Page 72 of Soul Sucker

“It will only take a minute, Ms. Walsh.”

She couldn’t even look at him, her attention focused on the doors, and the upward motion of the elevator. A faint ding heralded their arrival and she was finally able to let out her breath.

“See? That wasn’t so bad,” Vadim said.

Ella didn’t deign to answer him, and stepped as close to the doors as she could. As they started to open, she stared fixedly at the narrow slit of white marble in the lobby. A sudden jolt sent her rocking back on her heels. Vadim caught her as the elevator made a terrible screeching sound and started to fall back down the shaft.

“Hold on to me!”

Vadim pulled her into his arms and curled his body around hers, drawing them both down to the floor and using his magic to protect them from the impact. Her scream exploded against his chest as the elevator hit the bottom of the shaft and everything went black.

He opened his eyes into complete darkness. Ella was fighting his hold, her breathing ragged, her nails slashing at his skin.

“Ms. Walsh, get a grip.” He grabbed hold of her upper arms and held her as still as he could. “Ella.”

She shuddered so convulsively he felt it resonate through his own body. “I have to get out of here,right now. Don’t you get it?”

“Listen to me.” He gave her a gentle shake. “Listen. We’ll get out of here. We only fell a couple of levels.”

“I don’t care how far we fell, I have to get out!”

“Take some deep breaths and help me think this through.” She tried to pull away from him, but he held tight. “Is your cell working?”

He relaxed his grip sufficiently to allow her to forage in her pocket. She pulled out her smart phone and clicked on the screen. Nothing happened and she moaned.

“Try mine. It’s in the pocket of my pants.”

She retrieved his phone, but there was no response from his network either.

“Oh fuck,” Ella breathed. “Oh fuckety-fuck.”

“It’s probably because this part of the building is magically warded against the outside.”

“Not helpful, Morosov.” She took a deep trembling breath. “Can’t you use your magic to get us out?”

He considered the space around him. “I don’t think that’s going to work either.” He wasn’t sure if she sensed it yet, but he was aware of plenty of magical power encircling them already. Unfortunately, he had no idea if the magic was benign or hostile.

“Why not?”

“I’m probably not powerful enough to break through the SBLE shields by myself.”

He wasn’t sure if that was true, but he didn’t want to use up all his power in case there was worse trouble ahead. He also didn’t want to mention that to Ella.

“Can you contact Alexei?”

He tried. “No, there is something blocking my thoughts.”

“Something from Otherworld?”

“I don’t know. It could just as easily be the SBLE.”

“Then what are we going to do?” Her breathing fragmented again. “We’re going to die down here, and no one will ever find us.”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “No, we’re not.”

“I’m going to die anyway, but it’s not fair to you.”

He kissed her nose and she made a growling noise. “Don’t be so negative. There are other options to explore.”

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