wrath of the Sea Queen (179 page)

"
I was just thinking out loud.
"

"Yes, and I would like to follow your line of thought."

"
I remembered that you were not
present
in my last nightmare, but you still helped me.
 
My
dream
was not all inclusive; it
did not
provide
all of the details.
"

"
So you thought the same might hold true this time?  Perhaps I could help Salma, so that you could help Vin
;
thereby entirely avoiding the need to make
a
choice between them.  I
do
like the idea. 
C
a
eli, y
ou know I will
do everything in my power to
protect
Salma
.
  I promise you that.
 
N
ow that you
ha
ve
made me aware of
a potential
threat
, I
wi
ll
be
sure to keep a
n even
closer
watch
on her.
"

"I'm sure she
wi
ll like that," C
a
eli
replied wi
th the tiniest hint of a grin.

Ben took
it
as a good sign that somewhere
,
beneath all of
her
hurt and confusion, C
a
eli was beginning to fi
ght
her way back.

"
W
hat about the person responsible for hurting you?  Why do you think someone sent him?"  Ben asked.

"
S
he did send him.  I realized he was trouble when Max and I
first
saw him on the beach, but I hoped I was wrong."

"Salma said something about that.  Why didn't you tell Vin about the encounter?"

"
He
was asleep
at the time
, and there was really nothing to tell
.  Max and I came inside before
t
he
man
got anywhere near us.
I
put it out of my mind
.  I was preoccupied with Vin's surprise.  I didn't expect the man to show up again."

"C
a
eli, that kind of behavior is very common when a criminal is casing a location.  I suspect
t
he
man
was gathering information so that he knew when you would be most vulnerable.  In fact, he probably didn't even leave, but rather continued to watch you from a con
cealed location," Ben shared some of his years of police wisdom with her.

"I'm sorry,
Uncle
Ben.  I wish that
had
occurred to me
, but it didn't
."

"Well, maybe it seems obvious to me because I'm used to dealing with suspicious characters. 
For now,
let's
put this whole thing on a back burner, okay?
"
  Ben patted her hand reassuringly.

"
It's probably just as well.  I
wi
ll add it to my list of unsolved mysteries,
"
C
a
eli said with a heavy sigh.

"
Is there something
else
troubling you?  My ears are all yours.
"

"
Yes,
unfortunately, there is
w
ay too much
on my mind
. 
But
,
I really
need
to talk to Vin. 
No offense, Ben, but it
involves my gift.  It is something that only Vin can help me understand. 
Besides, what I need
more than anything
right now is not exactly an ear.
"

As anticipated, all
of
the water finally caught up with her, and C
a
eli needed to use the
bath
room.  Ben offered to
escort her to the
bath
room door
, but she politely declined.  She was determined
not to be a burden any longer. 
C
a
eli
wanted
to make this trip on her own.  She
was tired of feeling like an invalid.

"
Vin and Salma are not going to be happy about this.  Salma does not want you up at all, and Vin w
ill
insist that you should not be walking around on your own.  You are going to get me into a
world
of trouble
, Lass
.  Maybe I should get Vin.  He could lend you some of his special support.  I can tell you firsthand that it works wonders.  Do you think you could wait a minute?
"

"
Well, I certainly wouldn't want you in trouble with those two,
"
C
a
eli ha
lf smiled at him.

Ben hurried over to the door, leaving it open behind him as he stepped out.  He called for Vin, who was turning in that direction with Salma beside him.  Ben looked back into the room and
discovered
that C
a
eli had taken two steps away from the bed.  Ben rushed inside and caught her by the arm
as she became unsteady on her feet
.

"
C
a
eli, where are you going?  I thought you were going to wait.
"

Vin arrived in the room a few moments later
.  W
hen he reached
C
a
eli's
other side, Ben stepped
away
.

"
Sorry, but when nature calls…
  O
ww!
"
  C
a
eli was suddenly falling to her knees in pain
. 
Vin lowered her gently to
sit on
the bed.  C
a
eli was forced to admit that it
had
probably
been
a bad idea to try and walk on her own
so
soon
.
 
She
could imagine herself as a blanket
hung on a clothesline
,
beaten by
a
broomstick
, and
then placed in a shredder
.

"
You are stubborn, aren't you?
"
  Vin smiled and asked the question to which he already knew the answer.
 
He was secretly pleased
to see
that her determined spirit was still intact
and attempting to resurface
.

However, Vin's
description
stirred an unpleasant feeling in C
a
eli,
though
she
could no
t
say
why
.

"
I prefer
to think of myself as
ind
ependent and self-sufficient
,
"
C
a
eli replied through harsh gasps as she waited for the pain to subside.
 
Ben, Salma, and Vin all looked at each other and then back at C
a
eli, responding simultaneous
ly
.

"
Stubborn.
"

This time, the word st
r
uck C
a
eli's mind as if she
ha
d been hit, and her head began to throb.

"
Your stubbornness left me no choice…
"

C
a
eli squeezed her eyes shut and pressed he
r thumbs into her temples.  There was an answer, literally, at her fingertips.  It was trying to force its way to the front of her mind.  It took a few minutes before her
head cleared and
the acute pain subsided.

Vin picked her up, much to her chagrin, and carried her into the
bath
room. 
C
a
eli
insisted that she did
n
o
t need any further help, but
Vin
would only leave when Salma took his place in order to give C
a
eli a quick exam.  Even then, Vin waited right outside the door, ready to carry her back to bed.  He was not about to let her injure herself
any
further
.
  No matter what C
a
eli
said
, Vin knew that she was not well.