‘Oh, Cassie!’ Isabella laughed, but her eyes darkened a little as she held Cassie’s shoulders and studied her face. ‘You look so beautiful. Too thin, yes? But very, very beautiful.’
‘Gee, thanks. Flattery’ll get you everywhere.’ She grinned weakly. Her head was really swimming now. It was the excitement, she told herself. And the jet lag. Whatever. She just needed to be calm for a while.
But Isabella was laughing again, still bubbling over with enthusiasm. ‘I can hardly wait for us all to be together again! You and me and Jake! Yes? Come on, let’s go!’ Abruptly she released Cassie.
‘Sure. Let’s … go …’
But that was easier said than done without Isabella’s supporting arm. Swaying, Cassie felt her knees buckling under her. She’d have hit the ground if Isabella hadn’t caught her elbow in her strong polo-player’s grip.
‘Cassie? Cassie?’
Cassie frowned. Isabella’s voice seemed to have gone all funny over Christmas. Weird. Distant.
Fading.
Or maybe that was herself. In the dark now. In a cold, black void.
And disappearing …
CHAPTER TWO
‘Cassandra? Cassandra!’
Another familiar voice. She couldn’t place it, but it was powerful, reassuring. She’d be all right now, she knew. Maybe because she was dead. She must be dead, because the airport hubbub had vanished and she was floating in a serene bubble of calm.
‘Cassandra!’ The gravelly tone was more insistent now. A hand slapped her cheek, then the other one. ‘Cassandra, come back.’
Against her will, she forced her eyelids open, groaning. The blurred face was just as familiar as the voice. Ascetic, fiercely handsome, and frowning with concern.
‘S’r Alric …’
‘That’s right. Wake up.’
Blinking against bright light, Cassie levered herself up, clutching cushions for support. A sofa. A huge leather one. For a moment she thought she really was dead, and in an especially comfortable afterlife, because she could see nothing but acres of blue sky. Then she registered the glass walls surrounding her, and skyscrapers glittering in the morning sun, and the wintry treetops of …
Central Park!
Above the trees the sky was diamond blue, streaked with white wisps of plane trails. She blinked woozily at her very own angle on the spectacular New York skyline.
Or rather, Sir Alric Darke’s angle.
She came to properly, with a jolt. Tried to stand up, but fell back. She heard a little yelp of relief, and Isabella was at her side again, flopping down next to her and hugging her. Cassie gazed blankly around at the plush, stylish office.
‘What a fright you gave me! Oh, Cassie!’
At last her companions were coming into focus. Isabella, of course – and Jake, standing close by, looking hugely relieved if a little wary of his surroundings. As she met his warm brown eyes, he gave her a weak grin. ‘Hey, Cassie. Good to see you.’
‘Jake. It’s good to see you too.’
That wasn’t strictly true. Cassie was more than just glad to see him – she was overwhelmingly relieved. Last term, Jake had discovered more of the Few’s secrets than it was safe for any outsider to know. Cassie hadn’t been sure if he’d ever come back to the Academy after finding out that his fellow pupil and the former object of his affections, Katerina Svensson, had murdered his sister, Jessica. The temptation to blow the whistle on the institution that had covered up the crime and let the Few girl off with mere expulsion must have been overwhelming. Yet here he was, standing in the principal’s office.
What had brought him back? His affection for Isabella? A strange sense of transferred sibling loyalty to Cassie, the girl who everybody said had looked just like his dead sister? Or was he back to deal with the ‘unfinished business’ he’d spoken about at the end of last term?
Her feeble smile for Jake faded as she turned, a little reluctantly, to Sir Alric. He hadn’t changed – his handsome features as striking as ever. There was something strained about his grey eyes, and he didn’t smile, but he didn’t look angry either.
‘Hang on – how did … ?’ Cassie rubbed her forehead furiously. The last thing she remembered was the baggage belt grinding by, the smell of human sweat, the crush and the heat. And needing something. Needing it so badly she’d abandoned …
‘My case! I left it! I didn’t—’
‘It’s OK.’ Isabella flapped a dismissive hand. ‘I picked it up for you.’
‘But how did you—’
‘It’s the right one, don’t worry.’ Isabella giggled. ‘I knew which one was yours. I’d recognise that slaughtered old thing anywhere.’
Cassie shook her head, perplexed only for a moment. ‘Knackered, Isabella. My knackered old case. But security? Immigration? How did you—’
‘When you fainted, Isabella contacted me straight away,’ explained Sir Alric. ‘I have connections in the Department of Homeland Security who were able to expedite matters.’ He shot a guarded glance at Jake, as if he was afraid to say too much. ‘Now, I’m sure you wish to be with your friends, but first we have issues to attend to, you and I. Isabella and Jake, please. I must talk with Cassandra. Alone.’
Isabella and Jake glanced at each other doubtfully. Cassie tried to look up to give them both a reassuring nod, but the mere sight of her two friends was enough to bring the hunger shooting back through her like a lance, taking her breath away with its ferocity. Staggering to her feet, she stumbled against Sir Alric. His hand fell on her shoulder in what might have seemed like a kind gesture of support – except that his fingers were gripping so tightly he was bruising her. Cassie barely noticed the pain though; she could feel the tautness of her own muscles, coiled like springs in her desperation to feed, and she knew Sir Alric was actually restraining her.