Seeds of Discovery (23 page)

She thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep at all that night, but suddenly sunlight was streaming through the window in the small bedroom. Quinn dressed quickly and walked out to the clinic. William was sitting by Thomas’ bedside when she got there; Thomas was awake, propped up on pillows. His face was still a sickly shade of gray, made even worse by the bright red welts of the rash.

Quinn swallowed hard, trying to force a tone into her voice that was brighter than she felt. “How’s the patient today?”

“Better,” Thomas answered.

William shot him a look. “A little better. His fever is down, but not gone. He’s got a couple new blisters this morning, but the redness of his rash has faded some. Hopefully one more dose of the medication when I get back this evening will be enough.”

Thomas blanched at his brother’s words. “I’m better already, Will. I’m fine.”

“You will be – after another dose.” Quinn was certain that the twinkle in William’s eye was there for the same reason she was feeling better – they were just glad Thomas was well enough to be arguing.

A while later William caught Quinn watching
Alyia
as she sat on her bed, eating a plate of eggs and toast. “I told
Alyia
and her mother that if she eats breakfast and lunch today, and
does
well with her fluids, that I’ll take out the IV later.”

Alyia
smiled and nodded, putting a big forkful of scrambled egg in her mouth.

Quinn chuckled, “Easy there,
Alyia
. Don’t choke.”

“I’ll eat some toast and eggs,” Thomas offered.

“Sure. After you actually manage to keep down some juice,” William responded.

Thomas sighed and lay back against the pillows, staring at the glass on his bedside table that was still three-quarters full. He didn’t take a drink.

The morning passed quickly for Quinn. Was it possible that she was really going home today? Eirentheos and the people here had been her entire life for the past ten days. She still couldn’t quite wrap her mind around the idea of never seeing them again, and she was beginning to wonder if she ever would.

She would still see William and Nathaniel, of course, but even that wouldn’t be the same. She didn’t know how she felt about that.

Jacob spent much of the day holed up in his office, examining the History books he and Essie had collected the night before. William went in to check on him from time to time.

“It’s still very strange,” William told Quinn and Essie when he came into the kitchen to help them prepare lunch, “very few of the books are contaminated -- mostly just those from children who have already been sick. So far, we’ve only found the poison on two books that belong to children who haven’t gotten sick. And those parents told Jacob that the children haven’t had the books for long.”

“Do you know where they got the books from?” Quinn asked him.

“Not yet.”

Shortly after they had finished eating lunch, William came over to Quinn, who was helping
Alyia
put
together
a small wooden puzzle.

“It’s nearly time to get loaded up and start riding,” he told her.

Quinn nodded; she supposed it was impossible to be truly ready for something like this. She helped
Alyia
finish the puzzle, and then sent the little girl out to the porch with a
popsicle
.

“So you finally get to go home?” Thomas asked from his bed.

“I guess so,” Quinn sat down in the chair next to him.

“I’m sure you’re excited.”

Quinn shrugged, “I am, I think. I’m not sure about anything right now.”

“I can understand that. I, for one, will miss you.”

A hot lump rose in her throat. “I’ll miss you too, Thomas.”

He smiled at her, looking deep into her eyes, in a way that made her feel like he was seeing something she couldn’t. “It will all be okay, Quinn.”

“I’ll be worried about you.”

He snorted. “Don’t be. I’ll be fine. If people wasted their time worrying about me every time I managed to land myself in a clinic, nothing would ever get accomplished.”

Quinn smiled in spite of herself.

“Come back and visit; I’ll be good as new.”

She coughed, “Yeah, I’ll get right on that.”

“Why not? Now that you know how.”

That was a possibility that she hadn’t considered. It didn’t seem very likely, though. How would she ever sneak off and manage it? And what would his parents think of her coming here on purpose? “We’ll see, I guess.”

“I guess we will.” Thomas stretched out his arms, and Quinn leaned into them, hugging him. She tried to be careful of his rash, but he pulled her in tightly against his chest.

“Get some rest,” she told him.

“Yes, Ma’am.”

 Quinn and William stood on the bridge, looking over the vast forest to the northwest. She felt a slight breeze blowing against her, though there was no evidence of it in the nearby trees. The air smelled faintly of car exhaust.

“I guess it’s time,” she said, with more excitement than she felt.  She smiled at William, and took a deep breath, wondering why it had seemed easier when she had thought she was going to end up knee-deep in frigid water.

“I find it’s easier if I close my eyes. It makes the transition... not quite as weird.”

She nodded and took a cautious step toward where she expected the gate to be. “I guess I’ll see you on the other side?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you Monday in school.”

“Right,” she nodded, wondering how she had forgotten that he wouldn’t be going back at the same time as her. “Monday. What will you do in the meantime?”

“I’ll head back to Mistle Village. Nathaniel should be back by now; hopefully we can get some more things figured out.”

“Will things
be
okay now?”

William considered her question for a moment. “Well, thanks to you, we at least know what we’re dealing with, and we kind of know where it’s coming from. If we can get the rest of those books out of the hands of children, then we can prevent any new cases. There are still a lot of questions that aren’t answered yet.”

Quinn nodded in understanding; thinking about how much larger William’s world was than worrying about whether there would be a pop quiz in math class, or which cheerleader was going out with which football player.

She thought about the rest of the kids their age back in Bristlecone, spending their Saturday playing video games or doing laundry. When she compared it to William’s world - caring for sick children, acting as prince of his kingdom… This was William’s real life.

“So... Monday then,” she forced a smile.

“Have a good weekend.” He said it with a joking tone. It was such a common parting remark and yet, coming from him, as she stood here on a bridge between two different worlds, it took on a completely new meaning.  

“You too,” she replied. He smiled back at her, understanding the humor in her referring to his “weekend” that would last another ten days.

“Remember, closing your eyes makes it easier to reorient on the other side.” Quinn nodded, grateful for the wisdom. “And go slow... try not to fall this time.”

She glared at him, and he grinned before she closed her eyes and took the careful steps down the far side of the bridge. One moment she was hearing the roaring river and the cries of Aelwyn as the bird flew overhead, and in the next, the roaring had quieted to a rush and the familiar calls had been replaced by a few random twitters from the wild birds that were brave enough to weather a mountain winter in Colorado.

She opened her eyes and, sure enough, the familiar sight of the rocky riverbed was there to greet her. A few scattered snowflakes drifted down, and she shivered, untying the warm jacket from around her waist and putting it on.

The embankment that sloped up to the highway and the tall pines that obscured the bridge from passersby all looked the same as they had nearly two weeks ago. Yesterday, she reminded herself. It was only yesterday.  

She climbed the riverbank and sought her car keys and cell phone from under the safety of the rock.  They were exactly as she had left them.

She flipped open her phone and read the screen. Two missed calls and three text messages from her mom; no surprise there. She quickly scanned the messages and breathed a sigh of relief; her mom wasn’t worried yet, only checking in. Quinn typed back quickly.

Sorry, Mom. Bad cell service today. Been out running around. Everything’s okay. Love you.

The reply came before she was even halfway up the path to her car.

Glad to hear it, sweetheart. I was almost ready to start getting worried. Hope you had a good day. I’ll call in a bit. Love you too.

Quinn had barely climbed into the Pilot and closed the door when her phone rang. She rolled her eyes at her mom’s haste and flipped it open. “That was fast.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “What was fast?” The voice did not belong to her mom. Quinn’s face went white-hot as she realized it was Zander.

“Um, sorry Zander. I thought my mom was calling.”

“Oh, that’s okay. Where have you been? I’ve been texting you for the last couple of hours.”

“You have?” Quinn realized that she hadn’t even read any of the rest of her messages. “Sorry -- my service has been iffy today.” That was an understatement.

“That’s okay. Listen, my mom knows your mom is out of town, and she wants you to come over for dinner.”

“Tonight?” Quinn was feeling completely disoriented.

“Yes, tonight. You’re not doing something else tonight, are you?”

“Um … no.”

“Great. I’ll be at your house in an hour to pick you up.”

“
An
...” Quinn started to speak, but the line was already dead. Zander would be at her house in an hour.

The suddenness of the transition was making her head spin, and she wasn’t sure how to do this. How was she supposed to just come back, and jump into her life like this? Dinner at Zander’s? She wanted to do that – didn’t she?

Yet when she looked down at herself, at the Eirenthean clothes she’d worn on a long horseback ride today ... she really wasn’t sure what to do with herself. Part of her wanted to run back through the gate, make sure everything was all right in Mistle Village, figure out how those books had gotten poisoned.

At least say a real good-bye to Linnea.

She couldn’t, though. The sky was already turning black over her head. There wasn’t a choice. She turned the keys in the ignition, and hurried home to shower and change.

Look for ROOTS OF INSIGHT, Book Two in the Dusk Gate Chronicles.

AVAILABLE NOW!

And, beginning June 1, 2012,
continue
the journey with Book Three:

THORNS OF DECISION

What Readers Are Saying About

Roots of Insight – Book Two in the Dusk Gate Chronicles:

“SOOOOO GOOD! Even better than the first story. …
 
Quinn’s relationships between friends, family, and the princes

are
even more complicated and get downright juicy.
”

-- Reader review from
Goodreads
.

“Somehow, this book was better than the first book!

And I truly loved the first book.
 
Things pick up more or less where the first book left off. In this book was
get
to see relationships and friendships blossom.

It’s definitely a treat to read. I felt so many emotions during this book and definitely felt like crying a time or two.

It’s impossible not to feel a connection with the characters.

The world of Eirentheos is fascinating and I was so happy we were able to spend a majority of the book there.
”

– Reader review from A Full Bookshelf at
Goodreads
.

“This installment in the Dusk Gate Chronicles is every bit as good as the first, with a good bit more mystery and tension.

If you hated Tolliver in Seeds of Discovery, you’ll hate him more in Roots of Insight.
 
You’ll also find yourself in a quandary over
who
you like better, William, Zander or Thomas (and maybe like me, wish Quinn would be cloned!).

You’ll wish you could read faster when someone turns up missing, and the search winds up taking some time, because you just want them found.

And you’ll be biting your nails to the quick as you wait to see how one particularly stressful scene plays out.”

-- Author Kristy K. James

About the Author

To learn more about the author, Breeana Puttroff,

please
visit http://www.breeanaputtroff.net

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