She left the phone to continue vibrating, and gave a sigh of relief when it finally stopped.
* * *
She lasted remarkably well, Cassie told herself later. Showed amazing restraint, all things considered. It was a whole hour before she finally gave in and responded to that insistent bleep of the voicemail message. Even then it was only after Estelle’s insistence that she should prepare herself in case Ranjit had something planned when she got to the drinks.
Closing the door of their room, pausing in the corridor, she shut her eyes and sighed. Of course she had to listen. Get it over with. She wouldn’t ever relax for her imminent common room ordeal otherwise …
Flipping the phone open before she could change her mind, she punched in the number and pressed the phone to her ear.
‘Cassie.’ Ranjit’s voice sounded breathless on the voicemail, desperate. ‘Cassie, I know why you won’t answer, but hear me out. Please.’ A shaky breath. But there was more than nerves in his voice, she thought, frowning. There was high, repressed excitement.
‘Meet me at seven, OK? My room. No pressure, I promise. I know—Listen, I know you don’t trust me any more. Fair enough. I let you down, but I want to make up for that, I really do.’ A bark of awkward laughter. ‘God, it’s just so lucky we’re in Istanbul this year! Believe me, Cassie, I can fix this. I WILL fix this. I’m nearly there. Soon I’ll be able to … to heal old wounds, if you like.’ A pause, then another high ironic laugh. ‘Or maybe I should say “break old ties”!’
He hesitated again, as if he wanted to say more, and she pressed the phone closer to her ear, so close that it hurt. But there was nothing else. After a few seconds, the line went dead.
Heal old wounds? What was that supposed to mean? Apart from being melodramatic guff to get her to his room, she thought angrily. Break old ties? Arsehole!
Then she thought about Estelle, about the broken state of her spirit, the part of it that remained outside Cassie, and shuddered …
She didn’t know which was more powerful, the rage at his cheek, or the unbearable curiosity. Well, no, that wasn’t true. Of course the curiosity was going to win out. He knew that, didn’t he? Which, she thought as she stormed to his room in the upper corridor, made her even more furious.
I’m not sure this is such a good idea, Cassandra …
Cassie ignored Estelle’s cautious interjection. As she hesitated in front of his door, she checked her watch. Two minutes past seven. Not nearly long enough to keep him waiting, but it would have to do. She had things to do, places to be. She wasn’t hanging about for Ranjit.
Her knock must have sounded as if she was trying to break down the door.
It flew open. Not Ranjit, she realised, taking a surprised step back. Torvald, his roommate. She wasn’t expecting that.
Clearly, neither was Torvald. He looked a little bemused.
‘Cassie? Hey. What’s up?’
‘Hey. Is Ranjit in there? I got a message from him.’
‘No …’ said Torvald. ‘Actually, I don’t know where he is. But, you know, it’s not like I’ve got him electronically tagged,’ he added smiling dryly. ‘Maybe you were mistaken?’
Cassie was confused. ‘But he asked me to meet him here.’
Torvald’s brow furrowed. ‘Listen, Cassie. It’s not really any of my business, but you’re not still leading him on, are you?’
Cassie blinked hard, shocked and angered by the irony of the statement. She took a breath. ‘What?’
‘Well, it’s just that he hasn’t been the same since you guys broke up. He’s even more serious.’ Rolling his eyes, he added, ‘If that’s possible …’
She bristled. ‘He asked me to meet him.’
‘Yeah? Well, he’s not here. Honestly, I’ve no idea where he’s gone.’ He shrugged.
Cassie hesitated, then shook her head. ‘I just don’t get him,’ she muttered.
‘If it’s any help, he’s been really screwed up since you dumped him. I don’t really get him either, lately.’
He dumped me! she wanted to yell, but there wasn’t any point. It wasn’t Torvald’s fault. ‘Well, just tell him I didn’t wait about, right?’
‘OK, sure.’
Walking away, she turned on her heel and swallowed her anger for a second. ‘Tell him … I’ll be in the common room if he wants to talk.’
CHAPTER NINE
Livid as Cassie was at Ranjit’s stupid mind games, at least the irritation distracted from her nerves as she approached the common room. Outside it, lights glowed in wrought-iron sconces, and the solid door looked very forbidding. Cassie lifted her fist and hammered on the dark, carved wood.
Might have been a little violent, she thought, swallowing hard as the door swung open to reveal the faces of the Few, turned towards her with expressions that ranged from curiosity to mild surprise to outright hostility. Avoiding their stares, she noticed the room was opulent, rich with coloured glass, gilded archways and expensive kilims, and the light was soft and glowing. Windows stood open to the gardens beyond; she could smell the salty breeze mixed with the dusky scent of geraniums.
‘Cassie!’
Thank God for a friendly face. Ayeesha hurried up and embraced her warmly.
‘I’m so glad you came. We’re so glad!’ Ayeesha’s glance at several of her comrades held a touch of defiance. ‘Come in, have a drink. You know everyone by now, I think. Or, no – come and meet Saski. She’s a third year, I don’t know if you met her yet …’
Cassie gave Saski a sympathetic smile, but the girl didn’t seem anything but triumphantly excited about her new status. Cassie diffused her vision as they chatted, focusing on the spirit nestling within the girl’s chest. A mildly powerful aura with an element of wickedness, or perhaps just mischief. Cassie let her attention fall on each Few member in turn as she relaxed and chatted. They were as she remembered them. The strong and the weak; the bad and the genuinely good. The spirits were as usual clustered according to their characters, and the more timid ones were gravitating to the protection of the more powerful. One of the strongest of them all, however, was still nowhere to be seen. That made her even more curious. Ranjit could be stand-offish, but even if he hadn’t kept his own appointment with her, Cassie did half expect him to impose his presence on the start-of-term party: mark his territory, so to speak.
‘Has Ranjit been by?’ she asked Ayeesha casually.
‘No.’ Ayeesha blinked, as though she’d only just realised. ‘No, he hasn’t. I assume he’s coming along later, though?’
Cassie shrugged. ‘I dunno.’
‘Oh! Oh, I see. So, you’re not … I wasn’t sure if—’
‘No. We’re not.’
Ayeesha’s face fell. ‘I’m sorry about that, Cassie. I really am. You and he were—’
‘Yes,’ interrupted Cassie. ‘But it’s over. Totally over.’ And she wasn’t going to spend another second fretting about Ranjit’s tomfoolery.
Ayeesha hesitated, and then smiled apologetically. ‘OK. Sorry, of course. Look, why don’t you come over and talk to Yusuf and India? They’re always good value.’
Cassie wasn’t sure she agreed. The two older Few students seemed a little distant – Yusuf clearly thought the world of himself, and he had a predatory soulmate in India. They were too busy discussing their latest romantic conquests to include Cassie much in their conversation, but they were pretty funny at the same time, and at least they weren’t openly hostile like Mikhail and Sara. She could feel those glares burning a hole between her shoulder blades, though from the English girl it was understandable, given the lashing Cassie had given her last term, when the unusual ‘ability’ she possessed first reared its invisible head.
Still, Cassie wasn’t thinking about the past, and she definitely wasn’t planning to give any more thought to the likes of Sara, or indeed Ranjit bloody Singh. No. She was having fun. She was enjoying being single. And ready to tingle, as Isabella might say.
So heaven only knew why she couldn’t
keep her eyes off the carved door. Heaven knew why she kept aching for it to open, for a familiar beautiful figure to appear, and smile, and walk up to her, and apologise, damn it! What was he playing at, anyway? She’d never been stood up for a meeting she hadn’t even requested before, and it really wasn’t flattering.
Speaking of which …
When the door finally did swing open, it wasn’t the figure she was expecting, but it was a welcome one nonetheless. Richard. If anyone at this soirée was going to make her feel better, it was probably going to be him, she thought, with only a hint of grudging. As he headed towards her, elegantly swerving past other Few members, a glass miraculously in each hand, she was ambushed by a huge sense of gratitude.
‘Hey, Cassie,’ he said, eyeing her with an appreciative grin. ‘Enjoying the party? Would you like me to get the knives out of your back so you can sit down?’
Laughing, she took the drink he proffered. ‘Cheers, mate. I think can manage them.’
‘I don’t doubt it, Ms Bell.’ Richard glanced over her shoulder. ‘Sara and her posse are livid. It’s fantastic.’ He leaned a little closer. ‘Of course, we could get them talking some more …’
‘You have so got to stop that. You could lead a girl on, you know.’ She attempted a sarcastic smile, but found herself taking a step back, still a little alarmed by the attraction she was feeling towards him. And the way his shirt skimmed over the muscles in his chest …
‘Really?’ Richard asked innocently – or was it hopefully? Cassie flushed a little.
‘Well, to be honest, I didn’t think I was really your type. I was under the impression that maybe you were, uh, playing more for the other team …?’
He laughed. ‘Ah. I’ve got a theory on that actually: before my induction into our esteemed little gang here, I was strictly het. I reckon it’s just my pesky spirit who likes to play away – I assure you that I’m most certainly on your team. Or I’d like to be,’ he added, raising his eyebrows.
Cassie gaped at him for a moment, and then couldn’t help bursting out laughing as well. ‘You’re joking.’
‘I’m not.’
‘Isn’t that a bit … inconvenient?’
‘Oh, I don’t know. I’ve always thought of myself as a bit of a try-sexual anyway, so hey, why not? Best of both worlds, that’s how I look at it.’ A mischievous smile spread across his lips.
‘Lordy, I did wonder.’ Cassie laughed again, shaking her head. ‘You’re a boy of two halves.’
‘And both of them highly attractive. Now come on, Cassie. Let’s party.’
It had been fine. More than fine, in fact. She’d had great fun in the end – who could avoid it with Richard around? Besides, if Ranjit had turned up, what would she have said to him?
Still, back at her room, she’d had a restless night with little sleep, and it was mostly because of him. Who stood up an ex-girlfriend – one he was supposedly pining for, according to his roommate – when he was the one who’d suggested they meet? It was for the best really anyway. They’d only have quarrelled. Yes, they’d have had one of their ear-splitting, animal-scaring rows, and if he’d turned up at the common room then it would have been right in front of the rest of the Few. She couldn’t have stood that.
Still …
It would have been reassuring just to catch sight of him, but Ranjit stayed resolutely absent from all his classes the next day. There was no sign of him, but Cassie refused to worry. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t cut lessons before; he made an absolute habit of it. The boy was a law unto himself.
Still …
The last lesson of the day, and the heat in the classroom was suffocating despite the gently turning fans overhead. Madame Lefevre’s sonorous but soporific voice wasn’t helping, and Cassie just couldn’t concentrate. A dove had settled on the windowsill by the latticed shutters, and at least its cooing was soothing. She tried to focus on the bird instead, but her eyes kept drifting beyond it to the leafy gardens. Was he out there?
She was relieved when the interminable day was over, and glad too for the cool of the evening. Returning to her room and throwing her bag down on to her bed, she almost jumped when Isabella stuck her head round the bathroom door and cheerfully called out.
‘Cassie! Hey! How was your afternoon?’
Cassie did a double take, and then smiled. ‘Hi! You’re in a good mood.’ An unusually good mood for Isabella, these days …
Isabella looked almost shifty for a moment, but then she grinned. Ducking back into the bathroom, she reappeared clutching a bottle that looked sculpted out of crystal. The amber liquid within had an almost nuclear glow. ‘New shampoo. So expensive, and who knows what it does for my hair, but it makes me very, very happy.’
‘Just the price tag makes you happy?’ Cassie tilted an eyebrow, nevertheless ridiculously pleased as her friend beamed back.
‘You know nothing makes me happier than spending my inheritance on supporting the economy, Cassie.’ Isabella winked. ‘Listen, how do you fancy hanging out this weekend? We haven’t really spent any time together properly this term. It could be like old times, no? Just like old times …’ She muttered the last sentence to herself, but seemed to stop when she caught Cassie’s quizzical look. What had brought all this on?
‘How about it?’ Isabella continued.
‘Isabella, that sounds wonderful.’ Cassie felt a surge of relief, despite the sudden nature of Isabella’s new-found good mood. She hadn’t seen her friend this happy since … Well, since last term.
‘It does, doesn’t it?’ Isabella agreed, nodding happily.
Cassie returned her friend’s enthusiastic grin, though she couldn’t shake the feeling it was all a bit odd. First Ranjit, now Isabella acting bizarrely. Well, all in a day’s work at the Academy, she thought, chuckling to herself. Anyway, so what? All that mattered was that Isabella was cheerful again, almost back to her normal self, and Cassie wasn’t going to question that too hard.
So long as Isabella was finding her way back, she didn’t care. Cassie had missed her far, far too much to rock the boat now …
CHAPTER TEN
As Isabella dumped her bag on her desk and sat down, Cassie glanced around the history class. There seemed to be more of a buzz than usual, more furtive whispered comments and suppressed excitement. Even among the Few, in their usual spot at the back of the room, there was a flicker of nervous energy.
Mr Haswell was calling for quiet, asking them to take their seats, but Cassie was Few, wasn’t she? She didn’t often pull rank, and never usually around the teachers, but now was perhaps the time to start. She headed straight for the back of the class and leaned down to talk to Ayeesha.
‘He just never came back,’ Ayeesha’s neighbour Lara was saying. ‘Nobody knows what’s happened.’
Cassie interrupted. ‘There’s no need to panic though, is there? I mean, Ranjit’s been away before.’
Lara blinked and shook her head. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘It’s no big deal,’ muttered Cassie. ‘Why’s everyone making a big thing of it?’
‘It isn’t Ranjit,’ explained Ayeesha. ‘We all know what he’s like; skips class all the time. It’s Yusuf.’
For a moment Cassie felt like she’d fallen into a parallel world. ‘What?’
‘Yusuf Ahmed,’ said Lara patiently, as if there was another Yusuf in school. ‘He didn’t come back to the Academy last night. No sign of him this morning. People are beginning to wonder.’
Cassie laughed. ‘You’re worried about Yusuf? He probably fell asleep in some poor damsel’s bed, and right now he’s being thrashed by her irate father!’
Ayeesha didn’t laugh. ‘I don’t think so. They found his wallet near the docks at Sultanahmet. His credit cards, his cash: everything gone.’
Cassie didn’t know what else to say, and Mr Haswell was getting downright impatient now. She walked back to the front of the class and took her seat next to Isabella.
Yusuf had lost his wallet. So wha
t? He could have dropped it. Unlikely, but even more unlikely that he’d come to grief from a mugger. He was Few, for heaven’s sake! It would be the thief who was sorry.
So he’d lost it somewhere else. A thief had found it, emptied it, dumped it. That was the only explanation.
It’s not our concern, my dear!
She’s right, Cassie thought. It wasn’t really anything to do with her. And it was probably nothing anyway. Yusuf could take care of himself.
Yet, she couldn’t help thinking … There’d been no sign of Ranjit for the past couple of days, and now Yusuf had disappeared too? That was a bit of an odd coincidence. Could their absences be connected? The thought lodged in her brain like a lead weight, despite her efforts to shake it free.
Torvald: had he maybe heard something? If she could speak to him, then perhaps she could settle the matter once and for all – especially as she’d promised herself no more worrying about Ranjit. And she wasn’t worried, was she? She just wanted to clear things up.
After class she ran to catch up with Torvald, but Mr Haswell caught her with a query about a homework assignment. By the time Cassie eased herself free, she’d missed Torvald by a whisker, and she had no idea what his next subject was.
Oh, forget it. What could she do anyway? And in any case, she didn’t want Torvald to tell Ranjit she was desperately looking for him, or worried about him. There was a good chance that Ranjit was trying to make her anxious, playing some warped manipulative game. She wouldn’t put it past him, and she certainly wouldn’t indulge him.
Quite right, my dear. Ignore him!
Gospodin Chelnikov was less inclined to indulge the mutter of gossip than Mr Haswell had been. As the students filed into the chemistry lab, the Russian clapped his hands, his blue eyes so cold and fierce that even the Few sat down with little fuss.
‘Quiet, all of you. I know there are some rumours circulating concerning Yusuf Ahmed. It’s natural for you all to be concerned, but Sir Alric has asked me to speak to you about this, as it is beginning to disrupt today’s classes.’
Darke Academy 3: Divided Souls Page 7