The Keepers Book Two of the Holding Kate Series

by Cole, LaDonna

  “What do you think?” Dirk asked me, his elbows on his knees.

  It took me a long time to answer. So many thoughts raced through my mind. It could never happen! Bull crap! Tara and Mel are liars! No, they have never lied to me. The Scriptorium is tainted. No, it isn’t part of the Quantum Matrix. Kate would never…but the Beautiful One said she would be unfaithful. I don’t believe it. I won’t believe it. My Kate of a Thousand Years would never betray me, much less plot my brutal murder.

  “I think it will take a miracle to convince my wife she isn’t going to be the cause of my demise.”

  “Does she believe it?”

  “It doesn’t matter if she believes it or not. She won’t take the chance that it might be true.”

  “That kind of proves that it isn’t true.”

  “Maybe he intended to warn us about the nature of the quest we are going to take. Maybe the One just wanted us to realize that we must be diligent, that even the tightest of human bonds can be shattered if they aren’t guarded.”

  “Maybe,” Dirk said. “You think you can convince her of that?” He tossed his head toward the master suite.

  “I have to. I can’t live without her.”

  “That kind of proves it is true.” He raised his eyebrows significantly.

  I understood what he inferred. The Corey in the Scriptorium gave his life for Kate. He warned me away from that train of thought. It didn’t matter. Kate and I were just like this. We were one. There was no point to life without her.

  I slept on the couch on our wedding night.

  Perfect.

  My dreams were filled with Kate. Our wedding, our union, the sweetness of her body, images of Kate danced and whirled through my dreams. I traced her belly with a stalk of wheat and left tattoo marks every place the wheat touched. The marks swirled and became green scales with black spots that formed into a baby dragon curled on her chest, but not as a three dimensional dragon. He slithered over her, a two dimensional tattoo. Writhing across her flesh, he grew larger and larger until eclipsing her in the skin of a full-grown dragon. Eyes covered in cataracts and mind one with the dragon, Kate rose from the ground with a roar and clamped her teeth around my neck.

  I woke covered in cold sweat and couldn’t return to sleep. Something bizarre about the dream niggled at me, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. The dream faded to foggy notions.

  As the sun rose, beams cut across my face from the back windows. I stretched and the memories of the prior night assailed me, distant and surreal. I made a pot of coffee and some toast, and carried a tray into my bedroom for my wife. Mel enveloped Kate in her arms and Donnie slept beside Mel with his fingers in her hair. I set the tray down and watched them sleep.

  Kate’s face still wore a red tint and her shoulders hitched in her sleep. So tiny, so frail, so perfect, the epitome of love, my wife stirred a sense of protectiveness in me. In the morning light, I knew she could never hurt me or bring about a scratch, much less mastermind my gruesome death.

  This had to end, now. Determined not to spend another night without my wife beside me, I thumped Donnie’s shoulder and he blinked his eyes sleepily, then closed them again.

  “Dude, I need you to take your wife home and let me be with mine,” I whispered.

  He nodded without opening his eyes, roused Mel and they tromped toward the door of the room woodenly.

  “Thanks for all of this,” I called to him.

  He raised his hand briefly, and then let it fall to his side as he closed the door behind them.

  Kate rolled over and hid her face under the sheet, not fully awake. I stepped into the bathroom and ran a hot tub full of bubbles. When I came back out, she had curled around a coffee cup in the middle of the bed, still in her bikini. Setting the tray of toast in front of her, I sat beside her. I coaxed her to eat a few bites, before her bottom lip began to quiver. Tears spilled down her cheeks. She set the coffee mug down, pushed the tray away and looked at me, panic stricken.

  “I can’t. I won’t. Not ever,” she whispered and crawled into my lap and pressed her palms against my face. “I could never do what they said I did.” She managed to choke out, “You are my Corey.”

  “Kate, I don’t need to be convinced. I know you. I know you love me.” I held her to my chest and stroked her smooth back.

  She drew in a sharp breath of relief. “I worried you would begin to believe them. I believed them last night, but it’s just not possible.”

  “It’s a metaphor or something. That’s all,” I whispered into her hair.

  “That’s what Mel said, last night.” She nuzzled into my neck. “But our Scriptorium wasn’t a metaphor, was it? Our wedding felt real.”

  “Yes, my love, my wife.” I picked her up in my arms. “We are one flesh.”

  She melted against me as I carried her to the bathroom and tucked her into the garden tub of warm bubbles.

  I stood in the separate shower and let the warm water wash away the horrible night. When I stepped out of the shower, Kate gave me a tentative smile through the steam, then sank under the bubbles. I let out a huff of relief. Maybe we were going to be okay.

  I dressed and met the others in the kitchen where Tara stood with a spatula and a huge stack of flapjacks piled up on a platter. Trip had microwaved bacon and stood beside Tara, peeling the greasy paper towels away. Mel poured a glass of juice and sat down at the table where Dirk and Donnie were already digging in.

  I hooked a glass and sat it beside Mel, so she filled it too. “How is she?”

  “Raw.”

  “I am so sorry. I didn’t want to tell her.” Mel touched my arm.

  “I’m sorry, too, but I thought you all needed to know the whole story.” Tara reached over me and set the stack of pancakes in the center of the table. She rested her hand on my shoulder and I reached up and squeezed it.

  “We did. You did the right thing. I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

  “Corey, don’t be sorry. I probably would have been slinging fists if the tables were turned.” She leaned down and kissed me on the cheek.

  I froze, mouth hanging open, gaping at the others at the table who stared at Tara as though she were a stranger. Tara never showed affection. I smiled through my shock. She squinted her eyes, an attempted smile, and sat down beside Trip. He resumed the suspended journey of eggs on fork to mouth, watching her. He raised his brows at me as he chewed. The others gradually resumed their breakfast, cutting furtive glances to her.

  After a few minutes of strained chewing and light conversation, we resumed our normal breakfast debriefing.

  “Mama Ty said the jumps would start after Family Week ended. They are normally suspended during that week anyway.” Dirk followed his statement with a long draw on his orange juice.

  “So Saturday we should expect to be ready to jump?” Mel asked, wiping syrup drops from the table.

  “I think we should be ready as early as Friday night. The minute the last family leaves we’ll be vulnerable.”

  “I don’t understand. If we were already taken on an unsanctioned jump, how can we be sure that another one won’t come right in the middle of three legged races or something?” Donnie wiped his mouth with his napkin.

  Kate came out fresh and smelling wonderful. She sat in my lap and poked bites of pancake down me while I tried to listen to the plans, but with every touch and tender gesture between us, my need to be alone with her grew more urgent.

  Dirk set his empty glass down. “I asked her the same thing this morning when I met with her.” He picked up his plate and glass and walked to the sink. “She’s shutting down the source matrix to be sure.”

  Mel and Donnie shot each other a worried glance.

  I barely noticed. Kate kissed away some syrup that dripped on my chin, and I thought I would have a heart attack if I didn’t get her to myself soon.

  “I didn’t think that could be done,” Donnie murmured, Mel shook her head.

  Kate took a handful of berries and offered me on
e before she bit into a strawberry. She closed her eyes, savoring the flavor. Mesmerized, I reached out to touch her cheek. She leaned into my hand. How had we gone so long without each other before our marriage? Now that I had a taste of the gift of Kate, I existed as a starving man, aware of my own malnourished soul.

  The room fell silent as Kate and I burned for one another.

  “Okay, okay.” Dirk clattered his plate into the sink and turned, hands planted on his hips. “We all have to be at the campus at 1:30. That’s when the parents are due to arrive. Until then, let’s clear out of here and give the newlyweds some alone time.”

  Everyone stifled grins and busied themselves with not looking at us. Kate and I didn’t need to be dismissed twice, by the time they pushed their chairs back, we were already running to the bedroom.

  I hated that clock. It stole all of my time. Kate lay on my chest listening to my heartbeat and I ran a strand of her hair around my face with one hand and stroked her bare back with the other. We breathed in synchronized harmony.

  “What do you want to tell your parents?” I whispered.

  “MmmmMMMmmm.” Her ‘I don’t know’ came out as a hum as she answered from her place of deep bliss.

  “We can’t tell them anything about the Scriptorium or the Quantum Spheres. As far as they are concerned, we’ve only known each other for five weeks.”

  “Mmmhmm.”

  “And to them we are only teenagers.”

  “’S true.”

  “It’s up to you, Kate. You know them better than I do.”

  She sighed and pushed herself up to look at me. “We can’t tell them anything, really. You are my boyfriend. That’s all they can know.” She seemed to become fascinated with kissing my chest.

  “Kate?”

  “Mmmhmm.”

  “I have to tell you something.”

  “Let me guess. You’re 1,229 years old and you’ve been married before. Oh and you are a famous faith healer to a tribe of tree dwelling monster lovers?”

  I grinned. “Well, yeah, there’s that.”

  “There’s more? Oh, wait, I know. You believe in electrostatic, clairvoyant dragons who steal young girls to make them into maternal source batteries to fuel whole planets.”

  “Got it again. You are on a roll.” I turned her over onto her back to get her attention. That was a mistake. I completely lost my train of thought at the sight of her, and we became lost in each other’s caresses again.

  Kate deactivated the phone. “No answer.” She stared at the screen and then turned a hesitant smile to me. “They probably just stopped overnight somewhere along the way. My grandfather loves casinos. They probably decided to stay over. They’ll be here tomorrow.” The tender skin beneath her right eye ticked.

  I drew her under my arm and pressed my forehead to her temple. We lounged on the couch in First Cabin after poking around the village all afternoon waiting for Kate’s mom, little brother, and grandparents to show up, but they never did. Her dad wouldn’t arrive until Thursday.

  “Corey, you and Donnie should leave tomorrow and get your trip out of the way. Then you can spend Thursday and Friday with my whole family.” She snapped her eyes to mine. “I mean if you want to that is. You don’t have to.”

  “Darling, Kate, they are my family too, now. I think it is time we met, don’t you?”

  She sparkled. “You are gonna love Jimmy. He is the coolest kid ever.” She bounced her feet on the ottoman and squealed in the back of her throat. “I am so excited to see them.”

  I chuckled at her enthusiasm.

  Donnie knocked on the screen door, and we called for him to come in. He plopped on the sofa across from us, kicked off his sneakers and stretched out on the ottoman.

  “How did it go?”

  “Brutal, dude.” He rubbed his temples. “Her mom seemed okay with it, kinda. I think she wanted her to finish college first, but her dad exploded. He had to leave, he couldn’t even look at me.”

  Since Donnie and Mel were actually old enough to be married, they decided to just tell Mel’s parents. They had volunteered every summer at the village since Mel was in grade school until she graduated high school and were very familiar with the jump therapies. Mel’s brother and sister had also been jump commanders.

  “Mel’s mom has always predicted Mel and I would end up together, but her dad had other plans for his baby girl that didn’t include becoming Mrs. Donnie Dudgeon.” Donnie planted a throw pillow on his face and growled into it.

  “Kate wants us to go tomorrow morning, so we can be back by Thursday when her dad gets here. You up for that?”

  “Jeep’s packed and ready to go. Mel’s dad probably needs some time to cool off, anyway.”

  “He’s gonna need more than 48 hours to accept you for a son-in-law,” I jibed him.

  He snorted and chucked the plaid pillow at me.

  We packed the cooler with drinks and snacks and set it aside. Donnie went off to the boathouse and Kate and I went back into our room to say a proper goodbye.

  The next morning I rose before the sun, stirred Kate with tender kisses. How was I gonna cope with the next two days without her? I held her so tightly, I feared I would break her. She clung to me with every ounce of strength. It just seemed so wrong to leave her. Everything inside of me screamed to stay.

  “Corey.” She breathed my name with reverence and awe and I trembled at her power over me.

  “Kate, I have loved you for a thousand years.” I kissed the crease at her neck.

  “My husband, I will love you for thousands more.” Tears ran down her cheeks.

  “Do you want me to stay?” I wiped her tears, concerned.

  “Of course.” She buried her face in my hair. “But I want you to go so you can get back all the sooner.”

  “It feels wrong. Leaving you feels wrong. I’ll cancel the trip.” My throat ached, and I clutched her tightly.

  “No. You’re packed and plans are made. Go. Have fun.” She pressed her palms to my jaws, laced her fingers through my hair, and devoured me with her gaze. “Then hurry home to me, my husband.”

  Kate and Mel walked us to the jeep. Kate stood at my door and leaned across me to touch Donnie’s arm.

  He wrenched away from his kiss with Mel and turned his attention to her direction.

  “Drive safely through these winding mountain passes, Donnie. Bring him home to me, safe and whole.”

  Mel agreed. “Right, slow and steady.”

  Kate took my face in her hands. “No daredevil stunts on the river. Play safe, have fun, and come home quickly.” She planted her full lips on mine. I almost hopped out of the jeep right then to stay with her.

  Donnie started the engine and revved it in sync with an eyebrow dance. Kate laughed and fell out of my arms. Her boots scuffed as she landed in the gravel. The jeep jostled down the drive, and we watched Mel and Kate hook their elbows and wave at us.

  The Jeep whipped around and I watched through the side mirror. My bride faded away into darkness as distance dimmed the blood red tail lights reflecting on her. Something wrenched apart in my chest.

  I didn’t know. How could I have seen? Our honeymoon was over and things would never be the same again.

  “In classical physics, the past is assumed to exist as a definite series of events, but according to quantum physics, the past, like the future, is indefinite and exists only as a spectrum of possibilities. Even the universe as a whole has no single past or history.” ~ Hawking & Mlodinow, Scientific American, October 2010.

  PLEASANTLY EXHAUSTED AND eager to be with our wives, we parked Donnie’s Jeep at First Cabin and bolted toward our respective homes.

  “See ya, Corey!” Donnie called over his shoulder as he crossed toward the boathouse, bag in hand.

  “Later.” I ran onto the porch and rushed into the cabin. It creaked, dark and empty.

  I took my bag to my bedroom to find the bed made and no sign of Kate or her family. They were probably having breakfast at the diner. I d
ecided to go into town and join them.

  I stepped out onto the porch and saw Donnie exit the boat house.

  “Is Mel over there?” he called.

  “No, I was just gonna head into the village to see if they were there.”

  “Let’s go.” We hopped in the small cart and sped into the village, impatient to find the girls.

  People milled around, spilling over the walkways and into the streets. Families poured out of every shop. We drove slowly by the big windows of Ermadean’s Diner, but caught no sight of our group. Circling the Staying Well, we watched families pressing their handprints and names into commemorative stones. The village burst with reunions, but we couldn’t find our girls or any sight of our clan.

  “Let’s go to the old cabin and see if anyone is there.” Donnie veered the cart down the hill.

  We pulled up in front of the cabin that we had originally been assigned to, but it sat inordinately quiet. Usually some sign of life rang from it, but upon entering the cabin, I noted the lights were out and not even a dish in the sink to indicate anyone had been there.

  “Maybe they’re all visiting with parents somewhere?” Donnie suggested without any conviction.

  “Something’s wrong.” I turned and ran down the steps and up the hill to the Administration Mansion. Kim emerged from the front door and paused on the steps with her face contorted in grief. She saw me and gasped.

  “Corey! You have to go, now,” she said.

  Donnie arrived in the golf cart, and Kim dragged us into Mama Ty’s office.

  “Mama Ty, they’re back!”

  “Heavens, Mr. Chastain, where have you been? We have scoured three counties and two states looking for you!”

  “What has happened?” My heart raced and my palms broke into a slick of perspiration.

  “Kate.”

  I staggered. “Kate, what?”