He lay there, silent and still, fast asleep on the bed, pale and lifeless. I did this to him, I’m the reason he’s here. It wasn’t right, it wasn’t fair. Lawrence had said there was no change, that their blood wasn’t working. His injuries were more spiritual than physical. But Eliza was on her way and I knew she was the best in her field. I knew they would do everything for him and he would be okay. We would be a family again; me, Dad, and Caleb.
His hand was so cold, chilling to the touch, like a Dark One had overcome him. He murmured in his resting state, flickering his eyelids through the transportation of dreaming through REM sleep. I wondered what he dreamt of. Did he still look at me as his baby girl, or was I now a monster to him, lurking in the darkness trying to steal his soul?
As I kissed his cheek goodbye, tears fell from my face, forming a river across his hushed features. Knowing full well what I had to do next, I stood up, let go of his hand gently, and turned away sobbing. I walked away from my lifeless father to save my dying brother. Life was unfair and unjust, to say the least.
“Taylor,” a weakened voice whispered. I barely heard it.
“Dad!” I shrieked, running over, and perching beside him on the bed.
He could hardly move, but he was stirring awake, briefly keeping his eyes open to see my sodden face. Lifting his hand gradually, he wiped the tears from my eyes and smiled gently.
“Dad, I’m so sorry!” I cried.
“I know, Taylor It’ll be okay,” he breathed.
“I’ve been wanting to tell you, Dad, I just didn’t know how.”
“It’s okay. I’ve always known how special you are,” he said as he took my hand again. “We were told of your future the day your mother bore you,” he muttered.
“How?”
“A book your mother wrote for you. It's time you read the book,” he whispered and then a faint look of confusion shattered over his face. “Where is your brother?”
“He, he was taken,” I said. I lowered my head in dismay.
“Save him, Taylor. Be the brightest version of yourself and,” he struggled to say, “save them all.”
He finished. His eyes finally closed and he fell back into a coma. His heart still beat, his lungs still inflated, he was still alive and must be getting better. He had spoken to me, after all. I covered him over, kissed his cheek once again, and left the room to speak to Lawrence and search for my brother.
“Lawrence?” I requested as I entered the laboratory. Charles was mending Harland’s limbs back together as Harland yelped and grimaced whilst his body repaired itself.
“He’s elsewhere, Taylor, can I be of assistance?” Charles asked.
“Yes, we need to go save Caleb.”
“Ah yes, your human brother, hmm,” he said with revulsion.
“Pardon?” I asked, he had used the word human as though it was a suggestion of something resembling vermin.
“I mean, I must see you first.”
“Erm, okay.”
“I have found out more about your fiery nature, Taylor Lane.”
“I’m listening.”
“It appears your body is able to withstand the fiery nature bestowed within it, unlike a mere mortal that was touched by a demon. A human,” he grimaced, “would simply spontaneously combust, the chemical reaction inside of them would be too powerful and their mortal skin-suit would not withstand the flames of Hell itself. But you, Miss Lane, you are indeed something else. You appear mortal, yet your skin can absorb and fuel the flames with not one chemical burn igniting within you.”
“Okay, but what do you mean, a demon?” I asked, as Harland screeched in the background, withering in agony.
“Hmm, yes, Miss Lane. Something demonic, my dear, it has touched your soul and that is how you gained such an ability.”
“Seine.” I said.
“Yes, it may well be,” he said. “I will consider it further.”
“Thank you, Charles,” I said as I smiled, walking free from the room.
As I left the laboratory, Charles and Harland were arguing about demons and fire nature. It appeared Lycans and Dark Ones did not quite like each other as much as I had hoped.
Walking along the rose-coloured passageway, I came across Lawrence in his library, pulling down book after book. Elisha was by his side steadying the ladder as Nicolas skimmed through the books at an outrageous speed, clearly looking for something.
“Hey TayTay, how’s your dad?”
“Better, I think. He spoke to me!” I exclaimed.
“Really? Wow, that’s great!” He smiled as he continued skimming through another encyclopaedia of monsters and demons.
“Ah Taylor! Come in, come in,” Lawrence said as he dismounted the ladder and made his way over to his old oak bureau.
“Thanks, Lawrence,” I said in anticipation.
“From what we have found so far, it appears the Beast is a transformation of all of Lilith’s children.”
“Children?”
“Yes, she created us all through one mutation or another. As you know, we are the first of our kinds, the Disciples. We can enter Enoch, but it’s not a place we want to visit,” he said as Elisha nodded and Nic grimaced.
“Why? Surely you can find out what’s happening if you go there?”
“Yes, but if Lilith has awoken, then she is planning to change things round here, and change, when it comes to Lilith, means the end."
“The end of what?”
“Everything and everyone. She can click her fingers and end a whole race, if she wanted to.”
“She’s had that amount of magic? Why hasn’t she done it before?”
“Because Eve stopped her. We came to the agreement that we, as the Disciples, would keep your world safe from evil. We never wanted all this pain and destruction. The Great War nearly ended everything. With Victoria's help, we came to an understanding with Eve that if we kept control on things, then there would be no need for extinction on a mass level.”
“Victoria? Victoria Bane?”
“Ah, so you heard of her.”
“Yes, Lucian explained they were close.”
“They were, but sadly she was killed in battle, though Eve kept her end of the bargain and removed her angels from Earth. In turn, we kept the supernaturals at bay, and as long as they didn’t cause too many problems, they were allowed to live with humans.”
“But they’re causing problems now.”
“That, I guess, is Lilith’s doing,” he said. “I would also guess that she has awoken from her slumber and plans to continue the battle where she left off.”
“Great.”
“That would be why she’s sending her favourite fighters down to test the playing field.”
“But where’s Eve in all this?”
“No one knows. She disappeared when Victoria died. Gone back to Heaven, I presume.”
“So, is Enoch, Hell?”
Lawrence laughed. “No dear girl. Hell is for the common mutations, the evil corrupt individuals that do not have the blood of the pure. They go to Hell. We live in Enoch if we die.”
“So, if Lilith killed you, then you’d go to Enoch?”
“Yes, but she wouldn’t just kill us, she would torture us for all eternity.”
“That’s horrible.”
“Well, she is the Devil's mother, after all.”
“I thought he was dead. Is he in Enoch too?”
“No, his body was taken, piece by piece, across the world so Lilith could not put him back together.”
“That’s awful. She’s his mother!”
“Yes, but no-one knows where each piece is, so she grieves every day for his loss.”
“I can only imagine.”
“It is surprising, though.”
“What is?”
“How you can feel pity for both good and evil.”
“Aren’t we all a mix of both?” I said.
“Yes, we are. You are wise beyond your years, Taylor Lane.”
“Thank you,
Lawrence,” I said, kissing him on the cheek.
Lucian and Harland walked in. Harland appeared fully healed and eager to fight again.
“Taylor, we will find Caleb or die trying,” Harland said.
“Yes, you know I’m always by your side, Taylor,” Lucian said.
I nodded, they meant it too. But I couldn’t risk them as well. It wanted me. I didn’t know why, but I planned to find out. I told them I needed to lie down, the day had been too much for me. They all agreed, and Lucian carried me to his room, closing the curtains so I could sleep the worries away.
He left to plan the attack on the Beast, getting ready for things to come. But I knew I couldn’t risk him or Harland, or, well, any of them. They were like family to me. I couldn’t lose anymore. It was my turn to bargain now, my turn to surrender. The Beast, Seine, Lilith, or whoever, they could have me, keep my powers. That’s what they wanted, after all. I wasn’t worth anymore suffering. Their lives were greater than my own and I’d freely give myself to protect them.
I packed a few things into a rucksack, I wasn’t sure how long I would be, or where it would take me. Tying back my bouncy brown locks, I was ready to go. The wooden grand window lifted easily as I shimmied my way down the drain pipe and ran out into the forest.
CHAPTER 22
Now, I certainly wasn’t much of a tracker. In fact, I didn’t know the first thing about combat tracking or strategy. It was clear as I ran blind into what was surely a trap waiting to happen.
I remembered watching a survival program a few months ago, the man on there was busy looking at blades of grass and broken branches. Apparently, they showed you the way your enemy had gone. However, there weren’t many blades of grass in the woods, mainly just soil and a lot of fallen branches. How would I know which one was broken by the Beast and which one was broken by natural causes?
Was this a lost cause? It had chosen to take Caleb, rather than just keeping hold of my leg and pulling me under. It could have seized me there and then, but it seemed more interested in the thrill of the chase, the taunt of the game, and the pain of the torture. Was it just a monster or did it have an agenda? Weren’t we all monsters, though? After all, I was dating a mutated version of one.
I felt watched, laughed at, as I screamed out Caleb’s name. It must have known I was there, alone in the woods. It had to be close by. But why wasn’t it fighting with me, taking me down to its hellish caves in the underworld?
There was no sign of any little animals running about the forest, no birds tweeting in the sky. It was just dark and dismal with a mix of misery to add. I was alone, and I knew it. The darkened clouds shed their droplets and I began to run, running as fast as I ever could, searching frantically for any sign of my brother, anywhere, anyhow. As I ran, I tripped, flying and landing at the feet of the monster before me.
Kissing the dirt, I raised my weary head. This wasn’t the Beast. I wasn’t that lucky. This was an old friend who’d come out to play, and when I said friend, I meant the closest kind. Someone who had touched my soul and ripped it open, destroyed my body, seared it in flames. A creature unlike any other, a monstrosity with no soul. Seine.
With his crackled grey skin, his fiery lava core, he was no match for me. Did he really think he could take me a second time? Did that thing really believe it could kill me, even before I had the chance to save my brother? Was he mad? He must be. Or I was. I had to be confident, had to summon the courage. I was all my brother had and if I didn’t survive, no one would. One thing that Seine didn’t realise, while he stood there all angry and fiery, was that I had his power. I lived and breathed, just like he did. His lava core, his violent rage, it was mine, too. But the bonus was that I also had good in me, as well as a smidge of Femme Fatale and Shadeling, and I was damn sure he wouldn’t beat me again. I wouldn’t need saving today, that’s for sure.
Seine grabbed my hair, picking me up, and flung me across the dirt.
Well, I didn’t expect that. I forgot how strong he was. Why didn’t I have his strength instead of his finger lighters? Life was just unfair.
My back burned, bruised against a tree stump, collapsed against the wilderness. My body tensed. I had to get up. He would not beat me again! Mustering the strength, I leant against the stump and pulled my weight up. Body aching, eyes watering, I’ had to keep going.
“I’m going to kill you,” he growled.
“Go on, then,” I baited. What was he waiting for? I knew what I was waiting for, as I reached down for my sigil. Clarity.
The driven force of simplicity rushed through my body, igniting every piece, like a drug forcing its host awake again. With the rush of adrenaline, my body spasmed, tensing out rigid. Fire reigned over my skin, blazing across me, like a backdraft escaping from a locked room. Oxygen was key, and my body had a bucket load.
Seine's face mangled, his expression drooped as realisation sunk in to his shrivelled lava core.
“How?” he beckoned.
“Well, isn’t that the question,” I said, embracing my body. An almighty ball of fire formed in front of me. Directing the force of flames, I encircled it with my light, creating a volcano of splendour, a flawless combination of good and evil blended together.
Seine turned, backing away. Leaning back, I hurtled the epiphany of harmony towards him. The equilibrium of light and dark, the perfect balance of yin and yang, good and evil. There was no running from death's door. Seine stood strong and faced the fate he saw coming. Incineration at its finest spliced him down into a pit of dust. Nothing more than dirt on the ground, as the wind howled, carrying his remains away.
For today would be a good day. I’d avenged my foe, I’ll capture his creator and decimate her Beast, freeing my brother from the claws of evil, and all in a good day’s work. I thought as the wind-swept Seine's ashes across my face.
Spluttering, I wiped my eyes. Jeez, even the elements hated me.
Heading onwards, the forest cried in despair. The howling of hungry Lycans sounded nearby, as clearly Harland and his pack were out hunting again. They must have realised I’d gone, ran off in a bid to end this once and for all. I had to find the beast quickly, save Caleb, and free the world.
I’d happily play the martyr card, but I knew that Lucian would never let me. I needed to find it soon, before the Darkwaters arrived and stopped me. I didn’t need to keep looking. I knew what I needed to do; vanish. I needed to enter the shadow world, as the shadelings would be sure to take me there. After all, it was the world the Beast used to come and go as it pleased.
Using the sigil again, I suddenly realised that one day I would need to stop relying on it. After all, the power, the energy it used, it was all part of me. The sigil just directed it, and why couldn't I do that? I could, if I tried. But it wasn’t the time to practice, it was the time to fight.
Grasping the sigil, I melded in with the shadow. Colour drained before my eyes, running down like water, bleaching an energetic canvas. Darkness became me as I disappeared into raw matter, evaporating into a corporal being, walking as one with the shadows of the Realm on the other side of reality.
Being a shadow had its advantages. I could walk along and spy on everyone as they sped by. Lucian, in fact. He inspected the delicate remains of Seine's pile of ash. Luckily, I’d already vanished by the time he arrived. The trail ended there, as I watched him speed about in all hope to find me. I knew he was hurting, knew he was worried, but I couldn’t help that, couldn’t help him. I knew in my heart, my sacrifice would not be in vain. He would understand... one day.
He sped away, towards the sounds of Harland and the pack. The Darkwaters followed behind. They disappeared in the opposite direction, retracing their footsteps as I walked along without a step, or a sound, in sight.
It wasn’t long before the realm around me changed. Pitted with the flow of evil, I followed the path forward, guided like Dorothy with the yellow brick road. But instead of yellow bricks, a path carved from shadow lay ahead. The mist of darkness wrapped a
round my translucent body, guiding me forward to the lair of the Beast as it lay.
I couldn’t stay in the darkness much longer, the shadelings had seen me from afar. I could feel their presence roaming closer as I tip-toed down the path of evil towards a cave lit sparingly in the moonlight.
Within an instant, I was pulled free from shadow. Somehow, something had gripped my metaphorical state and dragged it back to reality with a thump. Imagine a fight with a professional boxer, he taunts at you, teases you with half-hearted punches, waiting for that precise moment to knock you out. Then, BAMM, you’re floored. No need to count, you’re out. Yeah, that was me. Out cold. Lying clean on the floor of a colourful world once again.
CHAPTER 23
As I fell to the ground, a darkness took over and I felt my body lifted by the Beast and carried to a place of dashed hopes and wretched disillusionment. A place unknown to many, but a place nonetheless. It was one which existed on our mortal plane.
My eyelids, although heavy and burdened with fear, were securely closed, protecting me from what lay ahead. They flickered as light streamed through, pouring into me, surging to preserve my body with a fiery light.
“YOU!” it bellowed, as a harsh crackled voice astounded the environment around me. “ABOMINATION!” it vociferated as it roared, causing the wind to howl in companionship.
The light seized to burn through my retina any longer as my surroundings came in to focus. The Beast stood before me, angered at my very presence. It was as though the fact that I persevered at living riled him even more.
Beyond him, the sunlight shone through an opening. We were in a cave with moss growing at the base, meaning water was nearby. I puzzled for a moment. That could only mean I was situated in the rock face near Lake Meed and, as it was now daylight, I had been missing several hours. Therefore, I had been unconscious for quite some time.
I wondered what it had done to me in that period. Shuddering, I went to inspect the wound across the side of my head, but the Beast had chained me up, clearly worried I would run away and flee like a little girl. Little did it know I was only there to collect my brother and leave, trading my own life in the process, if need be.
The Celestial Rose BoxSet Page 21
