Bloodlust

Bloodlust by Deborah O'Toole (aka Deidre Dalton) is Book #2 in the Bloodline Trilogy.

Noel and Pim's daughter Kate Grady has unusual powers which allow her to bend people to her will. At first she uses her gifts wisely, but then goes astray after falling in love with Kirk Lester. She finds herself honing her special powers to keep her place in Kirk's heart, no matter how evil or depraved life with him becomes.

From Chapter Sixteen

KATE FORCED HERSELF to stay in bed until nearly noon on New Year's Day. "Let him stew a little longer," she thought grimly about her husband. Rifling through her meager wardrobe, she chose a pair of well-work blue jeans with frayed white holes in the knees, and a dark-blue cambric shirt with mid-section orange ribbing. She ran a brush through her unruly hair, and then bound it into a loose ponytail. She eschewed adding make-up to her face entirely, not in the mood to make a good impression on Kirk. His feeling or thoughts simply didn't matter to her at the moment, on this given day.

She found Kirk in the kitchen with Maura. He sat across the table from her, still dressed in his clothes from the night before, albeit rumpled. A half-eaten piece of toast was on a small plate in front of him, slightly pushed away, along with a cup of tea. He had one arm on the table, and the other bent at the elbow and resting in front of him. His head was lowered, but his eyes sought hers when she entered the kitchen.

Kate ignored him, instead going to the kettle on the stove to prepare herself a cup of tea. Then she turned around, tea cup in hand, and stood rather than sit with Kirk and Maura at the table. She sipped the hot brew carefully, blowing on the amber liquid, but keeping her eyes on the floor.

Maura snuck a furtive glance between Kirk and Kate, shaking her head slightly. "The Albion Inn is open today," she said at length. "What do you say we pop over there and have some lunch? Their fish and chips are decent, and their corned beef hash with gammon and pease pudding is the tops."

Kirk stared at Kate, although his head still lowered.

Kate took a leisurely sip of tea before responding. "I'm not hungry," she finally said flatly.

"You might be once you get there," Maura insisted with a smile. "C'mon, Katie. It'll be fun. My treat, okay?"

"Okay," Kate relented grudgingly. "I'll go."

"Splendid!" Maura beamed. She looked to Kirk across the table. "How about you, dearie? Ready for some old-fashioned English pub food?"

"Yes, I'm in." Kirk's tone was low, almost hard to hear. He did not raise his head.

"Good," Maura said as she rose from the table. "Give me a few minutes to freshen up, and then we can be on our way. I'm simply famished."

After she left the kitchen, Kirk and Kate maintained their positions - he at the table, she standing at the stove.

They stared at each other for several minutes. His eyes were sad, while hers were impassive.

Not a word needed to be spoken.

* * *

THE DAY WAS drizzly and cold, but made bearable by weak sunshine in the sky. The Albion was located on Park Street, only a few blocks away from Maura's cottage, so they made the walk quickly, and mostly in silence. There was little foot traffic today, although cars were plentiful on the road. People were going about their business, or enjoying the holiday that brought with it the new year.

The threesome - with Kirk and Kate on either side of Maura, now avoiding eye contact - took a right on Bridge Street, and then crossed over to Pepper Street. Halfway down, they stopped at the corner of Albion and Park streets. The entrance to the Albion Inn was wedged right onto the corner, the narrow sidewalk in front curling toward the city walls and the Chester Roman Gardens.

Entering the Albion Inn was akin to stepping back in time, reminiscent of the Victoria age. Curios, flags and posters from the World War I era littered the walls. Three rooms inside the inn included a vault, snug and lounge. The dining area was lit solely by gas candlelight, which was soothing to throbbing hangover eyes.

Maura, Kirk and Kate sat in a booth adjacent to the bar and near a high window, with Maura again in the middle. They hadn't been present for more than five minutes when a loud voice drew their attention.

Kate looked toward the bar. Her heart sank when she saw none other than Caden Clarke sitting with two young women. She glanced at Kirk, who was glowering in the man's direction.

"Don't you dare," Kate whispered fiercely across the table, sensing Kirk was about to rise from the booth and approach Caden. "Let me take care of this."

Kirk looked at her, and then nodded curtly.

"Take care of what?" Maura asked. "What's going on?"

"It's that little bugger from the Red Lion I told you about last night," Kate replied lightly. "He's over there, at the bar."

"Oh," Maura replied unhappily. "What are you going to do?"

Kirk snorted, a half-smile on his face. "Watch and see, Auntie."

Kate wasn't truly ready to expose Maura to what she could do, but what was the harm now? She trusted the older woman implicitly, and thankfully she didn't appear to scare easily.

Kate stared at Caden, her face becoming slightly flushed. She focused solely on him, the rest of the room disappearing into her subconscious. Since she no longer had to clench her hands in order to focus, it left her free to completely zero-in on her subject. She realized it was still a learning process to see how far she could stretch her abilities, but she was getting better at it. She felt more in control, which allowed her to push full force or draw back when she put her mind to it. She also realized Caden Clarke had done nothing wrong and probably didn't deserve what she was about to do to him, yet it was preferable to Kirk creating a scene by confronting the young man.

She continued to stare at Caden, who was unaware of her and Kirk sitting in the booth with Maura. Kate tilted her head to one side. The movement seemed to neutralize the heat in her body, cooling the edges before it could spread out further. Another trick, just learned.

Maura watched Kate, her mouth slightly open. She could feel the heat emanating from the girl, suddenly tempered by the tilt of her head. The older woman swallowed nervously, her throat dry and scratchy. Her apprehension of the unknown was growing, inch by inch.

A nerve twitched in Kate's cheek as her focus on Caden intensified. Suddenly, he loosened the collar of his shirt, his face becoming flushed. He looked uncomfortable, turning his head slightly to the right. The two women sitting on either side of him - one blonde, the other a redhead - watched his movements. They did not appear at all concerned, in fact seemed bored in his company, taking glances at each other behind his back.

Then a look of shock formed on Caden's face. His eyes opened wide and his mouth went slack with panic. He gripped the sides of his stool, as if to anchor himself, but Kate willed him to do otherwise.

Kirk seemed unfazed, while Maura stared at Kate intently. It was as if the young girl was alone in the room, her concentration on Caden unbroken as life went on around her, unknown.

Caden suddenly stood up, his face pouring sweat and his mouth in a downturned line. "No, please!" he uttered, causing the two women next to him to rise from their chairs and step away. Then he looked down at himself, a look of horror mushrooming on his face. His tan khaki trousers were soaking wet in the crotch from urine, apparent to all who could see him.

He turned and hurried away in the direction of the men's room, never seeing Kate or Kirk nearby, or fully comprehending what had just happened to him.

"Good show, Katie," Kirk said proudly, gazing at his wife.

She snapped her fingers. "It was a piece of cake." She gave him a measured glance. "Keep that in mind, Mr. Lester."

"Oh, I will. Always have, in fact," came his cool reply.

Maura looked back and forth between the couple, her expression baffled. "What just happened? Did you cause that young man's little accident, Katie? If so, how, for the love of God?"

"God has nothing to do with it," Kirk said softly, his eyes still on Kate.

Kate sighed, reaching over to place her warm hands on top of Maura's cool digits. "There are some things about me maybe you should know. Be warned, though, it may seem fantastic, or lessen your opinion of me."

"I highly doubt that," Maura replied firmly. "Whatever just happened . . . Well, it was nothing if not amazing."

"That's my girl," Kirk interjected softly.

Kate ignored him. Instead, she leaned closer to Maura and lowered her voice. "What I'm about to tell you might sound unbelievable, utterly crazy even, but I swear to you it's all true. After I tell you, I'll understand if you want me to leave your home."

"Please go on," Maura insisted, her eyes and demeanor showing no fear of the unknown. "I'm listening."