Divided Souls (4 page)

Cassie half expected Isabella to stop in her tracks and slap him, but she only giggled and wiped her nose. ‘Uh, I’ll let you know. Thank you, Richard.’

‘But of course,’ he said, though his eyes kept flicking towards Cassie, as though he were checking her reaction. Cassie frowned. What did she care if he flirted with Isabella? Anyway, he was only doing it to make their friend feel better, right?

Even beyond the Bazaar the streets were hot and noisy, and already the calls to prayer were floating above the chatter and thrum of the city. Richard kept up a stream of chatter as they headed for the port – pointing out landmarks, tossing out morsels of history, making off-colour jokes. By the time they reached the waterside, Isabella was just about cheery enough to wave to the boatman and call out without a wobble in her voice.

As they began to board, Cassie caught Richard’s arm, gesturing for him to hang back beside her for a moment.

‘Listen, thanks, Richard,’ she began. ‘Really. I appreciate it. She needed cheering up.’ Cassie nodded towards Isabella ahead of them.

‘No problem.’ He cleared his throat awkwardly. ‘I meant it, anyway. Jake
is
an arse.’

‘He’s got reason, Richard,’ Cassie reminded him darkly.

‘I know. And I’m sorry his sister di— was killed,’ he corrected himself. ‘But he doesn’t have to take it out on Isabella. She’s nuts about him, poor thing. Sometimes it’s hard to get over someone, no matter how much has happened between you.’ He muttered the last sentence, so Cassie wasn’t sure she heard correctly.

‘I agree with you about Jake,’ she sighed. ‘But I reckon the whole situation with those two is more than half my fault, so it’s kind of hard for me to discuss it with her.’

Glancing once again at Isabella, who was chatting amiably to the boatman who had helped her aboard, Richard lowered his voice. ‘And are you OK, Cassie?’

It seemed like that question was so loaded it could sink the launch. ‘I’m fine,’ she said stiffly.

‘Really? I hope so, Cassie, I honestly do.’ He swept a lock of hair out of his face. Following it with her eyes, Cassie was irritated at realising she found the mannerism attractive. ‘Because while we’re talking fault,’ he continued, ‘I suppose I’ve got a lot to feel guilty about myself.’

Cassie took a deep breath. He was leading, but now was as good a time as any. ‘True. But listen – I’ve been meaning to say thanks for that as well, Richard,’ she muttered quickly. ‘For last term? You telling me where to find Jake that night, at the Puppet Theatre? I’d never have thought of that. If it hadn’t been for you, he probably would have been dead before we even got to him.’

‘Yeah, well there are many things I regret in life.’ He winked.

‘Seriously. For all we’ve said about him, I am grateful. And of course, so’s Isabella.’

‘Even though you two nearly got killed yourselves?’

‘But we didn’t. That was a good thing you did, Richard.’ And more than Ranjit bloody Singh managed, she thought bitterly.

‘I owed you that much, didn’t I?’ He made a rueful face.

She laughed dryly. ‘Yeah. I guess.’

Very lightly, he touched her arm, then dropped his hand. ‘And look, Cassie, I know I was a pain last term, asking you to forgive me all the time, but I promise not to give you a hard time any more. OK? I’ll leave you alone now. On my honour.’

‘Richard, that’s not—’

‘Yeah, I know. My honour’s not worth that much.’

Not what I was trying to say, she thought, smiling with a touch of regret. But he was already grinning and striding towards the boat where Isabella was waving from the stern.

Inferior
, Estelle’s voice injected.
Inferior stuff, my dear. He won’t get us anywhere
.

Ignoring her, Cassie jumped down into the launch after Richard. As he began chatting easily with the young boatman, exchanging opinions about some dreary football match, Cassie went to Isabella’s side.

‘God, Cassie, did I overreact? I’ve just got to stop thinking about him,’ Isabella announced fiercely, eyes on the horizon as the sea breeze tangled her mahogany hair.

Cassie hesitated. ‘Well yeah, I think you might be right. Though I understand, babe. I really do.’

Isabella paused, and then spoke again. ‘And
you
need to do the same, you know.’

‘Huh?’

‘Maybe I’m wrong, Cassie. But somewhere deep down, aren’t you still thinking about Ranjit?’ Isabella watched her with concern.

‘No.’

Cassie’s cheekbones reddened as Isabella raised an eyebrow.

‘OK. Well I hope not. Seriously,’ Isabella said, winding her fingers into Cassie’s and squeezed them. ‘Because that would just be a fine thing, wouldn’t it? Staying in one of the most exciting cities on earth, and
both
of us pining for a pair of deadbeats who don’t even deserve us? No. Tell you what, Cassie, I promise I’m going to try and snap out of it. I’m going to be like you. Single and ready to tingle.’

Cassie burst into laughter. ‘Mingle!’

Isabella grinned. ‘Deliberate mistake.’

‘Freudian slip, more like!’ Cassie found herself giggling with her roommate. ‘Deadbeats who don’t deserve us, eh? So Richard’s got to you!’

‘I think he’s getting to you, too.’ Isabella gave her one of her lethal rib-nudges.

Cassie gasped and laughed. ‘As if!’

‘Whatever you say, Cassie Bell. Still, perhaps you should let him …’ Isabella turned haughtily away, but a small smirk was playing on her lips.

Cassie frowned at the island as it drew closer. She hadn’t been thinking about Richard, and she sure as hell hadn’t been thinking about Ranjit.
Hadn’t
. Except to be angry, no,
furious
at him. Other than that, she couldn’t bear to think about the boy. Mustn’t. She couldn’t deal with thoughts of his betrayal, his cowardice; not right now.

A small chuckle interrupted her thoughts.

It’s all right, dearest. I’ll take care of things for both of us!

‘F
eel your clay, ladies and gentlemen!
Feel
what it wants to be!’

Signor Poldino was full of the joys of early summer, bouncing excitedly on his heels. Did the man never run out of energy? wondered Cassie. The light that poured in at the open windows of the elegant room had a green tinge from the lush gardens, and she could catch glimpses of bright sky, but if she had to be in a classroom, this was one of the better ones.

She was aware of stifled giggles behind her – the sculpture class was barely containing its collective hilarity at whatever Richard was working on, but the arts master didn’t seem to have noticed. Cassie, for her part, made every effort not to turn around and catch Richard’s eye. Off to her right, Cormac was studiously forming an out-of-proportion pair of legs. He seemed to be taking it unusually seriously till he quipped out of the corner of his mouth, ‘Feet of clay, Cassie.’

‘Har har,’ she whispered back sarcastically.

‘You know what my clay feels like?’ hissed Isabella, examining her piece as she stood next to Cassie. ‘It feels like crawling under the table and dying. Look at this thing. It’s
terrible
!’

And it really was unidentifiably awful. Cassie shrugged.

‘I don’t know,’ she replied. ‘I thought it might have been a Rodin pastiche!’ She started to laugh, but it died on her lips. It was as if a black veil had been thrown over her, closing her off from the rest of the class, and out of nowhere, Cassie’s light mood vanished.

The feeling in her chest was dark and intense and … yearning. Something was calling to her, tugging on her like a magnet. Cassie lifted her head and looked back, though she knew exactly whom she would see.

Ranjit.

A jolt of electric lust raced through her body, and she had to suppress an involuntary shudder of excitement. Where had he come from? How long had he been there? She certainly hadn’t noticed him being there at the start of the class, and in fact she hadn’t seen him at all around the Academy in the couple of days before the start of term. Not that she’d been looking, of course. Cassie had assumed he was off being dark and mysterious or doing Sir Alric Darke’s bidding, which was usually his default position around this school.

But here he was now, tall and beautiful, his amber eyes boring into her soul, and she couldn’t look away. He gave her a single hesitant nod. There was something indefinable in his expression: hope, and longing, and fear, all mixed up into one desperate silent cry. It was a cry that got an answer from deep inside her:

No! No! He rejected us, Cassandra! It doesn’t matter if we want him. We’re strong without him. More than strong enough just us, together!

Cassie swallowed hard and forced herself to tear her eyes off him and concentrate on her work. She didn’t need Estelle for a cheerleader. Of course she was strong enough. It was nothing more than a minor infuriation that he still made her nerve-endings crackle and her heart crash against her ribcage.

Yes, my dear girl! More than strong, we’re better than him!
You and me! TOGETHER!

‘For God’s sake!’ she hissed out loud. Blushing as surprised faces turned to her, she muttered, ‘Can’t get this to work.’

‘I know the feeling,’ mumbled Isabella crossly, jabbing a forefinger into the mess of her sculpture. Then she looked up and followed Cassie’s gaze as she glanced once again at the handsome face behind her. Isabella’s own face darkened, and she touched Cassie’s arm, smearing it with wet clay. Lowering her voice, she said, ‘Ah. Cassie, are you OK?’

Cassie blinked. Was she that obvious? ‘I’m fine. Fine.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes! Stop it. I’m fine,’ said Cassie, raising her voice more than she intended. She flushed as more students turned to look at her, and as she saw Isabella’s hurt expression.

‘Look, I’m sorry, Isabella,’ she whispered. ‘I just—You’re right, it’s a bit weird. Let’s talk about it later, eh?’

Isabella nodded and turned back to her clay with a sigh. Feeling another stare, Cassie flicked her gaze towards Richard. He seemed very solemn, till she caught his eye. Then he winked, and smiled proudly down at his creation.

Cassie followed his gaze, and a moment later flung her hands to her mouth to stifle her explosion of laughter. She just about managed to disguise it as a coughing fit, and Signor Poldino hurried across to pat her back and reassure himself that his favourite student wasn’t about to expire. As he fussed, Cassie turned back to Richard with a deadly look. His eyes opened wide, innocent, and he splayed his hands questioningly above his suggestive sculpture. This might look like a fine pair of taut buttocks, his pleading eyes seemed to say, but that’s only your dirty mind. To prove it, he slapped his hands on to them, closing his eyes briefly, then opening them and grinning.

‘You,’ she mouthed through her smile, ‘are disgusting!’

It only made his grin all the wider.

Grudgingly, Cassie couldn’t help but think that she was glad Richard was in class that morning. She couldn’t deny that he’d cheered her right back up, and she wasn’t sure she would have lasted the class without his lewd mischief-making to distract her. Not with Ranjit’s lethal, beautiful eyes boring into her back. As soon as they’d cleared up and the class was dismissed, Cassie bolted. She wasn’t going to hang about and risk a grisly confrontation with her ex.

Her
ex
. Yes, that was all he was. Cassie gritted her teeth and dodged swiftly through the corridor crowds, ignoring the wrench of misery in her gut. The spirit’s gloating voice wasn’t really helping; that only served to remind Cassie of how strong the pull of him had been, for Estelle as well as herself. Frankly, she thought, Estelle was protesting too much. But how might she expect a vicious spirit to behave when it was scorned and rejected? No wonder the old bat was bitter. No wonder she wanted herself and Cassie to triumph alone. If only Estelle didn’t keep reminding her of his attractions.

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, Cassie, the biggest mistake
of my life
.’