wrath of the Sea Queen (264 page)

"Scientists have no idea what is causing this strange behavior. 
Typhoon-
force wind
s
and rain have devastated the rest of the island, and now it seems the storm off shore is returning to join its sister in what meteorologists are saying could
be a monster storm capable of wiping out everything on the island."  The frantic sound of the reporter's voice boomed from the television set.

"
Vin, is that you?
"  C
a
eli thought perhaps he
might have
returned while she was lost in her thoughts.
  She didn't know how long she
ha
d been standing there, but it was long enough t
hat she was
tired
enough
to
sit down
.

"
C
a
eli, I'm still with Maku
at the lighthouse
.
"

"
Oh, ok then.
"

"
The weather is
starting to get
bad
, so we
a
re moving his festival setup inside
. 
It looks like the storm is moving toward the shore
again
.  We don't want to get caught outside
when
it hits
. 
Is everything all righ
t
?
"  Vin answered her immediately.  Though he left her in Salma’s care, Vin had been checking on her periodically through their connection.  He was immediately aware of her uneasiness.

"
Yes, it's fine. 
It was nothing. 
I guess Salma's lecture has me on edge.
"

"
Do I even want to know what it was
about this time
?
" 
The tone of
Vin's
response
carried a bit of humor.  When it came to lectures, Salma was an expert.

"
In a nutshell, s
he asked me to reconsider going out
tonight
. 
I will go to dinner with you, Vin
, if you still want to
eat out
.  It
i
s the least I can do.
"  Talking to
Vin
made C
a
eli feel better.
  She momentarily forgot about the TV.
 

"
Are you sure?  Salma didn't bully you into
agreeing
, did she?
"

"
No, sh
e
merely
pointed out the obvious.  I want to do this for you, Vin.  After all,
it's my job to keep you
happy,
" she responded.

"
You have a much larger responsibility than that, Sister,
" a new voice inserted itself into her mind.
 

"
Who said that?  C
a
eli, is someone there with you?
"  Vin
’s
tone
chan
ged to reflect his sudden concern.

"
Worry not, Eyvindr.
"

"
Michael?  What are you talking about?
"  Vin asked.  He recognized the voice of his friend where C
a
eli might not know the voice or welcome his specific company.

"
Sister,
y
ou need to deal with this situation.
"

Michael did not offer a
direct
response to Vin's question, but allowed him to continue to listen to the conversation. 
The volume on the television began to get louder.  C
a
eli turned again
to discover
Michael now st
anding
directly before her
.
  C
a
eli's heart skipped a few beats
as
she took several steps backward.  She put as much distance as possible between herself and Michael
before running up against the sliding glass door
.  Although C
a
eli understood the necessity of
Michael's
earlier action, she remained frightened of him.

"
What
situation
?
"  C
a
eli asked,
nervously
, still using the link so that Vin could hear as well
.

"
Look at the television screen.  Look outside.  Do you see what is happening around you?
"
 

C
a
eli
shifted her eyes
from
Michael
to the TV
screen
.  She
listened to a
nother
weather report announced by the meteorologist on the local news.  What s
h
e heard surprised her.  Apparently, the storm had been taking
a
much
heav
ier
toll on
other parts
of the island all week.  There were areas of severe flooding and extensive damage caused by
heavy rain and strong wind
s
.  Many families
had
sought
shelter in emergency facilities to ride out the
duration of the
storm
and had been there for several days already
.

For some reason,
her
small corner of the island
was being spared the
worst of the storm's
ferocity.  C
a
eli
thought she understood
the reason for their luck
.  However, now that Rika was gone, C
a
eli also expected that the storm would return to normal. 
The portion that had been kept at bay, out over the small island, should be moving inland.  In fact, C
a
eli could actually feel it moving
toward their part of the island
.  It
seemed
like a
normal
adjustment
to her.
 
The storm did not feel out of place.

"
It's raining.  The storm is
return
ing
to normal
. 
I don't see anything unusual about that. 
Wh
y are you here
?
  Wh
y should I be worried about this
?
"  C
a
eli would have preferred not to talk to him at all, but she knew better than to hold a grudge against one such as h
im
.  Despite the pain
it
caused, Michael
’s action
had
save
d
her life.
 

"
Because this is not Rika's storm, nor has it returned to a natural state.  This is your handiwork.
"

"
No, that can't be.  I'm not controlling this rain or these tides,"
C
a
eli denied her involvement
with
the current weather.

"
No, you aren't, but you should be.  Sister, why do you think the storm did not reach this part of the island?
"

"
Because Rika was controlling it;
holding it at bay to
threaten me.
"

"
No, Rika
found it difficult to
maneuver through your
barrier
. 
Unfortunately,
while your
shield
protected
this part of the island
, it
increas
ed
the damage inflicted
i
n other
areas
,
" Michael expla
i
n
ed
.

"
I did
n
o
t raise a shield here.  Are you suggesting that the storm damage is my fault?
"  C
a
eli couldn't believe he would accuse her of this.