Read Online The Source: Book III of the Holding Kate Series by LaDonna Cole - Free Book Online

collective hive of creative intelligence to run the Quantum Jumps. They were given the highest security clearance but kept secluded in the underground facility.
    Corey dug into his backpack and pulled out his and Kate’s badges. Kate had refused to give them up for sentimental reasons and Corey had tucked them into an inner pocket for safekeeping.
    He held it up. Kate raised her eyebrows and shrugged. Corey drew a deep breath, cast his gaze between the badge and the swipe pad, then slid the badge. Sure enough, the door swung out, allowing entrance.
    Kate’s mouth dropped open.
    “This is magic to you, too?” Candol whispered, eyes round as she stared at the blinking green light. Stealthlin reached out to touch the magic box.
    “It’s technology magic,” Corey explained. “We’re surprised to realize we’ve been here before.”
    They stepped into an underground facility with dark halls just like the facility that housed the Inner Circle. Walking several feet, they came upon their old rooms. The bunks were still in place and the makeshift kitchen was exactly as they left it.
    “We were here at the village the whole time,” Kate whispered. “Why did they drive us around for an hour?”
    “I guess to throw us off.”
    “Corey, we really shouldn’t get caught down here,” Kate hissed, glancing down the hallway.
    “Kate, we own the place, remember?”
    “Oh. Yeah.” She frowned. “I can’t quite get used to that.”
    “All the same, I don’t want to get slowed down by anyone. Let’s go this way. I think it leads to the tunnel that will take us to First Cabin.”
    “Was this facility on your schematics?”
    “No, just a large junction, but the tunnels were on there. This must have been built after the tunnels.”
    They passed through the facility to an unfamiliar area. Few technicians roamed the halls and they were able to stay out of sight. They approached a section marked with warning signs and radiation protocol posters.
    Curious, Corey swiped the badge through the panel and a thick vault-like door opened. They stepped into a room much like the one where Mama Ty had taken them to view the Inner Circle. Corey scanned the room of computer stations and blinking lights, stepped up to the viewing window, and looked down into the chamber.
    Blue light radiated from a central object. A robotic female voice called status reports overhead. “Source Ring functioning at optimal capacity.”
    Several monitors showed close-up shots of the central object. Corey crept closer to a monitor that Stealthlin stood beside and touched the screen. The object, a tiny pewter colored ring that would fit a child rotated in the air. Four silver strands were braided together to form the ring. Occasionally the blue light would pulse, causing miniscule sparks to fizz around the surface. The four strands would separate to form a sphere, then meld back together.
    “Source Ring quantum capacity 100%,” the voice announced.
    “I know that ring.” Stealthlin touched the screen. “That is Tsian’s Veil ring. She used it to access the One.”
    Corey slowly turned to the warrior. The Veil Ring! The source of the quantum spheres is the ring? My great-great-grandmother’s ring? “Are you sure?” he asked.
    “Absolutely. I saw her access the One many times with Ystava while we were on our journeys. She said the One gave it to her when she touched the veil. It actually crawled out of the veil onto her finger.”
    Stunned, he stared at the ring for a moment, putting the pieces together. The ring actually powered the spheres. If Mattovdzky didn’t have such a source to power his spheres, then he was stealing power or spending enormous amounts of money on them. It explained why his spheres were faulty and not perfectly round like the ring. It also spoke to his motives for destroying Heartwork Village. He wanted the source? Did he even know what the source was?
    “We should go,” Corey finally spoke up.
    “Corey, what is it?” Kate