‘No way am I trailing you round Bloomingdale’s all afternoon while you try on half the store,’ Jake was telling Isabella, though he looked to Cassie as if he’d trail her to the ends of the earth if she crooked one little finger.
‘Oh, it’s only a little shopping. Don’t be such a spoilsport. Oh! We had breakfast, Jake! We puffed our faces at a wonderful teahouse. All red banquettes and—’
‘Cool. I’m glad you had a chilled out morning, after everything that happened last night.’
‘So if shopping’s off the agenda, what do you reckon we should do instead, Jake?’ Cassie said, eyeing him closely. He seemed to brighten.
‘Uh, I dunno … Some sightseeing? How about the Chrysler Building, or Times Square? Or St Patrick’s! Like I said, it’s fun being a tourist in my own place. I never saw it like this before.’
‘I still want to see some shops!’ Isabella punched Jake affectionately in the solar plexus, making him almost double up. ‘Oh, in fact – look at these …’ She sped off towards an expensive-looking shop window and began gazing at the display of handbags, her eyes wide with excitement. Cassie stepped towards her half-heartedly, but stopped when Jake whispered her name urgently.
‘Cassie …’
She turned, glancing at Isabella, then walked over to him, her nerves tumbling in her stomach. Whatever it was he wanted to talk about, it wasn’t going to be good. She stopped beside him and he fixed her with a serious gaze.
‘What?’
‘Listen, I know this is going to sound crazy, but I think we could all be in danger.’
Cassie’s eyes widened. ‘Danger? What do you mean?’
‘Last night … The person who tried to grab Isabella …’ Jake drew a deep breath and ran his hand over his short hair. ‘I think it was Katerina.’
‘What? No, Jake—’
‘Look, I know what you’re going to say – that I’m so obsessed that I’m seeing things – but I got a good look, and I swear to God it was her.’
‘Jake, it wasn’t her.’ Cassie grabbed his arm as he tried to interrupt. ‘Listen to me. I know it wasn’t her. Katerina can’t have been at Coney Island with you and Isabella last night.’
‘How can you be so sure?’ he demanded angrily.
‘Because she was at Carnegie Hall. I saw her.’
That shut him up. In fact, for a moment she thought it had given him a stroke. Jake’s eyes bulged disbelievingly as he tried to absorb her words. Finally, he spoke.
‘Why didn’t you tell me last night?’ he demanded.
‘You didn’t give me a chance, remember?’ she snapped. ‘You had things to take care of – things that didn’t include your girlfriend, obviously.’
Jake bridled. ‘Yeah, I had to get back to Coney Island in case Katerina was still there. Which I wouldn’t have had to do if you’d bothered to mention that you’d seen her on the other side of New York.’
Cassie winced inwardly. Why couldn’t she keep her temper? Jake glanced in Isabella’s direction as she called over.
‘I’m just going inside for a sec, guys …’
He waved, and turned back to Cassie.
‘Look, I was going to tell you about Katerina,’ she said, getting her words in first. ‘I just needed to find the right time.’
‘So what happened? At Carnegie Hall? Did you talk to her?’
Cassie grimaced. ‘Sort of. But trust me – it was her.’
Jake chewed his lip anxiously. ‘I would have bet my life it was Katerina at Coney Island, but I guess I must have been imagining things. Unless the Few can be in two places at once.’
Despite herself, Cassie laughed. ‘I don’t think so.’
Jake shook his head. ‘But then on the subway today, I was sure I was being followed again. Something’s up, Cassie. You and I, we’re in this deep – me with Jess, and you with your … ritual. But Isabella doesn’t have to be involved.’
Cassie’s stomach lurched horribly. If only he knew … Jake didn’t seem to notice. ‘Promise me you won’t tell Isabella.’
‘Jake, I can’t do that.’
‘I have to make sure that Katerina can’t do it again, Cassie. I have to find her. I’ve gotta go.’
‘Go where?’
Cassie jumped as Isabella popped up at her side, shifting a huge shopping bag from one hand to the other. Jake twisted his face into an exasperated grin and held his hands up apologetically.
‘Back to the Academy. I just had a phone call,’ Jake lied. ‘Chelnikov wants to see me. I kinda failed to hand in a couple of essays. I guess I’ve just been a bit preoccupied.’
‘Your tutor wants to see you on a Saturday? Jake, that’s not fair!’
‘I know, but he insists. I have to go now. He means business, Isabella, I can’t say no. I’m in enough trouble with that guy already.’
‘He’s got no right.’ Isabella was pouting furiously.
‘He’s got my school career in his hands,’ pointed out Jake. ‘I gotta go. I’m really sorry, babe.’ He tried to smile, though he wouldn’t look Cassie in the eye. ‘You’ll have a great time without me. Go on, spend your socks off.’
‘Sure.’ Isabella tilted her chin reluctantly to receive his kiss. ‘See you, Jake.’
Cassie’s brow creased, and she didn’t reply when he said goodbye to her. There were far too many lies floating about – something would have to give eventually. Now on top of everything else she had to worry about Jake stepping up his pursuit of Katerina, now he knew she was in the city …
‘Chelnikov!’ Isabella pouted. ‘Why does that … that drill sergeant need to see him on a weekend!’
‘I don’t know, but Jake wouldn’t go unless he really had to, would he?’ Cassie cringed, kicking herself for covering for him. She just didn’t want to give Isabella another reason to worry.
Isabella shrugged resignedly and ran her hands through her mane of hair. ‘OK, you’re right. It’s not his fault. Oh, why was I so mean to him?’
‘Beats me,’ Cassie said reluctantly.
Isabella linked her arm through her friend’s once more. ‘Well, I will make it up to him later,’ she said archly. ‘In the meantime, a trip around Bloomingdale’s should raise my spirits.’
Maybe, thought Cassie darkly. Let’s hope it doesn’t raise mine …
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
‘That was fun!’ said Cassie.
She actually almost meant it – Isabella’s enthusiasm for shopping was infectious, and helped take Cassie’s mind off things, for a moment at least. ‘I take it you’re suitably consoled?’
‘Ooof!’ came Isabella’s reply. She halted in the Academy’s atrium, right next to Achilles, and set down her collection of shopping bags. Cassie sighed as well, all too aware of the stares and whispers of the Few that followed her. The Carnegie Hall story had obviously gone round the common room like wildfire. Mikhail in particular gave her a filthy glare as he passed. If some of the Few had been unwelcoming before, she dreaded to think how they’d feel towards her now.
Stretching her shoulders, Isabella bent and tweaked open one bag. Achilles’ blank eyes glowered straight into it.
‘He doesn’t approve,’ remarked Cassie, jerking her thumb at the young marble warrior.
‘That tells me all I need to know,’ sniffed Isabella. ‘He is a man with no heart. Look at the way he treats poor Hector.’ Affectionately she patted Hector’s cold marble arm, raised in futile protest at his imminent death. ‘Yes. I consider myself consoled. Bergdorf Goodman was a particular triumph.’
‘Girls, you have been very naughty.’
For a fleeting second Cassie imagined it was Achilles talking, till she saw Richard. He was propped lazily against the statue, one hand on Achilles’ toned butt. A group of Few girls stared at him, then over towards Cassie, clearly disbelieving and hostile. Richard seemed to ignore them.
‘Richard!’ Isabella kissed him on both cheeks, before shooting a guilty look at Cassie. ‘That’s the pot calling the skittle black, I think. W
eren’t you at Gucci yesterday when you should have been in French literature?’
Richard grinned slyly. ‘Touché! Fabulous coat, bella Isabella. Cassie, you’re looking stunning, as ever.’
She gave him a tight smile through gritted teeth, but remained stonily silent. It was all she could do not to throttle him. Isabella’s presence was pretty much all that was stopping her. So what if he came over all penitent and guilty? She didn’t trust him as far as she could throw— She cut herself off mid-thought. After the events of last night, that wasn’t such a comfortable metaphor.
Richard unwound a cashmere scarf from his neck, and lowered his voice. ‘Cassie, darling, you have to forgive me eventually.’
‘I don’t think so,’ Cassie snapped.
‘Well.’ He raised a hand at a tall, shy-looking, new sixth-form girl, who blushed and smiled as she swept her overlong blonde fringe out of her eyes. ‘I fear I must take my leave.’
‘Oh, Richard,’ scolded Isabella, following his eye-line. ‘You’re impossible.’
‘On the contrary, I’m all too probable. And, oh dear, here comes Daniel again,’ sighed Richard as he caught sight of a well-built Israeli boy making a beeline towards them. ‘I have a stalker, ladies. One little dalliance and now he won’t leave me alone. Once you go fop, it appears you can’t stop … Farewell.’ With a last flirtatious wink at the blonde sixth former, Richard dodged swiftly out of sight towards the elevators, leaving Daniel to glare hatred.
‘He’ll never change,’ said Isabella, shaking her head. She looked cautiously over at Cassie. ‘Do you think you could ever forgive him?’
‘No.’
When they reached the elevator, it felt like a haven from the whispers and the watchers. Cassie pressed the button with a sigh of relief. ‘I wonder if Ranjit’s around.’
‘If Ranjit’s around, I’m sure he’ll find you,’ teased Isabella, lugging her retail haul into their room and dumping the bags on her bed. ‘Hey, what’s that?’
‘Good question.’ Cassie dropped her own rather smaller shopping bag on the floor, eyeing the scroll that lay on her pillow. It was gilt-edged – that was new – but it was tied in a familiar black ribbon. A shiver of fear travelled up her spine. Nothing good ever seemed to come of these sinister messages. Why couldn’t the Academy use email like everyone else?
‘Go on, open it!’
Reluctant even to touch the scroll, Cassie cautiously broke the wax seal on the ribbon. Unrolling it with the tip of a fingernail, she read the message through in silence.
Isabella had entirely forgotten Bergdorf Goodman. She was watching Cassie with unbearable curiosity. ‘Come on! Give!’
Cassie frowned. ‘It’s from the Council of Elders. Whatever that is.’
‘Sounds good.’ Isabella hesitated, then glanced doubtfully at Cassie. ‘Doesn’t it?’
‘No. It’s a summons to a meeting of the Council next week. Attendance is not optional.’
Angrily, Cassie flung the scroll to the floor, and Isabella lifted it gingerly to read it through herself. She raised her eyebrows. ‘It’s rather curt, isn’t it?’
‘Yeah, well I think I can guess what it’s about.’
The girls looked at each other, and neither was smiling. They said the words in unison.
‘Carnegie Hall.’
‘Cassie, hi!’
Ranjit’s face lit up as he raised his head from the pile of books at his desk. It hadn’t been difficult to find him: huddled in a quiet nook of the vast library, poring over ancient books that seemed very out of place among the sleek hyper-modern facilities. His expression darkened again as he read her own. ‘What’s up?’
Cassie wanted to fling the scroll down – she hated even touching it – but she managed to lay the rolled-up parchment carefully in front of him, on top of his open book.
His eyes widened. ‘The Council of Elders.’
‘You’ve had one of these?’ She raised her eyebrows quizzically.
Ranjit shook his head. ‘No. But I recognise the style.’ He fingered the scroll’s gilt edging thoughtfully.
‘It arrived today. While I was out, of course.’
‘I see.’ He sat back in his chair, turning a pen in his fingers, then looked up at her, his eyes searching. ‘How are you, Cassie? I’m sorry I didn’t get to walk you to your room last night … And for how things turned out in general. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.’ He laughed briefly and gave her an apologetic look. ‘I seem to be finding myself saying that to you a lot.’
Cassie smiled. ‘I’m OK. I think I may be starting to get a little, uh, hungry, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.’ Noticing his concerned look, she pressed on, hoping to distract him. ‘So, what did Sir Alric say to you last night anyway? Birds and the bees chat?’
‘Something like that …’ he muttered.
‘Really?’ Cassie’s voice couldn’t contain her surprise.
‘What? Uh, no,’ Ranjit said, as though he’d just been distracted from another thought. ‘No, it was nothing. I guess he just wanted to reprimand me, as the elder and supposedly wiser one of us. I guess we were causing a bit of a scene out there.’ He gave her a crooked grin.
‘I guess so …’ she whispered, leaning forward to give him a brief, cautious kiss, before pulling a second chair across from an empty desk and sitting down next to him. ‘Anyway, sorry I managed to ruin Valentine’s Day.’
Ranjit slid a hand across to cover hers. ‘You didn’t ruin it. Come on – one thing’s for sure, I’ve never had a date quite like that. I didn’t get to properly thank you for the memorable experience!’ He smiled.
Cassie knew he was just trying to cheer her up but she couldn’t return his grin. ‘But that’s what the summons is about, isn’t it? Carnegie Hall?’
He sighed and nodded solemnly. ‘I don’t see what else it could be. Cassie …’ Taking a breath, Ranjit unrolled the scroll and read it through. ‘You should know, this is very, very rare. The Elders almost never meet, let alone summon a student. The Council is made up of the most important Few, and their day jobs don’t leave much room for governing their own kind. Besides, most of them would find their lives very, ah, awkward, should their secret get out.’
Cassie wrinkled her nose. ‘You mean I might recognise some of these Elders?’
‘Oh, I’m sure you will. Unless you’ve never watched the news in your life.’
‘Now I’m definitely scared.’ She rubbed her temples. ‘What exactly do they want?’
He studied the bookshelf over her left shoulder. ‘To find out what happened, I expect.’
‘But I don’t know what happened, Ranjit. And more importantly, neither does Sir Alric. What are they expecting me to tell them?’
‘I don’t know.’ Ranjit squeezed her fingers, but he still wasn’t quite meeting her eyes. ‘But I’m sure it’ll be fine, Cassie. They’re not all horrors and despots.’
‘Not all,’ she repeated dryly.
‘You’ll be fine,’ he said again. ‘I’ll be there. I’ll come with you.’
‘You will?’ She brightened instantly. ‘You can do that?’
‘There are a lot of things I can do that you don’t know about.’ He cocked an eyebrow. ‘You have a right to a Supporter. So that’s that. I’m not going to let you go alone.’ He sounded almost too determined, as though he were trying to convince someone other than just her. She couldn’t help feeling a rush of emotion towards him. Standing up, she reached across the pile of books and hugged him. His promise had brought unexpected tears to her eyes and she didn’t much want him to see them.
‘Thanks, Ranjit.’
‘No problem,’ he breathed. Then she felt her feet leave the ground, and realised he’d lifted her as if she weighed nothing. Setting her down on his own side of the desk, her body pressed to his, he kissed her properly. It wasn’t urgent like last night, just warm and comforting. After a moment he pulled back, with a look that she read as relief. Smiling into his chest, she mumbled, ‘You’ll definitely
be there?’
‘I told you. I won’t leave you alone.’
No, no he mustn’t leave us!
The harsh voice jolted Cassie. She pulled back, shocked.
Are you sure he won’t? Do we trust him?
‘Of course we do!’ she hissed.
‘Cassie?’ Ranjit frowned down at her. ‘What?’
‘Sorry. Nothing,’ she said hastily. Looking up, she met his anxious gaze.
Can we trust him not to leave us?
Shaking her head to try and loose Estelle, she forced a little laugh, reached up and kissed him quickly. ‘I should get going.’
‘Don’t worry, Cassie. OK? You don’t have to worry.’
‘Sure.’ She smiled a bright fake smile. ‘It’s only the Council of Elders, right?’
Ranjit laughed quietly. ‘Right. See you soon.’
She gave his hand one last squeeze, then hurried away, before Estelle said anything more. Ranjit had told her she didn’t have to be worried, and she believed him. She took his word for it. She did trust him.
Didn’t she?
As Cassie rounded the corner in the stacks she noticed a familiar figure walking away from one of the desks and heading for the door, clutching an armful of files. Jake. She almost called out to him, wanting to harangue him about abandoning Isabella again earlier in the day, but he was already gone. Beneath his desk, though, she could see a single sheet of paper that had slipped to the floor. Cassie bent to pick it up.
It was a page of plain text, a printout from a computer file, that much was clear. The title alone was enough to send shivers right through her:
Highly Classified – Enquiries into the death of Jessica Marie Johnson
But what took Cassie’s breath away were the four words that encircled a blue and gold seal at the very top of the page:
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Darke Academy 2: Blood Ties Page 10