The Ripple Effect (Rhiannon's Law #3)(2)

“Keep your panties on!” I snapped and rushed around the corner. Goose looked as bad as I did. His nose was busted, and his chest was covered in blood.

“It’s coming. Right now.” There was a sobering amount of fear in his expression, not that I blamed the poor bastard. He was the hook; I was the ace in the hole. “Do you have everything? Do you remember what to do?”

“I did my homework, remember?” I reached inside the holster pouch under my arm, retrieved the salt inside, and went for the butterfly knife in my pocket.

Something invisible barreled into Goose and knocked him back several feet. He hit the wall across from me, slid down the grimy wallpaper, and started to writhe and thrash. It was like a seizure, which I anticipated. The f*cking entity was taking over the only person in the house who wasn’t blessed by the church.

Poor Goose. I could only imagine how it felt to be possessed.

When he went still, I rushed to him, snagged his arm, and dragged his heavy ass to the center of the room. I only had a minute or so before the entity took over completely.

The clock was ticking.

I grasped the knife, cut into the meaty portion of my palm, and made a fist. Blood oozed between my fingers and splattered on the carpet. I walked around Goose’s body, making a large circle. When that was done, I grabbed the salt container and poured a portion on top of my blood. After I finished, I released a shaky breath and put the salt in my satchel and the knife in my pocket.

There. It was done. I was about to banish the thing that wouldn’t die to the other side signed, sealed, and delivered. The entity completely took over Goose and sat up. It was frightening to see my partner and close friend’s face distort into an evil grin with drool streaming down his chin.

“Bitch, do you think you can contain me?” he asked and rose to his feet. I smirked until he stepped right past the barrier of salt and blood.

Oh shit.

“I’m going to kill you.” Goose leered, his sidelong glance malicious.

“You wouldn’t be the first to tell me that.” I quickly composed myself and tried to figure out what the hell to do. When Goose and I had planned this, there had been no warning that the damned thing would be strong enough to break a binding circle.


Damn. I really should have taken a few extra shifts at the club instead of coming here.

The large knife attached to my belt thrummed, the magic inside it so strong I could feel the outline of the weapon through my pants. For a moment I considered bringing Sucker—the nickname I’d given the bloodthirsty blade that was strong enough to kill an angel or a demon—out to play. Then I focused on Goose. He looked horrible. The thing inside him had distorted his handsome features, and there was more rage in his eyes than I’d ever seen. I couldn’t kill the entity without killing him. That meant I had to get the f*cking thing out of him pronto.

“Sorry, Goose.” I stepped toward the friend I was about to beat the shit out of. Whatever I did, I had to do it fast. The sooner Goose lost consciousness, the sooner I could deal with the entity.

The first punch to his jaw sent him staggering. When he righted himself, he came at me. He reared back and brought his fist toward my face. I pivoted, turned, and knocked his hand away. He whipped around and I decked him again, right in the center of his nose. My knuckles cracked with the blow, but he didn’t go down. Blood streamed from his nostrils, staining his shirt. His eyes were wild when they homed on me. I noticed his pupils were dilated, the warm chocolate brown irises almost absent.

Fuck.

I couldn’t do this half-assed. Goose was going to be black and blue for days.

I waited until he charged. I moved to the side and jumped on his back. After I got my arms in the right position around his neck, I started applying steady pressure. He thrashed and spun, trying to knock me loose. I wrapped my legs around his waist and held on for dear life. He was so much stronger than I had imagined.

“Kill you,” he rasped and grasped at my hair.

“A total girl fighter,” I grumbled and winced as he got handful and yanked.

He started moving around the room with me on his back, swinging his free arm madly as he continued spinning in a circle. The back of his knees hit the arm of the couch and back we went, a tumbling mass of arms and legs. The cushions padded our fall, but it still hurt when Goose landed on top of me. My grip loosened and he used my weakness to his advantage. His elbow connected with my side, hard enough that I was certain he’d bruised a rib. The moment I let him go, he was off the couch. I rolled from the cushions, landed on the carpet, and crouched. Goose was standing several feet away, chest heaving, hands formed into fists. Bubbles formed around his nose with each breath, dribbling more blood down his lips.

Jesus. This thing, whatever it was, wasn’t going down easy. It was supposed to be a simple entity, a creature imprinted into a building and therefore able to possess those who crossed the threshold unblessed. Somehow I had a feeling Goose had missed something very important during his research.

He jumped at me, and I countered the movement with a step back. He grinned, threw back his head and started to laugh. It wasn’t Goose’s usual laugh, more like a demented cackle. When he lowered his head, he studied me in a way that made my skin crawl. I never wanted to see that kind of look in Goose’s eyes ever again.

He pointed at the knife on my hip. “You’re not willing to kill my host, so I suggest you leave.”