The Dragon Breathers (Re-Vamped)

Chapter Eight

Cassidy was freezing. She was at the carnival with Grace and Tyler, enjoying a drama-free night with her best friends. Everything was going well until the temperature dropped, and she forgot her jacket in the car. Dammit.

She turned towards Tyler with an overdrawn pout. "I'm turning into a popsicle out here."

"Yeah? What flavor?" At her unimpressed look, Tyler cracked a smile. "Alright, alright. Want my coat? I'm actually feeling kind of hot."

Yes, you are. Cassidy blushed at the perverted thought. "Uh, yeah. Sure. Thank you," she stammered. He easily shrugged off his coat and draped it over her shoulders, her senses becoming engulfed in Tyler's scent. Cassidy, completely flustered, nodded her thanks and finished putting the jacket on. She tried not to sniff the collar (because that'd be weird).

Grace came bounding towards them with a huge grin and two large cotton candy cones. She handed one to Cassidy. "You better enjoy that. I had to flirt with the concession guy to get them half-off."

"Well, I didn't ask you to," Cassidy pointed out with a soft laugh, biting into the spun treat, enjoying the sugary goodness as it melted on her tongue.

"I wasn't paying full price," was Grace's bland retort. Cassidy snorted in laughter before covering her nose in embarrassment. Grace and Tyler burst into laughter at the harsh sound.

"Let's get on the Ferris wheel," Tyler suggested, his chuckles dying down. "I want to see all the twinkling lights from above ground."

"Oh, do you? You want to see the twinkling lights, Tyler?" Grace teased with a baby voice. Tyler mocked her quietly as they made their way to the line.

Luckily, it was short enough and Cassidy found herself squished in between her two best friends in no time. As the cart rose into the sky, the wind blew and Grace shivered violently. Cassidy wordlessly pulled her arm out of one sleeve and threw it over her friend; Grace smiled gratefully and snuggled under the coat.

"It's cold as shit tonight," Grace grumbled. Cassidy opened her mouth to agree when her wrist suddenly began to burn. She hissed in pain. Her senses kicked in: something was terribly wrong.

Cassidy subtly looked around the grounds for her cause of discomfort, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The ride dipped and, in a panic, Cassidy grasped Tyler's hand. She wasn't one for the stomach-dropping rush, either. Another wave of unease washed over her and she grew tense.

Feeling her body freeze up, Grace looked at her with a frown. "Are you okay, Little Lady?"

Cassidy nodded absently, her focus split between her pained skin and sense of danger. The Ferris wheel continued to orbit, and Cassidy waited for each peak to search for any sign of a threat. She didn't find any. The ride began to slow down, and Cassidy still felt so uncomfortable. As they got off the ride, she just couldn't shake the feeling.

She pulled out her phone and opened her chat with Holden. *Something is off @ the carnival*

Holden's reply was immediate. *Why? What's wrong?*

*dont know* Cassidy looked around again. Still nothing. She put her phone away and walked closer to her friends, eyes constantly scanning the grounds.

"Let's go over there," Tyler said, pointing towards the farther end of the land. Cassidy looked where he was pointing and froze. Close to the attraction stood a group of people, all facing in her direction. Alarm bells were ringing in Cassidy's head and her body screamed at her to run. A girl from the group noticed her and pointed her out to the rest of her friends.

All of their eyes zeroed in on Cassidy, and Cassidy felt a wave of deep malice hit her. They wanted to hurt her. One of them smirked and Cassidy swore the moonlight glinted off of his unusually sharp teeth. Vampires. Cassidy turned to face her friends.