wrath of the Sea Queen (156 page)

Just when Vin thought C
a
eli
's body
could not take any more
abuse at the hands of this strange man
, the man
turned and
fled. 
It happened so fast that Vin did not
actually
see him leave.  The man seemed to vanish. 
Vin did not know
how or
why
the man left the cave
, and he did not care.  At least he was no longer hurting C
a
eli.  Within moments of
his departure,
C
a
eli let herself fall the rest of the distance from her knees to the cave floor
.

Urim was at her side
instantly
.  He whispered words that Vin could not hear, and then a bright, white light engulfed C
a
eli.  For the next several minutes, Vin saw nothing in C
a
eli's mind.  This must be whe
n
Urim helped her
by
block
ing
a portion of her memory.  All Vin
detected
once Urim left was the curtain behind which the remainder of her
memory
of that event
was hidden
.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here for you
, C
a
eli
.  I never should have left you alone.
  I should ha
ve come back when you called me,
"
Vin whispered.

There was nothing more forthcoming. 
C
a
eli
's mind was
quiet.  She
had not moved in
Vin's arms in
nearly
ten
minutes
.  He gently laid her back onto the bed as Salma return
ed
.

"I think
the medicine got
the best of her, Salma
,
" Vin stated
.

"
Good. 
That is
what she needs
right
now. 
Keep an eye on her while I get this set up.
"
  Salma
began the task of setting up a piece of medical equipment that Apela had wheeled into the room
behind
Salma.
 

"Salma
,
C
a
eli needs to wake up.  Can you reset this line in her arm so that it stops giving her the sedative?
"

"
I can, but I don't think that's a good idea. 
I
ha
ve already told you that the medicine won't hurt the baby."

"It's not that, Salma."

"Then what is it?  C
a
eli
is not injured like you
and
I were.  It is
perfectly
all right if she sleeps.  There is no need to wake her. 
In fact, she
wi
ll be in
considerab
le
pain when
her mind
is clear enough to
fully register
all
the damage done to her body
. 
It's
bad, Vin. 
Let her
rest
so that she doesn't have to feel that pain
," Salma replied.

"No, Salma. 
You misunderstand.  Every minute she is asleep, C
a
eli's memory is causing her physical pain. 
You have to trust me
on
this.  C
a
eli needs to wake up as soon as she can," Vin insisted.

"
She is already in pain.  Sleep is the only
saving grace
keeping her from being aware of it
."

"
I wish that were true, but it's not
.  Sleep is causing her more pain
.  You have to wake her.  Please, Salma."

"All right;
I can see that you
are serious
, and
I trust that you
have a good reason. 
Give me a minute
to get a new solution mixed to replace the current one
."

Salma
pulled two transparent, plastic bags from the cabinet on the bottom of the IV cart and moved over to the dresser to combine the
m
edicines she wanted to use
in the desired amounts
and get them into one of the empty bags
.  Once that was done, Salma
returned her attention to the mach
ine next to the bed while she waited for Vin to pull himself away from C
a
eli's side.

"
Oh, C
a
eli, i
f you are troubled
this much
by what you
do
remember,
then
I am not eager to learn
what
details were
so bad that Urim
deemed
it necessary to
spare you from them
.
"
Vin
shu
dd
ered to consider the possibilities
as he gently
moved a long
strand of hair
from
her
closed
eyes.

"
Salma, what is that?
"
  Vin asked
as he
glanc
ed
at the machine Salma was setting up.

"
I
would prefer
not
to
discuss it
yet.  It's a simple test, and it will only take a few minutes.  I
woul
d
like to ask you to leave
the room while I r
u
n this one.  I
woul
d be a bit uncomfortable with you standing there, even if she is your wife.  It's a…delicate test. 
Y
ou can come right back.  I promise it won't hurt her at all, and I
wi
ll tell you everything as soon as I
a
m through.  Please, Vin?
"

Vin could tell by the tone of Salma's voice that she believed this
, too,
was necessary to help C
a
eli. 
C
a
eli
's health, if not her
life, was at risk
once
again
.  Th
ere could be no
high
er
stakes for Vin, and he did not object to Salma's request.
  However, he did have a condition
before agreeing to leave the room
.

"
I will
step out
as long as
you
remove
that IV
before you do anything else
, Salma. 
I would have taken it out of her arm myself, but I knew you were coming right back. 
No more sedative. 
C
a
eli needs to wake up.
  It's
very
important.
"

"
I understand, Vin
. 
I've got the new medicine ready.  It will be the first thing I do.  It will wake her quickly."

"Good," Vin said, liking the idea only slightly better than her current state.

"That will make the test take a little longer, but it is no
cause for
worry.  Sometimes, people slow the process down. 
I will see to it
that she wakes up
, and
I
wi
ll be
as
quick
as possible
with the test.  You do, however, ow
e me an explanation
afterward
."

"
Call me
the minute
you're done.  I'll be right outside,
"
Vin agreed.

He walked out of the room and
headed for the
lounge. 

Apela
met Vin at the door
.  He was
walking in the same direction
when Maku and Pete arrive
d
at the other end of the building
. 
Apela excused himself to go and greet them. 
He briefly explained the situation and took the brothers and Max to another area of the hotel where they could talk and eat dinner without disrupting the events happening
near the lounge
.

Ben looked over at
the concern etched in
Vin
's face
as he sat heavily in one of the chairs
and
inquired
about C
a
eli's condition.