She stroked it remorsefully, tears springing to her eyes. What had she done?
Hang on. What made her think she’d done anything?
A feeling, that was all …
Miserably, she cursed, but not far enough under her breath. In the other bed Isabella stirred and stretched, yawning. Cassie had barely enough time to shove the melted pictures under her pillow before Isabella blinked sleepily. Her roommate yawned and smiled.
‘Morning, Cassie. Mmm …’ Abruptly she sat up. ‘Hey! We’re in New York!’
Cassie shook her head. She instantly felt a little more cheery. How could Isabella be bursting with such enthusiasm at this hour? Her friend hadn’t changed since Paris – which was kind of nice, when so much else had. Affecting a drawl she said, ‘Chill, honey. It’s six o’clock in the morning. Ain’t sun-up for an hour.’
Isabella rolled her eyes. ‘Cassie, that accent is more South Carolina than South Bronx and even I know it. Now …’ Slumping back on to her bed, she rubbed her hands with glee. ‘What shall we do today?’
‘Um, apart from start school, you mean?’ asked Cassie.
‘Yes, yes, apart from that. This is the City that Never Sleeps! And neither should we!’
‘Uh-huh.’ Cassie didn’t bother mentioning she already had a head start in that department. ‘You know the first class is maths, right?’
‘No. No, no, no! I shall not even think about it!’ wailed Isabella. She paused and then gave Cassie a sidelong glance. ‘We need to talk about you, Cassie.’
‘Oh, God.’ Cassie sighed. ‘Not again. First Ranjit, now you as well. Can’t we talk about someone else?’
Isabella folded her arms crossly. ‘Cassie. I let you off yesterday because you were meeting your Indian prince – which you need to fill me in on as well, by the way.’ She paused to give Cassie a wink. ‘But I know you’re not telling me something. You fainted at the airport! You did not look so terrible and starved just from missing breakfast or having a bug. It’s because of what they did to you, isn’t it? At the Few ceremony?’
Cassie rubbed her neck. ‘Yes,’ she mumbled.
Isabella nodded, her eyes narrowing. ‘Right. And what have you done about it?’
‘Sir Alric had a … er … solution.’ Cassie smiled brightly, hoping an explanation would stall Isabella’s questions for now, even if she was being economical with the truth. She needed time. More time. ‘Literally, I mean. A liquid solution.’
‘You mean drugs?’ Isabella’s hand flew to her mouth. ‘Cassie, I’m not sure—’
‘Please, Isabella, it’s nothing to worry about.’
‘Oh?’ Isabella folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. ‘If it is nothing to worry about, why are you still so unhappy? I know you better! Why are you so nervous and sifty?’
‘Shifty …’
‘Out with it, Cassie Bell!’
Defeated, Cassie went over and slumped on to Isabella’s bed. ‘Remember what I told you about Keiko and Alice last term? About seeing Keiko kind of feeding on Alice? Well, that’s how the Few stay alive.’ She sighed miserably, trying to avoid meeting Isabella’s eye. ‘They draw life-energy from someone who’s non-Few. And, apparently, that’s something I’m going to have to do too …’ Cassie trailed off. She hadn’t the heart to carry on any further, to ask the question out loud.
Isabella didn’t reply. Maybe, thought Cassie, she was remembering Cassie’s horrible description of Keiko draining the life out of her helpless roommate. Or her boyfriend’s sister being sucked dry …
The air seemed to crackle with tension as the silence stretched on and on, but Cassie couldn’t bear to look up to see the horror and revulsion on Isabella’s face. Any minute now, it would all be over. Isabella would leave the room. She’d go to Sir Alric and demand a change of roommate. Of course, she’d say they’d still be friends, but she’d never quite forget what Cassie had asked of her. She’d never quite forgive—
‘OK.’
‘What?’ Cassie wasn’t sure she’d heard correctly.
‘I said OK. You will feed from me.’ Seeing Cassie’s incredulous expression, Isabella flapped her hands. ‘Look, I’m not saying this is ideal. One thing is for sure, I had a very different view of the Few before I knew all this craziness was involved. But another thing I know for certain is that you’re not like Keiko. Not a bit like her. She was insane. You, on the other hand,’ Isabella grinned, ‘well, you have your moments. But you are my very good friend, Cassie Bell. If this is what you need, then this is what we need to do.’
Cassie could only stare at her. ‘Isab—’
Isabella interrupted, holding up her hand. ‘Hold on. Alice did not know what Keiko was doing, did she?’
‘No.’ Cassie picked at a chewed nail. ‘The Few have a special drink. It makes your roommate forget everything. They think it’s kinder.’
Cassie finally made herself look at Isabella’s face, but there was no disgust on it. She was nodding, intent and serious.
‘Yet you don’t want to deceive me, Cassie. You have told me everything, and that shows you trust me. Thank you. So I will be honest with you, because I trust you too.’ Isabella raised a warning finger. ‘You must never give me this drink. I won’t ever be tricked or lied to.’