“I checked the pool this morning. There was no sign of her anywhere. I couldn’t reach her.” Adam said.
“That’s good news.” I replied.
“I will be coming,” Lawrence said. “I need to bring Eli home.” I nodded, tears stung in my eyes. We all wanted Eli home, and that was always on my agenda.
Gabriel stepped forward and grinned. “What, you didn’t think you lot would go and party without me, did you?” I laughed as he walked over and kissed my forehead. “Michael, you coming, mate?” Michael nodded, walking over.
“Okay, so plus Joey, that makes nine of us.” I said.
“Ten,” Charmeine said, walking in.
“What? No, Charmeine, you can’t leave Elysium undefended.” I said.
Adam smiled. “It’s okay, I need to make sure you and Mother are safe. Charmeine is our best fighter here, she will protect you. And in the meantime, if there is an attack, Gregory has fortified the walls and we have the guard to keep us safe until you’re all back. Just don’t be long, okay?” Adam said, walking over and pulling me in for a brotherly hug.
“Okay,” I smiled, looking up at him. “So what now?”
“This way.” Charmeine ordered as we followed her from the dining area, through the atrium, with crowds of celestial beings watching us, whispering and waving their goodbyes. Then it was to the ticket station. The axe lady gave us a wave as the guards pulled open the gates, allowing a hoard of undead souls in and our living bodies out. “Well, at least they’ll find peace.”
“I wouldn’t count on it.” Gabriel said as we walked through the tunnel.
“Why?”
“Adam's got them training to fight, remember? You gave him the idea.”
I winced. “Oh crap, yeah. I guess, at least, they have something to fight for.”
Lucian nodded, took my hand, and sped us forward.
“Hey, not fair!” Gabriel shouted, unleashing his wings and flying forward to catch up. “Don’t you need a lift down?” He grinned.
“Hmm, do we have to?” Lucian moaned.
I laughed as Gabriel picked us up and flew us down into the fiery pits of Hell on Earth below.
Chapter 31: Taylor
Lips dry, fists clenched, was I ready for this? With my wide eyes, down we flew, my breathing was rapid and erratic. There was so much smoke. How would Gabriel find Elvington, let alone a safe place to land? But then, it was Gabriel; he had beady, hawk eyes. I’d always taunted him for it, but he had the natural hunter instincts; he could find a needle in a haystack if he wanted to. Although, he never did believe in himself, never saw himself like I’d seen him, like I still saw him. Now, now that I’d found real love, the love that makes you sweat in their presence, stop breathing as he kisses your neck, the love that when he touches you, it took all pain away, every ounce, swept from your system while you’re with him. Nothing was left except the wondrous feeling of never being alone again, of finding your one true soulmate, the yin to your yang. There was beauty in that emotion as it consumed you whole.
Where were we? Amidst the smoke-fuelled skyline, it was hard to breathe. My body choked on the fumes of nature's own element, an element that, when combined with air, travelled from one incendiary to another. Was there anything left down there?
Flying lower through the smoke-filled blizzard around us, the world as we knew it had vanished. The smog cleared around us as we searched for a safe place to land. Flames lit the horizon with every structure in sight scorched beyond recognition. The taste of smoke corrupted my senses as what should have been autumn on Earth. Crisp leaves falling, and Halloween plans in the making had become a corpse-filled existence of cinder and ash; a forgotten world with no survivors anywhere in sight.
Where was the sounds? Birds tweeting, children playing? There was nothing, not even the stirring of the zombie-like experiments roaming the streets. What was this place now? How could something so forgotten ever have been my home?
Landing on the only few feet of lush green grass left, I fell to the ground and wept. How could this have happened? Why did we ever let it get so bad? Was the rest of the world like this, or was it just Elvington, Yorkshire, and England? I hoped for survivors, hoped we hadn’t left them all to die, but I couldn’t have moved any more than we had. The rose had dimmed beyond recognition because of it.
“It’s okay, Taylor,” Lucian said as I fell to my knees. He sat beside me with his arm around my shoulders.
“Eve, are you okay?” Gabriel asked. I nodded through tear-stained eyes. How did I ever expect anything more than what I saw? The apocalypse had happened, and we’d missed it. Humanity was gone, wiped out, no souls left to save. That was it, the end. Had I failed? I felt like I’d failed.
The silence was deafening. The wail of my own miserable tears echoed in the vast world of nothingness. Was this my punishment? My own Hell on Earth? Why did she do this? Does she truly hate me that much that she wanted to take everything from me? She knew I was back, knew I had survived. Heck, I’d hazard a guess that she knew I was carrying her niece and nephew. So why do all this? What did it prove? She knew I could start again, make a fresh new world to bring the survivors home to. So what was the point? What did she actually gain from it besides pissing me off?
I stood up. 'Stay strong,' my mother would have said. Taylor's mother would have been right, she would have given the same advice as Eve’s mother would. Stay strong. So I did. Fists clenched, body tensed, I screamed, letting out a mighty wail from the depths of my soul to the top of my beating heart. If she wanted a fight, I was ready. She shouldn’t have taken her shitty mood out on everyone else. Let the war begin. I thought I’d missed the apocalypse, but she’d had better start running. She hadn’t even seen the start of her apocalypse, and it was coming straight for her.
“EVE!” my mother yelled, running over to me. Charmeine collapsed to the ground, just as Gabriel did. Nic, Jayden, Michael, Lawrence, and Joey, they all collapsed too, blood pouring from their eyes. “STOP!” She demanded, shaking me. “LOOK!” she said, turning me around to face my fallen lover that lay bleeding out on the floor. His face covered in bloody tears, his mouth choking. What had I done?
Breaking down, I stopped and fell into my mother’s outstretched arms. I’d only screamed for a few seconds, but that had been enough time to wipe out the Darkwater family, again. And not just the Darkwaters this time, but the celestial guard, too. If I could affect all of them with a mere scream, then what could I do to Lilith’s insides? Boiling would be a good start.
“Taylor,” Lucian mouthed, picking himself up. The rest of the gang were wiping their eyes, shaking themselves off from the dirt-filled ground they’d nearly been buried in. “You’ve,” he said, “You’ve really got to warn me before you do that.” He wiped the blood from his lips, smiling faintly.
I bent down to help him. “I’m sorry, Lucian, so sorry... I didn’t mean to. I just, just lost control.”
Lucian took my hand. “I know,” he said as he leant forward, holding on to me and kissing my forehead.
Joey scrambled over. He looked like he’d had one too many million drinks and battled a beast in the darkness. His face was covered in blood-stained tears. “Fuckin’ ell, girl! Keep ya gob shut!” he yelled, shaking his head to regain his balance.
Mother was fine, though. She was the only one my rage hadn't touch. That alone meant she was strong enough to shield herself from my temper tantrums. Would Lilith be able to do the same?
“TayTay, you made me bloody my shirt, now how am I supposed to meet the parents?” he said. I winced.
Jayden laughed. “Come on, let’s get you home and changed, then we’ll go look for my family.” He said.
“If there’s a home still left standing.” Nic replied, then looked over to me. “No more screaming, okay? I don’t think I can take another syllable of your soul song.” He laughed.
“Nice,” Joey said, “I like this one.” He grinned. “Oi shifter, do you know where there’s a red-light district
round ere?”
“Err...no.” Nic replied.
“There isn’t any here, Joey,” Jayden said. “But there are back in London, where I’m from.”
“Well, what we waitin’ for? Let’s get going.” Joey grinned. Nic groaned. Jayden laughed.
“See you all later,” Nic said, coming over for a hug. “No having those babies without me, TayTay, we’ll be back soon.” He smiled.
I nodded, pulling him in close. “Go get changed, Nic, you stink of sweat.”
“Oi, that’s your fault,” he said. I laughed and waved them goodbye.
“And then there were seven,” Lucian said.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Yeah.” He nodded. “Nothing a little blood can’t fix.”
“Mine?” I asked, offering him my wrist.
“Don’t you dare!” Gabriel warned.
Lucian snarled at him. “I wouldn’t, oh righteous one,” he said. “I was going to suggest the hospital. They’re bound to have some blood bags lying around somewhere.”
“Oh, so you can drink dead blood now, can you vamp?” Michael asked.
“Yes, in fact, I can,” Lucian said, smiling.
“And how did that happen?” Gabriel said.
And there they went, the two of them at one another’s throats again. Ever since Gabriel had seen that I had chosen Lucian over him, he’d had the pout of a two-year-old.
“Gabriel, leave it alone.” I said, “It’s nothing to do with you.”
“Actually, it is... I vowed to protect you, even if it’s from yourself, Eve.”
“I’m fine, Gabriel, we both are. It was a long time ago.”
“Well, if I catch him ever biting you again, that’ll be the end of it.”
“No, it won’t. I’m a grown woman, I can look after myself.”
“It doesn’t appear that way, pregnant with vampire children as a teenager.”
“Actually, she’s twenty now... today, in-fact. Happy birthday, Taylor.” Lucian said, smiling. “And, I’ll have you know, those babies in there are the children of tomorrow, they aren’t just ‘vampires’, as you so eloquently put it. They will be the perfect balance of light and dark and the future of us all.”
“I couldn’t have put it better myself,” I said. He and I were the same and our babies... well, they’d be the future every race would look to. Gabriel frowned, lowered his head, and sat down in the ash and cinder. Had he given up, too? I walked over to him, knelt beside him, and placed my arm on his shoulder. “You know I love you, right?” I said “...just not in the way you want me to.”
He looked up, took my other hand, and kissed it. “I know, but I need to keep you safe, Eve.” I nodded.
Lucian walked over and offered him his hand. Gabriel took it and Lucian pulled him up. “I would never hurt her, Gabriel, you have my word.”
My mother, Charmeine, Michael, and Lawrence stood watching.
“I know,” Gabriel said, pulling me up alongside him. “Come on, let’s look around and figure out if there’s anyone left on this planet.”
“Good idea,” Lawrence said. “I’m going to catch up with Nic and check out the mansion, see if Eli’s spirit is there.”
“Can you feel him, Lawrence?” I asked. He nodded. “Great, that’s great news. If we can bring his spirit to Elysium, he can be reborn.” I smiled.
Lawrence nodded. “I’ll see you soon,” he smiled and waved as he left.
“And then there were six.” Lucian said.
“What are you getting at, Lucian?” Michael snapped, clearly, he wasn’t a friend of his.
“Nothing, I’m just evaluating our likelihood of survival if Lilith comes back.”
“Shit.” I said.
“Shit indeed,” Lucian said.
Gabriel stepped forward. “If we see any sign of Lilith, or her army, I’ll fly you straight back up to Elysium.” He said.
“What about the others?” I asked.
“We’ll have to come back for them.” Gabriel replied. “I’m not risking you, Eve.”
“He’s right, we need to keep you and the babies safe first.” Lucian said.
“Okay, fine. I don’t like it, but fine.” They were right.
“Let’s get a move on, then.” Charmeine demanded. “I’d rather not be here out in the open if she comes back.”
I nodded. “Hospitals err....”
Lucian pointed to the right, smiling.
“Yeah, it’s that way.” I smiled. I couldn’t tell what the building was anymore. All I knew was it was once a housing structure, perhaps the perfect country home with a white picket fence, a mum, a dad, two children, and a dog called Rover. But by the burnt remainders of a street sign and bricks lying smashed across the pathway, that family had never stood a chance, if they ever actually existed in the first place.
Walking across the rubble, Lucian steadied me, holding my hand and directing us through the remains of what was once a bright and beaming country town. The roads were cracked, some opened up to the fiery pits of Hell beneath and others were scorched and covered in the blood of Elvington's former residents. Corpses of zombified creatures littered the streets. They didn’t look alive, but then when were zombies ever alive in the first place? I saw once on a film that you had to behead a zombie or crush its latent, useless brain to prevent it from ever rising again. It didn’t look like any of the creatures had had their brains crushed or heads decapitated. That worried me. Were they sleeping? Or were they really dead? After all, the lore of zombies that I knew of was all based on a film. What if Lilith had put them into some kind of stasis, only to awake when they smelled the flesh of a survivor, ready to battle another day? Or maybe their skilled, new coats only worked on a full moon, like the lycanthropes... if there was any left.
Walking past one of the scrawny bodies, I saw the remains of an infant girl beside it holding a fluffy, pink teddy bear. How had she died? She didn’t look hurt in any way; no blood, no gore, just a pristine clean dress in a... Hold on a minute. Why was she so clean when she was lying on the ground full of ash and cinder? She looked remarkably familiar, too. Where did I know her from?
“What’s wrong?” Lucian asked, clearly puzzled as to why I’d stopped over the body of a dead little girl. Gabriel and Charmeine were chatting in front of us, Michael and my mother were behind us, high in debate about the point of humankind.
“She’s too clean,” I said. It didn’t make sense.
“What do you mean, 'she’s too clean'?” Lucian asked warily, giving me a look. Something was wrong, he sensed it too. We were in the middle of the square amongst at least twenty to thirty corpses and one clean, bright, yet dead, girl. There was something wrong with that picture. “It’s an ambush!” he yelled, picking me up. As I was lifted into his arms, ready for him to speed away, a young girl's hand leapt out, grabbing his ankle in the midst of our escape. He flung forward, letting go as I whizzed through the air. In seconds, Gabriel jumped forward and caught me. Lucian was on the ground with a nasty nipping shifter girl on his chest. She was going for his throat, but just in time, my mother had blasted her away with her ray of light straight out of her hand.
The ground rumbled as every corpse that had littered the floor ached and groaned. Arching bodies cracked and creaked, the slumber fell from their eyes as they stood bright eyed, ready for their next meal.
“RUN!” Lucian demanded. Gabriel, still holding me, swept out his wings, wrapping them around my body like a cocoon; a cocoon of him and me hiding beside one another. The problem was, he wasn’t safe. He couldn’t fight and protect me at the same time.
“GABRIEL, FIGHT OR WE’LL both die.” I yelled.
“No, Eve, you stay put!” he yelled back, wailing in pain as one of the creatures lashed at his back.
“The hospital,” Charmeine exclaimed. “Get in the hospital!” She demanded. Gabriel followed orders. He swept me up and flew me in there. Behind me, I could see Lucian being overrun, blades unsheathed, battling the monsters besi
de my mother and her light.
“Leave me, Gabriel, go save them!” I yelled.
“No.”
“If you don’t, I will.” I said, pushing forward to release myself from his grip.
“Fine. You had better stay put, Eve.” He yelled, flapping his wings, leaving the safety net of the hospital grounds.
He returned minutes later with Lucian in one arm and my bloodied mother in the other. “Mother!” I yelled, running over to her.
“She’ll be fine,” Charmeine said as her and Michael landed beside us. “Michael, seal the door.” Michael obeyed. “Her light will heal her, she just needs to rest now.”
I nodded, kneeling beside my mother's broken body, holding her hand. Lucian knelt beside me, pulled me in, and allowed me to sob in his arms. “Wherever I go, Lucian, someone gets hurt.”
“It’s not your fault, Taylor, it’s your crazy ass sister.”
“Yes, I know, but it was my idea to come here.”
“And you were right in doing so. This place is your home. We can make it shine again.” He said, lifting my chin, wiping away my tears, and kissing my forehead.
Mother groaned. I looked down and her eyes were opening. “Mother!” I said, squeezing her hand.
“I’m okay, Evie,” she said, managing a faint smile.
“I thought I’d lost you.”
“Never, I’ll always be here.”
“Rest now, Mother, Charmeine said you’ll be healed soon.”
She nodded. “I will,” she said, drifting off to sleep.
“Gabriel, can you protect my mother while I go with Lucian to find the blood he needs?”
“Yes, but are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“She will be, I’ll go with them.” Charmeine said.
“Okay, come on then.” I stood up and pulled Lucian along.
“I can wait, Taylor.” He said.
“No, you need to be at your full strength in-case we run into any of those monsters again.”
“Good point.” He nodded.
Heading along the corridor, there wasn’t a soul in sight. Where were all the people? The injured, the sick? Perhaps that was why the shifter had laid the trap outside. She knew that was where the survivors would come to get help. Who knew I’d be right about the stasis sleep the monsters were in, commanded by one of Lilith’s minions? And if I was right, it was the same girl with the Barbie dolls back in this very hospital all that time ago. I shuddered.
Eternal Devastation (The Celestial Rose Book 3) Page 18
