Chapter 13 of the Skeleton Key a Blogvel

I had a lot of fun participating in my friend Michelle Simpkin's Round Robin Blogvel, The Skeleton Key. Blogvel you ask? Its a short novel written on the web via a multitude of authors. You can find all the authors, their blogs and their chapters here. I was assigned chapter 13. Tighty Writie is up next!

Chapter 13 of the Skeleton Key. Please click the "read more" button below:


Nausea swarmed over my being as I found myself tangled once again in Ax’s bizarre fiery cocoon teleport. I wanted to jab him in the ribs and demand to know where he was taking me now, but found the best idea was to keep my mouth closed lest I lose my lunch. Was the nausea truly necessary at that point in our gatekeeper, bone key stealing murder-mystery chase? Granted I was new at the gig, but with my knack for “chameleon” adaption I’d supposed I would have this part down by now. So why was I cowering with my head tucked under my pretty dragon man’s left armpit, too scared to watch as the world churned like butter below our luminous bubble? Was it the bad microwave food I had consumed like a ravenous baboon moments before, or this sudden plaguing sense of dark foreboding of what was to come next?

I didn’t have too much time to ponder the riot in my guts before I found the fire had dissipated and left me standing on an oddly familiar gray carpet dully lit by flickering fluorescent bulbs. Ax’s fingers played lightly on my chin. The heat from his touch was smoldering wonderfulness, breathing strength and determination into my body as he lifted my face up towards his. He was stooped a bit, low enough to allow his lips to perch momentarily on my nose like a firefly. Despite it all, I felt my face relax into a tipsy smirk.

“Be brave for me Rebecca. We are at our Embassy, seeking counsel and aid with Genevieve. From the stench of the office building the situation here is deteriorating rapidly. What you will see may be difficult to bear. Prepare yourself.”

Still finding myself without words I nodded, taking one clumsy step away from Ax’s thrumming embrace. After a few moments I made the conscious decision to open my eyes and immediately regretted it. The office building was nearly dark. The sickly, strobing light that remained revealed a row of desks and a broken coffee mug next to a chair leg. A pale slender hand with pink nail polish lay bloodied and independent from its owner at the foot of the copy machine. Dark stains and thick glops of unidentifiable matter made a horrid patchwork out of the carpet. Here and there the light played across faces ruined beyond recognition; others were seemingly pristine but painfully still.

The stench of death hit my nose like a tidal wave. My knees buckled only to skid wetly into an unidentified puddle on the floor. I was only faintly aware of Ax as he held my hair out of the way as I purged the contents of my stomach till there was nothing more left to decorate the carpet but my own throat burning bile.

Just then the building’s central intercom chimed and a deep purring voice spoke in a disapproving tone, “Hadriax, Rebecca. I’d like to have a word. Could you step into my office?”

“Wonderful. Just wonderful. My mom tells me I am an adopted shape changing freak, I am knee deep in mysterious liquids and my own vomit, my sister is off being tortured by some random supernatural thug, I am cheating on my boyfriend with a dragon and NOW my boss wants to speak with me. Can I refuse? Can I call out sick? I think I am gonna be sick again...” My tirade was cut short by a painful bout of dry heaves.

Ax had apparently had enough and hauled me to my feet. “We have to obey the summons, Rebecca. It’s in our own interest, see?” He towered over me, maneuvering my shoulders to face the nearby hallway. It looked worse than creepy. My eyes went wide as I spied an odd green glow lurking where the shadows seemed to shift unnaturally. Ax wrapped his arms around me, and I felt the familiar flames burst into life around us. And POOF, I sat where all this mess began, in the not-so-cushy chair of my mysterious obsidian-skinned, cat-eyed weirdo of a boss’s office. But various details had changed since my first visit. The exotic plants that once draped the office in emerald cascades had turned a putrid brown. He sat in his chair, his feral eyes wide but steady, as his room hummed with nervous energy, packed full of over forty beings that looked human but were not what they appeared.

“What the hell is going on here?” I demanded, motioning to the crusting blood on my knees, the dead plants and the crowd in his once roomy office.

“We are in isolation. All creatures deemed a danger to others have been left outside the walls of my office. As I attempted to make clear during our first meeting together, it would seem that whoever murdered our gatekeeper not only stole the key but cut all of our reserves. Our gate is out of harmony and we are trapped inside. Those of us with certain needs have been left wanting which has resulted in a series of unfortunate and messy accidents that I see you have become well acquainted with.” He looked at me expectantly and I took note of his coal black skin glistening with beads of pearlescent blue sweat. It was the only sign of stress he seemed to exhibit. I opened my mouth to speak but Ax was faster.

“We haven’t the time to explain or update. We have come to demand audience with The Prophetess Genevieve.”

I wasn’t sure if the room’s high pitched hum of chaos died to a deafening silence in response to Ax’s bone jarring snarl or the demand he made. Either way, the air was charged with the smell of fear and the mounting pressure of expectation. The bookshelf to the right of the boss suddenly jerked and made a hard spin, and out stepped Genevieve from a trap door holding a chalice full of glittering gelatinous content. “Rebecca! Poor thing. I have been worried to death. Oh and I’m just so sorry about your sister!” She dashed over and handed off the mysterious chalice to Ax as she scooped me into a clobbering bear hug.

“How do you know about Ashley?” I managed to say while still buried in her embrace.

Genevieve pulled away and straightened herself, her back to business expression a little forced, “I have seen all that has come to pass and have been giving the boss real-time updates. As I believe Hadriax has caught on, there is indeed a need for you to claim full ownership and operation of the gate Angelica is currently using to send out psychic attacks. The way to do this involves entering the realm of the dead, seeking the expired gatekeeper and essentially banishing the mark of his essence, from any ties to the gate. Once this is done you will be the sole owner and operator of that gate and Angelica will have one less weapon to turn against you. ”

“Wait...let me get this straight. You need me to claim full ownership of a gate that Ax just transported me out of? Wouldn’t it have been more convenient to do this realm of the dead ritual thingy’ there? What’s with that gunk in that fancy looking cup? And what about my sister, when will I get to...?”
“Ax was missing an important ritual implement to get you started on the journey to claim the gate. Through the steady stream of visions I have been receiving I recognized the dilemma and to help speed things along I took the liberty of brewing this batch of meta essence. It’s the first time it’s been made in over 7 centuries.” She looked mightily pleased with herself.

I recoiled in horror. “Genevieve. You really expect me to drink that stuff?!”

“Oh, come on. It’s not so bad. I added a nice dose of maple syrup to the batch! It’s a transformation accelerator and extender that we brewed to work with your unique shape shifting abilities. See, you will need, for all intensive purposes, to be dead to enter the realm of the dead. Duh! This meta essence will aid your body and your energy pattern to mimic the state of death thus allowing you to go in and do your business without being swept up in the current that transports souls into the next life for rebirth. It’s quite simple, actually.”

“And how do you expect me to find this ‘expired gatekeeper’ that you need me to banish past the gates of death and beyond?” At this point I was rolling my eyes somethin’ fierce.

The room gasped as Ax, perhaps the most powerful creature in this dimension, bent down on his knees before me, tenderly placing the chalice in my hands as he shot me the most devastating of apologetic looks. “Do you have the key?”

I touched my pocket and felt the ghastly finger bone safe and secure. ” Yes I do.”

“Do you have the Hummer?”

I reached into my bag, pulling out the brass gun looking device which sent most of the creatures in the room scrambling for cover. “Check,” I said with a mischievous grin.

“Then drink. We will be fully equipped to return to the fallen Embassy and secure it away from Angelica’s control. Once this is complete we can use the lasting effects of the meta essence to aid in retrieving your sister from Damien’s fiendish hands. You’ll need to be brave, my mate. My love. Please. Drink. ”

Did he just call me his love? Was I truly swooning while on the verge of drinking a chalice full of goop that was going to turn me into some sort of living dead thing? Yes I was. I drank till the chalice was empty. The meta essence had instantaneous effects. It soothed my bile burned throat with a wintry wash of numbness. The essence continued to seep till I felt every cell of my structure saturated and strange. It would have been relatively pleasant if not for the bone chill that began to gum up the ability to move my limbs.
It was then that Ax spread his arms around my chilled form and used his fire to banish us again to the last site of Angelica’s revenge.

Ax held my stiff and paling body tight to his chest as if his smoldering dragon flesh could keep the chill of death off for a little while longer. But it was too late. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak, and soon I wouldn’t be able to breathe. Yet I had a clear view of Ax’s face, and I could tell Angelica’s psychic attacks against him were increasing in strength. For his sculpted features were contorted in agony. Those brawny arms of his began to prick and rip at my frigid flesh as his thick steely dragon scales began to loose themselves like razor goose bumps across his skin. In sympathy, my body began to shift too. Not only was my body impersonating the fine attributes of a corpse, but mimicking a particularly violent dragon shift, it was an excruciating predicament.

Struggling fiercely, Ax finally managed to lay my body down in the center of a room full of shadows set dancing with the roar of a fire built inside an impressive hearth. I was practically ripping my lungs and throat apart gasping for air without effect. My consciousness was beginning to wane and my vision swam. I could barely make out that I was lying atop a chalked out circular symbol of some kind. Within the circle and around me were an assortment of spices, salt, gems, vials, and herbs placed in a complicated array. Meanwhile, Ax thrashed somewhere in the distant shadows.

The last thing my muddled body recorded was the few audible words within the moans and growls that Ax began to bellow. Something like, “Don’t fight. Let it take....you. Your guide. Your guide awaits you in The Astral River of Transformation. Be brave!”




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Birthday Excursion into the woods with paint

So, you may or may not have noticed that i have been rather quiet this month. Truth is its my Birthday month so i have been more introspective with my goals centering more so around relaxation and personal time. Yes, the art has suffered a bit...but I have managed to spend some time on my current painting in the works and i am seriously about 20 mins away from finishing it! So i will be sharing photos of that soon.

My 24th birthday was on Monday and i decided to take a few days off from work and get away from the city. So my better half and I ran off to the southern Oregon woods of wolf creek to visit with my big bro Wonder in his most amazing patch of forest. We had a splendid time spent hangin out, swimin in fresh mountain water, eating yummy food, star gazing, story tellin and...painting!

Wonder and Tinker have a full attic of art supply goodies and they had the great idea to paint thier newly fashioned chicken coop. It was decided that I would paint a harpy laying a golden egg.


Danny helped out by painting a "GanEGGsha"
See? its Ganesha holding golden eggs.

Here we all are during various stages of the creative process. Wonder was painting a eggy hobbit riddle that went something like "A box without hinges, keys or lid yet golden treasure inside is hid?"

Anyhoo! I had a wonderful time and want to run away and live in the woods forever.

More updates soon.
Love and Light,
-Chelsea Rose
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Fae Guide finds a new home, art Vending and Etsy treasuries, Tie Dye SALE

Ello darlin friendlies and curious kindred souls from afar,
It is with bitter sweet( but mostly sweet!) joy that I announce selling my Fae Guide original acrylic painting:

My Faery Guide original acrylic painting has sold! I will miss her but I am so excited that she found such a wonderful new home. I am also so inspired by the support! Thank you Holli. Love and Light! According to Holli, she met the Faery Guide when I had her on display down at the Saturday Market...and just couldn't get her out of her thoughts so she decided to give her a new home! Holli says shes a faery fanatic like me and so my Faery guide will be right at home in her house full of various faerie paraphernalia :) Could not have worked out better.

In other news, we had a lot of fun vending down at the Last Thursday Artwalk on Alberta st fair:


(photos by Danny )
....It was an especially fun night because we were surounded by a couple of our local artist friends; Justin Slattum, Jasmin Star and Andrew Zeutzius. We set up our artwork next to each other taking up half a block so it felt like our own groovy lil art village! Looking forward to the next one.

Also wanted to point out that we are in the 3rd and final week of our Tie Dye SALE!
Here are a couple items i would like to highlight:

Ice Blue Vortex
tie dye tank top
cotton and stretch material combined to make a soft and stretchy fabric!
size: small
Bust comfortably fits anywhere from 28"-36"
a wonderful choice for spring and the summer!
Hand tie dyed with lots of love and on SUPER SALE. Buy it now for only $10!

And if your as much of a fan of spirals as i am, youll really love this one:


Divine Blue Green Spiral tie dye
ON SALE! original price: $20, sale price$10!
Check the sale listing out here for more info or to buy.

And last but not least! I wanted to share with you an etsy treasury I curated using creations made only by the pagan etsy team.
Its a treasury called " Journey into the Realm of Faerie"

Are you planning a journey of your own into the Realms of Faerie?
If so, take a look at the items i have chosen that should aid you on your trip nicely.

Treasury includes:
Art, to assist your spirit in attuning to The Fae’s spiraling creative frequencies.

Ritual tools, to facilitate your efforts in opening The Gate with respect /positive intention.

Trinkets, offerings to the Fae Guides who await you beyond the veil.

See it for yourself here!

Thats it for now folks.
Much love,
-Chelsea Rose
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Work in Progress photos, Fearless Ebru, Tie Dye SALE

Hello all,
So i am getting closer and closer with my current painting in the works. Here is a shot of what i have as of last night:

She is slowly comin along....everything is still pretty rough at this point. Hopefully i get to spend more time with her this sunday...paint paint paint!

Check out Danny's new Ebru/Silkscreen creation:

Fearlessness
original handmade acrylic ebru(Turkish paper marbling) mono-print on kozo paper with 3 color buddha screen print. 12.5"x19" by Danny.

And, YES! our Tie Dye Sale is still hoppin. Although, our items are finding new homes at a good rate so come check out our tie dye before its all gone. You cant beat $10 for hand tie dyed shirts and skirts. Made by us with lots of good vibes :)

The shirt to this outfit has already sold but the dress is still available for $10 here or Check out our entire tie-dye sale collection here.
(Pssst. Want to know a secret? You can get free shipping on your tie dye order if you enter the following coupon code in upon purchase: TieDyePower42 )

I also just recently added a bunch more art prints to our etsy shop:

"Mermaid Dreams" original acrylic painting by Chelsea Rose
Now available as:
12" x14" Giclee stretched canvas print(signed by artist)for $100
13"x19" giclee poster for $20.
8"x10" giclee print for $15


Strength Poster -handmade double layer acrylic ebru (aka - Turkish paper marbling) monoprint with Ganesha screen print on kozo paper.
13" x 19"Fine art archival Giclee print poster for $20



This weekend we will be down at the Portland Saturday Market with a full booth of art.

We hope to see you down there in the summer sunshine.

Many Blessings,
-Chelsea Rose
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More Work In Progress painting and Tie Dye SALE

Woohoo! Made it alive to another Friday.
And i got a bit more work done on my current painting:

I added a very roughly painted ruined city consumed by flames in the background. I am going to play around with it more and see what i can do to help enhance it. I had really liked the background how it was before adding the city in, so had been going back and forth with myself on whether or not i wanted to stick to my plan and paint Babylon burning. I think i am liking it. Perhaps its helped push my intended meaning with the piece. The painting will most likely be titled " The Prophetess of healing." Its about the cycles and balance of life. The ebb and flow of death and renewal. Also expressing that there is pain/trauma in healing and yet the potential of transformation is exhilarating.

In other news, we have put all of our Tie Dye on SALE!
All our shirts and skirts are just $10 each.
AND....if you use the following coupon code when purchasing you can get FREE SHIPPING to anywhere in the US. Fancy shmancy coupon code is: TieDyePower42

Here are some of the on SALE Tie Dye items that I feel compelled to share with you. For today focusing on our bright yellows, oranges and greens since its a wonderfully lovely sunny summer day:

SALE Solus Vibrations tiedye blouse- $10 For details, more photos or to purchase click here.


SALE Autumn Forest Dancer tie dye skirt in orange and yellow-$10 For details, more photos or to purchase click here.


SALE Leaf Lite green and yellow tie dye shirt-$10 For details, more photos or to purchase click here.

There are 11 more Tie Dye items on sale in our etsy shop so click here to check them all out. Dont forget your coupon code for free shipping!


Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.
Much love and light,
-Chelsea Rose
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Work In Progress photos and News

I started a new painting!
Goodness, it feels like its been forever.

Here are a couple process shots on what I accomplished on Sunday before going down to the Sunday market to sling my art:

Put down a bit of initial color to get a feel for the direction of the painting.


Painting is based on this original pen and ink drawing of mine. The original title for the drawing was "Bulb Goddess." In the painting it would seem the intent has shifted a bit. See, the background is fiery representing pain yet the goddess is posed before it in meditative healing gesture- she will counterbalance the background with calm shades of green, blue and purple. Initially I had planned to put a charred burning Babylon city along the horizon line....but I am enjoying the background the way it is currently...but you never know, i just might make an attempt and see what it looks like.


And here we are together, getting to know each other which is a very important part in the creative process :P

In other news, over the weekend we took a break from the Portland Saturday Market and instead tried selling our art at the 10th annual Mississippi ave. street fair.
Here is a photo composite of our set up there:

The turn out for this street fair was massive, around 20,000 people! Oddly enough we did just about as good as we do at the Portland Saturday market. I was a bit bummed at a few moments when i realized that not having a way to accept credit cards had cost us around $300 in sales that day. So, yesterday i figured a way to remedy the issue. Apparently many art vendors have it set up so that they can take credit card payments through their smartphone through a device called "square up." Honestly I have desperately tried to resist the smartphone movement, but here we are I guess. I called my service provider who informed me I was due for an upgrade and that I could get the Pixi smartphone for free, and then download the software that will allow me to take credit card payments on the go. So, I should have the phone before this weekend and I am very interested to try it out and see if the new capabilities will improve sales.

Anyhoo...thats enough talk about business.
I will be updating soon with new "work in progress" photos of my painting + some newly released images from my 1st Earth Goddess body art photoshoot.

Much love and light,
-Chelsea Rose
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More Strawberry Woman Body art photos + Rainbow Gathering snapshots

Summer feels to have finally blossomed!

And I am slowly unfurling my new body art series centered on honoring and manifesting the "Earth Goddess."

Here are two more shots from the first body paint/photoshoot of the series:


Odaemin the Strawberry Woman
(body art and photography by Chelsea Rose)


Odaemin the Strawberry Woman
(body art and photography by Chelsea Rose)

...Very excited to share more with you from this shoot. Photographing my Goddesses in the woods is a fascinating experience because mother nature is constantly adding her artistic twist in each photo. I love the way she played with light in both of these captures. In the first she’s creating a enchanting waterfall of light that kisses my model's profile. In the second i love how mother nature lit up the third eye so dramatically. Cant wait to get outside for another body art shoot and do some more collaborating with the forces that be!

In other news, we rocked a booth for Last Thursday Artwalk on Alberta st. The first one that wasn’t rained out all year!

(photo by danny )
And this coming weekend we will be selling art in our booth at the yearly Mississippi street fair. Come say hi if you can!

However this past weekend was an amazingly beautiful experience. I went to the Rainbow Gathering in Washington. It was massive, and the quality of human interaction was profound. I made and met some wonderful friends and soul kin, and did a fair amount of body painting too!
Here are some photos:

(photo by danny )
Here I am deep in the forest of Washington within the Rainbow. non stop smiles.
wearing my moms old jacket, which she wore to her first rainbow gathering back in 1982.


(photo by danny )
Not sure how it happened but the universe gifted me an amazingly random meeting of a long time artist friend from online. And now we are brother and sister of the rainbow!!


(photo and words by danny )
"an eclectic group of people filled the forest of southern Washington by the thousands this July to celebrate the idea of peace and brotherhood. We ventured for about 2 hours to get there, which is nothing compared to those who drove in from all over the country. Every state had people there to represent their land. Our tent was set in the forest next to the base of some massive trees and right next to the African drum tent which held the rhythms till sunrise. We had tons of fun drumming, wandering, and making friends. "

(photo and words by danny )
"Sun rise on the large meadow at the gathering.
As the sun hit the field and warmed the earth a swirling steam rose up out of the ground, undulated over the clearing and gently woke the rainbow folk to a refreshing new day."

(photo and words by danny )
"an eclectic group of people filled the forest of southern Washington by the thousands this July to celebrate the idea of peace and brotherhood."

....I really wish we could have stayed longer and made a true home of the gathering. But alas, work called us home early. I hope to gather for the next Rainbow, where ever it might land...and make a few weeks trip out of it. Yes yes!

Feeling refreshed and charged with love and light!
Looking forward to the future.

My "Goddess In All Of Us" series will be on display inside at In Other Words Feminist book store for the month of July. And here is a perfect reason to come check it out :



Blessings,
-Chelsea Rose
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