There was no more sense from Saski, as the tears returned with a vengeance. Cassie was aware of teachers gathering, of the silent figure of the porter Marat in the background, and the girl was eventually prised away from her and taken away by Madame Lefevre, who could do hugging and comforting a lot more efficiently than Cassie.
Cassie turned on Chelnikov, stunned. ‘Is it true? Mikhail’s dead?’
The science master’s stony blue gaze was unchanged. ‘You’ll have to talk to Sir Alric about that. We’re not at liberty to discuss the matter. Now, Miss Bell, I suggest you too return to your room.’
Cassie took a breath to argue, but stopped herself; there was nothing else for it. What would be the use in trying to pull Few rank again at this point? Nodding, she did as she was told, her mind spinning. By the time she shut the heavy door to her room, leaned against it and breathed out a shaky sigh, Isabella was awake, and demanding to know what all the commotion had been about.
‘He’s what?’ Her roommate’s voice trembled.
‘Dead,’ said Cassie, swallowing hard. ‘So Saski said.’
‘That’s ridiculous. No. That’s crazy.’
Cassie shook her head, then rubbed the bridge of her nose. ‘Apparently not. Some of the teachers seem to know about it. This is … this is unbelievable.’
‘Beyond unbelievable. Cassie, didn’t Saski explain any more?’
‘She couldn’t, she’s hysterical.’ Cassie could feel herself heading that way herself. If Mikhail was dead, and Yusuf was missing, then Ranjit … Then Ranjit— ‘No,’ she muttered, half to herself. ‘No, he’s fine. He always is.’
Neither of them bothered with make-up. She and Isabella were down in the dining room for breakfast within ten minutes, together with what seemed like the rest of the school, loud with excitement and horror.
‘It’s the curse. That’s what it is.’
‘I’m going to have to call my parents. They’ll be flipping out if they hear.’
‘Lessons are cancelled. As usual. Finally some time to get a bit of shopping done …’
‘Torquil! ’
‘Bloody hell, have you heard …?’
‘I never liked him, but how awful. Poor Saski.’
‘… Curse, I’m telling you. The Darke Academy curse.’
Cassie tried to drown out all the speculating as she and Isabella walked over and sat down with Alice.
‘Have you heard what happened?’ Isabella said, gripping Alice’s hand comfortingly. Alice looked shakier than some of the others – but then she’d experienced her own Few roommate dying in mysterious and nasty circumstances not so long ago. Luckily she didn’t know that Keiko had died at Cassie’s hands, in self-defence while the unhinged Japanese girl was trying to stab her to death … Cassie shuddered, trying not to think about it, in case the guilt showed in her face.
‘Yes. Well, only the basics. They haven’t really told us anything.’
Feeling a hand on her shoulder, Cassie turned to her left: India. The Few girl looked subdued, and almost frightened. She got up and let India draw her aside, trying to ignore Isabella’s pointed look. She needed to get all the information she could; all of it could help. Help towards finding him.
‘They found him at five o’clock this morning,’ India murmured, as they sat down on a bench in the courtyard. ‘Down at the Golden Horn, by the harbour. God knows how he’d got there. We got separated from him in Beyoglu, but we weren’t worried. We were more concerned about getting Saski home, cos she was too pissed to stand. It never occurred to us that Mikhail …’
‘No,’ said Cassie. ‘It wouldn’t. He was one of … one of us. God, what on earth happened?’
‘Nobody knows. They’re keeping the details very hush-hush.’
I’ll bet they are, thought Cassie grimly. It had been the same with Keiko, after all. She had a sudden, vivid mental picture of Marat, down in the shadows below her, flinging a white sheet over Keiko’s desiccated remains. And before that, hadn’t they covered up the dreadful killing of Jess? Why, Sir Alric would be greasing palms in the Istanbul police force at this very moment …
Someone appeared behind her and India, leaning forward between them, clasping his hands nervously. Antonio, a fifth-year Few boy. Not one she knew well, but relatively friendly.
‘Emergency meeting after breakfast, Cassie, India. Can you be there? It’s important.’
‘It certainly is.’ Cassie gave him a wry look, then glanced at India. ‘Of course I’ll be there.’
‘And so will I,’ added India.
‘Good. The common room, ten o’clock. See you there.’ He stood up and headed in the direction of two more Few members.
He seemed antsy and quick. He must have got round them all, because by the time Cassie arrived at the common room they were all there. No one seemed to be missing – except for Mikhail, of course.
And Yusuf, she thought with a shudder of unease.
And Ranjit …
She felt a friendly presence at her shoulder, and didn’t have to turn to know it was Richard. She sighed. Despite the circumstances, she couldn’t help feeling a small sense of relief at having him there.
‘Hi,’ she murmured.
‘Cassie.’ His voice was sombre.
‘What happened after I left, Richard?’ She gave him a sidelong glance. ‘Did you see anything?’
‘No.’ He touched her arm, and a quiver ran up it. ‘I left early. It wasn’t any fun without you there.’ He bit his lip, his eyebrow arching ever so slightly.
Cassie smiled.
The hubbub in the room died as one of the older Few, Vassily, rattled a silver fork against his glass. ‘Is everyone here?’
Ayeesha glanced around the room, counting. ‘Yes.’
‘Right. We can safely say we have two Few missing, and now one dead. It doesn’t look good for us.’
There was a general murmur of worried assent.
‘I think we’re agreed on one thing: we’re vulnerable. And this is not something that we are used to.’ Vassily took a deep breath. ‘This has to stop.’
‘But how?’ someone interjected from the back of the group.
That question alone was asking for more trouble. Everyone, of course, had their own theories, their own answers, and fear had made them voluble. The room erupted.
Cassie kept quiet, listening hard to the suggestions and the arguments, letting the shouted questions batter her ears. She kept her mouth shut partly because they didn’t seem to be getting anywhere, but mostly because one name kept cropping up with alarming frequency.
‘What about Cassie?’ a voice chimed once more.
Ayeesha spoke up. ‘I agree. Cassie, there’s no denying that you handle Darke better than most of us – he has a special, ah … concern when it comes to you. It could be the in we need, huh?’
Gazes flicked towards Cassie, with nervousness and respect.
‘Mm, and she has a personal interest in … well. You know who,’ someone murmured, to some snickers.
‘Yes. I think she should represent us,’ someone else said.
‘Oh, hold on a minute.’ That was Sara’s sneer. ‘You’re not telling me that psycho Scholarship is going to represent us? Not in my name, I assure you.’
‘Oh shut up, Sara,’ snapped India.
‘Cassie’s the obvious delegate,’ said Cormac. ‘Sir Alric likes her.’
‘Sir Alric’s losing his marbles.’
‘It’s a bloody no-brainer,’ shouted another student on the other side of the room. ‘With Ranjit gone, she’s the most powerful one of us, no contest. She’s the best candidate for the job.’
Vassily rapped on the glass again. ‘Does the proposed delegate have anything to say about it herself?’
All eyes turned her way. Cassie took a deep breath.
‘You want me to talk to Sir Alric? Fine, I’ll talk to him. But you’re going to have to tell me what you want me to say.’
‘So you’re willing?’ Vassily raised an eyebrow, and
then glanced round the room. ‘Any objections?’ As Sara opened her mouth again he added, ‘Any rational objections?’
She shut it again, looking venomous. So did a few others around her, but most of the Few were nodding approvingly.
Yes, my dear! We have them all in the palm of our hands now! You are their chosen one!
‘Thank you, Cassie,’ Vassily was saying, as Cassie clenched her jaw. ‘It’s nothing complicated. As we were saying: Mikhail’s dead. Ranjit and Yusuf are missing. They had nothing in common but their gender – and the fact that they’re all Few. So unless there’s some mad feminist killer out there, I think it’s pretty obvious what the connection might be.’
‘And you want me to ask what, exactly?’ insisted Cassie.
He paused, glancing at some of the others. ‘What Sir Alric knows.’
‘What he doesn’t know,’ added Antonio.
‘How soon he knew it.’ That was India. ‘And why we know nothing yet. Why we’ve been kept in …’ she paused and smiled bleakly, ‘… the dark.’
Vassily turned back to Cassie. ‘You get the gist.’
She nodded. Since the news of Mikhail’s death, her vague worries about Ranjit had coalesced into something ten times more frightening. Whether it was over between them or not, she needed to do something concrete, and she needed to do it now.
‘I hope she’s not going to be emotional about this,’ snapped Sara.
‘She’s an official delegate of the Few,’ said Vassily, who Cassie was beginning to realise couldn’t stand Sara. ‘I think we can rely on her not to be emotional.’ He gave Cassie a curt look, and she nodded once.
‘Then choose her sidesmen,’ he said, slumping back into his chair. ‘We’ll do this the correct way. Officially. And then Sir Alric Darke will tell us what he knows.’
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
‘Cassandra Bell.’ Sir Alric Darke stood quite formally as his secretary opened the door to the delegation. A smile of satisfaction twitched his mouth. She walked into the room, giving a last glance at her ‘sidesmen’. Ayeesha was solemn, but Richard gave her a reassuring nod as Sir Alric dismissed them and the door was closed.
‘So, Cassie. Official delegate of the Few, no less. In two terms.’
‘I don’t really care about that. Not right now.’
She swept the room with her gaze. There was something odd about it since last time. Sir Alric himself, for a start. He looked almost dishevelled – well, by his standards at least. His hair was rumpled from having his long fingers run through it, and his tie was slightly loosened. She couldn’t even be sure he’d shaved today. As for the room, it was strewn with papers, folders, books. Cassie frowned. And there was something different, something missing. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something …
He must have noticed her curiosity, because he looked quite shifty and displeased all of a sudden. ‘There’s a little disorder here; I seem to have misplaced a file. Shall we go out to the greenhouse?’
As ever, it wasn’t really a request, so she followed him. He didn’t even give his young orchids a glance as he passed them; now that was unusual. Curiouser and curiouser …
‘So.’ Sir Alric stood silhouetted against one of the glass walls lined with creeping vines, and folded his arms. ‘Please feel free to present your request.’
Cassie cleared her throat, thinking she should play along with his formalities. ‘I – we, the Few – want to be made privy to any information you have about Mikhail’s death. About Yusuf’s disappearance, and … and Ranjit’s.’ She took a deep breath, angry that she’d stumbled over the name. ‘Because the Few believe that sleeping dogs shouldn’t be left to lie any longer. This is directly affecting us, and we have a right to know.’ When she was finished, she was a little surprised herself at how severe she had managed to sound.
Sir Alric didn’t answer immediately. He nodded slowly, deliberately, and then smoothed a ruffled hair back into place, before folding his arms again and finally meeting her eye.
‘I grant you, Cassie, the situation is unusual in that there does seem to be a connection between these disappearances. But as you’ve told me yourself, Ranjit Singh keeps very much to his own schedule.’ He paused. ‘And as I’ve already asked you, I want you to let me know if he gets in touch.’
‘What makes you think he’d get in touch with me?’
‘Come along, Cassie. Let’s not play games.’
She bristled. Here he was, quite literally in a glass house, and he was going to throw stones at her?
‘You seem very certain everything’s all right with him.’
‘Nothing is certain,’ he replied, his eyes stormy, severe. ‘But we both know that of anyone, you are the most likely person he would contact. It’s important that anything pertaining to this matter is brought to my attention straight away.’ He raised an eyebrow pointedly.
Cassie clenched her jaw before taking a breath and speaking again, her voice low as she struggled to control the heat building behind her eyes. ‘If you’re trying to suggest I’m keeping something from you, you’re dead wrong. There have been no secret rendezvous, no clandestine meetings so you can stop suggesting that—’
‘Not even with a certain Mr Johnson?’
Cassie froze. ‘What?’
‘Have you been in contact with Jake Johnson?’
The question came out of left field, catching her completely off guard. It was a moment before she could catch her breath to answer. Even then she didn’t cover herself with glory.
‘Eh?’ she said, shaking her head in frustration, then jumping as Estelle’s voice echoed inside her head.
The American boy! We should never have let him get out of our sight!
Sir Alric’s brow was furrowed, and he was watching her very closely. Cassie composed herself before she spoke again.
‘I haven’t seen Jake since last term. Why would I? He hates me. He wouldn’t send me so much as a postcard.’
‘Really?’
‘Really. I have absolutely no reason to lie. I haven’t heard from him. And he definitely has good reason to hate me, as I’m sure you’re aware. I doubt I’ll ever see him again.’ In a mutter she added, ‘I’ll be spending my life making that up to Isabella.’
His gaze remained unrelenting, but he nodded slowly. ‘So you’re unaware that Jake Johnson flew into Istanbul several days ago.’
She didn’t think she’d ever been so comprehensively gobsmacked. She couldn’t think of a single thing to say, except – again – ‘What?’
‘He’s in Istanbul, Cassie.’
‘Where?’
He gave an elegant shrug. ‘I don’t know, exactly. We haven’t been able to track him down. He’s disappeared from view, and now he’s lying low. I’ve been expecting him to surface, and up until now I’ve seen no reason to … make anyone else aware.’ He paused, and raised an arched eyebrow. ‘Why do you think he’d come here, Cassie?’
‘I … don’t know. He’s … he still wants to get to the bottom of Jessica’s death, of course.’ She tried to be cool, but found she was trembling. ‘That’s natural enough.’
‘Yes.’ Sir Alric nodded. ‘Indeed. Very natural.’
She swallowed hard. ‘Don’t you believe me?’
‘Yes, Cassie, I do. I think it’s clear you haven’t heard from him. And I don’t think you need to worry about Jake in particular. He isn’t capable of harming a member of the Few, in any case.’
The line of sweat prickling her hairline must be obvious to him. She was certain he knew that she couldn’t speak because she didn’t trust her voice.
The Knife. The supernatural, strangely powerful Knife.
Jake had it. That could harm the Few, all right. She’d seen it done. She remembered all that was left of Keiko: a smear of dried Keiko-shaped dust on a marble floor in Paris.
She cleared her throat. ‘You still haven’t told me about Mikhail. And … the other two. What you know.’
Again he lifted his shoulders gently. ‘
That’s because I know very little, Cassie. Possibly even less than you do.’
She eyed him closely. ‘If you say so,’ she said, barely concealing her suspicion. Sir Alric ignored her.
‘Now, a word about your new … status.’
She lifted her chin. ‘Go on.’
‘I’m pleased you have come so far among the Few in so short a time. Nevertheless, do not get complacent. As you are more than aware, you are special, even for a Few member.’ Gently he touched the black petal of one of the propagated orchids pointedly. ‘Like I told you before. You are unique, but that means others will be watching. And people could jump to conclusions about … unique situations. Do you understand?’
‘Are you trying to say someone could accuse me of having something to do with this?’
Sir Alric fixed her with a severe glare. ‘I’m saying that I think you should take last term’s reprieve with the Council seriously.’
There was little more Cassie could say to that. She nodded, and walked back through his office with all the dignity she could muster. Darke’s secretary opened the door, and let it swing shut with a soft clunk behind her. And until she was back in the corridors of the Academy, she felt his granite eyes boring into her spine.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
‘Nothing. He didn’t tell me anything.’ She was still fizzing with fury and confusion, and the rest of the Few didn’t seem too upbeat either.
‘I knew she’d be useless,’ murmured Sara to the girl at her side.
The others ignored that, and so did Cassie. She’d never seen the elite Few so restless, so unsure of themselves, so … scared.
‘Is someone out to get us?’ Cormac finally voiced what they were all thinking.
‘Looks that way, doesn’t it?’ said Vassily. ‘And it looks as if we can’t expect any help from Darke.’
Cassie clamped her mouth shut, resolving to say nothing more. She’d done her bit: let the rest of them work it out from here. She had other things to think about.
Darke Academy 3: Divided Souls Page 10