Blood Ties by Gabriella Poole Page A

word that you will not be harmed.’
    ‘OK,’ said Isabella, sounding uneasy.
    ‘Are you sure you want to go through with this?’ asked Cassie.
    ‘Sure. Honestly, Cassie. I trust you.’
    ‘Yeah, but I’m not sure I trust myself,’ Cassie mumbled, her mind flying back to Cranlake Crescent and the moment she had attacked Patrick.
    ‘Then I will trust you for both of us.’ Isabella’s smile was shaky, but her voice was firm.
    ‘Right,’ said Sir Alric, putting a hand on Cassie’s shoulder. ‘Both of you close your eyes.’ He paused. ‘Now, Cassandra. Take a deep breath and try to relax.’
    Cassie did as he said, but nothing seemed to happen.
    ‘Once more. Concentrate.’
    Sir Alric’s voice faded as Cassie drew a second deep breath. This time there was a change. As she breathed in, her senses seemed somehow to be heightened. Beneath her fingertips, Isabella’s pulse was pounding, racing. She could sense the life-energy flowing through her roommate’s veins.
    ‘That’s it,’ murmured Sir Alric.
    Now Cassie could feel a prickling sensation all over her skin, a humming inside her head, a bright glow behind her eyelids. She was at once both light-headed and totally, completely alert, and she realised she was still inhaling, her lungs seemingly no nearer to being filled.
    ‘Concentrate,’ came Sir Alric’s voice once more, over the buzzing in her head. Cassie slowly opened her eyes, still breathing in, her fingers coiled tightly around Isabella’s slender wrists. Blinking, she noticed Isabella’s own eyes were squeezed shut, her mouth hanging slightly open, a barely perceptible sigh emitting from her lips, and Cassie instinctively knew that the endless breath coming out of her friend and into her was the life-energy she needed. Filling her with power …
    Yes, my dear! That’s it! Feed me, Cassandra!
    With a choking noise, Cassie dropped Isabella’s wrists and took a pace backward. Isabella’s eyes opened lazily, and she coughed, rubbing her eyelids as though she was trying to wake up from a deep slumber. Cassie’s heart was racing, not just out of alarm at what she had been doing, or the reappearance of Estelle’s voice, but from the huge, almost overwhelming rush of vitality. She’d never felt more alive. It was as though her senses were all snapped into hyper-focus.
    ‘Yes. Good control, Cassandra,’ said Sir Alric. Cassie jumped, almost surprised to find he was still standing beside them. ‘Well done, both of you.’
    Cassie turned to Isabella tentatively. ‘Are you OK?’
    Isabella paused, then let out a short laugh.
    ‘That’s it?’ Incredulity flooded her voice.
    ‘Isabella? Are you sure you’re—’
    ‘I’m absolutely fine,’ Isabella said. She looked up at Cassie and grinned, then threw her arms around her friend in a tight hug. ‘See, I told you, Cassie Bell. There was no need for all that build-up! No sweat.’
    Cassie nodded, still a hint of doubt lingering in her mind.
    ‘Yeah. That was … I guess it was less involved than I expected. Still, I don’t know if it’s something I want to do on a regular basis.’ Her head was spinning.
    ‘Regular feeding is a must, Cassie,’ said Sir Alric seriously. ‘As you have seen, if done properly, it is a simple and harmless procedure. But if you leave it too long – if you let yourself become too hungry – that is when you make mistakes and lose control. And that is when people get hurt.’
    He walked to the door and placed a hand on the doorknob. ‘For the moment, the Tears of the Few will help to sustain you. As long as their effect lingers, you will not need to feed as regularly as the other Few. You have done well today, but as soon as you feel the hunger growing, Cassandra, you must let me know, and we will meet again.’
    Sir Alric Darke opened the door. ‘Until then …’

CHAPTER TEN
    ‘I look ridiculous.’
    ‘You do not. You look gorgeous!’
    Cassie and Isabella stood together in front of the mirrored