Divided Souls (7 page)

That’s my girl.

C
assie took a deep breath as she surveyed the students’ eager faces around her. She loved field trips, especially here. It wasn’t that the Academy itself wasn’t a stunningly beautiful place to study and work, but to sail across to Istanbul itself, to see its great architectural jewels up close, was a thrill for Cassie. Besides, perhaps she was a little like Sir Alric in that way: she did like a change of scene. It gave her breathing space, thinking space.

The sounds of the city were somehow muted in the grounds of the stunning Hagia Sophia mosque, softened by the splashing of fountains. Standing on the grass with the rest of the class, Cassie gazed up at its imposing dome and minarets, only half listening to Mr Haswell as he pointed out the Iznik tiling and the delicate beauty of the structure. The sun was warm on the back of her neck and for the moment she didn’t take notes, just clasped her book in her arms and basked in the atmosphere.

She was completely relaxed, and she wasn’t expecting her neck to prickle with that now-familiar instinct. Frowning, she scratched at the back of her neck and turned.

Where had he appeared from again? She was as sure as she could be that Ranjit had not been on the boat with the rest of them. But he must have been, because now there he was, his eyes locking with hers for a brief moment before he turned away. Nice of him to turn up for a class, she thought sarcastically. And he had been watching her for a while – the tingling of her skin meant nothing else. Now, though, he was blending with the rest of the class as they filed inside the building, his attention apparently intently focused on the soaring space within.

The light beneath the great dome had an almost mystical quality, as if the dome was floating in air. Ranjit gazed up at it, seeming awestruck, then glanced at Cassie across the echoing chamber and broke into a mysterious smile. Cassie only just managed to stop herself smiling in return, because he looked … good. Very good. Not as well groomed and polished as usual – in fact he had a downright sloppy look about him, and his jaw was shadowed with stubble – but that only made him more gorgeous. She took a breath, forcing herself to walk away and ignore him.

He didn’t try to follow her, and she was glad. As the class broke up into smaller groups, tasked with assignments she hadn’t even heard properly, she saw Ranjit break away from the crowd and head off on his own. As he left, he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, unfolding it and studying it closely as he walked.

Oh, she was furious with herself. Even as she slipped out of the main building in his wake, she was livid. What was it about her that she couldn’t leave the boy alone? Hell, she was curious about what he was up to, that was all. Curious? Fascinated. He had no business sneaking off like that, acting all mysterious and—

He’d come to a halt, beside the remains of an ancient basilica. Cassie stopped too, sidling into the shade of a wall, and she frowned as she watched him. Ranjit was studying the carved stone decorations as if he’d spotted the Holy Grail or something. He glanced around, checking that no one was near; then abruptly, he whisked his phone out of his pocket and started rapidly taking pictures.

Bizarre. She backed away from him, suddenly not wanting him to catch sight of her. Whatever he was up to, she didn’t want to know. And she was very reluctant for him to know she’d been watching.

He was striding on now, looking as though butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth, making a show of comparing the wall of the former mosque with the photos in his guidebook. Cassie shook her head and turned away. Ranjit and his games were of no interest. At least, they shouldn’t be. She should go and find Isabella. What she shouldn’t do – no, no, no – was walk across now and investigate what he’d been photographing …

Ah, she couldn’t help it. Nothing to do with Ranjit, she insisted in her head; it was a natural inquisitiveness. And, you know, maybe he’d seen something interesting and historical. Maybe it was something she ought to see. Or something that might shed some light on what he’d been going on about the other day. Or maybe something worth putting in her project?

Oh, Cassie, stop kidding yourself.

As it turned out, it was a pointless detour. Maybe he just had a stone carving fetish, because there was nothing else of interest on the basilica: elaborate, beautiful patterns etched in the stone, but rubbed to blurry shapes by aeons, and if they’d ever meant anything it was long forgotten. Cassie frowned and shook her head, irritated. She should have known, especially given the nonsense he’d been spouting lately, that it wasn’t worth trying to make sense of what Ranjit got up to. Now it really was time to find Isabella.

It wasn’t difficult. When she found the front of the huge building again, her friend was just outside the great door, chatting to Mr Haswell.

‘Hey, Isabella, there you are. Are we going to check out the script on the walls? Do we have the translations …?’ Cassie tailed off as she noticed another tall, too-familiar figure a few metres away. As their eyes met, Sir Alric seemed almost as surprised as she was to see him there. Taking a deep breath, Cassie’s heart sank as he walked up to them. She forced a smile.

‘Sir Alric. Hi.’

He returned her smile, but his wasn’t so over-bright; indeed there was something a little nervous about it.

‘Cassie. Mr Haswell.’ He nodded a ‘hello’ to Isabella as well, still looking a little uncomfortable. ‘I hadn’t realised your history class was coming here today.’

‘Yes, it was a late decision,’ Mr Haswell said, looking a little worried that perhaps he’d missed some protocol. Cassie couldn’t help but grin at him though, suddenly liking him more for putting Sir Alric off his guard. She spoke up.

‘How about you, Sir Alric? Doing some research?’

‘No. No, I was just taking in the sights myself. I haven’t been in Istanbul for some time.’ He gave them all a thin smile. ‘You must make the most of your visit, girls. Have you seen all the mosaics?’

‘Only the Imperial Gate mosaic so far …’ began Isabella.

‘There are many more. Why don’t you seek out the Emperor Alexander mosaic? It’s hard to locate, but well worth seeing. On the second floor.’ He eyed Cassie and Isabella expectantly, and they glanced at each other. They were dismissed, again.

‘And don’t forget the
mihrab
in the apse,’ called Mr Haswell after them as they headed into the building once more. ‘I want a study of the religious past of the museum.’

‘Did you ever feel like a primary school kid?’ murmured Cassie as they headed off obediently.

Isabella giggled. ‘Sir Alric didn’t look too happy to find a class here. Probably wanted a peaceful afternoon!’

Yeah, thought Cassie, glancing over her shoulder to see that Sir Alric had taken his leave of Mr Haswell and was striding towards the mausoleums.
Maybe
that’s all he wanted. A bit of peace? Somehow she didn’t think so, but Cassie didn’t care. Whatever was going on with Sir Alric, and Ranjit too, she wasn’t getting involved. Not any more.

As far as she could in the Darke Academy, she was going to get through this term as a normal student.

Don’t put yourself down, my dear. We’re anything
but normal
.

Cassie smiled wryly. Estelle was right. But she was definitely done with secrets and lies, and wasn’t going to let curiosity get the better of her. She’d leave that to some other kitty …

‘T
hank God that’s over.’ Isabella flung herself backwards on to her bed. ‘I have never known such a terrible first week. How many maths classes can a girl stand? And as for chemistry! Chelnikov, he
hates
me!’

‘No, he doesn’t.’ Cassie dumped a pile of books on her desk. ‘He kind of likes his lab equipment intact, but he doesn’t
hate
you …’

‘It was an accident!’ insisted Isabella, tossing her hair out of her face and sitting up straight. ‘Ugh, let us forget the whole catastrophe. Alice suggested we go and try out 360 Istanbul? We can get all the Yusuf gossip from the other side, yes?’

‘You’re on!’ Cassie said, grinning. At least Isabella was proposing doing something fun. But then Cassie’s face fell. She’d forgotten …

‘Damn it. I’m really sorry, I can’t. Sorry, Isabella. I already promised Ayeesha.’

‘Promised Ayeesha what?’ Isabella frowned.

Cassie felt her cheekbones burn. ‘That I’d go to the common room tonight. They’re having drinks. Some kind of Few celebration of the start of term.’ Her voice trailed off.

Isabella paused for a moment, unable to hide her disappointment.

‘Oh, right.’

‘Come on, Isabella. It’s just a couple of drinks. It’s not like they’re going to swallow me up.’ Cassie bit her lip. ‘Listen, maybe I could come and meet you guys afterwards. Or … I suppose there’s no reason I can’t cancel?’

Isabella smiled, though it seemed a little forced. ‘No, Cassie, no. This is important for you. You have to socialise, get to know them as well. Really, don’t worry. It’s OK.’

Cassie felt even worse, now that Isabella was being so sweet about it. ‘I don’t know …’

‘You’re to go to your drinks. Really. I’ll tell you all about the restaurant later.’ She gave Cassie a sly grin. ‘It’s very beautiful, though, apparently. Views right across the city and the sea, I hear …’

‘Don’t,’ groaned Cassie. ‘I’d rather be coming with you guys, honest.’

‘Next time, then.’ Isabella jumped up and began rummaging through her wardrobe. ‘Now let me see. For such a special place I should dress up. Maybe the Hussein Chalayan …?’

‘Stop it!’ Cassie flopped on to her bed, wishing heartily that she’d never accepted Ayeesha’s invitation, that she was going out on the town with her best friend and Alice instead. Then she jumped as she felt her phone vibrate.

Cassie tugged it out of her jeans pocket and peered at the caller ID. Shocked, she snatched a quick glance at Isabella. The girl was still in a trance of indecision, holding a dress against herself and frowning into the mirror.

Ranjit Singh,
said the display.

‘Now what the hell do you want?’ Cassie murmured at the phone. She took a deep shaky breath, and then deliberately slid the phone back into her pocket. No way. Not when she was already feeling so bad about letting Isabella down. Not when she was so nervous about her visit to the common room, which was, oh
yes
, just the sort of occasion on which Ranjit would have found a way to let her down.

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.’