Forbidden Parabatai | ✓

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Hi! Hope you all like it (though I'm starting to lose hope on this :( )

Ares ran to the New Hotel Dumort, the aftermath of a battle present. Even worse was the eerie feeling of the building. Deserted once, and deserted again. At least, that was what he was not hoping for.

The others hadn’t told him much about Andre’s Turning, but he assumed it was during this battle, straight into the hive of vampires.

And Chantelle. They were all acting weird these days. Laressa was no longer her feisty self, she almost seemed depressed. The Laressa he knew probably had a death wish, but it was a death wish in battle, like him, like Zach, like Channy, all of them. Even Andre, though his cause was no longer good.

No matter how good at combat Ares was, he couldn’t match Channy’s skills. He was reckless, and he would have died several times if it weren’t for Channy holding him back, telling him the plan, her amazing craft of words assuring him the plan would work, and most of the time it did. Now Chantelle was no longer up thinking, but not caring for anything. She was an analyst, but her character seemed to have died along with Andre.

He gripped his seraph blade, entering by the chute. It was dark, and his witchlight illuminated the room. With little caution, he searched the place. It was daylight, the curtains pulled free. He thought to himself that it was not very smart to hide in a place which requires sunlight to shield the sun, considering vampires were not to be in sunlight. He thought pulling the curtains free was a very Channy-like move. At least, her old self.

It became pretty obvious the place was empty. As he turned, he called Zachary’s name once, knowing even if he heard, he wouldn’t be able to answer, but it seemed like a natural thing to do. When he turned back, a pale face was staring back at him, well hidden in the shadows. He immediately dived the seraph blade into the vampire’s bare chest. The vampire staggered back, but lunged forward again.

Ares pierced the blade through once more, but the vampire didn’t stop. It bit into him, and Ares shoved it so hard the vampire went up the wall. It kept fighting, kept struggling till the end, when Ares pierced it with the blade that hummed in his hand, the blade sliding through its stiff body.

Ares wrinkled his nose. Barely were Downworlders hard to defeat. He looked at the red mark that the vampire inflicted on his skin. They were stronger now, much stronger although they had superhuman strength to start with, and he needed to find out why later.

“Screw the Accords.” Ares said violently, glancing at the corpse. Sure, he would have a lot of explaining to do, they just broke the Accords, but Ares couldn’t care less now.

***

They searched New Hotel Dumort, assuming Ares would be there, but he was nowhere in sight.

“What now?” Asked Laressa.

“I… I don’t know. I just wished Channy was here.” Marissa said.

“Missed me?” A voice sounded from behind them. There strode Chantelle, ponytail flying out behind her.

***

Chantelle traced her finger on the gravel, not for reference, but the gesture gave her confidence.

“If you were Ares, what would you do?” She asked, and something about her phrasing of the question implied it was directed at Zachary.

“Like what he did. Head straight here.” He nodded in the direction of the building.

“And what if Andre wasn’t here?”

“To where I think the vampires might hide.”

“Exactly.” She stood up, brushing herself off. She tried to sense Ares through the bond, but it was all hazy. “He would think to find another vampire lair.”