Blood & Soul

Blood & Soul by Deborah O'Toole (aka Deidre Dalton) is Book #3 in the Bloodline Trilogy.

Emma Beckett is adopted into a loving home as an infant, never knowing the true circumstances of her birth. As a child, she discovers she has unique powers of healing but eventually realizes her abilities could be an instrument of evil, begotten by a bloodthirsty monster.

From Chapter One: The Healer

EMMA BECKETT LOVED walking on the well-worn path to Frolic Cove Beach, enjoying the crisp sound of dry pine needles underneath her feet and the far-off clamor of croaking loons and crashing waves. It was a trail she was quite familiar with, which began in the backyard of her parents' cottage on the outskirts of Mendocino and wound its way through a small forest to the Atlantic Ocean.

She had learned to walk on the same path, just shy of her first birthday, nearly four years ago. Her parents took treks every early morning and evening, getting their quota of exercise for the day. Cabral and Darcy Beckett thrived in the natural environment, as did their daughter.

One morning in late September, just a month before her fifth birthday on Halloween, Emma got ahead of her parents on the path to the sea, delighting in the cooler air of autumn as she stomped on the pine needles with glee.

"She's a quick one," Cabral noted, and not for the first time. "It's those long legs of hers."

Darcy beamed. "She's one of a kind, our Emma."

Their daughter was unusually tall for her age, slender with colt-like legs and a tiny waist. Her hair, which she kept short, was the color of wheat, falling in naturally curly tendrils around her face. Her fair, unblemished skin was complimented by cornflower blue eyes. In contrast, her parents were of medium to small stature with black hair. Cabral possessed green eyes while Darcy had warm, chestnut brown orbs.

"Not too far ahead, Em," Cabral called out to his daughter as they walked on the path. "Stay where we can see you."

Emma waved her hand over her head without looking back at her parents. She suddenly came to a stop, where she stared into a pink-and-gold heather bush on the left side of the path. She knelt down, touching the ground in front of her.

"What's she doing?" Darcy asked in curiously.

"She's being a child," Cabral replied with a smile. "Every little thing, and every single day, are new adventures for her."

As they drew closer, Cabral and Darcy saw that Emma was looking down at a squirrel, who lay prone on its side on the ground, a large gash in one of its front legs.

Emma looked over her shoulder at her parents, worry written on her face. "He's hurt," she told them plaintively. "His leg has a boo-boo."

"Emma," Cabral spoke sternly. "Get away from that animal. It could be rabid."

"Can't," she replied succinctly. She reached out and touched the squirrel, laying the palm of her hand on the injured leg.

"Emma, no!" Darcy cried out.

Cabral spring forward, scooping his daughter into his arms. He was ready to begin chastising her, but paused when he saw her face. She was smiling, her cornflower eyes alight with a sense of happiness.

Darcy joined them, grabbing Emma's hands and looking them over. "You shouldn't have done that, Em. The squirrel is small and cute, I know, but some of them might carry diseases."

"But I made him better," Emma insisted. "Look and see."

Cabral and Darcy looked down at the creature, noting it was a typical ground squirrel with a long, broad-plumed tail. It was smoky grey in color, with rusty cinnamon highlights and a white underside. The animal was now moving, standing upright and making chattering noises as he gazed at Emma in Cabral's arms. The gash on his leg had all but disappeared, made evident when he held his tiny paws in front of his mouth. With one last chatter, the squirrel dashed off into the woods.

"His name is Chaz," Emma announced airily. "And he'll be back tomorrow."

Cabral and Darcy glanced at one another over Emma's head as she relaxed contentedly in her father's arms.

"Did you see it?" Cabral asked softly.

Darcy nodded. "I saw the gash on its leg, same as you. And then it was gone."

"Maybe our eyes are playing tricks on us," he offered hopefully.

"Could be," she agreed. "I haven't had my coffee yet, so it is a distinct possibility."

Cabral set Emma back on the ground, where she placed her feet one at a time. "Are you ready to go to the beach?"

Emma nodded vigorously. "Yep. I'll see Chaz tomorrow." She began skipping ahead of them again, stomping on the pine needles with renewed enthusiasm.

Cabral and Darcy held hands as they followed her, smiling and enjoying the full morning with relish.

Life was perfect.

* * *

EMMA HAD ALWAYS been a lover of animals. The seemed to be collectively drawn to her, whether they be wild or domestic. It was as if the creatures sensed her kindness and unconditional love, confident in the knowledge - albeit instinctively - that she would never harm them.

Chaz did indeed come around the next day, appearing in Emma's casement window sill. Her bedroom was on the second floor of the Beckett cottage, the large, wood-framed window overlooking the backyard and a vast array of encroaching pine trees and other greenery, while the Pacific Ocean shimmered off in the distance. The room itself was light and airy, the walls painted cream and white, and the ceiling adorned with glow-in-the-dark ceiling appliqués that depicted stars and triple moon symbols. The stars winked subtly when the room was dark, the triple moons seeming to glow around their outer edges. A cherry wood vanity table was placed in line with the center of the window, a small smoky-glass lamp positioned on the surface. Emma's bed was a double sheer yellow canopy, with lacy, fringed pillows and stuffed animals scattered to all corners.

The layout made it easy for Chaz to reach Emma's bedroom window. He simply scurried up the pine tree right against the cottage, leapt to the scalloped eave and made his way directly to the window.

Emma awakened to the sun bathing her face, as was often the case. She yawned and stretched her arms above her head. She turned her head to look at the window, and then squealed with delight when she saw Chaz peering in, his tiny paws on the glass. Leaping out of bed, she sped to the casement and flung open the right-side pane.

"Chaz!" She breathed. "I'm so glad to see you!"

He chattered to her in greeting, and then darted through the open window. He came to a stop on her vanity table, staring up at her as he resumed chattering. Emma reached out and stroked the top of his head gently, using her forefinger.

"Are you hungry?" Emma asked him, as if she was addressing a person. In her mind, she saw no difference. "We have nutty granola downstairs. I'll be right back."

She knew her parents were still sleeping. The cottage was quiet as she made her way down the end-curled stairs, clutching at the wood balustrade as she neared the bottom. She hurried to the kitchen, her ankle-length Mickey Mouse cotton nightgown trailing behind her as her bare feet slapped against the hardwood floors.

The kitchen was large, with dark marble counters and black, shiny appliances, and a roomy pantry with lined shelves. After grabbing a granola bar from a cupboard near the refrigerator, Emma went back toward the stairs. As she passed through the living room, she spied the family ginger cat, Jinji, a Maine coon with a perpetually grumpy look despite his gentle nature. He lay in sleepy repose on a couch, only giving the young girl a cursory glance.

Once she was back upstairs in her bedroom, Emma ripped open the granola bar and sprinkled bits of it on the vainly table. Chaz gathered several pieces and stuffed them into his cheeks, pausing to eat a few of them on occasion. Emma watched him, fascinated by his adept movements and instinctive need to sequester food for later consumption.

Jinji strolled into the room, jumping gracefully onto Emma's bed. The cat was still, but alert, as he stared at Chaz on the vanity table. Jinji did not go into crouching mode for an attack, but rather regarded the squirrel with piqued curiosity.

Emma glanced at Jinji. "You won't hurt Chaz, will you?"

Jinji meowed loudly, staring at Emma but not moving. His gaze returned to Chaz.

Emma stood watching Chaz as he ate. "We should all be able to live together in the same house," she reasoned with childish certainty. "But I don't think mommy and daddy will like it."

Chaz began chattering again, while Jinji finally moved from his still position. He meowed and rubbed against Emma's body as she stood near the foot of the bed. Emma smiled contentedly, scratching Jinji behind his ears.

"Em?" Darcy's horrified voice broke the tender spell. "What are you doing?"

Emma turned to look at her mother, who stood in the bedroom doorway, dressed in her purple terrycloth robe, her hair tousled from sleep.

"I told you Chaz would be back," Emma replied airily. "He was hungry, so I gave him a granola bar."

Darcy stepped closer, a look of concern on her face. "But not in your room, Em. He can't stay in your room."

"Jinji does," Emma responded matter-of-factly. "Why can't Chaz?"

"Chaz is a wild animal," Darcy pointed out, her daughter's logic causing her to smile. "Jinji isn't wild. He's been vaccinated."

"But I made Chaz better," Emma insisted stubbornly. "He doesn't have germs or boo-boos anymore. He's not sick, and he won't hurt me."

Darcy sighed. How could she argue with the sound reasoning of a child? Emma was merely stating what she knew to be the truth. In her mind, she had indeed "cured" Chaz. And, to be honest, how could Darcy protest the declaration? The squirrel had been injured the day before, but was now apparently in tip-top shape after being touched by Emma. While not caring to delve into the implications of it - it was simply too fantastic, and had to be a coincidence - Darcy accepted her daughter's conclusion.

To Darcy's surprise, Cabral was accepting of Chaz's presence in Emma's room. The squirrel showed no signs of leaving, so he helped his daughter create a bed for the animal - an old shoebox lined with a well-worn but soft kitchen towel - placing it on the vanity table with a small bowl of water.

By the end of the day, Chaz was also using Jinji's litter box when the need arose. The cat did not seem bothered in the least, and in fact took to grooming the small creature after Chaz settled down for the night.

The little Beckett family was growing.