Free Falling Between (The Vaettir Serial, #1) by Sara C. Roethle Page B

behind the bathtub. The room, ceiling, and floor were all made of stone, with no modern ventilation that I could see.
    Not knowing what else to do, I slowly unlocked the heavy wood door so I could peek out into the hallway. There was no one in sight, so I crept out, too frightened to breathe. Once I was fully in the hallway I ran, taking the first turn I could find that would lead me away from the bedroom rather than towards it. My bare feet pounded harshly against the hard stone, making little jolts of pain shoot up through my shins. The hallway seemed to stretch on forever. I ran past several closed doors and turned another corner.
    I had only taken a few more steps when I ran straight into someone who'd been walking down the hallway. I bounced off his chest and fell to the ground. He wasn't even shaken by the impact. The man I'd hit looked down at me and laughed. He was dressed down in a hunter green tee-shirt and jeans that seemed out of place in our castle-like surroundings.
    The man leaned down to offer me a hand, causing his chin-length golden brown hair to fall forward. I stared at the hand for a moment, then finally decided to take it. The man shoved his hair back from his face in annoyance with his free hand as he lifted me to my feet. The hair wasn't quite long enough to stay behind his ears, so it just fell forward again.
    “Are you lost?” he asked as we stood facing each other.
    “Just looking for the front door?” I said hopefully.
    The man smiled. He seemed much more friendly that Alaric or Sophie, but he was still in the same house as them. I doubted he would help me. The hallway wasn't terribly wide, so I'd be better off running back the way I'd come than trying to run past him.
    “I'm James,” he offered, as if we were meeting each other under normal circumstances.
    “I'm-” I began, but my words caught in my throat as I finally looked at his icy blue eyes. Now, my eyes are light blue, but James' were so pale that they were nearly white. The rest of his face was handsome enough: a strong nose, a jaw just wide enough to be masculine . . . the lips might have been a little too thin for my taste, but they didn't harm his good looks any. Yet those eyes. I'd seen eyes like that before, and they hadn't belonged to the living. A flash of memory shot through me like lightning, raising the tiny hairs on my entire body. I shook away the horrifying image of a young man's eyes just as his life had left him. It had been a long time ago, and there were more pressing matters to worry about.
    James' smile slowly faded as I looked into his haunting eyes, feeling like I'd seen a ghost. I felt like a rabbit caught in a corner by a snake, debating whether to run or to stay perfectly still. James didn't try to grab me, he didn't try to do anything for that matter. He just stood there, waiting for me to make the next move.
    Something in my stance must have given me away, because as soon as I turned to run he was already in motion. I narrowly avoided his arms as I dropped to the ground. Once I was down I did the first thing I could think of and kicked him in the kneecap, but it would have worked better if I wasn't barefoot. All I got for my effort was a grunt of annoyance as James finally managed to grab me. He lifted me effortlessly and threw me over his shoulder.
    I pounded on his back frantically, but he didn't seem to mind. “You're lucky that I like it rough,” he laughed.
    I pulled up the back of his shirt and raked my nails across his back, hoping to surprise him into dropping me. He did drop me, but only long enough to put my back to him so he could pin my arms and force me to stumble forward. I drug my feet as we went back the way I'd come.
    Sophie came into view as we rounded the next corner. She stood near the bathroom, tapping her foot impatiently. She took me from James without a word and pushed me back into the bathroom. This time when she shut the door, she stayed inside with me.
    She braced herself