wrath of the Sea Queen (117 page)

"Then I need to leave."  Vin put his foot down on the floor in front of the wheelchair, bringing it to a jarring stop.

"Mr. Harding, you cannot go anywhere.  Security has already locked the exits.  That's what lockdown means.  Nobody comes in and nobody goes out.  You are going to have to wait."

"Perhaps, but I do not have to do it getting some useless tests run.  Make another note in my chart.  I am checking
myself
out against medical advice.  I am refusing the tests and any further treatment.  As soon as the doors are open, I
'
m leaving this
place
."  Vin stood up, pulled off the hospital gown, and tugged his polo shirt over his head. 
Without a glance back, h
e stalked off
toward
the emergency room entrance to wait.

Lorrie watched him walk away.  She could not remember ever seeing Vin quite so upset.  He
had always been
much
better at controlling himself.  Clearly, something was bothering him.  Lorrie smiled at the prospect and turned away to tend to other patients.

Vin sat in a chair in the ER waiting room
,
conveniently out of
sight of the nurses' station
while he watched the exit
.  He hop
ed
that Dr. Simmons would not stroll by and find him sitting there.  He did not want to
have to explain himself
.  Instead,
Vin
closed his eyes and attempted to contact C
a
eli.

"
C
a
eli
, c
an you hear me?
"  Vin got no response to each of three attempts. 

On the last attempt, however, Vin thought he brush
ed the edges
of her mind.  Perhaps she had been sleeping. 
If so, he did not want to wake her. 
Vin did not press the contact, but rather held the connection open and waited to see if C
a
eli would answer him.  Meanwhile, the rain outside began to falter in its drumbeat.  The storm was beginning to ease up.

C
a
eli concentrated on the water around her.  She concentrated on the storm over
the island until she found the clouds that were
hammering away near
est
the hospital.  This
is what
C
a
eli needed to stop.  How hard could it be?  She had already proven to herself that she could start a rain shower and diminish large waves.  Comparatively, stopping a downpour should be a relatively easy task.

"
Do you believe that you did those things?
"  Rika's voice laughed at C
a
eli.

C
a
eli ignored the taunting voice and focused on her task. 
Again,
the comforting sensation
of
the water triggered a response from her gift.  C
a
eli ordered her thoughts,
focus
ing on
what she wanted to accomplish.  She did not know any other way to perform the deed.  So far, C
a
eli had simply willed the action to happen, and it did.  If Rika was telling the truth, and she had not do
ne
these things herself, then this attempt would fail. 
A
t least C
a
eli would know that she did not possess the skill she thought she did and would not continue to rely on it.  On the other hand, if she succeeded,
C
a
eli
would still be uncertain
of
whether she accomplished the task on her own or whether Rika permitted her to do so by
supplementing
her
gift
.  C
a
eli hoped she would be able to tell the difference.  There was only one way to find out.

She
continued her effort to break up the storm tormenting
the other part of the island.
 
C
a
eli
sensed
the rain diminish
ing
at her request. 
Her gift made her aware that
the slackening of the downpour was the result of her
effort
and not Rika's
doing
. 
Of this, she was certain. 
C
a
eli
was succeeding until distraction ended her work.

"
C
a
eli, c
an you hear me?
"
  Vin called her.

A moment before  sh
e
could reply to
Vin
,
something solid slammed into
C
a
eli
's
legs, knocking her from her feet.  C
a
eli tried to stop herself from falling, but tripped over the unknown object wrapped around her legs.  As she splashed into the frothy water
and s
a
nk beneath the surface
, C
a
eli realized th
at Max was clinging to her
.
  His grip on her legs was so tight that she was unable to stand or get her balance
as she continued to slip further beneath the waves
.  C
a
eli tried to reach down and pry Max's hands loose, but he would not let go.

"
Max, please turn me loose.
"  C
a
eli tried to speak to him mentally, knowing he could hear her.

"
No pretty C
a
eli
!
  You should not talk to the Sea Queen.  You can't listen to
anything she says
.  You can't do what she wants.  Mr. Vin says I have to keep an eye on you.
"

"
Ok Max, but you have to let me get up.  Please let go.
"

C
a
eli
could feel Rika's presence
surround
Max, and she was not able to raise a barrier around the boy as she could for herself.
 
Rika
prevent
ed
her from helping him.  C
a
eli worried that Max would drown if he did not release her and make his way to the surface. 
Thankfully, strong hands reached beneath the
six feet of churning
water and pulled
them both up.

As
C
a
eli
was pulled out of the water, another set of hands tugged on Max and managed to tear his vice-like grip
from
her legs. 
H
is small fingernails t
ore
scratches
across her skin
as he
struggled to hold on and
desperately
tried
to renew his hold once
it had been
removed.

"No!  No!  No!  I have to help pretty C
a
eli."  Max strained within Apela's embrace.  He kicked his feet and squirmed, but Apela did not relinquish his hold on his son.  Instead, he
held steady and worked to calm Max's anxiety.

"There now
, s
he's all right.  Calm down, my boy.  We've got her out of the water. 
She's safe.  Co
me with me. 
Let's get in
out of the rain.
"  Apela carried a resistant Max
up to the lounge.

"
That goes for y
ou, too
.
  Come inside
, C
a
eli
," Ben echoed Apela's instructions.

"Not yet
.
  I have to finish
what I started
, Ben
."  C
a
eli started to step
toward
the water again.

"As far as I'm concerned, you
a
re done. 
Whatever you were doing is over. 
Don't make me
haul you up there.  My back may still be sore, but I
wi
ll
risk the pain and
toss you over my shoulder
if I
must
."  Ben played the guilt card that he knew C
a
eli
c
ould
no
t refuse.

C
a
eli did not doubt that Ben would follow through on his words, and she could not stand the thought of causing him
any
pain from having to do so.
  Not only that, but Ben was
drenched
.  She did not want him to catch a cold.
 
C
a
eli
walked
as
sullenly
as a punished teenager
toward her room with Ben
a few steps behind
.  Salma wait
ed
anxiously
inside the shelter of the
covered porch
.  C
a
eli glanced over her shoulder once as they neared the building
, hearing
Rika's mocking laughter in her mind.