wrath of the Sea Queen (126 page)

"You don't have to worry
about me
.
  I'm fine.
"

"How many years
now
have you been giving me that polite
ly
inaccurate answer?  You know I'm not buying it, right?"

"I suppose; but I am much better.
"

"Yes,
and
I
am
very
glad to see it.
  I couldn't stand to lose you.
"

"
Lose me? 
It will take more than a few unpleasant moments to take me away from you. 
You, on the other hand, were a prize
well
worth
the
fight.  She tested me, you know, but I wasn't about to give up.  I wasn't going to let her scare Max either
.  Thankfully
, I did have some help with that last part.
 
You won't believe who showed up!  And
Max
called him Uncle…
"

"Whoa!  C
a
eli, what are you talking about?  Who
tested
y
ou?  Who scar
ed
Max?"

"Rika.  You didn't think she just let me pull you out
of the water
without making me work for it
, did you?  Oh wait, I guess you
don't know
very
much about her
, except what you learned at the hospital
."
 

"No, we haven't
found
much time to talk about anything yet
.  W
e will
,
but there is something you need to know
first
, C
a
eli.  I
didn't
simply
feel your pain earlier. 
Our link gave me the impression that
you
r life was
at stake
. 
It let me know so much more about you. 
Our link
is so much stronger than either of us realized before
, and
i
t
was right
. 
Thankfully
, Salma found the answer
in those energy bars
.  It was a good thing that you called
for
her
help
when you did.
"

"I didn't
actually
get a chance to call Salma. 
Max
went and got Ben to help me.
  I still need to thank him for that.
"

"Speaking of Max, are you sure it's a good idea to let him form such an attachment to you?  Here
, finish off your water
."  Vin handed her the bottle she had been sipping from for the
last
ten minutes.  It was three quarters empty.

C
a
eli yawned. 
Vin posed
a good question.  Max would
, undoubtedly,
be upset when they left at the end of the week
end
, but she would not abandon his friendship. 
Apela had given her an idea that would allow
her
and Vin
to stay in touch. 
Attempting to stifle another yawn, C
a
eli re
sponded
to Vin's query.

"I like
Max
.  Besides, I could not deter him if I wanted.  There is something endearing about him
.  H
e is smart
,
full of
curiosity
, and
strong-willed. 
Did I mention that y
ou
two
have a mutual
, angelic
friend
?
  I'm
certain
he will
look
out for
Max
after we leave. 
Just to be sure
,
I
have an idea for keeping in
touch with him."  C
a
eli
could barely hold her eyes open now.

"Ok, we
wil
l
be sure to
do that.  I
can see
this is
working
at last
, so I better tell you
quickly
.  I
'm sorry
for doing this
, C
a
eli."

"
D
oing
what?"

"
Salma laced your water with
medication
to help you rest
.
  I should have told you about it as soon as she told me, but I could tell that you needed the rest; so I let you continue to drink
it
.  I wasn’t sure if it would even work because of your gift.  Everything you
ha
ve had to drink since you woke
earlier
has had
a small dose of
the medicine in it, and it is
finally
starting to
work
,
"
Vin explained.

"Vin
, w
hy
would you do that
?"  C
a
eli
stopped mid-drink
, stunned,
and
let the
water
bottle
slip from her hand
.
 
Vin
caught it before it spilled.

"
Honestly, b
ecause you won't
let yourself rest
. 
Salma told me that y
ou
ha
ve been up and about
most of the
day.  You have taken care of everyone except yourself. 
I
'
m sorry.  I know how much you dislike medic
ation
.  B
ut
,
the one thing
you
really
need
is
sleep
, and you
simply
won't
stop
. 
I love you
, C
a
eli
.  It
i
s my
responsibility
to make sure you
are
well
, and
I will do whatever it takes to make that happen. 
Please don't be
mad
."

"S
alma
should know better.  I
asked
her no
t to do this again
. 
A
doctor is supposed to respect her patient's wishes.  I made myself
quite
clear," C
a
eli sputtered in frustration and stood up from the bench.
  She took a few wobbly steps toward the sliding door.
  If anyone had been watching, they might have thought she was drunk.

Vin jumped up afte
r
C
a
eli
as
she
stumble
d
and caught hold of her
to prevent her from falling
.

"
Don't blame Salma.  I
t wasn’t entirely her fault.  We both
wa
nted
to help you.  She merely
provided
the
method
. 
Generally
, when you
get
sick, you always
improve
after a good night's sleep.
  I
only wanted what was
best
for you
, Honey.
"

"I understand
what you meant to do
,
Vin,
but this
is not the way
. 
No
t with
drugs
. 
I
ha
ve been drugged enough for one lifetime.  Please
,
h
elp me into the bathroom
so that I can use
untainted water
to
clear
this stuff out of my system
."

"I'm really sorry,
C
a
eli
.
  I guess
this
wasn't the best idea after all.
"

"It's ok
, Vin
.  Just please don't do
that to me
again.  I ha
ve
good
reason for not wanting the medicine.
"  C
a
eli turned on the faucet at the sink and pushed her hands beneath the running water.