Free The Source: Book III of the Holding Kate Series by LaDonna Cole Page A

Tara and jumped into her arms.
    “You came! You are here!” she whispered into Tara’s ear in perfect Ampelese.
    Tara chuckled and peeled her off. Kate immediately jumped into Trip’s arms and hugged him, then Eunavae and Dirk. Stealthlin greeted his sword companions with hugs and chest slapping salutes.
    “Kate, how long have you been here?” Dirk asked.
    “Thirty seven years,” she said and began pulling Eunavae and Dirk toward the village. “Come, we have made you homes in preparation for your arrival,” she and Stealthlin escorted them to a street with small homes tucked into perfectly sized and manicured lots.
    “Tara, can you guess which one is yours?” she asked.
    Tara scanned the cottages and found it immediately. It was an exact replica of her cottage from the two century jump. “Yes.” She beamed. “Thank you.”
    “It was Corey’s idea.” Kate’s eyes sparkled at Tara’s reaction.
    “Where is Corey?” Trip asked at the sound of his name. Tara realized since Kate had been speaking Ampelese, he didn’t know what she had said to this point. Tara translated everything she had said so far. Kate waited while she explained.
    “Corey and Candol are at the hospital.” Kate tacked onto the end of Tara’s translation. Her face fell. “They have worked day and night to find the cure for the Plague of Sleeping Death.” She shook her head and pressed her hands together. “So far all they have done is prolong the sleep phase. They are disheartened.”
    “Take me to them.” Eunavae took Kate’s arm.
    “Me too,” Manifus insisted.
    “Okay, the rest of you pick out your homes and get settled. Stealthlin will see to any needs.”
    The trio walked briskly toward the center of town. “This one is mine!” Tara laughed and pointed to the cottage obviously intended for her. The thatched roof curved down to emphasize the arched wood slat door. Rose bushes climbed the chimney, and stepping stones dotted the path from the street to the door.
    “We have designed them with three bedrooms each. This one belongs to me and Candol.” Stealthlin pointed to the first house on the left, a plain A-frame with a wide front porch. “This one is Corey and Kate’s.” He pointed to the cottage that resembled a small version of First Cabin across from it.
    The remaining two cabins were hewn of rough logs. “Eunavae can stay with me,” Tara said.
    “I think we should integrate.” Starlythe pursed her lips.
    “What do you mean?” Tara asked.
    “We do not know how long we will be here. The sooner we consider ourselves one team, the better. I think we should live intermingled.”
    “Okay.” Tara shrugged and turned to Dirk to translate her words.
    He nodded and waved to Brashtor and Drayse, then turned to Trip. “You in with us?”
    “I’m with Tara,” he said in a tone no one dared counter. Her insides squirmed.
    “Manifus and I will live with you, too.” Krenne moved to stand beside Tara.
    “We will take the last house and live with Eunavae,” Starlythe added, and Eunavae nodded.
    They divided the supplies and settled in for a new adventure.
     

     
     

 
     
     

     
     
    “WHERE IS SHE?” The ginger-haired scientist rampaged through his lab, tossing over tables and beakers, computer monitors and consoles. He had searched for her for three weeks, since the attack on the village was ineffective in producing her.
    She was still out there. He knew it. They would have all been hysterical if she and Corey had died in that building. But they were not, they were quite sedate, cleaning up his mess. He pushed his chair back and put his head in his hands.
    “Where are you?” The last he saw of her, she was being yanked into the doc’s office by Corey. A few seconds later the Cyclops toppled into the exact spot he had last seen her.
    “Idiotic Cyclops almost killed her.” His hands shook with the fear of losing her and his eye twitched repeatedly. He feared she had been crushed in the collapse.
    Then