The Celestial Rose BoxSet

by Annalee Adams

  I did feel like a failure, well, until I had seen true love; like my mum and dad, my mortal parents. They were in love. They brought out the best in society, perfection as close to the heart as it can be, two souls matched in life. It couldn’t have been more beautiful, until the darkness pulled them apart. I could never forgive Lilith for that, if it wasn’t for her, then my mother would be alive. My father, my brother. But then, I’d never have met Lucian and the rest of his abnormal family. It was all a case of sliding doors; no matter which way you looked at it, I would have lost something. I wondered if parallel universes were a thing, like a real thing. If they were, then I wondered if there was another version of me living somewhere, reaching my soon to be nineteenth birthday beside my loving parents and annoying little brother. Perhaps back in the penthouse in London. That was a dream I’d always think of. A life without the light. Just a normal human life, like Adam had wanted me to have. Why did the almighty father have to ruin it? Why was I so important that he had to hunt me down and hound me for centuries? Couldn't I have some peace?

  “We’re here, Eve.” Gabriel said as we drifted to the ground. “You appeared to be quite lost in thought there.”

  “Yes, I was just imagining life in a different way.” I smiled. “Is this it? It doesn’t look like much.”

  “What were you expecting? A brass band and a welcome sign?” He laughed.

  I smiled. “No, but a passage would be beneficial.”

  “Ah yes, well, wonders never cease.” He said. “It’s here, just cloaked.”

  “Cloaked my arse, mate. Piss off, Angel.” A nasty looking red-haired man leapt out of the rock face.

  “Woah, back up there.” Gabriel said. “We mean no harm.”

  Why was Gabriel nervous? He could have easily taken the creature.

  “What are you?” I asked casually.

  “Ah?”

  “I asked what you are.”

  “Who’d you think you are asking me questions?”

  “I’m Taylor, and you are?”

  “Shit me, man, you’re Taylor? How’d you get outta Hell?”

  “Pardon?” Gabriel asked.

  “Erm, I was never in Hell. Did you see Lucian?”

  “Ol’ Luci, yeah he’s gone to barter with Lilith to get your sweet ass outta Hell.” He said, whistling as he looked around me.

  “Back off,” Gabriel said, taking a step forward.

  The red head held his hands up. “Oi, I mean no disrespect. I was just checking out the merchandise.”

  “I’m not for sale.” I frowned.

  “Bitch, please, everything’s for sale.”

  I coughed, as a young child walked out from behind the rock face. “Joey, that’s lots of bad words.”

  “Oh yeah, shit, sorry kid.”

  “Hello,” I said as I knelt to greet the child. “What’s your name?”

  “I’m Elijah Johnson, from 132 Newtown street.”

  “Well, hello Elijah. I’m Taylor.” I offered my hand. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Are you Mr. Fang's Taylor?”

  “Mr. Fang?” I asked, laughing. “Yes, I’m Lucian's Taylor, do you know him?”

  “Yes, he saved me in the plane and bought me chocolate buttons. Do you want one?” he said, offering out a grubby hand of melted buttons.

  “Why, that’s so sweet of you. No, I’m good. Thank you.” I said, “How do you know this man here?” I asked as I pointed at the red haired brutish chap.

  “Lucian told me to stay with him until he got back. He told him not to eat me.” He smiled, I raised my eyebrows and looked at Gabriel.

  Ruffling Elijah’s hair, I stood up and turned to the man. “What are you?” I asked again.

  “Same as Luci, mate. Well, kinda. I’m not all spooky Disciple like, like he is, but I’m a Dark One. Love the blood, I do.” He said, sniffing in the air and baring fangs at the child. I nodded, smiling warily.

  “Gabriel, can you stay here with Elijah?”

  “Eli, my mum called me Eli.” He interrupted.

  “Okay, Eli. While I go in and search for Lucian?”

  “Eve, do you think it’s wise for you to in alone?”

  “Shit me, you’re bloody Eve? Hubba hubba, ol’ mate Luci’s dropped on there, he has.”

  “Thanks.” I smiled. “Yes, Gabriel, please. If you can look after Eli, I’d appreciate it. I don’t know how long Joey’s hunger is going to stay at bay.”

  “Ah, I see your point. Okay, well remember to shout if you need anything.”

  “I doubt you’d hear me in another realm, Gabriel.”

  “No, but it’s the thought that counts.” He grinned.

  I walked through the rock face, a portal to another world. Into the dark, deep, frozen blackness of black as I entered the passage and said goodbye to a world of civilisation.

  CHAPTER 42: LUCIAN

  Life could be quite complex at times. But for me, looking through the eyes of my chalkboard existence, it was simple. This is a place of evil, pure bloodthirsty evil. The darkness thrived there. There was no light in sight. Damn how I missed Taylor's gorgeous smile, her laughter, and the blessed light that radiated around her soul. Even when the evil threatened to consume her, she still managed to save us all by ending her own mortal existence.

  Walking through that passage brought wonders to the imagination. The only problem was hat I knew what sat in wait on the other side. Out of the darkness, the flickering of reality lay ahead. An entry point to another universe. A land where murder was the number one fun thing to do on a Friday night. There were gangs hunting one another for sport, just like in a prison yard; the blacks against the whites. It didn't matter what you felt within, the colour of your skin was what set you apart from the others. If you weren't the right shade, you were cast out to fend for yourself, and those that were cast-off didn't last five minutes. Especially as the races banded together to hunt their fallen foe. After capture, the ritual torture began. Hell was a dream vacation compared to that. I struggled to believe I was once a runner in those hunts; tracking down the unworthy, bathing in their blood. The humanity lark had really turned me upside down. Then again, I think it was more Taylor that changed me. She had let in a little of her light one microbe at a time, easing my darkness and bringing back my love of life, my love of her. Without her, I didn't know if I could keep it up. Was I able to smile without her telling a joke? Could I feel the warmth without her hot hands? Part of me said yes, but knowing what I was, that part said no.

  I was the king of all evil, the original Dark One, the only Darkened Disciple there ever was. That had a weight all on its own. Eventually, my own darkness would eat up all the remaining light inside, all of Taylor and her gift she bestowed on me. It’d suffocate it until there was nothing left to fight for. That would be the end and no matter how much I fought it, without her, the darkness would win. There was no second guessing that fact. Centuries of bloodshed stood testament. Shit, even I feared me.

  Reaching the reality flicker, I braced myself. Fists clenched, teeth bared, I was ready to fight. Stepping through the shimmer, the darkness fled, returning only with the night sky, two moons, a shitload of stars, and a few added planetary systems. I'd forgot how jaw dropping the universe was from the gateway of Enoch.

  Night time didn't mean peace in such a place; it meant fear and torment, a time to run and hide. Even as Lilith’s top Disciple, I feared the dark, this dark. Shit knows what she'd created in the last few centuries. The girl got bored and played with new mutations, stealing humans and mixing them up a bit. It was how we all came about, created from human form with a fuck load of magical ju-ju and an overwhelming amount of evil darkness. Then hey, presto, out jumped a new creature as deadly as sin. Well, that was the minimised version of it, the actual creation was a whole lot more traumatic.

  And to think I ever had a thing for her! You would have thought the Queen of the damned was disgustingly despondent. But no, she was a spectacular goddess, the most beautiful creature I ha
d ever seen, well, until I met Taylor Lane.

  Lilith was tall with flowing golden hair, blackened irises, and luminescent skin. The ground kissed her feet as she walked, but don't let her beauty fool you. She was the most obnoxious version of immortality there was. Her very glance could turn you to stone, if she willed it. Where did they think Medusa got her mojo from?

  Standing before Enoch, I was faced with a sandstorm of locusts and the air became difficult to breathe. Not that I needed to inhale anything, but it was something I'd grown used to over the centuries living on Earth. Within the blizzard, the ground shook and rattled. I could only imagine what new rarity had been created, and by the looks of the mound it left behind, it was a serpent, approximately 200 metres long. The sand dunes weren't made for the faint of heart and I knew it’d take a while to cross them, especially with Lilith’s new creations keeping guard. There had to be a way through. There was always a back door, one hidden in true sight. I stretched my vision through the wall of darkness and found a trapdoor beneath my feet, a metallic slithering of silver. I uncovered it, pulled on the handle, and braced myself against the winds. The weight of the door pulled, countered me. To say it was a struggle to open would be an understatement. But when I finally managed it, the assortment of air pulled me in, suctioning me dry as I withered into the room before me. Where was I?

  A room with three doors and three symbols, none of which I recognised. This was new. Perhaps a game created to fool the brightest of scholars. Of course, knowing Lilith, each of these probably meant bugger all, just stationed there to trick you into thinking there was a way out. But no, no chance and no way out except to sit in the hole of pure damnation until the bitch came to find me. Shit, I couldn't stay there forever. It wasn't like she even knew I was here. Joey wouldn't have told her, and I had not met another soul on my journey. If they even have souls. Damn, so which door should I choose? The one with the infinity symbol, the one with what looked like a damn snowman, or the one that seemed floral in appearance. They didn't mean bloody anything. I shrugged. What was the point? Damn I hated her sodding mind games.

  Right, the middle one, the infinity symbol that looked like a sideways number eight. Here goes nothing. Closing my eyes, bracing myself for a smack in the face, I walked through into the oblivious resonance within one’s own imagination. I arrived before the final gateway, beside the castle of Enoch itself. Damn, I picked well.

  The magnificent towers before me, leering over, watching me as I squirmed. There was an evil living within its walls. The castle didn't need guards or an army of bloodthirsty soldiers. This castle had its own inbuilt defence mechanism. The castle itself was creature, a very living, very evil, very tiresome creature. The walls before me rippled as the humongous beast stood on the crisp yellow sand, bathing beside a volcano of ash and fire and surrounded by a river of blood, with fuck knows what living in it. I shuddered again. The place gave me the creeps. How the hell was I going to get across the dead bloody river and enter the beastly castle before me? Was there no drawbridge? Had she learnt nothing from Camelot? Bloody humans and their castles, at least they built a fortified entrance.

  "Well are you going to let me in or what?" I shouted at the deadly disease in front of me. If that didn’t piss her off to open the damn door then nothing would. Shit, I just hoped that Cain was not home. He was enough to give anyone the heebee jeebees.

  "Lilith, come on. You know it's me, Lucian. Let me in. I need to talk to you."

  The wall beyond the bloody moat rippled and contracted. Sections pulled away as it rolled out a slimy tongue that leapt forward, providing a disgusting path across the river of blood below. It was going to take a lot more than balls to enter the beast's mouth. Shit me. I didn't think I could do it. I mean seriously, she expected me to willingly walk past those gnashing teeth and into the stomach of whatever the heck the bloated creature was? Err, you’ve got to be kidding me. There has to be another way in. Remember the plan Lucian. Remember why you're here. Fuck it.

  Stepping forward, I tested the squelchy tongue, tapping the tip with my black boots. It ripped and rhymed backwards. Would it even stay there if I took a step onto it? Or would it turn and flick me into the river of doom? Crap, I had no choice though, did I?

  "I haven't got all day, Lucian. I've waited centuries for this." Lilith said as she stepped out of the mouth, pausing beside the grunting voice box. She wore a long gown that wrapped itself around her body, a body decorated by the demonic being that encased her angelic appearance. Her ample breasts protruded ravishingly, as her golden hair flowed down by her side.

  "Shit, really Lilith? You've outdone yourself this time!"

  "I know, isn't she magnificent?"

  "This thing’s a she?"

  "Desamay isn't a thing, she's my home. Now have some respect or I'll tell her to dump you in the river below." She said with her hands on her hips, clearly pissed off.

  "You still have the pout, I see." I said, smiling. I missed her. She scared the shit out of me, but I missed her looks and pissy attitude.

  "I've missed you too Lucian." She said as she walked over Desamay's tongue to greet me with an overwhelming hug. To look at, you wouldn't think she was the epiphany of all evil, but her actions spoke louder than her words as she drew out a dagger from her thigh garter and knifed me in my gut.

  "I've missed you too, Lilith," I said as I croaked, bleeding out and collapsing down onto the tongue. Fucking bitch.

  My eyes closed and the universe slipped into a glimmer. There was no hope left for bargaining my soul for hers. Where would Taylor be if I didn't offer some sort of deal to the ghastly Lilith when I had the chance?

  CHAPTER 43: LUCIAN

  Familiar screams woke me. It was the screams of the damned, the unworthy, and the mutated. Lilith’s creations didn't always work to plan, and to be honest, putting them out of their misery was a blessing in disguise.

  My eyelids felt sluggish, my gut wretched as I crippled over with discomfort. I may be immortal, but it still took a while to heal and a heck of a lot of blood to replenish my inner supply.

  I felt tired as I raised my heavy eyelids. She had really done a number on me. I guess it was pretty nice in comparison to the shitstorm I should've received.

  Where the fuck am I? Confusion mingled with an alarming sense of panic and overwhelmed me as I realized my arms were chained to the walls of the living castle. This wasn't going to be pretty! Shit, I've got to get out of here. It wasn't Lilith I was concerned about, it was bloody Cain. He would rather eat me and shit me out for breakfast than let Lilith listen to a damned thing I said. Fuck fuck, fuckety fuck. Think, Lucian, damn it. Think!

  The door to the cell unlocked as a jailer with two heads appeared grinding his teeth and carrying a huge spiked mace. Crap! If this was one of her successful mutations, I’d hate to see the unsuccessful ones. Come on, Lucian, remember why you're here, man! Get up and bargain with the fucker. Make him like you. There had to be something it wanted. Everybody wanted something.

  Entering the cell, the jailer grinned with both mouths. "Who’s been a naughty boy, then?" Head one asked. Head two giggled.

  "Naughty boy, naughty boy," head two said, and they both chuckled in unison.

  Shit. Kill me now.

  "You're coming with us," head one said as it's bulky slimy hands pulled the chains free from the wall. The castle rippled away, as though it was pained from the obvious injury it had received.

  "Coming with us, coming with us." Head two said laughing.

  The jailer pulled me up and along the illicit corridor. The walls were made of some kind of stone, but with a living beast within them. It watched my every move with round eyes that appeared in every nook and cranny.

  My stomach still lay half open, my intestines threatened to join the party at any time. Especially if the big guy didn't stop pulling me so damn hard. What the fuck am I doing? I could take this turd in a second. Damn it. I wish I bloody could. It wouldn't have exactly made the best impression i
f I started ripping holes in Lilith’s beastly creations, now would it? Let's just get this over and done with. The corridor narrowed just as we turned a corner, before we entered a large throne room. At the end sat three thrones. The one in the centre was much larger and more elegant than the others and had Lilith perched in. Beside her, on either side, sat two empty thrones. Presumably for Cain and the Lucifer.

  I felt a pang of sorrow for Lilith as she sat in the empty room, all alone. Where was Cain, after all? Not that I wanted to make his acquaintance, again. I was over the moon that the bastard wasn't around to see this. He'd been instigating the ruin of my lived immortality, that was for sure.

  "Lucian." She smiled.

  "Lilith." I said warily.

  "Come sit with me." She said as she pointed to the steps before her feet.

  "You aren't going to stab me, again are you?"

  "That's the least of your worries, Lucian." She grinned.

  As I sat before her, she leant forward. It was difficult not to stare into her cleavage. It was literally at my eye level. The demonic possession she held around her neck scared me off, somewhat. Especially when it began to growl like a dog protecting its owner.

  "This is Jesus." Lilith said.

  "Pardon?"

  "Jesus, say hello to Lucian." She said as she stroked the drooling beast down from her neck. It looked like the fox skins people used to wear as scarves back in the day. But just a living breathing one with a part human, part monster face. It appeared as though a human had melted while wearing the skin of a fox and mutated into something devastating.