Gabriella Poole - Divided Souls (Darke Academy)

‘Like you used to followed me?’ he retorted. ‘It isn’t any of your business, Cassie. I’m just glad Isabella’s seen the light about you.’

‘Jake, no!’ protested Isabella. She looked beseechingly at Cassie. ‘I meant it: this is only a breathing space. Cassie and I both needed

time to ourselves, Jake, that’s all. Look, Cassie, I’m sorry I lied to you. I couldn’t tell you, and I needed to be with him. You have to

understand.’

Cassie took a deep breath. It hurt, that was true, but she did understand. Besides, it wasn’t as if she’d had no secrets from Isabella.

‘Yeah. Yes, course I do, Isabella. But how’s he been coming and going? Jake shouldn’t be able to get into the Academy.’

‘I found somebody in the city who’d clone my Academy pass.’ Isabella looked a little sheepish. ‘It was easier than I thought it would be.

Someone at the Book Bazaar did it: replaced my photo and my name with Jake’s – not his real name, obviously. He used a fake one. The

boatmen aren’t all that interested anyway; so long as they see a pass they don’t check too closely.’

‘I pull a hat down over my head when I get on or off the boat,’ added Jake. ‘Nobody takes any notice of me. The other kids probably

assume I’m a gardener or a cleaner.’ There was a distinct tinge of old bitterness in his tone.

Isabella slipped an arm round his waist. ‘Cassie, you must believe Jake has had nothing to do with those … killings,’ she pleaded.

Cassie was silent for a long moment, her thoughts going in horrible directions.

‘She’s right,’ said Jake. ‘It doesn’t matter to me what you think, but for what it’s worth, I had nothing to do with those deaths. Or Ranjit’s

disappearance.’

‘No,’ Cassie said slowly. ‘I believe you.’

‘Have you heard anything from him?’ he asked. ‘Ranjit?’

Cassie paused, trying to contain the fear and worry at the very mention of him. ‘As you said. It’s none of your business.’

There was an awkward silence for several seconds, but Cassie didn’t regret snapping. She was thinking too hard, wondering what to do.

‘Did it occur to you that Ranjit’s body hasn’t turned up,’ asked Jake softly, ‘because he’s the one doing the killing?’

‘What? How dare you!’ She took an abrupt step backwards. Her shock at his suggestion was heightened by the fact that, somewhere

very deep down, she may have had the same thought herself …

‘He’s evil, Cassie. I know how you feel about him and I’m sorry, but everything points to him. With Jess, and with the others now too.

Look, he led you on, got you to trust him, but didn’t he always let you down when it counted?’

She found she didn’t trust her voice. Not to answer that question, anyway. Resolutely she ignored it.

‘Ranjit wanted something from you,’ she told Jake coldly. ‘Are you quite sure he hasn’t been in touch?’

‘I haven’t seen him since I got to Istanbul, Cassie. Yeah, he suggested a meeting, some crap about offering me information, but it doesn’t

matter because it didn’t happen. He didn’t show. I never really thought he would; who’d trust Ranjit Singh?’ he sneered. ‘I’m here because

of Jess, but I’m here for Isabella too.’

Isabella pressed even closer to him and squeezed his hand.

‘I don’t give a shit about Ranjit Singh,’ he went on. ‘And you know what? I wish I had seen him, because I’d love to get my hands on him.

Maybe even more than you. But I haven’t, and I’ve got nothing to do with him going missing.’

I WILL fix this! She couldn’t get Ranjit’s excited voice out of her head. Cassie, I WILL fix this … I know how, now … Break old ties …

Break old ties!

‘Fine,’ she said softly.

‘You believe me?’

‘Yes.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Yes. Yes, I do believe you.’

The beep from her phone made her jump, eyes so wide that Jake frowned in curiosity. ‘What?’

Blinking, she tugged the phone urgently out of her pocket and stared at it. ‘Damn it,’ she whispered quickly. ‘Richard – I had a call. I totally

forgot. He’s left a message.’

Jake turned away with a show of contempt, but Isabella watched her anxiously as she held the phone to her ear.

‘Cassie, what is it? What’s wrong?’

Cassie held a finger to her lips as she listened to the message, but she knew she must be going pale. She could feel the blood draining

from her face, and by the time Richard’s recorded message clicked dead, she was dizzy. She couldn’t press the disconnect button, just

lowered her hand to her side so that she could still hear the distant prissy voicemail: ‘… to save, press two. To delete, press three …’

‘Cassie?’

Something was stuck in her throat. She coughed. ‘Richard. He’s … he says he’s heard from Ranjit.’

Jake spun round, excitement in his eyes. ‘So let’s go find the little bastard! He can take us to Ran—’