The Source: Book III of the Holding Kate Series by LaDonna Cole

their debriefing.
    Tara threatened to stop speaking English in front of Dirk and Trip, who struggled with the language shift.
    “Trip, you will learn Ampelese much quicker this way,” she insisted when Trip grumbled about it.
    “Tara, how can I learn it that way? It just sounds like a bunch of gibberish.”
    Tara rolled her eyes and pushed his face away with her palm. “You’re impossible.”
    Dirk called the meeting to order and gave the floor to Corey.
    “They are streaming in by the dozens.” Corey gave an update on the plague situation. “We have found a way to administer nutrients via I.V. and that is keeping them alive longer.” He shook his head. “The first victims died about 3 days after exposure.”
    “What is this disease?” Eunavae asked. “Where did it come from?”
    “We aren’t sure. One of the patients that first came to us gave a report that a dragon dropped Keida Normain, the chief bard of Ampeliagia, into the courtyard of the High Court Watshfeau and the disease spread there rapidly. Most of the castle inhabitants were dead within a week. Only those with Cheleuthi blood survived.”
    “So the dragons did this?” Starlythe assumed.
    “I don’t know. Dragon carcasses have been found all over Ampeliagia. The patients that actually made it this far have reported seeing scattered bodies. A band of Cheleuthi came through a few months back and told of masses of dead dragon bodies on one of the northern islands. Whatever this plague is, it killed them all immediately. It seems unthinkable that they would mastermind their own extinction.”
    “Unless something went wrong,” Manifus interjected.
    “We have decided that the people are dying of malnourishment and dehydration, mostly. Since they are asleep, comatose, they aren’t getting nutrients. We can keep them alive longer by giving them IV nourishment, but our supplies are severely low. Even with the fluids and medications you brought with you, we won’t have much more time. We need a cure.”
    “When did this happen?”
    “The dragon dropped the Amhra’n into Watshfeau’s courtyard two years ago. Ampeliagia has been without a King or Bard since then.”
    “So what have you been doing for the first 35 years you were here? Couldn’t Wallace drop you closer to the plague onset?” Eunavae asked.
    “We built the town. Wallace thought we would need some time to settle before the plague hit. We have been busy growing and harvesting Goyba thorns to create I.V. needles and perfecting our sterilization process. Schmitz and Wallace sent a miniature version of the detox showers so we can sterilize and reuse I.V. tubing.”
    “The Cheleuthi were not affected at all?” Staid questioned.
    “No, and neither are we,” Corey said.
    Stealthlin added, “We hear reports from the patients pouring in here that the south has a lighter version of the disease. They sleep for long periods of time but wake up to eat and drink. They are surviving longer than those of the northern provinces.”
    “The devastation is equal, though. No harvest, no planting, no workers, nothing is getting done and the kingdom is falling to ruin,” Candol said. “Except for the Crags, where your descendants live.”
    “What about the Darchori?” Eunavae asked. She had lived among them for fifty years with Corey. She had married and raised a family there.
    “Very few remain. They were decimated, but one family line seems to have survived. I assume they are your descendants, Eunavae. The Tondo are extinct.” Corey’s voice broke. “Whatever killed the dragons affected them the same way.” He reached out and took her hand. She leaned into his shoulder, face long and mouth dropped in horror.
    Tara quickly drew the attention away from Corey and Eunavae so they would have a moment to commiserate. “So Kate, did you have any run ins with dragons before they fell out of the sky?” she asked, remembering her vehemence against going anywhere near dragons.
    Kate appeared to