Page 47 of Thunder Road

“Apparently so. Ancient—as in, he was here before the pilgrims came. There are tales about a being like that in the lore of the native tribes along the coast. The tribes say he was already here whentheyfirst arrived. For all we know he woke when the continent rose,” Vic replied.

“You keep saying protections and wardings—you’re talking about some sort of magic, aren’t you?” Samuels cocked his head and gave Vic a knowing look.

Vic nodded. “Yes. As well as ghosts and people with paranormal abilities.”

“Well, fuck. Hot damn.”

Ross looked bemused. “You’re taking this pretty well.”

“My club’s been sacrificing to a monster. I’ve got demon bells on my bike and tats to ward off evil, and my lady runs the clubcoven. I don’t understand how supernatural shit works, but I know it’s real.”

Vic let out a relieved breath. Having Samuels on board with the concept made things easier.

“I’ll let Simon—the professor on the boardwalk—know,” Vic said. “If your coven wants to play a role, I can get them in touch with him. We believe the troll will try to strike back and stop the ritual. So if the club is willing to provide security, we could use the help. As I understand it, we need some people at the lighthouses, at the shop where some of the witches will be sending us power, and at the homeless shelters.”

“The shelters?” Samuels raised an eyebrow.

“The troll has been poaching unhoused people, and if he feels under attack and has enough energy, he might gobble up more than usual for the power boost,” Ross said. “We’re trying to spread the word that there have been attacks, so people are safer in the shelters.”

“I can see that,” Samuels agreed. “But my folks can’t fight a troll. If we could, we’d have never agreed to that stupid deal.”

“You can hold a protective line if our friends provide the wardings,” Vic said. “We can show you how.”

Samuels nodded. “Okay. We can do that. And I’ll ask my lady if the coven would help. If she says yes, I’ll put her in touch.” He rose and extended his hand. Vic gave a firm shake.

“If this gets us out of that damn deal, you’ve done us a solid. We will remember,” Samuels told him before he turned and left.

Vic looked to Ross. “Well, that spared me an awkward phone call.” He went to refill his coffee. “I needed to ask for their help, and I wasn’t sure that would go well. I’m glad they’re on our side—at least for this.”

“Strange bedfellows and all that,” Ross agreed. “We will need to come up with a caution statement for the shelters that gets attention without starting a Grand Strand serial killer rumor.”

“I’m working on it.” Vic returned to his desk. “I think we can work with threats, reports, and sources. As in, reports from sources that have documented threats against people living on the streets. We are recommending that those without housing go to shelters until the danger is past.”

“Wow—you’re good at saying something without actually saying anything,” Ross joked. Vic threw a wad of paper at him.

“It’s a gift. Except it never worked on my mother.”

“We ought to run it by Cap, just in case,” Ross said. “It’s vague enough I can’t see him having a problem with it, and that should keep the media from swooping in looking for a spree killer.”

“That was my thought,” Vic agreed. “This is coming together fast. If we can get his buy-in this afternoon, we can put out a notice to the agencies by end of day. That gives them tomorrow to pull folks in and get them settled before the shit hits the fan.”

“I assume when this goes down, you’re going to be with Simon at the lighthouses?” Ross didn’t make it a question.

Vic sobered quickly and took a sip of the hot, strong coffee before he answered. “It’s where I need to be. Someone has to watch his back—and pull him back from the brink, if it comes to that. He can lose track in the moment and go all-in.”

“Yeah, you have that in common.” Ross raised an eyebrow.

“I admit it. And he’s had my six when I needed it. Goes with the rings.” Vic raised his left hand and wiggled the fingers. He spent the next half-hour drafting and refining the notice to the homeless organizations before passing it to Ross for his opinion. Then Vic printed a copy and went to speak with the captain.

“I’ve heard rumors that people were disappearing under the radar,” Hargrove said after he had read the paper. “Nothing official, but people who have an outreach to those folks have been concerned for a while. Of course, if you can’t document names and places, there’s nothing the cops can do.”

“We believe the creature is smart enough to find the most vulnerable people—the chronically unsheltered—and go after them as easy pickin’s,” Vic replied. “I hate smart monsters, human or otherwise.”

“Amen, brother,” Hargrove muttered. “I like how you worded this, so it’s a warning without setting off a major panic and landing on the six o’clock news.”

“That’s the goal,” Vic said. “If we release this to the specific agencies involved, it will at least buy some time, maybe, before a news van shows up and they give the killer a hashtag.”

Hargrove passed a hand over his eyes. “Oh, God. Just shoot me now.” He handed the paper back to Vic. “I assume there’s a plan?”

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