The Ripple Effect (Rhiannon's Law #3)(60)

“A threat?” Anton mocked.

“A warning.” Revenald was unruffled, cool as a cucumber. “Observe my ways and listen. You might learn something.”

“By all means, instruct me.”

“Don’t you want to dine beforehand?” Revenald motioned at the place settings before him. I took a quick look around. The vampires had glasses of blood to consume. The half-demons, it seemed, had different appetites.

“Did you find the delicacy I requested?”

“Of course.”

Anton’s blue eyes gleamed. “Pure and fresh?”

“Absolutely. I tasted her beforehand. She’s untouched.”

They weren’t talking about cattle. They were talking about a person.

A human.

Shit.

Revenald waved his hand and slaves filtered in, nude and pushing carts. Two golden bowls adorned the carts, each one full of sliced meat of some kind. I detected an odor I’d rather not have smelled—metallic and bitter. Blood.

“Brace yourself. No matter what you see do not interrupt, do not speak, and do not move.” Disco’s mental order was reinforced by an odd push, as though he cemented the command in my mind.


“Sauce?” Revenald asked when a bowl was placed in front of Anton.

Anton pulled a thick, cloth napkin from its holder and flicked it open. “It wouldn’t be a proper meal without it.”

Revenald waved his hand again. “As you wish.”

I wanted to turn when I heard muffled screams. The only thing that prevented me from doing so was the knowledge that if I did, I was as good as dead. I’d been in horrible situations before, but nothing like this. Tonight wasn’t about my morality—right or wrong—but about staying alive.

I lowered my gaze when another cart came into my line of vision, a young girl strapped to the surface. I didn’t want to know how old she was—although, I guessed she was in her early teens—and I didn’t want to think about her suffering before she crossed to the other side. Yet I did see a flash of white—the bone of her left leg revealed all the way to the femur due to the missing flesh and meat.

Tears burned my eyes when they loosed the tourniquet at the top of her thigh, releasing a stream of blood that collected in a gold gravy boat. She screamed against the gag in her mouth, her misery too f*cking much to take. Damn me to hell, I couldn’t do a f*cking thing. She was strapped to a table, doomed to die, and I was allowing it to happen.

“Stop,” Disco instructed, pulling me from my train of thought. “You said you could do this, so do it. I warned you. I told you how tonight would be. Even if you tried to save the girl it’s too late. She’ll never survive the blood loss.”

Yes, he had told me how horrible tonight would be, but he hadn’t told me it would be like this.

Dear Lord, please help me.

I stemmed a wave of tears, grieving for the child destined to die, angry at myself. I wouldn’t run when Disco asked. I’d refused to listen when he’d told me Revenald would break me. This was my penance, my penalty for my decision. If I didn’t do as I promised, everyone I loved would suffer. And what kind of person did that make me? Someone who would sacrifice others for those they loved? I pushed the questions aside, doing what Disco told me, knowing it was too late to turn back.

The nude slaves who had collected the girl’s blood tightened the tourniquet and to my relief no squeal followed. I peered at her through my lashes, grateful to see she had passed out. The slave closest to Revenald and Anton placed a dish in front of each of the men and poured the blood on top of what I realized was human flesh, the red liquid as thick as treacle.

They picked up their forks—also gold—and prodded at their meal. I bowed my head, unable to watch, even though I could hear disgusting slurps and the distinct rings of utensils banging against metal. My mind and stomach rebelled against what I knew was taking place, of what they were eating. Half-demons were repulsive creatures, things that needed to be destroyed. I almost grasped my chest—desperate to touch the amulet that was no longer there. Like a junkie needing her next fix, I yearned for the comfort the stone provided, for the peace that settled over me when I called upon its power.

In an instant, those thoughts evaporated. Time seemed to stand still, to become something else. Calm surrounded me, overshadowing my sense of dread. Like a beloved child’s blanket, the sensation cocooned me, wrapping me in lulling beams of peace and serenity. Warm air brushed my face as the sun caressed my skin. I listened to the ocean waves crashing onto the shore, rocking back and forth in a strange state that was neither here nor there. If I looked up, the beach would greet me. The one place I could always seek when I needed to ground myself in something no one could take away.

My special place...

“Rhiannon,” Paine whispered in my ear and touched my elbow. “It’s time to go.”

I shook my head, breaking free of the heavenly stupor, coming back to a room full of standing vampires and two half-demons. Revenald lifted a questioning brow as Anton grinned, watching as though they knew my secret.


What the hell had just happened?

Disco cleared his throat, moving closer to me. When I met Paine’s gaze, he glanced at Disco and I realized that Disco had taken over my thoughts, channeling them into something I could control, contorting evil into something beautiful. It was in that moment I finally grasped just how powerful my lover truly was. Not only had he taken me from a moment beyond what I could stand, he had made time stand still. And more importantly, he had made me enjoy it. Bask in it.