The Ripple Effect

by J. A. Saare

  “You have a plan?”

  The hatred in his eyes set me back, startling me. “Yes.”

  Reaching out, I touched the thing. I didn’t know the proper words or protocol, only that free will dictated the passing of the amulet from one individual to another.

  “I give you this freely,” I murmured. His frown told me the amulet was still dead and I explained, “I sucked all the juju from it when I banished the demon. If we’re lucky, it’ll recharge fast. From what I’ve read, most mystical items only take a few hours to regenerate, depending on the origin of their creator.” Since Marigold was a fallen angel, a supposed creature of the Holy Savior, I crossed my fingers that the regeneration started during the day—as in soon.

  “This is forbidden and unknown territory.” He settled the leather cord over his neck and exhaled slowly. “Vampires do not turn rogue. Half-demons expect a hierarchy. They’ll hire assassins. We’ll be forced to fight for our lives.”

  This time when I smiled, it was real. “Not necessarily.”

  I wasn’t good at projecting thoughts to Disco, and considering what had happened not so long ago between us I was somewhat surprised at how easy it was to now, but when he realized I wanted to show him something he delved inside my head, sorting through the information I readily shared.

  I had a new identity thanks to Goose’s careful planning, as well as money—both tucked into the back seat of the limo. True, I’d put a lot of trust in the fact that Jerry wouldn’t leave. But I also knew there was nowhere to safely hide the information. The manila envelopes bought Disco and me a safe ticket out of New York. Marigold Vesta had promised me her protection if I could return her to her body. Hurting Disco meant hurting me. By falling into her good graces, he would as well by default. Or at least I hoped.

  He didn’t like the deal I’d made with Bane, however.

  “It doesn’t matter,” he said regarding the issue. “I purchased a residence long ago that no one knows about. We can stay there until my plans are in order.”

  “You’re so sure no one knows about it?”

  “I’m positive.” A steely glint entered his eyes. “I won’t take refuge from someone I can’t trust. Your stranger is unknown to me.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything.” When he looked at my quizzically I reminded him, “I trusted Goose, and look what he did. Sometimes it’s smart to keep your friends close, your enemies closer, and the strangers you meet on speed dial. If we need weapons, Bane can get them.”

  “You have a point, but it doesn’t matter. Jerry will take us to the vehicle I had set aside in the event you agreed to leave with Paine and Ethan. If we drive through the day, we can arrive at our destination by nightfall.”

  Bane wouldn’t like it, but fortunately I didn’t owe him anything. I’d give him a courtesy call when Disco and I were safe, just to keep our quasi-relationship amiable. No sense in burning any bridges we might need to cross for safety. Maybe in the future I could help Bane out, give him the clues he was after, but since I had a long to-do list he’d have to get in line.

  “You’re sure it’s safe?”

  “I won’t risk you again,” he answered, as though that explained everything. “No more doing things behind my back. Those days are over.” I nodded my agreement, and he stroked the back of his hand along my cheek, his knuckles light on my skin. “We find your angel, bring her back and gain an ally.”

  “There’s more, though. Isn’t there?” I asked, feeling a stirring within him, knowing he wanted to tell me something.

  “Yes,” he whispered, his power washing over me, and cupped my chin. “I’m not running, and I will not hide. I plan to return and reclaim my rightful place as Master of New York. I will not exist like a pestilence in the shadows. It’s time half-demons understand vampires will no longer bend to their will. Those who stand against us are destined to fall.”

  As I’d shared my thoughts with him, he opened a mental vault with me. There was a part of me that was shocked, taken back by the vehemence rolling through him. Gabriel fully intended to take the city back, to proclaim it as his. If he had his way, vampires would break from half-demon tradition. They would refuse to bow down to those who were the originator of the vampire race.

  Shit on a stick, he wanted an uprising.

  “One thing at a time,” he reminded me and stopped the flow of thoughts.

  “Whatever you say,” I responded and lowered my gaze. So much for the easygoing Disco. I was stuck with the hard-edged Gabriel Trevellian from now on.

  “I’m glad you think that.” He spoke in my mind. “You know I prefer my given name.”

  I could have argued with him like I used to, telling him I’d always call him Disco if only to piss him off, but I didn’t. The snarky bitch was gone, leaving behind a woman who was emotionally damaged and bleeding out. There wasn’t enough in me left to joke, to make things light or breezy. Not when the weight in my arms—so light I barely registered it, yet so heavy I couldn’t lift it to save the world—reminded me of how much had been lost.

  The conversation with Disco had blessedly redirected my thoughts, allowing me to pretend I wasn’t holding my sister. Only now, gazing down, I had to face that I was. I studied the young woman in my arms. She was so young. Still innocent despite everything she’d experienced. All she had known was horror. I wondered if it was possible to introduce her to something better.

  “Every time I visited Jenny, she was always looking out the window. I don’t know what she saw that captivated her so much, but I’d like to ask.”

  “Are you ready?” He reached out and ran his fingers along Jennifer’s forehead, the touch tender, his own respectful and lingering farewell.

  No. I wasn’t ready. For something like this I never would be. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

  “You can. Show her how much you love her by ending her suffering. Give her peace. Set her free.”

  Give her peace. I could do that. A final gift before we said goodbye.

  He took Jennifer from my arms and took a step back, allowing me to stand. Letting her go would be one of the hardest things I’d ever done in my life. She was the only person who knew me before things went to shit, who got to know the Rhiannon I used to be. In a way, she was taking that part of me with her. The rare joys from my teenage years were hers to keep.

  I followed Disco out of the basement and up the stairs. We ignored the slaves as we walked down the hallway, until it was no longer safe for him to carry Jennifer. He passed her over to me, giving me an added dose of his strength as he did. She felt like a child in my arms, lightweight and easy to hold.

  “Tell Jerry to pull around the estate. There’s a carport on the back of the property that will allow us to leave,” he said softly, as though he knew just how fragile I was, how broken.

  I almost asked him how he knew about Jerry, but then I realized he’d plucked the thought from my head. We couldn’t stay here. It wasn’t safe. We had to come together, organize, and start getting ready for what Disco had in store for his kindred.

  A war that had started and would end in blood.

  “I’ll be waiting for you,” Disco whispered, seeing more than I wanted him to, telling me what I needed to hear.

  My gasp heralded my descent into grief, my fortitude slipping away, my steel walls crashing down. I started to make the trip outside, forcing my legs to function. But I felt frozen in place after the first few steps, unable to continue when I neared the doorway.

  I couldn’t do this on my own.

  I didn’t want to face the unknown alone.

  Waves of reassurance cocooned me like invisible arms, giving me the support and comfort I craved. Like the dreams we shared, Disco cradled me with his mind, soothing my fears, taking as much pain from me as he was able. I felt stronger in my lover’s presence, relying on his strength and will.

  “You will never be alone,” he promised, prompting me to keep going, aiding me as I struggled not to cry as I continued my trek. “Not
now. Not tomorrow. Not for eternity. I am here, Rhiannon. I will always be here.”

  Epilogue

  The steps to the front door were the longest I’d ever taken. My legs felt sucked knee-deep in quicksand, so that the closer I got to my goal, the harder it was to lift each foot and place it in front of the other. Each step was too far away yet too close, beckoning me even though my heart demanded I take a step back and turn away. When I reached the door, a slave was there to open it wide. I nodded and he did just that. Then he moved aside to give me room. The morning sunshine hit my feet when I stepped into the entranceway, heated despite the chill of winter, warming the black leather protecting my feet.

  The time had come. No turning back.

  As I stepped outside, the sun wrapped around me, familiar and welcoming, touching every inch of my body from head to toe. As Disco had promised, Jennifer didn’t stir, remaining limp in my arms, her head crooked into the arch of my neck. I carried her down the stairs, walked past the driveway, and stopped at the grassy area with a fountain several yards from the mansion. For several seconds, I stood as I was, holding her like a child in my arms. Then I sank to my knees and took her with me, cradling Jenny to my chest, and bowed my head as heavy sobs racked my body.

  Two of the people I cared for most in my life were gone, taken from me. Like my parents, I was given a whisper in time with each of them, impressions of the past that were precious enough to sustain me and make an imprint long after their departure. Bittersweet memories, the most precious and coveted, meant to last a lifetime.

  “Rhia.”

  Jennifer’s voice flittered through the chilly breeze, a phantom in my ear. Lifting my head, I saw her spirit in front of me. My heart skipped a beat and my breath caught. This is what she’d have looked like in another time and place. Her blond hair was beautiful, falling in long waves down her back. And her hazel eyes were bright, perfectly sane and rational. Her cheeks were a healthy pink, the glow in her face radiant.

  “I’ve missed you,” I cried, sniffing as tears streamed down my face. “I’ve missed you so much, Jenny.”

  She smiled, and the effect was stunning. “I missed you too.”

  Like Paine, the entire world seemed to come to life when Jennifer smiled, brightened simply by the happiness on her face. Something stirred in my chest: a hope that maybe this was the right thing. Perhaps the two people I loved would be together. In many ways they were alike, having been cut off from the world around them. In Heaven, who knew? Maybe they’d have what they yearned for most. Maybe things would be different.

  Jennifer’s smile faded as she turned her head, no doubt hearing the beautiful call of angels. If I was going to ask my question, I had to ask now.

  “When I visited, you were always looking out the window.” I swallowed, trying not to strangle myself on the knot forming in my throat. “What were you looking at? What did you see?”

  “Heaven,” she whispered, continuing to stare into the distance. “So beautiful.”

  There was no way to know if she was answering my question or remarking on what she saw, but when she started walking away from me, I didn’t have it in my heart to stop her. Her visage was one of peace—something I’d never truly seen from her before. She drifted away from me, her lips parting as she opened her arms wide. She smiled—beaming from ear to ear—and started to hum. Then she closed her eyes, moving oh-so carefully, as though she didn’t want to miss a moment—not a single second.

  One blink and she was gone. Leaving behind a brisk winter morning, the grass coated with a thin blanket of sparkling, prismatic frost, with the sun glowing over the horizon.

  I continued staring at the place she’d stood long after she disappeared, rocking the cold shell that had contained her in my arms, shivering in the freezing morning air. I kissed the top of her head and rubbed my cheek against her tangled hair, enjoying our final moments together, creating a memory I would always remember. There was no hatred, no regret, only acceptance and peace.

  Letting her go was the right thing to do. She was in a place where no one would ever hurt her again. She would be able to do all she dreamed, free to spread her new, capable wings and fly. But doing the right thing—as selfless was it was—didn’t necessarily make me feel better. Knowing Jenny was gone—now and forever beyond my reach—and that I had finally lost her, only made my devastation all the more profound.

  “Be happy,” I whispered, adding as my final goodbye, “Stay gold.”

  Rhiannon’s Law #18: No one asks for their life to change, but it does. The bad things we face are tests created to separate the strong from the weak. Once you’ve found your place—as the savage lion or the tranquil lamb—it’s up to you to take the next step, to decide what comes after. Even if it means destroying everything standing in your path on the road to deliverance.

  I let go of one final scream, the harsh sound echoing in the morning air, carrying on the breeze as an endless cry that blended with the wind. Only this one wasn’t a call to the angels, asking them to welcome my sister into their waiting arms. This was a warning to those who would pay for her departure from this world, a promise to all my enemies.

  I was coming for them and, Heaven or Hell, I was bringing death with me.

  Author’s Note

  Dear Reader,

  This past year has been full of surprises, heartaches and tribulations. Due to this my schedule had to be pushed back. Fortunately I was able to sit down in January and finish The Ripple Effect.

  I wasn’t entirely certain what would happen in the story, although I had a general idea. True urban fantasy is dark, gritty, and emotional. Rhiannon’s journey was never meant to be easy. She continues to evolve and learn as she goes. In any event, I do hope you enjoyed The Ripple Effect. I have not yet started Edge of Darkness (book four in the Rhiannon’s Law series), so there is no sneak peek this time around. For that I apologize. Sales have fluctuated and currently the fate of the series is up in the air. Despite my love of the Rhiannon’s Law series, it continues to be my most heavily pirated work. I publish to make a living. As a mother of four, I have a family to support.

  If you’ve experienced Rhiannon’s journey via an outlet that doesn’t support the books financially, it means there is a good chance I won’t continue publishing the series. I’m taking a moment to ask you—here and now—to stop. Don’t distribute my work without permission. If there is no incentive to put in the time, I won’t. It’s not that I don’t care. It’s that I don’t have the luxury of writing stories for free. Simple as that.

  Personally, I’m crossing my fingers and hoping for the best. What’s happened so far is just the tip of the iceberg. So much more is going to take place. I’d love to share those things with all of you.

  We’ll see.

  Be sure to check my blog from time to time for updates on the series, as well as other news. I’ve got a few vignettes I’d like to create, so perhaps you can gain a deeper insight into the stories and the characters. If time permits, I’ll share them with you. For those who continue to support the series, I can’t thank you enough. You are the reason I can continue doing what I love. Thank you for allowing me to write for a living.

  As always, my family and I thank you for your continued support.

  All My Best,

  Jaime AKA J.A. Saare

  About the Author

  J.A. Saare is a multi-published author in varying genres and has written stories featured in horror magazines, zombie romance anthologies, and flash fiction contests. Her work has a notable dark undertone, which she credits to her love of old eighties horror films, tastes in music, and choices in reading, and have been described as “full of sensual promise,” “gritty and sexy,” and “a breath of fresh air.”

  Currently she is penning numerous projects within the urban fantasy, erotic and contemporary, and of course, paranormal romance categories. Her website is www.jasaare.com Those interested in her “naughtier” side can visit her alias, Aline Hunter, at www.alinehunter.co
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