Cassie waited for a tremor of fear, but it didn’t materialise. Instead she felt her lip curl with contempt, all her muscles tensing in anticipation. She clenched and flexed her fists.
Ranjit was right. The light was growing far stronger here; and at its heart was a sinister greenish glow. Backing up against the walls, Cassie waited as the others caught up. She jerked her thumb to indicate the unseen space beyond the next corner, and then quickly pressed a finger to her lips. Surprise was one of their only advantages.
The faint ethereal light pulsated as she crept up silently and peered around the corner. Her breath caught in her throat, and behind her Ranjit gave her shoulder a quick, questioning squeeze. She turned back to him, her eyes wide with anger.
‘Look,’ she whispered through gritted teeth.
He peered past her, and took a horrified breath.
In a cave-like opening, they could see four figures – Sir Alric was down on the ground struggling, lashing out, but Brigitte and Katerina were savagely tightening chains around his wrists; Cassie thought the gleaming metal looked familiar, and realised they were like the chains that had held her during her own initiation. In a dark corner, Cassie could make out the stocky figure of Marat, standing off to the side, observing his employer dispassionately. Sir Alric’s movements were slow and ineffectual; he looked groggy, bruised and bloodied, and the Svensson women were clearly in command as they hoisted him to his feet and began fastening him to some bolts in the cave wall using the chains.
Impulsively, Cassie began to lunge forward, only to feel Ranjit’s hand grip her arm tightly. He pulled her back.
‘Cassie, wait!’ he hissed, pointing towards the dark glow beyond them.
She stared. The Urn was set in an elaborately carved alcove behind and above Sir Alric’s head, and on either side of it lay the Pendant and the Knife. The Urn’s translucent jade throbbed with that intense, brilliant glow Cassie had seen before, but around it hovered something else, a hideous light that seemed to emanate from it. It roiled and swirled, making twisted monstrous shapes of elusive smoke that regularly dissipated then coalesced into a single serpentine coil.
With a last yank on the chains binding Sir Alric, Brigitte turned and gazed up at the light with a kind of adoration.
‘So close, Katerina. So close! He will be free!’
Something told Cassie they weren’t talking about Sir Alric.
‘Yes,’ Katerina intoned. She turned and glared contemptuously at Sir Alric. ‘Soon your spirit will be the Eldest’s first good meal in centuries. And soon your body will be his host,’ she spat. ‘You should feel honoured.’
‘Prepare the artefacts,’ Brigitte told her daughter. Grimly, Cassie followed their gaze towards their altar of artefacts, and her eyes were drawn to the Knife beside it. Its carved creatures were alive, twisting, and it seemed to radiate a light all of its own, drawing her, calling to her, wanting her …
Unable to bear it a moment longer, Cassie tore her arm free of Ranjit’s grasp and dived around the corner, heading straight towards the glowing alcove and the Knife. Brigitte spun on her heel, gaping.
‘NO! Cassie!’
Ranjit’s cry of warning was drowned out by a shriek of rage. Katerina hurtled towards Cassie, slamming into her and flinging her backwards. Cassie crashed hard into the solid rock wall, pain shooting through her shoulders and head, but she staggered back to her feet, snarling, and focused. Drawing up all her strength, she began to project her unusual power out beyond herself. The cave turned ruby-red in her vision, and she drew a triumphant breath to hurl the full force of it towards Katerina—
‘Cassie! DON’T DO THAT!’
But Sir Alric’s yell of horror was cut off abruptly; Marat stepped from the shadows and snapped his head back with a vicious punch. Still, his brief shout was enough to make Cassie pause, and she rocked back on her heels, surprised and confused.
Beyond Katerina, the Urn was brightening, its light focusing into a single dazzling beam that lanced out towards Cassie like a laser. Shocked, Cassie tried to refocus her power against it, but instead of combating the strange light, she found herself frozen, rooted to the spot. The Urn’s green light enveloped her.
‘Don’t … !’ mumbled Sir Alric again. But it was too late.
Katerina stalked over to stand before Cassie, but she didn’t launch a new attack. She didn’t have to. The girl was grinning with horrible delight, fists clenched as she gazed at the immobilised Cassie.
‘Oh, yes, Cassie Bell!’ she howled. ‘Yes! By all means do!’
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Cassie wanted to scream with futile rage, but she couldn’t even do that. Horror swamped her as she stared down at her own chest.
She’d projected her spirit beyond her body – her special power, her unique power – and now it was going to be the death of her. The Urn’s light was almost unbearably bright now; with a sinking realisation, Cassie deduced that the Eldest was consuming her projected spirit, absorbing its energy. She was growing weaker by the minute.
‘Cassie!’ She heard Ranjit’s howl as if from a great distance.
No … came the echo from inside her own head. No … !
But she was powerless as her friends rushed forward. Yelling with fury, Ranjit, Richard, Jake and Isabella were suddenly all around her. They were trying to protect her, she knew – to stop this from happening. But it seemed hopeless, and she could do nothing to help, nothing to save herself. Slowly, inexorably, her power was draining away into the Urn. She let out a growl of pure frustration but could still say nothing, could not move.