Solstice - The Goddess Awakens

Celeste Moone could feel her strength waning, it was taking every ounce of her power to fight back the heavy force field of dark energy that constantly tried to constrict her. Normally it was effortless for her to expand her vibrant violet auric shell. But she was fighting strong magick, stronger than she had ever faced before. She could tell the person emitting it was quite some distance away from her, but still their power was potent. It was like a massive black hole consuming her soul’s life force. The fact that she hadn’t had anything to eat for two days didn’t help matters, but she knew this was all part of her captor’s plans.

Her head was still a bit groggy even though the effects of the chloroform had worn off. She hadn’t noticed the person sitting in the back of the blacked out car until she felt a rag being clamped over her mouth and nose, forcing her to inhale the sickly sweet odour. When she came around she had been completely disorientated by the sensory deprivation of her dank cell. It had taken Celeste a while to figure out where she was.

Sensing the full moon, she had used the little strength she had to vacate her body. Rising out of the cell, she travelled up through the cliff like a ghost. Hovering above the rugged edifice, she could see a large mansion embedded into its side illuminated by the moon, a shining beacon in the clear night sky. Tonight it was her accomplice, its mystical powers the only reason she could perform her magick in such a weakened state.

Drifting towards home, her astral spectre found her daughter asleep in the room above their shop. She could feel the protective spells that Aibgrene had put in place as she sat watching her daughter sleep. The potency of her astral body was draining by the second and all she could give her daughter was a name before she succumbed to the sinister power that was forcing her back into her body. Lying now in the darkness, Celeste could taste the saline air and hear the sea crashing against the rocks below. Suddenly there was a twist of a key in the thick iron door of her room. She strained her eyes to see who was entering. Celeste was momentarily blinded by the light that spilled in from the passageway. Her eyes were covered and she felt a firm grip on her arm, as she was hauled out of her cell and up spiralling stone steps.

Shrugging off the firm grip of her guard, she was permitted to remove the blindfold, which allowed her eyes to adjust slowly to the room around her. As her vision returned Celeste found herself standing in a large library.

The interior design of the room was baroque in style. The floors were covered with thick red carpet and the walls were dressed with black panelling trimmed with gold leaf. Each wall was covered in shelving stretching from the floor to the ceiling and crammed with hundreds of books. At the centre of the room sat a large black table with a matching chair. Taking a closer look at the empty seat, she read the initials CS imprinted on the backrest in gold letters. The S initial ran through the bottom of the C. She knew who owned this chair, and this caused anger and rage to rise through her body.

This cannot be happening, she reasoned with herself. But in an instant it all made perfect sense. The man who killed her sister had taken her captive. Clearly he had the same plan in mind for her. This could only mean one thing. Carl Stein was now the Grand Master of the Hell Fire Club, and his brand of magick had become very powerful and extremely dark. She needed to remain calm.

‘Sit down,’ ordered a gruff voice from behind her. She slowly sat on the chair opposite the desk.

‘Well since you asked so nicely, I think I will,’ replied Celeste.

The bald, bulky, man who stood behind her now, dressed in a fitted black suit, was the same man that had forced the rag over her mouth in the car. She had caught a fleeting glimpse of him in the rear view mirror. Celeste tried hard to keep her voice even and her anger in check. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath. Steadying her emotions, she determined that a monster like Carl Stein would not break her as easily as he had her sister. Celeste didn’t turn around when she heard the familiar southern drawl of the American as he entered the room.

‘Well hello, Celeste, it’s been quite a long time,’ said Carl Stein.

Celeste’s stomach churned, and she refused to take his outstretched hand. She looked at him with contempt as he sat down in the chair in front of her.

‘Not long enough, Carl,’ smiled Celeste serenely. ‘But I see you’ve been quite busy.’

‘Only getting what was due to me through my own diligence and hard work, Celeste,’ replied Carl with all his usual swagger and charm. Celeste wasn’t in the mood to exchange pleasantries, he had taken her for a reason and she wanted to get straight to the point.

‘You’re as charismatic as ever, Carl! But since we’re old friends, feel free to drop the façade. What do you want with me?’

Steadying her resolve, Celeste glared into Carl Stein’s cold blue eyes, right into the depths of his frigid soul. Time had been good to him. He had aged well in the twenty years since she had last seen him. She had glimpsed him on television, publicising his many charity events, but not in the flesh. No one delivered pretence like Carl Stein. His adoring public was oblivious to his true, grotesque nature. He was still very handsome; his clean-shaven face, perfect white teeth, and well-groomed grey hair added to his refined appearance. His wealth and intelligence made him the epitome of sophistication, but Celeste knew how hard he worked to make sure that this image never wavered in public.

‘You’re looking well, Carl. It must be all that “charity work” you are doing that keeps you looking so young and fresh,’ jeered Celeste in mock admiration. Ignoring her obvious sarcasm, Carl Stein continued to be congenial.

‘You must be famished, dear, would you like something to eat?’

‘Don’t patronise me, Carl,’ snapped Celeste. ‘What do you want?’

‘I think you know what I want from you, Celeste!’ said Carl, the wide smile never leaving his face, but there was no mistaking the malice in his voice.

‘I’m not sure I do,’ replied Celeste indifferently. ‘You’ve killed Arthur and infiltrated the Order, what more could you possibly want?’

Suddenly his expression darkened. Celeste tried not to react to the agonising burning sensation that flamed across the surface of her skin. She held eye contact with Carl, as the intense coldness of his eyes burned into hers.

‘Don’t play games with me, Celeste. Your family doesn’t have such a good track record against me!’ sneered Carl.

Celeste responded in anger, reaching over and striking him across the face. The effect was minimal, as he appeared not to react at all.

‘Such anger! Such anger,’ laughed Carl darkly. ‘I’m impressed, Celeste. Perhaps if Aurora had shown such fire she’d be with you today.’ Carl chose his words carefully, fully aware of their evocative effect. He could sense Celeste paining at the mention of her sister’s name. ‘But she did love me, and as the saying goes too much love can kill you.’

Celeste sat seething as Carl Stein chuckled at his own sick joke. His loaded words were like a cold dagger through her heart. Sadly, she remembered that her sister had truly loved him. Aurora had believed his soul was worth saving. She hadn’t known that Carl Stein had sold his soul for wealth and power, long before he had met her.

From the day he had first laid eyes on Aurora he had coveted her power and she was blinded by his charm and beauty. Like a parasite, he had sucked what he needed from her and then disposed of her as if she were nothing. He had consumed her magick, ultimately using it against her.

Celeste had never sought revenge, but sitting in front of the Carl Stein made her want just that. She knew her powers were no good here. He was too strong in this environment, and she was in a weakened state. Without any real options, she calmed her mind once again, awaiting further revelation.

‘So where were we? Oh yes, what I need,’ continued Carl. ‘Well the thing is, we did indeed manage to dispose of your leader. Another trusting fool! But, we didn’t get the ring, or the Cube.’

Making his way around the table, Carl stood with his hands on the back of Celeste’s chair. He leant down and whispered softly into her ear, his voice smooth and menacing.

‘You know I always get what I want, Celeste. One way or another, I always get what I want.’

‘I don’t know what Arthur did with his ring, or the Cube. He didn’t have either in his possession when we were called to the house. We assumed that you had taken them,’ said Celeste.

It was clear that the she was telling the truth. Carl sensed a relief in her voice, as she suddenly realised that the Hell Fire Club didn’t have any of the objects in their possession. This gave her a renewed hope. Celeste immediately wondered who might have them now.

‘In that case, Celeste, who has them? Who would Arthur have entrusted them to, if not you? Who would have fully understood their importance and significance? Who would possess the magick to unlock them?’ asked Carl. ‘I can only think of one person, my dear, and that is you.’

Celeste could only think of one person too, and that person had no idea of their importance, nor did she possess the ancient magick that would enable her to unlock their power. Celeste wondered how long it would take the Hell Fire Club to figure it out. Cyril had not only betrayed her, Arthur and the Order, but he’d been at the ceremony too. Celeste feared that he too understood how important Lola was to Arthur. And so, with renewed vigour, Celeste directly answered her subjugator. She didn’t fear for her own life, and was not intimidated by Carl Stein, but she did care for the life of her daughter Aibgrene and Lola.

‘I don’t have them, Carl, and even if I did I would die before I told you,’ spat Celeste. ‘Better people than me have sacrificed their lives to protect our secrets. I have nothing to fear from death.’

This seemed to amuse Carl, as he let out a bitter laugh.

‘Who mentioned killing you, Celeste? I plan to inflict worse things on you than death! Believe me, when I’ve finished with you, you’ll be begging me for death,’ he hissed into her ear.

Reaching out he placed his long index finger on Celeste’s pale collar bone. He watched her contort as black poisonous ink spread along her veins and into the arteries in her chest. Falling off the chair in agony, Celeste tried in vain to repel the toxins that where constricting her airway and lungs. Finally the pain stopped as he took his hand away. Gasping for air, Celeste defiantly clambered to her feet.

Circling now, Carl Stein continued to question her, punishing her in the same way if the answer was not to his liking, all the time goading and provoking her.

‘You are much stronger than your sister was, Celeste, she couldn’t withstand this much pressure,’ he taunted.

Standing upright Celeste spat in his face. Lifting a handkerchief Carl Stein slowly wiped the moisture off, he was tiring. Even in a weakened state Celeste was withstanding his assault, and it was taking a lot out of him. As he readied himself for another attack, a gentle knock came to the library door. Momentarily distracted, Carl Stein looked up to see his son come into the room. The reprieve gave Celeste time to try to gather herself again, she didn’t know how much more her body could take. She sat down on the chair again; all she could think about was her sole purpose for living, her daughter Aibgrene. She knew Aibgrene was a shrewd and able witch, but she was young and there was still so much she had to learn. Carl Stein could do what he wanted to her, but the thought that he would harm her daughter, or Lola, was too much to bear. Regaining her vision, she looked at the young man who had entered the room. Wiping her bleary eyes, Celeste struggled to make sense of what or who she was looking at. At first she thought it was more of Carl’s dark magic making her hallucinate. The young man – who she guessed was about twenty-one – must be Carl’s son for sure yet he looked nothing like his father, apart from his similar piercing blue eyes.

He was taller than his father and his hair was blonde, Carl’s hair had always been black in his younger days. Celeste realised that it wasn’t Carl Stein that she saw in the boy. He had the same face, lips and nose as her sister. He was so like Aurora in fact that the sight of him brought tears to Celeste’s weary eyes, though she struggled to believe that this boy could actually be Aurora’s. It didn’t add up, her sister had never been pregnant, Celeste would have known, she would have sensed it. As she stared at Alex she remembered how Carl had prevented Aurora from seeing her family for a while before her death – was this why?

Carl Stein watched as the expression on Celeste’s face changed from confusion to realisation, and it made him uneasy. Alex relayed the latest news to his father while looking at the strange woman, sitting across the room staring back at him. He recognised her as someone who had been at Arthur’s funeral, but she now appeared more familiar to him, though he was sure he had never actually met her before. Celeste struggled in her dazed state to listen to the exchange between them, managing to hear the end of their conversation.

‘What do you mean electric shock?’ asked Carl impatiently.

‘I’m not sure, Father. He said that whatever the solicitor gave her was in her bag, but when he went to snatch the bag he was thrown back about one hundred yards and that he felt like he had been electrocuted. She went into Mystic Moone. The Moone girl was waiting there for her.’

‘Thanks for the update, Alex. That is a very interesting development indeed. You’ll have to get close to this girl.’

‘That shouldn’t be too hard,’ laughed Alex. ‘We are already acquainted.’

‘I’ve taught you well, Son. Now, I have some business to finish here.’

As Alex left the room, Carl Stein turned his attention back to Celeste.

‘I’ve just had some very interesting news, Celeste. It seems you have been holding out on me, how very foolish of you!’

‘I’m not the only one that has been holding out, Carl,’ spluttered Celeste.

‘Like I said, my dear, we can play this game all night and all day. So tell me, who is this Lola Paige?’ asked Carl, as Celeste sat rigid refusing to answer. ‘Well I have all the time in the world, Celeste, so I suppose that’s enough for tonight. I think we will give you a change of accommodation, and a chance to eat and clean up. You might as well make yourself at home – you’re going to be here for a while!’

With a nod at the guard, Carl Stein left the room.