Gabriella Poole - Divided Souls (Darke Academy)

‘M-Mikhail!’

‘Mikhail?’ Cassie narrowed her eyes. ‘What about him? What’s he done to you?’

‘Nothing! He’ll never do anything again! Oh my God. Oh my God. He’s dead!’

Cassie’s breath stopped in her throat. Arms tightening around the girl, she felt her heart thrash. ‘What? Don’t be silly. You had a

nightmare—’

‘NO! He’s dead. He’s dead!’ The girl’s voice was nothing more than a whisper now as she gasped in sobbing lungfuls of air. Cassie

stroked her head and tried to calm her. At last she managed to murmur, ‘I went to find him in his room this morning. But just as I got there,

some p-police arrived and … H-his roommate’s in with Sir Alric right now.’

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