The Source: Book III of the Holding Kate Series (33 page)

She couldn’t stop trembling. She had to get this under control or everyone would think she was insane.
Maybe I am insane
. The thought did not surprise her in the least. It seemed inevitable.

“The Captain was just about to tell us the legend of how Lumisfere was settled and this canal came to be called the Singing Cove.”

“Wonderful,” she managed through chattering teeth.

The Captain cleared his voice and spoke in a deep baritone, his words carrying above the wind. “The first ones fell from the stars to the rocky crags of the Christallo Strand. Their ship was crystal clear and spun in a circle as it descended. They could see the Dancing Lights through their ship and it was illuminated with such beauty that they named the landing site Lumisfere. That was over a thousand years ago.”

Kate smiled. Even here they had alien invasion stories. She glanced at Gregory and he had a pensive expression.

The Captain continued his story. “They were beautiful creatures, tall and glorious and came from a clan of great warriors. Though they had just come to visit, their ship was damaged and they could not return to their own home in the stars, so they stayed and taught the natives many things. They mixed their blood with our blood and our race was born. They had a daughter, a great woman who brought peace to the land. Just the sound of her voice soothed the war minded soul. It is said she became the first Bard of Ampeliagia, Krysallis the First, and began our written history.

“Krysallis traveled through all of Ampeliagia and brought peace wherever she sang. On one journey, she met a great man in the south named Derk of Istawud, who had set himself up as a just and beloved ruler. She sang for his court, and he was smitten by her beauty and begged her to stay. Krysallis became his most trusted confidante and advisor. They developed a great friendship and such a great love was not known since Kate of a Thousand Years to that date.”

Kate’s mouth dropped and a tremble passed through her body. To hear her name referenced in Ampeliagia’s earliest stories was humbling.
Why today of all days do I have to hear about that?
It became increasingly difficult to stand and listen to the Captain’s story. Thoughts of Corey in pink clouds washed over her. She thought she was going to be sick.

The Captain had not stopped his recitation. Kate was barely listening. “…Krysallis fled back home to Lumisfere where she lived out her days walking the cliffs and singing her soulful lament. Still today, when the North winds blow, the song of Krysallis can be heard.”

He looked up to see the sails were securely furled, then turned to face the canal. “As we round this curve, if we are fortunate we will be able to hear the lament of Krysallis the First.”

Kate turned her face in the direction of the canal and chills sprouted along her arms. She wasn’t sure if it was the icy wind, the sad story, or the reference to her great love that caused her to shudder uncontrollably. Gregory held her closer as a new wave of tremors rocked through her.

As the ship lumbered around the sharp corner into the canal, a fierce blast of wind pelted them. The canal, lined with cliffs so tall they eclipsed the sky and cast deep shadows on the waves below, acted as a wind tunnel and the gale pressed through at hurricane speeds. The current quickened against the blast of wind. Kate understood why the sails had been rolled up tightly. As she considered these things a sound began to grow.

It started low and seemed to seek them out from far in the distance. As the sound grew in volume the pitch fractured into multi-tonal harmonics that wove through the jagged cliffs, purging the silence with eerie arpeggios.

Kate gaped at the beautiful music of nature and tears sprinkled from her eyes. It was a moment she would remember always, something in that soul searching sound reached deep inside of her and planted a seed of beauty.

The song melted away into the night and the ship plowed forward, all souls aboard silenced by the Lament of Krysallis the First.

COREY AND DONNIE
landed on top of the grave of Kate, The Mother. They stepped back and read the gravestone.

“Kate Matthews lies here, The Mother, my soul.”

“He was here. That’s laser cut.”

“He probably returned after he left the Inner Circle and buried her, Corey.”

Corey nodded and turned away from the grave marker. They scanned the abandoned slave camp. Corey walked to the edge of the cliff and gazed down at the remains of the Traptor. His blood still stained the rock face around the remnants of metal, but large chunks, where the blood had been spilled, were missing from the rock wall.

“They harvested the blood stones,” Corey whispered. His face was a mask of painful memory as he worked his jaw.

“Strange. Do you think it was the Darchori?” Donnie asked.

“Probably.” Corey turned and faced the volcano. “Let’s climb higher and scope out the area.”

Donnie nodded and they trekked to higher ground, the dry terrain crunching under their boots.

“Where do you think the Kiarnusk went?” Donnie asked.

“Hopefully back to whatever hell hole they came from.”

“Like another island or continent?”

“No, most likely Gregory brought them from another dimension.”

Donnie shook his head. “I’d lay money that Gregory didn’t give them a second thought. They’re still here somewhere.”

“I hope you’re wrong. But I wouldn’t bet against you.”

They hiked in silence for a while, climbing the black mountain to gain perspective. When they reached the highest level they could traverse without equipment, Corey stopped and took off his pack. He sat it down and pulled out some water bottles. He and Donnie found a rock dangling out over a precipice and they climbed onto it and sat down.

Corey sipped his water and gazed out over the landscape. The gently rounded hills were covered in tall trees and a sea of green foliage danced in the gentle breezes for as far as they could see. No smoke trails, no settlements, nothing was visible.

“Kate, send me a sign. I need a signal, love,” Corey whispered. His heart was low. There was nothing here. No traces that Kate had been here since the last time they were here together.

“You okay?” Donnie put a hand on his shoulder.

Corey nodded and tilted his water bottle back to drain it. He screwed the lid back on. “I don’t know what I was hoping to find—” His voice trailed off.

“Something to hold on to,” Donnie said.

“Yeah.”

“What do you want to do? Go back now?”

“No, let’s go back down and camp for the night. If we can sleep in the jumps, then that will give us more time to find Kate.”

“Come on, I’d like to be settled before the sun sets.”

“Hey, let’s go back to the cave and see if any of our stuff is still there.”

The cave was picked dry. They built a fire in the center of the cave floor, pulled out their packs and curled up for a good sleep.

“Donnie,” Corey spoke to the cave ceiling.

“Yep.”

“It’s good to be camping with you again.”

“Heh, yeah.”

Corey listened to the dripping echoes in the deep recesses of the cave as thoughts echoed in the deeper corners of his mind. He drew a breath and whispered. “I was thinking. You and I have spent more time in Ampeliagia than we have in our own world.”

Donnie harrumphed. “True. Why do you think we keep coming back to Ampeliagia? I mean, before we had a choice, even.”

“I’m not sure, but did you know that the Source of Heartwork Village Quantum Energy is a tiny ring that my great-great-grandmother was given when she came here?”

“How do you know that?”

“We saw it before we jumped to Spear Cathair. Stealthlin recognized it. Evidently he knew my great-great-grandmother very well. He was one of her protectors while she was in Ampeliagia. He said the ring was made from the veil, a portal between our worlds.”

“That blows my mind a little bit.”

“Tell me about it.”

A silence hung between them as they comprehended the strange connection between the two dimensions.

“So how many years does it make for you, here in Ampeliagia?” Donnie asked.

“Not counting the time we might have been here but aren’t sure?”

Donnie chuckled.

“Two hundred and forty nine years.”

“Dude that’s a quarter millennium.”

“Yep. I don’t
feel
old.”

Donnie sighed heavily, “Sometimes I do.”

“So much loss,” Corey whispered. Thoughts of Kate swarmed his mind. He did not want to live another two hundred years without her. He clenched his teeth, working his jaw, then turned over to face down the darkness.

THE SHIP PLOWED
through The Singing Cove at a rapid rate. The canal was hundreds of miles long, but extremely narrow. Kate wrapped her arms around her middle, taking slow, deliberate breaths, staving off panic. Only a tiny sliver of sky directly above the ship sliced through the dark jagged walls. Shards of glassy rock speckled the towering barricades that loomed up and over them from both sides.

Kate took to sitting on the deck and staring straight up so she could breathe. This pinched journey between the sheer rock-faced gorge took several days. On the fifth day, Kate stared up at the blue sky directly above them and noted the opening was a bit wider than the day before. She took this as a sign that they would be leaving the canal soon. Eyes locked on the azure slash above them, Kate started when a dark winged shape flew across the gap between the cliff walls.