Transformation: The Clandestine Saga Book 1 (3 page)

              The tail end of the parade was just passing and she was back together with the rest of her friends.  She could still hear Drew giggling as she rounded the corner, dancing along with the dark man.

              “We have to follow her!” Cadence yelled to the rest of the party.

              Those who had been standing on the other side looked confused. They had not seen Drew become swept up into the parade. “What are you talking about?” Jon asked, his arms now around both of the other girls.

              “Drew!” Cadence exclaimed.  They began to glance around, just realizing that she wasn’t there.

              “Why bother?” Kash asked, a look of defeat on his face.

              “This is no time for pity parties,” Cadence said as she began to step forward down the path where Drew had disappeared. “If we don’t find her, something awful is going to happen.

              “That’s what happens when you go off with strange men at parties,” Kash said nonchalantly.

              Cadence spun on her heels. “Listen, you may have come here with the idea that you and Drew were going to hook up, but this situation has just escalated beyond what may or may not hurt your feelings.” Then, turning to Jack and Jon she said, “I’m telling you, if we don’t find her, something bad—very, very bad—is going to happen to Drew. I jut know it.”

              Regardless of how Kash felt about the present situation, it was evident to all of them that they needed to find her immediately and get the hell out of there.  Taylor burst into tears and Sidney dropped Jon’s arm so that she could comfort her.  Cadence sighed, they were wasting time.  “Look, Jon, why don’t you take the girls back to the suburban, and we’ll find Drew and meet you there?”

              Jon hesitated. “Are you sure you don’t want me to help find Drew?”

              Cadence nodded.  “I think we can find her faster without the three of you, and I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

              He nodded and began to usher Taylor and Sidney away.  “No, wait!” Sidney yelled, spinning back around. “I want to help!”

              “No,” Cadence, declared.  “You’ll be more helpful in the car, praying, where we know you’re safe.”

              As if she had been given a command, Sidney nodded her head in understanding and turned to go.  The little party walked quickly, and Cadence would not have been surprised to see them break in to a sprint.  What she was surprised to see was that they were clearly being followed by two figures dressed all in black.  This time, she could easily see they were a man and a woman. They followed at a distance, never speaking to each other or anyone else, and although she had no idea who they were or why they might be following her friends, her instincts told her this was alright, and she needed to concentrate on finding Drew.

              By the time the others had 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 Faux mask and realized it must be Drew’s. Picking it up, and feeling overwhelmed by helplessness, she yelled, “Dammit!” She knew she should wait for the men. They would, most likely, be a far better match for the dark man than she was.  However, a feeling in her gut told her that, if she didn’t go right now, Drew was going to be in far more trouble than any of them wanted to think about.  Glancing over her shoulder, she decided to press on with her search, though she had no plan and no idea where Drew might be.  As she turned back around, she bumped directly into someone. At first, she assumed it was just another partygoer, but then she noticed his outfit and realized he was dressed entirely in black leather.  He was only there a split second before he disappeared, a flash of black against the white tent beside her.  It was almost as if he wanted her to be aware of his presence. There was only one facial feature that caught her attention and that was his piercing blue eyes. 

              Cadence shook her head violently, attempting to clear her thoughts, and took off towards the band and the area where the dancers continued to revel.  She peered through the crowd, mask still in hand, jumping up to see if a different vantage point improved her perspective, which it did not.  She became aware that there was a mounting presence of black-garbed persons on the perimeter of the dancers, and this alarmed her a bit. However, she knew she needed to find Drew immediately and she was unable to let anything distract her from this mission.  Jack and Kash were nowhere to be seen.  She paused for just a moment to consider where Drew may have gone. Just then, she saw a couple slinking off into the protection of the trees, and she realized that Drew must be in the forest.

              She took off into the woods, instinct completely guiding her now.  She was moving so quickly, yet she was able to make her way between the twisted branches that reached for her coat and nipped at her hair, hardly making contact with any of them.  As she weaved between the obstacles that lay between her and Drew, she began to ponder if this was what it was like to have an out-of-body experience.  She was cognizant of what she was doing, but it was all happening so quickly, it seemed surreal. It was as if she was being guided by an internal force that knew exactly where Drew was and which path she must use to reach her the quickest.

              Cadence began to hear noises in the trees in front of her.  She knew that many couples had ventured off into these woods, and it was possible that she may come across someone else, but as she stepped into a clearing, she realized she had seen this unfold before.  She was not at all surprised to see the gray eyes of the dark man staring directly at her, his mouth wide, razor sharp teeth exposed.  Drew was there, her bare back glistening in the light of the few stars that had made their way through the clouded heavens.  He knelt beside her, his hand cupping her head and even from this distance, Cadence could see she was too late.  A thin scarlet line trickled it’s way down her long, pale neck, dripping off of the back of her shoulder.

              She had seen it all before in her dream. She knew what would happen next. The way he was looking at her, as if Cadence would be his next meal, she began to think, perhaps he had also had a premonition.  She wasn’t willing to wait to find out. The anger boiling up inside of her was too much to contain.  As he stood to meet her, she ran straight for him, tossing the mask aside.  She had no weapon, but she felt she did not need one. He opened his mouth so widely, she could no longer see his eyes, as if baring his teeth would somehow frighten her into submission. It did not.  As he stepped towards her, she agilely stepped around him, grabbing his skull from the back.  In one complete motion, she cranked his head from one shoulder to the other, ratcheting his neck, causing a popping and cracking sound like nothing she had ever heard before.  She continued to pull until she realized she was holding his head in her hands, his severed body tumbling to the ground beside Drew.

              Cadence knew that, if she were to pause and think about what had just happened, she would fall to pieces.  Instead, she tossed the decapitated head aside and knelt to ascertain the condition of her dear friend.  She could plainly see that blood was flowing freely from two puncture wounds on her neck.  She felt for a pulse and found none.  She looked around, hoping to see Jack or Kash, thinking they could help carry her out, get her to a hospital, possibly resuscitate her.  They were not there, but she realized she was not alone.  There was no time just now to address the man in black with the piercing blue eyes who had suddenly shown up directly to her left.  Rather, she turned back to Drew, feeling for a pulse, contemplating whether or not she should go for help or begin CPR.  She hurriedly adjusted Drew’s clothing, standing now and peering through the trees, not sure if the noises she heard around her where her friends, or perhaps, more enemies. 

              “You need to go,” she heard him say as she turned back to Drew.  Panic was starting to set in. She noticed that there was no longer a torso next to Drew but didn’t allow herself to contemplate where it might have gone, or, for that matter, how she had just managed to pull the head off of a vampire.  She decided to start CPR and began clearing Drew’s airway.

              “You really don’t have much time,” he said, taking a step forward.

              Cadence began blowing into Drew’s mouth, trying to remember how many counts of each she was supposed to perform when she felt his hand on her shoulder.  She began to pump Drew’s chest, his hand still there and clearly in her way. “I have to safe her,” she said as calmly as she could muster.

              “If you don’t go now, we might not be able to help you.”

              Cadence continued to pound, oblivious to the urgency in his tranquil voice.

              The hand on her shoulder suddenly became much more firm and she was being pulled to her feet.  He spun her around to face him.  “Cadence, Drew is gone. You must go now!”

              Just then, the sound of branches breaking and heavy breathing drew her attention away from those intense blue eyes and back to reality. She braced herself, afraid that it might be more vampires, but it was not. Jack and Kash came tearing through the trees, clearly out of breath and exhausted from attempting to keep up with Cadence.

              “Cadence!” Jack exclaimed.  He looked relieved at first until he saw Drew lying on the ground. Then, his expression changed from joy to overwhelming grief.  Kash was standing nearby, his eyes locked on Drew, stunned. 

              Suddenly, the instinct from Cadence’s dream kicked in and she had an overpowering understanding that they all needed to get away from there immediately. She did not know the relationship between the dark man and the redheaded woman but she was quite certain that, once the redheaded woman realized what she had done, there would be hell to pay.

              “We have no time,” she said calmly to her friends.  “We have to get out of here. Now.”

              “What about Drew?” Jack asked.  Kash was still not moving but Cadence could clearly see the tears streaming down his face.

              Cadence glanced back at the man in black. He nodded.

              “Bring her.”

                                          ***

              There had been plenty of chatter on the Intelligence Assistance Communicator, or IAC, recently so it was no surprise to Aaron to see Cadence and her friend 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.  He should have known she would not be permitted.  Nevertheless, he took her and that livened things up beyond a typical peacekeeping operation.

              As soon as Drew had danced her way in to the parade, he began organizing his team, calling in back up immediately. He knew from his vast experience that this would most likely activate Cadence enough that she would track Carter down.  He was thankful she had sent most of her friends back to the car because it made it easier to protect them and gave him less subjects to worry about inside the perimeter.

              Rather than attempting to trail Cadence through the woods, he used the IAC infrared to track her and reach the destination simultaneously. If necessary, he was ready to step in on her behalf, but clearly she needed no help defeating Carter, which was a shocking testimony to her strength and power.  Now, as she began to realize what was happening around her and attempt to escape, his role became even more difficult. On the other side of those trees, a legion of vampires was just realizing what had happened here and they would all be willing to do whatever it took to bring her down.

              Using the IAC, he was able to communicate to his team without speaking aloud. Therefore, Cadence and her friends had no idea the magnitude of the operation unfolding around her.  His primary objective was to get Cadence, Jack and Kash home with no harm befalling any of them. However, she was his main concern and if that meant losing someone else along the way, so be it.

             
“Eliza, Jamie, Elliott, pick up on the other side of these trees.  As soon as they’re clear, I need to hear some engines.”
The orders were clear and he knew his team would respond appropriately.             

             
Jack scooped Drew’s limp body up and Cadence began to lead them out of the woods.  Her instincts started to kick in, and she knew exactly where she was going. However, she was also well aware of the fact that her friends were not keeping up with her. She did her best to keep pace with them, wondering why they were running so slowly.  The man in black did not follow them. Conversely, as they wound their way through the woods, they were suddenly surrounded by a group of similarly dressed persons and Cadence realized they were being escorted.