Darke Academy 4: Lost Spirits (12 page)

‘Get the artefacts. You’ll be heading to Malindi. That’s all you need to know for now. We’ll contact you. Soon.’

Fear and a raging curiosity were almost consuming Cassie. She wouldn’t ask Katerina another damn thing – not if it killed her – and besides, Ranjit
was
alive. That much she was sure of; Katerina was right. If he was dead, she’d have felt it in her soul. She had no choice but to go along with this, until she had a chance to
think
…

‘If you’ve hurt him – and I see that you have – you’ll pay for it, Katerina. You and your mother.’

‘Oh, I’m shaking in my Choos, darling!’ Katerina squeaked mockingly. ‘Oh, don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me!’

Cassie gritted her teeth.

‘Lover-boy isn’t dead.’ Katerina smirked. ‘But fail to bring me what I want – what we want – and you’ll feel him die, all right.’

Cassie felt numb as she blundered through thorny scrub back towards the camp. It was just as well animals seemed to be able to sense her spirit, and kept well clear, because she neither looked nor listened for danger. All she could do was hug the backpack against her body, fighting tears as she tried to think.

Come
on
, Cassie. What should she do now? What
could
she do?

Pale light was beginning to filter into the sky, and she stopped at the edge of the bush, breathless, to watch the African dawn gild the horizon. The night sounds were dying fast, replaced by morning birdsong and the grunts and movements of diurnal creatures, the rustle of gazelle and zebra cropping grass. God, it was morning already.

But it didn’t matter. Cassie knew she wouldn’t sleep now, anyway.

Ranjit was close; so close she felt she could almost reach out and touch him. He was there for her to take – except that in return she must hand over the very artefacts she needed if they were ever to be together.

And she knew in her bones, let alone her spirit, that Katerina and Brigitte must not get hold of the Knife and the Pendant. They already had the Urn, because they had Ranjit. She had absolutely no idea what they wanted with all those ancient artefacts, but it couldn’t be anything good. How could she cheerfully hand over the two powerful weapons to such an evil pair? And where was her guarantee that they wouldn’t simply take the artefacts and then kill Ranjit before her eyes?

On the other hand, they’d be quite certain to kill him if she
didn’t
cooperate. She couldn’t kid herself about that.

She simply had to think of something else.

One thing was clear: she had to get hold of the Knife and the Pendant. She didn’t want to give them to the serpentine Svenssons, but she couldn’t think of any way around that at the moment.

So she was going to have to steal the artefacts. The thought made her feel sick to her stomach: she’d have to steal them from right under Sir Alric’s nose. Guilt and nerves at the thought made her even more nauseous. Get over it, Cassie, she told herself. It’s got to be done.

As she walked into the clearing, she stared bleakly at the Academy camp. No one was even stirring yet in the pale morning, thank God.

Something occurred to her as she stood contemplating. At least with the Knife and the Pendant in her possession, she’d be easily stronger than Brigitte and Katerina put together. She could probably defeat them without the artefacts, let alone with them – Cassie was more than a match for those women, and she’d proved it in New York when she beat hell out of them while she rescued Isabella and Jake.

With my help, dear!

Shut up, Estelle, she thought testily.

So all Cassie had to do was take the artefacts to them, rescue Ranjit, overcome the Svenssons and steal the artefacts back, go home and return them to Sir Alric, and then go through with her plan to separate from Estelle …

Piece of cake, right?

The very thought made her feel sick again.

Cassie made her way to her tent, hoping she hadn’t been missed by Alice. She needed a bath in that ridiculously luxurious tub in the middle of nowhere first thing when the camp stirred to life. Then, she’d get down to the task in hand.

Katerina be damned; Sir Alric be damned. She was
not
leaving Ranjit to his fate.

M
onday took forever to come.

She didn’t have to worry that the clock was already ticking; her twenty-four hours would only start when they drove back through the gates of the Academy.

The trouble was, the twenty-four hours were already running in her head, even before they headed back to the plane. Alice noticed her distraction, the fact that she couldn’t eat and didn’t sleep, despite Cassie’s attempts to brush her off.

None of her classmates’ concern was any use to her, though, and for once it couldn’t even make her feel better. Cassie could only watch the second hand crawl around her watch, the sun make its achingly slow way across the splendid Kenyan sky. When Monday morning dawned at last, she ignored all the warden’s warnings about crocodiles and hippos and ran down to the river to plunge in. Just for a few seconds, she could feel light, she could wash the gnawing anxiety of what she needed to do when she got back to the Academy out of her head.

Sadly, she couldn’t stay under forever.

‘Cassie, you missed breakfast
again
,’ said Ayeesha as she wandered back into the camp.

‘I’ll be glad when we get her back to the Academy,’ said Cormac, hauling his backpack on to their transport with a grin. ‘I reckon it could be us being surrounded by so many of our four-legged friends that’s putting you off a bit of steak!’

‘And sleeping in a tent isn’t ideal either, no matter how fancy,’ put in Alice, yawning as she emerged from their tent with her bags. Richard said nothing, just eyed Cassie suspiciously as she threw her kit together. Casually he leaned against a Land Rover, arms folded.

‘Come on, Cassandra. What’s up with you? You haven’t been the same since the first night.’

‘Nothing. Honestly. I’m just … looking forward to getting back.’ She zipped up her backpack.

‘Liar.’ He lowered his voice. ‘You’re up to something. Spill.’

She shook her head.

‘All right, be mysterious. Just take care. All right?’

Glancing up, she met his eyes, full of concern – and something more. She wished she
could
confide in him. Part of her wanted to howl and weep and ask him to sort everything out – and God knew that wasn’t like her. If nothing else, she wanted him to tell her she was doing the right thing, that she wasn’t making the biggest mistake of her entire life.

She trusted Richard more than anyone except Isabella – but still. This was something she had to manage alone.

‘Sorry. I’m just a bit preoccupied.’ Her gut twisted even more at the expression of hurt in his eyes. He knew she was holding back from him.

Just don’t ask any more … just don’t ask
.

‘All right.’ He shrugged. ‘But you know what? When you need me, I’m here. And I always will be. OK?’

It took everything Cassie had to muster up a grin for him, hoping it might help Richard not to worry.

‘I know you will. I appreciate it.’ She paused, biting her lip. ‘And it’s the same vice versa, yeah?’

And
that
at least, she thought with relief, was completely true.

One of these days, thought Cassie nervously, I am going to become someone who doesn’t skulk. I will become a normal person, a person who doesn’t pick locks and spy and thieve in the middle of the night. One day soon, hopefully …

The corridors of the Darke Academy were very quiet, except for the constant background sounds of cicadas and frogs. She almost resented those – silence suited her better, because she couldn’t quite shake the feeling that the night creatures might drown out other sounds, sounds that might indicate someone was on to her. And they reminded her of the night this crazy ultimatum was put to her in the first place.

Still, it had to be done, and quickly. Even with the distraction of her secret night jaunts to visit Isabella and Jake, the four-day field trip had seemed to last an eternity; she couldn’t even enjoy their company. That was partly because she hadn’t felt she could confide her plans in them – not yet – and the knowledge of what she had to do back at the Academy had overshadowed everything else, simmering away in her brain till she thought it would explode.

And Estelle, of course, was no help at all.

It’s a bad idea, Cassandra. A very bad idea
.

Shut up, Estelle. I can hardly concentrate as it is.

Down on one knee at the door to Sir Alric’s study, Cassie put her ear to the wood. All was silence and stillness. The shiny new replacement lock didn’t look as if it would be a problem at all, but she still felt sick at the thought of what she was about to do – maybe even finishing off what whoever had tried it first had started …

And so you should! Disobedient, traitorous child! After all he’s done for you
.

Cassie ignored the spirit, closing her eyes and focusing on the inner workings of the lock. She felt her eyes redden as the power swelled, but despite her misgivings, she was calm and in control as she manipulated the mechanism. It gave way with a sudden click that made her catch her breath.

Cassie pushed the door gently open with one finger, creeping silently inside and closing it behind her. Pausing to glance around, she let her eyes focus in the darkness. Most likely, given Sir Alric’s fondness for the familiar in some respects, the safe was in a similar position to the one in the Istanbul office. And sure enough, it took her only a few seconds to sense it there, hidden behind a row of book spines. Her fingertips tingled as she stroked them.

Lifting the books carefully down, she reached into the dark space and felt the heavy door of the safe. Now her skin was prickling with the nearness of the artefacts; she could almost hear the Knife calling to her. It had always held such a strong attraction for her, that beautiful weapon with its twisting, living carvings. She ached to touch it again, and not just because she had to steal it.

That Knife. That evil thing! It will be the death of us, Cassandra
.

Estelle’s voice was quiet, vicious, controlled. It wasn’t like her; Cassie felt a growing sense of unease as she concentrated on projecting her strange, unique power out in front of her once more. The red point of power coalesced before her into a glowing orb …

And exploded. The force of it flung Cassie back. She collided with the low table and tumbled backwards with a crash.

It was shock more than pain that left her reeling. Stumbling to her feet, she shook her head violently.

‘Estelle?
Estelle!
Let me do this!’

The voice was a triumphant hiss in her head.
That Knife is not for us, Cassandra!

‘Oh yes, it is, you obnoxious—’ Cassie concentrated once again and directed the power back at the safe, but once more it ricocheted, scattering a rain of ornaments and pens and books that struck Cassie’s head and body.

‘Why, you—’ Cassie gritted her teeth, clenched her fists.

No!

‘Yes!’

This kind of power will not even be within your reach for much longer if you have your way! You stupid girl!

Wrestling her mind back to the safe, Cassie gripped the edge of the bookshelves and fought the obstructive spirit, her head and chest ripped with the pain of trying to wrest control. It took all her strength, and she was only vaguely aware of the crash and shatter of objects around the office as the two of them duelled. A heavy book thudded on to her toe, and Cassie yelped with anger.

‘Stop it!’ she barked, and with a final violent thrust, she hurled her power at the safe door. With a shriek of metal it shuddered, rattled, and swung open.

In the sudden silence, Cassie stood panting for breath, her head still throbbing.

‘You old bitch,’ she growled. ‘What was all that for?’

You know very well. I had to try. You are DOOMING US BOTH
.

With an acute awareness of the amount of noise they’d been making, Cassie hurriedly scooped the Knife and the Pendant, wrapped in soft velvet, from the safe. Even through the layers of fine fabric she felt the hilt of the Knife stir, stretch, move to her touch, and she couldn’t help smiling tightly.

But there was no time to be lost. She had to try to set things to rights in this office before—

Oh, God.

The footsteps echoed at some distance along the corridor, but there was no doubt they were coming her way. It had to be Marat, surely; no one else would be around this part of the school at this hour? There was no way he’d fail to check on Sir Alric’s study; no way he’d miss the chaos, especially after what had happened at the beginning of term. There was no time to do anything but hide.

Desperately, Cassie glanced around. There was nowhere to go – nowhere but the very unsatisfactory space beneath Sir Alric’s desk, shielded from the rest of the room only by a delicate latticed panel of wood. Taking time only to close the safe door and shove some random books back in front of it, she scrabbled behind the desk, clutching the Knife and the Pendant against her chest. She huddled stock-still, trying to control her breathing, praying not to get caught, with everything that was at stake…

For a hopeful instant she thought whoever it was had passed by, but that hope shattered quickly. It was Marat. He turned the office door handle, pushed it open, and walked in.

And stopped.

Cassie held her breath. Through the holes in the lattice she could make out his stocky form: turning, eyeing the devastation and the broken objects strewn all over the floor. She couldn’t see his face, but any minute now.
Any
minute now he would raise the alarm, and she’d be discovered, and it would all be over for her and Ranjit. Maybe if Marat left the room long enough to fetch Sir Alric, maybe then she could take her chance and run. But where to? She would be the first person Sir Alric would question about this catastrophe and the missing artefacts.

The stillness was agonising. Cassie risked a slight shift in her position so that she could peer up and see Marat’s ugly face.