The Celestial Rose BoxSet

by Annalee Adams

  Collapsing at the feet of what I could only presume was Michael, I vomited again.

  “Seriously!” he moaned.

  “I think you deserved that,” Gabriel said, laughing to himself. “Pick her up, bring her to Charmeine. She needs cleaning up.”

  “Yeah, doesn’t she half!” He laughed, throwing my tormented body over his shoulder. “Burgh, she stinks.”

  “She’s been dead a while this time.”

  “I don’t know why he does it,” Michael said.

  “Me neither. He must really care for her.”

  “He’s meant to care for all of us, they both are. But you don’t see them fighting the wars, do you?”

  “I think war is the least of our worries right now.”

  CHAPTER 27: LUCIAN

  Seeping into the conscious mind, I saw a scattering of leaves swarm around them. Broken corpses lay bare to the elements, struck down by the ferocity of an anguished being, pained to walk the transitional realm for ever more. Half living, half dead, they scratched at reality like zombies to brains.

  I say corpses, yet they breathed, they murmured. It wasn't their endgame yet. There was still a battle to be fought and one that would require the abilities of the damned and the dying; the curiously dead and undead. It was a battle of realms, a conquest of faith, and not one you would want to look away from. It was the deliciously destroying decimation of the mortal ignorance of the world. And it was time for a change, time to keep breathing, time to stand up, gear up and fight. If only it wasn't a dream.

  “Get up now, Lucian. Wake up.”

  “Lucian, fucking wake up man,” Harland screamed, “she’s gone.”

  I shot up, What the hell happened? As my eyes opened, my blurred vision strengthened, bringing me back to reality. That’s when I saw her, as her body slunk down beside me; murdered by my blade, killed by her own grief. There was no end to the torment, no end to life.

  “She... she can’t be.” Salty tears streamed down my lifeless face.

  “Give her some blood, damn it!” Harland cried, slicing my wrist and forcing it to her mouth.

  It should have hurt, but I didn’t care. Shock had taken over. I wasn’t ready for this, for any of this. She gave me life again, brought the light into the darkness. She couldn't be gone!

  “It won’t work. She’s not human, not anymore.” I laid down beside her fallen body.

  She was so cold, her skin blackened from sorrow. Her face was pale, strained in anguish. She couldn't be dead. She was like us now, how could she be dead? Oceans of tears fled my soulless heart as I brushed her hair away from her glazed eyes. They’d lost their sparkle, all magic had gone. Shuffling closer to her, I kissed the tip of her nose and ran my fingers down her face. Harland came over and covered her over.

  “What the hell happened?” Harland asked.

  “I don’t know,” I said, “she was in so much pain.” Tears crept out, wallowing beneath my eyes. “She didn’t know what she was doing. She wouldn’t ever hurt us.”

  “But she did Lucian, that wasn’t Taylor,” Elisha said. “That was something else.”

  “We didn’t die. She didn’t mean it.”

  “You’re right, she wouldn’t ever mean to hurt us, but she did. That couldn’t have been her. You have to accept the Taylor we knew and loved is gone.”

  “No, I can’t. If that wasn’t her, then where is she?”

  “She died long before, she must have,” Elisha said.

  “Then explain to me how we came back to life? Whatever she was, she killed us all, aren’t you guys meant to be immortal?” Harland said.

  “No, she was in there. It was the pain that killed her,” I said.

  “But how are we still living, mate?”

  “Don’t call me mate, Harland.”

  “Fine. I get that you’re upset. We all are. I just want to know what happened, that’s all.”

  “Her powers consumed her, Lucian.” Lawrence lifted himself up from the ground and brushed himself down. “There was nothing you could do.”

  “She needed me, and I let her down.”

  “We all let her down, man,” Nic said.

  “No, you let her down, Lucian! This ain’t right. She was better than all of you. I told her you’d kill her,” Harland screeched, running for Lucian.

  “Back up!” Julian boomed, standing in front of me.

  “No, Julian! He killed her. Get outta my way!”

  “Back up, now!” he yelled, pushing Harland back to the wall with a great force.

  Harland slammed back, yelping as his body bent around the doorframe. Alaric and Clyde growled, transforming into Lycans in front of Julian.

  Elisha and Nic ran into formation as the two sides came head to head over the death of their loved one. Lawrence intervened.

  “That is enough. This will do no good, no good at all! If you have any humanity left, then leave this place. Today isn’t about blame, it’s about picking up the pieces and burying our girl,” he said as he looked over to Lucian in mourning.

  Alaric and Clyde changed back and picked up their brother. They left the fallen mansion and went out into the forest to fight another day.

  CHAPTER 28: TAYLOR

  Heading into the bright scintillating light should have been a journey of wonder. Instead I was covered in vomit, my hair was likes rat’s tails, and I smelt like one of the sewer traps I’d come across in my previous life in London. My deceased body was tossed over the shoulder of the burly Michael. As he walked down the vibrant corridor of what should have been peace and harmony, my body bounced up and down. Why was Heaven so chaotic? It seemed like an inept joke. Why was Gabriel nervous around me? Who was I to him? Somebody, somewhere, seemed interested in me, but I couldn’t understand why. The girl that brought on Armageddon. Surely that’d turn a few heads. I was just hoping it turned the right heads, then perhaps the big man would notice me and send me back to Earth to clean up the tragic wreck I’d created.

  Why couldn’t I remember much? I still couldn’t feel as much as I used to be able to when I was alive. But then again, I was dead. It was a marvel I could feel anything. It was like my astral body was numb to the destruction my physical body had created. I knew the Angel that brought me back whispered in my ear, but what? Of all the things to forget, that was clearly one of the speeches you would have thought I would have inscribed on my soul. But no, I had to go and forget, didn’t I?

  The gleaming corridor felt like it went on forever. It was the opposite of the tunnel I’d walked through; that had been dark, desolate, and uninviting. The only part that pushed me forward was the warm illumination at the end of it. That turned out to be a waste of time after all, sitting by a ticket booth while my body wilted and withered. There had better be a point to all this. I’d been tossed about enough for one day, thanks. Then again, had it only been a day? There weren’t exactly any windows.

  I still had a little strength left, granted my body felt like it’d been rotating on the wheel of a hamster’s cage for the last century. But I was still living, kind of. Although I was tired, worn down and rotting. It wasn’t a pleasant sight and I smelled bad, too. I could gain strength, if I remembered how. I knew there was a sigil embedded on my damn body somewhere. If only I could reach it!

  “What are you doing there?” Michael asked as my hand crept up to my waistline, grasping for my sigil. “What is that?” he asked as he dropped me down to a slump on the floor.

  I yelped, finding my voice once again.

  “She still feels pain, you idiot,” Gabriel said.

  “Err, yeah, sorry like.”

  Michael leant down, offering his hand. His silver eyes met my own as his ash blond hair whispered past his ears, settling beside his pale, luminescent face. Behind him, a breath-taking white light protected his body with the promise of knowledge, wisdom, and power alike the sunrise as it cascaded across the leaves of the wisest of oak trees.

  My body stirred with recognition and trust. I knew this being. He w
as once a friend, a protector, perhaps. The familiarity of the bright aura that surrounded him warmed through me, strengthening the feeling of déjà vu.

  “It’s okay,” I warbled.

  My voice was there but it wasn’t strong enough to engage in conversation yet. It was a miracle I even had a voice, let alone a body, strength, and an intact mind in that place. I always thought the soul was full of energy, not actual matter, representing the former you.

  “Do you remember us?” Gabriel asked as he knelt to sit beside me.

  The silver eyes appeared as a trait between the Angels, as did the warming light that lifted the soul behind them. These Angels didn’t wear what I presumed was traditional angelic garb. Instead, they appeared in slick cream suits, classic and smart. They must have been a pain to keep clean. Although it was the type of clothing that wouldn’t stand out at a New York fashion show, clearly it was an effort to blend in to everyday life. But they did stand out, especially as no-one could escape the gaze of those silvered eyes.

  “I don’t, no,” I mouthed, no sound coming out.

  “That’s okay, it’ll all come back,” Gabriel said. “Then you’re in trouble.”

  He smirked, laughing at Michael, who grimaced in reply. Did they fear me? Whoever the me was that they think I am? Maybe they saw the darkness, the way I ended civilisation, the backlog in human traffic as one by one mankind walked through the tunnel to salvation, or demise, depending on if you’re a glass half-full or a glass half-empty kind of person.

  “Come on, let’s get you up and walking,” Michael said pulling me up. My legs wobbled as I stepped forward, like a baby chick swaying around its mother. “Steady now,” he said as I took another step.

  Gabriel led the way as Michael held my shoulders up, allowing me to practise my first steps as a newborn dead person. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was anymore. My body resembled the necrotic stench of reality, as my soul stood corrupt by life’s own hopes and dreams.

  On each side of the eternal corridor, white doors remained closed. About a third of the way down, at a guess considering I couldn’t see the end, we stopped before another white door. There wasn’t anything special about this door compared to the others; no sign, no special door-knocker or fancy handle. This door was as simple and plain as the rest of them. Vibrant, bright white, clean and crisp, a blank slate to start from. Then it opened.

  Inside the room lay an infinite number of books, old texts, scrolls, and testaments. The room had a distinct sweet, musky kind of smell that lingered in my nostrils as I stumbled in. Old books sat on wooden shelves that rose from floor to sky going up, up, and up as far as the eye could see. There weren’t any ladders, no stairs. How did they get up there? Gabriel smiled at my bewildered expression.

  “Ah, you’re wondering how we get up there aren’t you?”

  The celestial light behind him glistened, beaming out a spectrum of colours as he shook his body, ruffling free the wings of an Angel. The feathers blissfully caressed the room as they liberated themselves, arcing high above the golden-haired Angel before me. He had grown by two feet as he looked down on me. I stepped forward, with Michael's help, reaching out to touch the divine being. My arm, trembling from a lack of strength, pushed forward through intrigue. I gasped. The feathers felt softer than the softest creature on Earth, silkier than a chinchilla's fur, creamier than a freshly poured latte, flourishing as a harmonious peace swept freely throughout me.

  “Showing off again, Gabriel?” A tall, radiant female asked. She must have been seven-foot-high, with an athletic figure and crooked smile.

  “Always.” Gabriel smiled, shaking his glorious wings away. “This is Charmeine. Do you remember her?”

  I shook my head.

  “Ah, it’s good to see you again. I can see you in there. What name have you gone by in this life?”

  “She was called Taylor,” Michael piped in.

  “Where am I?” I shouted, with only a squeak coming out. They all laughed.

  “It’s the place of all places, Taylor. You should know, you helped build it.” She smiled.

  How could I have built something like this? Did they have the wrong person?

  “You may not remember everything, but your brother is waiting for you, so we need to get you back to your normal self.”

  My brother, he’s here! I thought I’d lost him, lost them all as they sank down into the pit of sadness and trepidation.

  “What did you two do to her?” she said, wincing at the smell.

  “Michael decided to throw her down the spout.”

  “What?”

  “Well, yes, but not on purpose. I didn’t know who she was. I’m still recovering from the shade, remember?”

  “Ah, yes, the shade of walking with the mortals. And what did you learn there? How to impregnate three human girls? Well done, you!” Gabriel grinned. “You do know we’ll have to take them once they’re born, Michael. It’s better that than he finds them.”

  “Yes, I’m quite aware, thanks.”

  “And?” Charmeine asked.

  “And what?”

  “Did you find the almighty?”

  “Oh, yes, well... no,” Michael said.

  “Which is it?”

  “Which is what?”

  “Yes or no?”

  “It’s a no. I mean, I thought I found him, it just turned out to be one of Lilith’s creations. He didn’t have a clue where the almighty is, so I reached what you could call a dead end. Are the rumours still saying he’s taken over Hell?”

  “Yes, but with no evidence, we have to keep hunting him.”

  “Agreed, but Adam won’t be happy.”

  “When is he ever?” Gabriel interrupted.

  “He might be, now that she’s back.” Charmeine smiled as I stood listening in to their conversation. “Right, wait outside you two,” she said as she waltzed over to me, steadying me over to a door in the far corner of the room. “Through here.”

  We entered a pitch-black room that appeared to be made of glass; all around the outside walls were the galactic delights of the cosmos. Stars twinkled and galaxies entwined as the world below seemed so insignificant and simplistic to the beauty that surrounded me.

  “Sit here.” She motioned and then helped me into a chair.

  As I sat, a rush of warmth flowed through me, energising my body every step of the way. If drugs existed in there, then I was high. Speckles of colour blessed the room as vibrancy filtered back into my vision. My bruised, serrated knees knitted back together before my eyes, tickling my skin with titillating fingers. Little by little my body's cocoon beamed into existence, fully establishing its vitality as I shone once again, breathed again, and lived again. My neck pulled as I coughed up phlegm from my lungs. My vocal chords strengthened, stroking my neck better, tickling the skin as I sat laughing. It was good to hear my own laughter, feel my own smile and the warmth of love within me. But with the emotional delight of positivity flowing through me came the negativity of horror that lay in wait. The realism of the life I once lived. The tragedy I’d caused as I swept sorrow through the land of dismay and devastation. My grief had murdered every living soul around me, igniting the world in chaos across the masses. My head lowered, lip quivered, and I felt the tears well in my eyes again. I was the evil incarnate. I didn’t belong here. I belonged in the depths of Hell, being tortured for an eternity through the tears of those I sadistically killed by my own selfish doing.

  There was no more Dad, no more Caleb... poor Caleb. I wept. His innocent little body ripped apart as the Beast clawed its way out of him. My little brother, how could it be? How could someone so innocent, so perfect, die in such a painful way? There had been no mercy as I watched him eat himself alive. Nothing, nowhere, could ever take that horror from me. There was no God, no Angels, because if there was then how could they let such a horrendous and vile act take place? How could they let him die? How could they let me see that, feel that and experience that loss? Then to take my father as well? Ki
lled by my own hands. What kind of God does that? It couldn't be true. These can’t be Angels, because if they were, then they were no better than the Demons of the underworld, no better than the Beast that tore itself from my brother's broken body. They should feel what he felt, what I feel, what they all felt. And with that, I screamed. Not just any scream, but the scream of the loss of an infinite love, the grief of a lost family, a lost life, and the tragic demise of all I once knew. I was once Taylor Lane, but who was I now?

  “Well, it certainly looks like you’ve got your voice back,” Charmeine said. “Scream away, let it all out. You’re safe in this room. Your pain can’t hurt anyone else and nothing can hurt you.”

  Seconds passed turning to minutes, then hours. Yet still I screamed, never coming up for air, never taking a breath. Letting it all out, I cried the tears of a thousand corpses, screamed out the fears of humanity’s lost throne. It would never end, this tormented mind could never rest. How could I live with myself after everything? How could I live with the suffering, knowing there was nothing I could do to take it back, no way to reverse time and revert life back to its former glory? There was no point anymore, I needed to die.

  But then, I was dead, had been dead. I wasn’t sure what I was now, except a mess of salty tears and sodden hair. I fell from the chair and cradled my newly repaired naked body like a cocoon, whimpering out the ramblings of a mad woman. I shook uncontrollably as the door flung open and Charmeine entered with a man in tow.

  It wasn’t just any man, it was someone I knew. Not Gabriel, nor Michael, but someone else. A swirling light encompassed him, an aura of protection that followed him as he stepped broadly into the room. He seemed so tall as I lay curled in a heap on the floor, yet he still wavered under the height of Charmeine. But from down there, he looked magnificent, like a God bending down and offering his hand as a sign of forgiveness. His full chestnut hair flickered in the light of the cosmos, his hand lay outstretched and he smiled. He meant something to me, he felt close, and then he spoke.