Ellora's Sun

Chapter Fifteen

Adelaide looked at James, her anxiety clear on her face. He squeezed her hand gently before leading her out the door after Christoph. The sun had just disappeared behind the horizon, with a faint glow remnant in the sky. Once outside, she saw Gisela and Morgen waiting impatiently, while Frederick and Cora bickered behind them.

"So where do we do this?" Adelaide asked them, shoving her hands in the pocket of her jacket to hide her slight tremors. She felt the obvodid that Stefan gave her, the clear glass cool against her skin. She wondered if it worked the way he said it did, and if it did, how would he be able to help them?

"There's an old shrine in the woods nearby," Cora answered quickly, stepping forward, "it should have enough privacy."

Adelaide nodded, following behind them as they led a march towards the train station structure. She analyzed their every movement and word, looking for any signs of suspicion. She wondered why they needed privacy, what Cora had in the tote bag on her shoulder, why Gisela and Morgen needed to attend as well. Her thoughts must have been all over her face, because once they entered the forest, she felt his hand in hers.

"Hey, it's going to be fine, okay?" He told her, squeezing her hand gently, "I promise."

Adelaide smiled back at him, resisting the urge to tell him she didn't trust his judgement. She knew he cared about her and wouldn't hurt her on purpose, but she wasn't sure he was able to see the flaws of the people who'd raised him.

"It's not too far now." Frederick told them assertively as he led the way through the woods. James and Adelaide stood near the back, analyzing everyone in front of them. She started to wonder if she really had been tricked by Stefan. They hadn't done anything out of the ordinary to hint that they might be up to something.

"Adelaide, dear," Cora fell back to walk in step with Adelaide, "you still have that key with you, yes?"

"Of course." Adelaide answered, patting the key that was tied around her neck. Cora smiled and held a hand out, asking her for the key. Adelaide hesitated, glancing towards Christoph ahead of them. He nodded his head, urging her to trust Cora.

"What are you going to do with it?" Adelaide asked, doing her best to make her voice sound curious rather than cautious. Cora shrugged her shoulders and smiled again.

"Oh you can have it back after, of course. I have to take the magic from the key and combine it with your current magic, and then the ritual will be complete! Should be rather simple." Cora explained, waving her hands frantically as she spoke. Adelaide hoped it would be as simple as she described, and reluctantly removed the key from around her neck. She placed it gently in Cora's hand, and the second she let go Cora's fingers clamped around the key.

"Thanks, dear," Cora smiled at her again, throwing her hands in the air in excitement as they stepped out of the woods and into a clearing with a large stone boulder, "oh look, we're here!"

The boulder sloped gently, creating a raised platform in the middle of a clearing in the trees. There were other smaller rocks placed around the boulder in a circle, and there were chalk symbols drawn on every rock and scattered across the boulder. Adelaide didn't couldn't read them, but she assumed it was Czech.

"Adelaide, you'll be up here." Frederick wasted no time once they arrived. He grabbed her arm and pulled her up onto the platform, positioning her in the middle. He quickly hopped off the side to stand next to the others, leaving Adelaide alone and on display.

"How does this work?" Adelaide questioned, looking around at the words and symbols underneath her feet, "what's going to happen?"

"It's a pretty simple spell," Morgen told her, crossing his arms over his chest, "Cora will recite it, and the moon will help power the transition."