The Celestial Rose BoxSet

by Annalee Adams

  “Well, Blane is my first fire demon. He is wonderful at burning things and, just to please you, we are going to cook your dinner today.”

  Aroelyn’s eyes widened, jaw dropped, as she looked at what her daughter was about to witness.

  The whore screamed and jumped up to run and hide, but EJ knocked her down before Blane, who awaited the nod to go ahead.

  “Are you ready for your dinner, Aria?”

  “Yes,” she said, innocently.

  “Splendid!” I clapped, grinning. Aria clapped too, drying her eyes and a fresh smile on her face.

  I nodded, and Blane responded.

  CHAPTER 77: Elisha

  Where was I? What was I?

  Awaking to voices I knew was a good sign. Lawrence was beside me, as was Eli. “She’s awake!” Eli shouted. The room fell silent as Hayley and Kathryn came to my side.

  “Where’s everyone else?” I asked, rising with a heavy head.

  “Take it easy,” Harland said as he appeared from the doorway.

  I smiled. “I’m glad to see you survived.”

  “I’m glad I did too.” He grinned.

  “What about Nic and Jayden, Pearce and Jessie, Allyson?”

  “Nic and Jayden are fine. They’re downstairs talking to Clyde and Allaric. Pearce and Jessie are resting. But Allyson, Meghan, and Jodie didn’t make it.” He said, head lowered.

  Tears caught me by surprise. I’d failed. They’d died because we weren’t good enough to protect them. I still remembered Jodie’s screams, a memory that I hoped would one day disappear. Harland walked over, sat beside me, and held me tight. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you cry, Elisha.”

  “Well, don’t get used to it.” I said, wiping the tears from my eyes.

  Eli walked over. “You saved them.” He said, looking over at Hayley and Kathryn. They smiled.

  “I know, I just wanted to save them all.”

  “You’re not a superhero, you know.” Harland said.

  “I feel like I should be.” I said then smiled.

  “Come on, woman up. We’ve a war to win.” Harland said, standing up and lifting me up beside him. “Right, from what I can figure out, Rowena and her troops were in some kind of stasis. Saving their energy for the next battle, perhaps?”

  “I thought that too.” I said.

  “So, they aren’t as much of a threat at night. But the zombies are.” He said.

  “They’re not zombies,” Eli said.

  “No, but what are they?” I asked

  He shrugged.

  “Okay, let’s call them zombies for now, shall we?” Harland said, frowning at Eli.

  Eli smiled.

  “Right, so how about we let Rowena and her army take out the ‘zombies’?” he said, eyeing up Eli’s reaction. Eli smiled back at him. “Then we take out Rowena when she’s finished with her pest control.”

  “Okay, but isn’t time of the essence?” Hayley asked.

  “Yes, she’s right.” Lawrence said. “Lilith is on her way. The longer we wait, the more likely she will appear and end us all. At the moment, we are only up against a small selection of foes, not the whole army.”

  “True. But how do we take out Rowena?”

  “She’s a puppet master, right?” I asked. Harland nodded. “Well, so am I.”

  “Kind of,” Harland said. “But not to her strength.”

  Fine. He thought I wasn't capable of using my power. Let’s see what I could get him to do. Exposing myself to the environment around me was the simple part. The scent of roses carried my alluring enchantment forward. “Harland,” I whispered, slipping the notes off of my tongue with delightful desire. My body ached as I swirled myself around him. Hair gleamed in the light of the day as the shimmering rays of the sun caressed my body with their warming lustre. Soaking in the spirit of his sexuality, I descended upon him, whispering sweet nothings in his ear, resonating the promises of something more. Moist breath touched his face as I snaked my arms around him, embracing his soul and capturing the light of his eyes in my own. “Bow,” I whispered. He obeyed. Kneeling beside him, I placed my knife by his body. “Pick up the knife,” I whispered deep within his ear. He obeyed. “Hold it to your throat,” I said. He obeyed.

  Pearce and Jessie walked in. Jessie screamed. Pearce knocked Harland back, taking the knife from him. “Huh, what?” Harland said, shaking out of the moment.

  I laughed.

  “How could you, Elisha?” Pearce asked as Jessie stood shaking.

  “What? I wasn’t going to hurt him.”

  “How the hell did you do that?” Harland asked.

  “See, I’m more powerful than you realise.” I smirked. I’d proven my point.

  Pearce held onto Jessie, directing her out of the room. Harland looked over at me, eyes wide, he said, “Okay, you can tackle Rowena, then.”

  “Tomorrow.” I said. “We take the fight to them tomorrow.”

  The evening came and went with a make shift dinner, banter, and time with friends. I’d never have imagined ever sitting with those people at the academy, let alone giving them the time of day. But the Arellano’s, well, they weren’t all bad. I’d grown to know, and like, Harland over the past year. He was strong, courageous, and hot-headed which made him cute and sexy as hell.

  “We’re off to bed.” Pearce said, “Jessie needs to rest.” He was right, she looked drained. She’d hardly had any blood since she’d turned, and it’d taken its toll on her.

  “Good night,” I said, smiling. Looking over, Eli was fast asleep on the sofa with Lawrence dropping off beside him. Alaric and Clyde were outside taking turns in keeping guard and Nic and Jayden had already headed up for the night. There was only Hayley, Kathryn, Harland, and I left. Hayley smiled, winked, and told Kathryn she was tired but didn’t want to go to sleep alone. Kathryn joined her, and the two of them headed upstairs leaving only Harland and I alone at the table.

  “And then there were two,” I said, smiling. “I’d better head up too.”

  “Are you sure you want to?” Harland asked, rising from his chair and walking around the table over to me. “It’s just...” He turned my chair towards him, knelt before me, and smiled. Shivers ran over my skin as I awaited what he was going to say. “This might be the last night we ever have together.”

  “It may be,” I replied, biting my bottom lip. Sexual tension was ripe in the air. My body curled towards him as he placed his hand on my thigh. I was far from an innocent little girl. I leapt off of the chair and landed on top of him. Ripping off his top, I bent down, kissing him, tongue against tongue, as he yanked off my shirt, unclasped my bra, and growled as he ripped off my pants. It was quick, hot, fast, and as sexy as hell. He fit perfectly. Claws ripped at skin and blood trailed down our backs as we yearned for more, quicker, deeper, faster. Reaching a hot hard and heavy climax together, we collapsed in a sweaty, sexually scented mess.

  “I can’t believe you fell for the last day on Earth line!” Harland said, grinning.

  “I can’t believe you waited so long!” I said, laughing.

  He kissed me once again as we lay in silence. Tomorrow could be our last day. But for tonight, tonight we got to be young teenagers lusting for love once more.

  CHAPTER 78: Lucian

  Shit. We’d been given the raw end of the deal with Lilith. The place was stunning. No wonder Taylor never wanted to leave. Imagine being cast down to Earth again and again in body after body, just because daddy dearest couldn’t keep his hands to himself. Damn, that was some creepy shit right there. Okay, so I didn't recall him being that ‘type’, but he definitely needed a good smack round the earhole for being a shitty father figure all these years. I mean, who on Earth would want to kill their own kid? I did want to snap that kid's neck, but he was damn right annoying. The chatterbox had never stopped, even when the plane went down. That kid has issues. I wondered how he was doing back down on Earth. I wondered if my family was alright in Elvington. Lilith had better not have touched them. She a
nd I were going to be having words, and not the nice kind. I should have guessed when she stabbed me that she wasn’t in the mood for talking. But for now, well, that bitch needed to go down.

  I missed her, though. We had some good times together, she and I. She had always been the joking type, but nothing like Cain could be. She’d changed. She’d lost the sparkle in her eyes, the good in her heart. Yeah, she had actually had some good in there. I was there, I remembered it. It may have been buried deep down, but even when she made me eat my own mother, she still had concern for my wellbeing. Messed up and completely disturbed concern, but concern all the same.

  Damn. No matter how perfect I made her out to be, she was still going to be the epiphany of all evil. She really did follow in her father’s footsteps. But wow, I mean, she’d never measure up to this place. Enoch didn't have a leg to stand on compared to here.

  Getting changed was the easy part. Adam seemed to be able to conjure up any number of items. Jeez, what I’d do with magic like that! Then it came to showing me around. The room was a pure, bright white, gleaming with the endless possibilities of a blank canvas. Adam said it was a room that changed depending on the person's mindset. Shit. I hoped it didn't delve into my mind, it may not like what it saw. Okay, so yeah, I was getting quite anxious. Mentally blocking this thing out grew tiresome. I needed to get out of there and into the main atrium. But instead, I fed the room an image. The cruise ship bedroom Taylor and I had christened. It was the perfect place, somewhere easy going, simple, and nice. Washing up, I chucked on jeans and a tee-shirt, straightened the hair, and headed out to meet Joey and the celestial crew. But when I headed out, I could hear the whispers from a mile away. The angels were scared of me. Me, little old me. How was that even possible? They were bigger, broader, strong... I wouldn’t say stronger, as I was pretty strong myself. But they were definitely harder with their celestial magic that they could wield. Let alone the swords. The blades were about the size of one of my legs. Shit, I couldn’t wield one of those buggers. I’d stick to my blades and fangs, thanks. But then, I was selling myself short. I was a pretty nifty speedster, so that was on my side. I was as stealthy as one of those rogues in a video game. So, I was hoping I’d outwit an angel, should I have ever felt the need to battle one. Although, I didn't think Taylor would be too chuffed if I picked a fight with her big brother. I laughed.

  Heading into the atrium, I passed a huge white building, a palace of sorts. Adam stood beside Gabriel and Joey, awaiting my arrival.

  “Yo mate, what took you so long?” Joey asked.

  “Would you care for a tour of Elysium?” Adam asked.

  “Yes, that would be marvellous.” I responded.

  “Cool mate,” Joey said.

  “Gabriel, perhaps it would be wise if you took Joey on a tour and I spend some time with my soon to be brother-in-law, or so I hear.”

  I winced. “Ah, so you know.”

  “Indeed. Gabriel told me.” Gabriel hunched his shoulders, pushed Joey forward, and headed off.

  “And are you okay with it?”

  “I’m happy if Eve’s happy. But don’t forget, I’ve known of you for many centuries now, so I also remember your past as well as your present,” he said. I winced again. “You were once Lilith’s right-hand man. Has that changed?”

  “I am loyal to no-one except for Taylor and my family.”

  “I am glad to hear. I hope that one day we can gain one another’s trust, too.”

  “That would be good, Adam.” I said and smiled. He was right, it would be nice to be welcomed by Taylor's family, as well, and the link to that was Adam. Hell, he was the only real family she had left that wasn't demented, dead, or dispelled.

  Walking through the atrium, crowds of celestials stood and stared, whispering to their hearts content, obviously unaware that I could hear them. They were quite sweet and innocent for something so big and broad. The couple in the corner was discussing how I entered Elysium covered in the blood of a poor human girl. They were well and truly scared. It was amusing and appealing. I think I could like it here. “Adam, one minute, I need to set something right.”

  “Err... okay.”

  I left Adam and walked over to the couple who were declaring their fear of the big bad wolf. Little did they know, I wasn’t a fluffy werewolf but a hard ass Dark One. This is going to be fun. They aren’t even watching. Should I jump in and say boo? Would that look bad in the eyes of the big brother over there? It would be highly amusing, to say the least.

  Instead, I wandered over casually, raised my hand high, and tapped the cute girl on the shoulder. “Excuse me, you do realise I can hear you?” I said.

  The girl shook and backed off as her partner in crime stepped in front of her, baring his wings in defence.

  “Cute wings, they’re very fluffy,” I said, reaching out to stroke them. “Anyways, if you want to know about me, just ask. I’m not here to eat you all. I’m just here to find my Taylor and I’ll be out of your way again.”

  “You shouldn’t be allowed here,” another angel spurted.

  “Well, that’s not very forgiving of you, is it?” I smirked.

  “Get away from us.”

  “Leave us alone,” another angel chimed in.

  Adam walked over. “Now now, he is our guest and will soon be part of my family. You will treat him with respect.”

  “How can you allow him to be part of the family? He’s one of her creatures.”

  “The ‘her’ you are discussing is still my twin sister and she should also be treated with respect. It is not Lilith’s fault, what happened to her. We all know the reason she was banished.”

  “Err, I don’t,” I said holding my hand up to speak.

  “She is female. Father said females can hold off the darkness, they are a threat to it whereas men easily succumb to its darkened nature.”

  “Well, that’s why I’m doomed, then.”

  “Clearly, as are we all if Lilith finds her way up here.” He said. “Look, we all need to work together. There’s a war coming. It’s already reached Earth and we need to prepare for the final battle.”

  “Final?” one of the girls asked.

  “Yes, as in lots of bloodshed, arms and limbs flailing about, lots of people dying for the cause. One side wins, everyone cheers, and we drink blood and be merry.” I said.

  Her jaw dropped.

  I cringed. “Oh, okay, yeah you don’t do that here, do you? Okay, we’ll drink lemonade instead.”

  Adam patted me on the shoulder. “Perhaps we should discuss your view on the upcoming war.” He smiled as we walked off and I waved to the celestial crew behind me. “I take it you’re not a fan of the future path we have to walk on.”

  “No, not particularly. I’ve seen and done enough to last me countless lifetimes, Adam. I’d rather stay clear of this battle, thanks.”

  “But you do realise the central point of this battle is Eve, your Taylor?”

  “Err, no. Why’s that?” I blundered.

  “Because the rose was created by her, with father's aid, of course. She doesn’t realise, but she is, in fact, the most powerful being in this universe and if the rose dies, she will die alongside it.”

  My mouth dropped wide open. “Shit.”

  “Shit indeed.”

  Standing in silence, I contemplated the fact that my fiancée was the one true goddess. Damn. I knew how to pick them. It explained how she could wield both the dark and the light. She was the perfect balance of both. I was literally the luckiest man alive. Well, dead. Well, I wasn't sure what I was but one thing I did know for sure was that she would always be the light in my darkness. I was a better person because of her. “So what do we do?” I asked concerned.

  “We fight, and we fight until every person dies, if we have to. Because we have to protect the rose or nothing, and I mean nothing, will exist. The serpent of darkness will have free reign and it will literally be Hell on Earth.”

  “I’ve lived in Enoch; Hell on Earth ca
n’t be much different.”

  “Oh, it can. Have you seen my sister's mutations lately? That’s just the start. I know her, she won’t stop until she has wiped out every last one of us.”

  “Damn.”

  “But she isn’t the biggest problem.”

  “There’s a bigger problem?”

  “Yes, I’m afraid so. Our father is missing.”

  “Pardon?”

  “He was last seen in Hell, watching over the darkness there. It was the perfect place for it to fester and grow. But, apparently, he is no longer there.” He paused. “Have you heard anything of where he may be?”

  “No, should we be worried?”

  “Yes, very worried! He’s gunning for Eve's blood and won’t stop until he has either turned her to his side, and therefore darkened the celestial rose, or...”

  “Or what?”

  “Destroyed her so that she can never be reborn.”

  That was awful news. Couldn’t he have started with that? Lilith was a small pebble in a vast ocean compared to God, himself. I didn't see how any of us could go up against him. “Then there’s no way to win this war.” I said.

  “There’s always a way.” Adam said, “We still have Eve, and the watchtowers.”

  “The watchtowers?”

  “There are four of them, each with their own guardian inside. They exist to keep the balance, and being neutral, they can hold back both the light and the dark from colliding. What father doesn’t realise is that we must have both dark and light for the universe to function. One cannot exist without the other. If he wipes out the light, the serpent of darkness will destroy itself, and thus, the universe will cease to exist.”

  “We have to reach the guardians then, as Taylor can’t face him, he’ll kill her.”

  “I’ve never been able to reach them. They are in a slumber, only awakening if the balance tips from one side to another. Eve is our best chance, she is more powerful than father can ever hope to be. We just need to train her.”

  “I’m not happy about her facing him.”

  “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”