The Celestial Rose BoxSet

by Annalee Adams

  “Yes, lets! But anyway, that’s not the only problem. We need to find her first.”

  “Ah, yes, lets get on with that shall we?” he said, directing me over to a small pool beside the atrium.

  “What’s this do, then?” I asked as I stared into the glowing pool beside me.

  “It does anything you need it to,” he said.

  “Such as...”

  “Look into it and think of a name.”

  “Okay.” Fine, I’d humour him. Taylor, Taylor Lane. Come on. I was thinking hard, but nothing happened. I half hoped she would jump out of the pool and yell surprise, but no, life wasn't that simple.

  “Are you thinking of anyone?”

  “Yes, Taylor.”

  “Hmm... I was too, but nothing happened. That’s quite disconcerting.”

  “What does that mean then?”

  “It means she isn’t part of our universe anymore.”

  “Pardon?”

  “When she entered the mirror, she travelled to another realm outside of our universe. She is somewhere out there.” He said, pointing up.

  “Where, though?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “So what the heck do we do? You said she’s the only one that can beat Lilith and...” The water in the pool swirled, a moving picture of Lilith mounted on some kind of huge dual-headed beast rode forward. Behind her, thousands upon thousands of ghastly mutations followed. The war was coming and there was no way to stop it without Taylor's help.

  “Guards!” Adam yelled. A flutter of celestial wings and half a dozen troops landed beside us. “Send out the army, Lilith’s already here.” He boomed to the female fighter that stood before him.

  “Gabriel, Michael” he yelled. “Take Lucian and Joey somewhere safe and lock the doors, Elysium is under attack.

  “But Adam,” Michael said. “How can we win?”

  “We can’t. We have to hold off as long as we can and hope that Eve will come home in time to end this.”

  “I can’t leave her out there.” I said, concerned for Taylor's safety.

  “We don’t know where she is, but as soon as she finds her way home, we will collect her and bring her to safety behind the gates of Elysium’s protective barrier.”

  “But what about my family?” I asked, and just as I did, the pool swirled showing Lawrence charging into battle, protecting the remaining human population with what little ammunition they had. There was only the Darkwaters and the Arellanos, working side by side. They were over run. They wouldn’t last another ten minutes. “I need to get down there now. Now, Adam, send me back.”

  Gabriel joined. “I’ll take him.”

  “Damn, send the army down to Earth, save as many mortals as you can!” Adam demanded. “We can’t let Eve’s creations be slaughtered.”

  Gabriel picked me up, Michael carried Joey, and down we flew with a massive celestial army behind us. We may not win the war, but we can be damned well sure we would die trying.

  CHAPTER 79: Taylor

  Sitting by an old warped tree, I was tired. Mother was out checking all the mirrors, stepping through them and then back again to let me know what she’d found. She advised I stay put, the news had been too much for me to take in, and I’d fallen asleep. I wasn't sure for how long. The days and nights seemed shorter, and the longer we stayed, the closer it began to feel like home. I knew one mirror had to be the right one back to Earth, I just didn’t know which mirror that would be. I think she was happy to be out and about exploring the galaxy. She kept bringing back gifts from each of the planets; strange rocks, plant life. She even said she’d come across new creatures, and friendly ones at that. They didn’t speak our language, though, nor any of the other native languages from Earth. Apparently, the creatures were like humans with two legs, except they had gills and could breathe under water. They sounded quite unique.

  “Come on, Eve,” she said as she pulled me up to standing. “Oh my, look at you! You’re twice the size!” She smiled, placing her hands on my swollen stomach. “No wonder you’re tired, you’ve grown quite a lot in these past few weeks.”

  “Weeks?” I asked.

  “Yes, you’ve slept through most of it.” She smiled. “How do you feel about stepping onto the planet I found? Meeting the new creatures I told you about? The change of scenery will do you good.”

  “I don’t know mother, what about my baby?” I was still worried something would happen to it. The child was my only link to Lucian, it was all I had left of him. Our baby meant the world to me and the last thing I wanted to do was endanger him or her.

  “The baby will be fine. You’re with me, remember?” I shrugged, unsure. “Come on,” she said, pulling me forward.

  “Okay, fine. I’ll go, but the first sign of any trouble and we leave, okay?”

  “Oh course, Evie. Don’t worry, you’re my daughter, I’ll always look after you.” She smiled. I smiled back.

  Stepping through the mirror was like a journey back to Netherland. A creeping curiosity crept its way up my spine as I entered the Greenland my mother had told me about. If I didn’t know any better, I’d have said it was a place on Earth. The lush green trees, bright blue sky, and sun blasted beaches were a trait us Earthlings loved and yearned to go to every holiday season. “It’s beautiful,” I said, taking in the awe of the world around me.

  As always, the portal was at the top of a mountain; you could see for miles. The trees below swayed as I tensed up, awaiting the raptor-like creatures to come out and eat me.

  “It’s okay, Eve, it’s just the wind.” She said.

  I breathed a sigh of relief. Of course it was. Get a grip, Taylor. Holding on to my baby bump, I headed down the mountain, taking each step one at a time and ensuring my footing was stable before I went any further. Mother could have climbed down and back up in the time it took me to get half way down.

  “Come on, Eve!” She shouted from the bottom. “You’ve not got far to go.” Jeez, I know she meant well but did she forget how heavy a baby was to carry? My back was killing me. I wondered how far I was; at least five months. I remember when my mum back on Earth was pregnant with Caleb. She was always complaining of aches and pains and wow, now I saw why. Even my toes hurt. How was that possible? I also remembered how big she got, much bigger than I was, but that was all in the last couple of months. So I guessed five months gone, give or take a month or so. Hell, I didn't know. I was probably making all those memories up. Did any of that really happen? That was the problem with having so many lifelines in your head. Jeez, the human brain shouldn’t be capable of holding it all. Then again, little did I realise that the unused part of the brain was what catalogued the past lives. I was making that up too, as I didn't know for sure, but it made sense. After all, the mind's library had to be stored somewhere. But that would mean that every mortal had one, and perhaps they did. They only had to learn how to access it, then all the knowledge they’d learnt in past lives would be there at their disposal. It’d be interesting to see how they used it. But knowing humanity, and its lure of the darkness, I’d say they’d either blow up the world or make it better. Depended, of course, on who was in power at the time. And wow, you didn't want to be making any judgements on that. 'They’re all corrupt,' my dad used to say, 'you can’t trust any one of them'. He was probably right, too, after all, where had we got to in our mundane existence? We hadn't even explored the bottom of the ocean, let alone the solar system. Ha, they’d have a field day if they found Enoch. I wondered how many members of the government were actually human? The supernatural were everywhere, after all, keeping the mortals in line. I couldn't wait to get back, set a few things straight. The world needed to change, and soon. It couldn't last under the current, corrupt regime.

  Stepping from the mountain on to lush, dewy grass finally brought along a feeling of triumph. I could do this. Why had I been so afraid, so worried for my child’s safety all of this time? It’d be okay. It was always okay, and it’d be even better now that I had
my mother by my side and a tiny human to look forward to. We’d get home, eventually, but for the moment, well, I was looking forward to exploring what the planet had to offer.

  Out of the trees, a small child with pale green skin ran out giggling. I recognised the sound, it was quite similar to the laughter of our own species back home. The child was followed by another child, but with pale blue skin. Two similar looking creatures, but with subtle differences. They stopped when they saw us and ran off back in to the woods they had come from.

  “Eve, come on, I’ll take you to their home.” Mother said

  I trudged forward, legs aching under the weight of my stomach but smiling with curiosity at what lay within the woods ahead. The two children had certainly sparked enthusiasm in my mind. Heading into the woods, I heard them giggling again. Walking faster, they kept popping out from behind trees, laughing and smiling, running ahead and then stopping and waiting. Curious little children. Then as I kept walking, following in my mother’s footsteps, they disappeared and the woods fell silent.

  “Mother?” I shouted, but no answer. Where was she? I carried on walking, but I couldn’t see much ahead due to the tree canopy above shielding most of the sunlight. The woods echoed the resemblance of those from our home planet, one which I missed dearly.

  “Eve. Where are you?” Ah, there she was. I’d somehow managed to quicken my steps and walk in-front of her. “There you are. You certainly sped through these woods.”

  “No, not at all, I was following the children,” I said.

  “What children?” she asked, looking around.

  “They’ve gone now, but there were two earlier.”

  “Which two?”

  “The blue and green kids. They were playing in-front of the forest.”

  “I didn’t see any children, Eve,” she said, looking concerned.

  “But you said you would show me where they lived.”

  “Yes, I meant the people that swim in the sea.”

  “Then who were those children?”

  “I honestly have no idea. I really didn’t see them.”

  “That’s strange, I swear they were there. I heard them giggling, too. They were leading me this way.”

  “Okay, lets follow them then.”

  “But you said you couldn’t see them.”

  “Yes, but you can, so let’s follow them.”

  The giggling started again. “Can you hear that?” I asked.

  “No, nothing, Eve. Do you want to sit down?”

  “No, I’m fine. Come on, this way.” I urged, following the sound of laughter as it resonated through the trees.

  We came across a clearing in the middle of the woods. The laughter stopped as the two children stepped out from the trees before us.

  “Can you see them?” I whispered. She shook her head. I was either losing my mind or there were two adorable children standing there. Okay. I took a deep breath and stepped forward. The little green child stepped forward by one step as well. The blue child stood perfectly still.

  “Eve be careful,” mother said. I nodded and kept walking, one step at a time until I was almost stood before the pale green child. I hadn’t noticed it before, but neither of them wore clothing. They certainly looked like children, but from what I could see, the green child had pointed ears and enjoyed playing games, dancing along, and giggling. I watched her as I sat down on the floor to match their height. The green child knelt down; she must have only been seven or eight. She raised out her arm and placed her chunky little hand on my stomach. I was startled at the response, but my baby began to kick inside, responding with its first hello to an alien race.

  Mother came over to join me, sat next to me and smiled. “What are they doing?”

  “The little green girl is sat in-front of me; can’t you see her?”

  “No'”

  Just then the blue child slowly walked over, taking his time to discover what we were before taking the risk of being near us. “It’s okay,” I said to the little boy as he stood beside his friend and in-front of my mother. He smiled as the little girl giggled at my baby kicking around inside my tummy.

  Then he held out his hand and looked at my mother. Slowly, he raised his hand and touched my mother on her forehead. She jumped, yelping. “I can see them!” she exclaimed. Smiling, she placed her hand out to the boy in-front of her. The little boy put his hand against hers and smiled. “Friend,” my mother said.

  “Friend,” the boy replied. I wasn't sure if he understood, but he appeared to be delighted with our interaction. He ushered us to stand up, waving for us to follow him further into the woods. They had something to show us, so we followed, both happy we had found and made first contact with a new species.

  CHAPTER 80: Lilith

  As I rounded the corner of York’s central city, the greying clouds took over the sunshine sky. We were nearly there, nearly in Elvington, and ready to destroy everything my sweet little Evie knew and loved, and she wasn’t there to stop any of it. I giggled. Hmm, or to witness it. Oh my, she would have loved to see the bloody battle go ahead. I wondered if Adam would care to show his face. Maybe if she was there he would. He had given up on me centuries ago. I’d destroy everything he knew and loved, and Daddy would delight in the fact. I couldn't wait to see his face when he realised what was about to happen. Did he really think we didn't know how to reach his precious rose? Did he really believe he could protect everything and everyone from me? It was beyond funny; it was hilarious. I dropped to the ground, holding my stomach, wailing the laughter of a thousand banshees as they delighted in the death of their kin. It’d come, brother, don’t you worry, it would come.

  A sound unknown to me played its fanciful tune as I spotted a scrumptious truck turning the corner. The truck stopped, threatened to reverse, but turned around. On the back ‘mind that child’ was inscribed. I remembered what it was, Aria had told me of her first memory, the delight as her mother and she ran up to the ice cream truck, hand in hand.

  “Weeeeee! Look, Aria, look!” I said, clapping my hands, face beaming at the sight of the flamboyant pink ice cream truck turning the corner. “It’s Mr. Scream... EJ stop him, Aria needs ice cream.” Aria smiled, jumping up and down as EJ stood in the middle of the road, roaring at the truck to stop.

  A greying gentleman clambered over to the window, opened it, and spoke with a shaking voice. “What would you like?” he asked, wincing at the sight of the army behind us.

  “I say scream, you say scream! ICE SCREAM!”

  “ICE SCREAM!” Aria screamed, clapping.

  The man turned and pulled out a cornet, turned on the machine, and a twirling swirling of soft Mr. Whippy delighted the cone. He offered it over to Aria.

  “Wait, Aria would like sauce, wouldn’t you Aria?” She nodded. “EJ, we need the Mr. Whippys sauce.” I demanded, clapping in glee, signalling to the greyed man before me.

  EJ stomped over, gripped Mr. Whippys shirt, pulled him out of the window, and began to cut off his hand. Mr. Whippy screamed.

  “I say scream, you say scream! ICE SCREAM!” I shrieked.

  The greyed Mr. Whippy went pale as EJ showed him his separated, bloody hand waving at him. Mr. Whippy vomited. EJ passed the hand over and I delighted in the oozing of fresh, ripe blood cascading over my body. Aria looked up, smiling as she licked the ice cream. “Here, Aria” I said as I dribbled Mr. Whippys blood over the ice cream. “There’s the sauce!” I shrieked, cackling and dancing around with EJ.

  Mr. Whippy lay cold on the floor as blood flowed out of the door at the back of the truck. Oops, must have hit an artery.

  “Onward to Elvington!” I yelled, waving the troops forward with Mr. Whippys hand.

  CHAPTER 81: Taylor

  Following the children through the forest was a method of madness, but one based on trust, and the trust of a new species in hope that they were all good, after all.

  Now that my mother could see them, I was much happier that I wasn’t completely losing it. I wasn’t sur
e how I’d been able to see them, though, but as soon as the little boy touched my mother and gifted her the sight, she too was taken aback by the loving nature of these two little people.

  The little girl had pale green skin, soft to the touch. Her silky hair was a mixture of shades of brown, blond, and white. It was tied back with vines and gave way to show off her beautiful elf-like ears.

  The little boy had pale blue skin and textured hands, scaly like a fish. Yet, no gills were present. They couldn’t have been the creatures my mother was going to show me. “Mother are these the people you wanted to show me?”

  “No, well, I don’t think so. The humanoids I saw were a dark blue with gills and scaled skin.”

  “Hmm, perhaps this little boy will grow into one of them?”

  I was right. As we reached a local spring in the middle of the woods, my mother immediately recognised the place. “It’s here, these are the people I saw.” She said, patting the little boys bald head. He smiled and ran ahead, disappearing behind the waterfall and emerging with, what appeared to be, his family in tow.

  The older man waved. “I taught them that,” my mother said smiling. He walked over and held out his hand. My mother placed her hand on his and they both said ‘friend’ at the same time.

  “Come on,” Mother urged, pulling me along. We headed over to the spring and my mother dove in, stripping off as she went. The children jumped in and more of the older generations joined. I sat by the side, watching them all splash and play. To be fair, I could do with a bath. I’d not seen enough water to wash in a while and I probably wasn’t all that pleasant to be around.

  An older green lady came over and sat beside me. She had stripped off her home-made clothing and recently emerged, soaking wet, from the waterfall.

  “Friend,” she said, holding up her hand.

  “Friend,” I said as I placed my hand on her soft dark green skin. It appeared the older they got, the darker their skin became.

  She pointed at my stomach and I took her hand and gently placed it on top of my bump. “Baby,” I said, as my little human began to kick, wriggle, and squirm inside.