wrath of the Sea Queen (150 page)

"
Yes, Max?
"

"
I'm sorry that
pretty C
a
eli got hurt because she
help
ed
me again.  And I'm sorry that I bit you.
"

Salma couldn't contain a slight giggle at the last part, and even Ben grinned
,
despite the severity of the situation.  Vin knelt down beside Max and smiled slightly at the innocence before him, though he was trying to put on a stern look.

"
Now Max, we've talked about this already.  You cannot say you
a
re sorry for her choice.  But
,
if I get rabies from that bite, I might have to feed you to the sharks myself.
"
  Vin did grin this time. 

"
Vin is
only
teasing
you, Max
.  He wouldn't really feed you to the sharks
;
would you, Vin?
"
  Salma prompted Vin to look at Max's face.  The
boy
could not tell
if Vin was serious or
joking
.

"
Of course
I wouldn't
.  Don't worry, Max.  C
a
eli can be tough when she needs to be.  I promise we
wi
ll find her.
  I bet she got lost on the beach and is trying to find her way back
right now
.  She never was very good with directions.
"
 
Vin's reassurance was as much
for himself as it was for Max.

Unexpectedly, t
he words seemed to strike a chord with Max, and his eyes lit up.

"
Lost?  The only place she could get lost is in the cave.  I
w
on't get lost.
"
  Max took off running
toward
the mouth of the cave. 
Apela started out after him, but
Vin
begged him to stay.

"Please, let me go.  I will make sure that he is ok.  Nothing will happen to him.  I give you my word."  After a moment of consideration, Apela nodded approval and Vin rushed off to catch up with Max.

"
Salma, why don't you run up
to the hotel
and get you
r
bag ready in case
we find
C
a
eli
in there.  If
she is
,
I suspect she is going to need your help.  W
e
wi
ll bring her
to you
.  Apela, would you mind to go with
Salma
and see if you can help? 
Don't worry. 
We'll
both
look after Max,
"
Ben requested
and offered his assurance for the boy as well
.

He needed to help Vin search the cave
and
did not want Salma to be alone in the meantime.  Apela would keep an eye on her
without making Salma feel like she had a babysitter
. 
It would also help distract both of them from their worry for their loved ones. 
With that, Ben
followed Vin
and Max
into the cave.

"
Don't be afraid, Sister.  I will ease your pain.  Your skills will be needed soon, and you must be well enough to use them.
"

Salma remembered the words whispered to her at the hotel and dreaded what they were going to find.

C
a
eli woke again to find the water
pooled
almost to her shoulders as she
lay th
ere
with her head on the rock
. 
Either she
ha
d been asleep for a long time or it was raining
very hard
.  Perhaps
it was
both.

"
C
a
eli, please!  Can you hear me?  Please, please answer me, Honey.
"

"Vin," she
answered
verbally
in a voice no stronger than a
whisper.

She tried to stand, but the pain in her stomach was intense.  Her legs ached and her jaw
throbbed
as if she
had
lost a prize fight. 
C
a
eli
did
n
o
t have the strength to use her
healing
skills on herself.  With all that had gone wrong
since she started using
her
gift
, she was
a
fraid
even
to try. 
However,
C
a
eli
was aware that she
had to move or
her situation
would
get
even worse
. 
Despite the pain, C
a
eli
slowly
pulled herself up the wall until she was standing, on
ly one
small cry
o
f
pain
escap
ed
her lips
.  She dared not look down to see how badly she
was
hurt
.  Instead
,
she
tore off the tattered, lower portion of her blouse and pressed it against
the
raw, exposed area on her stomach,
hoping this would
help ease the pain while she move
d
about.

When the water in the second room of the cavern nearly reached the boy's
waist
, Vin hoisted Max up into his arms.  They could move more quickly through the rest of the cave that way.  Max pointed the way as he led Vin deeper into the cavern, with Ben only a few steps behind.  They rounded the most recent turn and entered a huge room with a floor like a swimming pool.  That pool was about a third full.  Along the two longer sides, deep concave tubes were overflowing like a section of white water rapids, quickly filling the depression
in the center
.

"Pretty C
a
eli!"  Max
repeatedly
called he
r name.

"
C
a
eli, are you in here?
"  Vin also called to her.

In addition to
the water rushing through the cave and the pain pounding in her head, C
a
eli heard Vin's voice
again
a
nd answered
in kind
.

"
Vin, I'm here.
"

She
tried to walk forward, but
only got two steps before the force of the
churning
water knocked her from her feet, sending her sprawling.

"C
a
eli!"  Vin called out loud at the same time as Max.

"Pretty C
a
eli!"

V
in quickly tossed Max the short distance through the air to Ben and plunged down into the
pool-like area of frigid
water to aid his wife.  It took him a minute to reach her in the frothy water, but Vin was finally able to get a good hold on C
a
eli's arm and pull her up
with great relief
. 

When she
f
inally st
ood
shakily before him, C
a
eli held onto
Vin's
shoulders for support, looking at him quizzically for a moment. 

"C
a
eli, thank God!  Are you all right?  What happened?"  Vin questioned as he hug
ged
her close.

She tensed up and let out a small cry as his embrace exacerbated her pain.  Vin quickly eased his hold and
tried to hold
her at arm's length to d
etermine how bad she was hurt.

Max took that opportunity to wiggle out of Ben's arms
, slide down to the bottom of the depression,
and
s
wim
over
to her.  He threw his arms around her leg, causing her
more pain.  She
look
ed
down a
nd notice
d
the boy
for the first time.  C
a
eli fell immediately to her knees, heedless of the water that nearly submerged them both
.  She suddenly
remember
ed
the other thing that
was
nagging at her.  With tears in her eyes,
and ignoring the pain,
C
a
eli
hugged Max tightly.

"
I'm so sorry
that
I didn't come back for you, Max.  I knew that I should, but I couldn't do it. 
I
s he ok
, Vin
?
"
  T
he t
ears
overflowed
her brown eyes as she looked up a
t
Vin.