Roots of Insight (Dusk Gate Chronicles -- Book Two)

by Breeana Puttroff

  “I’m fine. Surprised, but fine.”

  A little v appeared between Zander’s eyebrows. “Is it a good surprise?”

  Butterflies hit with a vengeance. “Yes, it’s good.”

  His shy smile turned into an ecstatic grin, and Quinn’s heart rate accelerated further.

  “Hey, you’re William, right?” Zander asked, looking behind Quinn.

  He turned slightly, not looking all the way up from his notes. “Yes. And you’re Zander Cunningham.”

  William’s reply was a statement, not a question, but Zander seemed to ignore that. “That’s me. What are you working on?”

  “Homework.”

  Zander’s eyes widened. “That’s a lot of homework.”

  “I suppose it is,” he answered, shrugging. “And if you’ll excuse me, I need to get working on it or I’ll never finish tonight.”

  “Sure. See you around.”

  “Yes.” William didn’t even look back up to answer; he was already scribbling furiously in the binder.

  Zander followed Quinn back to her cart of books. “He’s not exactly friendly, is he?”

  She shrugged. “No, not at first.” Not in this world anyway. For just a moment, her thoughts drifted to the William she had seen at Mistle Village Medical Clinic in his own world. She had watched as he treated a little girl with the most gentle compassion. Then there had been the day she went swimming in a river with William and Thomas … a day filled with horseback riding and water fights and basking in the sunshine. No, William definitely wasn’t always distant and unfriendly.

  “Is it snowing again?” she asked, noting the dusting of flakes starting to melt into his light brown hair.

  “A little, but it isn’t sticking to the roads yet. You should be okay getting home tonight.”

  “Ick. I’m ready for summer.”

  He laughed. “You never have been a fan of winter, have you?”

  “It’s not my favorite.”

  “Good thing you live in the Rocky Mountains, then.”

  She stuck her tongue out at him.

  Zander stayed at the library with her for the rest of her shift. Her boss, a kind, older librarian named Sylvia Williams, didn’t mind, as long as Quinn got her work done. He tried to help her with re-shelving some of the books, but he didn’t understand the system she had for getting it done quickly. In the back room, he was more helpful, though, making small repairs to damaged books, and putting the new magazines into their protective binders. And the company was surprisingly enjoyable. She had forgotten how easy it was to talk to him. The evening ended long before she expected it to.

  A few minutes before her shift ended, Zander asked her for her keys, and then went outside, promising to warm the car and scrape the windshield for her. Once he was gone, she glanced back at the table where William had been sitting, but it was empty.

  ~ 4 ~

  The Valentine Dance

  QUINN FELT LIKE THE anticipation might turn her stomach inside out as Zander walked around to the passenger side of the truck to open the door for her. She closed her eyes and took one deep breath while she had the time. She rubbed her hands against the green material of her Valentine dress to make sure they were dry, and then the door opened.

  Zander’s smile was so big she had to wonder if he was really this calm, or if he was putting on as much of a show as she was.

  She smiled back as she took his hand and stepped down.

  The curb near the main entrance of Bristlecone High School was still snow-packed and slushy; Zander was careful to lift her all the way to the mostly-shoveled sidewalk. Ice-melt crunched under her heels, and she wished again for summer. Zander drove away to park the car, leaving Quinn to join a cluster of girls in the school’s foyer.

  Abigail spotted her immediately, and rushed over. “Quinn! You look gorgeous!”

  “Thanks, Abbie. That dress is amazing on you.” Abigail was wearing a dark-blue strapless gown with a billowing skirt that reached only to her knees. She had dyed several strands of her short, black hair to match, and pinned the rest of her hair back with a silver headband. She looked spunky and beautiful, as usual. Quinn wondered if her own style was too conservative.

  “Thanks. It’s awesome, isn’t it? Did Zander get that for you?” Abigail pointed to the small arrangement of red roses and baby’s breath pinned to the front of Quinn’s dress.

  “Yes, isn’t it pretty?” She felt a tiny burst of heat in her cheeks as she played back the memory of Zander pinning it on her, with her mother and Owen and Annie watching. It had taken him two tries, his large fingers fumbling over the tiny pin.

  “Ooh, so pretty! Adam got me this.” She held up her wrist so Quinn could see the bright pink tiger lily corsage.

  Quinn smiled. It looked like Adam was already getting to know Abigail rather well.

  “It suits her, don’t you think?” Quinn was startled by Adam’s voice. He had suddenly appeared beside Abigail.

  Quinn nodded. “Definitely. I was just thinking that.”

  “Zander was parking right next to me; he should be here in just a second.” Adam leaned into Abigail and kissed her cheek. Abbie giggled, but didn’t blush the way Quinn was certain she would have.

  And then Zander was there. He was smiling, happiness twinkling in his brown eyes the way it had been all evening. She swallowed hard. Despite all of Zander’s advances over the last couple of weeks, she hadn’t realized until she’d seen the look on his face as she came down the stairs tonight, just how serious he was. He really liked her.

  “Shall we?” he asked, extending his hand toward her.

  Quinn accepted it. “That sounds so formal.” she stifled a nervous giggle.

  He smiled and shrugged. “It’s a semi-formal dance, right?” He led her through the double doors into the gym. Red and white streamers zig-zagged across the ceiling, anchored everywhere by matching balloons. Soft lamps around the room had replaced the glaring overhead lights she was used to, and a disco ball dangled in the middle of the gym.

  She had never been to a dance before, but the whole thing reminded her of every high-school movie she had ever seen.

  Pop music blared from the speakers, and people were dancing mostly in groups, not as couples. Several of the groups were doing more standing and talking than dancing, and Zander and Quinn quickly joined one of those, along with Abigail and Adam.

  The evening went just as she had always expected it would. Zander didn’t know how to dance, and until her time in Eirentheos, Quinn hadn’t either. They stayed with their small circle of friends, chatting, and occasionally swaying to the beat of a song they liked. Quinn found herself trying to imitate Abigail, who was in her element here, carefree and having fun.

  When Zander had first asked her to the dance, Quinn had felt relieved that he wasn’t a dancer, and that he wouldn’t expect her to be, either.

  Although she was still giddy at the sensation of being here on Zander’s arm, her mind kept flashing back to the dance in the castle, where she had somehow glided effortlessly across the floor on the arms of both William and Thomas.

  The dance was nearly over when the DJ finally began playing a slower tune. The change of mood in the gymnasium was instant. The large, fluid groups spread out and paired off. Three bars into the song, Quinn glanced over at Abigail and saw that she was wrapped tightly around Adam, their lips locked.

  She glanced up at Zander. He’d seen where she was looking, and now he was smiling shyly down at her. He held out his hand, a questioning look in his eyes. Quinn accepted the offer and followed him to a spot near the edge of the dance floor.

  Her heart hammered in her chest as he put his arms around her waist. Now this was different than dancing with Thomas or William had been. The way Zander stared into her eyes with his brown ones, so familiar, and yet so entirely different than she had ever seen them before, let her know that his intentions ran much deeper than this dance. Hesitantly, she placed her hands on his shoulders, and he smiled. Suddenly, her sh
y awkwardness melted away, and she smiled back.

  They swayed to the music together there in the dim room, Zander studying her face intently. “You are so beautiful, Quinn.”

  Heat flowed into her cheeks, and his smile grew wider. He traced the pink stain on her cheek with the side of his finger. “You always do that to me,” she said.

  “I try.” He brought his hand up to her chin, and rested his forefinger underneath, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

  She was suddenly having trouble remembering how to breathe. “You’re very good at it.”

  And then, he kissed her. Just the lightest brush of his lips against hers, but it was enough. The swarm of butterflies that had occupied her stomach felt as if they’d exploded into a million tiny, fluttering fragments that rushed everywhere, up to the top of her forehead, and down to the bottom of her toes.

  The rest of the evening passed in a blur. Zander held her wrapped in his arms as they swayed on the dance floor to the rest of the songs – even the ones that weren’t slow. He drove her back home, and then walked her all the way to the porch, where he stopped to gently kiss her again, first on the lips, and then on her forehead before whispering, “Goodnight,” and walking back to his car.

  Inside the house, her mother was sitting in the big, brown armchair in the living room, a book open on her lap, though she looked slightly out of breath, and Quinn noticed the curtains on the front window still quivered slightly.

  ~ 5 ~

  Thomas

  QUINN ARRIVED AT SCHOOL early on Monday morning. Her dreams had woken her far too early again, and she’d long since decided that if she was going to have trouble sleeping, there was a certain point in the night where it just didn’t make sense to keep trying.

  Last night’s dream had been particularly vivid. She’d tossed and turned through a perfect replay of the dance in Eirentheos she had shared with the mysterious Alvin.

  Well, an almost perfect replay. There had been something different about the end, something significant, darker somehow, but she couldn’t recall that part of her dream.

  Once it ended, she had been unable to fall back to sleep. Part of it had to do with the dream, but an even larger factor was the fluttering feeling in her stomach at the thought of seeing Zander today at school. She hadn’t seen him since he’d walked her up to her porch on Saturday night, after the dance.

  The hallways were empty and quiet, as they always were when she arrived at such an early hour. After re-organizing her already immaculate locker, she was bored and started wandering. She found herself walking toward the hall that led to William’s locker – he was always here before her, regardless of when she arrived. Deciding she was too jittery to be alone anymore, she wondered if maybe he would have something to share from his weekend in Eirentheos.

  She was startled when she turned the corner and heard two voices. One was William’s, but there was another voice she thought she recognized. It couldn’t be … it couldn’t possibly be …

  “Thomas?”

  “Quinn!”

  William’s younger brother practically ran the rest of the way up the hall to meet her. He wrapped her in an enormous hug, spinning her around in the process.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I couldn’t go another three months without seeing you. I had to come and visit.”

  William was noticeably glaring at his brother. She guessed he probably wasn’t too pleased with Thomas’ loud demeanor.

  “Did you miss me?” Thomas’ gray eyes twinkled. He paid no attention to William.

  “How could I not?” She smiled back. “How are you doing?”

  “What am I going to do with you, Quinn?” he asked, sighing and shaking his head. “I’m fine. I’ve always been fine, and I’ll always be fine. The real question is how are you? Adjusting to being back here after your grand adventure?”

  She shrugged. “Sure. I live here, don’t I?”

  He chuckled. “I’ve certainly missed you. I was just on my way out of here, so I don’t disrupt William’s day.” He shot a glance at his brother, who still looked irritated – and worried. Thomas’ behavior at the moment was definitely a threat to the low profile William worked so hard to keep. “But what do you say to meeting up later when you’re both done with school? Dinner at our place?”

  “Your place?” She raised her eyebrows.

  “Nathaniel’s house, on Bray Street,” William corrected his brother. “Do you know how to get there?” His look was wry.

  “Sure, I’ll come,” she answered, ignoring William’s reference to the weeks she’d spent following him, trying to uncover his secret.

  “Great! See you after school.” Thomas hugged her again, tightly. “It’s really, really wonderful to see you again, Quinn.” Turning around, he walked away down the hall, pulling his hood up over his head against the bitter mountain cold outside.

  Quinn turned the other way, intending to ask several questions of William, but she stopped cold when she saw Zander walking toward her. Her heart skipped several beats.

  She glanced at William. He was busy in his locker, paying no attention to her whatsoever. She sighed, confused at this sudden change in the direction of her thoughts, and hurried up the hall to Zander.

  “Hi.” She felt a little shy, now that he was in front of her again.

  “Hey, I was looking for you.” Zander smiled brightly, though he looked maybe a bit nervous, too. His nose and cheeks were still pink from being outside.

  “Good. I got here early, and was just walking around, waiting for you, and trying to get warm.”

  Zander’s eyes lit up. “You’re cold?” he asked, starting to pull at the sleeve of his jacket.

  “No, I’m okay, now that I’ve been inside for a while.”

  “Good. So, who was that you were talking to?” Zander nodded toward William, who had closed his locker and had now turned toward them.

  “Uh … that was Thomas. He’s William’s … um …”

  “Cousin. He’s my cousin. He came to visit for the weekend. He drove me to school this morning so he could use the car today,” William answered for her, stopping only long enough to finish his sentence before he turned the corner into another hallway.

  Quinn stared after him wide-eyed. She had never actually heard William lie before. Conceal information, yes, but not actually lie. As far as she knew, William didn’t even have a car that Thomas could be borrowing. And, in any case, Thomas was still too young to drive, even if there was any chance of his having had an opportunity to learn how.

  Clearing her throat, she tried to pull herself together before turning back to Zander.

  “Yeah, he’s William’s cousin.”

  “William has a cousin? I thought he was some kind of an orphan or something, living here with his uncle.”

  She raised her hands, giving her best how-should-I-know? look.

  Zander’s eyes were still full of questions. “How do you know his cousin, anyway?”

  She was used to feeling flustered and embarrassed, especially around Zander, so she was surprised at how quickly she was able to come up with an answer. “Remember, I told you I ran into William a couple of weekends ago? Thomas was with him then.” Dang, Thomas. She was beginning to understand why William just avoided talking to people here as much as possible, and she was quickly gaining sympathy for his annoyance at his brother who seemed to disregard the careful work he had done to establish privacy.

  “And he’s already hugging you?”

  Oops. Though it was innocent, Zander probably hadn’t appreciated seeing that. She tried to look nonchalant. “Thomas is very friendly.”

  “I guess. Does he visit William very often?” She could see in his eyes that he hoped the answer was a resounding ‘no.’

  “I really don’t know. I don’t know them that well.”

  Zander frowned and stared at her face. She looked back at him calmly, silently willing him not to ask her any more questions that she didn’t know how to ans
wer. Finally, his expression smoothed. “Can I carry this for you?” He had his hand on the strap to Quinn’s backpack.

  “Um, I’m not going to say no.” Well, ordinarily, she might have, but today she was grateful for the distraction. Smiling, she peeled off the straps and held the bag out to him. Zander put one strap over his own shoulder and then reached to take her hand in his own.

  “What’s your first class?”

  As the day progressed, it became very apparent that everything had changed between her and Zander. He walked her to the door of every class she had, and was waiting to pick her up when she was done. She thought it was kind of silly at first, but she quickly started enjoying their little five-minute breaks together.

  By the end of fourth period, she was anticipating seeing him standing there. When she stepped into the hallway and he wasn’t there, she was surprised at the sudden, heavy feeling of disappointment in her chest. A moment later, when she turned around the corner toward the cafeteria and he was there, heading towards her, she knew her elated smile matched his.

  When the final bell rang, Quinn wasn’t quite sure what she should do. Thomas had said “after school,” but he hadn’t exactly specified a time. She had texted her mom just before her first period class that morning, letting her know that she had plans and wouldn’t be able to pick up Annie. She had wanted to ask William, but the only time she had seen him for long enough to actually ask him something had been at lunch, and Zander had been by her side the whole time. She hadn’t wanted to get that conversation going again.

  Now the day was over, though, and she regretted not having more details about what was going on. Should she just head straight over to Nathaniel Rose’s house? That seemed a little awkward. And, of course, neither William nor Thomas had a cell phone.

  As soon as she got outside, she discovered that her worries had been for nothing. Thomas was there, leaning against her car like he belonged there, an impatient look on his face.

  “So I guess you meant right after school, huh?’