Page 123 of Soul Sucker

“I’ll go and check.”

Would Ella see his offer to come with her to Otherworld as him trying to overprotect her, or as a symbol of his desire to protect her over himself? Would she even see the difference? The only way to know would be to ask. He knocked on her office door and then knocked again. He opened the door and looked inside. There was no sign of her or Liz.

Trying to look casual, he checked Liz’s cubicle and then wandered out into the main office. He couldn’t sense Ella anywhere. His gut tightened as he considered what that meant and he kept walking until he reached the main lobby.

“Peach, have you seen Liz or Ms. Walsh go by?”

“Good morning, Mr. Morosov. Yes I have. They left about half an hour ago.”

“I don’t suppose they mentioned where they were going, did they?”

“They didn’t, but I did notice Ella had her cell out and was checking for portals.”

Damn. She’d gone without him. Ofcourseshe had. “Thanks, that’s very helpful.”

“You’re welcome, Mr. Morosov. Do you want me to tell you when they come back?”

“That would be great.” He smiled at her and she turned a delicious shade of pink. Just as he was about to call the elevator to go down to the SBLE floors, Doug Smith came in through the revolving doors. Vadim froze, his finger poised over the button.

“Doug? What’s wrong?”

Doug ran a hand through his already disordered hair. “Hey, Vad. Something’s up with Liz. I feel it in my gut.”

“As far as I know she’s out with Ms. Walsh. Did she tell you where they were going?”

“Nope. I just know something’s wrong.” He shivered. “I felt her scream.”

“Peach thought they might be going to Otherworld.” Doug raised his gaze to Vadim’s. His eyes looked more wolf than human. “Can we find out? I need to get to her.”

“We can certainly try.” Vadim hurried Doug into the elevator and followed him in, his mind working furiously. When they reached their level, he went straight to his own office.

“Alexei, you know Doug. Can you locate Liz? Doug thinks she’s in trouble.”

“I’ll do my best.” Alexei’s Fae-Web surrounded him. “She’s…unclear.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Doug snarled. “She’s neither here nor quite in Otherworld.” Alexei frowned at Vadim. “How weird is that? She’s not dead though.” He held up his hand. “Hold on, I’m getting a sense of portal disruption. Did the one by the bay move or something?”

“Hopefully not when Liz was in it,” Vadim muttered. He set himself to locating the portals. “Yes, it’s definitely moved. It’s closer now, by the clock tower at the Ferry building.” He looked at Doug. “What do you want to do?”

“It depends what has happened to her. Is she hurt?”

“I don’t know. As Alexei said, she is alive. Do you want to come with me and find out?”

Alexei stared at Vadim. “You’re going to Otherworld?”

“I have no choice. Liz wasn’t the only one on the way to Otherworld. I’m getting no sense of Ms. Walsh either.”

* * *

Ella walkedinto the public office of the Merton records office and found that nothing had changed. There was no one around, the clock on the counter continued to tick away the seconds, and the sense of being in another century deepened. She put her backpack on the countertop and fished for the OCOS form she’d completed that morning. She put it in the wire IN tray and then turned her attention to writing out a request form. As she thought how to pose her question, she bit the end of the pencil. What did she need to know about Geoffrey White? She decided to keep it simple and just ask for current information as to his address and occupation. Was he the empath who had damaged Anna Wheeler at that party? Had the college discovered his identity and gotten rid of him or had he left? If he was the man calling himself the Siren, she needed to get answers as quickly as possible.

She finished writing her note and read it through before placing it on top of her OCOS letter. According to the clock, there was another fifteen minutes before someone would be by to pick up the information. Ella picked up the silver bell that set next to it. Engraved around the outside of the bell were the words, ‘For EMERGENCIES only.’

This was a fucking emergency.

She rang the bell and the sweet sound echoed through the joyless room. No one came and Ella considered leaping over the countertop, running to the door at the back and doing some good old-fashioned hollering. She picked up her backpack and dumped it on the nearest chair.

“Ms.Walsh,where are you?”

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