Gabriella Poole: Divided Souls (Darke Academy)

‘Who is it?’

‘It must be Isabella. But she can’t drive a boat, she told me that over the holidays. I bet she went to get Sir Alric.’ She practically spat his

name.

‘Then I have to go.’

‘Ranjit, wait!’ She put her hands against his face. It was still pale, strained with disbelief, and his eyes, though not red any longer, were

glazed with horror.

‘Please, Cassie. I didn’t mean for this to happen. Any of it!’ Gripping her hands he drew them down from his face and kissed them. ‘Tell

him that!’

‘Tell him yourself!’ Despite everything, Cassie shivered at the touch of his lips. She leaned over quickly and kissed his face. ‘Ranjit, Sir

Alric will understand better than anybody. He’ll know about the Pendant, he’ll know what to do. He—’

‘No! I can’t stay here. I’ve k-killed—’ He gasped in a breath as it hit him all over again. Staring at Richard and Jake, he backed away,

shaking his head.

Cassie followed him, desperation sending prickling tears to her eyes. ‘Please,’ she whispered. She caught his hand. ‘Please stay, and

we’ll fix it.’

Footsteps, running footsteps, and distant shouts. Ranjit looked up, panicked, then turned to her and caught her face between his hands

again, staring into her eyes with ferocious love. ‘That’s what I wanted to do, fix it! I wanted to fix everything, make it better between us,

that’s all. If you weren’t Few, if the spirit was gone, then we could be together, do you see?’

‘Ranjit, how did you reckon it could do that?’ She touched his cheekbones, the bridge of his nose, his lips. ‘Sir Alric was the one who

said we can’t be together. You agreed. There’s nothing else keeping us apart.’

‘Yes, there is, and you know it. Our spirits, the conflict between them. They’re what’s keeping us apart. But Estelle’s spirit, her not being

fully joined with you, I thought … The Pendant, it can draw the spirit’s power out; the Knife can divide the spirit from the host altogether; the

Urn can contain it. I wanted to get her out of you!’

NO! Wicked boy, wicked boy—

Cassie shook her away. ‘Heal wounds, break old ties. I know. I understand. See, you didn’t mean to cause harm, you—’

‘But I did.’

‘But you always told me the spirit had a right to live. If you took her out of me, she could die, Ranjit!’

‘I thought … oh, God knows what I thought. You know what? I didn’t care. If Estelle’s spirit died, so be it. I just wanted you back, Cassie! I

wanted you free, like you wanted to be. You didn’t choose this. I just … I just wanted you back!’

There were tears in Cassie’s eyes again, and she couldn’t reply.

He will harm ME! Kill him, kill him, kill him!

She didn’t react to the spirit screaming in her head. It was too important to focus on him, keep him here, make him stay. ‘Ranjit—’

‘I have to go.’

‘No,’ said Cassie faintly. ‘No …’

Abruptly, Ranjit drew her face to his, and kissed her on the lips. Cassie wrapped her arms more fiercely around him, trying to hold him

there. It was no good. He forced himself to pull away from her, and she saw there were tears in his eyes too.

‘Stay,’ she whispered.

‘I love you, Cassie.’

And then he snatched up his bag, and vanished into the shadows.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

The footsteps were on the stone steps of the portico now, Cassie could hear them. Two people, running. Shouting her name. Shouting

Ranjit’s. And Jake’s … It was Isabella. Her guess had been right. Isabella and Sir Alric. Cassie felt a flash of furious rage at the Academy’s

head: this was all his fault. He could have stopped everything!

Quickly she turned to the Pendant once more. Pearly-green, it lay still, a toxic gleam against the ancient stones. Crouching, she reached

for it, and as her fingers came closer she saw the creatures begin to stir. A fanged mermaid yawned, a coiling snake unravelled, a leopard

stretched …

‘DON’T TOUCH IT!’

She jerked round, stumbling upright. Sir Alric stood beneath the first arch, a leather briefcase in one hand, staring in horror at the scene.

Behind him, Isabella shoved past, almost tripping in her haste to get to Jake. She fell to her knees beside him with a cry, as Sir Alric strode

across to Richard and knelt beside him, touching the pulse at his throat. Cassie felt her own heart beating crazily.

‘Somebody help, please!’ screamed Isabella. ‘Somebody help Jake!’

‘Sir Alric, please,’ Cassie urged him.

Sir Alric raised his head, and stared quite expressionlessly at Isabella and Jake. ‘Quiet,’ he snapped finally. ‘In his turn,’ he muttered to