wrath of the Sea Queen (267 page)

"
I see a lot of your influence in her.  C
a
eli has benefited greatly from your friendship
and guidance
.  Your strength and determination have helped her through many tough spots.  I hope you have the opportunity to pass those traits on to your own daughter.
"

Michael's carefully worded compl
i
ment caught Salma's attention
; n
ot only because he knew the gender of her baby, but because of its implicit hint of trouble yet to come.  Salma asked Michael to tell her
exactly
what C
a
eli was doing and why.  He obliged her with a diluted explanation. 
Afterward, Salma
stood quietly watching C
a
eli's slow progress toward the water. 
Her heart ached
for C
a
eli.  After everything
the poor
girl
had
suffered and
endured this week, now she
carried
the burden of thousands of lives on her shoulders.  It was too much to ask of any one person.

"
Ben, can you hear me?
"

"
Yes.  Is everything all right?  Are you somewhere safe?
"

"
Yes
, I
a
m safe, but everything is not all right
.  Do you know what's happening
with C
a
eli
?
"

"
Yes.  Vin just left.  He is on his way to
catch up with
her
.  I hope he reach
es
her in time,
" Ben replied.

"
Vin, too
?
  Ben, we could lose them both.
"

"
There is nothing we can do about it.  This is their path to walk, but at least they will walk it together.  They will have each other.  Th
ose two
are always better
when they're
together.  What about you, Salma?  Can you keep this connection open much longer?  I do not like that you are there alone.  I
a
m tempted to borrow a car and drive back there, regardless of the weather.
"  Ben wanted to be with Salma when the storm and the results of Vin and C
a
eli's work unfolded.

"
I
a
m not alone, Ben.  Michael is here with me.  C
a
eli asked him to stay.
"

"
I have a better idea.  Take m
y
hand, Sister,
" Michael's voice prompted
Salma
.

Salma turned and did as he requested. 
A
n odd, tingling sensation surround
ed
her
, and then a
very bright, white light encircled both of them.  Salma closed her eyes
tightly, but
still
needed
to shield them with her free hand to block out the light's intensity.  A few moments later, the tingling subsided and the light faded away.  She opened her eyes and looked around. 
Salma let a
small gasp of surprise
escape
her lips
when
she realized what happened.

"
I will leave you to your spouse's companionship,
but I will not leave
this place
.  I gave my word to stay with you
,
" Michael smiled and
faded out of sight as he
walked
away
.

"
Ben!  Where are you?  I'm here.  I
a
m near the top of the lighthouse in the room where we
ate
lunch,
" Salma called.

"
Stay there.  I'm on my way up,
" Ben replied.

He didn't have to ask how she got there.  He was grateful for Michael's gift. 
Ben
ran up the stairs as fast as he could and was only slightly winded when he reached her.
  Salma ran across the floor and into his arms.  Ben held her close for several minutes
, relieved to have his wife and unborn child with him for the coming storm
.

As they stood there, the noise from downstairs increased.  Loud music play
ed
against the background of a rowdy crowd.  Ben could discern Maku's voice above the din.  He seemed to be leading the commotion.

"What is going on down there?"  Salma asked Ben.

"It sounds like Maku is going to have his festival finale regardless of the weather or perhaps because of it.  E
ither way, it will help take our
minds off Vin and C
a
eli.  Let's go down and join the
m
," Ben suggested.  He ushered Salma to the staircase, and they slowly worked their way to the bottom. 

Maku
stood
atop
the small, makeshift stage that
had been
erected inside.  He held a microphone and point
ed
to photos projected onto a large, white screen.  As Salma stepped o
nto the last stair,
her own face flash
ed
up on the screen.  She watched six more photos of her
self
flip across the screen.  She didn't remember anyone taking
her picture
at the time, but, to be honest, she was preoccupied with other matters in each shot.

"Ben, what is this?"

"It's the Sea Goddess contest.  There are four contenders for the Sea Queen title.  You and C
a
eli are two of those four," Ben explained with a smile.

"I didn't enter any contest, and I'm pretty sure C
a
eli didn't either.  How did we get on that list?"  Salma wondered.

"Maku was in charge of choosing the contestants.  He entered you.  That's part of the reason he
ha
s been carrying that video camera around all week.  He
ha
s been collecting images to use for this finale.  He will reveal t
he winner soon.  Personally, I voted for you," Ben
expanded upon
the
explanation.

A
bout that time, Maku
noticed
them standing at the back of the crowd.

"And, would you look at this, folks?  Here is one of your finalists now, Dr. Salma Erickson.  She's not just another pretty face.  She is one of the top, medical professionals in her field.  I have personally seen her work small miracles with her patients. 
Let’s have a
round of applause for Dr. Salma Erickson."

The room was momentarily filled with clapping
as all eyes turned to catch a glimpse of Salma
.  When the applause died down, Maku continued.  The next face on the screen was C
a
eli's.  It was a close-up from their walk on the beach.  Maku
was
pretty good with a zoom lens.  It was a pretty picture, but the next one was a true representation of her niece.  It was taken when Vin and C
a
eli were arm-in-arm at the hotel.  Both were smiling.  C
a
eli was radiant beside Vin.  Salma thought she
ha
d never seen a photo in which
C
a
eli
’s love for Vin was so vivid
. 

After a few more pictures, the screen changed to an overview containing one photo of each of the four women.  Maku read off the first contestant eliminated, and the screen changed to show the remaining three.  She and C
a
eli were still visible.  The second person to be eliminated was announced, and the screen changed yet again.  She and C
a
eli were the only two left.

"Ben, I wish she and Vin could be here to see this.  I can see Vin now, grinning from ear to ear and laughing as C
a
eli's face turned red.
  Do you think they
a
re all right out there?"  Salma asked.

"I don't know, but we can find out.  Come with me," Ben replied.  He led her up the stairs once again.  They did not stop at the little room, but continued up to the final landing.  They were inside the light room at the very top.  From here, they could look toward the hotel. 
They saw
C
a
eli standing near the mouth of the cave as if she were daring the sea to come and claim her.  The wind blew her hair back, but she did not yield her position.  From this vantage, she looked very much like Max might describe the Sea Queen in his fairy tale.

Immediately
to her right
and
not more than
a half step
away from
C
a
eli, Vin held her hand and looked out
at the
sea with the same
fierce
defiance in his stance.  Although he was using his gift as well, it was obvious that he was there to protect his wife.  Whatever happened, they would face it together.

"And the winner of this year's Sea Queen title is…Mrs. C
a
eli Harding!"  Maku's voice echoed the sentiment that both Ben and Salma were feeling. 

The way the water rolled around her legs
like a
beloved
pet
and
sparkled as it
streamed down her arms;
C
a
eli was nothing, at this moment, if not the complete
embodiment
of that entity.