wrath of the Sea Queen (123 page)

"Sure enough, I found the same
chemical
compounds in the energy bar that I found in C
a
eli's blood. 
I hooked her up to an IV and started treatment right away.  Vin,
I think she must have gotten bars
from
a contaminated batch.  Heaven only knows how that happened
or how many more are floating around out there
.  I
wi
ll have to report the incident, of course.  Nonetheless, I
believe
it was an accident," Salma concluded
, exchanging a meaningful look with Ben.

She did
n
o
t want him to mention the other possibility yet
.
  After noting the uncertain look that passed between Ben and Salma, Vin turned away.
  He walked over to the window, sending Max on yet another run to the kitchen as he walked by.
 
Vin
felt his
ang
e
r
sizzle beneath his skin
. 
He
stared out at the ocean
, not wanting his friends to think he was upset with them.  Poisoned?  Bad luck did have a way of finding C
a
eli, but
it typically
started out
belong
ing
to other people
. 
C
a
eli
typically got
caught up in the trouble
only
because she
was trying to
help
someone
else
through it. 
This was different. 
How much
bad luck
could
C
a
eli
endure? 

C
a
eli was the most caring person Vin
had
ever met
, and she was unfailingly devoted to him
. 
Even through her suffering, C
a
eli's thought
s
had been of Vin's safety, not her own. 
She did
n
o
t deserve to suffer because of someone else's carelessness. 
He hoped that Salma was going to tell him
that
the treatment would
re
solve
C
a
eli
's
problem
permanently
.  Vin couldn't even consider that
it
would
n
o
t
;
and he could
n
o
t bring himself to face either Ben or Salma again
;
not just yet. 
Vin
kept his gaze averted as Ben
finally
walked up beside him and
continued.

"Just to be on the safe side, I
wi
ll make a few calls
to learn
anything
more that I can
on
the bars
tomorrow.  Maybe I can find out if there were any product warnings or recalls issued.  If not, we
wi
ll want to let the proper authorities know.  We don't want other unsuspecting people getting
sick
. 
It will give me something to do
in between Salma's lectures
at the conference," Ben winked at Salma
standing a few steps away
. 

Ben
already knew
that
C
a
eli was going to be all right, despite Vin's current mood.  Salma
had
confided
i
n
him
earlier
.  She also explained
exactly
what she was using to treat C
a
eli and the response she expected. 
Seeing how
well
she handled the medical
situation
, Ben appreciated Salma's skills and knowledge more than ever.

"Thank you both.  Ben, will you do me another favor?  I hate to ask, but I think it's important.  While you
a
re research
ing
online
, will you look up a lady named Rika
?  She would be
associated with this area
in some way.
  Unfortunately, that's all I have to go on.  If you could find anything at all, it would be helpful.  You can use my laptop; just grab it out of my bag." 

Vin still did
n
o
t turn around, therefore he missed the small smile that
Ben and Salma
shared
.  Instead, he stood with his back to the room, leaning his head
on his
arm
as he stood
next to the
window
. 

He
thought
about the week when he
discovered h
e could manipulate
the wind.  It had been the worst week ever, tortuous and
nearly fatal
for
both
he
and C
a
eli
.  Now, C
a
eli
had
discovered a gift of her own, and here they were only two days into
th
at
week.  Already, they
had
fought through a multitude of mis
adventures
.  Vin prayed there would be no correlation between the week he deemed his orientation period and what was now shaping up to be hers.  He did
n
o
t think either of them could endure the rest of the week at this pace.

"Cheer up, Vin.  You
ha
ve only heard the bad news.  Turn around and see the good
."

Salma smiled kindly at him, interrupting his dark thoughts as she
physically
turned Vin around.  She pointed over at C
a
eli, who
was walking in from the kitchen
. 
C
a
eli
smiled at
Vin
, and he quickly straightened up.  Vin did not want C
a
eli to
know that he was
u
pset.  They still had to tell her about the energy bars
, and Vin did not want to scare her by the intensity of his own reaction
.

To Vin, C
a
eli
looked ten times better than she had
only
half an hour ago.  Salma
was
correct
.  T
he cure was working quickly to restore
the damage done
over the past few weeks
.  C
a
eli
's
smile
lifted
a great weight from
Vin's
heart.
He rushed over to
take
her hand and sit her down on one of the three small sofas in the lounge.

"Stay there; I will be right back."  Vin was only gone for a moment.  He returned with a cold bottle of water
, which he offered to C
a
eli
.

"Here,
you look like you could use
this."

"Oh,
tell me she didn't get to
you, too
.
  Salma is under the mistaken impression that
my
ill
ness has turned me into
a
dried up
cactus in the middle of the
scorched
desert.
  She has made it her mission to re
hydrate
me
,
bottle by bottle
,
failing to realize that
I
can only hold so much water before
I
explode.  I
'm already at the
bloated hippopotamus
stage
," C
a
eli
teased
, yawned, and then took a drink
.

CHAPTER
28

"The energy bars?  You're sure?"

"Yes.
  They
ha
ve been gradually poisoning you for weeks. 
The circumstances of
the
past two
days
ha
ve worn
you
down to the point that your body wasn't able to fight it off any longer.  That is w
hy you were having so much pain,
"
Vin repeated Salma's earlier explanation.

"That can't be right
. 
Salma must have made a mistake.  Maybe some of my blood got into
her
sample.  That has to be wh
y the chemicals match so perfectly with the bars.
"