Chapter 6 · The Floor That Isn't There

The elevator panel has a button I've never seen before.

It's below the lobby. Below the parking garage. Just a blank black circle with no number, no letter, nothing. I wouldn't have noticed it except Lucien pressed it the second the doors closed, and now the elevator's dropping so fast my stomach is somewhere near my throat.

"You said we'd talk," I say. My hand's still tight around Vivian's token in my pocket. "You didn't say anything about going down."

Lucien doesn't look at me. His eyes are on the floor display, watching the numbers tick down. Lobby. P1. P2. Then the display flickers and goes dark.

"The recording," he says. "You heard it."

"She said don't let you take me downstairs."

"She also said I wasn't the one you needed to worry about." His voice is tight. Controlled. The kind of control that means he's not actually in control at all. "Evelyn. I need you to listen very carefully. When the doors open, stay behind me. Don't speak. Don't run. And for god's sake, don't bleed."

"Why would I—"

The elevator shudders. Hard. The lights cut out completely and I'm slammed against the wall, my shoulder hitting the rail.