And I'm so confused. I don't know what to do. But the blue is warm and comforting and I don't know how to fight against it. I can't trust my own body. And there's only one thing I can do, what I should have done from the start. I ask my other self for help.

And he comes.

the man, Soul, backs away. he shouts at us. he has a gun. there's a cage and a girl in it: Annalise. we advance on the man, Soul. our legs feel strong and our neck and back too. we stretch our jaws, getting the feel of them, snapping our teeth together. there's a warmth in our body that we don't like. the man, Soul, is talking. we don't understand his words. he moves to the side, edging away from us. he has a key and he opens the door to the cage. he wants us to go in.

the girl, Annalise, has moved. she's talking too. she's talking quietly, gently. we don't understand her words. she isn't a threat. she doesn't want us in the cage.

the man, Soul, is holding the door open. we move towards it. he's pointing the gun at us.

we are not going in the cage.

Soul shouts again and we run at him and jump at his neck. the sound of gunfire and a scream hits us as we leap through the air, clamping tight on Soul's throat, tasting blood, hearing bone crack. Soul shoots again and again. we stay holding his throat, tasting his blood, his sweat. then he's limp and heavy in our jaws.

Soul's body drops to the floor, blood running out slowly. I'm already transformed back to the human me, and I'm holding the gun. Soul's eyes are fluttering open. He's still alive, just. I heal myself, ridding my system of the residual elements of the blue. I feel clear-headed now and buzzing with healing.

Soul's eyes are on me, still full of silver shards. He's healing too. I point the gun at his temple and as I say 'Die' I squeeze the trigger.

I know guards will be coming. They'll have heard the shots.

Annalise is talking to me.

'I'm sorry for what I did, Nathan. Truly.'

I need to ignore her, but I can't. I raise the gun and point it at Annalise. She looks frightened, as she should, but she stands her ground. 'Nathan, I'm sorry. I know I hurt you. I wish I could undo what I did. I've wished that a thousand times but I can't.'

I keep the gun on her. 'I don't forgive you, Annalise. My father is dead. Dead, Annalise. And many others from the Alliance are too. All because of you.'

'And I have to live with that. But I never meant to hurt you, Nathan.'

A Hunter bursts into the room. I'm not a great shot but I don't miss from this distance. Her partner runs in and shoots at me and I get her too.

I hear shouting. More are coming.

I tell Annalise, 'Stay there and keep low and you might not get killed.'

I go into Soul's office, shutting the door on Annalise. I haven't got the time to think about her now. I drop the gun and consider going invisible but I think it's time to fight openly. I want them to see they can't hurt me. I want them to fear me. I want them to know it's not me who's going to die.

The first Hunters to reach Soul's office run in and I let them shoot. The room is full of noise. It takes them a while to realize that bullets don't work on me. I send lightning back. A couple of grenades roll to me and I pick one up and throw it back so it explodes by the Hunters; the other one explodes to my right and I'm rocked to the side by the force but remain on my feet. And when it begins to go quiet then I shoot out more lightning, filling the room with light and noise and burning electricity. I'm protected inside a cocoon of the amulet's protection. The lightning I produce is bigger and stronger than anything I've ever done before. And then I snap it off and walk out of Soul's office and down the corridor.

One Hunter ahead shoots at me. I send a bolt of lightning at her and she falls to the ground. I feel more powerful than ever before. It's not the Essence that Ledger was talking about, but I've accessed my Gifts at a stronger level. I'm not sure why, except I know I'm free of Annalise, free of Soul, and all I need to do is kill those in my way. And the more they try to hurt me the stronger I get. I'm not losing my energy but gaining more.

I move to the Council Chamber. The Hunters I come across haven't yet learnt that I can't be hurt. They shoot and throw grenades and I send lightning back and they learn to retreat and a path clears before me all the way to the Council Chamber. Here the Councillors have formed a defensive line behind the big table, which is on its side, and some have guns and others use their Gifts one sends flames, another heavy objects. Soul's throne and the other chairs fly towards me and ricochet away from me at the last second. And I stand there and let it all come, let them see what happens. Let them see they can't stop me.

'Surrender!' I shout. 'Surrender now.'

And Celia arrives with five of the trainees, guns pointing. 'On your knees,' she shouts.

'Soul's dead,' I say to Celia and she repeats it as a shout for the whole room to hear. And then arms go up. The surrender begins and spreads quickly. I see Annalise's father with his hands in the air and I know I could kill him in a second. I go to him and spit at his feet then turn from him. Celia will deal with him and all the other Council members. I need to concentrate on Jessica and the Hunters.

There's shooting and explosions from other rooms. I must clear the ground floor of Hunters to make sure the Alliance members aren't hurt. And I have to use my lightning carefully now, to ensure I don't hit any of our own fighters. I move from room to room, down each corridor. It's a huge building, lots of rooms, and lots of shooting and smoke and bodies. The Hunters still want to fight.

I've not seen Gabriel and that's bothering me. I know he'd come to me. He's dressed as a Hunter and in all the confusion he could be taken for one of them.

Greatorex and three trainees join me and we clear out the rooms, checking the interlinking passages. And we check as we go that the Hunters we kill really are dead. It takes time until we're satisfied that the ground floor is clear. Two of the trainees have been hit, one killed and one wounded. I tell Greatorex that they should keep back and let me lead.

The first floor is easier. It's a smaller area and the layout is simple. I move through it room by room and by the end of it another ten Hunters are dead. Greatorex and the trainees check the bodies and all the hiding places. I still haven't seen Gabriel but I try not to think about that. I'm in the furthest room when I hear more shooting and I head back along the corridor and catch a glimpse of three Hunters in a room and one of them sees me too.

Jessica!

She shouts at me and points her gun. 'You!'

Jessica shoots and I send lightning to her but she's gone. These rooms are all linked and I run along the corridor to the next room expecting to see her but there's no one there. Is there another exit we don't know about?

More shots, and I run back to the corridor. Another of our trainees lies on the floor, close to the stairs. Greatorex and the others have taken cover in the next room.

From up the stairs I hear a Hunter shouting, 'Keep back. Don't come after us or more of you will die. We have hostages.'

And again I wonder where Gabriel is but I know I shouldn't think about that now.

I tell Greatorex, 'I have to go up there.'

'They can't hurt you but they can hurt the hostages.'

'You have a better idea?'

She shakes her head.

'I think there's some of them in these rooms too,' I tell her. 'Jessica and two others. Check them out.'

I go invisible and move up the stairs.

There's a group of Hunters just inside the first room. I can't see how many but they have their hostage standing in the doorway. It's not Gabriel. It's Adele. There are two guns pointed at her head and there's a thin rope round her neck. I see the skin on her neck is shiny and metallic where the rope is digging in.

But even invisible I can't rescue her without her being shot.

I need to talk to them.

I become visible and the shooting and shouting starts again but I stay standing at the top of the stairs and wait. Eventually the shooting stops and it's quiet again.

I shout at them, 'You can't hurt me. The building is full of Alliance soldiers. Your best option is to surrender. If you kill the hostage I'll kill you all. The only person who will live through this will be me.'

I feel a bullet tap my forehead and another my chest. 'Soul's dead and Wallend. I've destroyed the witch's bottles so you can't go invisible, but I guess you've worked that out already. Now you need to accept that you've lost.'

Another bullet taps my forehead.

'That's annoying but it's never going to hurt me. Surrender. Now. Let the hostage go.'

'We're not surrendering. We're leaving. Let us go and we won't kill this one or the other one. You attack us, any of us, and they die.'

And they push the other hostage to the front with Adele. He's dressed in Hunter black, but he looks like himself now, his hair hanging forward, part covering his face, blood from his ear running down his cheek. A gun is rammed up hard against the side of his head and a noose of thin rope is round his neck. The Hunter behind him is half holding him up. He looks at me and I know I'll do anything to get him free. If it's him.

'Speak to me, Gabriel,' I say. 'Prove it's you.'

He leans back against the Hunter behind him and looks at me and his voice is choked and I can hardly hear him as he says, 'You've been away a long time. Were you lost?' He sounds lost himself, half strangled and fighting to stay conscious.

'Wounded, not lost,' I tell him, but I do feel lost.

One of the Hunters shouts, 'We're going through a cut. Try anything, hurt any one of us, and we'll shoot the hostages. We're all going through the cut and we're taking the hostages. Follow and we'll kill them.'

The Hunters move into the corridor; there's eight of them. They keep the hostages closest to me as they back away.

And I'm helpless to do anything. The gun is hard against Gabriel's skull. A jolt on the Hunter's finger and he'll be dead. I need to stop time. Then I can pick the Hunters off safely.

I have to concentrate. Rub my hands in a circle, concentrate on stillness, but all I see is Gabriel and the gun against his head. And the Hunters are shouting, 'He's doing something! What's he doing?' And now they've backed into the last room on the corridor and I can't concentrate enough to stop time but I can go invisible and race along the corridor. They're in the room, at the far wall covered in bookshelves. And already two of the Hunters are disappearing through the cut. I try again to concentrate, rub my hands and think of stillness, but my eyes are on the Hunters too. Another pair of Hunters at the rear go through the cut. There's just two Hunters: one holding Gabriel and one holding Adele.

I rub my hands. Think of stillness, stillness. Calm, breathe out and hold. But it's not working. I know I'm not concentrating. I can't do it like this.

The Hunter holding Gabriel is reaching down for the cut. I have to risk it. I'm invisible and I run at the Hunter and snap her gun up and away from Gabriel. The gun goes off and I stab the Hunter in the neck with the Fairborn while shooting lightning at the one who has hold of Adele. Gabriel has collapsed to the floor. He's alive. I cut the rope round his neck and he gasps with relief. I look over to Adele. She's unconscious and so is the Hunter who held her.

Gabriel's neck is red raw from the rope. 'You OK?' I ask him.

'Shot,' he says.

'What?' I rip open his jacket. There's blood on his shirt. 'Can you heal?' I ask him.

'I'm trying.'

'Greatorex, I need Arran!' I shout. I'm not sure she can hear me but I don't want to leave Gabriel for a second. 'Greatorex!' I shout again. 'Get Arran!' I turn back to Gabriel and peel open his shirt. There's a lot of blood but the wound doesn't look so bad. It's a long but shallow cut along his side, but the bullet is not in him.

'You'll be OK. It's a flesh wound. The bullet's not in you. Just a bit of Hunter poison.'

'So I'll live?'

'Definitely.' And I'm shaking with relief. He still needs help, but the poison won't kill him.

'Greatorex! Get Arran up here! Now!' I shout again at the top of my voice.

There's no reply. I listen and am about to shout again when I hear more shooting from down the corridor.

Adele is getting up now, though she's staggering a little. The shooting has stopped.

Gabriel tries to sit up. He says, 'I'm not that bad.'

I tell him, 'Adele can go and find Arran in a minute. Just lie back. If Greatorex doesn't come I'll send her.'

'Did you shout for me?' It's Arran. I have my back to the doorway and turn as he comes to us. His eyes meet mine and they're full of concern but then I realize he's wearing Hunter black and he pulls his hand out from behind his back and moving behind Adele he shoots at me.

Jessica!

I send lightning at Jessica but Adele is in the way. Adele turns and shoots as she rolls to the left. Two more Hunters run into the room, shooting and sprinting, going for the cut. I'm trying to cover Gabriel and send out lightning to Jessica again. She's fallen to the floor. As one of the other Hunters goes through the cut, another the last one grabs her boot and they both disappear. Jessica is on the ground and I send more lightning at her but still she shoots at me. I feel pressure on my chest and I move to protect Gabriel as I send lightning back and she shoots again and I feel another tap on my shoulder, and another. Jessica is burning now, smoke coming from her clothes and her hair, and then her appearance changes from Arran to herself, and she's still.

Adele is standing now. She's OK.

'Nathan.' Gabriel says my name softly and I turn to him.

He's lying on the floor, looking up at me. His eyes meet mine but then I see that I haven't protected him at all. Blood is pouring out of him. Jessica's bullets have deflected off me and hit him in the chest. I'm calling for Arran, the real Arran, and telling Gabriel to heal. He has to heal until Arran can get here. If Arran hurries, Gabriel will be all right. And Gabriel's eyes are open and staring at me and I bend over him and tell him that he'll be all right and Arran will be here any second and he says, 'I can't ...' And I say that he can heal and he must do it and Arran will be here and I see his eyes are not focusing on me now and the blood is pooling around his stomach and I tell him he mustn't leave me, that I couldn't bear it and he knows that. And I interlock my fingers in his and hold them so tight but he doesn't hold me back. His eyes are open and there are still glints of gold spinning in them. Spinning slowly. And I'm shouting for Arran again, screaming for him, and then Arran's with us and Gabriel's chest is sopping with blood and Arran's saying he has to get the bullets out and I'm telling Gabriel that it won't be long and he'll be OK and Arran cuts into Gabriel's chest and digs his fingers in and Gabriel doesn't even flinch but the glints in his eyes move slower and I'm screaming at him not to dare die on me and I'm screaming louder and louder and Arran pulls out a bullet and cuts again and this time Gabriel makes a noise and it's barely there and I know he's just said my name and he looks at me and the golden lights in his eyes twist slower and slower and Arran is saying he can't find the bullet and he thinks there's still another after that.

I have to stop time. If I can stop it, Arran can get the bullet out. I rub my hands and think of stillness but nothing happens and I know it's not working. I try again. Think of nothing, think of stillness. I've got to do this. I've got to be calm and do it. And I move my hands and think of stillness and then it's silent. All is still. But Arran is still too. I don't know how to stop him from falling under the spell and I don't know how to get the bullet out. And I look at Gabriel's eyes and there are two glints left in them, faint but there. And I tell him I love him and I need him and I hold him to me and kiss him but I know I can't keep time still for much longer so I kiss him once more and then time starts and Gabriel looks at me and the glints in his eyes fade until the last one disappears.

diving off the cliff.

We're in Wales. Arran's with us too. He spends most of his time making potions and the rest of the time trying to make me drink them. They're to keep me calm and make me sleep, but all I want to do is be with Gabriel. When I'm with Gabriel I am calm and I don't need to sleep. Gabriel spends his time swimming and climbing and if I'm sleeping I can't be with him. Today it's sunny and I'm sitting in the sun on the grass by the small lake I told Gabriel about. Gabriel's swimming. He loves it here. It's a good place. Still not hot, but spring's arrived. We've been here two nights, Arran, me and Gabriel. Arran sleeps in a tent. I've built a den like my father did, getting the brambles to grow up and around us. Me and Gabriel have a fire and some sheepskins. It's good. Not as poor as it looks, as my father said. I can make the brambles grow faster than ever now. I made the den in a few minutes. I know I can use all my father's Gifts easily if I want to, but I don't ever want to use the lightning again. Or even the flames. I light the fire with matches and take my time about it. Gabriel smiles at that. He always smiles.

I sit on the grass and watch Gabriel. There's a rock wall at the side of the lake and he climbs out of the water and up the rock. He's showing off a bit, I think. I like watching him.

I keep my eyes on Gabriel and start to shiver. I put my hands in my pockets and feel a stone. I take it out: it's the white stone for Annalise.

After months of thinking about what I wanted to do to her, how I wanted to punish her, nothing was right. I know my father would have killed her but I think he would understand why I couldn't. I love him and loathe her but still I couldn't kill her.

Celia and Bob have got the truth from Clay and from Annalise. She wasn't ever a spy. Though they tried to use her, she refused. Clay found the Geneva apartment through a Half Blood called Oscar and a Hunter who can detect cuts and a bit of luck. Annalise had nothing to do with it.

Gabriel is almost at the top of the cliff. There's a small overhang that he loves climbing.

I take the white stone out of my pocket, pull my arm back and throw it as far as I can, watching it splash into the water.

Gabriel is at the top. He waves at me and I wave back. He peers over the edge and pretends he's lost his balance and is falling but then turns his fall into a beautiful dive into the water. Definitely showing off. I don't want to take my eyes off him. He's swimming back to the cliff and going to do it again I think.

Arran says, 'Someone's coming.' But I can't think who it might be or what they'd want and I'm not sure if we should run or get Gabriel or what. Arran moves close to me. 'Don't panic. It's fine. I think it's Adele and someone else with her.' And he touches my arm and I look at him and then round behind me. There's a long view down into the valley and they're still a way off.

'It's Ledger,' I tell Arran, and I can't see anyone else apart from him and Adele.

By the time they get to us I'm breathing normally again and Gabriel is sitting near me.

Arran stands when they get close but I stay sitting with Gabriel. They talk but I don't bother to listen and then Ledger joins us on the grass. He looks the same as when I first met him: that same boy.

He says, 'I'm sorry about Gabriel.'

And I shake my head because that's not right. I say, 'That's not right.' And Arran is beside me again, shushing me and saying, 'Try to keep calm, Nathan.'

'He always wants me to be calm,' I tell Ledger.

And I look to Gabriel but he's gone and I say, 'Where's Gabriel gone?' And Arran gives me potion to drink and I don't want it so I pour it on the ground. I just want to find Gabriel but I know I have to keep calm or Arran will make me drink it again and I just get tired then and don't see Gabriel at all when I have the potion.