Gabriella Poole - Blood Ties (Darke Academy)

She turned away, but in a flash he was in front of her again, gripping her arm. His face was deathly white.

‘Are you sure?’ he whispered, horrified. ‘That’s … Katerina never mentioned that. Cassie, I’m so sorry, Look, if it’s true, I think I might

know—’

Suddenly he broke off and stiffened, then gave her a beatific smile.

‘Well listen, darling, next time you and the Rajah have a fight, you know where I am,’ he said loudly.

‘What?’ Cassie gaped. ‘Come on, Richard, what were you going to say?’

‘Oh, now that would be telling.’ His old nonchalance was back, but there was something new behind it. Cassie looked around. At the end

of the corridor stood Sara and another Few girl. They were eyeing her and Richard closely.

‘If you know what’s going on, Richard, please tell me,’ she mumbled through gritted teeth.

‘Hmm … I can be bought, but I’m terribly expensive.’

She stared into his eyes but they were shuttered now, guarded. What was it with him? One minute he wanted to help her – out of guilt,

probably – the next he was his impenetrable, flippant self, saving face in front of those Few bitches.

Fear, perhaps. Covering his arse, more like.

He knew something – she was certain of it. But he wasn’t going to tell, and she didn’t have time to get into some bidding war. Making a

dismissive gesture, she walked away.

‘Cassie?’ he called after her.

‘What?’ she snapped, turning. ‘Don’t waste my time, Richard. I don’t have any.’

‘This one’s yours.’ He thrust a book into her hands and walked away.

Taken aback despite her turmoil, she started to shout after him. ‘I never dropped a—’

Too late. He was already gone.

‘Isabella, we don’t have much time. Come on, we have to find where they’re taking Jake.’

‘But I thought he was in custody with—’

‘Come on!’ Cassie shoved Richard’s book into her bag – she could return it to him later – then grabbed Isabella’s arm in one hand, her

cashmere coat in the other, and pushed the two together. ‘It’s worse than we thought.’

Isabella fumbled her arm into the coat sleeve, her voice trembling. ‘Omigod, Cassie. What is it?’

‘It’s going to be all right,’ said Cassie, ‘we just have to find Jake as soon as possible. Come on, we need to go.’

‘Cassie – stop. Stop!’ Isabella wound her scarf around her neck and grabbed her phone and her money from the nightstand. ‘You’re not

making any sense!’

‘You’re right,’ Cassie admitted. ‘But I need to think, and I can’t think straight in this place. Let’s get out of here.’

‘OK, OK, let’s go. Then you can tell me everything.’

Cassie breathed a silent prayer of gratitude for Isabella’s practicality as they hurried down the fire stairs. Isabella didn’t know what

Cassie was on about, but she didn’t waste time asking. She took Cassie on trust. God, that felt good. Especially after Ranjit’s betrayal …

Cassie gave a shudder, but shook it off.

‘Soon as we’re out of this building we can start to plan. I just don’t want to be anywhere near the Few. There’s none of them I can trust.’

‘What about Ran—’

‘None of them.’

Outside on the streets, breathing in the frosty air, Cassie felt a wave of relief. Thank heavens. She’d thought she was going to suffocate.

‘Right, come on, Cassie. Give!’ Isabella panted as they strode briskly away from the Academy. ‘Something’s really wrong. You have to tell

me.’

It didn’t take long to give her a résumé of the Council meeting. Isabella listened in silence, but Cassie could almost feel her fuming. When

she reached the part about Jake’s sentence, Isabella gasped.

‘But they … it’s obscene! They can’t just imprison someone for life – it’s not possible.’

‘It is,’ Cassie told her grimly. ‘But listen, even that isn’t bad enough for Brigitte. She’s got something else planned, Isabella. Something

worse, something the Council don’t know about.’

‘What?’

‘I wish I knew.’ She rubbed her cold face with her gloved hands. ‘But it’s got something to do with a cottage and something called the

Living Soil.’

Isabella blanched. ‘That sounds … Cassie, that sounds bad.’

‘Yes. And I’ve a feeling Richard knows something about it.’

‘Richard?’ Isabella’s breath plumed in the air. ‘Tell me.’

‘I can’t, he wouldn’t tell me. One second he was talking properly, the next he’d pulled back into his shell like a little crab.’

‘What did Richard say?’ Isabella stared across the road, into the shadows of Central Park.