The Source: Book III of the Holding Kate Series

This time...it’s personal

Corey and the Keepers search desperately for a way to save Kate from the evil intent of the Sphere Master. He is bent on revenge and burns with the desire to possess her. Forced to hide her in an alternate dimension, they help a warrior clan try to eradicate a plague the enemy unleashed.

In an unthinkable decision, the team is ripped apart to live out their lives in different places and time periods, while Corey strives to reunite with Kate.

But Kate’s heart has a mind of its own.

The Source

Book three of the Holding Kate series

The Source

Copyright © 2015 LaDonna Cole

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published by

HWV Productions

Print edition ISBN numbers:

ISBN-13: 978-0-9912335-5-7

ISBN-10: 0-9912335-5-7

ALSO BY LaDONNA COLE

THE TORN

Book 1

The Holding Kate Series

THE KEEPERS FILES 1.5

Book 1.5

The Holding Kate Series

THE KEEPERS

Book 2

The Holding Kate Series

THE SPHERE CHRONICLES

Book 2.5

The Holding Kate Series

DRUMMER BOY

A Family Christmas Story

Coming Soon

THE SISTERHOOD OF THE SWORD

The Chronicles of Ampeliaga, Book One

Multi-Author Collections

THROUGH THE PORTAL

CALL OF THE WARRIOR

IN CREEPS THE NIGHT

For the original Heartwork Village Staff

Alice, Dana, Mary, Shelena,

Stacey, and Thea

SCREAMS GURGLED THROUGH
her throat, she couldn’t stop them. Unhinged and fearing for her own sanity, Kate ripped the covers off the bed and jumped onto the cold stone floor.

She ran.

Blinded by tears, she slapped the castle floor with her bare feet until she found the door, threw it open and ran into the courtyard. The gate was ajar so she dashed through it and fled toward the hills. She had no thought of escaping Greg, she was not a prisoner. She ran to escape the reality of Corey’s rejection.

Bare feet skittered through the manicured lawn and her elegant sleep gown trailed through the streams and puddles as she splashed on. When groomed lawns ended, she mowed through high grasses and crashed through dense bracken. She sprinted into the cover of a copse of trees, the needles and deciduous droppings gouging into her tender feet. Any pain was preferable to the gaping wound in her chest.

The forest began to close in, trapping her, thickening with branches, bushes, and thorns. She slashed at the assailing limbs blindly, tearing the soft flesh of her arms. Still she pressed forward, escaping the agony of stillness.

She broke out of the forest and bolted up a hill. Jagged rocks tore into her feet and ripped her nails. Climbing toward the peak, she stumbled and slipped. Gashes striped her knees and elbows. Her ripped and soiled gown snagged on rocks, protesting her ascent. Each fall pulverized her limbs as razor sharp shale and toothsome stones sliced into her flesh.

Still she ran.

Scrambling and clawing to the top of the hill, she teetered to a stop. A precipice yawned beneath her and she staggered and struggled for balance, gazing into the rocky depths far below. She was out of room, out of breath, and out of strength. There was nowhere to go anyway.

Collapsing to the stony ground, she screamed into the dirt. The heartrending sound tore from her throat in serrated ripples, the sound description of her soul.

“COREY!” KATE SCREAMED.
Corey’s heart lurched in his chest. He jumped up from the desk and ran into the living room to see her running out of the front door.

Slam
! The screen door popped behind her. She turned around, dancing in place and yelled through the screen.

“Come on, Corey! They’re here! They’re here!”