Gabriella Poole - Divided Souls (Darke Academy)

‘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.