Solstice - The Goddess Awakens

At first she thought she was dead, all around her was a veil of blackness, but the dull pain emanating from her ankle told Lola she was still alive. She thought she was delirious. Then, there it was. A thin sliver of warm yellow light crept up the narrow passageway towards the womb of the chamber. Lola’s eyes followed an orb of pink and green pulsing light as it danced off the walls, growing brighter and bigger. The light hit her bare and swollen foot. Its warmth was a welcome change to the cold and dark of her tomb.

Lola forced her weary eyes open, tracing the single thread as it slowly filled the chamber with a soft golden glow.

The orb separated from the sun’s ray and moved towards Alex, who was barely alive. The wispy light danced over his punctured chest, pulsing up and down. Alex began to stir. Carl Stein’s steely blue eyes watched as the luminous orb grew more dazzling, as it floated towards the north recess of the cavernous room, reactivating the dormant Cube as it floated past. The sun’s movement through the chamber finally caught up. Lola watched as the beam saturated the rear wall, illuminating the ancient symbol of creation, the triple spiral. All the while Carl Stein stood slumped up against the opposite wall. All darkness had been extinguished and there was no longer any place for him to hide. The colour had drained from his face as he gazed down at his son, who seemed to be miraculously recovering.

Lola couldn’t take her eyes off the light now dancing around her head. She felt detached; everything seemed so surreal, like it was happening to someone else. She watched the light as it softly materialised into the most beautiful spectre that her aching eyes had ever seen.

A lady appeared before her, dressed in a flowing gown that morphed between vivid colours, first green, then pink, red, and yellow. Her face was kind and serene and her long flaxen hair fell around her in thick waves. The vibrant violet aura that shrouded her mantle made her seem fluid, or translucent. It was the same colour as Celeste’s, thought Lola. She was pure love. Lola closed her weary eyes, bathing in the radiance, sure that this was the end for her. Was this what it was like to die? If so she liked it. Somewhere in the distance was Carl Stein’s panicked voice. No matter how hard she tried to block him out, she couldn’t.

‘It can’t be you. This is impossible,’ protested Carl to himself. Lola could hear the sheer terror in his strained voice. But the lady of light didn’t answer him; instead she just smiled gently as he tried to pull his son from Lola’s limp arms.

Alex had finally come to; tears began to leak from his eyes as he gazed at the vision in awe. She was so beautiful.

‘Mother,’ he croaked as his father grabbed him under the arms and began dragging him down the narrow corridor.

Lola didn’t have the energy to fight against Carl Stein as he left with his son and the Cube. She closed her eyes savouring the warmth.

‘You have come far, my cosmic sister. You alone have made Delphius and the House of Dé Danann proud,’ said the vision. ‘Your path has not been an easy one, but your light has penetrated even the darkest souls,’ said Aurora, smiling. Her voice was like a symphony, it was nothing like Lola had ever heard before. Suddenly she began to feel overwhelmed with emotion. Had she survived? Was she still alive? Lola began to sob uncontrollably as she lay in the cold, dusty floor of the Brú. She wished Arthur was there. It was agony, as though every piece of grief she had ever felt exploded through her body.

Aurora’s energy and light continued to morph and intensify, bringing a sudden calmness over Lola. With each vibrant colour that washed over her body, she felt more and more at ease.

‘My son’s body will heal and while his soul has been bathed in the divine light of our sacred Brú, it will take longer to repair, Lola,’ she smiled.

‘You were once called Brigid, a wonderful warrior of her people and before her Artemis. Over many lives you have been known by many names and now in this life, you are returned as Lola Paige. But you are still the great goddess of light and of the House of Danu. Now you understand the importance of our secrets and ancient wisdom. My dear, you have learned that there are those who do not want to see the new dawn approach. No more so than the poor wretch who has fled this divine womb. There is still much for you to do before the people of Danu can return to this realm, Lola. Your journey does not end here. It only begins. The Cube can only work with the Oracle. You must find the Oracle, Lola.’

Lola sat in rapture as Aurora and the sun’s light began to retreat back along the ancient passageway. She wanted them to stay but couldn’t quite muster the energy to protest at Aurora’s departure. Lola sobbed uncontrollably as the chamber was once again plunged into darkness.

And there it was. The realisation of just how far she’d come. As Lola stared through the sea of blackness, she finally understood that the dark was nothing to fear – it was as much part of her as the light was. It wasn’t about light versus the darkness. Each of them possessed both, Arthur, Carl, her and Alex. That was the order of the universe, light and dark, a wonderful balance of opposites. Do you choose love? Or, do you choose fear? There was only one emotion that compelled Lola. It had driven every decision that she’d made, right or wrong. It was what had set her on her current course and it was the reason why she lay broken on the cold ground now. Love was what had coloured her decisions. Love for Arthur, for Alex, for Aibgrene and Celeste, for her family.

She knew this because tonight, and since Arthur’s death, she had faced the darkness. Not only that which was embodied in Carl Stein, but the darkness within herself. She had climbed into the dark womb of the Brú and was reborn. She felt stronger now, in a way she had never experienced before. Instinctively she reached up to her neck, relieved when her fingers found the small signet ring that dangled on a chain. Carl and Alex had gone, and with them the Cosmic Cube, but this didn’t matter, thought Lola boldly. She would get it back.

As her senses returned, Lola could hear panicked voices echo up the narrow passageway. She willed herself to her feet, grasping the cold stone walls of the chamber. She wasn’t sure whose arms she collapsed into, all she could recall was the warmth of the blanket that was wrapped around her body.

Lola shielded her eyes from the bright winter sun. Looking up she smiled as she saw the worried faces of Aibgrene, Celeste, Daithi and Darragh gazing back at her.

‘Oh, Lola, I thought you were gone,’ cried Aibgrene, as she softly kissed Lola’s cheek.

Lola raised herself up into a sitting position, as she tried to orientate herself. She lay up against the large kerbstone outside the entrance to the chamber. She could feel the ancient stone’s warm energy seeping through her back, filtering into her aching bones. The site looked equally as stunning in the daylight as it had under moonlight. The ground was still carpeted with snow as the sun danced and glistened off each tiny flake of ice. Her grasp of language now seemed so vulgar and limited as she tried to relay what she had witnessed inside. She had been reborn. It was as though the sun’s light had altered her very being, cleansing and purging her consciousness, reinvigorating it with love. Celeste fought back the tears as Lola told her about her sister, and all that she had told her.

‘I need to find this Oracle, I don’t know how I’m going to do that, but Carl has escaped with the Cube. There is no doubt in my mind that he knows about the Oracle too. He’ll be looking for it,’ croaked Lola.

‘All will be explained in good time, my dear,’ soothed Celeste. ‘I think we had better get you back to the manor. Your parents have been worried sick and there is a certain young boy there who is very eager to see you.’

‘Liam. Oh my God,’ cried Lola. How could she have forgotten about her little brother? ‘Liam.’

Aibgrene squeezed her hand reassuringly. ’Our good friend, DCI Campbell had your editor under surveillance. He was holding Liam in the Ballyvalley News offices. The police raided the place, got Liam and have arrested Bryce Neal. It’s alright, Lo. Liam is safe, a little shaken, but safe.

‘How did you know where to find me?’ This time Celeste answered. ‘We were all at the campsite, celebrating the impending Solstice. There was sudden shift in the energy field around the site. That alerted me first. My talents are not fully restored, Lola, so I thought I was imagining it. I was sure I felt the ground tremor. I immediately thought of the Lia Fail. When we went outside we could see the light blast but by the time we reached the top, you were gone. I knew then there was only one place he would take you. Now come on,’ beamed Celeste, ‘let’s get you home.’

Lola struggled to get to her feet, ‘No, no, Lola, you lay there,’ cautioned Daithi. Letting out a loud whistle, he waved his arms, summoning someone up to the entrance of the chamber. Lola blushed when she realised who it was.

‘We’ll have to stop meeting like this, Lola,’ jibed Sean impishly. ‘I’m beginning to think you’re doing it on purpose.’

Running her fingertips around the triple spiral carved deep into the granite kerbstone for one last time, Lola closed her eyes, smiling to herself as she felt the last of the sun’s alchemical rays on her face. Reaching down, Sean scooped her up into his arms.

‘My awakening is complete, Arthur,’ she whispered to herself. This had certainly been her awakening and like the vibrant solstice sun that hung low in the winter sky, Lola knew she too would rise again to help usher in the light. The choice was a simple one. Would she choose fear? Or, would she choose love? But Lola understood she had already made her decision.

THE END

TO BE CONTINUED…………………….