Announcements: Cutting Costs (2024) » January 2024 Copyfraud Attack » Finding Universes to Join (and making yours more visible!) » Guide To Universes On RPG » Member Shoutout Thread » Starter Locations & Prompts for Newcomers » RPG Chat — the official app » Frequently Asked Questions » Suggestions & Requests: THE MASTER THREAD »

Latest Discussions: Adapa Adapa's for adapa » To the Rich Men North of Richmond » Shake Senora » Good Morning RPG! » Ramblings of a Madman: American History Unkempt » Site Revitalization » Map Making Resources » Lost Poetry » Wishes » Ring of Invisibility » Seeking Roleplayer for Rumple/Mr. Gold from Once Upon a Time » Some political parody for these trying times » What dinosaur are you? » So, I have an Etsy » Train Poetry I » Joker » D&D Alignment Chart: How To Get A Theorem Named After You » Dungeon23 : Creative Challenge » Returning User - Is it dead? » Twelve Days of Christmas »

Players Wanted: Serious Anime Crossover Roleplay (semi-literate) » Looking for a long term partner! » JoJo or Mha roleplay » Seeking long-term rp partners for MxM » [MxF] Ruining Beauty / Beauty x Bastard » Minecraft Rp Help Wanted » CALL FOR WITNESSES: The Public v Zosimos » Social Immortal: A Vampire Only Soiree [The Multiverse] » XENOMORPH EDM TOUR Feat. Synthe Gridd: Get Your Tickets! » Aishna: Tower of Desire » Looking for fellow RPGers/Characters » looking for a RP partner (ABO/BL) » Looking for a long term roleplay partner » Explore the World of Boruto with Our Roleplaying Group on FB » More Jedi, Sith, and Imperials needed! » Role-player's Wanted » OSR Armchair Warrior looking for Kin » Friday the 13th Fun, Anyone? » Writers Wanted! » Long term partner to play an older male wanted »

The Promise Made

Sable

2.25 INK

a part of The Promise Made, by noctemys.

A small, quaint town that's anything but Pleasants Ville.

noctemys holds sovereignty over Sable, giving them the ability to make limited changes.

2,670 readers have been here.

Setting

Where the main story takes place, initially.
Create a Character Here »

Sable

A small, quaint town that's anything but Pleasants Ville.

Minimap

Sable is a part of The Promise Made.

6 Places in Sable:

14 Characters Here

Dean Salvatore [113] The Hunter
Isabella Lombardi [93] The curious one
Aleksei Avalon [78] The dark pureblood
Selene Morrigan [74] The mysterious one
Michael LeVian [52] "Shall we dance?"
Assaciel [43] The Angel
Veratos H. [39] The Quadra
Mina Avalon [31] The pureblood princess
Lyra Kingsley [22] "Yes I see spirits, but that doesn't mean I'm a Ghost Whisperer."
Julian Ulric [14] The son of the earth

Start Character Here »


Setting

5 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Dean Salvatore Character Portrait: Isabella Lombardi Character Portrait: Aleksei Avalon Character Portrait: Assaciel Character Portrait: Gabriel
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

"What the hell is this...?" Would it keep glowing? He pulled his jacket over his chest trying to not look like a walking flash light.

Assaciel sighed but followed after Adacio.


*



Mina was in the process of bringing tea over to Isabella when the young woman cried out. She rushed over to find her on the chaise, cradling her head. "Oh, what's wrong?" She slid the tray on the table and went to her, gently touching Isabella's crown. "Are you hurting?" At the sudden whoosh of air and the sound of wings fluttering, the vampire glanced back at the source.

An angel.

Not shortly after, the pureblood appeared at the entrance, stern gaze unfaltering as he peered at the Arc Angel.

"So many visitors today, hm, what brings you here, Messenger?" Surely it was of grave importance, otherwise, angels rarely had the habit of dropping in.

Gabriel nodded in greeting to both Mina and Aleksei.

“Adacio will soon be joining us,” Gabriel informed them. “The Nephilim has opened his tomb.”

He turned to look at Isabella, whose face was furrowed with worry.

“N-Nephilim? As in...?” She stammered, her eyes slightly widened. “Are you talking about...?”

“Salvatore,” Gabriel punctuated gravely. “He needs your help, Isabella. You two are fated, tied together since birth. The further you run from each other, the stronger your bond pulls you back. He is stubborn...”

A grin played at his mouth.

“Avalon, do you know what has become of Maria Lombardi and her daughter Sofia?” Gabriel asked. “Do you know Sofia has become the High Priestess to the Italian Royal Family?”

"Nephilim?" Mina turned a questioning glance over at Aleksei who's gaze pinned on the angel still.

"So I've observed." Aleksei retorted, not at all surprised at the current events. Naturally he keeps tabs on particular persons of interest. "They are in Italia, yes, I'm aware of their particular circumstances." But these are delicate matters that take a certain level of finesse. Can't go rushing in guns blazing like a certain brash hunter he knows would.

“Assaciel,” Adacio called for the angel. He had reached the center of the crypt, and the shadows from below followed behind him, slowly consuming the room when Gabriel vanished. “Dean, come.”

Beneath his feet, Enochian sigils slowly began to form, vibrating as the legion of voices returned to their chanting. Adacio joined them, his voice wicked and chorused, reaching a decibel so deep it was terrifying.

“My son,” he continued, waving to the center of the geometric figure that appeared. “You will take us to Isabella. Remember your first tongue.”

He spoke of the Angelic language, of course. His steely eyes cast to the golden light coming from Dean’s chest, fighting to penetrate his clothes. It would buzz and vibrate as the boy drew nearer to the sigils, which were etching themselves all over walls and ceiling.

The voices grew louder as they covered every inch, glowing brighter when Dean and Assaciel entered the circle.

“Remember your first tongue, Dean.”

"Not like I gotta choice." Dean gripped at his arms as he followed but it was much like rising from the ocean into a cacophony of celestial insanity. His head filled with so much angelic voices he struggled with every step. Hands gripping his head he gasped at the surge of pain tearing through his system. What the hell?!

"Make it stop!" He cried out, unable to make another step. Who turned the volume up?

“Command them, Dean,” Adacio instructed him, his voice still booming without skipping a beat. “You are Nephilim—declare your will! Take us to Isabella!”

As the legión intensified, Adacio’s eyes went from an icy grey to a platinum white.

“You are a conduit between realms, my son,” he continued. “You exist on both planes. The extent of your power is virtually boundless! Command it! Command them!”

"I don't want this, can't you just... Take it back?" How can he even hear through all this noise? His senses are raw from all the input. Ugh.

"Stop acting like you're just a mortal, Dean." Assaciel added, just behind him. "Focus."

"Easy for you freaks!" Now he's just frustrated really. They don't get him at all.

Isabella’s heart was racing now. Flying into a full panic, she leaned against Mina for support, clutching her chest. Her mind was spinning and her ears were ringing. If she hadn’t been sitting down, she was certain she would have fallen from dizziness.

“It-it’s so... it’s... loud...” she mumbled behind gritted teeth. “Something is happening to Dean...”

She looked around the room, which was beginning to blur, morphing into a bright cacophony of sounds and sight. The only beacon in the chaos was a shock of blond hair and blue eyes.

“Come to me, Dean...” she whispered pleadingly.

The light from the sigils was becoming blinding, and like hands, began to encompass them slowly. The more Dean focused, the more their energy within the room grew and shifted their surroundings. But the more he doubted, the dimmer the sigils would get, instead replaced with darkness and the cold floor of the crypt.

“She needs you, my son,” Adacio encouraged him. “Command the legion! Thy will be done!”
SofĂ­a screeched in rage.

The shrill pitch of her voice was like iron striking iron, shaking the walls of her temple. All the candles simultaneously relit themselves, and her eyes began to glow red.

“You won’t stop him,” Maria threatened from behind the glass. “The boy is too powerful.”

“But his mind is weak!” Sofia snarled. “His will is weaker!”

She snapped her fingers, and robed monks surrounded her. They, too, began to chant.

“Your hexes won’t work, Sofia! He is a Nephilim!” Maria cried, almost smirking.

”Shut up!”

Command the legion? What did that even mean? Dean couldn't ask as the waves of energies crashed until he snapped his eyes in the opposite direction. Wasn't that Isabella's voice among the crazy? He was sure... A whisper...

His eyes shimmered as he stared ahead, as if... He could almost see her... In a chair.

She kept fading out. Like a bad picture on a screen.

"Wait." He focused on that image, as if he could piece the threads that made up the image until it was whole.

It was something and he snatched at it.

"Isabella!" The name tore from him as he took off like an idiot toward the giant image before him. Please don't crash. Don't crash.

He leapt off the ground and hit a force only in a second, like jumping into a pool, then he was falling sideways as he crashed into the floor, carpet, his back taking the brunt of the fall. Then he pushed up, head spinning. What the hell?

That thing, the image was still floating there as if a giant tear swirling with white and gold sparks of energy. Assaciel stared from where she stood on the other side.

"Holy shit is that... Did I just portal back?" He turned his head back toward Isabella and Mina. She too stared a little wide-eyed.

Dean pushed to his feet, the world was still spinning but he'd somehow made it with everything in-tact.

"Welcome back, Salvatore." Avalon said cooly from across the room. He's served himself tea and sipped.

"Screw you." Dean muttered in greeting.

The vampire merely smirked with a raised brow. Bastard.

“Dean...?”

Confusion riddled the young girl’s features as the blond boy soared toward them as if through thin air. Her heart skipped for a second with surprise, until her mind finally comprehended what had happened.

She rose to her feet and smashed si to him, wrapping her arms around his torso and digging her face into his chest, directly where that gold light would be shining. She squeezed him tightly as if she were afraid he would vanish; as if she were making sure he was truly there.

”I’ve missed you...” she thought, her eyes misting slightly.

Directly behind them, Adacio stood, his eyes of steel fixated almost incredulously on Isabella. As she slowly pulled away from Dean, knowing she probably agitated him, he studied her features as if in disbelief.

That moment was fleeting as he fell into step beside them to look directly at Avalon with a familiar smirk.

“It has been quite some time, my old friend,” he said.

That voice. It snapped him in her direction as if by instinct but she was already rushing toward him. All he could do was stand there while she clung to him.

And then complete silence dropped over him in that instance.

How did she...?

"Isa...Bella... Hey." His hands rose up, then he realized the cut... He'd cut his palm before but there was no scar?!

Blinking, he gently returned the embrace. Trying to smother awkwardness. What did she mean she missed him...?

Wait. She didn't say that out loud, did she?

No, he wasn't going to ask that.

He's no friggin Jedi.

Right?

He held on to Isabella and glanced at Mina who slowly rose back up from her knelt position and smoothened out the ruffles of her skirt. Her gaze swung to Avalon and a tilted smile touched her lips.

No. Nothing from her.

Or maybe he was just hearing things.

He had a ton a questions.

But that had to take a back burner especially when the entourage joined them.

How does he close that freaking portal???

"Welcome back as well, comrade. You don't look a day over a century." Avalon knew him too? What, was he popular with everybody?

Dean wouldn't look at him. Absolutely not.

Assaciel cleared her throat, "Dean, you may want to close the tear through space and time any day now."

How would he even-- one glance at it, what, like closing a door in his head or--

The glowing portal snapped, crackled, and whoosh-- gone.

Ok that's one way.

Isabella jolted just a moment as the portal crackled and popped, causing her to clutch Dean’s hand briefly from surprise. But as if she were electrocuted, her hand recoiled, and she looked at him questioningly. The moment her skin touched his, she could feel that Nephilim energy like static coming off of him. He was buzzing with this newfound power, and it didn’t look like he even knew it.

She would have to corner him privately and ask later. She knew he would be apprehensive to talk, let alone be around any of these people currently gathered in the manor. She retreated beside him, careful not to touch him again, though stray strands of her inky locks still clung to him like magnetism.

Adacio chuckled at Aleksei.

“I would compare you to fine wine, but you have not aged a minute,” he retorted with a grin. “Immortality becomes you.”

His grey eyes shifted to Isabella, peering at him curiously from behind Dean’s shoulder. They were tethered together by something no human could fathom, it was written in the language of their limbs; it was swirling in the pools of their eyes and the way they looked at each other. Even her hair couldn’t stay away from him. His heart sank, but it wouldn’t be apparent on his features as he then redirected his gaze at Mina.

“I’ve been away too long,” Adacio said, offering his hand so that he could take hers in greeting. “Forgive me, Aleksei, is this your betrothed?”

Her touch came and went, drawing his gaze back down. Had she attempted to take his hand? He glanced at her, wasn't she supposed to be with the other guy? It didn't make sense. But the look of confusion on her face didn't help either. She ended up sliding beside him. Yet her hair stuck on him like static cling.

Did this mean he couldn't touch anyone?

Minus points to Nephilim powers.

Aleksei grinned fondly back, it's as though no time had passed between them.

Dean stared toward the entryway, mapping out the exits this manor had. He didn't know how he summoned that portal so until he learned the tricks he'd be running full-hunter mode.

Whatever the case, he'd protect her. It was his job to anyways.

Adacio approached someone else, a young woman—vampire too. She gave him her hand like an aristocrat would, formality at its finest.

And then he asked something that tugged at Dean, he stared at Adacio then Aleksei. Wait. Betrothed?

Aleksei's smile softened and his eyes shifted toward Mina, a look only someone who regarded another with admiration, respect and love would.

No doubt.

"Verily so." He confirmed.

"Then why'd you kiss her you asshat?" The hissed words left him before he realized it and the entire room trembled under a sudden force of pressure.

"You should calm yourself, boy, less you ruin my dwelling." Aleksei regarded him with detached coldness, "It's a misunderstanding on your part, I was merely kissing goodbye to someone else. Whom happened to be inhabiting Lombardi at the moment."

"Bullshit."

He quirked a brow, "Proving my point."

"Say that to my face." He fisted his hands, unbeknownst to himself, his eyes vanished under the glowing orbs of light flaring out like a fire reignited. All he wanted to do was hurl the vampire into the next dimension and— he backed away, exhaling sharply. What the hell? He turned and left out the doors toward another room just far enough away.

His hands shook with suppressed energy he had no idea how to begin controlling. What if he hurt people? Shit, he couldn't be near anyone like this! He shook out his hands and clutched his head, swimming with voices again. The fucking angels wouldn't stop talking.

He leaned against the wall willing for silence. A moment, anything.

Crackling sounds drew his gaze up, fuck him, little volts of lightning arched out from him. This wasn't good. He felt like a charged bomb waiting to go off.

He shouldn't be here if he was just waiting to blow. He turned his gaze toward the windows. But where then...?

“Dean...” Isabella’s voice trailed after him as he stormed away. She turned to look at Aleksei helplessly and frowned. “What have I done?”

Adacio studied his son interact with Aleksei, feeling the disdain permeating the atmosphere with electricity. He also observed how Aleksei watched over Isabella; the purity between them and their relationship was something he had never seen shared between human and immortal. It was truly like witnessing a wolf safeguarding a lamb.

He shook his head, then his eyes met with Avalon’s and turned grave at the mention of an entity inhabiting Isabella.

“Is it true?” he asked, though already knowing the answer. “Was it her you spoke with, Aleksei?”

Again, his eyes searched the young girl, finding traces of Maria within her features. Her loyalty to Dean and Aleksei was like a mirror or a time capsule—reminiscent of the relationship he, Maria and Aleksei were entangled in lifetimes ago.

His countenance fell slightly.

Isabella furrowed her brows as Adacio spoke with Aleksei. Who was he talking about?

Her mind whirled with broken thoughts and blurry images, scents and sounds. She only remembers the feelings in her chest—a yearning and a deep sadness—but she couldn’t decipher them from her own.

Her eyes searched the emptiness where Dean had once been, noting the crackling energy he left in his wake. She knew he hated when she followed him, but she missed him so terribly...and when did she ever listen to him, anyway?

“Go to him,” Adacio answered for her, noticing her hesitation. “It is where you are meant to be.”

Her eyes both questioned and thanked him, and she did pause for a moment before she nodded and slowly went after Dean.

When she found him, she made sure to stand several feet apart, unsure if he wanted her near him.

“Please, don’t go,” she said softly. “I just got you back...”

At the query, Aleksei peered at her and shook his head, no, she'd done no wrong. Then his attention returned to his dear friend, "Indeed it was." He confirmed, a note of sadness crossed his features at the memory.

He too noted the way her energies fluctuated when it came to that boy, it's him she'd tethered to from the beginning.

~~


Her presence had the power to banish the worst of it. Dean sagged against the wall, the brunt of pain lessoning. "Funny you'd say that, don't you have a vampire to pine for?" He pushed off the wall, straightening himself.

Adacio stiffened, searching the ground as if he were to find and answer among the marble. A vein appeared on his forehead as he delved deeply into thought.

“That means they’ve awakened her,” he muttered to himself. Then he reverted his gaze back to Aleksei. “Where are they keeping her?”

***

Setting

3 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Dean Salvatore Character Portrait: Isabella Lombardi Character Portrait: Assaciel
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Isabella closed the gap between them just a few more inches. She didn’t want to push him any further. He was already so agitated and confused. She only wanted him to feel peace, the way she felt when she was near him.

“Why do you say that?” she said somberly, memories of their relationship all the way back to their first encounter flashing through her mind. Her voice lowered to a whisper. “It was you from the very beginning, Dean... don’t you remember?”

*


"Italia, she's magic bound I'm afraid." Aleksei spoke softly, "However, I've an inside source working in the shadows to see about freeing her." Vera had a knack for slipping into the most secured places and getting out without getting caught. She's a natural.


*



Pitying him now, wasn't she? Here to rub it in? And yet her words leaned toward the opposite, as if she didn't just make it clear in her actions whom she'd chosen. Was she just playing him now?

"Find that hard to believe, you made your choice, didn't you?" He crossed his arms, trying to tone down the wild fluctuation of power crackling around him. She shouldn't get close, he's a danger now. "You even played a song for him."

Adacio shook his head. He remembered the vile extremes the royal Italians would gladly go to to protect and ensure their power. Their fortress was virtually impenetrable, protected by a force of black magic witches whose practices dated back to the pre-Babylonian era.

He knew this because they had once forced his hand into their court. As the Lord of Hell, they regularly employed his dominion over the demonic forces of the underworld through conjurings and dark rituals.

They would sacrifice their own to retain their superpower status. The only ones that rivaled them were the French, who were known to barter with Fallen Angels, though their loyalty was questionable as it was volatile.

“We will have no choice but to face them soon, I’m afraid...” Adacio said, looking toward where the Nephilim and his fated love would be. “Do you think they are ready for this, Aleksei?”


*




Isabella stepped forward defiantly, her hair rising all around her face and reaching toward Dean like a million tiny hands. It truly was like static cling, the way his energy pulled her toward him.

“I played a song for him?” she repeated, furrowing her brows. “Look, I don’t know how to explain this to you. It was like a dream. It wasn’t me. I don’t even know how to play the piano.”

She crept even closer, this time reaching a hand toward him. Goosebumps erupted all over her flesh, making her hair stand on end from his electric pulse. Her fingers laced around his arm, crackling loudly as she did so.

She winced slightly, but held on as the shock vibrated through her body. The pain would wane—she didn’t know how she knew, but she was certain it would.

“I-... I get these visions...” she said. “From another time and place. Please, Dean, you have to believe me.”

"I'm aware, it's inevitable." He may have sent Vera to keep an eye on things, but without back-up, she might well meet her match. Or her end. But she wasn't going to take those chances.

Mina approached him, her gaze steady, at his side once more.

To the query he sighed, "Whether they are is yet to be seen." In the end, they had to stand up and fight or all would be lost.


[/center]*[/center]


She didn't know? Dean blinked and glanced up at her, was she messing with him? But the look in her eyes would prove even that wrong. At her approach, he kept still, weary. Then she touched him and he swore it did something--everything fizzled out--like she was canceling out the crazy. He couldn't explain it. But there it was, her touch was like an ocean wave, cascading over him.

Another time and place huh?

It aligned with what the vamp had mentioned.

Explained what that entire thing was about. In a way.

He let out a heavy breath in an attempt to force out the tension. "What, did you envision his old lover or something? I swear, you're a magnet for all things weird." Less heat in his tone this time.


Isabella shook her head. The woman she envisioned wasn’t just a lover. She was something else entirely. Almost the same way Aleksei and Isabella couldn’t title their connection, this woman she saw in her vision transcended her beliefs.

“I don’t know, Dean...” she said softly. “I can’t see her face. It’s like we share the same soul, or something... we’re connected in a way I can’t describe or understand. I can see a different world in her eyes, and feel a million things, and remember memories I know aren’t my own.”

She tugged on his arm slightly, as if trying to pull him into her mind.

“In my most recent visions, she is trapped in what looks like a temple of some sort. There’s sand under her feet, falling from above her head, and glass all around. There’s a million candles, and a woman, a priestess—“

Her words would resound through the halls and reach Adacio, who would stiffen the moment he heard them. He looked knowingly at Aleksei. Did he know about these recent visions of her? Did he know about the priestess?


So, a reincarnation? Of all creatures did she have to have any ties with a vampire? It couldn't be helped eitherway. He sighed.

Then she tugged at him as though she really wanted him to listen, or believe her.

He already did.

"Wait, if you're her reincarnation wouldn't that mean her soul is in you?" He was trying to understand, "Then she's alive if she's trapped somewhere else right? Maybe you're a descendant?" Or tied by more magic. Further proving his point.

A priestess?

He slowly nodded, going by her tone it looked like bad news.

"Ok, then, if we're going to find her my bet is on whatever is linking you to her could lead us to wherever she is." If it was that strong to possess Isabella to the point of granting her piano skills she's never had or seeing another life, it had to be enough.

"Luckily we got Angel Uber to whoosh us over." Because he had no idea how to make portals so don't ask him to.


*



At the glance, Aleksei nodded, "It's a delicate situation and time isn't on our side. If we're to act, we must do so with caution." They all had to be on the same page here. "Let's not rock the boat anymore than it's already been. We've a plan in the works, but could use a valuable back-up."



Isabella sighed a breath of relief at listening to Dean’s words. Though they described her strange predicament, she found comfort in knowing he was at least trying to empathize with her. It was short lived, however, as soon a deep feeling of dread swept over her.

Reincarnation.

Why did she get the feeling that this anomaly would prove to be fatal?

Goosebumps erupted all over her flesh as if Dean had shocked her again with his light. She was searching the memories in her mind of books she read about reincarnated beings, and one factor almost always remained the same—they were the product of unfinished matters, perhaps as an avenger of some sort—and their lives rarely ever ended well.

Her eyes traveled over to the corridor toward Aleksei, searching almost pleadingly for him, then for Adacio, and finally back at Dean. All three of them were linked somehow, and she was one of their points of contact.

“I need to channel her,” Isabella finally said. “I need to access her memory in a more concise way. And—“ She held a hand to the golden etching along Dean’s heart, where a faint, warm glow emanated from. “You should speak to Adacio about his relationship with her.”



He watched her as she took in this bit of info, she definitely looked freaked out. And who wouldn't? It's not like she asked for any of this. Hell, she'd probably wish her life had been normal. The only issues then would've been school and maybe gossip stuff. Make up. Though she didn't have to worry about that, she didn't need it.

At her touch he blinked and peered down at her hand, that same glow had yet to fade.

"... It's awkward, you know?" He still couldn't wrap his head around having a celestial father when his dad was a hunter.

Isabella nodded at him, offering a gentle smile. All of this was awkward. From the very beginning, the moment they met was awkward. She almost giggled at the thought. Since their lives had entwined, all they’ve ever known was awkward.

“Imagine being the reincarnation of your guardian’s old lover,” she quipped, then her countenance fell slightly after a long pause. She wanted to remain hopeful, but her heart was growing heavy.

She studied Dean, his aura radiating like a halo around his head. Why did she suddenly feel heartbroken? Like they were going to be permanently star-crossed? She feared her time with him would be short, but she didn’t know why.

“I know, but he has a lot of the answers you and I are looking for.” She finished calmly.

That quip made his lips twitch. Alright. So, she wanted to play who's got it worse, huh? "Or living a lie your whole life. Well, too bad we can't just imagine it away." But it's the same crap that wounded up with them meeting. Couldn't give that up could he? "Still, as messed-up as it's gotten, I met you through it. That's gotta count for something." Regrets? Didn't know him. He stared right back her, that light in her, she had to keep that burning or else they'd all be fucked to hell.

It's the only thing that kept him going.

His hand found hers, fingers shaky as they held on. The one life-raft keeping him afloat in the sea of monsters.

"Yeah, right... But I lost you for a second." He touched his brow to hers, when were they ever going to catch a break? The stock-pile of crap would just keep coming wouldn't it? He closed his eyes, taking a breath, "But all I can think about right now is keeping you safe. Can't lose you again." He whispered.

That gentle smile blossomed into a full blown grin at his sweet words. It was the first time since they met that he had admitted anything like this to her. Was it the Nephilim in him surfacing? Or had she somehow finally managed to break through one of the many layers of his hard armor?

Feeling his warmth, and the electricity cracking softly from his flesh, her hair rose all around them again, a static cling unwilling to let go, as if sharing his sentiments. With one hand still on his heart, she brought the other to his face, her topaz eyes staring deeply into his.

“You will never, ever lose me, Dean,” she assured him, her voice serene but her tone unwavering. “I promise I will always be here with you. Until the stars fall from the sky.”

She pressed her palm gingerly into his chest, as if implanting herself where his heart was. As she did so, the glow brightened beneath her fingertips, as if her own light had joined his.

Then a chorus of voices echoed around them in faint whispers, but their tone was the polarity of what had taken place in the crypt. These Enochian murmurs were pleasant, like lovers speaking to each other in a language only they could understand between themselves. When Dean pressed his brow to hers, a tiny twinkle of light erupted upon impact.

Sigils appeared beneath their feet, encasing them in a diagram, but these were not written with the same urgency as Adacio’s tomb engravings. These looked as if they were written carefully with loving hands, sprawling slowly all around them like petals unfurling.

And then, in the film reel of her mind, Dean was suddenly not quite himself anymore. His face, though almost a stark doppelgÀnger, had now become Adacio, though much younger. His hair was the same sandy blond, but his eyes were that distinct steel grey.

Isabella pulled away only a few inches to observe him. He wore the robes of a royal, and his wings were milk-white, almost silvery feathers that gleamed as if reflecting sunlight.

It was that moment she knew she was in a memory.

”We were never meant to get this far, mío amore,” Adacio said, his voice deep with melancholy.

“Is there nothing else that can be done?” Maria questioned him almost pleadingly. “Please tell me there is another way, Carino. There must be!”

Adacio looked away.

“There is not, Tesoro. Perhaps in another lifetime, you and I will be together,” he said. “It cannot be in this one.”

Tears filled her eyes as she desperately clutched his robes. His gentle hands attempted to soothe her, his own eyes becoming misty.

“Please, don’t do this,” she begged. “We can find another way.”

“Ti amo, mío amore,” Adacio whispered, before a cloaked seraphim came behind him with a blade set ablaze, and struck his wings. Immediately, he was consumed in a pillar of wildfire that stripped his wings of their beauty, leaving wretched, taloned, membranous deformities instead. His blond hair turned a charred black, and then he was cast from Maria’s grasp with an agonized cry while Maria screamed in horror after him.

Isabella came to, not realizing that tears were silently streaming from her face. She looked up at Dean, then sank her face into his chest, where the etching was still glowing brightly.

Dean opened his eyes again unsure of what look he had except it sure as hell was a little too raw for his liking. Yet, he didn't mind it so much with her anymore. He leaned into her touch, shoulders dropping at the ebb of his tension falling away at the contact. How she did that, who knew? "Let's hope they don't fall anytime soon, yeah?" His voice took a lower quality, husky sounding.

He embraced her harder and that light in him brightened. As if she were rekindling a dying flame, roaring to life.

The voices chimed in, more like a chorus, he ignored them best as he could. But when a glow at his feet made him falter, what the hell was this now?

She pulled back and stared with that far-away look in her eyes. A vision? Again?

"Isabella?"

Hand still linked with hers, he waited it out, she started crying. Whatever she was seeing must've been rough. His fingers gave hers a squeeze, a reminder that she wasn't alone.

Then he pulled her back into his arms, would this end after they saved Maria? He sure hoped so.

Isabella needed her life back.

"It's alright, you're okay." He whispered into her ear. They had to get through this somehow. They had angels, fallen angels, vamps and one pissed off hunter on their side. Had to even the odds.

Right?

“Dean, your father...” Isabella murmured into his shirt through her tears. “...your father is—“

“Lord of the Underworld,” Adacio finished as he stepped through the corridor into their line of sight. “A Fallen Angel, yes, but Lord nonetheless.”

Isabella straightened up at once, wiping her tears and turning to observe Adacio, who was watching them carefully with no expression on his handsome features.

He stepped closer to them, his hands folded behind his back, steel grey eyes alight as they fixed themselves upon the girl. Although she clutched Dean tighter, she did not cower despite his almost menacing countenance.

“I know that look, Lombardi. I’ve seen it before, from a woman I dearly loved, many lifetimes ago,” he continued, stopping at an arm’s length away from the pair. “I do not need your sympathy. Do you know how I came to be Lord of Hell?”

Isabella shook her head, her brows furrowed.

“I conquered it.”

At once, the sigils that surrounded Dean and Isabella glowed brightly, causing Adacio to take a step back and raise a hand to his eyes. The voices began again, though their loving tone has distorted into a more threatening decibel. Isabella’s hair fanned around them again, and Adacio smirked.

“God’s favorite daughter,” he chuckled, shaking his head almost in disbelief. “Fallen in love with my Nephilim son. Do you realize the magnitude of this fated union?”

Isabella held onto Dean, turning to meet his eyes, though she knew they would be fixated on his father, ready to refute him.

“There are ones who pray, battle and wait for lifetimes for just a taste of what you two share.”

"Couldn't be further off the range of normal. Welcome to the club." Dean quiped, his dad was a hunter. That wouldn't change. But sure, his father was the great Lord of Darkness. Ok. Cool. He regarded the stranger with at least some civility. The man looked capable of destroying everything in sight.

But Dean could look him in the eye without wanting to shit a brick. So that meant something.

He held on to her regardless, she was connected to him too?

At the revelation Dean sighed, conquering Hell of all places. Must be a badge of honor.

And then their world out up again as his approach activated the sigils again. A protective barrier? Would it work on vamps too or was it just angel—lord of hell proof?

The question made him look up, why did Adacio make it seem like they were a Royal couple or something?

Wait. Did he just say fallen in love? Isabella?

"When are you going to start making sense?" He gripped at Isabella's shirt. "Why are you acting like it's a big deal?"

Sofia elicited a ear piercing shriek that rang through the temple halls like an explosion. Her hands were violently trembling, and blood was weeping from her eyes and nostrils.

“Separate... THEM!!” She snarled, her eyes rolling to the back of her head as she did so. A thick, inky blackness slithered from her open mouth, echoing that phrase over and over.

At the demonic sight, the monks that had joined her recoiled in horror.

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Dean Salvatore Character Portrait: Isabella Lombardi Character Portrait: Aleksei Avalon Character Portrait: Lyra Kingsley
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

***


“There is a reason so many entities are trying to tear you apart,” Adacio answered calmly.

The sigils dimmed slightly and the voices fell back to small whispers. Adacio took another step back. The sheer electricity of their combined energies radiated like a heatwave he couldn’t bear to be too near.

“Whatever you do, do not let them.”

Isabella released Dean, her topaz eyes searching his face. Her cheeks had reddened at Adacio illuminating her feelings for him. Were they so obvious to everyone but him? She blamed herself.

“Do you notice that you feel different around Isabella?” Adacio asked.

Dean took Isabella's hand, gripping it firm but gentle. He regarded the man who only cemented his suspicions, all this, it was much bigger than he initially realized. The attacks, the awakening powers, whatever was coming for them, it wasn't going to stop.

"I won't. But what do they want from us?"

He flitted his gaze back to her, sensing her worry. He lifted his free hand, caressed her cheek. "Yeah." It didn't matter if the demons or vamps wanted to tangle with him, that was a given, he's a hunter. But Isabella wasn't in that life, until... They met.

Had he brought all this to her?

"What do they want?" What did they want with her? She was a good person, too good for him even.

Isabella traced her fingers over Dean’s hand, holding his gaze with her own. Adacio observed them quietly, his countenance falling slightly with sadness for just a moment before reverting back to its stoicism.

“Isabella is the DoppelgĂ€nger of a once extraordinarily gifted priestess,” Adacio finally said. “She was a healer, many years ago...”

He stepped closer, and the sigils that surrounded the pair brightened, almost as if in warning. Isabella noticed what Adacio was attempting and nodded, letting Dean’s hand slip away from hers to step away from him and begin exiting the circle that enclosed them.

As she did so, the sigils dimmed, and the voices quieted the further away from him she got. They followed behind her in a trail beneath her feet, glowing when she stopped at the edge of the circle. She turned to look at Dean, then back at Adacio, who watched her expectantly.

“It is said that her blood contains magical properties which cannot be replicated...” Adacio continued as she hesitantly stepped outside the circle.

The moment she did so, the sigils, voices and light that accompanied them all vanished. Isabella gasped at feeling the intense whoosh of energy dissipate into the atmosphere.

“Your blood, Isabella, is said to be the purest—a holy water—being the descendant of a healer. You were given the name God’s Favorite for a reason.”

She furrowed her brows.

“So why are so many vampires after me?” She asked. “Vampires are virtually indestructible.”

Adacio stepped in front of her, towering above her like a dark steeple. He held a hand to her cheek, hesitating as if anticipating pain in doing so, for her cheek did glow when his fingers were near.

“Your blood would make them invincible.”

“How do you know this?” Isabella questioned him.

The corners of Adacio’s lips twitched upward slightly, and he looked over her head at Dean.

“What do you know of doppelgĂ€ngers, my son?” He asked, testing the extent of the hunter’s knowledge.

Dean caught that look before Adacio could mask it with stoicism, it seemed the apple didn't fall far at all. He narrowed his eyes slightly when Adacio mentioned Isabella being a DoppelgÀnger of a priestess, shooting his theory of her being a reincarnation out of the water.

DoppelgÀngers depending who you asked were believed to be bad omens, death, evil twins, or even the result of nature trying to re-balance itself among other things. Either way, it meant she was a construct out of something otherworldly.

But evil, no, she definitely wouldn't fit the bill, he'd seen evil, she was far from being someone's bad twin.

Her blood could be used in spells, powerful stuff too in the hands of someone who knew what they were dealing with. It'd explain why she was being targeted.

When her hand slipped from his, it snapped his attention back to them. What was she doing? Could these sigils protect her not only from Adacio but from anyone with malicious intent? It'd be stupid to put her safety on magic when it was the very thing getting her in trouble. He didn't trust it, why would he start now?

Her blood. Like his own... It had power. Could give an immortal that extra boost. He raised his own hand, staring at it. Shit. His blood wasn't normal either. Sure, it wasn't pure, not by a long-shot, but it certainly gave him an advantage over most people.

He turned his hand into a fist, hell no, the vamps were already a pain in the ass to deal with. It only meant he had to keep fighting in order to protect her. From them, and anyone who'd even think of coming near her.

He needed a plan.

His gaze shot back up to Adacio. Tsk. Questioning him, now, really? "What do you know of the bastards coming after her? Gotta list? We can't stand around here talking Monsters 101 when we don't know just how much time we have left."

If she's tethered to someone they could be using that link to track her now. He wasn't about to wait for the enemy to come crashing through.

“I-I need to rest,” Isabella muttered, holding a hand to her head that suddenly began to throb. “This is too much for me right now.”

Adacio nodded, stepping aside and she started walking away. She paused when she stood next to him and caught his steely gaze, her brows still furrowed inquisitively. She remembered a legend that she had read, maybe in her great-grandmother’s journal, about a sacrifice that would be made. As if asking Adacio silently if it were true, he held her stare, equally as grave.

“I’ll be upstairs, Dean,” she said softly, almost sadly, and left the room.

When he was sure she had gone, Adacio turned back to his son. The sigils had disappeared completely and the voices dimmed to a faint hum, but the power that radiated from the gold etching in his heart still buzzed.

“The two ancient royal families are in a feud for her blood ever since she was discovered,” Adacio informed him, though he was sure he already knew that much. “The Italians have successfully awakened Maria—that is, Isabella’s ancestor—and will be coming to collect Isabella next. If what they’ve said is true, sacrificing Isabella to merge their souls together will give Maria her power back one hundredfold, and they will use her to gain invincibility.”

Adacio paused, his eyes traveling upward as if trying to see through the ceiling to where Isabella had gone.

“The seal over Maria’s crypt cannot be broken by any vampire, witch or human, she made sure of that,” he continued. “So even if they have Isabella, they can’t release Maria. The only way that crypt can be opened is if you, the Nephilim, open it.”

Isabella sat at the edge of her bed, fingering through the pages of her ancestor’s diary. She wondered if Aleksei could provide her with any further insight, and she opened her mouth to call for him, but decided against it. She let them be. She had brought enough upon them for the day.

As she fell back against the bed, her eyes cast to the marble ceiling. She held the journal to her chest and sighed.

“Tell me what to do, María...” Isabella murmured in frustration as she closed her eyes. “How do we stop this?”

When she opened her eyes, her blood turned cold and was so frightened, the scream that tried to erupt from her throat instead became trapped there. Hovering above her was the face of a handsome young man, though his eyes were glowing blood red and his fanged teeth were bared in a wicked grin. He held one finger to his mouth and the other overs. As he stared intensely into her eyes, his pupils dilated, and hers reflected this.

But when Isabella blinked, he was gone. She sat up, confused, and scanned the room, but there was no sign of him. A soft knock at the door broke her concentration.

“Isabella? It’s me, Selene.”


*



Dean watched her for a long moment, nodded at her words. It further proved how un-used to the life she was. For him, just another Tuesday. "Yeah." Still, even if he hadn't met her, wouldn't she have to face it eventually? Less protected at that.

He couldn't regret any of it.

"The Italians..." He'd seen them, or thought he saw them doing some sort of ritual. It was too messed up.

Her sacrifice... for more power. Because the vamps didn't have enough already. Shit like this was why he enjoyed putting an end to them. The next bit of info turned his blood to ice.

Once they had her, they'd want him next.

And they'd use her against him, like something out of a comic. Those bastards would capture her and torture her, just to get him do what they wanted. He could see it unfolding.

"If they can't get Maria, they can't complete the spell." He peered at the demon king, a meaningful look in his eyes. "I know what we gotta do but you're not gonna like it."

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Dean Salvatore Character Portrait: Isabella Lombardi
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Adacio smirked, nodding at his son. If he knew anything about him over the lifetime he spent watching, he could foretell what he was to say next.

“Tell me what you need to me to do,” he said. “And I assume we will be keeping Isabella from whatever it is you’re about to do.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. In another life, he and Aleksei were conspiring in similar ways to try and save Maria—but the Priestess was already a step ahead of them, and if the Lombardi descendent was anything like her, she wouldn’t comply without a fight.

When he knew exactly what Dean had in mind, he wouldn't be smiling. But it was either this or much worse hell. He stared at the one who called himself Dean's father. Could this powerful being even be trusted? What if he switched sides? Then again, why would he associate himself with fangs?

"I don't wanna drag her down that road anymore than we already have." He might have to go at it alone after all. She wouldn't like this, any of it. Especially since it'd fall on him.

But the sooner they did this, the better.

"Where's the crypt?" He'd get every weapon in his arsenal and finish this, it was what he did best after all.

Setting

1 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Dean Salvatore
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

Adacio’s eyes fell to the ground.

“Of course, I support your endeavors,” he began, clicking his tongue afterward. “There is only one problem with that. The one witch who knew where it is located has disappeared. You, Nephilim, will have to consort with the celestial bodies if you want to find her.”

He extended his arms and looked around the room.

“So, my son...” he punctuated proudly. “You tell me.”

Dean sighed heavily, "Can't we use blood to find it?" It'd mean he'd have to tell her what they wanted it for and see if it even worked in the end. But it was a shot.

Consorting with celestial bodies sounded more like Plan B if this didn't work.

Adacio shook his head with a chuckle.

“She will never agree to it, Dean.” He said. “Not if you tell her what you plan to do. And besides that, if you’re going up against the oldest families in existence- don’t you suppose it would be useful to hone your connection with your angelic abilities?”


"We have plenty of time for a training montage Sensei." He shot the older man a look. He didn't mean to be rude but who was going to show him how to angel? Nephil? Whatever. What would happen if he fucked that up? He only just managed to pull a portal out of his ass and he couldn't even explain how he did it.

"I trust my gut and my weapons." It never failed him, especially if they were tangling with non-juiced-up vamps. "We have to put an end to it before shit goes down..."

“Very well,” Adacio responded. “You are the key to this, after all.”

His eyes traveled upward again in search of Isabella, then back to Dean.

“So, will you tell her, or shall I?”

"Putting it lightly." He murmured, he felt more like a Supernovae, destroyer of all. Hunters were cursed in a way.

"I don't think we can talk at this point." Then he made his way out to where he could sense her.

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Dean Salvatore Character Portrait: Isabella Lombardi
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

“Come in, Selene,” Isabella called to the huntress. It had been a while since she’d seen her.

The girl walked in carefully, her eyes searching the span of the suite as if expecting something to jump out. When she reached Isabella at the foot of her bed, she lowered her voice gravely to a whisper.

“Listen, I’ve found some things about your ancestry,” she began quickly. “There is an ancient prophecy written in these texts. I need you to come with me.”

She looked over her shoulder, sensing Dean, then back at Isabella. Her pupils widened.

“It’s your choice to do so or not, of course,” she continued. “But once you find out what it is, I don’t think you will want to tell Salvatore.”

Isabella furrowed her brows, looking down at the leather bound journal in her hands.

“Tell me what to do,” Isabella said. “What do you need from me?”

“Wait until the sun goes down, and I’ll come back to get you,” Selene instructed. “Salvatore will be long gone by then, I’m certain. You won’t want him to follow you.”

Isabella was hesitant. Although she had an idea why, she also knew being separated from Dean always spelled bad news. As long as they were together, they were protected. But she had the feeling what she had to do would involve protecting Dean and those she cared for. So she nodded.

“Be ready for a long trip.”

And then she walked out the bedroom door to leave Isabella with her thoughts. The girl stood, sensing Dean searching for her, and exited the room as well. She lingered over the bannister of the staircase, her eyes observing the downstairs parlor and waiting for him to appear.

And he did, taking a few steps before his gaze swung up to meet hers. As though magnetized.

"Hey."

He wanted to ask how she was handling it all, but the look on her face showed plenty. It was either this or deal with unwanted angel powers and the ton of complications that came with.

Wouldn't she always come first?

Yes, yes she would.

“Hi,” she said, a gentle smile befalling her features. Despite the difficulties, being near Dean alleviated any kind of negative feelings that overwhelmed her. It was like he was her anchor. “I’m guessing you have an idea for me to argue against?”

She giggled softly. As the moment passed, though, she found it a little amazing that she was able to discern this just from a look into his eyes.

Was he that obvious or...She was a Jedi wasn't she? Still, didn't fail to make him smile as he crossed the distance to meet her. Using steps like a normal person because he didn't know how or didn't want to flash in and out of space and time like a freak.

It still amazed him he could do that.

"Where to start?" He then came to stop before her a silent question in his gaze. Should he.... tell her... everything?

“The truth, I suppose,” Isabella teased, shortening the distance between them as he got closer. “I know this doesn’t look very good for the both of us.”

She cocked her head toward her room, motioning for him to follow her out onto the balcony that overlooked the vast garden. She could faintly see figures frolicking among the high walls of colorful flowers, dressed in clothes of another lifetime.

She shook her head free of those images to turn and look at Dean.

“What is your plan?”