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 Twenty-Five

PIM INSISTED THEY return to the Lester home at eight o'clock that evening, worried Kate hadn't called them yet. Her phone went unanswered, despite his repeated calls.

The house was dark when they arrived. Pim and Noel hurried to the front door. Pim reached out to knock, but it gave way instead, opening into a pitch black chasm. They stepped inside to the hallway. It was eerily quiet, only the sounds from distant traffic creating a ripple in the silence.

"Something is terribly wrong," Noel whispered to her husband.

"Let's check up and down," Pim replied in an equally hushed voice. "Damnit, we should have never left Kate alone here."

They began calling her name. Pim raced for the stairs to check the bedrooms, while Noel veered to the kitchen and basement door. She flipped on the light and hurried down the steps.

She could smell the blood before she reached the bottom. The area was hot and humid, seeming to make the odor more intense. With a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, she made her way to the arched doorway, holding her breath as she took in the horror in front of her eyes.

Kate was naked, splayed out on the grimy bed, her wrists and ankles tied to the four posts. Blood glistened fresh between her legs and on her thighs, oozing and staining the mattress underneath her. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was slack, but she appeared to be breathing.

Noel raced back to the bottom of the stairs, screaming for her husband. ""Pim, down here! I found her . . . we need an ambulance, and the police . . ."

She ran back to the alcove room, going to her daughter on the bed. She undid the restraints and began tapping Kate's cheeks with the palm of her hand, trying to rouse her. "Katie, wake up . . ."

She heard Pim stomping down the stairs, speaking into his cell phone as he descended. "Please, send an ambulance to 139 Chestnut Avenue in Jamaica Plain." He paused. "Okay, thank you."

Noel looked askance of him.

He shook his head. "An ambulance is already on the way. Someone called 911 and sent for one about ten minutes ago. It was an anonymous caller, the operator said."

Before Noel could respond, Kate's eyelids began to flutter. Her voice came weak and hoarse. "Mom? What happened? What's going on?" She suddenly cried out, clutching at her belly with her hands. "My baby! Oh God, the pain . . ."

Pim dropped to his knees at the side of the bed, taking Kate's hands in his. "Help is on the way, love. Just hang tight."

Noel found Kate's clothes on the floor. She attempted to dress her, but it was no use. Kate was bleeding heavily, and every movement seemed to cause her great pain.

"I'm going upstairs to find a blanket to cover her with," Noel told her husband. "I'll be right back."

She went to the second floor and found a semi-clean blanket on Kirk's bed. She noticed the closet was wide open and all of his clothes were missing, some of the hangers on the floor. "They've flown the coop," Noel thought to herself. "The bastards, both of them." As she descended the main stairway to the first floor, Noel heard an approaching siren in the distance. Hurrying back to the basement, she covered Kate with the blanket gently and told Pim the ambulance was coming.

He left the room to greet the paramedics and to direct them to the basement, while Noel took his place in holding Kate's hands. Her daughter was semi-awake but still bleeding, her moans of pain corresponding with attempted clutches to her belly. "I don't want to lose my baby," she cried as tears filled her eyes. "I can't lose it, I just can't."

"You won't lose your baby," Noel told her firmly, squeezing her hand. "Help will be here any minute, and we'll get you to the hospital." She reached out with her other hand and caressed her daughter's brow gently. "Katie, what happened here? What did Ken and Kirk do to you?"

"I think they drugged me," Kate replied hazily. "I'm not sure, or I can't remember, but I couldn't use my mind to get them to stop. My power was gone. It felt like it was trapped behind a brick wall, and I couldn't use it."

"Where are Ken and Kirk now?" Noel pressed, her anger mounting. The fact that the two men had harmed her daughter and were now nowhere to be found made her blood boil, but she kept a brave face.

"They are running away," Kate said faintly as her eyes closed. "I heard Ken say they had to get out of here, that it was the end of the road for them." Between the loss of blood and after affects of whatever drug had been given to her, she was fast losing consciousness again.

Noel heard the heavy steps of Pim and the paramedics as they came down the stairs, bringing a gurney with them. Pim glanced at his wife, his eyes misted over with stress. "I called the police, too, specifically Detective Richards. He was just about to get a search warrant, he's just trying to find a judge to sign it."

"We need to go to the hospital with Kate," Noel said tersely, standing aside as two paramedics began to examine Kate. "Will the detective keep us informed?"

"He said he would."

The paramedics took Kate's vital signs and tried to staunch the flow of blood by placing a large gauze pad on her, and then applying pressure. They decided she was stable enough to move and lifted her to the waiting gurney. They attached an IV to her arm and began taking her up the stairs. She was still unconscious, but breathing normally.

"I'll follow in the car," Pim offered.

Noel's eyes were glistening with anger and fear. "Thank you, love. I want to stay close to her."

"Look after our girl," he replied quickly, his voice strangled with a myriad of emotions. Noel knew her husband was feeling the same anger, sadness, fear and hopelessness that she was experiencing. They embraced before she followed the paramedics out of the basement.

Noel had just climbed into the ambulance with Kate when three police cars arrived, lights flashing. She felt a sense of relief as she bent over Kate's form in the secure gurney, holding her hand as they sped away.

Noel's thoughts came clear and certain. "The monster trail has reached its end, and Ken Lester - along with his son - will finally receive their comeuppance."

* * *

NOEL TOLD THE attending physician in Brigham & Women's Hospital's emergency room that Kate had been given some kind of drug, so they ran blood tests first thing, waiting for the results.

Kate awakened, finally, again clutching her belly and moaning in pain. In an aside, the doctor told Noel that Kate was in the onset of early labor, and there were signs of sexual trauma with traces of semen from two different men. Once it had been determined Kate had been dosed with Toxica, well-known as a popular date-rape drug, they administered an injection of Terbutaline into her system to help slow her labor contractions, also in the hopes of stopping them altogether.

Although the possibility of Kate being raped while in the Lester household had always lurked in the back of Noel's mind, the confirmation of it sent her into a mental tailspin. What had Ken - or Kirk, for that matter - done to her daughter? What horrors had been visited upon her? They had resorted to drugging and raping her, even as she carried Kirk's unborn child?

That they disappeared after the deed was done also seemed to confirm their guilt, in Noel's mind. Her thoughts went back to her last contact with Shoji, and his statements that all was not well with Kate's coming child.

She chose her destiny the minute she decided Kirk Lester was the one for her. However, depending on the path she takes, the child she carries could turn out with serious issues of its own. If Kate chooses the wrong path from this point forward, it is imperative that you find a way to take the child from her, by any means necessary.

Noel wondered what could be done about it now. The baby, if it was to live, would be her own flesh and blood. Shoji had hinted the child might have to be taken away from Kate, flushed out of the Grady family as if it never existed for its own safety.

The correct path will give the child a good life. It will be untouched by evil. The wrong path, however, will alter its entire existence. The wrong path will lead the child to a life of vile destruction, debauchery, and a cold-bloodedness, the likes of which have never been seen before.

You won't be able to keep the child. Please don't misunderstand. When Kate comes into contact with you after it's born . . . she can never have a lasting interaction with the child. It's as simple as that. If she does, the child will come away with certain impressions that will never be forgotten.

Now that the time had arrived, Noel was at a loss over what to do. She knew she should follow Shoji's advice, but how could she take the child from her daughter, and then give it away? She pushed the thought aside for the time being. She would concentrate on seeing her daughter recover from her ordeal, and deal with the consequences some other time.

Pim joined his wife at the hospital about an hour later. Kate had been moved to ICU, where she was resting comfortably and sleeping. After Noel updated Pim on their daughter's condition, he ushered her into the hallway for a private word.

"I talked to the police when they arrived at Lester's house," he said. "I told them what happened with Kate, as we know it. They were there with a search warrant. I saw a few of them go down into the basement, and Detective Richards went with a group to the backyard, carrying shovels and other equipment. The detective said he would keep me informed."

Noel let out a sigh of relief. "They'll find ample evidence, I'm sure of it, especially in the yard."

"The police have also issued a manhunt alert for Ken and Kirk," Pim continued, keeping his voice low so others milling in the hall didn't hear him. "The last trace of Kirk's cell phone was somewhere on I-93 heading out of Boston, but there the trail ends. The bulletin was also released in neighboring states." He glowered. "I want those two bastards nabbed, and right quick."

"I agree," Noel replied. "As soon as they're caught, we need to let the police and district attorney's office do their jobs while we focus on Kate. She's in a huge pickle right now. She could lose her baby, or it might be born premature, not to mention all of the physical and psychological damage she's probably suffered." Her face was a mask of pain. "The suffering, she did in silence . . ."

Pim drew Noel into his arms, stroking the back of her head. "She's safe now, love. She's with us, and that's where she's going to stay. We'll deal with everything that comes our way, as a family. I have every confidence the police will catch-up with Lester and put the matter to rest."

"It will take Kate a long time to get over what happened to her," Noel said sadly. "If she ever does."