wrath of the Sea Queen (128 page)

"
You can lie to yourself if you want
, but y
ou can feel
the truth
.  I can make it feel worse if
you need me to
make the point clear
er
.  Vin
will
know you are
to blame
.  He will think you are going crazy when you start talking about hearing voices.
"

"
Only what
,
C
a
eli?
" 
Vin
noticed
the way her brow suddenly furrowed and wondered what else was on her mind.

"Leave me alone!"  C
a
eli unknowingly insisted out loud.  Rika's presence disappeared as quickly as it had shown up.

"C
a
eli?"  Vin was shocked by her outburst.

"I'm sorry, Vin.  I wasn't talking to you," C
a
eli apologized.

"
If not me, then who
?"

"Rika."

"There's that name again. 
I already don't like her. 
I assume she is the one
who
attacked me at the hospital.  Y
ou are
obviously having an issue with her, so
m
aybe you better
go ahead and
tell me about her.  I don't like what I'm hearing
or feeling
when her
name comes up
." 
E
ach time C
a
eli mentioned Rika's name it was either in anger, fear, or pain. 
Though Vin still hoped
Ben
would discover details about the woman from his internet search
, perhaps he could find out more
directly
from C
a
eli.

"I'm not certain I fully understand her.  There is something else that I would
prefer to
discuss
," C
a
eli
wanted to
change the subject.

"
Only if you promise me that we
wi
ll revisit th
is
discussion about Rika.
"

"
W
e will."

"Ok
then.
"

"
I wonder
ed
if Salma was
absolutely
certain about the energy bars
.
  Is that the only thing she
found
wrong with me
?"

"C
a
eli, are you hurting again?
"
  Vin thought that perhaps her condition had flared up again.  Maybe he should have
been more insistent about not letting her work in the kitchen
.

"No, well, yes…not exactly."

"Stay here.  I'll get Salma," Vin started to get up, but was stopped by C
a
eli's hand on his arm.

"Wait, Vin.  I'm ok.  I don't need Salma.  I'm just not certain how to answer the question."

"Then tell me why you asked your
question
?"

"Salma said that she
sensed that
I
might be
struggling with two problems. 
I think s
he might be right.  So,
I
am
curious to know what she meant," C
a
eli explained.

"
Well,
Ben was supposed to tell her about the metal rod, if that's what you
mean
.  Salma didn't mention it as
being
part of the problem.  Do you want to tell me
exactly what happened
with that
?  All I know is what Apela told me this morning," Vin said.

"What did he tell you?"

"That he found Max's metal
crayon
covered in blood
near the front of the plane
where you
fell
.
 
It w
as your blood
, wasn't it,
C
a
eli?
"

"Yes, but I didn't feel it
when it
happen
ed
. 
It didn't even hurt, at first.
"  C
a
eli gave Vin a summarized description of the injuries she sustained as a result of the crash, verifying the cause of the white ring on her stomach.

"
It bled quite a lot until I got
it
bandage
d
.  Thankfully, my dark shirt
merely
looked wet,
hid
ing
the blood from everyone."  C
a
eli
continued.

"
Not
everyone. 
I saw the blood when I
wrung
the water out of your clothes on the ship.  I also
discovered
the white ring on your stomach.  It look
ed
like the wound was almost healed.  How is that possible?  I know you heal quickly,
Honey
, but not that fast."

"Rika
healed me
.  She was showing me what my gift
had the potential to
do.  That's how I knew that I could hel
p
Ben
when he got shot
.  I'm not sure what to make of her yet
," C
a
eli said with a
barely
stifled yawn.

"All right, I won't ask
anything more about her
,
for now
.  I know we still have a lot to
discuss,
but
let's
deal with
the issue you asked about
first. 
Do you want Salma to check it for you
to be sure it
'
s healed properly
?"

"
I wasn't asking about
that
injury
specifically,
and I have already mentioned it to Salma
.
  I don't think it's a problem.  Salma can look at it tomorrow to be on the safe side.
  I
a
m
suddenly
feeling
rather
tired.
  Let's finish this tomorrow, ok?
"

"
Yes
, but a
nswer one more question
before
you drift off
again
," Vin persisted.

"Sure."

"
It's an important question.
"  Rika
's echo
returned.

"
How can you know that?
"

"
He
is easy to read, and I pay attention.
"

"
You are being
rude.  Stay out of our personal conversation.
"

"
How will you answer him
?
"

"
I have no idea what his question will be.
"

"
Then you are stupid or you choose not to see it,
" Rika said in a condescending tone.

"
Regardless of my awareness, our discussion is none of your business
.  Go away
.
"

"
Oh, but it is very much so,
" Rika persisted, much to
C
a
eli
's irritation.

"
For the last time, leave me alone!
"

"
I will leave when I
'm ready
.  I am curious to hear your answer.  Perhaps
it will help me discover
a way to change your mind.
"

"C
a
eli?  Did I lose you again? 
Honey, y
ou really do need to
sleep
," Vin unknowingly interrupted the conversation, for which C
a
eli was g
rateful
.

"S
orry, I must be more tired than I realized. 
What
wa
s the question
?"

Vin ran his hand purposefully beneath C
a
eli's shirt and
slowly
across the bare skin of her stomach
from one side to the other
. 
She laughed softly as his fingers tickled her skin.