The Celestial Rose BoxSet

by Annalee Adams

  “Baby,” she repeated, smiling.

  She tugged on my top and pointed to the water. I pointed with her and said “Water”. She repeated it. She was a quick learner and clearly wanted me to join her. No-one there seemed to care about human things such as how they looked or what they acted like. Everyone seemed to enjoy life for what it was, taking each day as it came. It was nice, it felt nice.

  I smiled, lifting my top, standing up as she helped steady me, and taking off my clothes. Walking in to the water was nice, it was warm and refreshing. The older lady pointed at herself and said “Rayne”. Her name must be Rayne.

  I smiled, pointed at myself and said “Taylor” and smiled, then I pointed again and said “Eve.” Jeez, I was going to confuse the woman. But she seemed fine and repeated both of my names, splashing water at me laughing.

  The little green girl came swimming over and hugged Rayne, presumably her mother. Rayne pointed at her child and said “Sola”. I could easily have called the place home if I didn’t have to get back so quickly. It appeared that while we were in the water, another of the older women had soaked our clothes for us, rinsing out the stains and dirt and grime. They were hanging on the tree branches to dry when we were finished in the water.

  My mother wrapped me in a huge green leaf, one that Rayne had passed over to her. It wasn’t any kind of plant life I had seen before, it appeared to absorb water into it and had the cushion softness of a fluffy blanket having been washed in expensive fabric conditioner and tumble dried at forty degrees. The huge leaf was a comfort blanket and towel all in one.

  Wrapped in the local flora, Rayne and Sola showed us the way to their treetop canopy. They had created make shift huts in amongst the tops of the trees, with stairs encircling the thick tree trunks all the way up. Rope bridges led from hut to hut with families of green folk pouring out of their homes to greet us. There wasn’t any sign of the blue people; the little boy was called Knate apparently and his mother Ayla and father Tenard. My mother had met his mother and father before, they already knew her as Gaia and they pronounced her name perfectly. Of course, Mother introduced me to everyone as Eve. It felt like I was losing the Taylor side of me already. But then, the body I held was that of a human and a goddess. Mother looked the same as me, well, the same as a human. But apparently with the celestial rose at our disposal, we could shape ourselves to look like whomever we wanted, never growing old, never bored, changing faces every single day. I had to say, I was glad she didn’t, though. Waking up with my mother as one person and then falling sleep with her as another, it would get confusing. I didn't remember her ever looking like anyone else, perhaps she’d grown weary and accepted who and what she was. Perhaps I’d created humanity in our form, after all; shaped like us, looking like us. Besides the power and immortality, they basically were us. It made sense that she would remain the same, and I was thankful that she did. After everything, I wouldn’t begrudge her wanting to change, to start fresh, to be something new. But she said that was the face she was born with, that would be the face she died with. If death was even a thing for immortal gods like us.

  The night flowed across the canopy of the sky as Rayne showed me a selection of bizarre looking animal furs, pointing to the floor after she made a bed for me to sleep in. It appeared that they slept together through the night, close to their kin as they soothed the sorrow from their souls. They were part of one of the most peaceful species I had ever met. I was lucky to have gotten to know them a little, and in the morning, I promised to return as soon as I could.

  Rayne, Sola, and Knate walked us to the portal, trudging up the mountain with us. We reached the top with Rayne's help, pulling me along. She stopped and held me close, patting my baby bump goodbye. “Light home,” she said and smiled. I didn’t quite understand what she meant but I was sure she meant well. Kissing her cheek and cuddling the children, I felt teary-eyed before I left. I could see this as a home, a safe place for me and my child. It might just be yet, if we didn’t find the correct mirror to find the right path home.

  Waving goodbye, my mother and I stepped through the portal, reaching the wood of hanging mirrors again. Hundreds upon hundreds of mirrors lay around us, all leading to somewhere else, somewhere new. Not all of them appeared to be in our own universe, either. From what Adam had showed me, our universe consisted of eight planets plus Elysium, the vortex of Hell, and Enoch hidden somewhere outside of the realm, beyond the reaches of Adam and our father. Remembering the map, there were countless stars outside of our worlds. Perhaps those were what the mirrors also led to. I wondered if any of them led to Elveador, to my mother and father's home planet. It was probably best we didn't find that one, though, considering the serpent of darkness overwhelmed the planet centuries before I was born.

  “Where next?” I asked, unsure of which mirrors my mother had tried and which she hadn’t.

  “I...I’m not sure” she said, looking puzzled.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked. She didn’t seem her usual positive self.

  “They’ve changed”

  “What?”

  “The mirrors, they’re out of order.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I numbered them, you see, marked the base of each tree that each mirror sat on, but none of the numbers are here.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked, helping her search the trees for clues.

  “Yes, they’re all gone. This isn’t the same section of wood, Eve.”

  “No...” All that time, all that effort, and we weren’t any closer to finding home. The mirrors had moved, or the trees had. I didn't know, but something had changed. We were back to the start without a clue of where to go next. We couldn’t keep on doing this. I didn’t know how much longer I had left. I was growing bigger by the day and the next planet we arrived on may not be so accommodating.

  My mother slumped to her knees. I sat beside her. “I don’t know what to do,” she said, defeated.

  “There has to be some way home. You and father created this universe, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, but we had the power of the light then.”

  “You still have.”

  “Yes, but this place, it doesn’t exist in our universe. I don’t know where we are, Eve.” She said, with a solemn expression.

  “Come on, there must be something we can do. I have the light, too, remember?”

  “True.” We both stood up. “Think, Eve, how can we get home?”

  Then I remembered. “Rayne said Light Home to me just before we left. Do you think she meant it in the literal sense? Use our light to get home?”

  “I don’t know, but how would she know?”

  “I’m not sure. They seemed to know what they were doing.”

  “Yes, okay. Well, we can give it a go. Do you remember how to use your light?”

  “No.”

  “Right, stand up tall.” I did as I was told. “Now, close your eyes and imagine the bright white light as it rushes through your body, direct it where you want it to go, feel it flowing through your veins.” She said. “Your body will warm with its touch; can you feel it?”

  I could, my body felt warmer by the second. I felt at ease with the way forward, at peace with myself, and in love with my child.

  “Now, direct it to your hands and I’ll do the same.” My mother stood in-front of me, and as my light blustered and glowed in my hands, her light did the same. Placing our hands together, the brightness shone magnificently.

  “What’s happening?”

  “I don’t know,” she said

  “Nothing’s changing, we aren’t powerful enough.” I said, my light dimming with my negativity.

  “No, we can do this. Believe, Eve, remember your home, remember your love, your friends, your family. We can get there. We can open our own damn portal.”

  Taking in a deep breath, I exhaled thinking of my home, my loved ones, my Lucian's screams as he cried taking his final breaths. It hurt to remember him, it hurt like Hell to feel him,
but I needed to hurt, I needed to feel, and I had to get home.

  The warmth cascaded through me, the light in my hands illuminated the surroundings as we turned night into day with our touch. “Look, Eve!” she exclaimed, smiling from ear to ear. She was staring at my stomach, and when I looked down, I saw two tiny lights illuminating out of it. I was gobsmacked. My tiny human was trying to help us get home. Except there wasn’t just one light, there was two. “You’re having twins, Eve!” she shrieked, and as she did, the light grew brighter. The four of us pushed ourselves to our limits, and whoosh, the wind rippled through the trees, mirrors swung in defence. The ground rumbled, thunder blasted, and lightening claimed the sky. Reality flickered, breaking around us. The floor disintegrated, the sky collapsed, and we were in nothing, nowhere, and with no path in sight. Concentrating on our light, we swirled into the air, spinning and breaking through the barrier of time itself as a portal shimmered around us, swallowing us whole, and transporting us to another world with a thud.

  This world, though, this world we knew. Landing with a thud, we rolled into one another, collapsing in a heap on the ground. I laughed, sickness reigned up into my throat as I sat up dazed and vomited beside myself. I laughed again, wiping my mouth, still unsure where I was or what I was doing. My head spun as I pushed myself up to standing position and the merry-go-round reality began to slow and knit back together.

  “Eve, down!” my mother yelled. I had no clue why, but there was something in her voice that ushered me to drop to the floor at a moment's notice. I still couldn’t see properly so I obeyed her demands and lowered myself back down, still dazed and confused with what the problem was.

  “Get off of her!” I heard her yell.

  Something was there, I couldn’t quite make it out, and my ears were buzzing as a brass band played a triumphant finale in my head. Lying on the floor, I stared up to the sky, my sky. The bright blue sky with rain clouds overhead. I thought I’d never be happy to see British weather again. Droplets fell, sprinkling themselves over my body. I giggled, it felt nice. Coming down from the euphoria of engaging with the light was taking its time, as was the jumping from portal to portal. My body was having none of it and needed to rest, whatever was out there had to wait.

  That’s when I heard it, a horrifying gnashing sound right beside my head.

  “EVE MOVE!” she yelled. I heard that as clear as day. Sitting up right, I shook my head, my vision was still not completely back, and I felt like I’d been out on the town drinking all day. But did I see that right, was that boy trying to bite me? What was it? I jumped to my feet as it slumped its way over, dragging what was left of its body towards my toes.

  Shrieking, I jumped away, falling back into the arms of another mortifying creature. These things were like the walking dead. What the hell were they? What happened? Is this Earth? Where did my mother go?

  I ran as fast as my aching legs could carry me. I still couldn’t see right, and my white dress was already muddied from the dramatic landing in amidst the rain storm. My feet were bare, and my hair soaked. I looked like a victim fleeing its stalker. But unlike a stalker, the thing was fast. Running on two legs, it acted like a human, looked like a human, except that it shared the same resemblance of one long dead with sharpened teeth, steel hard skin, and an appetite for blood. The thing was that I knew this thing, whatever it was. It was gaining on me, too. A pregnant girl with twins wasn't the best runner. The man was someone I remembered from the sweet shop in town. He didn’t work there, no, he came in from time to time and I’d always see him with his little girl as he took her in for a treat or two. He had always seemed so soft hearted, kind and caring. Now look at him. What had Lilith done since I’d been gone?

  It was no use. Running through the field, I knew where I was, but I didn’t think I could make it to the safety of the streets in time before the thing got to me. Screaming, I ran. My heart pounded as I panted faster and faster. Where was my mother? Was she okay? “MOTHER!” I yelled, but then the screams ahead told me there was something kicking off towards me. If there were screams, there had to be someone left alive. Perhaps someone who could help me, save me, protect the babies. It was my only chance, my only way forward.

  Reaching the street sign, I crossed the avenue and out the other side. Where had the screams been coming from? That’s when I saw them, a massive army battling ahead. Rowena and her gang had taken over what was left of the burned down town I’d fallen in love with. Shit. I couldn't let her see me, I couldn't take the risk of what she’d make me do. Where was the man, the zombified corpse that had been chasing me? I was all alone, right in the middle of the day, stood in the centre of the road with a bullseye painted on my head.

  She’d seen me. It was too late. I turned to run but met a wall of six or seven zombified corpses on one side and Rowena’s army on the other. I was toast, a goner. I looked down, held my twin babies, and whispered that I loved them as I picked up my feet and ran to the side, hoping my tired legs would hold out to reach any kind of salvation. My mother was ahead, running towards me. Rowena’s army was hot on my tail and zombies were coming at me from all sides. But I kept on running, quicker and faster, protecting myself and my babies one step at a time. The problem was, it was one step too little.

  Out of the side-lines, the man from the sweet shop pounced on me, landing on top and pushing me down to the ground. His half-eaten face gnashed at my throat as I held him back with all my might. I wasn’t strong enough. The thing wasn’t only human, it was one of Lilith’s experiments. Yet, Rowena didn’t seem to have control over it or over any of the zombified corpses, they appeared to be battling them, too. It didn’t matter what it was, what mattered was that it was on top of me trying to bite my neck open. Looking to the side, holding it off, the blades of grass withheld me from seeing further afield. It was strange, as Mr. Earny had always kept the playing field mowed and in prime condition. But the overgrown mess of vegetation had taken hold. It appeared less vibrant than I remember, blackened at the core, as if it too was dying, passing on into an emotionless death, forever forgotten and never loved. Heck, the whole town was dying, not just the human population, but I hadn’t seen any healthy plant life, no birds in the sky, only ashen remains and a wasteland of corpses from those that hadn't survive.

  Holding off the hot-headed corpse was proving to be difficult. It was getting closer, almost catching my skin with its serrated teeth. That’s when all hope was lost, knowing full well I could barely hold off one of those things, let alone two. A shredded corpse clambered its way over the field towards me. It was the remains of one of the girls from chemistry class, Meghan, I believed. By the looks of it, she hadn’t had a pleasant death. Being eaten alive was no way to pass a soul into the gates of Elysium. Then again, when was any death pleasant? Meghan was crawling closer, her white, barren eyes lacked lustre, representing the death of a soul inside. Her teeth gnashed away as she slid across the ground towards us. This was it, this was my end, the end of everything I knew and everything that could be.

  Turning away, I closed my eyes and heard the snap of her jaws by my ear.

  CHAPTER 82: Taylor

  My body was pushed aside as the clambering corpse that lay on top of me was picked up and thrown into the air by the jaws of a huge lycanthrope, a Lycanthrope I thought I’d never see again and one whose presence made me smile from ear to ear. My mother ran in and grabbed the remains of a zombified Meghan and threw her to the side like trash in a rubbish bin.

  Harland morphed back to his naked human self, ran over and squeezed me tight. “Taylor!” he exclaimed, landing on top of me and cuddling me until I couldn’t breathe. “Woah, when did you eat all the pies?” he said, laughing and poking at my huge belly. I laughed.

  I sat up, wobbling from side to side. Mother came rushing over, offering her hand and pulling me up. “Eve!” she exclaimed, hugging me, patting my babies.

  “Shit me, Taylor, you’re pregnant!”

  “I guessed that,” I said, sm
iling.

  “Lucian's going to be pissed at you.”

  “Huh? Where is he, did he survive?” I asked, tears welling in my eyes.

  “Crap, no. Eli said he died. Sorry, I meant it’s cos’ it’s not his, you’ve been gone just over a year.”

  “I’ve what?”

  “TAYLOR!” Elisha yelled, running over. “Is it really you?”

  I smiled as she pulled me in for a close-knit cuddle. Letting go, her eyes were immediately drawn to my ballooning stomach. With wide eyes she said, “and what’s this I see? Are you with child?”

  “Yes, and before you ask, they’re Lucian's”

  “They?”

  “She’s having twins,” Mother said.

  Elisha leapt in the air with joy. “Twins!”

  “Who is this, Taylor?” Harland asked.

  “Oh, sorry, this is my mother.”

  “Your mum's dead.” He said.

  “No, she’s alive. Just a child, remember?” I said, he nodded in realisation. “This is my first mother, Eve’s mum.”

  “How the fuck did you get here?” He asked her. “...excuse my language,” he said.

  Mother laughed. “Eve actually found me.”

  “Lilith threw me in the mirror,” I said, explaining.

  “Oh,” realisation crossed Harland’s face. “So how long did you think you’d been gone?”

  “Err, I don’t know, about four months?”

  “Try thirteen, mate.”

  “Crap.”

  “Yeah,” Elisha said, nodding.

  “TAYTAY!” a voice yelled. Turning, I saw Nic running full pelt over to me. Grabbing me, he swung me around. “Wow, TayTay, you’ve grown. I smell babies.”

  “Pardon?” I said, eyebrows raised.

  “You’re pregnant, I can smell them.”

  “Err, okay, that’s slightly weird, Nic,” I said, laughing.

  “Forgive him,” Jayden said, walking over. “He’s still an animal in a human shell.”