wrath of the Sea Queen (237 page)

"
You're right.  That does sound odd.  What do I have to do?
"

Vin reached out and took hold of Jeremy's forearm.  Jeremy stood there
and waited
.  Vin
copied
C
a
eli
's process
and
was rewarded with
energy pulled from Jeremy into himself.  Vin was careful to siphon only a small amount, enough to restore
a
bout half
of
his normal strength. 
When Vin looked up,
Jeremy
wore a
puzzled expression on his face.  Shrewdly, he knew better than to ask Vin to explain.  Vin released Jeremy's arm,
and
the young guardsman shook his head, nodded when Vin thanked him, and walked away to help his father move the prisoners out of the cave.
  They wanted to move
further
inland before the worst part of the storm hit.

Salma
was a
w
a
ke
now
. 
Vin
reached up to where the Colonel's pack and several others hung from large spikes in the cave wall to keep them dry. 
He
found a bottle
of water
in one sack
and offered it to her.  Salma drank readily.  In another bag, Vin scrounged up a pack
age
of crackers, which Ben insisted that she eat.  While Salma nibbled
on
the crackers, Ben explained everything that happened since she
ha
d been taken. 

"
Where is C
a
eli now?
"

Vin relay
ed
t
hat C
a
eli
had been on the other
island
.  Salma wanted to try to reach C
a
eli using her own talent, but Ben suggested that Salma wait until she was a little stronger, explaining that C
a
eli was most likely on her way back.  Vin
pray
ed
that was true.

CHAPTER
54

Maku made his way through the tunnel and emerged near the base of the lighthouse
as
Lorrie began to stir.  Groggily
,
she tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he
held her firmly
.  She muttered a string of curses in a voice that didn't seem to be her own
.  Mo
st
of the
unpleasant
words
were
carried away by the gusting
wind.

"
You are not getting away this time, Lorrie.  You
ha
ve
finally
gone too far.  You crossed the line.  You will have to pay for what you've done,
"
Maku told her.

She continued to fight, so Maku put her down.  There was nowhere for her to go.

"
I won't go to some dry jail cell.  No one will believe I
ha
ve done anything wrong.  What proof do you have?
"
  Lorrie laughed at him.

"
Why did you kill Pete?
"

"
It was a matter of b
ad timing. 
Speaking of time, I have to
go
now
.  I have things I need to finish.  Things that can't wait,
"
Lorrie insisted.  She darted
by
Maku and tried to scale the
steep,
rock
wall on the far side of the outcropping
leading up to the lighthouse. 
Had she darted in the other direction, the sloping trail would have been easier to climb.

Lorrie was seven
feet up
the rock wall
when Maku's hand clamped onto her ankle.  He gave one good tu
g, and Lorrie lost her footing. 
She
slid
down
the rocks, striking her head twice
as she fell
.  The first
forceful
hit
, at
an awkward angle,
snapped her neck
,
and the second smacked the back of her head
on the stone
as she landed
heavily
on the ground
. 
She would make no further move to escape. 
Lorrie would n
ever
move again.  Maku stood there looking down at her for a moment, tears welling in his eyes for the tragedy that
was her life
.  He still blamed himself for not b
eing able to prevent the incident
that started it all.

For a moment, a whit
e light enveloped Lorrie's body.  As it departed, Maku thought he heard a voice in his mind.

"
Do not be sad
, Brother
.  Her suffering has at last come to an end.  She is at peace.
"

Maku picked up
Lorrie's
body and gently carried it to his car.  He drove to the grassy hill and
, in the midst of the storm,
buried her beside Pete.  Two deaths were more than enough for
o
ne day. 
He would have to visit his
good
friend, Sheriff Obrey, tomorrow and report the deaths.  He doubted that Brian would open any formal investigations, but he would let him know where
both
bodies could be found, just in case.

Maku
returned to the hotel, seeking shelter from the
storm
and solitude in which to
indulge his
grie
f
.  He quickly cleaned himself up in the kitchen, but the solitude would have to wait.

Apela was arguing with a blonde woman in the lounge.  She tugg
ed
aggressively
on Max's arm.  Max was clinging to his father's leg.  Maku went to
find out
what the trouble was and
see
how he could help.

"
Take your hands off my son
, Ma'am
. 
I don't care what proof you think you have.  Max
is
my son.  I will not let you take him
simply
because some anonymous source told you otherwise.  It simply isn't true.  You are not taking my child from me,
"
Apela nearly shouted at the lady,
forcibly
removing her hand from Max.

"
Sir, I understand that you are upset.  The paperwork
i
s clear.  The
t
est
result
s show that you are not this child's father.
"

"
What tests? 
I have
never
taken
a
paternity
test
, though I assure you that
I am Max's father!  Clearly there has been some sort of mix up in your paperwork.  You need to go back and get it straightened out. 
Next time,
verify your supposed facts before you come barging in here thinking you have
the
right to take my son
from me
based on a few marks on a piece of paper
.
"

"
Papa, make her leave.  I don't like her,
"
Max added his own opinion.
  He rudely turned and stuck his tongue out at the woman.

"
Sir, I can show you the test results.  Please, for the boy's sake, don't make this any more difficult than it already is
.
"
T
he lady from child services, as indicated by her jacket, was trying to get Apela to calm down.

"
Apela,
what's with all the shouting? 
Come here, Max.
  Can I help?
"
  Maku waved to Max, who ran over and jumped into
his
open arms.  Apela turned at his friend's entrance.

"
Yes.  You can tell this woman that Max is my son.  She seems to be under the impression that he is not.
"

"
Ma'am,
I can assure you
that
Max is Apela's natural-born child.  He is not adopted or a step child.  Apela and his wife
conceived
Max the old fashioned way,
"
Maku offered his
unwavering
support.

"
I wish it were that easy.  Unfortunately, we have medical tests that contradict that story.  I
ha
ve been ordered to remove the child from the home until we can locate his real parents.
"

"Then open your eyes
!
"
Apela fumed.

"
Where are these test results?
"
  Maku asked calmly.

"
Out in my car,
"
the government worker replied.

Maku looked out and noticed, for the first time, the large group of people
being herded up
the beach
in front of the parking lot
.  There was no way to
safely
reach the lady's car
.