wrath of the Sea Queen (208 page)

"
I honestly don't know, Salma.  Nothing inside of me feels wrong anymore
;
n
ot like
it did
when those bars w
ere poisoning me.  I feel healthier, stronger
.  I believe
my injuries are
mending well.  I
am not certain
exactly w
hat damage the last attack
caused
or why he did it. 
However,
I
a
m
also
not sure how the
baby is doing.  I
haven't been able
to feel more than a mild
connection to
him
since I miscarried
his brother
. 
I can't feel him at all now. 
I
know he is physically there, but that's all I can tell
.  Not being able to feel
hi
s life
frightens
me. 
Maybe
t
he
man
intended to sever my link to the baby completely. 
Perhaps that's
the change you noticed.
"

Salma considered C
a
eli's explanation, but reached a slightly different, much worse, conclusion. 
If C
a
eli had considered the possibility, she wasn't saying.

"
Hmm…well, i
t's probably for the best
that
you can't feel
the child
right now
.  You would spend too much time worrying about the baby and not enough
time
taking care of yourself
,
"
Salma suggested.

"
T
hat sounds like an answer I
woul
d get from Vin. 
But, o
ther
than this disconnect
, I
a
m
as good as I can be
.
"

"
Are you?  Then why
don't
you
remember everything that happened yesterday
?
"

C
a
eli was
again
surprised
.  How had
Salma figured that out
?
 
It must be from spending so much time with Ben. 
No
w that the topic was open, C
a
eli didn't mind sharing the details with Salma.

"
I get bits and pieces, but not the entire event. 
How did you know
?
"

"
C
a
eli, you are easy to read.  You
simply
don't have it in you to
lie or
conceal your feelings.  Y
ou
have been
hesita
nt
when asked
to talk about
what happened while we were gone
. 
Either you are not sharing everything or you simply can't remember
. 
Vin would know if you were holding out on him, and t
hat's completely
out of character
for
you.  I know
you
want to tell him.  Therefore,
the logical assumption is that
you
must not
know
the details
.
"

"
You have been around Ben too long.  He
i
s beginning to rub off on you," C
a
eli replied.

"I certainly hope so
,
"
Salma smiled.

"What does Ben really think about the explosion
…?"

"Stop right there, C
a
eli Harding!  Don't even think about changing the subject.  We
a
re not talking about Ben.  We are discussing the holes in your memory.  Tell me about that.  I can't offer you any me
dical advice unless you tell me what you do know
," Salma insisted.

"
I remember
most of it
, but there is a gap in my mind after a certain point
. 
I
get a
few flashes
of the m
issing details
here and there
, but
I cannot figure out e
ntirely
wh
ere I was and what happ
ened
from the time I left the shore until the time
I en
tered
that cave
,
"
C
a
eli confirmed.

"
And
when did you
receive
most of
your
injuries?
"
  Salma asked.

"
I got the large gashes when the man first showed up and a
lot of
the
injuries
during that las
t bout in the cave
. 
I
know that I was
injured before I got to the cave as well, but I don't know how
badly
. 
How could you tell
that I did not get hurt all at once
?
"

"
When I looked you over,
some of
the bruises had already started to change color.  I could tell that they were several hours old.  Vin didn't notice, and I did
n
o
t say anything to him.  He was worried enough.  Besides, I know you
wi
ll tell Vin about all of this when you do finally
remember
.  I just thought I might be able to help you
in the meantime
.  What
else
can you tell me?
"

"
Well, there really isn't much to tell.  I first saw the man on the beach that morning.  I later saw
him
standing
outside
on the ridge.  When
Max
said the man
was
standing in the lounge, I
nearly
fainted
. 
At first, I believed he
was there
for Max. 
I
hid
Max and
tried to lure the man away
.  That's when I got the bad slashes across my stomach.  I
ran
down to the beach with the man following me. 
W
hen I thought he w
as about to
catch me, my feet hit the water, and he
disappeared
.
"

"
Disappeared
?  He just
vanished
?
"
  Salma asked in disbelief.

"
Yes, and I know how that sounds, but it's true. 
Then
I figured he mu
st have turned back after Max, which he
did.  I ran to help
and
caught up with
them on top of the ridge. 
I
tried to
help.
"

"
T
hat was a dangerous thing to do,
"
Salma commented passively.

"
I know, but I couldn't leave Max.  He was terrified and
there was
no one else to help hi
m.  There was no time for me to
get help
from anyone else
.  When I reached them, the man spoke to me for the first time.  His voice sent chills down my spine.
"

"
What did he say?
"

"
He said that she demands payment.  If not from me, then the boy would suffice,
"
C
a
eli replied, remembering every word the man said to her.  She would likely never forget them.

"
Who demanded payment and for what?  C
a
eli, what did he mean?
  Wait a minute.  Is this about Max's story?
"
  Salma thought this might be the connection.

"
Salma, I'm tired.  Can we go back now?
"

"
C
a
eli, you're avoiding my question,
"
Salma insisted with a stern look on her face.

"
Yes, I am.  It's complicated, and I
really
am tired.
"

"
T
hen skip to the part about the gap in your memory.  At least tell me about that, so I can try to come up with a way to help you
fill in the blank
s
.  T
hen we'll head back.  The rest of the story can wait.
"