wrath of the Sea Queen (151 page)

"
I
am
wondering the same about you
;
but
, yes,
Max is fine. 
He hid until Apela found him. 
Come on
.  L
et's
talk about this at the hotel.  The water in here is still rising, and you don't look
very
well.  Ben
,
will
you
take Max
so I can
help
C
a
eli
?
  Give me your hand,
H
oney,
"
Vin answered.

C
a
eli seemed to shake her head and looked down at the water, letting go of Max.  She sat in silence for a moment, her long, wet hair falling forward to cover whatever emotion might have shown on her face.  When she finally looked up at Vin, her dark, blue eyes
reflected
resentment
.
  Vin heard a voice in his mind that did not belong to C
a
eli.

"
You think the boy
hi
d
from me
?
Ha! 
He
cannot hide
from
his mother
. 
Max
is mine
, and s
he
certainly
cannot resist much longer.  Her endurance wears thinner by the day.  She grows weaker
already
.
  Of course
,
she won't have to worry about that once she accepts my help, willingly or not.
"

C
a
eli rose up and stared at Vin
with
the
look
of someone who
was meeting him for the very first time
.  Her blue eyes looked him
over,
appraising the quality of a prize
stallion
up for sale
.  Vin knew
this
was not C
a
eli, but rather
had to
be
the
woman
she
had
mentioned
previously
, Rika
. 

Vin
could see immortality in those
blue
orbs
.  The eyes were similar to o
nes he had seen
on an occasion
six months earlier
.  Somehow, this person or spirit
managed to gain control of C
a
eli.  Vin intended to remedy that.

"
Who are you?  What have you done with C
a
eli?
"
  Vin demanded.

"
Eyvindr
, y
ou are the
main
reason she r
efuses me. 
She is very attached to you, and that makes it much more difficult for me. 
Y
et
,
y
ou also
gave her
that which
I
greatly desire
.  Do not worry.  Your wife is safe with me.  Her pain and suffering cease when she is with me. 
She will never suffer pain
or
injury with me. 
Is
n't
that what you want for her?
"

"
Yes, but not like this.  I will not give her up, and C
a
eli would not want this.
"
  Vin refused to speak with Rika mentally. 
T
hat was
a privilege she did not deserve and
that he
refused to share with
Rika
.

"
Are you sure about that? 
Then h
ow am I here now
? 
Nonetheless,
C
a
eli is here, before you still, for now.  Perhaps, if I cannot convince her
to accept my friendship
, then maybe
you can do something to
help me.
"

Before Vin could
voice the obvious objection
, C
a
eli reached out and placed her hand firmly against his chest, directly over his heart.  Vin felt a tingling sensation race from her hand and course through his body. 
He
could
not move
away
.  The feeling was pleasant and
incredibly
strong, but it also made him angry.  He did not know how to reach C
a
eli's mind, but he could reach her body.  He could reach out and take hold of her
right
now
.  He could
carry her away from this place, out of the water.  Would that work?  Would it help C
a
eli
fight
Rika
or
would it
hinder her
?  Vin
refrained
.  He needed more information before he could act.

C
a
eli removed her hand and step
ped out of
Vin's
reach with a self-satisfied grin on her face.

"
There.  I'm sure that will entice your assistance
,
"
Rika
said
.

"
What do you want with C
a
eli?
"
  Vin asked.

"
I
want
what she c
an
be.  Your wife has what I desire, and only she has
the proper heritage
to g
rant
it to me. 
She will give me what I want. 
You
, Eyvindr,
can be a part of this or you can become a
pleasant
,
fading
,
memory
.  Either is acceptable
.
"

"
Do you think to deter me with
half answers and
r
iddles
?
  I don't have any idea what you
a
re talking about, and I
a
m not going to stand here trying to figure it out.  Let C
a
eli go or your memory of me will be anything but pleasant.
"
  The wind stirred around Vin as his anger grew with her
mysteries
and threats.

"
S
uch
passion
you have;
a
nd w
ell packaged, too. 
T
here is something special about you
,
isn't there
, Eyvindr
?
  I can feel it in the air
.  I
can see why she wants to stay with you
; but her time is up
. 
Y
ou will help me
because y
ou simply won't be able to resist
her
.  Pulling your strings will be
the most
fun
I
ha
ve had in decades
.
"
 

Max star
ed
wide-eyed at C
a
eli and backed
away from
her reach until he bumped into Ben's leg.  Ben put his arm on the boy's sh
oulder for reassurance. 
Ben
could see that
something was terribly wrong
with C
a
eli
and watch
ed
for a
c
ue from Vin about how he was going to handle it.
 

"
What's wrong
,
Max?
"
  Ben said quietly to the child.