Page 48 of The Cauldronball Run
"Well find 'em again, you simple-minded fool.They're in a damn convoy.How hard is it to spot a pack of supernatural freaks tearing' ass through the mountains?"
"Sir, there's also reports of an ice cream truck playing music at dangerous decibel levels."
"I don't give a flying flip about frozen dairy products.I want those racing criminals in custody before they get out of the state," Grizz howled.
“Speaking of convoys,” another unit said, “there’s a shit ton of eighteen-wheelers heading our way, led by what looks like a very large, very hairy driver.”
“One degenerate criminal at a time,” Grizz said.Did he have to do everything himself?
"Daddy?I'm having some mechanical difficulties."
"Not now, boy.I'm in hot pursuit."He barked into his radio."I need backup converging on my position.There are criminals heading for the Virginia state line."
"Sheriff, this is Deputy Pine from Knox County.What exactly are we looking for?"
"Dragons on motorcycles.Demons in a hearse.Some kind of invisible car.A vampire in a fancy foreign automobile.Trolls in an RV.Oh, and that green orc sumbitch in his fake ambulance."
Dead silence on the radio.
"Sir, did you say dragons on motorcycles?Why aren’t they flying?"
"Fire-breathing dragons, Deputy.On Harley-Davidsons.Keep up."
"Sheriff, have you been drinking?"
Virginia
Farrah
The green highway sign flashed by so fast she barely had time to read it.Welcome to Virginia.She snorted to herself.Should’ve said,Welcome to the last circle of hell, please fasten your seatbelts.If Virginia wanted to welcome them, maybe it could start with fewer cops.Blue lights flared in the mirrors, painting the night in strobing panic, and Farrah’s hands tightened on the wheel.Her palms were slick, her shoulders aching from hours of tense driving, but she kept the ambulance straight at ninety-five.
J.J.’s hand covered hers on the shifter, a steady weight.“You’re doing perfect.”His voice was low, calm, the kind of voice that made her believe it even as another cruiser tried to box them in.
“Perfect would be pulling into a rest stop for cheeseburgers and a nap,” she muttered.Her stomach growled in agreement.
“All teams be advised, Virginia State Police have deployed deterrents on I-81.Repeat, spike strips ahead,” Bondo said.
“Fantastic,” J.J.snarled. “Another detour.”
Her witch-sense prickled before she even saw them.There was a shimmer across the asphalt where the ley lines tangled.Virginia was a haunted state, old wars and older ghosts baked into the dirt.The magic here wanted out, and it thrummed in her veins like too much caffeine.She flexed her fingers on the wheel, pulse hammering.“Nope.I’ve got this.”
The strips glinted in the headlights, sharp metal teeth waiting to shred tires.No time to brake, no space to swerve — and behind them Grizz and his team were bearing down, sirens howling like a war cry.
Farrah drew a breath and whispered a hex under it.Her words carried on the hum of the ley line.The world tilted, shimmered, and the spike strips twitched like startled snakes.With a sound like dry leaves scattering, the entire barrier slithered off the road and into the ditch.
The ambulance roared over clean asphalt.
J.J.laughed.“Having a witch as a partner is a handy thing.”
Farrah kept her eyes on the road, but joy pierced through her.“Almost as good as having an orc as a mate.”
He brushed his fingers over her thigh, a quiet promise beneath the chaos.“As soon as we cross the finish line, we’re making this bond permanent.”
She risked a glance at him, at the proud tilt of his tusked smile, at the warmth in his glowing eyes.Love swelled so hard in her chest it almost hurt.
“Jersey or bust.”
New Jersey - Final Stretch
