The Crime in Callahan's Morrow - being rewritten

Chapter 13: An Unwanted Visitor

"The light can be both bright and dark, and the power can be as light as it is heavy."

~Meredith Allesium, TheHigh Commander of the Battle Witch Forces

XIII.

Giuseppe hoped Adrian would come to his senses. Though, all his attempts to make the other vampire less murderous toward him had ended up in vain. Well, the blonde had, in fact, lessened his usual displeasure and distaste emanating from his very soul when interacting with Giuseppe ever since that rattling apology had happened, but there had always been something present to hold him back from fully opening himself to his once long time ago called friend.

Giuseppe expected nothing less. Heck, he himself would have held that grudge for so long that they would have probably passed to the afterlife before he would have even thought about forgiving another person. And they were kind of immortal, long life span and all that. Though, that might not be the case regarding Adrian. Giuseppe had a suspicion that he would forgive Adrian almost anything. Guilty conscience? Perhaps.

Well, on the topic of Adrian's unforgiving nature, Giuseppe was feeling bemused beyond his mind second time today as he watched the blonde moving toward him, angling body as if Giuseppe's betrayal never had happened in the first place, and the most importantly, leaving a part of his back unprotected like it was normal for what had been their usual fighting style from the past where two people relied on each other to fill out space where the other couldn't.

Adrian's left foot inlined with his right, shoulder and parts of their back almost touching and stances opened to pounce on everything around them. It would make him feel nostalgic. If he wasn't already so fucking confused!

Adrian had turned mellow when Giuseppe had apologized, to the point he had let himself to be hugged. But afterward... Afterward, Adrian's face hadn't shown the same placid expression ever again. A grumpy disposition had replaced maddening anger; however, Adrian hadn't acted much different than before.

Until today.

And maybe, just maybe, he would see that spark in the blonde's eyes again—

The wall exploded. The muting magic that was previously present disappeared and Giuseppe corralled his wayward thoughts before he got hit with something soaring through the air.

Boulders of cement, chunks of plaster, half-broken door, a wall-painting of flowers, and some of the exhibited weapons flew in every direction. The only thing that kept him and Adrian safe was Nicole's timely erected warding shielding in front of all four of them – as he could see from the corner of his eye Tucker was standing beside Nicole and about a foot behind the two of them.

Along with the disappearance of the wall, the dust rose, obscuring their vision and taking more time to settle than he felt comfortable with because there was a figure standing where the door had once been, the person's image melting with the dust particles.

An unnatural air current swept the dust, pushing it away to settle in the corners of the room and Giuseppe shifted his head to see Feargus blowing a gust of that air from his mouth. A nifty trick. He should ask if the half-fae was willing to teach him.

He brought his eyes back on the enemy, knowing he could lose precious seconds if he wasn't ready. And then he felt himself grow pale, his breath stuttering on its way out.

Silver hair.

Hair color so similar to his maker's that seeing it shot chills through his body, only his training kept him from showing it outwardly. He felt Adrian stiffen slightly beside him though, and if they hadn't been standing so close Giuseppe probably wouldn't have caught on that reaction. So, he remembers, Giuseppe thought and then realized that this couldn't be Silvan of the Silver Blood Clan, the vampire that had made him what he was today. No, this had to be someone else. But who?