The Ripple Effect (Rhiannon's Law #3)(43)

“You want me to wait?”

I shook my head and tried to feign a cheery smile. “It might take a while. I’ll call when I’m finished.”

Since he didn’t ask a second time after I paid the fare, I figured he was probably happy I’d declined. He didn’t seem thrilled to be in this area. It made sense. Only the stragglers and drug dealers came to this end of town. That was why it was so safe for deviants to use when they needed a place to lay low for a while.

It was only a few yards to the backdoor of the warehouse, but it felt much shorter. My heart throbbed as I came closer to the building I’d been trapped, tormented, and nearly killed inside. I never intended to return to this place.

After I opened the door and took a cautious step into the building, I paused. Sonja was waiting with a large metal cage containing a chicken and a small pet container that I couldn’t see the inside of, looking over a notebook and gnawing on her bottom lip. She was dressed casually in her school attire, jeans and a NYU sweatshirt. She closed the notebook with a plop and placed it inside her backpack.

“What is the chicken for?” I stared at the cage and the animal inside.

“I’ve tried to do this before without a sacrifice, and it didn’t work.” She tossed the backpack over her shoulder, picked up the cage and grasped the handle to the pet carrier.

“What’s in the other one?”

She shook her head, maneuvering so I couldn’t view the contents. “You’ll see.”


I followed her as she turned and started the trek to the basement. Disco had carried me through the building after my near death experience, but I’d been too out of it to really pay attention. Since Sonja had entered with him and knew the way, I let her take me down a couple of narrow hallways until we reached a landing of stairs. The dark interior of the building felt as if it was closing in on me, and I forced myself to breathe slowly and keep focused.

A few ghosts stopped to watch as we passed. Some were squatters, others were victims of crimes that had taken place in the building. Despite their presence, I soldiered on. Maybe I’d come back and help a few of them find peace. I could see it in their expressions, the way they looked at Sonja and me. They knew what we could do. Ghosts could sense us just as strongly as we could sense them. The big difference was that while I could see the ghosts as actual souls and not entities, Sonja could not. The amulet had opened something inside of me, granting me the ability to view them as more than spirits.

It wasn’t long until we made it to the room where Kibwe—the child vampire I was forced to destroy—brought me when he decided he wanted to play cannibal. My eyes flittered across the area. The silver chains he used, as well as the circle around the place he murdered his victims, were undisturbed. The table and chair I remembered were also there, as well as a mirror that wasn’t present during my entrapment.

Enormous brown stains stood out against the dark concrete floor, a mixture of mine and Kibwe’s blood. A shiver ran down my spine when I glanced at the wall. There were no more heavenly rays, no more angelic music beseeching me to enter the beautiful white light that promised to heal me, protect me, and keep me safe.

“Here is how this is going to work,” Sonja said, placing the cages on the floor. “Since Baxter is in limbo, there’s a very strong possibility we won’t be able to see him if he returns to the room. That requires a level of dark magic we do not have.”

“That’s what the chicken is for?” Sacrifice and dark magic went together like peas and carrots.

“Not exactly.”

She walked to the wall, squatted down, and opened the backpack. After she’d pulled her hair into a low ponytail, she retrieved a vial of salt and a knife. She stashed the salt under one arm and placed the knife under the other.

So the chicken was doomed to die today. I figured as much.

“I’ve been doing my homework, but I need to know what you’re planning to do here.” I glanced at the circle painted on the floor. More than likely, we’d have to use it. I didn’t like that idea at all. Too many vampires had died inside the pasty and now cracking white ring.

“Before we start, I’m going to summon a demon.” She said it so matter-of-factly, like she was ordering eggs and bacon for breakfast at the local IHOP.

“Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“You’re here because you need a demon to help if you hand over your precious knife. Don’t tell me you’re getting nervous now.”

“Who are you summoning?” Considering it was a demon, did it really matter?

“Krull.”

Holy shit. An actual happy blast from my childhood past. “Krull? Like the movie?”

Her sigh warned me she was losing patience. “Yes, like the movie. Leave it to you to make that connection.”

“So what is Krull”—I rolled the name off my tongue—“going to do?”

“I’m going to ask him to watch while we attempt to locate Baxter’s spirit. A demon will be able to see through the dimensions, so Krull will know if we’re having any luck. When we find Baxter, you’ll need to touch him and pull him back into this reality.”

“That simple?” I wasn’t so sure. I never trusted simple. “I just touch him?”

“It will break the banishment, since it disrupts the origin.”