Spell Weaver [Book 2 Complete]

Mark's SUV screeched to a halt in front of the checkpoint's concrete barriers. The afternoon sun cast shadows across the government installation. Its metal detectors and security cameras were a reminder of how much the world had changed.

What are those even going to do?

He was stepping out of the car before the engine was shut off, and several voices called over in alarm at their sudden arrival. "Val, stay in the car, buddy. We'll be back soon."

Sarah called out from the backseat as she gathered up her tablet and credentials from her bag. "Alex! Remember," she said as she slid out and caught up to him. "Let me do the talking. We do this right, or we'll probably make things worse for Sam and create a huge headache for everyone."

"Two days, Sarah. They've had him in holding for two days."

"I know," she said.

Alex could feel her reach out with her skill and attempt to soothe his aura. "Stop that." Alex pushed with his Willpower and mana against the skill and caused her aura to yield, negating the effect of the skill.

She sighed. "Then relax, dammit."

That caused him to hesitate. His normally composed and responsible friend almost never cursed. He took a breath and gave her a nod. "I said I’d let you take the lead here. I—I just can't stop thinking about his mom's worried voice from this morning."

"I know, we heard it too," Sarah said as she glanced up at Mark, who jogged up next to them. "But it’s just going to make things worse if you go in here and blow the door off the hinges."

Alex thought back to Tianluo and how rashly he'd acted to prevent Sam from getting hit by the merchant. He'd acted without thought and had killed a man with connections in the city. If it hadn't been for Eura’s power and influence, Alex knew he would have had many more headaches from that choice.

"Okay, okay. I get it. You said he's not in any immediate danger, right?"

Sarah nodded. "Yes, my friend said that he’s just been detained and they're running into some issues getting things cleared up. They're holding him, that's all."

"And remember... if this is Rylan, these people likely have nothing to do with all of this. They're just doing their jobs." Her tablet chimed. "My contact confirmed that Sam's being held for 'documentation irregularities' and a class verification check." She frowned at her screen. "The guard who brought him in went off shift yesterday and hasn't returned.”

Alex slowed, and his Converse crunched on the gravel as two guards stepped up from one of the nearby small buildings. He looked around, saw the soldiers’ rifles, and reassessed the situation. Even though he’d grown stronger, he had no doubt that bullets would still be very effective against his body.

The checkpoint was a maze of concrete barriers and had a chain-link fence surrounding several prefab buildings. The buildings looked hastily created, and only the central one seemed to be made of any concrete materials, while the others were the kind of premade mobile homes that could be moved around on the back of an 18-wheeler.

"Ms. Lee," the first guard said. Alex could read his name tag as he stopped a few meters away. It read 'Martinez'. "My sergeant said you'd be coming." His eyes flicked to Alex and then quickly back to her. The guard's hand tightened, and Alex felt his eyebrows come together. "If you'll follow me, we can discuss the situation inside."

Alex did his best to look imposing as they followed. He wondered if he wanted to do it all by force, even though the entire situation seemed to reek of manipulation.

The processing building's white lights buzzed as they entered. Even with the sun up, it was still under 50 degrees outside, and the heater inside had clearly been turned up to combat the chill. They were taken past the plastic chairs and a plexiglass-windowed counter and to a meeting room two hallways down.

There were a few chairs around a desk, and they were asked to sit. Mark and Sarah sat, though Alex felt the need to stand. He used his willpower to suppress his feelings and need for action. Instead, he leaned his back against the wall behind Mark and Sarah and watched the man behind the desk.

"Ms. Lee, you've got some friends in high places. My name is Captain Grant." He half stood to reach across the table and shake Sarah's hand. He glanced at Mark and Alex and said hello while settling back into his chair. "I'm afraid there's not much we can do, though." He shuffled through papers on his desk before looking back up at the trio. "Without proper documentation, and the discrepancy with his registered class—"

"His documentation was valid last week," Sarah cut in and pulled up the records on her tablet. "He's been regularly traveling to and from the Safe Zone for almost two months. He heals at Memorial Hospital. You would think that you’d be doing everything possible to get him taken care of…"

Alex slowly stopped listening as he looked around the small room and considered what steps he might take if he did need to get to Sam without Sarah's connections.

I've got [Mirage], and Valtherion is still outside. He has his newly advanced [Create Illusion] skill to potentially gather more information and find out where Sam’s being kept. If I could get to Sam, then I could use the new oversized spell circle with the rune to blast our way out. Even if it takes a few seconds to cast and a bunch of mana, it would feel so satisfying just as a statement of what I can really do… though I guess Sarah is right. That would likely lead to a lot of issues. Not just for me, but the rest of our friends, too.

It would likely cause a huge headache for the Guild. But, being that they were likely in this situation because of Rylan’s stupid games, Alex couldn’t really bring himself to care about how it might affect the organization.

He forced his attention back to Sarah's conversation, knowing that the daydreaming would do him no good. Alex felt a general need to scowl at the soldiers present, feeling that they were being less helpful than they should be.

The System window that appeared surprised him.