Spell Weaver [Book 2 Complete]

Alex jolted awake and looked around in a panic, but he didn't notice any immediate danger. He winced in pain, and he could tell instantly that his lip and cheek were swollen.

What woke me up?

He had his back to the stone wall and was facing the metal bars of the cell, his knees pulled up in front of him, and his legs felt like they were asleep from sitting in the position on the hard stone floor. His eyes naturally drifted to Val’s cage.

Panic filled him, and he froze.

Val?

The cage was open, and Val wasn’t within. Alex reached out through his bond, only to find that Val was very close.

Alex looked down and saw the small wyrm curled up in his own lap.

How did you get out?

The small blue head lifted, and the fish-like eyes closed, and Val opened his mouth. It reminded Alex of a dog panting happily.

“Me, Mana. Open small bag.”

It took him a minute to realize what the proud companion was saying.

You ate the mana from the cage, and it opened?

Alex stifled a laugh as Valtherion didn’t know what a crate or cage was but compared the container to a bag, which he’d only learned because the spatial bag was where the Mana Stones were kept.

I guess they did say it was a mana cage. Little do they know that they basically just gave you a free meal.

The small act of defiance made Alex smile and pat Val on the head.

Alex took some of their time in quiet to observe the stone cell. Now that his eye was uncovered, he was able to look around and inspect the cell with the Heavenly Eye. There were carefully cut square stone tiles that lined the floor, walls, and ceiling of the cell. The tiles around the outer edge of each surface had inscriptions on them that glowed with the faint blue.

He debated crawling to the closest wall to inspect them, but even as he shifted his weight, he knew that it would be painful, and he wasn’t likely to glean anything from them.

I wonder if those are runes that people can use for enchanting. They seem to be charged with mana.

He looked around the room and saw that there was an empty cell across from his own. There were two sets of manacles in his own and the opposing cell, though he was the only one there.

The area was relatively clean, and other than the small wooden puck that had fallen from his mask, there wasn’t anything else in the cell.

Alex entertained himself with thoughts on how he could get out of his current situation. While the start had been rocky, things had largely gone according to plan.

Minus the whole- feeling helpless and thinking they might hurt Val…

Letting out a sigh, he had to acknowledge that things really hadn’t gone to plan. He hadn’t thought that the sect would be so hostile or belligerent. In the end, he’d been able to tell them that he knew Eura, and based on the senior brother’s reaction, he was sure that things would begin to fall into place.

He let his thoughts drift to more satisfying thoughts of a revenge fantasy. Surprised at how easily his thoughts turned to physical violence, he thought back to just a few weeks before when he’d been hesitant to stand up for himself at work. Compared to that, he was contemplating how best to trap or subdue a small group of snobby-robed individuals and beat them senseless.

After a short time, Alex heard someone descending the wooden stairs into the holding area.

Val, someone is coming. Fly out of the cell and stay near the ceiling. Use your [Create Lesser Illusion] skill to hide. Don’t move, okay?

Val flew out of the confined space and used his skill just as the person came into view. Alex reached over to pick up the small piece of wood that he’d used to cover his eye before.

As the man stepped into view, Alex tried to use the active function of his Heavenly Eye to inspect the man. He hoped that since it didn’t use mana and wasn’t a skill, it would still work inside of the enchanted space. He felt a pulse from behind his eyes before the information appeared in the air over the younger man's head.