Watching them scurry around outside made me want to retch. Julian stood sculpting a trio of ice caskets beside the oak tree. At least her body would be beside her family. That was something, I guess. Elisha was singing a mournful song as she placed flowers in Taylor's chestnut hair and straightened her ivory gown. Nic was busy setting up the chairs for the audience to watch her wither and rot, while Lawrence prepared his speech, speaking aloud about how Taylor was a member of our family and we would never be the same again. He got that right, at least.
They would understand why I had to leave. I just couldn't stay there through the funeral and say goodbye. I could never say farewell. If I said that, then all hope would be lost. It couldn't be, I could not believe that. There was always hope. She taught me that, my beautiful light in the darkness. She brought love to the darkest of days. It was time, time for me to go travel the world, find the passage through the realms, and reach Enoch.
CHAPTER 35: TAYLOR
The journey back to my former body was one of nauseous delight, only comparable to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. A travelling disarray of disillusioned delectation, my spirit rushing through the euphoria of eternity, pushing past the precise moment of my own unnatural death. My body was torn and tortured through the triumphant troubles of baring teeth through the snigger of a deadly being. The beast had murdered me, took my soul, crushed it up, and spat it out. Adam had saved me, breathed back my eternal light through the eyes of brotherly love. He was my kin, a perfected being in the celestial sense. But where was I now? I'd righted two wrongs; saved my dad and rekindled my brother’s soul. The two would live in peace, existing through the society Elysium had built. Caleb wanted to learn to be a geologist, researching the ways of minerals and matter. Dad was just happy to have his children back, living an afterlife of hope, dreams, and possibility. Anything and everything was achievable with the light; the Celestial Rose made it so, a perfected artistry unlike no other.
Through the passage of time, the light lit the way. Adam said all I had to do was follow it. It was like the tunnel from earlier, the pathway to Elysium, their version of Heaven. As lost souls transitioned from death to rebirth, zombified corpses blankly floundered their way through, lurching forward at the speed of a snail. I was a blur in their final moments, high-tailing it through reality to reach my deceased body before the flame lit and my ashes swirled up to the cosmos. I could see the end, travelling down the rainbow to infinite life. It was a magical journey through each coloured beam as it warmly caressed my eternal soul. There they were, the Darkwaters, back down there, chanting through a frozen thesis and sorrowful expressions as I streamed down the rainbow to bring colour back to my fallen land.
But where was Lucian? Why wasn't he by my side, saying goodbye on such a warm spring morning? It didn't make sense. We always did everything together, he and I. He was my body's reminder to breathe, the Jiminy Cricket to my Pinocchio. He was dark and I was light; we were the perfect balance like yin to yang, good to evil. Not that he was evil anymore. Ever since I pushed him to bite me, take my blood to save his own, he had changed, developed an emotional side, a side that resembled that of a mortal’s humanity. Yet he was still immortal, but with the glow of perfection, an ethereal quality only gods possessed. He was no longer a Darkened Disciple, he was something so much more. He'd been blessed by the light of the Celestial Rose, and because of that, he was absolute.
Rushing to reach them, I saw two more unique caskets beside the old oak tree outside the Darkwater mansion. They were presumably for my dad and brother. Seeing them brought sorrow to my heart, knowing I would not be with them again for a long time. But there was relief now that they were at peace. We would able to be a family again, in the mystical sense, and should I need to travel back, I was sure Gabriel would help me. Considering Gabriel, where was that silver-eyed enchanter? Perhaps he hadn't arrived yet.
As I entered my own funeral, I could see my friends in mourning. Rowena, Jessie, Pearce, Chase, and the twins were all in black, holding hands, and sniffling into handkerchiefs. It was lovely that they were there for me. They'd seen first-hand the powers I could wield; seen Lucian's fangs, Julian’s ice magic, and the rest of my dark family battling to free humanity's foot soldiers from the Beast's grasp.
Sifting through the crowd, my spirit found my body covered in darkness, encased in ice. I looked so peaceful, not screaming like I remembered it. How long did I dare to wait? Something inside pulled me; a tense chest, a palpitating heart. I may not have shared my mortal body yet, but my soul's heart still beat and my lungs could betray me when necessary. Apprehension flooded through me, I was scared. It was that simple. Stepping back into that body, my body, meant I was ready to battle, to take on Lilith and keep humanity from falling. Not just that, but how would I explain the Eve thing? Especially considering I didn’t even understand it. My hands were clammy, my brow beaded with sweat. Come on Taylor, you can do this! I had to, I had no choice. All life was at risk and only I could save it. Jeez, that’s a lot to hang on anyone’s shoulders. Adam had tried, though. All he could do now was prepare. He was the back-up plan. If I failed, the war would commence, Earth would fall, and the darkness would seep into humanity, and the civilisations of every other planet out there.
Beside my astral body, Rowena was stood speaking, Harland by her side. It had to be my funeral for those two to get along. I couldn’t hear what she was saying. She looked tearful as she placed her warm hand on my frozen casket. I couldn't leave them there alone, defenceless. I have no choice, I had to save them before they knew they needed saving.
Standing there felt like an episode of astral projection, where you're watching yourself, yet nobody was home. I had been there before, watching a broken body. I had been waiting for it to breathe, for her to breathe, as I held my mum's hand and wept ashen tears and prayed her soul would return. I remembered her breath, before she died, getting shallower and shallower. Time had passed by and as I sat on the edge of my seat, the haunting moment that had stayed was when she took her final breath. The last moment her reality was my reality. It was the last time I ever saw her smile, laugh, love and learn. It was the last time her eyes fell as she tutted at my giraffe on the wall. I missed my mum, and lying there, I looked so much like her. Granted, a younger version of her, but her all the same. She was my mum, the woman I knew through childhood, the one that would cuddle away my fears, kiss my boo boos better when I fell and hurt my knee. She was my everything, and now she was gone again. The me in the casket was the me in her shell. We were the same, her and I. It wasn't all bad, at least I now knew she'd found peace in that life, moved on, and had been reborn.
I did always wonder, at funerals, if your past loved ones met you when you died. Did they take you through the tunnel to the pearly gates? It was always a thought I'd had, one of hope that I'd see my mother again, feel her warming touch as she took my hand and led the way to salvation. But it wasn't the case. The journey to the afterlife was long, tedious, and lonely. Perhaps that could be something I could change one day. After all, I was supposed to be all powerful and able to wield the light how I saw fit.
I stood there as the light dimmed. Past relatives began to walk away as only the Darkwaters, Harland’s pack, and the gang remained. It was my entrance, the big finale. I guess it could have been quite humorous, in a dark and twisted way. Breathing life back into a forgotten corpse as I burst free from the coffin and danced the merry dance of life once again. I wondered what their reactions would be, to see a fallen comrade bright and bubbly again. There was only one way to see and that was to give it a try.
Reaching out, I touched the frozen casket before me. My hand melded through and gripped my old body with such force it simply sucked me into it. My spirit felt as though it was being crushed as it was siphoned into the rotting flesh. The first thing I noticed was the stench, the smell of necrosis filled the inside of the coffin. My real nose twitched as I stretched into the body once again. Easing each part of me in, from the top o
f my head down to my tippy-toes, I branched out, like the roots of a tree digging in deep, holding the connection of my spiritual side to my physical sleeve again.
Widening out, I relented, relaxed, and released, letting go of my former self. My light spread throughout like a wave across a stormy sea, battling its way through. It healed every part of me, breathed life into deflated lungs, provided the beat to a broken heart, and sparked electrical circuits as it burst through my nervous system. My mind was a mess of emotions; happiness, sorrow, anger, and love. All were tied together in the knotted mess of life.
The dim evening sun streamed through my eyes as they flickered open. My pupils reacted, decreasing in size as my breath felt shallow and I realised I couldn't breathe in the enclosed space. The ice casket wasn't built for the living. The lack of oxygen was starving my now mortal brain as it leapt up and out screamed to function.
I had to get out, had to live again. If I stayed in the cold cavern I would die, frozen forever more only to be burned to ash at a later date. No one would know I'd ever breathed again, no one would realise I had lived, scratching at the lid to release myself. They'd just find claw marks in the ice as they threw me on the fire. Would they realise I'd died again, carted up to Elysium, trudging down the tunnel of an uncertain demise?
There must be a way out, some sliver of hope left within me begged. Maybe if I screamed... no, not the best idea, considering what happened last time. I didn't fancy dying to save humanity once again, having only my death be the reason they lived. There had to be a way.
I was so cold, frozen to the core. My own light wasn't warm enough to heat my bodily insides any longer. I remembered what Adam had said. I didn't just hold the light, I held the darkness, too. With the darkness came a multitude of powers I’d picked up on the way; the Femme Fatale's perfected body, the shadelings ability to travel the realms, and finally Seine, Lilith’s henchman, who bestowed upon me the gift of fire. And what did fire do? It melted ice. Bravo! Give the girl a prize. I'd figured out exactly how to get out of my conundrum; I'd melt my way out!
Now what was it I used to do to light my way out of a situation? ‘Flame on’, as Nic used to put it. Brow creased, eyes strained I pushed with all my might. Forced my energy from the tips of my toes up through my body and out. Nothing happened. Not even a fiery fizzle of flame. How did it work? No matter how hard I concentrated nothing seemed to happen.
Clutching my arms around my chest, I shuddered. I could hardly feel my fingers and toes anymore. The cold I could cope with, if that wasn't my only problem. However, I wasn’t sure if the cold would kill me first or the lack of oxygen in the claustrophobic prison. Struggling for breath, a lump constricted my throat. I gasped for air, shivering ferociously. Was there no end to my torment? I was finally alive, so close to civilisation, and I was stuck amidst a rock and a cold place, murderously clawing for release.
My body tensed up, fists clenched, as I bit down on my bottom lip. I must get out of here! I must scream, I have to risk it! So I screamed with the force of ethereal light blessing the void before me. My angelic chorus of notes summoned up the courage to ignite the world in ruin, and as I screamed, the ice cracked, fizzling into a blind fury as I fell into a sodden mess of a puddle on the floor. Drenched in a pool of icy water, I stopped, quietening the voice within me before it took the world with all its might and froze the birds from the sky again. I couldn’t afford to kill, maim, and slaughter. I had a purpose and there was no time like the present to follow that path, fulfil the purpose, and live happily ever after, or so I thought.
“DEMON!” Harland screeched, changing form and leaping into the air before me.
“Taylor!” Nic yelled, joy caressed his face as the sun fell from the sky. Sunset was upon us, the end of one day and the start of something new.
“Get away from her, you two!” Elisha yelled.
“Elisha, get back. It’s a Demon here to kill us all,” Harland growled.
Rowena screamed and Jessie fainted. Pearce battled Chase to pick her up. Chase stood back and frowned, leaving Jessie to Pearce. Pearce took her inside while the rest of the crowd drew lines on the floor, ready and waiting for the battle to start. Arellanos versus Darkwaters, place your bets. And me just a puddled mess in the middle.
“Stop,” Lawrence spoke, bluntly shaping the battle before us. His voice had a distinct air of severity. He was in charge and no one would state otherwise. “Taylor?” he asked, stepping towards my sodden body. Clinging to my knees, I lay shaking on the floor, soaking wet and freezing cold. If these guys didn’t hurry up, I’d soon die from hyperthermia.
“Yes,” I stuttered.
“Is it really you?”
“Yes,” I answered with a blue tinge edging around my lips. “Where’s Lucian?” I asked.
“It is you!” Harland screeched, back to his own form, having shed his Lycan skin. He ran over, in all his naked glory, fell beside me and hugged me tightly.
Nic joined in, just as Rowena and the rest of the crowd piled on top. It was the ultimate pile-on. Even Julian seemed to smile at my return. He didn’t seem impressed by the broken melted casket he’d clearly spent a while making, though.
“We’ve missed you, Taylor!” Jessie exclaimed as Chase leered in the background.
Rowena jumped in for the biggest cuddle any girl could give. “Don’t you dare do that to us again, Taylor!” She wept. “What the heck happened?”
“That’s a whole other story. It’s good to be back, Rowena. I’ve missed you guys!”
“We’ve missed you, too. Except the killing part, that wasn’t pretty,” she smiled. “I always knew you were special.”
“I promise I’ll tell you all about it, guys. I need to speak to Lucian then I’ll come see you, okay?”
“Sure,” Rowena said. “Anything you need, just don’t forget about us, yeah? And I’m sorry about your family.” She said, looking over at the remaining two caskets.
“Me, too.” I said with a sullen look.
“Mate, I’ve got to go get Jessie home, she’s looking pale” Pearce said, walking back over. “It’s good to have you home, Taylor.” He smiled, patting my back.
“Wait for me!” Chase yelled after Jessie and Pearce as he leapt off for a lift home.
“We love you!” The twins chorused as they waved their goodbyes.
“But how?” Elisha said, picking me up out of the middle of the loveable crowd.
“That’s a long story,” I said, still shaking.
“Here, have my coat.” Harland picked his coat up off the ground and brushed it off.
“Harland, you’re naked, man.” Nic said. “You have the coat. Taylor can have mine.” He passed me his long, black trench coat.
“Thank you.” I murmured.
“Let’s get you inside, dry you off, and have a nice English cup of Yorkshire Tea.” Lawrence said, smiling. “Come on.”
CHAPTER 36: TAYLOR
Stepping inside the Darkwater mansion was like taking a footstep back in time. I remembered the beauty and awe that it held. A tapestry that had been built over the years, memories woven into the fabric of its own existence.
The wind rippled around me as I shuddered with cold. No matter how warm Nic’s coat was, my body felt frozen to the core. The colours swarmed through with life as my chilled body struggled to take a breath. This must be what it feels like to freeze to death, one quaint little footstep at a time, passing through into the oblivious resonance within one’s own imagination. Body tense, shaking like a leaf, I needed warmth and I needed it quick.
"Nic, hurry up and light that fire, she'll freeze to death." Harland demanded.
"Shut it, Harland. I'm going as quick as I can." To be fair, I think it would have been quicker to rub to do sticks together.
"It'd been lit by now if this was my home."
"Well, it's not, is it?" He grimaced.
"Boys, stop bickering. Harland, you’re the hottest."
"Why, thank you." Harland interrupted Elish
a.
She glared before continuing. "Just warm her up, will you? I'll go get the blankets." She paused. "Julian, help Nic with the fire."
"Woah, no mate. You'll melt. I got this."
"Do I look like a fucking snowman, Nic?" Julian countered.
"Err, no." The fire lit, sparks shot out as Nic tumbled backwards. "See? It's done. Now, go stand in the freezer." He laughed.
Harland sat beside me, keeping me warm in his arms. If it weren't for his coat, I'd have been worried. "I knew we'd be naked together one day, Taylor." He smirked.
"Shut it, Harland." He was always the joker.
The fire radiated through the room as Elisha came down, pulled off my sopping wet clothes down to my undies, and wrapped me in six woollen blankets. There was warmth, then there was Elisha’s type of warmth. "There, much better." She exclaimed, hands on hips.
"Thank you," I said as my body dried and the stiff joints melted back into anatomical matter. I began to feel human again.
"Oi, TayTay, you've got all us doing the work with the fireplace when you could have lit it yourself."
"Very true. Taylor, what's wrong with your fire magic?" Elisha asked as Harland hugged me tighter. "Harland, put her down, you're like a randy dog."
The Celestial Rose BoxSet Page 30
