The Celestial Rose BoxSet

by Annalee Adams

  Come on, Taylor, pull yourself together. You’ve got this. Mum should have been there, she always knew what to do. She would sit me down, wipe away my tears, and hug me tight. We’d count to ten together and breathe, slowly and deeply, and by the end of it, I was calm once again. She had a way with words. I wanted to grow up like her, be her. But there was no chance for that anymore.

  Wiping my tears, I stood up. Come on, get a grip. Looking around, I found my jewellery box broken on the floor. The ballerina had been snapped off. I picked it up and the spring rotated round and round, whirring a terrible tune as it lost the will to live. My mum’s locket, where is it? It had to be here somewhere. The room was a mess; drawers emptied, pictures pulled down, even the wardrobe had been pushed on its side.

  Scouring under the clothes, I found some jewellery. Nothing too important so I kept looking. Then I found my baby bracelet, an old gift from afar. Mum never knew who sent it. So I picked that up and pocketed it, ready to go. Then, there it was, slid under the bed and out the way. Grabbing it, I jumped up and piled a few handfuls of clothes into the rucksack. I ran into Caleb’s room and picked up Mr. Socks, his old brown bear that wore his baby socks from when he was a mere infant. Caleb’s room was just as bad. His telescope was smashed, his books were ripped, and his old computer was trashed. He would have been gutted. Who did all of this?

  Time passed quickly as I searched for anything that I might want to keep. It was a tough call, really. I wanted to keep it all. I needed to hold on to any reminder of them. Heading into Dad's room, I found his favourite watch, he had taken it off just before I zapped him. The last time he wore it he was happy, healthy, and whole. My lip quivered. No, don’t start that again. I have to be strong!

  Heading down the stairs, there it was, my favourite picture on the mantelpiece next to my dad’s car keys and a fruit bowl. I’m not sure why we had a fruit bowl, considering it was only ever used for keys and mail. I doubted it ever saw an apple or a pear. Saving the framed picture, I opened the door expecting to see Lucian. Instead, the porch was empty, no Lucian in sight. Where could he have gone? Shit! What was that? A loud bang rippled the ground as the house shook, barely remaining on its four legs.

  The noise came from the right, past the field, towards the woods. Who is that? Stepping out into the porchlight, I could see two familiar faces being carted off by god knows what. Was it... it couldn’t be! The twins; Emma and Jake. I’d recognise that wild blond hair anywhere. Who was that with them? A row of people marched along, being pushed forward by what looked like fire Demons. They reminded me of Seine, just not as large. Jeez, there must be at least thirty people there, half of them I knew from the academy. Where were they heading? Crap, what could I do? I couldn't just let Lilith’s guards take them. There had to be something I could do.

  A hand gripped my mouth as I threatened to scream. Lucian jumped to face me, removing his hand, shushing me as we hid behind the rose bushes. “Lucian, it’s the twins.” I whispered.

  “I know. Half the school has been taken!”

  “We have to save them, Lucian! Shit, they have Rowena, too. Look!” Rowena was walking towards the row of victims with two guards behind her. “Quick, Lucian, we have to go before they take her!” I said as I ran out to save my friend.

  “Taylor, NO!” Lucian cried. Too late. I’d already left our hiding place.

  “Rowena!” I screamed as I ran towards her, trying to grip my sigil to save her.

  Lucian sped past me, picked me up, and ran in the opposite direction towards the woods.

  “Lucian, put me down!” I cried as I could see Rowena turn and a fog of gloom envelop her.

  “That’s not Rowena!” he yelled.

  “Guards!” Rowena screamed with the wail of a banshee’s voice. “Bring them to me!”

  The guards did as they were told, running after Lucian and me, full speed ahead. They were gaining on us. How was that possible? “Lucian quick!” I yelled as my heart beat faster, my breath shorter, and my body tensed, ready for a fight.

  Rowena stood encased in a swirling mist of darkness, her cheery attitude diminished, her red hair soaked by the rain that glazed her surroundings. Coming back to Elvington should have been easy; it was home, after all. But standing there in the woods, staring into those eyes, I could see the tragedy I’d left behind. My best friend was a monster, deformed through the will of another, wrapped in the shell of immortality as she wielded the weapon of thought. How could such a beautiful soul be so easily turned, changed by the pure nature of sin? But what sin could a tragic, lost soul commit? One as rosy as Rowena? One as chirpy, beloved, and delicate as she? She had succumbed to the darkness, accepted her fate, and willingly let Lilith take her. But why?

  Without a second thought, Lucian ran through the woods, but it was too late. One of the guards caught us and pulled me right back off Lucian's shoulder. I landed hard against a tree. I held my head, vision dizzy with an obvious concussion. There was no saving me, I could hardly stand. But I saw enough to see my Lucian be beaten down by six guards. Head pounding, I reached forward, bloody hand clambering at the tree roots beside me. “Lucian,” I spoke, aching to get a word out. It was too late. Lucian was in a pile on the ground. Bloody, cold, and lifeless. Rowena walked through the opening as she laughed at my distress.

  “Hello there, old friend.” She grinned with a huge, toothy smile. “Why, haven’t you been busy!” she said, laughing. She came over and stroked my hair, tasting the blood that coated her pale hand. “Mmm, tastes good. She said you’d taste good.”

  “What did she do to you?” I asked.

  “Why, she removed my pain, love. She removed it all.” She laughed, callously, like a hyena.

  “Oh look, isn’t this pretty,” she said, lifting my hand to inspect my ring. “Why, I’m sure Lilith will love this ring. Cut it off.” She demanded to the guard beside her.

  I screamed, pulling my hand away. Three guards held me down.

  “I suggest you stay still, my lovely, else they might miss then oops, no hand for Taylor.” She said as she put her hand to her mouth and laughed.

  Bracing myself, there was nothing I could do. “Wait, I’ll give it to you.” I said as the guard drew his dagger. Rowena nodded at the guard as he knelt and cut my ring finger right off. I screamed, the pain was unbearable, blood loss inevitable.

  “Oops, too late. Oh look, isn’t it shiny?” She wiped it, suckling the end of my dismembered finger. “Aww, isn’t that Lucian I see? Is he sleeping?” she said as she walked over to him and stroked his hair. “He’s a little bloody, too. Oh well. He won’t do.” She said as she gripped his head and twisted his neck. Snap. The noise echoed in the woods of lost hope. She had killed him. He was dead. Technically, he was dead before. But could he awaken from a snapped neck? How would that work? Either way, I was alone. Bloody, cold, and losing blood fast. There was no-one left to save me anymore.

  Mouth wide open, I screamed. Tears streamed down my eyes. “Who the fuck are you?”

  “Why, you know who I am, my lovely.” She giggled. “Oh, look, you’re bleeding to death. That won’t do.” She laughed “Guard, seal her stump.” She demanded. What did that mean? The guard knelt, gripped my hand, and ignited the stumpy finger with its lava core. The stench of burning flesh serrated the air. Pain flooded through me like a tsunami engulfing the landscape. A roar of everlasting anguish collided with the screams of a broken child. It singed, burned the wound, killed the flesh, and stopped the bleeding. Wailing, I passed out from the pain, falling into the arms of the fire Demon beside me.

  CHAPTER 53: TAYLOR

  As I awoke, I realized I was lying in the street. Threads of wet grass gyrated at my fingertips, all remaining nine of them. The wind bustled through my hair. Leaves swirled in a symphony beside me as I sat motionless, silently watching. The pain from my black stump was eased by the abundant adrenaline that pulsated through my heart. There was no way out of the cage in my mind. Somehow, she had locked me up. I had no control ov
er my body anymore as I screamed inside at the bars that incarcerated me. What had she done to me? Teeth clenched, shoulders raised, I fought.

  Elvington was in flames, old country homes smoked with ignited corpses littering the streets. Looking around, she had killed the weak, the old, and the frail and taken the healthy, robust, and strong. The view ahead was a travesty. Somewhere so beautiful was turned to such darkness. Zombified humans roamed the streets, gnawing at the dead. It was clearly the waste products of society, experiments gone wrong, brainless and dead, living only by their will to survive. It had to be her doing. She had turned it into a scene from a macabre movie, changing the living into a walk with the dead. Where had everyone gone? What had happened in our absence? It had only been three months. Where were the Darkwaters? I had to reach them. I needed to head to the mansion. There had to be survivors. But then I was stuck, held motionless by my best friend as I succumbed to the mind's quicksand she held me in.

  There had to be a way out of this, some way to gain control. Push through it Taylor, keep trying. You’re all they have. Nails gritted the soil as I held on for dear life. Raw cheeks ached as the wind blasted its breeze across them, swallowing as the salty taste of tears slipped over my taste buds.

  “RISE!” she ordered. My body obeyed.

  Standing tall, I tried to resist, tried to pull back, to stop her before she had the chance. The world caved in around me, suffocated my body as I screeched for a breath. I couldn't do this, she couldn't make me. My fingernails dug into each hand as I resisted with everything I could. My face was torn, body trembled; I couldn’t focus. As I stood, the street blurred as a sickness rose to my throat. She had an iron will and was stronger that I could ever be. There were no possibilities anymore, nothing left to achieve. I was going to kill my friends and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

  Jessie and Pearce knelt beside me. Black mascara ran down Jessie’s face as she blubbered, her summer dress muddy and torn. Pearce was silent, fangs bared, but even with his strength, he was no match for Rowena.

  “Rowena, you don’t have to do this!” I pleaded.

  “SILENCE!” she demanded. My lips tightened as my teeth clenched shut.

  “PICK UP THE KNIFE.” She boomed, giggling, applauding her skills as a puppeteer. I did as I was told.

  Jessie sobbed harder. Pearce roared to release himself. There was nothing. No chance either of them could move a muscle unless Rowena willed it so. She was the puppet master and we were the puppets for her to play with.

  Sweat poured as I pushed with all my might. Straining, I yelled. But only thoughts passed through my mind. My lips were still clenched shut. “Let me go!” I screamed, but nothing came out. My hands remained clasped on the handle as I shook, trembling, clutching the knife with all my might. Fear gripped my backbone as I closed my eyes tightly, wincing at what she’d do next.

  The next few moments were an automated blur. Flashbacks swept through me as I stared down at my crimson hands. My mum in her summer dress flying through the subway carriage, crushed and covered in blood, just like Jessie. What had I done? Why couldn’t I stop her? She had ordered me, pushed me forward as I screamed to be set free. My lips remained closed, My hands clammy. I stepped forward like she ordered me to. Jessie had knelt, sobbing, pleading for mercy. Yet my cold, hard face gave none. I was enchained, my soul wrapped in barbed wire as I stood before my victim.

  “NOW!” she demanded. I obeyed.

  Swinging my arm down, the blade ruptured her neck, popping as it punctured her skin. Blood spurted out from her carotid artery, covering me and Pearce in the process.

  “AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN!” she demanded. I obeyed.

  One, two, three more times. I stabbed my friend through the neck, the chest, the arm and the stomach as I knelt beside her slumped body. Jessie gurgled as her body puddled before me. And as I saw Jessie's summer dress crimson with fresh blood, I knew, I was a murderer again, corrupted by chaos, turned by my best friend, and succumbed to the darkness. There was no saving my soul. The end was coming, we’d all felt it. I just hadn't realised the final blow would be dealt through her.

  Rowena laughed, her blackened eyes rolling in her head and wide mouth ecstatic like a joker as she fell down, howling in laughter. She was insane, lost her mind, her marbles rolled away as she entered the abysmal life she’d chosen. Her shadelings dashed past her to siphon the last of Jessie away. There was no end to the misery. There was no peace to my annihilation. Rowena commanded me and the only way she would let me go is if I killed her in the process. Could I voluntarily kill my friend? My best friend, whose only flaw was to take the easy option, to agree for Lilith to use her, but for what? What would possibly make Rowena agree to something like that? Granted, she would never have thought it would come to this. And somewhere there, deep inside, she would be screaming to be let out just as I was. She was as much a victim as I had become, as Jessie was.

  It had to be, it could only be. The leverage Lilith had on Rowena was Ricky. I hadn’t seen him since I’d been back. Then again, the whole of Elvington was in ruins, so I doubt I’d see anyone again. She had to have taken Ricky. Rowena would give herself to spare his life. It had to be that.

  Laughing hysterically, her grip over me eased. I had to make a run for it, there was no other choice. But what about Pearce? I had to try and save him at least. Would he ever forgive me? No. I wouldn’t if someone killed my Lucian, even if it was against their will. I’d eternally see them stabbing and stabbing until death repented their sins. No matter whose control I was under, there was no helping me now. Still, he was my friend. Even if it meant he may kill me, I had to save him. Or at least try.

  Pushing through the lessened grip, my bloody hand dropped the knife and reached down to my sigil. Pure control flashed before my eyes. Clarity ensued me as I stood tall and blasted Rowena across the street, knocking her out cold against a lamppost.

  “Run!” I yelled as Pearce broke free. His fangs glared at me as he picked up Jessie’s body and sped off towards the Darkwater mansion.

  Following slowly behind him, I took in the tragedy of the situation. Where were all the survivors? A whole town could not just vanish, decimated through the hands of a sinful catastrophe. There were over one thousand people living in the town, it was impossible for them all to disappear. Had Lilith taken them? Enrolled them into the darkness, just as she had with Rowena? There were men, women, and children there. What about the children? They had to be holed up in the old elementary school back on Georges Avenue. It was only two streets down, I could make it there, double check. What if they were in hiding? Kids could squeeze into the smallest of places. If I could save just one, then Jessie's death would mean something. It had to mean something.

  Turning the corner, I crossed the barren street. There it was, its doors chained up. No lights on and no fire or smoke in sight. That had to be a good sign, surely? The looming building stood before me as I checked the windows and doors. No chance, they were securely locked. Perhaps around the back? Wet grass squelched underneath me as I ran around, looking for a way in. The thing was, if I found a way in, then that meant the monsters could find a way in. What if they’re holed up in there, crying for their mummies as they wept the tears of innocence and passed on to the realm of the dying, sickly, and dead? All it would take would be one of Lilith’s creatures to find them. There would be carnage and devastation. I couldn’t not look. I had to be sure.

  Breaking a side window, I lifted myself in. The corridor was dark, dirty, and damp. It stunk of urine as I passed a kid’s bathroom with overflowing toilets. Sewage swept across the tiled floor. Stepping around it, I wrinkled my nose. The corridor ahead lay in darkness. Only dimly lit by the sunlight streaming through a window further down. A rustling echoed in my eardrum as I stopped dead in my tracks. There was something in there with me. My body ignited, vision focused, hearing strengthened. Clarity streamed through my body as adrenaline surged. Survival instincts took over It was now or never. I had to
face it, before it came at me.

  Running at full speed, I flickered through the window light and slid into the side room. Something snarled in the corner as a little girl screamed. The classroom smelt of death with the ripe corpses hat littered the floor. Broken children were laid out like ragdolls. Something used the area as its feeding ground and it was still there, snarling and hungry. The ground shuddered as the weight of a monster rushed against it. My entrance had alerted it, perhaps more so than the frightened girl's cries.

  If it were plausible to merge a simple house spider with a blow fly and then multiplied its size, then that would have been the result. A silken strand of web shot past me as the gigantic creature slid down from the ceiling above. Eight legs scuttled across the floor, its piercing eyes ripped through my comfort zone as I screamed like a little girl who had always been afraid of spiders. Arachnophobia is no joke, especially in the realm of mortality. I cursed the day I ever came up with spiders. The thing must have been five foot tall as it scurried towards me. Its brittle wings gleamed in the light of the darkening sky as outside the sunset dimmed through the clouds and shadows threatened to take over.

  I HAD TO REACH THE girl, but the only way through was past the legs of the terrifying creepy crawly. There was no way I was going near that thing. There had to be a plan B. Jeez, I couldn't stop shaking. It was either my body's reaction to coming down from an adrenaline rush or the damn creation before me. I’d guess at a bit of both. I needed clarity now, there was no other way. I had the willpower of a bull, especially since I was cornered. I didn’t fancy waiting around to see what Lilith’s newbie had in store for me. Slamming my fist on my sigil, I exhaled exponentially. My mind cleared as my senses quietened. I could now listen, think, feel and see better. Concentration came naturally as I inhaled my next breath. Seeing the pattern ahead, I knew what had to be done. Exhaling, I fell to the floor, pushed away from the wall, and skidded under the spider and through its terrifying legs. Jumping up as it turned, I inhaled, grabbed the girl, and hauled ass out of there. As we reached the end of the corridor, the girl shrieked. Turning around, the insectile monster was almost on top of us.