Solstice - The Goddess Awakens

Lola felt a sudden heaviness of heart as the familiar smell of polish and lillies enveloped her, reminding her why she had put off coming to the Manor for so long – it was simply too painful. Aibgrene closed the door behind them creating a gust of wind that disturbed the large crystal chandelier suspended in middle of the room. The cold moonbeams that spilled through the fanlight above the door illuminated the monochrome tiles that spread out like a large marble chess board beneath their feet, directing them towards the stairs.

‘Come on, we’ll go to Arthur’s study, it’s nice and cosy in there,’ suggested Lola, as they ascended the large winding staircase towards the east wing of the house where Arthur’s library and observatory sat. Making her way down the hallway, Lola glanced back to make sure Aibgrene was following, but she was rooted to the spot, and motioned for her to stop.

‘Psst. Psst, Lola! Lola! Stop!’

‘What is it now?’

‘Shussssh! I think there’s someone here! I can feel it!’

Lola’s blood ran cold as her mind began to race. Was it Arthur’s killer, coming back to finish what they’d started? Trying not to breath, she listened for any sound that might give the intruder’s location away. Then she heard it, a soft padding coming towards them from the opposite direction. Beckoning Aibgrene towards her, they both stood behind a small alcove in the long dark hallway, frozen against the wall. To Lola’s left sat an ornate French table with a large vase, one of Arthur’s many accoutrements. The footsteps started to advance and were soon accompanied by heavy breathing. Lifting the vase, which was probably a priceless antique, Lola realised that her hands and knees were trembling. She held the vase as tightly as she could, lifting it above her head, primed and ready to strike their assailant.

A large shadow appeared up the hallway, stopping abruptly as if it too sensed there was company. Holding her breath Lola waited for it to advance. Suddenly, a deep guttural bark ripped through the air, causing Aibgrene to emit a shrill scream and Lola to drop the delicate porcelain ornament onto the wooden floor, smashing it into a thousand pieces. Immediately recognising the presence before them, Lola stepped out into the hallway.

‘Cuchulain! You scared me half to death, you silly mutt!’

Hearing Lola’s voice, the enormous Irish wolfhound barked with delight and jumped up knocking her to the ground, licking her face and wagging his massive tail in amusement.

‘Get off! Get off me, you big softy!’

Writhing on the ground, Lola eventually managed to get to her feet, and headed for the library with the dog by her side. Aibgrene was in fits of giggles and followed her accordingly.

‘I don’t know what you’re laughing about, missy, so much for your great sixth sense! It was only Cuchulain, wasn’t it, boy? Yes it was only you, you big wolf,’ said Lola, as she ruffled his long grey wiry coat, stroking him behind the ears. ‘I’ve been awful, haven’t I, pup? Leaving you on your own.’ But she knew it would take more than that to upset him, he was so loyal. Besides, he had been well looked after by her parents, and her youngest brother Liam had been up a few times a day with him.

Reaching the library, Lola was surprised to see that the door was closed. Initially she thought that the police must have been in there at some point in the investigation, but then she remembered that Arthur’s body had been found in the drawing room downstairs. Twisting the knob, she found that the door wouldn’t budge. It seemed to be locked, yet there was no visible keyhole. The library had always been open, to the extent that Lola had never even really noticed the door.

‘It’s magick,’ chirped Aibgrene, seeming fully recovered from her earlier outburst.

‘Of course it is,’ sighed Lola. ‘Now why didn’t I think of that?’

‘Move and let me have a look at the door please,’ requested Aibgrene, moving Lola to one side. Aibgrene bent down closer to examine the brass door knob and panel.

‘A bit of light please?’ she asked, as Lola turned on the hall light, while Aibgrene further scrutinised the door.

‘Ah, there it is! It looks like we need a special key, like a square one with a triple spiral inside it,’ confirmed Aibgrene.

‘Like this one?’ asked Lola, fishing the ring and chain out from under her clothing. She pressed Arthur’s signet ring against the small metal panel. It was a perfect fit. There was a soft whoosh and the door clicked open.

‘Very impressive, Lola, so that’s how you managed to propel that boy about one hundred yards, Arthur’s ring!’

‘I told you it wasn’t me!’ confirmed Lola.

‘We’ll make a witch out of you yet,’ smiled Aibgrene.

They entered the library and Aibgrene sat down on the plush sofa, while Lola busied about the room, closing the heavy golden curtains, turning on lamps and lighting the gas fire, bringing the library back to life.

‘First things first,’ said Lola, as she lifted her phone out of her bag. She called her parents and proceeded to give them a condensed version of that night’s events.

Her mum almost fainted when Lola told her Arthur had left them everything, including the house. She explained that she had been given the house keys and would be spending the night at Arthur’s. Satisfied that all was safe and well with her parents, Lola said her goodbyes and turned her attention back to Aibgrene, who sat mesmerised at the wonderful bright circular room that sprawled out before her.

‘This is amazing. It’s full of warmth and light!’ Even though she had sat in this book room countless times, Lola could share in her new friend’s wonderment. Despite knowing every nook and crevice it always seemed new to her. Surrounded by all those old books – some that she had never even opened or touched – Lola always felt that just by being here she was absorbing the wisdom contained within them, and Arthur had always made sure that there was something new to learn or discover.

‘Where does the staircase lead to?’ asked Aibgrene. The quirky spiral staircase disappearing through the roof, with its oak steps and iron frame that snaked between two large book shelves, was the first thing that had caught Lola’s eye when she entered the room ten years ago as a nine year old.

‘Arthur’s observatory is up there. It just has his telescope, log books and computer.’

‘Log book? What was he logging?’

‘Well he was an astronomer, so lots of things, I suppose. But he had been working on a particular project over the past fifty years or so. I don’t know much more, but I would sometimes help him. He seemed to be looking at the astrological constellations and the position of the sun at the Spring Equinox each year.’

‘That’s very interesting,’ nodded Aibgrene. She was certain that she knew why he had been interested in documenting that, but decided to look into it a bit more before saying anything to Lola.

‘He has it all logged, it’s up there if you want to have a look some time. You’d probably make more sense of it than me.’

Lola settled into Arthur’s old rocking chair. He always said he did his best thinking there. His woollen cardigan still hung around the back of the seat. It had been a birthday present she had bought him a few years ago. He loved it so much that he wore it all the time. Some buttons were missing and the cuffs were threadbare. Lifting it off the back of the seat she slipped it on, pulling it around herself, inhaling the smell of tobacco and old spice. Rocking back and forward, Lola sat patiently letting Aibgrene absorb the charm of this special room; a room that, for her, resonated with the ghosts of so many fond memories.

‘Oh my word! How on earth did it take me so long to notice that?’ said Aibgrene leaning back now with her head over the back of the sofa, staring at the domed ceiling.

The room offered much to look at: the mass of books, which reached from the ceiling to the floor, the large bay windows that faced out into Arthur’s herb garden, and the unique staircase that seemed to vanish through the roof, but as Lola followed Aibgrene’s eyes to the ceiling, she found the room’s pièce de résistance.

’It took me a lot longer to discover it than you. It’s amazing, isn’t it?’ agreed Lola.

’That’s an understatement, Lola; look at all those tiny quotes around the room.’

The girls drank in the golden domed roof, and the replica of Raphael’s masterpiece painted on it.

‘The School of Athens – amazing!’ exclaimed Aibgrene. ‘They’re all there, all the great thinkers. Let it be said, some better than others, but they all contributed in their own way, I suppose.’

‘I know, that’s why Arthur had it painted, only he has made some very notable additions,’ replied Lola. ‘Can you spot them? You can see all his favourite philosophers are there – Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, who was a misogynist by the way.’

Aibgrene continued to scrutinise the characters, which were laid out like the original painting. The first thing that struck her was that there seemed to be more women depicted in Arthur’s version.

‘Raphael even managed to include some women, but there seems to be more here,’ said Aibgrene pointing up towards a long red-headed girl with blazing emerald eyes. ‘She’s new!’

It had taken Lola ages to pick out the changes. They were so subtle, but Aibgrene had no such problems. ‘That’s Brigid,’ Lola explained. ‘He has also included his favourite astronomers – Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler – all fathers of the heliocentric movement. Can you see them?’

Aibgrene looked to where Lola was pointing.

‘And there’s my girl, Lola!’ sang Aibgrene enthusiastically. ‘Do you see her? The girl looking out of the picture at us. There, in between Pythagoras and Michelangelo?’

Looking to the left-hand side of the picture it took Lola a while to find both men. Stood between them on the step was a fair-haired woman, as Aibgrene said, looking straight at them.

‘That’s Hypatia,’ Aibgrene explained, ‘one of the leading minds in mathematics, philosophy and astronomy. She was from Alexandria. Not many people have heard of her, probably because history has been written by men, and we women have been relegated to a mere rib.’ Lola laughed, she liked Aibgrene, it was as if she had known her all her life, it was so easy to be around her, just like it was with her best friends. ‘Poor Hypatia was killed by a Christian mob at the behest of the church and cut to pieces. She was as famous a philosopher as her male counterparts, yet history has ignored her,’ continued Aibgrene, gravely. ‘They accused her of causing religious turmoil with her philosophy on life and death, so of course she had to go. I could sit all day and look at that.’

‘So how do you know so much about the School at Athens then?’ asked Lola, genuinely impressed.

‘I’ve just finished my degree in maths and philosophy, so I know a bit, but not too much.’

‘All I know is that I know nothing. Very Socratic, Aibgrene,’ laughed Lola. ‘Maths though? I couldn’t think of anything worse!’

Maths was Lola’s weak subject and it always had been. She hated the ritual humiliation that she’d had to endure at school. The cold sweats and clammy palms at the thought of being asked to answer maths questions. For two years she’d had the worst teacher ever, Ms O’Cole, a complete bully! That, coupled with Lola’s inability to hold her tongue, and her obvious weakness in the subject, made her a prime target. Arthur had tried to help her out, but he may as well have been speaking in a foreign language.

‘Maths and philosophy, you did it old school, Aibgrene! Like the characters up there!’ complimented Lola.

‘Yeah, I suppose I did. I mean, back then there was no separation between the sciences and cosmology, not the way there is now. They didn’t always get it right, so perhaps it’s not a bad thing that they are two different disciplines now.’

The heat from the gas fire was finally starting to warm Lola. With Cuchulain sitting contently at her feet she began to tell Aibgrene what she had learned so far. Sitting in silence, Aibgrene listened intently, as Lola explained the dreams she’d been having, especially the dream she’d on the night Arthur had died. She spoke about the package she had received containing the letter, and the ring and prisms. She told Aibgrene about the ceremony at the church, and what she had learnt at the cremation about the Hell Fire Club, the Order and the Age of Aquarius, before finally arriving at the events of that night.

‘You see, I’d got the call at work, just before I called you back. So that’s why I was in Belfast. Mr Tennyson also gave me this,’ said Lola, reaching into her bag. She pulled out the plastic gel sheath that protected the antiquated parchment, and handed it over to Aibgrene. ‘It’s written on calf skin. I’m not really sure how old it is. All Felix said was that it was the final part of the trilogy and it was to be protected at all times, and that no one was to know that I had it. Well, there goes one rule!’ cringed Lola. ‘But clearly someone already knew that I had it, since they tried to steal it from me!’

Aibgrene studied the parchment for a while before speaking.

‘I would say that they maybe didn’t know what you were there to collect, but, since it was related to Arthur, they might have wanted to take it anyway.’

‘Maybe, but what worries me is how did they know I was going to be there? The only people that knew were my parents, and the old man, and I’m sure my parents didn’t inform anyone!’ said Lola.

‘What about this Mr Tennyson?’

‘I don’t think so. If he was in league with the Hell Fire Club he’d have simply handed it over to them.’

‘Aye, I suppose so! So what do you think?’ asked Aibgrene glancing at the fragment of parchment in her hands. ‘It’s certainly old, and it has a great deal of energy around it. It’s very potent. Normally I can feel it, but with this I can actually see it. It has a slight phosphorus glow.’ Aibgrene looked up at Lola with a serious expression. ‘I think this is the key, Lola. This will help us understand what we must do and how we must do it.’

‘Well that’s just typical, isn’t it!’ groaned Lola. ‘In case you haven’t noticed, it’s written in Old Irish! And, to add to our problems, there are only a handful of people who can actually translate the text. Arthur being one of them.’

Not for the first time Lola felt a little lost. It was alien to be sitting in the library without Arthur. She had so much that she wanted to ask him, so many questions, and now she feared that she would never get the answers.

‘We’ll find a way, Lola! I’m positive that Arthur would not have thrown all this at you without giving you the tools to decipher it. Plus, he gave you keys to this place, I think there are answers here too.’

‘I don’t know where to begin,’ said Lola. ‘Everything has happened so fast; I’ve had no time to adjust. What if I can’t do it, Aibgrene? What if I can’t figure it all out? So many people are relying on me! What if I fail?’