As they poured out of the vehicle, Cadence paused for a moment to look up at the sky. A soft haze illuminated the night around the festivities, but the rest of the firmament was nothing but ebony, crowned by a full moon sliding below the horizon, its pale orange hue lending an air of foreboding. Cadence knew this scene looked familiar, and she braced herself for what she felt may come.
As they approached what seemed to be an entrance, the entire party tensed up. They had no idea if they would be charged a monetary fee, required to show an invitation, or sign over their first-born child. There was no gate, however. No ticket taker. Only a ring of tents, haphazardly thrown up to create some sort of perimeter and several more temporary dwellings within the outer circle. It was difficult to ascertain exactly how large the area was. Several bonfires were strewn amongst the structures, and the smoke created a permanent fog that hovered around them. There was also a thin layer of fog that sat right on top of them, lending itself nicely to the eerie setting. As if reading her mind, Jack leaned over to Cadence and said quietly, “All we need now is a creepy castle, and we’ll be all set.”
Perhaps what was more disturbing than the setting were the partygoers themselves. Many of them were wearing costumes, much to Drew’s delight. Many more needed no costumes; they were even more frightening than those in masks and capes. Everywhere she looked, Cadence saw complicated facial piercings, brightly colored hair, and any skin that was showing (and there was a lot, despite the cooler temperatures), was tattooed. These were not your typical, “Mom” tattoos either. Rather, the majority of them depicted horror scenes and fantastic creatures hell-bent on ripping one’s lungs straight from one’s chest.
If anyone noticed they did not belong, they said nothing. There were a handful of other lost souls wandering around, eyes wide open, mouths ajar. But the majority of the attendees had clearly known what to expect, and they were there to revel in their own unique world of horror.
“Let’s go home,” Cadence pleaded, turning to Jack and placing her hand on his arm.
It was loud and difficult to hear. “What’s that?” he asked, leaning toward her.
Cadence glanced around again. She was accidentally making eye contact with many of the revelers now, and their piercing stares seemed almost mesmerizing, not in a way that made Cadence feel comfortable or safe. “I said, I think we should go home,” she repeated more urgently.
Jack had heard her this time, and he was nodding his head. Drew was still walking ahead of them, giggling with delight like a small child at her birthday party. Kash was close behind her, though his expression was not quite as chipper as his ex-girlfriend’s. Taylor and Sydney were both cowering behind Jon, only peering out from around his shoulders from time to time to make sure no boogeymen were about to pounce on them. Taylor was still crying, and it actually seemed to be working against her because it was drawing stares from the fiends around them.
“I’m not sure we are going to be able to get Drew to come with us just yet,” Jack explained.
Cadence knew he was correct. The only way they were going to get Drew back into that vehicle was if they picked her up and carried her. “Maybe we can convince her,” she said, letting go of Jack’s arm and walking toward Drew, who was bouncing up and down to the beat of the drums.
Out of the corner of her eye, Cadence saw a flash of black, perhaps a human form, but moving much more quickly than any human ever could. She turned to see what it was, but by the time she was able to whip her head around, it was gone. She didn’t feel frightened, for some reason, however, just surprised. She made a mental note and continued to attempt to catch up with Drew.
Placing her hand on Drew’s shoulder, she pulled her back gently in an effort to get her attention. Drew didn’t seem to notice as she was enthralled by the music. Ahead of them, some belly dancers were entertaining a crowd near a small bonfire, and Drew pulled away from Cadence, headed in that direction. In the speechless environment, they had to rely on expression and gestures, so Cadence and Kash locked glances and followed.
As they approached the small group of belly dancers, Cadence could see a sizeable group of musicians off in the distance. There was a crowd congregated nearby, and every dancer was a portal unto him or herself, moving and gyrating however the music moved them. There were only a few couples dancing together, and they seemed to be performing some sort of mating ritual, or perhaps a few of them were mating, though Cadence did not wish to stare hard enough to find out. She did notice that a few couples slithered into the forest near the dance area, and she could only assume they must be consummating their relationships.
Drew seemed so fascinated by the belly dancers that she didn’t notice the other dancing going on behind her. Cadence was hopeful it would stay this way. She wasn’t exactly sure where the rhythm might take Drew, but she was afraid it wouldn’t be anywhere closer to home.
As her petite friend swung around in circles, swaying to and fro with the beat, attempting to move her hips similarly to the more accomplished dancers, Cadence turned to check on her friends. They were all still there, all still together. That, at least, was something to be grateful for. She turned back to Drew in time to see some sort of an Egyptian hand-flare, like something out of a Bangles video, and shook her head in disbelief. Kash began to dance along with Drew, an indicator to Cadence that, from his perspective, this whole thing may have been his attempt to re-hookup with his ex-flame, and Cadence had to look away in disgust.
She noticed the outline of a figure dressed in black just against the trees near where the band was entertaining the crowd. She peered more closely, and the person, what appeared to be a muscular man, faded back into the darkness of the trees and disappeared. She almost rubbed her eyes, attempting to determine whether or not they had been playing tricks on her. Why was she seeing these odd creatures? Were they real or imagined?
Just then, a loud booming began to shake the ground. From the back of the outer circle, a stream of percussionists started to pour out of one of the tents. They began to dance their way down the worn dirt path, banging methodically on their instruments, winding their way around the perimeter of the circle. There were other musicians within the parade as well, but it was the deep vibration of the bass drums that carried the reptilian line along.Most of them wore costumes, almost all in shades of red. It was difficult to see anyone’s full face. Either a half mask, paint, outlandish makeup
By the time the others left and Cadence continued down the path the parade had followed, she couldn’t even see the end of the chain anymore. In fact, the crowd had filled in the trail so completely she had to push her way through just to continue her search.Upon reaching the tent at the back of the outer circle, where the parade had begun, she realized Jack and Kash were now far behind her, several groups of people separating them. She sighed in despair, running her hands through her long brown hair and stomping her booted foot on the ground. There, in the dirt, she saw a Guy Fawkes mas
There had been plenty of chatter on the Intelligence Assistance Communicator, or IAC, recently, so it was no surprise to Aaron McReynolds to see Cadence and her friends arrive at the Eidolon Festival. He believed he had brought enough of his team with him to sufficiently cover anything that might arise, although he was hopeful that Holland and her clan would be particularly careful considering who Cadence was and how obligated he was to provide her with unconditional protection. He was, however, extremely surprised to see Carter pull such a bold move and whisk one of Cadence’s friends away like that. The Vampire should have known that would not be permitted. Nevertheless, he took her, and that livened things up beyond a typical peacekeeping operation.
Jack was terrified. He almost could not fathom what was happening around him, not to mention that he was holding the body of a dear friend. He could see what appeared to be vampires swooping in on them from all directions. He thought that, if he left Drew behind, perhaps they would have a better chance of escaping, but he couldn’t consider leaving her, especially not when he knew how much she meant to Kash and Cadence.As they were exiting the fairgrounds, the bike hesitated just a second. Jack felt an icy cold flick on his shoulder. He glanced down to see that the fabric of his jacket w
The trip back to Shenandoah would have typically taken about forty minutes, but the man steering the bike was flying, and Cadence found herself winding through her own neighborhood in just under twenty minutes. Though she was happy to have the speed of the bike, at this point, she really wished she had been in a car with this person so that she could ask him some questions. The more she thought about all that had just happened, the more surreal it became. By the time she reached her house, she was quite certain she had lost her mind entirely.And yet she knew she had not. As he pulled the bike
With a sigh, Cadence grabbed the last few items she thought she might need and shoved them into her bag, mumbling under her breath the whole time. Who were these people? Were they people? What did they want from her? What kind of ramifications might killing a vampire bring upon her, and where the hell was her lip balm?Eventually, she decided she had everything she needed, and with another glance around her room, she flipped off the lights and cautiously opened her bedroom door, afraid another black clad figure--or worse--might be lurking in the hallway. She saw nothing unusual, so she headed
Jack Cook stumbled through the front door, careful not to wake his parents, who probably wouldn’t be up for another hour or two, and headed for his bedroom. He was exhausted, but thoughts of what had transpired that night flooded his mind.It was quite evident as he carried Drew’s body into the emergency room that there was nothing the doctors could do for her. When the hospital staff began asking questions about what had happened, Jack didn’t know exactly how to respond, nor did any of the rest of Drew's friends. Luckily, their good friend Elliott showed up shortly after the
Cadence’s grandmother had lived in this house for as long as she could remember. Her parents tried to make the trip from Shenandoah to Des Moines at least once or twice a month. It took about twice as long in the family car as it had this time since she was certain Eliza had topped speeds well over one hundred miles per hour. The trip generally took her dad at least two-and-a-half hours while Eliza managed to cover it in about half that time.Grandma Janette was up and seemed to be expecting them when they pulled in. Cadence wasn’t sure if she should introduce Eliza and Jamie or if