Madeline’s speechlessness when Elijah approached her amidst the crowd of ghostly apparition made her retreat backwards, but it was out of mere caution. Unbeknownst to her, another beastly demon chrged at her from behind when she wasn’t looking, but fortunately, Elian was quick to get rid of it with his twin sword.
Madeline’s thankful gaze shifted to Elian, but the Vampire who acknowledged her appreciation, simply paused when he caught sight of Elijah getting rid of the ghostly apparition with them. As expected, a single strike from the skilled Elijah was enough to wipe up to ten ghostly apparitions at the same time. With Elijah surprisingly on their side, it was a greater advantage to them.
"Elijah?" He blinked in awe. The sight before him came as a shock, but he didn’t have the time to fully express his brother’s surprise as more ghostly apparitions lunged his way, and he had to focus.
Elijah quickly made it past the figures and reached for Madeline’s wrist. His unceremonious action had thrown her off guard, but before she could ask what the pure-blooded Vampire was up to this time around, he surprisingly led her to the entrance of the hill, where no ghostly apparition could enter.
"Do what you have to do but hurry, I’ll hold them off." He said, turning away from Madeline whilst his grip on his blade tightened as he prepared himself for some even greater fun. Realizing he was actually on their side, Madeline offered him a smile he could not see, and she entered the hill, quickly climbing the steps that led her up to the top.
Elian joined his brother’s side as they kept the entrance protected. He casted a side glance at Elijah who was more interested in the battle than having any silly conversations with his brother.
"So.... Shall we take them out together? Same way we did during training?" Elian, who felt good to have his brother back by his side, plainly asked, but Elijah stretched his arms forward as if warming up.
"Unfortunately, you always lose in training." Came his heartless retort as the ghostly apparitions began to lunge towards where they stood, their claws and sharp teeths bared.
"I got better, wanna see?" A slight smirk graced Elian’s lips as he darted a glance at Elijah who barely looked at him.
"Just give it all you got." And Elijah sprinted forward with a speed that breezed Elian. Coughing at the dust that had formed, a slight glare reached Elian’s eyes, and he followed.
Madeline’s heart raced when she entered the entrance that had been formed on a hill. Her breaths came in short gasps as she hastily went up the stairs that kept winding their way up to the top of the hill.
She could feel a sense of urgency and mystery as she was pushed to keep moving, despite feeling weak. She hadn’t recovered completely yet from Jeremy’s assault, and she could only pray that she had enough strength to summon the powers that would unleash the barrier spell.
She had to do this, for everyone, for Cassian.
With each step, Madeline could feel the confidence and trepidation building within her. She dreaded what awaited her at the peak.
Reaching the top of the stone stairs, her gaze sighted Monica who was pacing back and forth with unhidden worry. Her footsteps echoed in the silent air, but when she spotted Madeline who stood at the top, the look on Monica’s face switched into relief as she sprinted to where Madeline stood.
"Madeline! You’re here! Thank goodness you’re alright!" Her expression softened after confirming Madeline was fine, but then it held amusement. "How did you get past all of the Ekiminus soldiers???"
"There’s no time to ask questions, hand the dress over to Madeline" Napoleon, who was busy carving a symbol on the ground, quickly uttered as he looked at Monica.
"A dress? What dress?" Madeline’s brows creased confusedly as she looked between Monica and Napoleon.
"Yes, come with me."
Taking Madeline away, they returned later on with Madeline dressed in a flowing white dress. Monica had told her it was the dress worn to perform the ritual, but Madeline didn’t think much of it and just followed instructions.
Stepping forward to the center of the clearing, Madeline’s gaze fell on the peculiar symbol that was etched to the ground. It glowed with an otherworldly radiance, and it had intricate patterns that mesmerized her.
"This is the barrier." Napoleon quickly explained, "you need to stand in the middle, hurry." He motioned for Madeline to stand in the center of the symbol which she obediently did.
"With your blood, it can enhance the protection of the barrier spell and strengthen it." He simply added, "but, I do not think that is wise considering your health situation. Osvaldo told me what happened to you, and I suggest we skip that part of the ritual.
"Hold on." Madeline paused Napoleon who was about to explain further, and she inquisitively asked. "When... my Mother tried out the barrier spell, did she also skip the blood ritual?" Madeline felt it would be helpful to know what mistake her Mother made when creating the barrier. Her Mother sounded more skilled than her, but she couldn’t create a barrier strong enough to get rid of all those creatures, which could only mean there was something amiss, or she skipped a part of the ritual.
Tongue-tied at her question, Napoleon and Monica exchanged contemplative looks. Passing some conversation in their language, Madeline couldn’t guess what they were talking about, but from Monica’s expression, she seemed to be persuading Napoleon concerning the question she just asked him.
"Yes, she did." Napoleon truthfully answered, ignoring Monica. "She did everything right, but she skipped this ritual. We didn’t believe it would be necessary since your Mother had proven her capabilities to everyone, but after she made the barrier, the spell broke.
"Then I won’t make the same mistake." Madeline shook her head firmly. She was still nervous and her palms were starting to get sweaty again, but she had to do it, there was no other option.
"No." Monica refused. "Save up the energy for the barrier spell - What are you doing??" Monica’s eyes snapped wide when Madeline slit her palm with the sharp mouth of her scepter.
Dropping to the ground on her knees, she placed her palm to the crevasses, squeezing her palm into a tight fist. Her blood slowly dropped on the open cracks formed around the symbol.