Cassie stayed silent. She wouldn’t let the bitch provoke her.
Katerina prowled a circle around her, eyeing her up and down. ‘Let’s not indulge in any undignified scrapping, Scholarship Girl. That would be so counter-productive. After all, you are going to bring me something I want.’
Cassie turned, never taking her eyes off Katerina. ‘And what’s that?’
‘Two things, in fact. A Knife. And a Pendant.’
Cassie gave a bark of surprised laughter. ‘Even if I had them – which I don’t – what makes you think it’s Christmas in the Svensson household?’
‘It’s Christmas and my birthday rolled into one,’ Katerina snarled. ‘I’m going to do a deal with you, Bell.’
‘I don’t think so. You’ve got nothing I want.’
‘Oh, but I do! That’s what’s so marvellous!’ Katerina came to a halt, her lips peeled back in a manic smile. ‘It’s an offer you haven’t a chance of refusing!’
Cassie watched her, breathing hard.
‘Oh, Little Miss Bell! What wouldn’t you pay for Ranjit Singh?’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
‘What?’
‘You heard me. Unless those Few senses are malfunctioning.’ Katerina sniggered. ‘Just two measly old antiques, and you can have Ranjit Singh.’
Cassie thought furiously. What could the insane harpy be on about? And yet she couldn’t simply walk away, not now … could she?
‘This is your best stunt ever, Katerina.’ She grinned mirthlessly. ‘But it ain’t going to work. See you.’
She turned on her heel, hearing with some satisfaction Katerina’s indrawn breath of disbelief.
‘You’d be making a big mistake, Cassandra.’
Maybe it was the use of her full proper name instead of Scholarship Girl; maybe it was the note of malevolence in Katerina’s voice. Cassie halted.
‘Go on.’
‘I don’t need to.’
Something was flung at her feet, hitting her ankles so that she almost jumped. Slowly, filled with dread, Cassie turned and looked down. It was a lumpen thing, a shapeless tangle of canvas and straps in the dim starlight, but she knew what it was straight away.
Crouching, she picked it up by one of its straps. The backpack was empty, of course. Cassie stood straight and balanced it in her hands. It felt terrifyingly light without its last contents. Spattered across it were dark ugly stains that made her skin crawl with dread.
‘Recognise that?’ snapped Katerina.
‘Yes,’ said Cassie, trying to keep her voice flat. ‘It’s Ranjit’s. So what?’
‘Indeed it is Ranjit’s. We took it from him, my mother and I. Do you see the bloodstains?’
She was trying not to. Touching the dark patches, she felt her fingertips tingle.
Yes … oh yes, Cassandra … it’s his …
I know, Estelle. I know.
Hatred and terrible fear washed through her in a swamping tide. Cassie snapped her head up to laser Katerina with her eyes. ‘Where did you get it?’
‘Ha! Mother said I’d need some other proof, but I know how your spirits are connected.’
‘I know it’s his blood, and you’ll pay for every drop of it,’ snarled Cassie. ‘But what makes you think I’ll give you anything? You haven’t even shown me he’s alive!’
‘Oh, come on, Cassie,’ sneered Katerina, folding her arms disdainfully. ‘If he was dead you’d know it. Deep down, that spirit of yours would feel it. You have been told the history of your spirits, haven’t you?’ Her eyes brightened with malice and delight. ‘Or perhaps not, you ignorant Scholarship! I daresay Sir Alric couldn’t be bothered, for all his sentimental attachment to you. You’re more of a pet to him than a student.’
Don’t rise to it, Cassie told herself. That’s what she wants.
‘I know how desperate you are to find him,’ continued Katerina. ‘Aren’t you, darpak_mumbai?’ She laughed cruelly.
Cassie’s legs were suddenly like rubber beneath her. Don’t show weakness! Don’t! But her voice was almost a croak when she managed to spit, ‘What did you say?’
‘And you can call me Tiger_eye.’ The girl’s lips stretched in a smirk. ‘How obvious you made yourself! How we laughed, Mother and I, when we realised it was you in those chatrooms! Oh, you sad little stalker. You were so easy to deceive! You really thought it was him! You really thought it was lover-boy!’
‘Why?’ rasped Cassie. ‘Why would you do that? If you wanted to contact me, there were much easier ways of doing it.’
‘Why do you think, Scholarship?’ hissed Katerina. ‘For fun!’
‘Bitch,’ Cassie snarled. She felt sick to her stomach.
‘And, of course, to be certain that you were indeed still desperately seeking our dark hero. I mean, who knows, you may have moved on with that pathetic snake Richard Halton-Jones for all we knew. Fickle, us girls, aren’t we—’
Katerina broke off as Cassie started towards her, her eyes glowing red.
‘Uh uh uh, Cassandra. If you touch one hair on my head, you can guarantee you’ll never see your precious Ranjit again. Well, certainly not with all his limbs attached …’
Cassie let out a growl of frustration, but backed off.
‘That’s better. Watch your phone, Scholarship,’ said Katerina silkily. ‘We’ll message you when we’re ready to meet, with a time and a place. Just get the artefacts we want, because we’ll expect you to come as soon as we call. You have twenty-four hours from when you return to the Academy to get your clammy little paws on those artefacts. You will break into Darke’s office that night and use your freaky little powers to get what we want. Do you understand?’