#bombs bodyguards & broken artifacts

[cljordan-imperium]

Heaven & Arthur Visit The LaVeaus

@call-sign-shark CELEBRATES 1K

This is part 1 of Heaven & Arthur visiting Mel and her family because I'm cutting it off at 2680 words. LOL

Modern AU

@call-sign-shark's OC Heaven and her husband Arthur Shelby travel to Louisiana to visit some military men Arthur served under and with in the military. But it is Heaven that gets the biggest surprise of the visit.

“We leave in an hour to pick up Arthur and his wife, Heaven, from the airport,” Cade entered the kitchen to let Mel know.  He dropped a kiss on the top of her head, then looked around at Mama Marie, Dontanion and Francios.  “You two, behave.” He pointed at the brothers with a serious expression.  Arthur was suffering from PTSD from the Gulf and the last thing anyone needed was the two LaVeau brothers being assholes and causing him to have some kind of attack.

“One wandering ancestor and we will forever be doubted.” Dontantion smirked and winked at his sister, as his shoulders raised. “One wandering ancestor who wandered in on my friend who was getting dressed for her wedding and gave her a death prophecy.” Mel rolled her eyes as Cade took a seat next to her and planted a kiss on her cheek this time.  “You are lucky she did not stroke out.” Casting a look over to her mother, “can you please make these two behave, mama?”

“Boys, do not make me resurrect your fathers.”  The smile she gave her sons made everyone’s blood run cold.  As loving and warm as Marie was, no one ever forgot she was also the scariest person currently walking the planet. Only Rasputin may have ever topped her, and she had far outlived him.

“Yes, mama.” Francois replied before putting a strong elbow into his younger brother’s side.  Even at over one hundred and fourty, Dontanion sometimes did not act a day over 16.   “No ancestors scaring Cade’s friend, or his lovely wife.” The look in his eye was serious.  Even if the death prophecy HAD come to pass, and they HAD hated Mel’s friend, and it HAD been hilarious at the time, causing a brave soldier still bearing the mental wounds of war further trauma would not be something they would partake in.  

“Please, he was over in the Gulf with me and some of the guys on the team.  He was under Alexander.  Has some bad PTSD, seeing spirits that he would think were hallucinations from there might just send him…” Cade raised his brows and tilted his head, he didn’t need to finish, both brothers were nodding.  “His wife, I don’t know much about but he says she is an angel and shy.  Her name’s Heaven.  She seems to have dont him a lot of good, he seems to be healing more.  Figured she and Mel would be the ones hanging out, maybe with Mama Marie too.”  He winked over at the woman who was like a second mother to him and who could make anyone feel welcome and loved.

“Of course, any of your friends are welcome here.”  Love and warmth emanated from Marie.  While she had immense powers, which she did not hesitate to use to protect those she loved; she was, at her heart, a mother.  All of Mel’s friends had been adopted as surrogate children.  None were turned away if they needed a mother figure, that was just Marie and the time she came from.

“Thank you, mama.” Love radiated off of Melania too as her gaze alternated around the other four in the room at the time, before her attention turned to Cade.  “When do the others get here?  I know Alexander got in last night and is still passed out in his room.”  

“Tomorrow.”  Cade answered, picking her hand up off of the table and kissing the back where there was a scar that lay across running from just below where her pinky met her hand to the crease of her wrist.  The last evidence of the whole ordeal involving Ambrose and Adama.  Even though it was long ago, it still made his heart clench and sometimes made him want to ask Marie to bring the assholes back so they could kill them again. “So you girls will have twenty-four hours before testosterone rules the house.”  He winked at her, banishing thoughts of the past.

“Lovely.  Just remember, Archibald can contain you all if you get out of line.”  The whole room erupted in laughter at the threat of having her pet albino alligator snack on people.  Not that he hadn’t been used as nature’s body disposal device before when required, but not on people they liked.

*****

Louis Armstrong Airport in Kenner was a bustle of activity as Mel sat on Cade’s lap down on the first floor by the baggage claim.  It seemed the easiest place for Arthur and Heaven to find them.  Although, from what Arthur had told Cade over the phone, Heaven shouldn’t be too hard to spot with snow white hair and skin just as fair.  A statement that had apparently gotten Cade promptly cussed out for mentioning she should fit in with the aforementioned alligator in the swamp.  Mel had a feeling that her fiance was lucky he’d been on the other side of the ocean from Arthur at the time.  

They watched as the flight from Heathrow Airport flipped over from “On Time” to “Landed”.  It still amazed Mel that they had direct flights, and for no more money, not that money mattered to her family…with Ambrose and Nic “missing”, she had complete control over Meirs Enterprises Worldwide, which meant more money than she cared to think about.  For friends of Cade, money was NOT an option anyway. 

About 20 minutes later, Mel felt it, somewhere near was a powerful witch.  Her hand went instinctively to Cade’s, their fingers interlacing.  The signature was not one she recognized, the magic different, old world like her mother and brothers’.  Her eyes scanned the crowd as people descended from the second floor on the escalators. She could more than stand on her own, but after the past events, having Cade there without her family was not something she was altogether comfortable with.  If whomever possessed the magic was hostile, it could get ugly fast if they sensed her as well.  Not since Adama had she faced down a threat, and that…she closed her eyes and swallowed before the thought fully materialized.

“Do I need my gun, or is this something of the invisible sort, babe?” Cade’s chin rested on her shoulder as he spoke just loud enough for her to hear.  He knew her signs well enough.  When she was tense, it was never a good one.

“Shooting them is as good as dropping a house on them, I guess.  A lot easier when inside too.” She tried not to let her nerves show with some humor, but she was anything but lighthearted with the situation.  As they sat there waiting for Arthur and Heaven, she did not stop scanning everyone coming in their direction.   It was that scanning that produced what would be the biggest shock of the day, the revelation that the witch was Arthur’s wife.  “You are definitely NOT shooting the witch.”

Cade chuckled, having no clue what had suddenly changed the beauty on his lap’s mind.  “And that would be because….”

Mel stood as the pair approached them, “you must be Heaven,” she greeted the tiny woman with a bright smile and offered hand.  There was no way that Heaven couldn’t sense her as well, but seemed to completely not notice.  She then remembered that Cade had mentioned that Heaven was originally from France, and since Louisiana is a bilingual state, she had an idea to make the woman feel even more welcome. “Bienvenue en Louisiane où dans le bayou, les sorcières sont vénérées. Je crois que vous et ma famille vous entendrez très bien. Ma mère est une grande prêtresse du vaudou. (Welcome to Louisiana where in the bayou, the witches are revered. I believe that you and my family will get along very well. My mother is a high priestess of Voodoo.)” 

Heaven’s eyes widened at her words, clearly not having expected them. “Comment le saviez-vous?  (How did you know?)”  The woman looked absolutely confused, which was when Mel remembered she still had the talisman on that Dontanion had given her when they were hunting Adama that cloaked her magic.

“Parfois, une sorcière en connaît une autre. J'ai aussi deux frères sorciers à la maison. C’est en quelque sorte une affaire de famille. (Sometimes a witch just knows another one.  I have two warlock brothers at home too.  It kind of runs in the family.)”  Mel gave the woman a wink and then turned to Arthur and Cade who were both looking at her with rather confused expressions.

“What, can’t one girl fluent in French welcome another?  Do you know how often I get to use that?” She smiled, Cade giving her a look that said he knew better and she’d have to explain once  that they were alone. “You must be Arthur.”  She extended her hand to him, “it is such a pleasure to meet any friend of Cade’s.  You both are now family, that is how it works here.  We will spend a couple of days out on the Plantation, and a couple here in the Garden District.  My mother has been up since dawn cooking, so we best not keep her waiting too long.  Mama Marie is not one to be kept waiting.”  Mel laughed.

Cade knew his fiance better than that.  Those were far too many words for just a polite hello, and he did recognize enough to know that she’d found her witch.  But, he was a good boy and would say nothing.  Things normally worked out more in his favor that way.  “You’re discussing how to bankrupt us in the French Quarter aren’t you?” A brow rose and he nudged Arthur with an elbow. “I hope you brought all your plastic, bro, my girl can shop!”

Arthur for his part either missed what the exchange was about or was so entranced by his bride he gave not one fuck.  He did, however, growl at Cade’s remark, which told the fellow soldier that he probably had experienced a similar shopping excursion to the one Mel had more than once put him through.  Although, to bankrupt them, Mel would have to literally buy the entire French Quarter, as in the land it was sitting on and all the buildings.

"Can you not behave for two minutes?"  Mel’s brow rose as she looked between the two men, Cade trying not to laugh and Arthur about taken aback at her words.  “No growling.”  She raised both brows and looked pointedly at the Brit.  Heaven giggled next to her, which just had Arthur rolling his eyes. “Now, you boys do the heavy lifting of getting the luggage, Miss Heaven and I are going to go get the car from the garage and bring it around.  And you two can ride in the back.”  She dropped a kiss on Cade’s cheek with a big grin and a wink over to Heaven.  She already liked the striking and beautiful woman.  Wait till her family laid eyes on her!

*****

From the airport, to River Road, Mel gave a guided tour to their guests of the historical context of each and every plantation along the road.  Her mother had been alive for the building of many, although she did not share that quite yet.  For Heaven, it might not have surprised her, for Arthur, he might have tried to exit the vehicle while at 60MPH.  The latter was more her concern.

Finally they arrived at Vita Pacis Plantation (Life of Serenity).  It had been renamed after Ambrose’s death, her mother choosing the name for what this now represented to them all.  It was a place of peace, of respite from the life they lived in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, from the missions they went on collecting artifacts around the globe.  It was to this estate, to the buildings that rested upon the land and had for over 300 years, that Mel and her friends returned to find peace and to be at peace.  It would be on this estate where she would marry Cade in six months.  

As they drove up the red brick drive, live oaks arching over it with their green leaves and the dangling spanish moss providing shade, she heard Heaven gasp as she got her first view of the grand plantation house mansion.  It was impressive with white limestone exterior and grecian columns that rose three stories, the floor to ceiling french doors that served as windows to the rooms were framed with dark red hurricane shutters.  It created an impressive picture when famed with the arch of the live oaks over the drive.  Just the guest house had four bedrooms and was a sight, but the grand mansion was something out of a movie.  Lovingly preserved by the Meirs family, and now the LaVeaus, it was a piece out of time and history.  The dark stains of the past that it held could never be erased, but they would be made up for over time.  Now it stood for the LaVeau legacy, and that was a strong, vibrant, and proud legacy.

Mel knew that when she had opened the wrought iron gates of the drive, it had alerted those within the guardhouse and the mansion of their arrival.  No one got onto or off of the property without being noticed.  If you tried to come on secretly, there were things seen and unseen that would greet you.  You had better hope the former got to you before the latter did.  So, when Mel pulled the large black SUV around to the back of the mansion, it was of little surprise that her mother stood flanked by her brothers, waiting to greet their guests.  She could not wait till they discovered the surprise that lay in store.

Once the car was stopped, and everyone was out, Mel led Arthur and Heaven over to her family while Cade unloaded the luggage from the back.  She could tell that all three of them immediately recognized in Heaven what she had and the adoring smile her mother cast on Heaven warmed her heart.  Marie was known for taking in anyone needing a mother and love, and it was clear she was already looking that way at Heaven, no matter if she had family back home or not.  

Marie was the first to speak, stepping forward and taking both of Heaven’s hands in her own. “Salve, fili mi, maiores te ad nos perduxerunt. Hic semper domum habebis. (Welcome, my child, it seems the ancestors have lead you to us.  Here you will always have a home.)” Then she leaned forward and placed a soft kiss in the middle of Heaven’s forehead.

Arthur tensed and Mel leaned over, “my mother adopts anyone she feels needs love.  She sensed that in Heaven and has welcomed her to always see this as a home.”  She kept her voice low as to not embarrass Heaven who was now tightly embracing Marie and she swore she saw a tear on the porcelain skin of her cheek. “You too Arthur, Vita Pacis means Life of Serenity.  Any friend of Cade’s is family here, where the mind can find peace when one needs.” With a soft and warm smile on her face, her eyes gently closed as she inclined her head.  

The stoic man just inclined his head in return before turning back to the scene where both Francois and Dontanion were further introducing themselves to his wife, who seemed to be taking everything in stride.  As dwarfed as the beauty was by her gruff husband, she looked absolutely tiny next to Mel’s brothers who were both well over six feet in height and broad shouldered.  “See, I told you this trip would be good for you.”  Cade finally made it up to them and clapped Arthur on the shoulder.  “And Mama Marie and the spooky bunch has adopted another stray.  I guess we’re brothers now, Arthur.  Wait till you taste her food!  We may never get you back to England.”  They all laughed as they began to head in to see exactly how big of a feast Marie HAD prepared.

@call-sign-shark @raincoffeeandfandoms @saltysupercomputer @blind-the-winds @sunset-a-story @touloserlautrec @aziz-reads @toribookworm22 @outpost51 @late-to-the-fandom @writingmaidenwarrior @spookyceph

[theimperiumchronicles]

Happy Favs Friday!

What's your favorite trope (to write, to read, or both!)?

Happy Fav's Friday!! <3

I just gave my absolute Fav Trope to write - Found Families, but there is something more that I realized was in every single thing that I write, so I am VERY glad you asked this. It is in all 5 of my current WIPS.

There is a fight. There is always some kind of struggle. Good vs. Evil if you will. It's never just love/romance or friendship, there is always a struggle somewhere in there. I can't write calm.

In @theimperiumchronicles it is literally Good vs. Evil. It's "God"/Div and the 5 Horsemen against the former Princes of Hell, 2 of which are becoming converts and one angel has defected. It's overcoming the evil that's been done to them by those Princes and their minions. It is literally the battle of salvation, but not in preachy terms.

In @bendingthelaws, it is again good vs. evil, but in the terms of the law vs. a criminal family, or more than one. You have to wait to see what exactly is up and who is up to it. But it is one side against another, and not everyone is being upfront about what side they are on.

In @bombsbodyguardsbroken there are multiple factions. There are times that the team is splintered. It's Ambrose against Beau. It's the team against grave robbers. It's Nic against Ambrose. It's Mel against Nic. The sides shift for reasons that will come up later. It can all be best described as the truth vs. a lie. Reality vs. deception.

In @magical-mistakes-vm you have the Coven vs. the hunters. That is the basic conflict. You're also going to have Mahala vs. Vollrath at times as he teaches her magic, their styles clashing.

Finally in Rose and Anna's story of friendship where I'm borrowing @raincoffeeandfandoms oc, you have the protection of the women and children against the men who would harm them. The rights of women against the misogynistic society in which they live. You have Alfie and Jasper's liquor business against the laws of the time. You have Jaspers importing booze against Prohibition.

So I guess you can say my second favorite trope is Conflict of any kind.

Thank you for asking, sweetness <3

[behindthesemasks]

5

Back in New Orleans, something is going on....

There was a knock on the heavy wooden door to Etienne Gautier’s office in the Meir Enterprises office in the Central Business District of New Orleans.  He had just returned from a meeting in Baton Rouge, so it was no surprise when shortly afterwards Ambrose Meir opened the door and entered. Not only his boss and the CEO of the company, but his best friend’s grandfather, there were few days that he did not see Ambrose at one point or the other.

“And what do I owe the pleasure of today’s visit Ambrose?” Etienne asked as he slid off his suit jacket to drape it across the back of his leather desk chair.

“I assume your meeting with the trustees in Baton Rouge went well?  Financing for Melania’s affairs are all in order?” One of Ambrose’s brows rose as he shut the door behind him and walked to one of the two black leather wingback chairs opposite Etienne’s large mahogany desk.

“Of course, did you doubt me?  Nic left very explicit instructions before they left to make sure that there were no hiccups regarding this trip.  What is it over there they are looking for?” Etienne had been curious, but his friend had been evasive. Often when it came to Melania he was.  Of course he was, there was history there and Nic had to walk a fine line.  Ambrose walked fine lines like a frat boy during Mardi Gras. 

“There is an artifact there, a very powerful one.  Maybe more than one.  Beau Davenport is also after it, and Nic doesn’t want him to get to it first.  Of course if my granddaughter knew Beau was involved, she’d work with the bastard.  So, we may have used a little subterfuge to make her think it’s someone who would use it against her mother.” A devious smirk started to form on Ambrose’s debonair features.  “This could be just what I need to finally eliminate Davenport and his family from meddling in our affairs and from competition in the business arena for good.”

“Beau is certainly not the man his father is.” While this was true, it was not quite the statement that Ambrose might think it to be.  In some ways, Beau was more ruthless than his father, who did not have the loyalty to Ambrose that his father had due to a former friendship.  Beau would not do anything to harm Melania, who he considered a friend, but to Ambrose he had no such loyalty. It was one of the few things that Etienne could respect the other man for.  

“I doubt, dear Melania would be as fond of him as she is, if he were.” Ambrose scoffed. Truly he did not know that to be true.  Often times he wondered if his granddaughter did things just to spite him.  Why couldn’t she be more like Nic?

Etienne bit his tongue.  It was not for him to say what his ex would or would not like.  He had managed to fuck that up situation long ago on his own, or had it been all on his own?  The ghosts of that experience oft haunted him, taunting him that there was more than met the eye.  It had only been since her divorce from Preston in the last year that they had started to even develop a friendship again, the woman she was now was not the girl he had dated, but he loved her no less.

Ambrose sensed Etienne’s reticence to say more and understood it on some level.  The man was still like a lovelorn lost puppy around Melania, even if he was one of the best corporate attorney’s on the Gulf Coast, a man he was glad was in his pocket and not someone else’s.  “Enough on that.  Have you started the contracts I asked about?” Ambrose inquired, a brow raising.

“Of course.  I don’t understand what you’re wanting to do with these though, you know what will happen if you put these in place?” There was a touch of trepidation in Etienne’s voice as he looked up at the man he’d looked at like a father since he’d first become best friends with Nic as a small child.  There could be no way that Ambrose didn’t know what would happen if these contracts were executed.  War might be a nice way of putting it, there was no way around it.

“These are contingency, son.  Nothing more.  Hopefully they won’t be needed.  However, there was Peru…” Ambrose allowed the last word to draw out there, then the statement to hang in the air, swirling around like cigarette smoke without the dissipation.  He saw the stutter inhalation from Etienne and knew that his point had been made. “If war is what is required to maintain an empire, never has an emperor flinched in the face of it.  Nor will I.” There was something in Ambrose’s voice and countenance that sent a dagger of ice through Etienne’s heart.  These contracts were not contingencies; they were plans, just waiting for the perfect moment for execution.  He could only hope that the woman he had been in love with for over two and half decades was not in the crossfire when the war started.  If she was, he’d have to remind all of them that he was no less lethal than the rest of them.

[cljordan-imperium]

@theimperiumchronicles would be a tabletop roleplaying game. Gameplay could be from any of their viewpoints in a D&D type of style.

@bendingthelaws would be a "Masters Of Mystery" type of game. Play could be done from either Colton or Karsten's point of view, which could alter game play significantly.

@magical-mistakes-vm would be a twist on "Vampire: The Masquerade" only with Wictches/Warlocks and Covens instead of the undead. You could play as either Vollrath or Mahala.

@bombsbodyguardsbroken would be a "Tomb Raider" type of game only with Mel and her team. It would start after the reunification of the team and addition of Bean (spoilers). Gameplay would be from Mel's point of view.

All of them would have options to include all of the character as required for the gameplay to move forward.

If you suddenly had all the skills and resources needed for making any type of game about your ocs, what kind of game would you make? And about which oc(s)?

[blog-links-imperium]

New WIP INFORMATION

MAGICAL MISTAKES

BOMBS, BODYGUARDS & BROKEN ARTIFACTS

[tonberryslantern]

It Started Out With A Kiss...

It caught Rufia by surprise, really.  Drusilla pyr Thule was not the kind of leader to to take the obvious route when she could ambush an enemy from an unexpected angle, and while this made her an excellent commander it also made her a frustrating flirt.  Like everything about the Decurion the kiss was a surprise.  Surprisingly soft lips, surprisingly gentle hands and a surprisingly forceful approach.  Rufia was entirely ensnared.

Her back pressed against the hard surface of the ancient ruined piece of Allagan technology she was studying, and she protested, but the Decurion ignored her, pinning their bodies together with a pressure almost enough to drive the breath from her.

“Decurion, please,” Rufia managed, breaking her mouth free finally after long dizzying seconds of wild stirring in her brain.  She felt light headed, out of breath, and the Decurion was smirking as usual.  She’d planned this out so well.  Go on the expedition to the Allagan facility, personally bodyguard the bioengineer as her squad secured the perimeter, then pin her against the wall at their first moment of privacy.

“Rufia kir Boreale, you have been making eyes at me since the VIth landed at Azys La, you volunteered to join my squad on..  What is it, six expeditions now?”

Rufia blushed, “Seven.”

“Seven.  And now you’ve decided to put ancient broken junk ahead of whatever little fantasies are rolling around in your head?  I admire your dedication to duty, but this is the third time we’ve gone over this ancient pile of scrap and I have worked very hard to get us five minutes alone.”

She did have a point, “You make a solid argument, Decurion-”

“Drusilla.”

Rufia swallowed hard and felt her blood rushing all over again, “Drusilla.  But we still don’t know what these artifacts were intended to do.  I would hate to be kissing on a bomb.”

The Decurion kept that slight upturned twist to one corner of her mouth, “It’s Allagan.  It’s probably much worse than a bomb.”

From somewhere in this ancient labyrinth of bygone technology and wonder came the sounds of fighting.  In an instant Drusilla had her helmet back on and her bow drawn.  As she was speaking in her linkpearl Rufia took the time to turn around and inspect the damage their impromptu moment of passion had done to this...  Vat thing.  then her eyes widened.

Under millennia of dust and corrosion it was blinking.  That was not good.

“Umm...  Decurion...”

Drusilla turned, annoyed, “What is it, Boreale?  I’m a bit busy here.  Apparently some of the displays we found earlier weren’t displays and...  Is it supposed to be doing that?”

Rufia brushed dark red dust away from the light and found a display screen next to what appeared to be some kind of control mechanism.  Allagan letters poured across the screen in shimmering blue light.  Most of the words were unfamiliar to Rufia, but she puzzled out what she could.  “Clone sequence...  Print...  Royal blood reserves... Subject... Xande?”  She looked back at the Decurion, “What’s a Xande?”

The sounds of fighting intensified; the rapport of gunblades and explosions from the Lalafell thaumaturge boomed through the halls.  Drusilla put her hand on Rufia’s shoulder and tried to pull her away, “We don’t have time for this.  We’re pulling out.”

“Wait!  Wait I can read this!”  Rufia leaned in closer to the screen, “Error.  Data corrupted.  Running diagnostic...  Printing test...  Base template?”

The tube rumbled, shaking, and Rufia pulled back, “Drusilla I-”  Then there was a flash of bright red light.  Rufia covered her eyes, recoiling away, shouting.  It was a bomb!  They’d made out on a bomb!  She screamed.

Then the light was gone and she opened her eyes again.  From behind her she heard Drusilla swear.  The tube was open, the panel was flashing.  [Test Complete.  Biological Component: 110%.  Memory Component: 63%.  Test Failed.  Royal Blood Reserves: 0%.  Please Replace Cartridge.]

Lying on the ground in front of them, slick with some viscous beige fluid, was a naked woman.  Rufia and Drusilla stared.  Slowly, pushing herself up from the ground, the woman looked around with eyes the color of ice.  Then she said something in ancient Allagan, a language Rufia had only heard coming from half functioning machines.  Strangely, it was the same phrase that Rufia was thinking just then.

“What the fuck?”

[cljordan-imperium]

Alright CL. This one is very self indulgent so feel free not to answer it but I was wondering how your OCs would react to Heaven? Would they get along well?

Okay, so there are going to be multiple characters answering because...well, they are excited for this. They are from 3 different storylines - @theimperiumchronicles (obviously), @bombsbodyguardsbroken (multiple), and @magical-mistakes-vm. So...here we go!!

I'm going to break this down by storyline, and then by character

@theimperiumchronicles

Abriella -

Brie would love her! She's fierce, she's protective, she loves Arthur scars and all. Brie would be like, YES SISTER, come on in, bring the human and I'll boost whatever magic you need. Need me to bring back some ancestors from the dead, I'm a necromancer bitch!

Cassandra -

ANOTHER WITCH!! OMG!! Do you do naked moon dances? How do you scry? Do you do blood magic or crystal magic? I'm mated to Lucifer, YES...THE LUCIFER?! Need help?? You have a direct line, babes!! Let's have tea and dish!

Arch -

He would observe and be cautious. He is not into dark arts, but is a mage, so he mixes potions, crystals, poultices, and mystical powers. He is very protective of Cruz and Abriella. As long as she is not a threat to them, he might engage her in discussions regarding her magic, if she needs protective amulets for Arthur and herself, any charms or potions/poultices and the like.

Arioch -

Arioch, the demon of revenge is going to see her like a little sister. He'll be protective and assist her in keeping Arthur safe, maybe even doing her dirty work for her, keeping her hands clean. Being able to do the work from the other side of the veil, there will be no trace of how it was done or who did it. He's a demon after all, so it's not like the blame can be left on the human side. They'll get along wonderfully.

Lucifer -

He'll sit back and wait for Cass and Heaven to need something. Imagine him sitting back on a chair, legs outstretched, smirk on his face, arms crossed over his chest, and just shaking his head. That's Luc. He's just amused his woman is excited as hell.

Jasper -

*sigh* Jasper is probably the first one to get stabbed. He's...he's Jasper and he'd be himself. He likes to test limits. Once he'd been an ass enough, he'd love the fuck out of her and take her under his wing like Arioch. He'd help her take care of Arthur and since he plays in the world of the Blinders with Anna and her friendship with Rose & Alfie, he can help run interference without her having to kill Alfie. Doesn't want to upset Anna now.

Anna -

Anna would want to help Arthur because she always wants to fix the broken, so she'd rope in Jean Pierre and Armaund (so we'll just thrown them in with Anna). In that way, they'd just bring Heaven into the fold like a broken person too. She's been damaged and hurt in the past and they'd just love her and try to protect her too. She might be the one that stabs Jasper, it wouldn't be the first time.

Kellen -

Kellen would be curious. Cautious, but curious. He'd want to know where her powers came from and why she is so quick to use them offensively. He'd want her and Arthur to come to the Uffernian Palace so he could study her. Safety for both of them would be promised so he could learn more about her history and magic. The only reason curiosity hasn't killed this panther is he's a very powerful demon.

Grae -

Unlike his boss, Grae would be on guard. He would keep Ada far away from her or Arthur. He's already protective of her, but if he thought she'd be in any danger from a woman who's ready to kill if she thinks Arthur is in any danger, not a chance. He's still trying to figure out Ada's powers so he would not risk it. He'd be careful around her too. Grae knows what he means to Ada, which means he would not risk angering the witch.

Dartan -

If he managed not to get killed, again, I think they'd get along. He was a powerful warlock in his first life so they would have much to discuss. However he has the personality of rough grit sandpaper against raw skin.

Amaya -

Amaya at first would be a little trepidatious, I mean the last spell she did DID end her up in literal hell and married to Dartan..ish. So, she'd be friendly but kind of skittish and shy. Once she felt a little more comfortable, I think they'd be great friends. If Dartan can keep from being, well, the current Dartan, then I think they could be a great foursome, like two couple friend group. Hell would have no fury like the four of them in Small Heath. Dartan is going to help Amaya with her magic eventually so if they were to meet after that, they'd be crazy deadly, like they could take all the Sabinis out in one swoop kind of deadly.

Mithos -

Mithos is another vengeance demon AND he is Co-Captain of the Queen's Royal Guard. The vengeance demon part of him is going to adore her and her style. The guardian side of him is going to totally understand her protection of Arthur. If you have read the scene I posted the other day where Brie almost went into Stasis you know how far he'll go for those he cares about. He will kill and he will die for Abriella, any day any time. So he would understand, and he would help her. He honors those who have love and loyalty.

Seren -

Seren is the Princess Royal and daughter of an ex of Korben that went on to marry one of his good friends and now is a "gift" to him that was originally to be his ward. Yeah...complicated. She's also been sent to study at the Mage Consortium in Uffern. (I have a spreadsheet to keep it all straight when my brain stops working...seriously) ANYWAY...she would find Heaven absolutely fascinating. First, the magic. Seren holds innate magic she's been using her whole life, so she'd want to talk to her about her skills, and how she got them. The whole history. She'd find the treatment of Heaven's family horrific. Then would come her protection of Arthur. This would be a foreign concept to Seren. She's always been a tool. Her mother was a tool, an object, a means to an end. She would adore Heaven, but not understand her love and protection of Arthur.

*****

@bombsbodyguardsbroken

Melania -

The daughter of Marie LaVeau magic is no secret to her, she's seen the darkest of the dark. She's called upon the ancestors herself. She understands protecting those she loves and would want to help Haven if she could. Make it so that she feels safe and that Arthur is safe. She also knows what it's like to not be able to trust family. Mel was killed the first time by the woman who she thought was her mother, requiring Marie to resurrect her, which is when she learned who her true family was. In the current story she will end up being forced to kill one brother and try to kill her true father. So, loyalty is paramount to her.

Dontanion -

A powerful Voodoo Priest, he is the most powerful of the family. He would be interested in Heaven's abilities. He would even offer to show her some protections she might not be aware of and ways to invoke the ancestors and beings from the other side of the veil. And wait till Heaven meets Fluffy!

Francois -

While not as powerful as his brother, his energy is darker and he is more intimidating. Both brothers had to stand by as Melania grew up, unable to tell her who they truly were and also unable to intercede in many things that happened that hurt her. Now the truth is out, they too protect her the way that Heaven wants to protect Arthur. He too would want to help her and develop/strengthen her magic in ways to help her protect him. Also in ways to help her heal the trauma of his past so the demons are held at bay longer.

Mama Marie -

Marie LaVeau herself, the most powerful Voodoo Priestess that has ever existed, and ever will. The Queen of the Bayou. She would accept Heaven as a child of hers, no matter who birthed Heaven or what she had done in the past. She is a soul who need love and practices the craft, that is all Marie needs to know. She adopts lost souls and gives them a home and a mom to come to when they need. She would try to gently guide Heaven where she could, and support her. Give Heaven the family that she had stolen in the past, the love and support a mother can, and welcome Arthur in as well.

@magical-mistakes-vm

Vollrath -

As a Master Warlock, Vollrath would see it as his duty to ensure that Heaven had everything she needed but also that she was not going too far, which might cause conflict. He can be...abrupt/abrasive/an asshole. He comes from a good place but his people skills suck ass. Mahala is going to work on that, but...I think it would go badly, but yeah... However, anyone coming after Heaven would die, and die very ugly. He would not ask questions, he would not give second chances. You come after a witch in his territory and your life is forfeit, whether he and the witch are on good terms is not a variable in the equation.

Mahala -

In contrast Mahala would be in awe. She would have a gazillion questions and just want to know everything. Heaven would be instantly accepted just as she was. Arthur would be loved as like a big brother. Mahala would offer them a family like bond, and want to learn from Heaven to help protect Arthur too, and even to protect Heaven from anyone who came after her. She'd see anyone coming after Heaven as the hunters that Vollrath has mentioned. And, Vollrath said they have to die...so.... *CRINGE*

SOOO...that is how my OC's would see her. At least the ones that immediately went ME ME ME ME ME ME...If any more of them pop up my brain might just turn to pudding. LMAO

[theimperiumchronicles]

Hey Everyone!! I hope you're all having a great day 😊

As some of you may have noticed, I now have three major storylines going. @theimperiumchronicles , @bombsbodyguardsbroken , and @bendingthelaws .

In case anyone is confused I thought I'd give a brief synopsis of the storylines in case anyone just wants to follow certain ones you can let me know.

The Imperium Chronicles - There is a web of lives that anchors in four major realms - Earth, Imperium, Uffern, and Poustota. The Four Horsmen have now taken control of what was previously the Earthly Hell realm. The Horseman of Death, Abriella, is the Queen and her brother, the Horseman of War, Cruz, is the King. The Horseman of Famine, Deacon, and The Horseman of Conquest, Olly, are their top advisors and framily. In Uffern, the realm of Mists and Shadows, Kellen reigns as King. He is single and is dealing with his siblings, that at times of more of a curse than blessing. Soon Uffern and Imperium will collide and the outcome could be quite interesting. When the Horsemen took possession of Imperium, the Princes of Hell were locked out and now are trying to take it back. Currently they, and their allies are hiding in a realm created by Kali, who would like to be the Queen and is going to be helping them in their endeavors. Earth is where residents of all three realms often interact, and where the war for the destiny of the galaxy occurs.

Bombs, Bodyguards, and Broken Artifacts - Melania LaVeau is a professor at LSU in Baton Rouge. She is also the grandaughter of Ambrose Meyers, one of the most powerful men in the country and the daughter of Marie LaVeau...yes THAT Marie LaVeau! Old money, going back to when the Gautier family came over from France to settle in New Orelans, there isn't much that goes on in Louisiana or Mississippi that they don't have their hands in. Meyers Worldwide, a tech conglomerate is a cover for underworld activities that will eventually come to light. What happens when someone decides to cross the most powerful, and immortal, Queen of Voodo and threaten one of her children? Will New Orleans be left standing? If you are a fan of Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, or The LIbrarians, the story is in the same veign. All of the characters are human, but there are supernatural occurrences around them

Bending the Law - Colin Masterson is the Cook Count State's Attorney. He has been on a mission to take down the head of a Chicago crime conglomerate that is headed by Constantin Rakeovich. Now someone has kidnapped his intern and is sending her back to him in tiny pieces. Is it Constantin? Is it another one of the people that Colin has crossed? Now he and those he trusts are going to have to figure it out before someone else disappears or is hurt. Complicating matters is that his brother, Colton Masterson is Constantin's defense attorney. The brothers have never been close, but in this situation, things take a much darker turn. Will Colton stand by his brother or his client? And what happens when something bigger happens and puts everyone Colin cares about in the crosshairs? If you are a fan of Law & Order, or any of those types of shows, this is much in the same vein and will involve more than just the lawyers. All characters are human. There is no supernatural beings or magic. Some places are going to be fictional, but the main setting is the city of Chicago.

If any, or all of these sound interesting to you, feel free to like/comment in order to get added to my tag lists. Please also feel free to send any questions regarding the stories. I hope you all will enjoy the new twists and turns that I'll be putting out.

💜💜

CJ⚜

[behindthesemasks]

4

It appears that there are some difference in opinions on how things are being handled, and again Mel and Nic are at odds.....

The hotel that Nic had chosen was quaint, old world style, ridiculously expensive, and exclusive.  He had rented out all the suites on the top floor and all the regular rooms on the two floors below it too.  While they would be staying in the suites, he preferred not to have nosy neighbors wondering who and what the team were.  Having extra rooms and floors meant there was enough space to send people to “separate corners” should there be need due to someone getting on someone else’s nerves.  Not that it ever happened, never.  The less attention they garnered while in town, the better.  

On the second day when Mel stopped and stared at them all in the lobby as they sat waiting for her…again…he realized that there may have been a slight miscalculation in that plan somewhere just based upon the look on her face.  “What?  Just spit it out.” He sighed, she would anyway, but he could at least pretend he was with the program.  It made it less grating on his nerves.

“Is it supposed to look like we’re planning a military coup of some small nation or an insurrection?  You guys do realize that’s what you look like…right?”  Her eyes scanned each man in turn, brows raised and lips pressed together in a thin line.  Each had on some manner of black shirt, black tactical pants, and boots.  If not for the subtle variations in shirts, they would have all looked pretty much identical, just like a military unit.

Nic looked around at the others before casting his gaze back to his cousin and coughing softly. “No, that was not the intention.  But we have a job to do here and it seemed prudent that we do look like a team.”  His voice was slightly annoyed at her analysis of their looks.

“Have you happened to look around at all?  Or are you all so engrossed in whatever the topic of conversation just was that you failed to notice that even the front desk clerk seems a bit nervous with you guys sitting there.”  Mel tipped her head towards the front desk as a smug smile formed on her lush lips.  For the first time all of them looked around and noticed that there did seem to be an air of trepidation about all of those passing through the lobby.  Furtive glances lead to hastened steps as they were passed by patrons of the hotel.  The front desk clerk looked about ready to faint from fright. So much for the idea of keeping things low key and blending in.  They blended about as well as snakes in a mouse convention. “A group of muscled, tall, men in paramilitary gear, in a semi-unstable area of Europe, why ever could they be concerned?” Her gaze was now dialed in like a laser on Nic.

Clearing his throat, her cousin looked at her with a droll stare.  He was not amused, nor was he pleased that she was correct in her assertion that they were most obviously being paid attention to and simultaneously scaring those around them.  This was not what he had intended when they had discussed attire for the trip and what they would need for all situations.   “Then what would you propose we do?  We’ve already packed and arrived now, and we are NOT going shopping.”  His teeth fought not to grind as he stared at her.  He hated being wrong, even more so he hated that his plan had somehow backfired.

“How about either don’t sit in one large group taking up half the lobby or wait in the cars.  It might help if you all weren’t down here over a half hour early.  If I had been on time, you all would have been here another 20 minutes.”  She let her eyes sweep the group who now looked almost as uncomfortable under the scrutiny of the other hotel patrons as the patrons themselves did in their presence.  If her brother was unable to obtain additional clothing for them men then they would have to avoid being quite so obvious in their movements.  Right now it was as if there was a huge blinking arrow that was pointing down at all of them, drawing attention of all around.  “And please tell me that for the entire trip you’re all not going to look like this.”  Her brows rose as she once again looked them over. Rubbing the back of his neck, Erik finally decided to take the spotlight off of Nic who seemed to be becoming more and more frustrated as the seconds ticked by. “No, we have other clothes for when we’re in town.  However, everything we brought for the expedition does look like this.”  Now that she had pointed out what should have been obvious, he was feeling none too comfortable either.  He would wager a bet that none of them were.  This was not typical of any of them.  Normally they blended in so well that their presence would have been barely noted.  Nic had been put in charge of this mission though, and Erik couldn’t help but wonder if that had been a bad idea.

“Guys, the longer we sit here the more we’re going to be noticed.  Let’s get moving.”  Finally Donovan said as he stood.  Gabriel was close behind him, which caused a couple women who were walking near them to make a wide berth around the group.  Mel sighed and shook her head slightly.  Alexander groaned and rubbed a hand over his face as he too stood. 

“This cannot stand Nic.  While it is not the most desirable situation, we must acquire new clothing if we are not to scare all within this establishment.  I do not fancy the Serbian military or Cacak Police raiding our rooms and evaluating the other items of interest we have stored there.”  As the tall archaeologist’s eyes met Nic’s there was an understanding that passed between the two of them.  Coughing, Nic nodded in agreement as the rest of them rose to join the others.  

“Right.  Let’s hit the site, evaluate our situation, and then I guess we get to go shopping.”  Nic almost groaned out the last words as they all headed for where the SUV’s were parked.  He was quite sure as they walked that Mel was never going to let him live this down.  Shit, the other men would never let him live this down.  At least no one had been shot or hurt…yet.

[behindthesemasks]

6

An artifact is found, not the one they're looking for, and it has some interesting properties....

As the wind howled outside the structure that had been erected by Serge and Katiana, the lead archaeologists on the project, all those inside were very glad for the domed ‘tent’ that had been setup and the kerosene heaters that kept the interior at a “balmy” 68 degrees.  All were reticent to step outside at the end of the day, the wind biting at any exposed skin.  Thankfully the vehicles all had remote starts, so at least they were warm after the mad dash from the opening of the structure to their doors.

So far there had been many discoveries of pottery and other stoneware.  There were some evidence of fires within the interiors of the buildings that they had found the walls to still intact in the layers of earth that now covered them.  At the edges of the current site, the ground was approximately 8 feet below the normal ground level.  Towards the middle it got up to about four feet below.  The differences were accounted for in that they were trying to find the edges of structures and not move too quickly as they descended through the centuries of earth.  Going too fast was how you broke things, made mistakes, and/or missed things you should not.`

For the most part Mel, Klaus, Eric, and Alexander did the excavation of the relics with the others taking turns providing security and assisting all of the graduate students who were there with removing the buckets and buckets of dirt that had to be sifted through then disposed of.  This was a site of significant cultural heritage to the people of Serbia, so they would not be filling back in the areas they were excavating.  They would become just additional structures in the current historical site on the mountain.

It was shortly after they had broken for lunch on their sixth day there when Alexander brought a curious artifact over to Mel, who was standing up at the top of the site cleaning off a piece of pottery in a basin of distilled water.   “Look at this piece Mel, it appears to be some sort of figurine.  Human it would look like.  Maybe a doll?”  He handed the small artifact to her after she had set the pottery piece on a screen to dry.

The small carved person was about 4 inches tall and about two inches from the end of one arm to the other.  Dirt was tightly packed into each of the carved lines and a crack that ran through the middle of it.  As Mel looked at it, she had to admit that it did in fact look like a little person.  From the amount of dirt on it though, it was hard to see the fine details.  “I’m not sure what it is, Alexander.  As far as I know, there have been no other discoveries like this at the site.  Everything else has just been pottery shards of some sort.  Let’s clean it up and see what we’ve got.”  She gave a shrug.

Turning back to the table that the water basin was sitting on, she dipped it a couple of times in.  There was a soft bristled brush that sat to the side of the basin.  Mel carefully used that to remove the dirt and debris that were stuck onto and into the details of the artifact.  As the details emerged, Mel couldn’t help but agree that it did look more and more like a small person.  There were little holes that went through each “arm”, her initial thought being that the small carving had been a pendant or sewn onto something, but she would have to evaluate it further later to be sure.  It would not be unheard of for a culture to use something similar as an amulet.

Once she had cleaned it as best she could in the rudimentary facilities of the dig site, she picked up a small cloth near the basin and dried the item.  Turning back around she took a few steps and called for Erik and Klaus to come look at it.  Maybe one of them had seen something similar since they had done more excavations in Europe than she had.  As she waited for them to come up from the main dig, she examined the carving more closely and weighed it in her hand.  The others from her team also started coming over to see what Alexander had found, forming a loose semi-circle around Alexander and Mel as Erik and Klaus approached.

They could not have been more than three or four yards away when Mel started to close her fingers around the carving.  For some reason she could not determine, it seemed to be heating up.  At first she had assumed that it was her body heat making the stone feel warmer, but then she noted that when she turned it over, the side away from her almost seemed hotter than the side in her hand.  Could it be some stone that held properties she was not familiar with?  Again, she would have to research it more later to determine what it could be.  

When Mel’s eyes opened, she let out a startled gasp and backed up, away from all of them.   Her eyes scanned their faces as her heart raced like a thoroughbred just out of the gate.  “What…what the fuck is going on?”  Her eyes scanned all of their faces, only three now remaining looking human:  Nic, Donovan, and Case.  Klaus and Erik looked to be some sort of Elven creatures, their features finer and their eyes a bright blue that mimicked the Caribbean Sea with the noonday sun shining down on it.  Cam and Dez looked Lupine, their eyes glowing a darker blue, more the color of Lapis, with the same golden flecks in them as the stone held.  Gabriel had fangs like a Vampeer, so when he reached out and stepped towards her made her back up faster.   Caden was covered in white fur and had features strongly resembling the Irish Puca.  And then there was Alexander who had been standing next to her.  His skin was now an iridescent blue and he had what looked like gills on his neck.  

Nic had felt the ‘thump’ but didn’t know what it meant; neither did the anyone else on the team.   What he could see and did know was that Mel was terrified and quickly backing towards the edge of the dig.  It was a straight eight foot drop if she didn’t stop, and the thought of her falling had him moving towards her.  What was scaring her could be figured out later, the first priority was keeping her away from the damn edge. 

“Alexander, do you want to keep my cousin before she decides to back over that edge, please?” Nic called out as he tried to come at her from the side.  Something told him that whatever she had in her hand was one of the enchanted artifacts that they were there to find.  It didn’t look like anything that had been in the dossiers that Alexander and Mel had put together before, but he also knew that meant little.   What about it was causing her to look at her team like they were about to murder her concerned him.  Once they got it away from her, they were going to need to put that thing behind glass before someone got hurt.

Tears were streaming down Mel’s face as she kept moving backwards, she had to get away but wasn’t sure they’d allow her to.  Part of her kept telling herself that she was losing her mind and was hallucinating what she was seeing.  There was no way that the men before her could be anything but human, yet she could see them clearly and in most cases it appeared that they all knew that she could see them.  It wasn’t like she didn’t know about enchantments and enhancements from her brothers and mother.  Could they be something more?   Could she trust any of them?  Maybe there had been something on the artifact that caused her to hallucinate.  That could be a logical explanation, right?  

Her grip on the artifact tightened and it almost seemed to be searing into her palm and fingers now.  Her eyes and head were sweeping back and forth between all of the men as she came perilously close to falling over the edge.  In a moment of pure instinctual response, Alexander lunged forward and grabbed her arm to keep her from toppling over the edge and down the eight feet to the bottom. He’d been moving slowly to not spook her, but his actions did just that.  Not realizing what she was doing, Mel let out a scream and brought her free hand around, balled into a fist, to connect with his temple with all of her strength, yanking backwards as she did.

Nic was a fraction of a second too slow and mere centimeters too far away to keep her from falling.  His fingertips brushed Mel’s inner wrist before she fell backward over the edge of the dig.  Everyone froze in that instant and it seemed like an eternity before the sound of her landing on her back, followed a fraction of a second later by a sickening thud of her head hitting a barely unearthed pottery jar were heard.  It was another moment before anyone moved again, this time Erik and Klaus being the first two over the edge and down into the pit with her.  The other teams of archaeologists and students all came running as the rest of Nic’s team descended into the pit over the side as well, all forgoing the ladders they normally would have used.  It was only eight feet and they were willing to risk it after watching Mel fall.

As the brothers knelt over Mel’s stilled body, Klaus noticed the scent of blood.  Without thinking his shirt was over his head in an instant and he had Erik helping to find where it was coming from.  Hushed tones were used as they first attended to the bleeding wound and then tried to determine where and how else she was injured.  Her hand was still tightly wrapped around the small figurine, an idol really.  Nic took his shirt and used it to get it out of her hand and deposited it into one of his pockets for the time being.  Someone had to find out what that damn thing was.

All of that was of little concern to the men who were now gathered around the one person that they were supposed to protect but had instead scared the shit out of to the point that she was now gravely injured.  With many of them having had combat experience, they quickly devised a plan to get her out of the dig site and to one of the SUV’s.  Then they could get her to the town and get real medical attention.  How they would deal with the rest of what had happened, that would have to wait.  Right now, keeping her from dying on the top of the mountain was their paramount concern.  If she didn’t make it, all of their lives would become forfeit and they knew Nic well enough to know who it was that would be behind the bullet that would take them out one by one till they were all dead.

[cljordan-imperium]

Sneak peak from @bombsbodyguardsbroken

It had been three days.  Nothing much had changed except the men had started to take shifts staying at the hospital and Mel had been moved out of ICU and into a normal room.  She was stable, her brain waves were normal, but for some reason she was not waking up.  The doctors seemed mystified as to why she was still unconscious, but the prognosis was good.  She would wake up.

Klaus was sitting in the room in the chair next to the bed.  Mel’s hand rested lightly in his as the rough pad of his thumb gently stroked across the ridge of her knuckles.  As he looked over at Eric, who was asleep in the other chair he wondered how things could have gone South so damn fast.  If only one of them had been faster, if Alexander had grabbed her arm tighter, if…something…anything…had been different.  Nothing could be done now, he knew that.  Still he couldn’t stop his mind from analyzing every second of what had transpired at the dig site.  This type of analysis is what made him good at what he did; normally it helped him avoid repeating any accidents.  Now, now it just frustrated him and reminded him of every single thing he could have done to prevent them being where they were now.  

Looking down at his watch, he knew dawn would soon be approaching.  That would bring Nic back to the hospital along with the elder Mr. Meirs.  He had shown up the day after Mel had fallen and for a man in his 70’s was damn intimidating.  None of the men on the team wanted to cross him, especially after hearing how he’d killed his own son to save Mel years before.  None of them had met him before except Alexander, but they all had a healthy respect for him now.  When he was at the hospital, all others cleared the room to give him time with his granddaughter.  Klaus had to admit he wasn’t looking forward to that part of the day, but he would not argue with a man who had seen and done enough to earn his respect.

Slowly the light filtered into the room through the thin drapes that covered the window.  It bathed the walls and all within in a soft golden glow.  As he looked over to where Mel still rested the corner of his lips turned up in a wry smile.  There in the golden light, she looked almost ethereal, something he found ironic when compared with her fiery temper and her headstrong personality.  She only looked weak and fragile, especially when dancing.  The truth was that she was tough and had the respect of the entire team.  

During the time that there had been a price on her head, he had been one of the snipers who guarded her dance studio and the mansion in Gulfport where she resided.  He had never seen her cower, and for that he was proud of her.  Even when the asshole assassin showed up that had tried to fucking kill her, which he still believed no matter what anyone else said, she hadn’t backed down and gone into a corner.  It’s what bothered him about the scene at the dig site.  While he had seen fear in her eyes before, never had he seen the sheer terror that had resided there when the artifact had affected her.  He could only hope that when those sky blues opened again that she wouldn’t try to run away again.  He still didn’t know what had happened, she hadn’t said anything, and that bothered him.

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[behindthesemasks]

2

It's time for the trip to get started, for the men to meet the woman they're going to be working for and with, and one new face to show up...

TW - MENTIONS ONLY OF: DEATH, DYING, MURDER, KILLING INJURY, KIDNAPPING, RANSOM

In the intervening days since Nic had the meeting with the mercenaries who would be accompanying he and his cousin to Serbia for the excavation of a new underground cavern at the site at Gradina at the top of Jelica Mountain, their grandfather had intervene and insisted that they travel in one of the Meyers family jets rather than commercial.  He felt it would be safer for all involved and draw less attention than a large group of men escorting Mel through an airport.  Not to mention that it would be easier to get weapons into the foreign country. 

So, on the appointed day, Mel’s car pulled up to the tarmac next to the private jet of her grandfather’s that had been allocated for the trip to Serbia.  At her grandfather’s insistence, Mel had allowed Nic to make all of the arrangements and fully vet her entire team that would be accompanying her on the dig.  Normally she would have protested, but after the way the trip to Peru had gone, she was not really in the mood to take any chances nor to argue with either of the Meyers men.  Stubborn was not even strong enough of a word to describe either of them; brick wall came close, but even bricks gave more than they did.  Getting out of the car, Mel sighed softly as she headed up the stairs into the plane while the driver unloaded her bags. The next few minutes would determine how big of a disaster or success this trip would be.  Here went nothing!  

When she had reached the top of the stairs, she had just made the turn to look into the cabin of the plane when a deep male voice with a distinctly Germanic accent sounded behind her.  “Now that all have arrived, are we ready to go Nic?”  Mel knew that voice and spun around to face him with her eyes wide with surprise.  “Hey gorgeous,” he grinned slyly as he looked down at her. “Surprised to see me?  Turn around, you got another one coming.”  Chuckling he wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug, unable to hide his pleasure at seeing her.  It had been far too long, something that he had regretted and should have prevented, but now was not the time for regrets and apologies.  That could be later.  He’d just have to find the time and place to talk to her where there weren’t 9 other sets of ears listening in. That might be a little hard for the foreseeable future.

 “Klaus!  What the hell?!  How did you...”  She started as she hugged him tight.  Klaus and Mel had gone on several expeditions in the past, and they had a far less than professional history as well.  While he was an amazing archaeologist, his ‘other side’ was not unknown to her nor was his association with her cousin.  It had been that association that had caused him to disappear from her life shortly before she had met her ex-husband.  Things had happened strangely back then and she still couldn’t help but wonder ‘what if’.  She should have known that her cousin might call him in, and based on his comment there was probably at least one other face that she would recognize on the team. She had a feeling it would be far less surprising than Klaus, however.

Stepping back, she turned to face the rest of the team that had gathered around her.  Her eyes met each of the eight faces that were seated there.  Nic was the first face that she recognized, it was not the last. “Alexander?  Seriously?  Nic, how?  Why?” Now she was laughing as Nic stuck his tongue out at her while she looked at him confused. Alexander took that opportunity to stand and make his way to her, ducking slightly to keep from bumping his head on the roof of the cabin.  His head was also shaking, sometimes Mel and Nic truly were like siblings more than cousins.  A broad and amused smile was painted across his face and it was clear he was restraining himself fromfull on laughing as he made his way to her.  Standing a good foot taller than her, his eyes danced with amusement as he bent over to hug her.

“Surprise Mel!”  Alexander’s thick British accent boomed around the interior of the plane as Klaus pressed the button that would raise the stairs and seal the door.  “Not only do you have a top notch team of trained killers escorting you to your dig, but you have two of the best archaeologists on the planet.”  He looked over at Klaus and winked.  “You did tell Nic that you wanted only the best, or at least that’s what I hear.”  He laughed as she looked now between the three men, a bemused smile on her face accompanied by an eye roll that had them all laughing.

Nic stood and made his way to Mel now, enveloping her in a tight hug as much to make sure she didn’t hit him (playfully) as anything.  Then he introduced the rest of the team to her.  A warm and engaging smile met each of them.  Once introductions were done, everyone took their seats and Klaus went to the cockpit to pilot the flight from New Orleans to Serbia, with a few stops for refueling in between.   As they taxied to the runway, Mel looked about the plane and realized that it was not one that she recognized from her previous travels with her grandfather.  The interior was far more lavish than she had expected and it seemed made to fit the tall and broad males that were accompanying her. 

Once they were in the air, Nic came to sit by her and explain all that was transpiring.  When she had told him of her intent to go to Serbia, Nic had a sense of dread that came over him.  It wasn’t something that he could explain, but it was like a sixth sense that she would once again be thrust into danger.  After what had transpired in Peru, he couldn’t allow anything to happen again to his little cousin.  Since the assassin that had seemed to be in love with her had disappeared without word, which was far from a good sign, it was to him only that the responsibility fell to keep her alive.

Each of the men on her detail had been hand selected, including Klaus and Alexander.  While they were both highly skilled and trained archaeologists, they were also highly skilled killers. The fact that they both had personal relationships with Mel only helped.  It meant they had more reasons than money to keep her alive, and it was why Klaus had been allowed to skip all the briefings.  The others were all ex-military and just as skilled as Nic was at killing, in some cases more so.  The plane was also Nic’s, which explained why all of them men looked so comfortable.  It was built for him, and at over 6 feet tall, he had made sure that it would not be as cramped as a normal private plane.  

The more than Nic told her, the more pieces of the puzzle that Mel was putting together regarding exactly what was going on regarding the expedition.  She had assumed that it was her grandfather that had wanted Nic to do everything and take the lead; but the more that Nic talked she was realizing that it was her cousin who had put everything in motion.   After Peru, she knew that he had felt responsible for how wrong it had all gone when they had been surprised by tomb raiders that had killed part of their team, taken the rest hostage, and had to try to extract huge amounts of money by threatening harm if their demands were not met. Nic had not responded in his normal manner of being in control of everything, instead he had allowed the assassin they’d hired to protect her to take the lead in their extraction, and more people had died.  This time, he would trust no one else with her safety, which is why only those he trusted implicitly were involved in this trip. He also would not hesitate to remove them from the trip if he started to doubt them.

After the first three hours of the trip and hearing all of the details from Nic, then having the team introduced in much greater detail from their own mouths, Mel started to feel tired and her head ached right behind her eyes.  Night was falling and the cabin lights had been dimmed significantly, so Mel was simply going to lay her plush leather seat back and try to get some rest before her head exploded.  Before she was able to do that, Nic told her to go to the back of the plane.  There was an actual bed there and she’d be more comfortable.  The guys would ‘rough it’ in the main cabin and leave her alone unless they had to use the bathroom since there was only one and it was through the bedroom.  So no sleeping naked!  A comment that turned Mel’s cheeks red, made Alexander (who thought of her like a sister) choke, and the other men stifle laughs and not meet her gaze so she wasn’t more mortified.

As Mel closed the door to the cabin, the thrum of the jet engines and the voices of the males who  were debating security strategy once they arrived at base camp was lessened.  Kicking off her boots and pulling back the covers, she slid into the bed and tried to relax.  Soon she was drifting in and out of consciousness, her dreams and reality slowly mixing.  She had flown so often, that sleeping when that comfortable was very easy.

About an hour after she had lain down, she heard the door to the room open.  It brought her more awake from the only semi-lucid state that she had been in.  Knowing it was simply one of the males going to use the bathroom; Mel remained still and waited for him to return to the cabin when his business was done.  Just as the door to the bathroom was closing, a scent wafted through the room and to Mel’s nose.  Cloves, sandalwood, and gun oil.  A combination that she knew well and her eyes flew open.  When the door to the bathroom opened again, Mel was sitting on the edge of the bed, a wry smile on her face as she looked up at Klaus.

“I was trying not to wake you, you know.  Your cousin will have my head if he finds out.”  A deep chuckle rumbled from Klaus’s chest as Mel stood to walk over to him.  His eyes never left her, memories of the past swirling behind them.  

“Well then we won’t tell him, will we?”  An amused and slightly cocky smile formed on Mel’s face as she looked up at the tall and deadly male.  As was his normal, about a two days of reddish blonde stubble with just the sexiest hint of brown in it was on his face; his hair cut short like most of the other males in the main cabin.  She often wondered if they all went to the same place to have it done.  It had always seemed to Mel that it went well with his features to make him dangerously handsome in a rugged way.   “But this may be our only chance to talk privately till this is all over.  Assuming you wanted to talk to me, I thought I recognized that look when I boarded, but I could have been mistaken. It has been a while.”  She was curious, but hesitant as well.  A while was an understatement.

“I think you know me well enough from our years working together, and,” he coughed, “otherwise, to have been mistaken, Mel.  That doesn’t mean I have the words right now to tell you what’s going on in my head.  It’s not like I was ever good at that to begin with.  I never meant for things to happen the way they did Mel, you have to know that.”  Klaus cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck as he moved closer to her.  “And if I’d known what was going on I wouldn’t have stayed away.  I kick myself daily for that doll.” He sighed, looking deep into her eyes as one hand came up to rub the rough pad of his thumb over the still pink scar on her neck from where the bullet had grazed her in Peru. “And this…this should never have happened.  That I wasn’t there to stop it is something I’ll never forgive myself for.”  He had spent the previous months tracking down, torturing, and putting an end to those who had sought to hurt her without any hesitation; but now that she was in front of him, he seemed at a loss for words.  

“I’m not sure that even you could have stopped it Klaus. Those who had tried to ended up not breathing, as I’m sure you’re not aware.  The people that were after me…” her voice trailed off.  He knew about the people that were after her.  Her cousin had already informed her that everyone that would be on the expedition had taken part in eliminating the threat from the traffickers and government moles that had set her up.  Knowing Klaus, he had been very ‘hands on’ with the operation.

“Are dead now.” He finished.  “As will anyone else who thinks to do that again.  I may have slacked in the past when I shouldn’t have, but I won’t again.  And I certainly wouldn’t go taking off in the middle of the night to parts unknown with no word of where I was or when I’d be back.”  Klaus immediately regretted his words as he saw Mel visibly wince.  He was furious that once again it seemed that Mel was abandoned by one who claimed to love her.  Those words had never passed his lips, even if they had been in his thoughts and he still had fought to keep in contact till he had heard about her ex.  Then he stayed away so as to not make problems for her.   He cared too much for her to do that to her, but Nic had filled him in on all that had transpired and how she’d felt when he was gone, he wouldn’t be making that mistake again. Ever.  

Mel’s head tipped to the side slightly, which only served to reposition Klaus’s thumb from her neck, to right along her jaw.  “I see.”  She wasn’t sure what his angle was.  Then again, Klaus had done a few things that had confused her after the last time they saw one another.  Trying to get off that line of thought, “So let me guess…any tiny threat and there’ll be nine pissed off killers eradicating it?” 

“Ten, you have one more to meet.  But the others will have to compete with me to get to the motherfuckers first.  That includes the missing assassin.”  His eyes looked into hers and his anger was almost palpable in the room around him, something that confused Mel after his own actions.  The brilliant blue of his eyes almost swirled with the emotions that he was feeling and Mel could read them all…or almost all.  “I fucked up in the past doll, not going to do that again.”  He knew he was signing his death warrant if she ever opened her mouth about what he did next, but he didn’t give a damn.  It had been what was on his mind since Nic had called him from the private hospital in Peru where they took care of Mel.  Now he moved fast and with purpose, before he could think better of it and stop himself.  His fingers slid back in her hair till they cupped the back of her neck, his thumb now right before her ear as he bent down and captured those perfect lips with his.

Mel was caught completely off guard and by the time she started to react he was pulling back and looking down at her.  “We’ll talk about this later doll,” was all he said before he turned to head back into the cabin.  He had to get away from her before he lost his self-control and totally fucked everything up.  Never had his memory faded of the feel of her skin, her soft and feminine scent, or the taste of her lips; but that one brief kiss had only served to remind him that sometimes memories do not come anywhere close to reality.  Now they just had to make it through the expedition together without him losing his mind or getting taken out by another sniper, especially one he was piloting the plane carrying.

[theimperiumchronicles]

Happy STS! If you could swap places with any one character, who would you choose? Why? And what would they think about the swap?

No one in @theimperiumchronicles. Both of us would be too traumatized!

Most likely it would be Melania in @bombsbodyguardsbroken. I love archeology and history. I'm a complete and total nerd over it. I've been to active dig sites in Illinois. I am a complete history nerd. I listen to podcasts, watch shows, have gone to lectures, read nonfiction books about it. LOVE history and archaeology. I also am a total bayou babe. So, I could slip into her life and be totally at ease. I've always wanted to be able to go to famous archeological sights in the Mediterranean or Europe. She would be bored completely out of her skull in my life. While I enjoy it, and love my job, I think that she would find it boring after traveling the world and exploring far more interesting places. At least she would be familiar with the locations, since I live in her "home territory", so to speak. And she would appreciate my utter love of LSU. She might also feel completely lost at my job, since it has nothing to do with what she is trained in. It does require a skillset and knowledge which she does not possess, but she could learn. I do not think she would be happy.

Thank you for this question, sweets!! <3

[behindthesemasks]

1

And now to introduce the main crew...

Nic slid a dossier to the middle of the table where the 8 men were gathered.  Flipping the top of the manila folder open, Mel’s picture came into view.  Nic's cousin and co-heir of the massive fortune belonging to the well established creole Meyers family, Mel was an archaeologist and professor at LSU in Baton Rouge, just up I-10 from where they were meeting in New Orleans. The previous year an excavation in Peru had gone south, Mel had ended up kidnapped, and once freed a price had been put on her head for a long time because she could identify who it was that had been behind the operation. That was the reason that this time had to be different, another repeat of last time and his grandfather just might kill him personally.

Nic cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. “Now, let’s go over this one more time.  I’d hate to have to kill any of you personally.”  A wry smile formed on his lips as his gaze met each of the other 7 men’s in turn.   “Keep your sister alive,” Cade said with a sigh and raised eyebrows.  Nic thought of correcting Cade, but decided against it.  Maybe if they kept with the misunderstanding that Mel was his sister they’d have extra impetus to keep her alive.

“Don’t break her artifacts,” it was Alexander’s turn now.  He was also an archaeologist, so it was no surprise that he remembered this one.  He was also her best friend, and closer to her than even Nic was. Friend of the family since he and Mel had been in college, Alexander's past with MI6 would prove useful, Nic had a feeling.

“Kill any fucker who looks at her funny,” Gabriel piped in with a chuckle.

“And make it look like an accident,” added Donovon, also chuckling and shaking his head.

“Be ready to give our lives for your sister,” Case chimed in.

“Don’t let her know we’re her goddamned security detail,”  Dez sighed.

“And for god’s sakes, don’t fuck her.” Cam’s voice came out deadpan and flat, causing all heads to turn and look at him.  Half had a look of *are you fucking out of your mind* while the rest just seemed to stare blankly.  His shoulders raised in a shrug, as did his eyebrows, “what?  Was that not drilled into our heads like a thousand times this week?  I mean she’s hot, but I’m not keen on having a red dot from this mystery assassin on my forehead.”  Shrugging again, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

Nic closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath.  This was going to be a disaster, something deep inside told him that.  These were the 7 men whom he trusted far and above all others.  Trained assassins, hitmen, soldiers, and most importantly friends sat around this table.   They were going into Serbia, not known to be the bastion of peace and light.  There was only one other he would have liked to have on this team, but that man was out of pocket with no word on where he was or when he’d be back.

There was no doubt that the skill of the men sitting around the table was more than enough to combat any threat that came their way, any human threat that was.  Unlike some of the others, Nic was all too aware that while they were all human, some of the threats they might face would not be.  Melania’s mother was Marie LaVeau after all. It wasn’t like there wasn’t the possibility of something else showing up on scene.  

Running a hand down his face, he again turned his attention to the males before him.  “This is Serbia.  We’re going to Gradina, it’s on the peak of the Jelica Mountain and is just south-west of Carcak.  This is a huge open area, but it IS the high ground.  We won’t have to worry about death from above unless it is a paratrooper.”  His gaze alternated between Cam and Dez, brothers who had both served in organizations that the government still denied existed before going into private contracting and becoming much more deadly than the government had ever trained them to be. “Elevation is approximately half a mile above sea level, so there shouldn’t be too much of an effect on all of us.  Be prepared though, train for it.  If Mel can out pace you and outrun you, I’ll personally kick your ass if she doesn’t gut you first.”  Nic chuckled as did some of the other men.  “You should all have your wire transfers by now and verified them.  That sum should tell you how important it is to my grandfather and I that nothing, and I do mean NOTHING, happens to Mel while we’re over there.  We WILL NOT have a repeat of Peru.  AM.I.CLEAR gentlemen?”  Heads nodded around the table. 

All assembled had heard of what had transpired in the jungles of Peru and all had personally taken part in the eradication of all threats to Mel afterward.   There had been a little kidnapping, a little more torture, and a few that required a bullet to the brain to end the hunt for Mel’s life, but none there would have changed a thing.   Case, Donovan, Cade, and Gabriel had been the snipers responsible for watching over Mel 24/7 once she had been secured in the mansion in Gulfport, Mississippi.  While the petite and lithe brunette may not recognize them, there was little about the female that any of them wouldn’t recognize from hours of watching her through a scope.

As the meeting adjourned, the men each tucked a copy of the dossier into their jackets as they headed out.  While they had been over the plans for this trip repeatedly in the last week, none were about to let their guard down or not be fully prepared for what they were to face.  They might be getting to travel in private, first-class style, but they were still there to do a job. No, not just a job.  They were there as friends and ‘brothers’ to Nic, and they weren’t about to let a damn thing happen to Mel on their watch.  This might be a bit different from their normal covert and under-cover op, but the stakes were no less.

[cljordan-imperium]

@theimperiumchronicles - Cruz

Cruz has a very particular way of speaking and often uses words out of time. He's the most stoic and can be hard for me to transfer to the page even though I understand him perfectly. I end up doing a lot of "show don't tell" because it works better. Some people think I purposely do more reveals on him. I don't. He just keeps things close and doesn't share with anyone, including me.

@bendingthelaws - Constantin Rakeovich

Constantin is the villain and a sick and twisted bastard. He's an amalgamation of several real life criminals from my love of true crime books, shows, and podcasts. Unless you are into historical crime, you probably won't recognize him, but if you are you'll start to see it. He is one of my villains that has no tragic backstory. He is irredeemable. He is evil to his soul. So I cannot get in his head. It makes writing him hard. Thankfully his associate Dominick assists.

@bombsbodyguardsbroken - hmmm, this one they're all pretty easy. I guess it would be Adama Bandingo.

You'll meet Adama later. He's the father of one or Mel's half brothers and will play a very important role later on. Adama is complicated and his motivations are not always what they seem. As you will see as the story unfolds, much is not as it seems, which is often dangerous for all involved. In Adama's case this makes him difficult to write in that he has secrets upon secrets and his loyalty is somewhat of a mystery. I'm not even 100% sure of it. Nothing, absolutely NOTHING with him can be taken at face value. Which means I become an unreliable narrator.

TAG LIST - @ceph-the-ghost-writer @saltysupercomputer @careful-pyromancer @late-to-the-fandom @autumnalwalker @perasperaadastrawriting @fearofahumanplanet @jessica-writes22 @dogmomwrites @mjjune @verba-writing @blind-the-winds @shipping-through-eternity   @outpost51 @inkspellangel @blind-the-winds @sunset-a-story @writingmaidenwarrior @clairelsonao3 @toribookworm22 @there-goes-thefighter @aziz-reads

Please let me know if you would like +/- From the list

I am so busy today--so, for your blorbos, feel free to answer: which of your OCs is the hardest to write? What might be the reasons that make them tricky for you?

Happy Blorbsday :)

[cljordan-imperium]

Bombs, Bodyguards, & Broken Artifacts.. I mean, I don't imagine bombs and artifacts results in fixed artifacts. But what are the bodyguards doing in this? 🤔

The poster chapters are here @bombsbodyguardsbroken

Think Tomb Raider meets Indiana Jones meets The Librarians with some Voodoo Princess Archaeologist thrown in. Let me expound a little.

Melania LaVeau is a professor at LSU that comes from an esteemed and established Creole family from New Orleans. From her father's side, they own Meirs worldwide conglomerate. On the surface this is a mercenary type organization that also deals with high-tech weaponry, hence the bombs and the bodyguards.

Her mother is Marie LaVeau, yes that Marie LaVeau. That had been hidden from her for most of her life, and only after a series of tragedies was that revealed when the woman that she had thought was her mother decided to kill her. That is in a long ago story that will be covered in flashbacks.

Using the guise of being a professor, and using her family's enterprises, Melania and her best friend who is also an archaeologist and professor at Cambridge, track down and retrieve powerful artifacts and objects to keep them safe from them falling in the wrong hands. As you know if you've ever watched a show on archeology, not all artifacts come out of the ground in one piece. And that is where the last part comes in.

Now you may ask yourself, why would a team of archaeologists need bodyguards and bombs? Remember that these are not just your average artifacts, and she's not your average archaeologist. She comes from a rich family that is connected in certain circles where mercenaries are required. She a target herself for certain groups who can use her as leverage against her family.

The story that is currently being written takes place as she goes to Serbia to retrieve an artifact that is said to hold great power, but that not much is known about. The team has just arrived in Serbia, so the chapters that are up are the introductory chapters that get you familiar with the characters and kind of their personalities. There will be more characters introduced while they are in Serbia that will be the core characters of the story as it goes along. While there is magic, voodoo, and the paranormal/supernatural in this story, there's a lot of human interaction as well.

So you have archeology, the supernatural / paranormal, some history thrown in, the mob, and some good old down home Louisiana voodoo.

Going left to right, top to bottom in columns

1 - Mel, Klaus, Cameron (Cam)

2 - Ambrose, Nic, Cade

3 - Francois, Beau, Donovon, Gabriel (Gabe)

4 - Alexander, Marie, Erik, Destrehan (Dez)

5 - Dontanion (Don/D), Case, Etienne

These are the face claims of the main players.