The rain came down harder, washing over the street in sheets of silver. Lagos never slept, but tonight, it felt like the whole city held its breath. The thunder rolled again, shaking the air, and Taye pulled his coat tighter around him as he headed toward his car.
The pendant in his pocket throbbed faintly with warmth, as if alive. Every few seconds, it pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat, a quiet reminder that what happened inside his apartment wasn't just a dream.
The streets were nearly empty, save for a few danfo buses parked by the roadside. Their yellow paint looked dull under the storm's glow. Taye's shoes splashed through puddles as he reached his car.
He paused before opening the door, his eyes drifting to the rooftop across the street. Lightning flashed and just for a moment,he thought he saw the woman in white again. But this time, she wasn't watching him. She was looking past him, into the clouds.
Then came the low hum. A vibration that ran through the ground, deep and steady, like a heartbeat beneath the city.
Taye shook his head. "Not now," he muttered, climbing into the car. "Not again."
He started the engine, the wipers squeaking across the windshield as he drove off toward the address Nnena had sent..... Egun Road, near the old wharf.
By the time he arrived, the police lights cut through the storm like blue ghosts. Officers moved around a taped-off area beside the riverbank, their faces hidden behind wet hoods. The smell of rain mixed with something metallic....blood.
Nnena stood near the water, her arms crossed tight. When she saw him, she waved him over.
"Taye," she said. "You took your time."
"I was… sorting something," he said quietly.
"Yeah, well, you might want to see this." She led him closer, careful not to step in the mud. "It's strange. Even for us."
The body lay half-submerged near the river's edge. It was a young woman this time, maybe twenty. But her skin wasn't pale like most drowned victims. It shimmered faintly, like wet marble, reflecting every flash of lightning.
Taye knelt beside her, squinting through the rain. "What's that on her wrist?"
"A mark," Nnena said. "Same pattern as the one from Ash Street. But there's more."
She handed him a clear evidence bag. Inside was a piece of dark fabric,torn, wet, and smelling faintly of smoke.
"We found this wrapped around her hand," she said. "Look familiar?"
Taye's chest tightened. The material looked exactly like the cloak the woman in white wore. He said nothing.
Nnena tilted her head. "You okay?"
"Yeah," he said quickly, forcing a breath. "Just… deja vu."
She frowned but didn't push. "There's something else. The coroner found traces of ash inside her mouth. Like she was breathing it in before she died."
Ash. Again.
Taye stood, scanning the river. The water was dark and restless, but beneath the surface, he thought he saw faint golden ripples, light moving like veins under skin.
The pendant in his pocket warmed again.
"Taye," Nnena said, watching him. "You're doing that thing again, staring at nothing. What is it?"
He swallowed. "The river… it's moving different."
"It's a river," she said flatly. "It moves."
"No," he said softly. "Not like that."
They stood there for a moment, the rain washing their words away. Then a shout broke through the storm, one of the officers calling from the far end of the bank.
"Ma! Over here!"
Nnena ran ahead, Taye following close. When they reached the spot, they saw what the officer was pointing at strange symbols carved into the wet sand. Circular, overlapping lines forming a spiral pattern.
"It's the same as before," Taye whispered. "The circle."
"You've seen this before?" Nnena asked sharply.
He hesitated. "Yeah. In a dream."
Nnena blinked. "You dream about crime scenes now?"
He didn't answer. His eyes were locked on the symbols. In the center of the spiral, something small shimmered. He bent down and brushed away the wet sand, revealing a pendant, cracked and burnt, almost identical to his.
For a moment, the air stilled. Then lightning struck the river.
A wave of golden light shot through the water, rippling outward. Everyone around them froze, even the rain seemed to stop midair.
"Taye…" Nnena whispered. "What's happening?"
He didn't know. But he felt it. The pull. The call.
The pendant in his hand began to glow brighter, humming softly. His pulse raced. And then, faintly, from the direction of the water, a voice whispered...
> "The River Gate opens at dawn."
The glow faded, the rain fell again, and the world snapped back. Officers blinked, confused, acting like nothing had happened. Only Taye and Nnena seemed aware.
She grabbed his arm. "Tell me what that was, Taye."
He looked at her, eyes filled with a quiet fear. "I think something's waking up."
"Something?"
He nodded. "Something that never should've slept."
Later that night, after everyone had left, Taye sat alone in his car by the river. The pendant lay on the dashboard, its light faint but steady.
He couldn't stop thinking about Adamu's words.... "You sealed it beneath the river."
Now the river itself was calling.
He started the car, heading back toward the city. But as he drove past the wharf, something caught his eye,a figure standing by the edge of the water.
The woman in white.
She turned slowly, her face half-covered by her hood. Behind her, the red-eyed figure from the rooftop stood, taller than before, his presence bending the air around him.
Taye slammed the brakes, heart pounding.
The woman raised her hand, not in warning, but in greeting.
Then she whispered something he could barely hear through the glass:
> "Welcome back, Eran."
Before he could blink, both figures vanished into the storm.
He sat there, frozen, breathing hard. The rain hit the windshield like soft drumming
Then, from the radio, static crackled.
A voice came through, low, distorted, familiar.
"Detective Taye… the next body won't wait for morning."
The radio died. The pendant flared once more.
And far down the river, lightning struck again, this time, it formed the shape of a door.
The River Gate had begun to open.
To be continued....