Cassie seized Ranjit, catching him in her arms and staggering backwards. Just feeling him against her gave her renewed strength. Keeping one arm protectively around him, she raised the Knife, her teeth gritted.
Brigitte saw what had happened first, and spun round with a snarl.
But Cassie realised she couldn’t protect Ranjit and keep her eyes on them both. Katerina’s blow came from her blind side, knocking her back against the wall and stunning stars into her vision. She scrambled up, just in time to feel Brigitte’s boot connect with her ribcage, kicking her back down. The Knife spun from her grip.
No! This couldn’t happen! Summoning every last scrap of the power inside her, Cassie felt her eyes burn red as she stood over Ranjit, snarling and lashing out with her projected spirit. She put everything into it, striking out viciously at the two women.
They reeled, raising their arms to shield themselves by reflex, but they didn’t fall. They barely tottered. Cassie screamed with frustration as their joint power flung her back yet again, so that she stumbled over Ranjit’s prone body and fell. Brigitte flew for the Knife, reaching it before Cassie had even got back on her feet.
God, she had to think of something! Feeling blood trickle into her eyes, Cassie wiped it furiously away with a fist as she gasped for breath. Beyond Brigitte and Katerina, that weird light was now intense, roiling and pulsing, and in a hideous instant Cassie recognised its shape. It was the Urn – the Urn—
The women were using it somehow, drawing strength from it. Its light seemed to engulf Brigitte and Katerina, intensifying the spirit-light in their chests, until the two women were blindingly bright themselves. And unbeatable—
The knowledge crashed into Cassie’s brain with appalling certainty. For the first time she panicked, striking violently, wildly, but the women fell on her with fists and feet, and pain seemed to explode all over her body at once.
‘Kill her!’ screamed Brigitte. ‘Once and for all!’
Lifting her fists to strike them back, Cassie didn’t even have time to project her power before she was struck to the ground again, slammed and kicked. Despair struck her at the same time, with a gut-punch force. She had to get away, get away or die—
Through blood-blinded red vision she saw the backpack. It was within her reach, discarded on the ground as her enemies focused on the joy of giving her a thrashing, of finally doing away with her. With a grunt of desperation Cassie grabbed at the pack, her fingers closing on its strap. She didn’t want to give it up – with the Pendant gone too, all would certainly be lost – but she knew, very suddenly and surely through the pain and shock, that she was out of options. She and Ranjit would die here if she didn’t do this.
Cassie managed to get her legs underneath her, scramble to her feet and propel herself upright, swaying as Brigitte and Katerina came at her again. With the last of her strength, Cassie swung back the backpack and flung it hard at the glowing Urn.
‘Take it!’ she screamed.
A direct hit. It crashed into the Urn, knocking it backwards so that it bounced and rolled back into the next room, the backpack flying after it. Brigitte and Katerina howled as one, and turned to sprint after it. Cassie didn’t waste even a fraction of a second. She stumbled to Ranjit, hauling his arm across her shoulders and half-dragging him out of the Palace ruins.
She hadn’t broken the Urn; not only had she heard it bounce and roll, she didn’t believe for a moment that victory would be so easy. But she must have put the fear of God into Katerina and Brigitte, because they didn’t follow, too concerned with the Urn and any possible damage to it. Hauling Ranjit with her, she dragged him on, pulling him through the entrance archway desperately, expecting the women’s vengeful return at any moment.
But there was no sign or sound of them. Well, why would they bother? They had all three artefacts now. They had no further use for her – they knew she was defeated. Gasping for breath, Cassie stumbled through the ruins, Ranjit a sluggish weight against her.
But I have Ranjit…I do have him…
Somehow, it didn’t calm the sickening sensation of failure and horror in her gut. Oh God, Cassie, she thought, as she pulled Ranjit past the ticket office and away from the ruins. What have you done?!
She couldn’t think about it, not now. All that mattered was getting Ranjit away and to safety. She didn’t know how they’d drugged him, or what they’d done to him before that, but he wasn’t looking good.
Her strength gave way just beyond the ruins, at the roadside. Stumbling, she let Ranjit slump against a wall. Leaning on her thighs, panting for breath, aching all over from her beating, Cassie let her breath slow and, finally, calm.
At last she allowed herself to really study the long, lean figure laid on the ground beside her. It was him. This was no dream, like the ones that had haunted her since she watched him flee from the Hagia Sophia. It was Ranjit, and he was with her, for now, no matter the circumstances.
She couldn’t fight it any more – all she wanted was to feel him in her arms. Kneeling, Cassie pulled his body towards her, hugging him to her hard, caressing his blood-soaked hair, kissing his face and his eyes, feeling tears of exhaustion and relief trickle down on to his skin.
A single sob escaped; then she sat back on her heels and took his beautiful face in her hands. Stroking his cheekbones with her thumbs, she begged him inwardly.
Oh, wake up. Please wake up …
His dark eyelashes trembled. Leaning close, she kissed his eyes and mouth and skin.