eyes, blinking up at me. Only a trace of red remains around her irises. “Cress?”

I breathe out with relief. “It's over. Mulogo is finished.” My throat tightens. “We're whole again.”

She smiles weakly. “Forgive me for not telling you. I knew the meaning of Bronek's promise, and that my part would be more difficult for you than for me. Our actions had to stem from complete selflessness . . . and love.”

I blink at her. “Do you love me, Syndel?” I ask earnestly.

“Yes,” she replies without hesitating.

My heart swells, pushing warmth through each of my veins. “Even when I was certain you cared for me, the monster threatened to take you away if I said the words. But now . . .” I get to my feet, pulling her up gently. I cup her face in my hands. “I loved you even before I knew the emotion still existed within me.”

Our lips meet, softly at first and then with a power that can only be shared by the purest of souls.