Secret Lives Read Online Free PDF Page B

breath, the squat porter appeared and stood still, silently alert.
    Cassie didn’t dare breathe, and she didn’t dare move back in case the movement drew his attention. She could only hope he wouldn’t look up. She couldn’t say why, but she knew, instinctively and for certain, that she didn’t want that dead-eyed, brutish porter to catch her out of her room. She wouldn’t want him to catch anyone. Not even a burglar.
    At last he turned, clearly unwilling to investigate every shadow in the hallway, and his footsteps faded.
    Beneath Hector’s dying body, the third shadow moved, slipping from the shelter of the statue and heading for the grand staircase. Her heart in her throat, Cassie backed away, hunting frantically for a place to hide. The prowler was going to come up the grand staircase – right past her. Damn . She went cold with fear. There were no convenient curtains, only shadows and a small alcove. She pressed herself back, staying absolutely still.
    His footfalls were almost silent now on the rich carpet, but when she sensed him coming she took a small breath and held it, making no sound. Except for her heart, of course, thrashing like a triphammer, but luckily he couldn’t hear that. Nor did he see her, as he passed close by like a phantom.
    Jake Johnson .
    She frowned. What was he up to? For a moment she longed to go back to her room. Her nice, safe, beautiful room with her softly snoring roommate. She could put up with a little insomnia.
    Only one thing wrong with that scenario, decided Cassie: she didn’t like night skulkers. They were never up to any good. If something was wrong, she wanted to be first to know. Knowledge was power: she’d learned that lesson well at Cranlake Crescent.
    Anyway, what was there to be afraid of? Waiting until Jake had turned on to the next landing, she slipped from the shadows and followed.
    Damn, he was good. His antennae were a lot better than Jilly Beaton’s. He knew to pause unexpectedly, to listen for someone following. He could move swiftly and use the darkness just like she did. At the top of the stairs, she almost lost the trail.
    He had slipped into an upper corridor. The blackness was more complete here on the deserted topmost floor: the ceiling was low and the only light leaked up from the lower levels. Cassie’s curiosity was strong enough to beat her nerves, though. She stepped into the corridor.
    As her eyes adjusted, she made out an arched smear of light. Curling her bare toes into the soft, comforting carpet, she took another trembling step, then another. OK: now she was committed. Go, Cassie! What are you scared of?
    Her progress was painfully slow. She half-expected Jake to leap out, but he was nowhere to be seen. Then, after far too long, she made out his silhouette ahead. About to hurry after him, she came to a dead halt.
    That couldn’t be another set of footsteps? Surely they had to be Jake’s.
    No. These steps were behind her. Less guarded, but still furtive. And definitely on the grand staircase. The sinister porter? Maybe. What would he do if he thought she’d been sneaking around? Shop her to the teachers? Or deal with her himself? And what if it wasn’t the porter …
    Oh, God .
    Cassie broke into an uncertain run. Just as panic began to swamp her, she saw the arch of light grow larger, and then she was beneath it. Grabbing the plasterwork, she leaned back, trying to get her terrified breathing under control. Once more she heard a footfall, and made her decision. She swung round the corner and into a smaller stairway.
    It was like bright day after the terrible darkness of the corridor. She wasn’t even worried about alerting Jake any more; somehow that wouldn’t be as bad as being caught by whoever – or whatever – was behind her. Jake was a fast-moving blur, slipping round the stairs two floors down, but she was almost desperate to catch up with him now, whatever the consequences. Grabbing the banister, she went silently