Spell Weaver [Book 2 Complete]

The door to Alex’s bedroom swung open. It was dark, and he felt his feet drag as he moved quietly to the bed, longing to let his tired mind and body rest. The carpet quieted the drag of his boots, and he caught the door before it closed too loudly.

He squinted into the room, looking to catch sight of Olivia and her mana signature, but couldn’t see anything in the quiet space.

“Liv?” He said.

No answer came, and Alex took a step to his right to flick on the lights of the room. The bed remained perfectly made, with its corners tucked in.

The last several days’ worth of exhaustion clung to his bones, and he stood motionless for several long moments, confused. There was no other sound in the room. No shower running or lights on.

His body begged for rest, but something about Olivia’s absence set his nerves on edge.

“Val, can you sense her or Nox?”

Valtherion zipped around the room and dipped low to even look under the bed, where Olivia had previously hidden from the wyrm during a game. “No. Where is Oli?”

Alex checked the bathroom and found it empty. The walk-in closet was also empty, and he saw several of her normally neatly folded pile of clothes gone. Her bomber jacket was also gone and his heart sank at the thought of her going somewhere.

Did she go to stay with Jasper and Liam? Why wouldn’t she say anything?

Alex backtracked through the hallway and down the stairs to look for Edwin. He found the older man still awake and sitting at the desk in his room.

“Have you seen Olivia? Did she say if she was going to see Liam?”

“Miss Santoro?” Edwin removed his thin reading glasses. “She returned a few hours ago and informed me that she was going to get some rest. I’ve not seen her since.”

“You’re sure?” Alex pressed.

“Quite certain, sir. I’ve been reviewing the accounts since the evening meal. The door hasn’t opened, and she hasn’t needed anything from me since she went up the stairs.” His look shifted to one of concern, and he clasped his hands together. “Is something the matter?”

“Probably nothing,” Alex said. “I’ll check upstairs again.”

He took the stairs with a few stat-enhanced steps as worry rose in his chest. After everything that had happened with the elves, he feared something might have happened to her as well.

When he returned to the bedroom, Val was still searching high and low, as if playing hide and seek with her. Alex walked to his side of the bed, where his eyes fell on a folded piece of paper propped against the black-and-white photo of them in front of a Rift—the one Olivia had gifted him weeks ago.

Grabbing it quickly, he unfolded the paper to read Olivia’s scribbled handwriting.

Alex,

By the time you read this, I’ll already be inside the Celestial Rift. Don’t worry, I’m going to find some answers, not fight my way through levels. Something is happening with Nox and me that I can’t keep ignoring.

Getting asked to sit from the mission was understandable, and as much as I hate to agree with the brute, Jonathan was right. I’m not stable right now, and the bond is becoming more and more of an issue. Honestly, it’s getting dangerous for both of us.

I’ll be back in a few days or a week at most. With the time dilation in the Rift, that should give me plenty of time to find some answers about The Night. If you’re still handling the mission with the HA, then I might even be able to make it back before you guys are home.

I know this might seem reckless, but trust me when I say I’ve thought this through. Nox is a part of me, and our bond goes deeper than this skill. I have no idea if the affinity makes it go deeper or if it’s because he’s saved my life… but I need to understand what’s happening to him and try to stop it before I lose him completely or before he hurts someone I care about. I need to know more about The Night and what sort of magic those Sun Elves used.

I’ll be back before you know it.

— Olivia

Alex read the letter twice and then folded it slowly and carefully to put it in his pocket. Valtherion floated up beside him and tilted his head at the emotions that the small beast could undoubtedly, feel floating through their bond.

He kept looking down at where the note had been in his hands. Past them, he saw the photograph and picked it up. He spent a few shocked and completely exhausted moments looking at the photograph and wondering how to best approach the situation.

Alex placed the photograph back on the nightstand and felt his tired body reacting slower than his racing mind. His heart began to beat faster, and the realization of where she’d gone caused his blood to stir.

“Oli gone?” Val asked, his voice sounding small.

“Yeah, buddy. But we’ll go find her. Don’t worry.”

Alex pulled out his phone to check for any messages he may have missed. There was a missed call from Elana but nothing from Olivia.

He sank to the edge of the bed and gave himself a few moments to feel everything. Memories flooded back, and he saw Olivia wincing over the last few weeks. Tired and constantly exhausted, even when doing something as easy as walking through the woods. The stress and pale complexion he’d seen on her face while in the Timehold Rift that the Hunters had in the day before the mission.

Things had taken a turn after the confrontation with the sun elves, and he hadn’t realized it was that bad. While her control had been slipping, Alex didn’t know it was much worse than it had been all along. Her own signs hadn’t changed, and from what Olivia told him, the bond had actually been draining less from her toward the end.

I thought that was a good sign…

He closed his eyes, thinking about her entering the Celestial Rift. More pressure began to mount behind his eyes, and his breath quickened.

“No,” he whispered to himself. He used his will to squash the illogical thoughts and rising panic. The emotions and feelings wouldn’t do him any good in this situation, and he thought about what should happen next.

Since [Parallel Mind] was already active, Alex thought for a moment and let one part of his mind feel the emotions and embrace the feelings that were flooding in. However, it was that same part of his consciousness that he pushed to the back of his mind, leaving his main focus on a rational and completely detached point of view.

He straightened his shoulders and felt his mind clear. While he was still tired, the edges of his vision weren’t coming in, and he thought through the situation rapidly.

Olivia had already been in the Celestial Rift before, multiple times, from what they’d talked about. Her entering now wouldn’t be any different. There were also allies within the Rift that she could rely on for this information, perhaps getting the information she needed without even putting herself at risk.

She was also smart and had a better battle instinct than he had. There was no doubt she realized how injured she was and what her current state might mean in a situation like the Rift, where she’d be without a team against monsters stronger than she was. It wouldn’t make sense to needlessly throw herself into that danger without a plan.

The Celestial Rift has 8x time dilation. Every day, and every hour, that passes here means that eight more are passing there.

He looked at the clock by his bed and saw that it was 1:37 am. Reaching into the top drawer, he removed the pocket watch she’d given him on Christmas and tucked it into his pocket.

If he assumed that she left two to three hours earlier, it would mean she was already in the Rift for two hours at the most. He thought through his options and what he could realistically do.

“You need rest, kid. It doesn’t matter what skills you have. Your body, your mind, and your magical network are shot.” Maelis chimed in, and Alex remembered that he still wasn’t alone.

Isn’t it time for you to go back to sleep, old man?

There was a snort of amusement. “If the other half of your mind wasn’t busy having an emotional meltdown, I’d be busy giving you a lesson. In the meantime, I’ll stay quiet.”

Curious, Alex allowed the thoughts of both of his consciousnesses to join for a moment and was surprised at the overwhelming wave of sadness he felt crash into him. There were other feelings mixed in, but he quickly shut off the connection and focused on his primary mind.

Well, that seems like an overreaction…

Glad for the ability to separate his minds so clearly, he felt it might be best to let himself get those feelings out and process them. In the meantime, he could focus on action and what steps he could take.

His first instinct was to wake everyone immediately. They could grab gear and be at the Rift site in a matter of hours. But he knew they would be unprepared and rushed. The team needed rest as much or worse than he did, and he had plans he could make while they did so.

At the moment, they weren’t ready to even accompany him there. Mark and Sarah were still too under-leveled to jump into a D-Rank Rift, and he wasn’t sure how Sam would even react to the thought of returning to the Celestial Rift after everything he went through.

Even his recent thoughts on how he’d handled their progression and growth clashed with these thoughts of keeping his friends safe.

Do we still have that luxury? Would they want to be left behind again?

Alex most certainly knew the answer.

He realized the situation might actually offer the ability to achieve two goals in a single action. If Mark and Sarah were willing, it could be a chance for them to get a similar early boost to levels as he had. With his help, he could aid their rapid ascent through E Rank, and if they were willing to spend additional time within, fighting against the Shadow Serpent Sect, then they could work their way through D Rank together, fighting against enemies that were appropriately leveled to prepare for the coming elves.

They’d be fighting things higher level than they were, but if they did it right, they could come out of the Rift easily in the level 40-50 range with only a few weeks having passed on Earth. From there, they could move to other challenging tasks to test their teamwork and problem-solving while gaining more levels to C-Rank.

He stood and began pacing, realizing that the plan had some merit. Despite his desire to go after her immediately, he realized that there were several things that needed to be done at the house before he disappeared for an extended period of time.

“Mana?” Val interrupted his thoughts and nudged his shoulder with his small head. In his mouth was a mana crystal that he offered to Alex.

Alex smiled and petted the top of Valtherion’s head. “Thanks, buddy.”

He started to siphon a portion of the stone’s mana, only to feel it burn against his channels. Grunting in pain, Alex slipped the stone into his pocket, knowing that Val had brought it to him from his personal stash, and he was attempting to make Alex feel better.

He needs to get stronger, too.

Alex walked to his office and looked around for his laptop, though he couldn’t find it and wasn’t sure where he’d sit anyway, with his desk being destroyed and removed. Grumbling, he walked back downstairs and found Edwin already waiting for him in the kitchen with his laptop in hand.

“Master Moore?”

“Thanks, Edwin. I need to make some coffee. It’s going to be a long night.”

Edwin gave him a searching look but didn’t say anything before turning and beginning to brew a fresh pot.

Alex sat at the counter and opened the computer while pulling up a page to begin jotting down notes and organizing his thoughts. He wasn’t sure how many days he’d need to take to organize everything before leaving, but it would need to be fast.

The first things to pop to his mind were acquiring skills or training schedules for Mark, Sarah, and Sam. He wrote it down in the note and, as a last-minute thought, added Val to the list.

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We need to start thinking of his progression as a separate member of the team.

He thought about progressing plans with recruitment and land acquisition of the nearby properties.

He continued typing, adding specific details under each day’s plans. His list grew more specific, and he started adding contacts to prioritize, equipment and materials, and brainstorming training routines.

Hours passed as he worked on organizing his thoughts. With a half-empty coffee mug at his elbow, Alex rubbed his eyes and looked around the kitchen while taking a moment to stretch. The house felt quiet, and the only real sound he’d heard was the tapping of keys on his keyboard.

Needing a bit of a change, he opened the music streaming service on his laptop and played one of his favorite playlists. AJR began playing over the speakers and he felt like it had been too long since he took time to listen to music.

He took a bit of a break from planning to walk around the kitchen counter and move his body, while looking at all of his gains from the recent mission.

First, he looked at the offered skill merge for his new combination of [Parallel Mind] and [Mirage].