wrath of the Sea Queen (155 page)

"No, don't
move.  Don't try to
get up
, C
a
eli
. 
You're hurt. 
Lie still.
  I’m right here
.
  I've got you.
"

"
Please, Vin. 
Did
Max
get away
?"
  C
a
eli's voice was filled with concern
and fear
.

"Yes, Max is fine.  C
a
eli, can you tell me what happened?
"  Vin hoped she could shed some light on the mystery.

C
a
eli closed her eyes and tried to re
call
the
most recent
event from her memory.  Images flashed through her mind.  She remembered the wave pulling her from the shore
.  C
a
eli
had also perceived R
ika's presence as she rolled through the water
and then ended
up on an island not too far from
the beach
.  Then she vaguely remembered
running out of
a tunnel that
opened into the interior of
a
cave.
  As she took a few steps into the cavern, someone shoved
her
from behind, causing her to stumble and fall.  She slid down into the hollowed out section of the floor that looked like a huge swimming pool.

"
I refused to let him take Max."

"Who?
  Was it that man you mentioned?
"

"I got Max away from him and scared
him
off.  Then we were in the cave, and h
e
hit me
from behind
.
 
I tried to fight him,
Vin
.  I tried my best
,
but Rika
was
..."  C
a
eli
was too upset to
continue.  The images began to
get
jumble
d
in her mind. 
C
a
eli
felt her pain anew,
and
al
l she could see now was the face of the man in black.  C
a
eli tried to open her eyes to abolish the sight, but her eyelids
were as heavy as
lead weights.  She could not pry them open.

"Vin,
please
help me,
"
she begged.

"
What can I do
, Honey
?
  I'll do anything.
"

"
W
ake
me
from this nightmare.
  I can
’t
even
force my eyes open.
 
Please, h
elp me wake up.
"

C
a
eli
reached for him and
tried to sit up again.  This time Vin could not deny her.  He very carefully eased C
a
eli upright in the bed and moved
close to her
so that she could lean against his chest
without having to move too far
.  Vin
could see that even the smallest
movement was hurting her, but C
a
eli
wanted
the security of
his
closeness
more than anything else at the moment
,
and
she
was willing to endure the pain to feel s
afe
.  C
a
eli was scared.

"C
a
eli
, I
know this is difficult for you, especially since Salma gave you medicine to make you sleep.  I
think
…"

"No
more
medicine.  You promised."

"I promised not to do so without telling you.  Salma insisted that it was necessary, and I agree.  I can't
watch
you suffer like this."

"You're forcing me to sleep.  Please don't
."

"
D
on't worry about the medicine
.  Just listen to me.  If you can't tell me what happened,
I
know another way.  Will you try it for me?
"

"Yes."

"
I want you to s
how me what happened.
 
T
hink about what happened as if
you
a
re watching TV.  I'll do the rest.  It's a trick the angels taught me," Vin explained.

C
a
eli thought about seeing the man during
her
walk that morning as Vin covered her eyes with his hand.  He concentrated on their link and focused on C
a
eli's thoughts.  Closing his eyes, Vin was able to see the
same
images
as
C
a
eli.  He
watch
ed
the man approaching C
a
eli and Max on the beach.  Vin also felt C
a
eli's apprehension.

"
It's ok
, Honey
.  He can't hurt you. 
It's just a memory, and I'm right here with you. 
Show me what happened after we left for the conference.
"
  Vin's presence in C
a
eli's mind made her feel safe.

The scene in C
a
eli's mind changed.  She and Max were in the lounge, and the man
stood
on the top of the cave.  Vin watched carefully as C
a
eli relived her attempt to hide Max in the laundry room and lead the man away. 
He cringed when her stomach was slashed open. 
C
a
eli
relived
the pain of the strike
as if it just occurred
, and Vin felt
the
pain
along with her
through their link
. 
Vin
strained to hear the man's words as he spoke to C
a
eli on the ridge.
 
Finally,
C
a
eli was walking along the beach
when
everything
suddenly
went dark.

Vin looked down at C
a
eli.  She had
finally been overcome by the sedative Salma had flowing into
the IV
.  C
a
eli appeared to be sleeping.  Yet, after
only
a minute or two, she began to toss and turn again.  Vin placed his hand over her eyes
once more
.  He wasn't sure if he would be able to view
C
a
eli's
dream, but
he
intended to try.  This is where she
had been
facing her darkest memor
ies
, and Vin wanted to see
them
for himself.

Without delay,
a
fight rage
d
in
C
a
eli's
mind.
  Vin
did not see how she arrived in the cave
,
already bruised and battered,
but he fell with her into the deep section of the cavern floor
. 
C
a
eli
put forth
a valiant
defense
against
the man in black
, but something or someone hamper
ed
her efforts.  Vin already knew from C
a
eli's words that Rika was part of th
is
problem.  He attribute
d the unseen hindrance to her.

It was extremely difficult for Vin to watch helplessly as C
a
eli
ended up
on the losing end of the fight. 
No matter how many times she hit the man, she never seemed to cause him any
significant
damage.  On the contrary, each of his strikes was highly effective. 
Through his link to C
a
eli, Vin discovered that she
not only reliv
ed
the fight
in her memory
,
but
she
also
experienc
ed
the pain
of each
of
each hit
all over again.
  No wonder she wanted to wake up
.  C
a
eli was fighting and suffering as if she were still standing in th
at
cave
; and Salma had
unknowingly
forced her into this
chemically-induced
reenactment where the pain was
inescapable
and the outcome never changed
.