Spell Weaver [Book 2 Complete]

The dining room was more elegant and formal compared to the rest of the house, though Alex was excited to have an occasion to use the room. The large oak table was set with dishes that Edwin had arranged and Gabby was preparing to fill. Soon, they would be seated, and Alex could smell the appetizing mix of garlic and onion wafting in from the kitchen.

Above, the modern light fixture cast a warm glow over the room, which did a lot to change the room from feeling quite as stuffy or sterile as it might with bright white lights. Instead, the warm light worked well with the dark woods and large front windows of the house.

As Alex looked over the scene, a feeling of nervous excitement washed over him. This gathering marked the first time that they were using the dining room space for any sort of actual event or large evening meal. Although this was beginning to feel more and more like home, Alex, Mark, and Sam usually took their meals in a more relaxed setting at the counter in the living room or on the couches. When studying, Alex even took back-to-back meals in his study on the second floor.

The more formal dining room reminded him of how much he still had to embrace in his new life, especially with a professional chef in the other room cooking their meal. Despite the drastically different setting, the idea of everyone sitting around the table took Alex back to his typical family dinners at his mom’s house.

It won’t be anything like that.

Alex shook off the thoughts when the quiet of the room was broken by the sound of the front door opening. Mark bounded in first, a broad grin plastered across his face as he scanned the room. “Woah, look at this setup. Fancy!” He stepped into the dining room, taking in the table setting. “Man, whatever Gabby is making smells fantastic,” he added.

“Right?” Alex replied. “She got excited when you said it was to celebrate Sam. I think she said she was going to use some herbs he’s been helping her with.”

“Nice,” Mark said with a genuine smile as he waved to Edwin, who moved into the room.

“Good evening, Mr. Thompson. I trust your workout was satisfactory,” he said.

“It was great, thanks! Where is Sarah?”

“She has yet to arrive, though I believe someone is on their way up the driveway now.”

Alex shared a look with Mark before he shrugged. “That trait is almost scary. It gives him all kinds of intuitive feelings if he’s doing something ‘in service to the house.’”

Edwin nodded before moving to the front door and bringing in Sam and his parents.

“Woah,” Sam said as he walked in and handed Edwin his jacket. He had to lean forward to stay where he was in the foyer and look to the left, into the dining room. “You guys really didn’t have to do all of this.”

Edwin accepted Sam’s parents’ jackets as well before guiding them the small distance to the dining room. They both said nervous ‘Hello’s as they entered the room and took everything in.

“Hi, good to see you guys again,” Alex said as he stepped forward to shake Mr. Grant’s hand. “Glad you guys could make it.”

Mrs. Grant clasped her hands together in front of her waist and glanced at the table setting. “This is lovely. I hope we don’t stick out too much in this beautiful home. “

Mark waved his hand dismissively, eager to put them at ease. “Not at all! You should have seen Alex’s apartment just a few months ago.”

Alex laughed. “This is still a big adjustment for me. Trust me, you’re not out of place- at least not compared to the rest of us. Make yourself comfortable. I think Sarah and Olivia should be here soon, and then we can get started with some food, or Sam can advance whenever he wants.”

Mark stood and walked through the foyer to the living room to turn on the TV and some background noise before the group all sat down and got some of the initial awkward conversation out of the way. They talked about the weather and the trip from the Safe Zone to the mansion, pleased that there were no issues at the checkpoint.

Just as the conversation was slowing to something more comfortable, Olivia strolled through the front door, guided by Edwin. “Hope I didn’t keep you waiting!”

“Not at all,” Alex replied, returning her grin. “You actually beat Sarah, which is surprising. I thought she was supposed to have the day off.” He got up to give her a hug, and she took the seat next to his as the conversation started fresh with Olivia.

“Well, right now, I bounce between acting as something of a bodyguard for Elana, who is one of the people in charge of the Guild, and just taking contracts,” Olivia said with a smile as she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

“What are contracts?” Mr. Grant asked.

“They’re just specific tasks that any of our leadership can put up for grabs. Most of the time, it’s a specific objective, like going into a Rift and just grabbing some materials. Sometimes it’s just to protect someone new in the Guild and allow them to gain a few levels, though those only really pop up when the Guild gets someone new that they think is going to be important.”

“Like our Sammy?” Ms. Grant said with a smile, causing Sam to groan and put his head in his hands.

“Well, similar. But honestly, ma’am, Sam is higher level than all of us. But, yes, his role as a healer makes him really valuable. Though, lately, I’ve been taking boring contracts to go and help watch over the new Guild Headquarters that they’re building.”

They continued small talk and it wasn’t long before Sarah also joined them and she apologized for being late. “I had a last minute meeting with Director Matthews and it ran a bit longer than it was supposed to.”

“Everything okay?” Mark asked.

“Yeah, it was a big meeting but honestly I’m not sure why I was there. I think the Director just likes to hear what I saw in some peoples’ auras after the meetings are over.” She waved. “Let’s talk about it later, I don’t want to talk about work. We’re here to celebrate Sam and Val!” She smiled and gave Sam a hug and greeted his parents before taking her own seat.

“Wow, this is… all really nice,” Mrs. Grant said softly. She rolled her shoulders as she leaned back in the comfortable chair and rested her forearm on the chair, reaching for her husband’s hand.

“Wait until you taste Gabby’s cooking,” Mark said with a cheeky grin.

“You say that like you’re proud and help her do anything in the kitchen!” Sam jabbed back.

Mark laughed, but Alex saw how Mr. Grant’s eyebrows rose in surprise at his son’s response.

“Hey,” Olivia said, pulling his attention away from the conversation. “Where is Val? I’m surprised he’s not still strutting around with his wings like he’s a peacock.”

Alex rolled his eyes before pointing to the window behind him.

Olivia turned her head and frowned. After a moment of looking out the window and then at the curtains, she laughed. “What are you doing, Val?”

The curtains moved, and in his normal vision, Alex saw the distortion he’d begun to recognize as an illusion skill breaking. In his left eye, he’d seen his companion since he’d entered the room, as the patch of mana made it quite obvious that he was camouflaged on the red curtains.

“He got frustrated because with his wings, his [Create Lesser Illusion] skill is now not strong enough to change his entire body to look like something or to hide it. So, he’s been practicing all morning on different places to hide and use the skill to try and get it to level up. It’s only a bit from advancement.”

“Ah,” Olivia said, eyeing the wyrm as it flew around the room.

Ugh, can I even think of him as a wyrm now? He’s an amphiptere… but there’s no way my brain is going to swap to thinking that. Do I just start thinking of him as a baby dragon?

He watched as his companion made a lap around the room, and Sam’s parents gasped. The teenager hopped up and excitedly began telling his parents about the advancement process and how much Valtherion had changed.

The small gathering settled into the comfortable atmosphere, and Alex watched on with a growing sense of contentment. Seeing his long-time friends, girlfriend, and the Grant family all together and getting along so well together gave him a sense of family dinner that he’d never had before.

His thoughts were interrupted as Sam announced, “Alright, I’m going to do it! I can’t wait anymore.” He smiled sheepishly as most of the eyes turned to him.

“It’s about time!” Mark called.

The room fell quiet as they saw Sam concentrate on the air in-front of him, navigating the personal System windows. Unconsciously, everyone leaned in, excited to see the evolution. A minute passed, yet nothing changed in Sam.

He sat quietly, his expression focused and his eyes moving back and forth.

“Uh, is something supposed to happen?’ Mark asked, breaking the silence. A few chuckles rose from the group, but Alex could tell that Sam’s mom looked on edge.

“Just give him a minute,” Alex said to the table.

Finally, Sam broke into an excited grin. “It looks awesome! I love the class!” He could hardly contain his joy as he half stood up from the chair and looked at his parents and Alex. “I’ve officially got an Epic class; I’m a Druid!”

“Wait, that was it?” Olivia asked, slightly confused.

After a few heartbeats of silence, the excitement around the room ignited. “Dude, that’s amazing!” Mark cheered, jumping up and high-fiving Sam.

“Way to go, Sam!” Olivia exclaimed, covering her earlier reaction with a loud cheer.

Between his green sweatshirt and light complexion, the red that rose onto Sam’s face from everyone’s excitement and attention was all too visible.

Alex, sensing the moment's momentum, turned to Gabby, who had just entered the room. “Could you bring out the food now? And maybe you and Edwin can join us?”

“Absolutely! It’ll be ready soon!” Gabby called back with a wave as she headed back into the kitchen. Edwin followed, offering a nod of acknowledgment as he held the door open for her.

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As everyone began enjoying Gabby's meal, the atmosphere grew warm and festive. Conversation flowed easily as people discussed the delicious food, their laughter lightening the mood further. Mark and Gabby's natural enthusiasm and outgoing personalities drew everyone into animated discussions and storytelling.

As they grew to the end of food, Sam was pulled into a semiprivate conversation with his parents at their end of the table regarding his class and future plans.

Alex, Mark, Olivia, and Sarah shifted to more pressing topics while the two members of the house staff listened with interest.

Mark asked Sarah what had kept her late at work and as soon as she answered, Alex winced internally, knowing that it would likely lead to some back and forth between the two women.

“The meeting I was in earlier was actually a virtual meeting with several other national leaders. The UN is spearheading a global initiative to share information on the Rifts,” Sarah answered. “The US plans to support it with a forum board connected to a database with curated information. All of the information that they have about awakening and safety measures will be put there and shared with everyone, including other countries who might need it.”

Alex nodded and felt a bit of guilt rise in his chest as he realized that he’d been ignoring most of the news and international state of affairs. But if the US was struggling to keep up with Rift breaks and was moving to such things as Safe Zones, he couldn’t imagine how some of the poorer, less organized countries were handling things.

“Isn’t that just another way for them to control everything?” Olivia replied skeptically. “Sounds like they’re trying to duplicate what the Guild is already doing with the AG app.”

“At least they are sharing the information. The Guild keeps it all behind a membership paywall. That kind of information could save lives and shouldn’t be kept from the public.” Sarah shot back quickly.

A tense silence descended on the group as Olivia bristled at Sarah’s words. Both of their expressions became stiff, and Alex saw his girlfriend’s face begin to darken. He knew that those kinds of implications hit close to home for her.

Alex sighed as Olivia set down her silverware and pushed her chair back. The clatter caused the conversation around the room to stop and the mood was broken. “I’m just going to help start clearing the table or something,” she said, while grabbing her plate and moving toward the kitchen.

Alex started to stand to follow her, but Gabby excused herself politely and waved Alex down.

“Please sit, boss. I’ll start cleaning as well and chat with Ms. Santoro in the kitchen. You stay.” Gabby said as she followed Olivia into the kitchen.

As the door swung shut behind her, Mrs. Grant turned to Sarah, her expression softening as she changed to topic. “Sam mentioned that you like to play music?”

Sarah nodded. “I do. I grew up playing the violin and have recently started to pick up the flute, since it was a gift from Alex at Christmas.”

“Would you play something for us?”

“I’m still figuring things out,” Sarah said hesitantly, “but I can use the music to influence auras in subtle ways with this special flute. Maybe I could try to play something a bit upbeat?”

“Why not?” Alex said encouragingly. “You’ve sounded great the last few times I’ve heard you.”

“Yeah, you really picked it up fast,” Mark said.

Mrs. Grant clapped excitedly, and Alex couldn’t help but to use his Heavenly Eye to scan the flute as Sarah pulled it from her purse.

She must have the spatial bag tucked into the purse. That’s pretty smart. Maybe I should start carrying around a normal backpack or something.

He activated [Parallel Mind] to allow one half of his mind to focus on the best ways to carry his spatial pouch around and have it look normal, while the other used his eye to look at the flute and stay present in the conversation.