The Source: Book III of the Holding Kate Series (34 page)

A dragon!

They must be getting close. Lumisfere was famous for its dragons. More importantly it was famous for the relationship between humans and dragons. They lived in harmony on the Christallo Strand.

After another few hundred yards the cliff walls began a sharp decline until they melded into rock strewn beaches. Kate could see signs of civilization crop up, a boat drawn ashore, a trail of smoke rising into the sky. As they proceeded up the canal—now more of a bay area—the city of Lumisfere came into view.

Tall and stately buildings graced the boardwalk, and an elaborate system of docks lined the waterfront. It was the cleanest city Kate had seen in Ampeliagia. The streets were paved and the buildings had an ordered appearance. It seemed as though the city had been conceived, drawn up, and built with expansion in mind.

The most startling feature of the town was a dotted sky, teeming with various colored dragons. They flew in spirals and circles, landing on great towers and platforms or hopping down the city streets. No one seemed startled by their presence, they just moved their carts to the side to make way, or bellowed greetings, calling the dragons by name as old friends would.

The ship turned into a deep docking bay, and hands came out to pull them to the port. A well-dressed squire waited for them to disembark. As the plank was extended and the passengers began to trickle down it, the squire stepped in front of the Captain.

“Good Captain, I am sent from the King and Queen Emeritus to welcome you to Lumisfere. Please follow me. Your accommodations in the castle await you.”

Aromas, colorful stalls, and harking vendors assaulted them as they followed the squire through the bustling streets. Kate couldn’t see everything. She whipped her head back and forth to take in as much as she possibly could.

Oh what lovely distractions!
she thought. She paused at a stall with delicate bolts of fabric in bright colors. One bolt caught her eye. It was a sheer piece of fabric stained in a tie dye of various purples, blues, and greens. The fabric felt whisper soft and she stroked her cheek with it.

“Kate, darling, would you like me to buy that for you?” Gregory murmured in her ear from behind.

She stiffened. She didn’t realize he was so close. She dropped the fabric, turned to him, and shrugged.

“I think it would be beautiful with your skin tone. Perhaps we could have a nice negligee made for you.” He nibbled at her lips.

She stepped back. “No, I don’t like it.” She returned to the line of passengers following in the Captain’s wake and watched a dragon attempt to enter a bake shop. The owner waved a spatula at him and merrily sent him on his way with a mouthful of sweet rolls.

“Kate, darling, are you okay? Did the ship make you sick?”

“Yeah, something on the ship.” She nodded, and then graced him with a fragile smile as they sauntered along the streets.

The line seemed to bottleneck at the gate to the palace, and they slowed to a snail’s pace. Kate took the opportunity to observe more of the surroundings now that they were moving slowly.

Something quirked strangely familiar about the layout of the town, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. It seemed more modern in design. The streets were blocked instead of rambling like most Ampeliagia streets she had seen. The shops had hanging lanterns at strategic places that illuminated their signs. Covered walkways bordered the shops, and in the center of the palace courtyard, a beautiful fountain sprayed water, creating a perfect globe that stood six feet wide.

The palace guard spoke with the Captain, and a different squire escorted the passengers off to find various rooms in the city. Kate and Gregory started to follow them, when the Captain stopped them.

“Mr. Matthews, I have made arrangements for you and your lovely wife to stay in the palace with me. Since it is your first time to visit Lumisfere, I thought it only fitting.”

“Thank you, Captain.” Greg smiled and placed his hand possessively on Kate’s back. They followed the squire into the enormous double doors of the palace and up to a wing that was designated for special visitors.

“The King and Queen Emeritus and Queen Krysallis request the honor of your presence at dinner tonight. I will send a servant to retrieve you in three hours.”

“Krysallis? The first bard?” Kate asked.

The squire nodded and excused himself.

“How is that possible?” Kate turned to the Captain.

The Captain frowned. “I’m not sure. They do seem to live long lives here in Lumisfere. I will see you tonight.” He bowed and stepped across the hall to his own chambers.

Kate and Gregory entered into their assigned chambers and gaped at the extravagance. Putting even their castle to shame, the Lumisfere Castle displayed rich hangings, jewel encrusted fixtures, and gold plated metals. Vaulted ceilings, elaborately carved wood work, and decadent furnishings bedecked the spacious square footage.

Kate stepped aside as several servants deposited their travel trunks in the room. She turned to Gregory as they closed the door on their exit and mouthed, “Wow.”

He laughed, “Indeed.”

“I am going to take a bath,” Kate informed him.

“I’ll have the servants lay out our clothing for the evening.” Gregory slipped out of his jacket.

Kate grabbed her toiletries bag, stepped into the bath chamber, and stripped. The water, already warm, beckoned the weary traveler to soak. She sank into the floral scented suds with a sigh.

What a wonderful trip this was turning out to be. So many things to focus her attention on and lose herself in. She considered asking Gregory if he would like to relocate to the city. She’d blown through all of the distractions at Dragon Castle.

One thing remained that she had not yet consented to, but it turned her stomach just to think of it. Gregory wanted children. From Kate. They weren’t even married, another thing she refused to give him. She told him she was already married and would not become a bigamist. He should just be happy that she was with him in all the ways he wanted her most. He continued to beg her for children every five years, when it came time for her injection. But so far he had consented to jumping back and forth to keep her supplied with the medication.

Speaking of birth control
! It was almost time for her next shot. She decided to get it over with now, before Gregory could start the begging process. She stood and ascended the marble steps of the bath, trailing rivulets of bubbles in her path. Opening her bag, she pulled out the vial and subdermal injector. She wiped the bubbles away from her hip and aimed the eye. Just before she squeezed the trigger, a hand grabbed hers peeling the injector away from its intended target.

She whirled around. Gregory glared down at her.

“Is it time for that already?” he asked. His voice was raspy and dangerous sounding. His eyes blazed with a flare of insanity. He had never spoken to her with such vehemence.

“Gregory! Let me go. You’re hurting me.” She jerked her hand free and turned.

He grabbed her by the arm and whipped her around to face him.

“Kate.” His eyes raked over her naked body and the frightening wildness intensified in his eyes. “It is time. I am going to have a prodigy of your loins.”

He ripped the injector from her fingers and flung it across the room.

“Gregory! What has gotten into you! Stop it!” Kate struggled futilely in his grip.

He pressed her roughly to his body and growled in her ear. “You think I don’t know what you do behind every thick drape, closed door, and dark corner?”

Cold dread slid down her spine. He knew?

“I’ve watched you play your harlot games. For some reason the quantum flux records every one of them as a significant decision. I have seen every glance, every touch, every vile perversion you have allowed, encouraged, and performed. I have allowed this birth control to prevent you from having a bastard, but no more! Your sex games are over!”

He shook her so hard her vision blurred. The fire in his eyes turned to seething disdain. He curled his lip and shoved her to the bench. “I won’t touch you until I am sure the spawn of that sailor has left your body. Then you will spend the rest of your days producing my offspring. Is that clear?”

Kate cowered and trembled in fear.

He screamed. “IS THAT CLEAR?”

Kate whimpered and threw her hands up defensively. “Yes,” she managed to squeak through her terror.

Gregory yanked his vest down and took a deep breath. His mannerism changed dramatically as he tugged at his collar and examined himself in the mirror. “Get dressed, darling,” he cooed. “We have a king and queen to impress.” He walked over to her and lovingly kissed her forehead.

She froze until he left the room. Then with a strangled cry, she ran over, picked up the injector and plunged the hormone into her body. It would be the last Gregory would ever get for her. She cleaned up the water droppings from the floor, dried off, and lowered onto the bench. She sat there for a long time, trembling and afraid of Gregory Matthews for the first time in thirteen years.

COREY AND DONNIE
jumped back to the QHR the next morning. When the sphere cleared they saw Wallace frozen with a bite of leftovers suspended in air halfway to his mouth. “You weren’t kidding!”

Corey had to think for a minute about what he was talking about, and then he remembered the last thing he said to Wallace was that they’d be back before he could blink. He smiled and stepped off the QHR pad.

“No luck, I guess,” Wallace surmised.

Donnie shook his head. Corey dropped his pack onto the floor and collapsed onto the brown leather sofa. “I don’t think we are going about this the right way. Just because Gregory has been to a place, doesn’t mean he has taken Kate there. He could be anywhere.”

“No, not anywhere,” Wallace corrected. He sat the plate aside and tapped on the computer keys. “I don’t have a complete list of Gregory’s jump sites compiled yet, that will take me more than five minutes.” He cast a pointed expression to Corey. “But the list I do have is instructive.”

He hit the print button and shoveled a few more bites into his mouth, then walked over to wait for the printout, chewing his roast beef. After he swallowed he said, “There are sites that he frequents. I would guess he has living quarters in each of them.”

Donnie’s left eyebrow shot up. “Right, because he has to have a place to keep her, so he didn’t just jump anywhere.”

“Exactly.”

Corey sat up and took the list from Wallace and scanned it. “So, this one he has been to 12 times over the last month?” he asked, pointing to coordinates on the list.

Wallace smiled and nodded.

“Let’s go!” Corey jumped up and grabbed his backpack. Donnie followed, hopping onto the jump pad. Corey cleared his remote and punched the new coordinates, checking them verbally with Wallace, then jumped.

They landed on a tall tower of an enormous castle and immediately looked around to see if anyone was there. No one came at the sound of the sphere, so he and Donnie carefully moved toward the archway and down a circular stairwell. They passed several windows as they descended the spiral and got spectacular views from every direction.

“Do you think this is Ampeliagia?” Donnie whispered and pulled out his Taser.