Darke Academy 3: Divided Souls

by Gabriella Poole

  Who cares about a pretty face? Hypnotic eyes? Hah! The feel of his skin? What’s that worth? We thought he was our protector, didn’t we? Our forever lover, the missing part of us. But he let you down, Cassandra! He betrayed you! Betrayed us!

  Well, supposedly it was for our own good, Estelle, Cassie thought – though she could hardly believe she was using Ranjit’s own defence as justification. Apparently he had to obey Sir Alric’s orders to keep me out of the Confine …

  He’s a coward!

  That he certainly is, thought Cassie grimly. She needed to keep remembering that. Ranjit could have tried, found a way around it. He had given up. Estelle was right. He had let her down.

  For the rest of the day Cassie managed to avoid Ranjit. Maybe that was because she was so hyper-aware of his presence, but she was pleased with herself anyway, for pulling herself out of his magnetic field every time she felt the tug. Isabella seemed to realise she was having a hard time, because she stuck close to Cassie all day, taking her arm as they hurried away from each class. Of course, thought Cassie, her friend knew just how she felt …

  ‘Go on, give me the gossip,’ Cassie said in the lull between English lit and Russian. ‘I bet you’ve picked some up already.’ And besides shopping, a good gossip had always helped cheer Isabella up. Maybe it would work for both of them.

  Isabella brightened a little, seeming glad to be distracted from her gloom. ‘OK. Well, Alice,’ she whispered, nodding across the courtyard at the English girl who’d once been the evil Keiko’s roommate. ‘Her and Yusuf, apparently, though probably not for long, knowing him. But they were in the boathouse last night. Richard spotted them kissing.’

  ‘No!’ Cassie stared at the girl. ‘I thought Yusuf only went for other Few. I hope he’s behaving himself.’

  Isabella rolled her eyes. ‘I don’t think he’s that picky. And of course he isn’t, he’s completely – what’s the word? – incorrigible.’

  ‘That isn’t what I meant.’ Cassie gave her roommate a meaningful look.

  ‘Oh! Oh, I see. Well, I’m sure he’s careful, even if it’s – you know – feeding he’s after. He’s OK, really. Much nicer than Keiko.’

  ‘Well, if he is, he better not let Sir Alric find out, with his precious rules. And anyway, you’re so obvious, Isabella! You reckon he’s OK? What, just because his eyes are the colour of eighty per cent Belgian chocolate …’

  Isabella wiggled her eyebrows. ‘You noticed that too, then!’

  ‘Heh! What do you expect? He’s Few – being pretty is part of the package,’ Cassie grinned, though with a hint of sourness. Then again, maybe Isabella should do a bit of flirting, even if it was with the notorious Yusuf. So long as that was all it was, Cassie thought warily. Still, the girl certainly could do with a bit of fun. She seemed to be obsessing less about Jake – hadn’t mentioned him since, oh, the lunch break – but when her friend was off guard, there was still that intense sadness in her dark eyes.

  ‘How have you been getting on, Isabella? I know it’s hard being back in classes and stuff.’

  ‘Don’t worry about me. I’m all right. Really.’ Her smile was a little bit too bright, and Cassie ached for her roommate. Poor Isabella. Cassie had to start finding more ways to cheer the girl up; she owed it to her.

  ‘Listen, if you really want to know what happened in the boathouse, why not go and have a little chat? He’s right over there, and he keeps smiling at you.’ Cassie jerked a thumb in Yusuf’s direction.

  ‘Oh, I don’t know, I …’

  ‘I can’t believe you’re passing up a juicy bit of gossip! Go on! And to be honest, I wouldn’t mind knowing myself,’ lied Cassie, ‘but I’d never have the nerve to ask. He’ll spill to you though. Give it a go.’

  ‘He’ll tell me where to go. And how to get there quickest.’

  Cassie made her best puppy-dog eyes at her friend, and Isabella gave a small smile. ‘OK, fine. I suppose it can’t hurt to exercise a couple of flirty muscles, even if they are mainly in retirement at the moment.’ Isabella seemed to pull herself together, with a hint of an old glint of mischief in her eye. ‘Let me see how much I can get out of him. Coming?’

  ‘You go ahead, scandal queen.’ Cassie grinned, delighted at her success. Isabella would never take the philandering Yusuf seriously, but a bit of his attention would be bound to boost her confidence. ‘You better report back to me, and I mean everything. I’m going to check my emails, see if Patrick’s sent his travel details through yet.’

  Cassie watched Isabella till she was sure she was chatting to Yusuf, then turned happily and headed upstairs.

  Big mistake. Turning beneath the archway that led to their room, she came to a dead halt. An all-too-familiar figure was leaning against the door. Her heart lurched and she almost stumbled, and that made her even angrier. How could he still keep having this overwhelming effect, even now?

  ‘What are you doing here?’

  Ranjit Singh pushed himself upright, rubbed his neck. ‘Waiting for you. Obviously.’ He risked a smile.

  Cassie didn’t return it. ‘I don’t see why. We’ve got nothing to say to each other.’

  ‘Don’t be like that, Cassie—’

  ‘Like what? I’m doing as I was told, aren’t I? Doing what you want. Being a good girl.’ She felt her face twist into a sneer. ‘I mean, you made your position pretty clear last term, Ranjit, didn’t you? We can’t be anything to each other, we can’t be together. It’s not appropriate, it’s not possible, it’s not allowed.’

  ‘Cassie, that’s not what I—’

  She shook her head violently, afraid she might lash out – or worse, burst into tears. ‘We can’t even stand by one another in a crisis, can we, Ranjit? Or at least one of us couldn’t. So there’s nothing to talk about.’

  He opened his mouth, but seemed momentarily stricken. With a sound of disgust, she tried to shove past him, but he caught her arm in a fierce grip.

  ‘Don’t touch me!’ she shouted, though something inside her thrilled at his touch. He let her go as if her flesh burned him.

  ‘I’m not here to cause trouble.’

  ‘So why are you wasting your time? There can’t be any other reason.’ Even as she said it she could feel the closeness of him, the way she yearned to touch him, the almost irresistible desire to kiss him, draw him in, consume him.

  ‘You still feel it,’ he whispered.

  Cassie opened her mouth to lie, but thought better of it.

  ‘Yes,’ she said fiercely. ‘But it doesn’t matter what I feel, never did. It’s over, Ranjit. Get it through your thick head, and your spirit’s too.’

  Wrenching the iron handle, she shoved through the door and tried to slam it in his face. His beautiful face.

  ‘Please, Cassie. Hear me out!’ His eyes were brilliant with something beyond desperation as he gripped the door, holding it open. Excitement? Was that excitement she saw?

  She hesitated, trembling – with rage, and with something else a lot less welcome. She exhaled until she had no more air in her lungs, concerned she might unleash the mysterious, invisible power that her unfinished Few ceremony meant she possessed; the power that had caused so much trouble last term. Then she spoke quietly.

  ‘Go on, then. Say whatever it is you have to say. And then just – get out of here.’

  He took a deep breath, dropping his arms to his side but wedging a foot in the door just in case she changed her mind. ‘Cassie, listen. I’ve thought about it over and over, what happened last term. I’ve thought of nothing else.’

  ‘Good,’ she told him viciously. He ignored that.

  ‘We meant something to each other, Cassie. You were everything to me. I’ve never felt anything like that, and I think – I know – you felt the same. Thought I’d get over it, but I didn’t. I stopped even wanting to!’ He raised a hand as Cassie began to protest. ‘Please hear me out! Look, I hate what I did last term. You were right. I should have fought for us. It was the biggest mistake of my life, Cassi
e, the biggest mistake of my life.’

  ‘That’s all very—’ Cassie began, but Ranjit took a step forward, as if to seize her, only controlling himself at the last moment.

  ‘I don’t care what Sir Alric says. And I don’t give a damn about the Council of Elders either …’ He paused.

  ‘What are you—’

  ‘I love you. I love you, Cassie.’

  Cassie froze. OK, the boy knew how to get her attention.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Listen to me. I love you. I have done since the moment I laid eyes on you. And it’s not about our bloody spirits.’ Cassie heard Estelle protest faintly in the background of her spinning mind. Ranjit continued. ‘The fact that we’re Few – or part Few – that’s all irrelevant. I don’t care what’s between our spirits. I love you.’

  She must have looked like a gobsmacked fish, but as his eyes bored inside her soul Cassie couldn’t think of anything to say. How could she? He’d never said anything like it when he had the proper chance. He’d never said all of that when he could have. When it would have mattered, when they were together …

  Ranjit leaned a little towards her, smiling wryly. ‘I’m glad I finally shut you up.’

  She shook her head violently, as much to clear her brain as to reject him. ‘Ranjit – no.’ She spoke through clenched teeth. ‘It’s no good. It’s too late. We can’t be together, you said so. And you tell me now you don’t care about Sir Alric, but look what happened. As soon as he clicked his fingers, you let me down. You left me alone, Ranjit! You left me alone to face the Elders, and I’ve never been so scared in my life.’

  Damn, damn. Her eyes stung, and she hadn’t wanted that to happen. It made her angry. So angry, in fact, that there was suddenly more than a tear in her eye. Her vision was reddening, reddening … No. She blinked back the fury. He wouldn’t make her lose control. Never again.

  ‘I know I let you down, Cassie, and believe me, I’ve never stopped tormenting myself.’ His voice was so beautiful, so intense. And his golden eyes were tinged with redness, too. Not anger, though: passion. ‘I will make that up to you. I’ll make amends for what I did, Cassie. I’ve found a way.’ He stepped back from her, clenching his fists. ‘I’ve found a way for us to be together.’

  ‘Oh, you have? That’s a turnaround since—’

  ‘Sh!’ He put a finger against her lips, and the electric shock of his touch shut her up once more. She stepped back to a safer distance.

  ‘What do you want, Ranjit?’

  ‘I want us to be together.’ He smiled, his eyes intense. ‘I’ve found something that’s going to solve our problem. I just need a little more time.’

  Cassie let out a short laugh at that. ‘Of course. I knew it. Well, Ranjit, I’ll believe that when I see it. And when pigs fly over the Bosphorus.’

  He ignored her. ‘Listen, Cassie. I’ll leave you alone for now … But just one more thing – the Knife. Do you have it?’

  ‘The—’

  ‘The Knife! I know you took it from Keiko and I—’

  ‘What? No. I had dropped it in Central Park after … after the fight with Katerina and her mother. I’m pretty sure Jake has it now.’ As soon as it was out of her mouth, she wished she hadn’t said it, but she folded her arms defiantly.

  ‘Jake?’ Ranjit’s face darkened and he frowned, but then he bit his lip and nodded to himself.

  ‘Yes, Jake. Why?’ she said.

  Ranjit shook his head. Meeting Cassie’s eyes once more, he smiled broadly. ‘Never mind. We’ll be together. I promise you that.’

  He turned on his heel.

  Cassie couldn’t say a word. Her throat was clogged with rage, and disbelief, and unbearable desire, and she could barely even breathe. She could only watch as he walked away, boots clicking on ancient tiles, as he moved beneath the archway and vanished from sight.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ‘THIS BUILDING IS AN ANCIENT MONUMENT!’

  Isabella screamed above the music from the open doorway, hands clamped over her ears, but Cassie ignored her. Sure, the Bose sound system was cranked up to full volume, but she didn’t care. She needed to blast Ranjit-bloody-Singh right out of her system.

  ‘THIS WING IS SIX HUNDRED YEARS OLD, YOU VANDAL!’

  ‘WHAT’S THAT GOT TO DO WITH ANYTHING?’ Cassie yelled back, annoyed.

  ‘THE VIBRATIONS WILL DAMAGE THE MOSAIC TILES IF YOU CARRY ON! TURN THAT DOWN!’

  Isabella stormed across to the stereo, making a dramatic show of battling the sound waves, and clicked the mute. The silence that fell was like a wet blanket.

  Cassie scowled. ‘Spoilsport.’

  Scowling right back, Isabella tilted her head to one side, banging her ear as if to loosen music that was lodged in it. ‘And now, you can tell me what’s wrong. I was right, wasn’t I? You’re pining!’

  ‘Trust me, I’m not!’

  ‘Cassie Bell, nobody plays that kind of music unless they are slitting their wrists over some boy, even if they are ready to kill him to boot! Out with it, girl!’ Isabella plonked down on to the bed beside her. Cassie sighed.

  ‘Ranjit bloody Singh—’

  ‘I happen to know,’ said Isabella primly, ‘that that is not his middle name. However much you wish to make it so.’

  Cassie sighed. ‘Ranjit, then. Ranjit!’

  ‘What has he done now? Or do you just need him here to punch? Shall I go and fetch him?’

  ‘You don’t have to,’ spat Cassie. ‘You just missed him, as it happens.’

  Isabella’s mouth gaped, then stretched into a grin. ‘He came to see you?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Cassie said angrily. ‘Like I haven’t got better things to do than listen to him make excuses.’

  ‘Oh, Cassie.’ Isabella put an arm round her shoulder and practically squeezed the breath out of her. ‘This is good! This means he is sorry, this means he regrets what he did!’

  ‘What he didn’t do,’ Cassie corrected her bitterly.

  ‘Yes, yes, I know. But he did come to see you! At least he’s here, wanting to be with you, wanting to make amends. Not like …’ Her face fell for a moment, and she gave Cassie an imploring look. ‘You can’t give him a chance?’

  No, thought Cassie, though with another pang of guilt for her friend’s misery. Ranjit was worse than Jake, much worse. Jake had his sister’s death at the hands of the Few to contend with, not to mention the fact that his girlfriend was being fed on by one of them. Ranjit’s excuses paled in comparison.

  ‘How many chances does he need?’ Cassie exclaimed. ‘As far as I’m concerned, Isabella, he’s run out. How could I ever trust him? Tell me that! When I was summoned to see the Elders, it was—I was terrified! He knew that! He promised to be there with me, and he knew how important it was to me. And he didn’t show up!’ Cassie bit hard on her lip, feeling the pain of the betrayal all over again.

  ‘Cassie,’ soothed Isabella. ‘You told me he had his reasons. That Sir Alric would have voted you into the Confine if he’d shown up. Ranjit had to do what Sir Alric told him to do. You know that.’

  Cassie shook her head firmly. ‘No. He could have at least got word to me. He could have found a way around it all. I’ve had a long time to think it over. All over the holidays, when, by the way, he didn’t bother to get in touch with me. Not so much as a bloody text!’ She drew a hand down her face, feeling the dangerous heat in her eyes again, breathing deeply to calm herself. ‘Sure, he had his excuses for what he did. But he can always get his way, if he really tries! If he wants to.’

  ‘Cassie, you can’t say he didn’t want to—’

  ‘Well he can’t have wanted it very much. Except now, all of a sudden, apparently he’s got the magic solution. Well it’s too late.’

  ‘What?’ Isabella said, blinking in surprise.

  ‘Yeah. He says he’ll find a way for us to be together! Right, sure. Now he decides he’s made a mistake, so now he can find a solution. How convenient! Well, you know what? It doesn’t suit me, not any more.
He had his chance to fight for this relationship. As far as I’m concerned, Ranjit’s all mouth. All talk, no action. And I can’t stand that. I’m done with him.’

  Cassie stopped, catching her breath. She was annoyed that she was getting so angry about Ranjit, and his ridiculous, mysterious plans. What was all that about the Knife, anyway? It was on the tip of her tongue to mention it to Isabella, but something held her back. She didn’t want to bring Jake up again, especially not in relation to the strange, jade-hilted Few Knife. Oh, to hell with the Knife and to hell with Ranjit, Cassie thought. He was taking up space in her head again, and that was the last thing she wanted.

  Isabella leaned back on her hands, watching Cassie thoughtfully. ‘Well. Maybe you’re right.’

  ‘I know I’m right,’ Cassie replied dully.

  ‘OK. So it’s time to move on!’

  ‘What d’you mean?’ Cassie gave her roommate a wary look as Isabella stood up and began to count on her fingers.

  ‘Yusuf? No, he is all right but he’s a rake and a scoundrel. Vassily? Mm, he’s quite a nice one, Cassie. He has a very fetching – what do you call it? Arse? I think it’s all that gymnastics. Or there’s Perry Hutton …?’

  Cassie lurched forward, pretending to gag. ‘Besides, I highly doubt I’m his type,’ she said pointedly.

  ‘That’s true,’ Isabella agreed, giggling. ‘OK. Not Perry! Let me see: Bjorn Madsen? Michael Leaming? Jiri, Daniel, Kristofer? I’m running out here …’

  ‘Mmm, sooner the better,’ laughed Cassie. ‘Give me a break!’

  ‘Hang on. I’ve got it!’ Isabella paused and gave her a sly look. ‘Richard Halton-Jones!’

  Cassie flung a pillow at her. ‘Get lost! No way!’

  ‘No …?’ Isabella nibbled her lip and eyed her closely. ‘I thought you were getting a little bit fond of him again. Just a little? He did used to like you very much. Remember how into you he was in your first term?’