wrath of the Sea Queen (184 page)

"Yes," Ben replied without hesitation.
  He knew C
a
eli's generous nature well enough that it was not a shock to him either.

"She
i
s probably still protecting me,
thinking i
t would be better if I d
o
n't know any specifics.  It
i
s going to be difficult to tell her about the second baby and
then have to turn around and face
losing it, too. 
Under normal c
ircumstances
, C
a
eli can handle just about anything, but this week has already been too much to ask anyone to endure. 
I'm not sure she has the strength
left
to
deal with
this
right now.  She already feels such guilt over the first loss
.
I'm afraid th
e second
will be devastating.
"

"I don't think you give her enough credit
, Vin
. 
C
a
eli
is definitely suffering,
there's no question about that
.  By all rights, she should be wallowing in a corner somewhere
after what she's been through.  But she
i
s not. 
I think
C
a
eli
is nearing the point where
she is going to affect a
change
.  What little I heard made it sound like she was fed up and ready to do something to resolve he
r
problem
," Ben reminded Vin of the strength of character C
a
eli exuded.

"Mayb
e;
C
a
eli did tell me about
he
r
struggle.  From what I can tell, it is
not so much
from
her gift as it is this Rika
person
.  When
C
a
eli is in
or even near the
sea w
ater
, Rika is able to gain a stronger hold on her
than at other times.
 
Thankfully, n
ormal
tap
water
still seems to help C
a
eli
significantly
without Rika's interference
. 
As much as she loves the sea, t
he vastness of the o
cean
almost
overwhelms
C
a
eli
. 
T
hat is whe
re
she feels
Rika's
presence
the strongest
, trying to control her
.  This internal struggle
has been
consum
ing
her
ever
since the crash. 
I have no idea how such a
battle
would cause the physical damage
shown
in the photo
, although i
t does
change her eye color.
"
  Vin was out of his depth.  He did not understand such things.  Salma's input would have been helpful for this
part of the
discussion.

"
So h
er eyes
really do
change color?  I thought I imagined that,
"
Ben said in relief.

"
Yes, I've seen it several times now.  On the ship, I looked into her eyes, and they were dark blue
for a moment
.  I could tell that she was
struggling then
, though I had no idea what was happening at the time
.  I think it corresponds to when
C
a
eli
is on the low end of the fight.  It's when she is very tired and her resistance is
down
.
"

"
I
n the cave
…
,
"
Ben
added
.

"
Yes. 
She almost lost that fight
.  If we hadn't arrived when we did
and Urim had not shown up,
I'm not sure what would have happened to her.
 
Even
thinking about the possibility of losing
C
a
eli
pains
me
,
"
Vin admitted.

Ben took the pot off the hot burner and set it to the side, shutting off the stove.  He located a serving tray and sat
it
on the counter. 
On this,
he
placed
a small soup bowl and utensils. 
Lastly
, Ben found a serving
dish
, into which he poured the warm
soup
, and then covered it with a lid
.  He p
ut
th
e dish
on the tray alongside everything else.  When he was satisfied that everything
was ready
, Ben
placed
the
tray
in front of
Vin.

"Ben, what do you make of this storm?  The news has been preparing people for the worst.  It looks like the island is going to be hit hard.  They can't evacuate any more flights because of the strong winds, and the rain is already causing major flooding," Vin changed the subject.

"Yes, it looks like it
i
s going to get bad.  Why do you ask?  If you
a
re thinking about using your gift to clear the air so that you can fly C
a
eli home, forget it.  She couldn't handle the trip, and this storm is way too
big
for yo
u to attempt something like you did on the
way
down here
."

"The thought did cross my mind, but that's not why I asked.  I was curious if you noticed anything unusual about the weather," Vin replied pensively.

"Ah, now that you mention it, yes.  It may sound strange, but I was beginning to wonder if C
a
eli is affecting th
e
storm.  There does seem to be some overlap," Ben acknowledged.

"I've seen that, too
. 
C
a
eli is definitely affecting the rain to some extent. 
Beyond that, though, I was considering the notion that Rika has the same gift as C
a
eli, and that
Rika
is somehow responsible for the severity and the movement of this storm.  It's a wild idea, I know, but I can't seem to shake the
notion
.
  I don't even know who this woman is.
"

"Well, if it
'
s true, then I
woul
d say the storm is likely to follow the same route as the fight between C
a
eli and Rika.  Let's not dwell on it.  That, at least, is beyond our control.  Let's worry about the things we can actually do something about."

"
I can try.
 
Ben, what did C
a
eli say
about her injuries and the baby
when she was sleeping?"

"I don't remember the exact words, but I believe she thinks that this Rika woman sent someone to hurt her, to force her to miscarry," Ben informed Vin of his conclusion.

"Did she say why she thought that or why Rika would do that?"  Vin could barely stomach the idea.

"
No, but she seemed certain. 
R
emember,
Vin,
no matter he
r
struggle,
that
same fire that
my
Salma wears on the outside, C
a
eli keeps bottled up.  She has
considerable
strength in her, and w
e've both seen her
draw on i
t
when it
'
s
most
needed.  With you at her side or on your behalf, I think that girl would take on th
is
world
and the next
. 
I cannot even imagine how fiercely she will fight or whom she would challenge to protect the son she still carries. 
T
ry to hang in there with her.  Give
C
a
eli
the time she needs to
heal and to
figure this out.  It is a lot of change for her to reconcile; the gift, the
loss of the
baby, the physical
injuries
, and
then there’s
you.
"

"
Me?  What about me?
"
  Vin looked up
,
surprise
d yet again
. 
Vin
was
fairly certain
that
the one thing C
a
eli did not have to worry about
was him
.