Secret Lives (16 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY

I
t wasn’t weakness. It was
strength
.

Cassie was suddenly alert, completely alive. Madame Azzedine’s scrawny neck was so close she couldn’t focus properly, but she could see purple veins bulging and throbbing, could feel the old body beginning to jerk and tremble, could taste rotten flesh. Their mouths were still locked together but she no longer felt sick.

She felt
strong
.

The distant shriek came again, and Madame Azzedine released Cassie’s head abruptly, clenching her fists until the knuckles showed bone-white through thin skin. Cassie expected her head to smack down into the stone table, but it didn’t. There was power in her neck; it didn’t even hurt to keep her head up. Nor did she lose contact, even as the ancient body squirmed and the woman tried to twist away.

Another agonised wail, as if it came from very far away, and Cassie knew that Madame Azzedine wasn’t making this racket out loud, only inside Cassie’s head. The grip on her arms loosened a little, and Cassie strained hungrily upwards. For an instant, Madame Azzedine broke the contact, and Cassie had a glimpse of her white, tortured face. Katerina snapped out a word, and her arms were released.

Cassie lunged up and grabbed Madame Azzedine’s head. Yanking the old mouth back down to her own, she twisted her fingers into the white hair.

She needed it. It needed her. No problem …

Something was burning her shoulder blade, a concentrated, intense pain, but she didn’t mind. What she had to do was keep contact. Keep the old woman close. Nothing else mattered. Hot needles in her shoulder. No, no. Didn’t matter …

Another scream. Not in her head, though. It was real and close, and it seemed terribly familiar. Irate. Tempestuous. Drama-queeny.

Latin American …

Something hard whacked into the side of Madame Azzedine’s skull, snapping it away. Cassie grabbed at the old woman as she slumped silently to the side, but with her own legs still restrained she couldn’t catch her. As the body crumpled to the floor in a dry, dead heap, a twist of translucent white drifted from the old woman’s lips, spiralling towards the ceiling with a high, squealing wail.

Katerina snatched at the escaping wisp. ‘Fools!’ she howled. ‘
What have you done?
’

Cassie’s sentiments exactly. Her fingers clawed at the fleeing mist as well, until with a cry of frustration she curled up, tearing at the chains. Then she froze, breath caught in her throat.

There he was.

Ranjit stood in front of her, cold and still, facing the rest of the Few. His back was to her but she clearly heard his grim murmur. ‘You bitch, Katerina. What have
you
done?’

Katerina hunched, spitting with rage, but didn’t reply.

So Ranjit wasn’t in on this
unofficial
ceremony? As if Cassie’s head wasn’t spinning fast enough already … Did this mean he was on her side?

In which case, what the hell had kept him?

To her left, Cassie caught a glimpse of Jake slashing Keiko’s weird knife in a broad warning arc at the snarling Few. Isabella had clambered on to the stone table and now stood above Cassie, threatening all comers with what looked like a very long, very whippy hammer.

‘Where did you get that?’ shouted Cassie, rubbing her temples fiercely, fighting to focus.

‘This?’ Isabella swung at a hooded figure as it made a lunge for her, cracking her weapon into its head. The figure dropped like a stone. ‘I bring this to school every term, Cassie! I knew it would come in handsome.’

‘Handy,’ said Cassie, shaking her head clear at last.

‘I told you,’ Jake called over his shoulder, his focus still on the semicircle of malicious Few, who eyed his knife with extreme wariness.

‘Yeah, yeah,’ said Cassie. ‘I know. Killer with a polo mallet.’ Wrapping one ankle chain round her fist, she strained at it, but it was hopeless.

Ranjit’s voice was low but clear. ‘Jake. The chains. Use the knife.’

Jake threw him a mistrustful scowl. ‘Like that’s going to—’

‘I said, use the knife!’

With a last suspicious glower, Jake backed up, then turned and slammed the knife down on to the chain. The links shattered, but he had already turned to warn off two more of the Few, who had sprung forward to within striking distance. They hesitated, snarled, retreated one step. Then another.

Jake glanced down at the knife in shock. ‘That’s some blade.’

Ranjit took no notice. He stood perfectly still, and none of the Few dared to approach him. His focus was all on Katerina, something crackling between them. Lust? Fury? Hatred?

Oh, who the hell cared.

‘Jake!’ yelled Cassie, tightening the other chain. ‘Again, quick!’

One more swift strike, and stone chips erupted in a puff of dust from the table. Jake swore.

‘Missed. Do it again!’ screamed Cassie.

Once more, and three links on the second chain disintegrated.
Right
. Cassie jumped down from the table in time to punch one of the hooded figures hard as it finally leaped at Jake. Cassie’s fist connected with what must have been a jaw, making a satisfying noise, and the attacker reeled back.

‘Nice timing,’ said Jake, who looked embarrassed about ducking.

‘You too. How’d you get here?’

Isabella was whirling the polo mallet above her head. ‘Tell you later. Can we
go now
?’

‘Yeah.
Back off!
’ Jake yelled, as a figure slunk out of the shadows on his left. Katerina was pale and immobile with fury.

‘
You
have the blade!’ she hissed. ‘
You
.’

‘I’m really sorry,’ said Jake. ‘Is that against school rules?’

‘Don’t do the banter thing,’ moaned Isabella. ‘Let’s
run
. Cassie. Go!’

Cassie shoved forward between Isabella and yet another hoodie, who was stalking murderously towards the Argentinian. Drawing back her lips, Cassie growled. Funny how naturally that came …

Ranjit and Katerina were still all wrapped up in each other, as if they were fighting some sort of psychic duel. He obviously wasn’t concerned with the other Few. He was as motionless and menacing as stone, but his eyes blazed.

This could get bad, Cassie knew it in her bones. ‘Isabella! Jake! Back to the door, come on!’

But Isabella was hesitant now. ‘Ranjit’s in trouble.’

‘He can look after himself,’ yelled Jake. ‘Go, Isabella!’

But Cassie hung back too. Ranjit still stood deathly quiet, facing down the Few, but now they were regaining their courage, circling him. Cassie started towards him, despite Isabella dragging on her arm.

‘Cassie, come on! Please!’

Richard stood at the far side of the table, sorrow and disappointment in his beautiful eyes. Cassie hesitated, read on his lips the word,
Please
… She didn’t answer as they slipped into the archway beneath the writhing snakes. A stone tongue flickered out, almost touching her shoulder, and she winced.

‘Cassie!’ shouted Richard again. ‘Please!’

Her lip curled. ‘Go play with the traffic, Richard.’

She shoved Jake. ‘Get out of here!’

Isabella was holding him back. ‘What about Ran—’

‘Come
on
,’ shouted Jake. This time he pulled Isabella with him.

Cassie lingered. Katerina was snarling orders at the hesitant Few as they surrounded Ranjit.

‘Leave, Cassandra,’ he said, cold as marble. ‘I’ll follow.’

Stupid to argue. Stupid, too, to feel this terrible fear for him. He knew what he was doing. Didn’t he? Reluctantly, she turned on her heel, and ran after Jake.

Jake and Isabella were both fast runners, but she caught up with them easily. ‘How did you find me?’

‘When you didn’t come back to the room at the time we agreed, we went looking for you,’ explained Isabella breathlessly. ‘We looked all over the Academy. Eventually, we went to the Few’s common room.’

‘Obviously you weren’t there,’ Jake added, ‘but neither were half of the Few. Ayeesha was, and Cormac, and a couple more, but they said that Katerina and the others had gone to meet Richard. That’s when we knew you were in trouble.’

‘And then Ranjit came in,’ said Isabella.

‘Yeah. And he knew where they’d take you,’ spat Jake. ‘Funnily enough.’

The passageway seemed terribly long and winding, snaking uphill at an increasing gradient, but Cassie ran effortlessly; she must be fitter than she thought.

‘Jake, that is unfair!’ protested Isabella breathlessly. ‘Ranjit did not know about the – the ceremony!’

‘He says,’ muttered Jake grudgingly.

‘He only guessed what had happened, Jake! And he brought us to the Arc, didn’t he? Showed us the secret door?’ Panting, she threw Cassie a wicked grin. ‘So he does have the hots for you! See?’

Turning once again to focus on the way ahead, Isabella gave a shocked gasp. As she skidded to a halt, Jake almost fell over her.

‘What the
hell
—’

‘Hello, Jake, sweetie.’

Ahead of them, blocking their way to the door, stood a slender figure, long pale hair gleaming. Katerina was smiling at them.

Sort of.

‘Jeez,’ muttered Cassie, ‘that girl really is all teeth.’ And such long, sharp ones too.

‘You ought to know what you’re truly up against,’ Katerina murmured throatily.
Very
throatily.

The girl didn’t look herself any more, to put it mildly. The eyes were red, the skin grey, the lips pulled back in a rictus grin. And yet somehow it was still Katerina. Through and through.

‘I should’ve known!’ exploded Jake. ‘It’s a trap! Singh brought us here and now he’s sent her after us.’

‘No,’ said Cassie flatly. ‘Where’s Ranjit, Katerina?’

With a trilling laugh, Katerina used a claw-hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. ‘She’s right, Jake. I don’t need
Ranjit’s
help. You think I don’t know these ancient labyrinths? I know them all, in every city. I’ve known them for centuries.’

‘And you’re looking your age,’ said Cassie.

Katerina hissed. ‘You are a pair of fools. She won’t thank you, you know,’ she told Jake and Isabella, jerking her head in Cassie’s direction. ‘In the end she won’t. In fact she’ll want you dead for that stupid interruption.’

Jake set his teeth. ‘Get out of our way, Katerina. I don’t want to hurt you.’

‘No, seriously. You think I take orders from Scholarships?’ A long tongue flickered out to lick Katerina’s teeth as the horrible peeled-back grin returned. ‘You think you
can
hurt me? You don’t know me very well, do you?
Scooby
.’

Jake’s intake of breath was high-pitched. ‘
What did
you say?
’

‘You heard. Scooby-dooby-doo. I can’t tell you how loud she screamed for you, at the end. Didn’t she ever use your real name?’

Jake seemed paralysed, though he was shaking. The knife hung limp and useless in his hand; any moment now it was going to slip from his fingers.

‘You,’ he said, barely audible. ‘It was you?’

The vicious mouth twisted in a sneer. ‘Oh, do grow up, Scooby. Of course it was me. Well, Keiko and me. Ranjit simply delivered her, that’s all.’

Anxiously Cassie glanced at Jake. She couldn’t even see him breathing, but she thought she could hear the hard thump of his heart.

‘There was only a year between you two meddling kids, wasn’t there? How close you must have been, you and Jess.’

‘Yes,’ whispered Jake.

‘And you will be again. Let’s finish this quickly.’ Frowning, Katerina examined a nail like a yellow talon, dull and gnarled. ‘I need to go and see my roommate.’

‘Oh?’ Isabella simmered with fury. ‘Hungry?’

‘Frankly, yes. Ingrid is delicious, and cooperative. Unlike Jessica. I’m sorry to say it, Jake, but your sister was a little sour, a little bitter. All that running, you see, all that fear. All that adrenal—’

Jake roared and leaped at Katerina, slashing wildly with the knife. She dodged like a snake, escaping his grip and wrapping a powerful arm around his throat. Isabella went for her, screaming, but Katerina twisted Jake’s neck back and ducked the swing of the polo mallet. Rebalancing, she kicked out hard, catching Isabella in the stomach and knocking her stunned and winded to the floor.

Cassie’s blood felt so cold in her veins she couldn’t move. Katerina’s claws were digging into Jake’s neck and he tore desperately at her arm, dropping the knife. Instantly, Cassie knew it was what she’d been waiting for. She dived for the knife, snatched a hank of Katerina’s hair with the other hand and, as the Swede squealed with pain, she swung the blade wildly across Katerina’s cheek. Blood sprayed.

Oops, thought Cassie, still gripping the girl’s monstrous head. What now …?

After a second’s horrible silence, Katerina howled. Her grip on Jake loosened enough to let him catch a lungful of air, but she didn’t let him go.

‘Amateur!’ she screamed in Cassie’s face. ‘How
dare
you!’

Cassie wasn’t expecting the force of Katerina’s blow. It knocked her to the far side of the passageway, and as she crashed against the wall the knife fell from her fingers and spun across the floor. Katerina lunged for it, her fingers closing on the writhing handle while the other claw-hand kept a grip on Jake’s throat. Cassie tried to scramble to her feet but her head was spinning crazily again. A few feet away, Isabella was still trying to suck breath into her lungs. The blade of the knife shone as Katerina raised it.

‘Now watch Jake die,’ she smiled.

But something moved faster than the blade, slamming hard into Katerina, knocking her sprawling. Dropping both Jake and the knife, wailing with rage and fear, Katerina kicked and fought uselessly against her new attacker. She looked, thought Cassie, like a leopard trying to fight off a tiger. When the two writhing, struggling bodies tumbled against the passage wall, Cassie saw the tiger clearly. Ranjit.

His teeth were viciously bared, and his eyeballs, like Katerina’s, were red from corner to corner. His powerful hands found her throat and Katerina squirmed, rasping for breath, lashing her claws across his face and drawing blood. But far more of it leaked from the knife-gash in her own cheek; Ranjit’s hands were soaked in it. Finally wrenching his blood-slick fingers loose, Katerina screamed hoarsely and gave him a savage kick in the chest. He stumbled back, and she scrambled on to all fours, spitting.