Her thoughts wandered and she almost tripped over a small package outside her door. The red shiny paper and large green bow were beautiful. The tag simply said, To Delaney. She brought it inside and unwrapped it to find a small box taped up. On top of the box lay a note, and she recognized the handwriting immediately. Her hands shook as she slipped the note out of the envelope. Only five words were scrawled across the page:
Death is on the doorstep.
She broke the tape around the box and fumbled to get the cover off. Inside lay the purple and yellow bracelet she gave to Jason when they were young. Her stomach lurched. Jonas planned to kill Jason and she was left with no choice. He wanted her, not Jason, and she had to find her Ender.
Chapter 15
Laney was studying by a window in the library, looking out on the main quad. She reread the same sentence three times. She wanted to find a way to contact Jonas before he laid a hand on Jason, and ideas ran through her mind all day. By dinnertime, she knew she had to tell Jason about the latest note. He had to be warned.
When she went to dinner that night, she searched the dining hall for Jason. William sat by himself on the far end of the windows, reading a newspaper. Strands of his hair were tucked behind his ears, and once again, he wore his reading glasses. Laney took a deep breath, trying to settle the beating of her heart. He looked up, removed his glasses, and smiled as she approached.
“Hi Laney.” He folded the paper and set it down on the chair next to him. “That was quite the performance last night.”
“Do you think I hurt him? It’s kind of a delicate situation.” Placing her hands on the chair across from William, she thought about the conversation that probably passed between him and Jason after her departure.
“I don’t think it hurt too much. He was on the phone with another girl right after you left. I think she said ‘yes’.”
It satisfied Laney, knowing that Jason was fine, and she felt a sense of relief that she hadn’t accepted his invitation since she was so easily replaced. “Do you mind if I sit down?”
Without saying a word, William got up and pulled a chair out for her. Setting down her tray, she scanned the crowd again for Jason. Her mind flashed to the worst-case scenario — he was running alone in the woods. She shouldn’t be sitting here. She should be out searching for him.
“Are you looking for someone?” William stared in the same direction.
Laney hoped she wouldn’t blow things with William by seeming so eager to find his roommate.
“Actually, I’m looking for Jason. I need to tell him something. Do you think he went running?”
“He told me he had a big paper to write for one of his classes, so he locked himself up in the library. I hope you didn’t change your mind about the dance.”
“No, it’s about something else. I’m sure I’ll see him around.” Now that she knew Jason sat safe in the library, she focused on the man in front of her.
William lifted his fork and began eating again. Laney picked at dinner, but shot glances across the table. His green eyes glittered in the lights decorating the dining hall. They caught hers during one of her glances.
He stirred his mashed potatoes around with his fork. “So, you won’t be attending the dance? I thought I heard you tell Jason that you weren’t going with anyone else.”
“No. It’s really starting to get on my nerves.” The thought of missing out on a stone mansion on the rocky coast decorated by thousands of candles did bothered Laney. The antique woodwork within its walls were worth the price of admission. A rush of disappointment filled her as she imagined the history she’d miss.
William smirked. “Too many presents to turn down? I’m sure that gets annoying.”
“Hardly.” Laney stared down at her dinner. She didn’t want a lot of gifts like Missy. She only wanted a gift from . . .
“Why not? I’m sure you’ve been asked by a dozen men by now.” Pushing his tray to the side, he leaned forward.
Laney burned even hotter knowing she couldn’t avoid telling him that she was the biggest loser in the universe and nobody wanted to ask her to the dance. “Jason’s the only one who’s asked me. How about you, Romeo? How many damsels are lined up at your door?”
“I’m waiting for the right one.” He leaned back into his seat. He perused the dining hall, his eyes stopping to look at a couple of tables full of girls and then turning back to Laney.
She raised her eyebrows. “Did you find her?”
“Maybe . . . ” The corners of his mouth turned up and he pressed his lips together.
William went back to eating his dinner as Laney tapped her fork on her tray. Two older girls slowed down as they passed their table. They clearly wanted his attention, but he shifted his body to stare out the window instead of returning their smiles.
“Apparently it was neither of them.” Laney’s confidence grew with William’s body language.
The girls left, disappointed. Jason thrived on that type of attention, the same type of attention that turned William off.
He shifted his attention back to Laney. “Nope, not even close. ” William didn’t take his eyes off her. He had a strange intensity about him, yet he made her feel perfectly at ease. His hand reached across the table and found hers. This time, no beast forced him to comfort her. There was an electricity that passed between them that startled her. That night by the ocean, he’d been more than a reassuring friend. But maybe he kept his distance because he was unsure; this confident, sexy, amazing, older man was unsure of his relationship with an insecure, average freshman.
“How old are you? You don’t seem like a freshman to me.” She realized she’d never asked him this basic question in their time together.
“I’m nineteen, but I’ll be twenty in May. A junior. Are you eighteen?” How easily he jumped to that conclusion.
“Yeah, my birthday was in August.”
They ate in silence for a couple of minutes. Playing with her food, Laney tried to make sense of his comments about maybe finding someone to take to Manor Hill. She made up her mind about going to the dance with him, but she wasn’t sure what he thought, even though he held her hand at that very moment. He could choose any girl to go to the dance, but he didn’t have a date. William was also a loner, obviously by choice. People gravitated towards him in the few minutes they sat together. Almost every girl that passed tried to catch his eye, but he had perfected the skill of avoidance.
After finishing his dinner, William reclined back in his seat, stretching his arm over the side of the chair next to him. “You never told me what your book is about. I’d love to read it — as long as it doesn’t involve a lion man.” With that, he leaned forward. Maybe he knew how she felt when she discussed her writing. The intimacy of the moment, talking about the thing that meant the most to her, made her heart beat faster than when he first reached out to hold her hand.
“Well . . . one of my main character’s names is William Clarke.” Laney tried to keep her hand from shaking. Her eyes were searching his for the answers she knew in her heart.
“That’s funny.” William grinned. “Different last names. Did you name him after me?”
She drew her hand away. “No . . . no. I started writing the book before I came to Madison. It’s about two people falling in love during the Revolutionary War. The struggles they face are a hundred times more difficult than what we face today.” Laney longed to keep William from going to war as much as Anne did — to hold him one more day.
“I know a lot about the 1700s from my history classes in high school. I’m not sure if that’s completely true.” He tilted even closer to her, a soundproof bubble blocking out their surroundings.
She squeezed his hand tighter, unsure how to settle her nerves.
“Having a war in your backyard and not being sure of the safety of your family each day — that’s hard for Americans to understand nowadays.” Writing the book gave Laney a lot of time to think about war and death.
“That’s
true, but I also think that the world is a different place today. People face car accidents, terrorist attacks, failed marriages, and they still deal with the effects of war.”
“You’re right, it can be pretty bad.”
William let go of Laney’s hand to pick up her tray and put it on top of his before going to throw away the trash.
“Can I walk you back to your dorm tonight?” William asked when he returned. “You never know when you’ll run into a lion man.”
“I’d like that.” Laney smiled.
They made their way through the rush of students. He stood next to her as she checked her mail, his back against the wall. She glanced around and saw they were alone.
“I think my stalker has been in your dorm room.” She could trust the man next to her.
“What makes you think that?” They climbed the stairs to the main entrance of the dining hall. He stepped ahead of her to hold the door open. A light drizzle fell from the night sky, freezing on every surface it touched.
“He left me a box last night with a bracelet I made for Jason inside. The note attached to the package said, ‘Death is on the doorstep’.” They walked along the concrete path to her dorm, hand-in-hand.
When an icy puddle appeared in front of them, William guided her around it.
“It sounds like all of the notes are connected.” He directed her toward the right side of the pathway. “You may be right in your theory.”
“That my stalker is the deranged lunatic from the book I’m writing?” Speaking the words aloud made her wonder, even though she was fully aware of her abilities.
“If you believe that this stalker is a character from your book, then I believe you.”
They climbed the steps to her dorm and walked into the lobby. The lights had always been too dim in the evening and one fluorescent flickered in the corner by the water fountain. The noise of a TV prattled in the distance, but other than that, it was quiet. They sat down on a couch in the corner.
“Did you fall and hit your head recently? You don’t seem to be thinking straight.” It just didn’t make sense to her. William believed everything that came out of her mouth without question. At least Jason produced a practical alternative to her crazy theories.
“My mind has never been this focused.” William pitched forward. His hair had iced over from the drizzle and it began to drip on to his coat. He reached over and lifted Laney’s wet hair out of her face and placed it behind her ear. His finger traced her jawbone, lingering for a moment, before he pulled it back.
She sat there for a minute, forgetting to breathe. “Yeah . . . well . . . uh . . .” Her body shivered from his touch.
William chuckled, stood up, and reached for her hands to help her up. He accompanied her to her dorm room, his arm locked in hers as they ascended the stairs. When they reached Laney’s door, he ran his fingers through her hair once more, and words continued to escape her.
“Promise me that you won’t go out in the woods. I know you have it in your mind to save Jason, but we’ll find another way.” He placed his hands on her shoulders, perhaps to ground her in the seriousness of the issue.
“Yes, but . . . ”
William ran one of his hands off her shoulder and along her arm. Laney’s heart began to beat rapidly as he reached her hand and held it in his.
“No. You have to promise me.” He lifted her hand and pressed his lips to her skin. Laney’s brain lost all control. She wasn’t sure if her body was shivering from the cold or from his touch. “Like I said before, I know you keep your promises.”
“I promise.” She whispered in surrender.
William smiled and walked backwards down the hallway and out the door. She stood there for several minutes replaying it all in her head — his long hair dripping from the rain, his smell, his intense green eyes, and the touch of his skin on hers. It took an act of immense effort to pull herself from that spot.
Missy sat on the floor, cutting out the letters of the alphabet. Scraps of construction paper littered the rug, but Laney barely noticed. A look of concern crossed Missy’s face from seeing her roommate’s dripping form enter the room.
“So, how did it go last night with Jason?”
“Fine. I guess he’s already asked someone else.” Laney peeled off her wet clothes and searched for her pajamas.
“What a jerk! I’m glad you told him no. Was he with you out in the hallway? I heard a voice out there.” She brought her scissors down slowly on the paper.
“No, it was William Miller.” She kept her back to Missy while she brushed out her hair. The comb snagged in her icy knots.
“William? Do I know him?” Her scissors stopped mid cut.
“I don’t think so,” Laney replied, but reluctantly added, “He’s Jason’s roommate.”
“What?” Missy didn’t reign in her emotions this time. “Didn’t you hang out with Jason’s roommate at the bonfire? He just asked you to Manor Hill. Jason obviously likes you.”
“Don’t worry about it. Nothing’s going on between us.” Laney lied. She knew in Missy’s world it was taboo to date someone’s ex, or roommate, or whatever, but all Laney cared about was not hurting Jason.
That night her mind underwent a silent struggle. She wanted to think about William, but her conscience kept drawing her back to Jonas. Breaking her promise would be harder this time, but she knew she had to confront Jonas to save Jason. She owed him that much.
Chapter 16
Laney woke up on Wednesday morning with the hope that Jonas’ notes were a bad dream. Lifting her notebook out of her desk drawer, she dropped it on the bed. Heat from the journal radiated through her fingertips. Her book had taken on an energy that was difficult to ignore since she had found out she was a Weaver. Maybe the book knew she’d already made up her mind to confront Jonas today, breaking her promise to William. Despite the looming threat of finals, she had to ditch class and make an early start.
She ran past the bookstore to a set of stairs leading to the road below, taking the long way around to avoid the chance of seeing William on her way to the path. Laney passed the pond behind the dining hall and the backside of Taylor as she followed the road. When she reached the rusty chain, she looked around to make sure no one was following her, and then started down the path.
Even though the sun brightened the sky, the forest seemed ready to consume her. At the fork in the road, she snapped a branch and jumped at the sound. A little further down, she heard a rustling in the bushes. She backed up, reaching down to grab a rock. A flash of red streaked in front of her face — a cardinal. Her stomach flipped over and over, making her stop at least three more times to get a handle on her emotions.
Laney wasn’t sure if she was more afraid of being kidnapped by a killer or coming face-to-face with a character she created — either way, they were one and the same. The thought of this made her feel sick again, but she didn’t have a choice. She pictured him with his revengeful sneer sitting on a log waiting for her at the ropes course, the mirror image of the evil within her. The guilt she felt over what she had created weighed her down.
Rounding the corner to the open area between the tall pines, Laney released a sigh of relief, realizing it remained empty. Their reunion was inevitable, but it wouldn’t be at this precise moment. She waited for him. If he wanted to talk so much, he could find her. He’d been stalking her for months.
Someone had carved a bench out of logs near the climbing wall. Sitting down, Laney took out her notebook and tried to turn her thoughts to her characters.
Jonas paced back and forth along the edge of the forest, shooting intimidating glances in my direction. I sat on a rock with my face in my hands, considering my options. Jonas was clearly not the boy I remembered from school. Hatred and jealousy had turned him into a killer, or at least someone who was willing to kill. I needed to find a way to save William. It was evident that if the Red Coats did not kill him, Jonas would. I became determined to find a way to warn him.
“I
apologize for turning you down when you asked me to the dance. I did not want to upset William. He becomes very violent when he is angry.” I piled on all the charm I could, considering the circumstances.
“What are you talking about, woman?” Jonas sputtered. He glanced around the woods, trying to keep his tough composure.
I decided to take a chance. Standing up, I walked towards Jonas, keeping my eyes on him the entire time. His eyes shot from side to side as I drew closer. He backed himself into a tree.
“I’m frightened out here. I need a strong man to protect me and bring me home.” I watched his eyes, believing they would help me read his soul.
He lowered his gun an inch. “I am protecting you.” His stance relaxed. “The soldiers will not hurt you. I will also make sure that William Clarke never hurts you again.”
My heart sank with his words. I did not intend to give Jonas more reason to hate William.
A rustle in the woods beyond the hanging rope interrupted Laney’s writing. She looked up into the trees searching for any signs of movement. Above her, the pine tops swayed in the rising wind before sweeping down to the leaves below. Sunlight streamed in concentrated beams, illuminating objects. One beam strayed toward the hanging rope and reflected off something shiny on a tree. It hung from the same nail that Jonas’ note had been attached to on the night he followed her through the woods.
Laney walked slowly over to the glistening trinket. Had Jonas left it there? Her legs shook with fear. Without removing it, she saw that it was a delicate silver necklace with a pendant molded in an intricate clock case design.
As she turned the pendant over in her hand to study the back, a rustle in the leaves made her freeze. “Who’s there?”
Laney lifted her face to find William standing next to the hanging rope. Her heart soared at the sight of him and she wanted to run and throw her arms around his neck, but caution stemming from her mind controlled her exuberant body.
The Weaver Page 13