wrath of the Sea Queen (32 page)

"
Ben, please!  Ben
, can you hear me?
"

Salma's voice
urgently call
ed to
him
.  Ben hear
d
it in his mind, but he knew it was real.  He
first learned of
Salma
's talent when he watched her
call to C
a
eli in the same manner. 
The
talent
was
inherent in their family.  Both she and C
a
eli could communicate in this manner.  Vin, too, could do this, but he
had
learned it from his time spent with
the angels
. 
Ben
was well aware of
the nature of Salma's talent and
the
inherent
danger
th
e
call
imposed on
her
.  I
t took
a great deal of
effort for her to do it, despite her more recent
advancements with
t
he
skill
.

"
Salma, I hear you,
"
Ben lay back on his bunk, closed his eyes, and silently answered.

"
Oh
my
;
I did it!  Ben, we're in trouble…
"
  Her tension, fear, and relief were all apparent in the emotion he could feel through the connection. 
This
was the first time that Ben
had
directly
receiv
ed
such a communication, but he did not permit
that fact
to overwhelm his caution.

"
I know.  Calm down
, Love
.  We
a
re on our way
to help you
.
"

"
You know
? 
Already
on your way, how is that
possible
? 
Is it on the news
so soon or has it been that long
? 
Maybe I lost track of time. 
Where are you
, Ben
? 
What do you mean you're on your way?
"
  Salma started rattling off questions so fast
that
Ben could barely keep up.

"
Slow down. 
We don't have time for all that.  I know how this type of communication
can
ex
haust
you, so let's keep it as brief as we can, ok?  We know
about the crash,
and
both Vin and I
are on our way with the
C
oast
G
uard.  We'll be there real soon.  Are you two ok?  Tell me the basics.  What do we need to know?
"
 
A
huge weight lift
ed
from
Ben's
chest to know that Salma was alive and well enough to contact him in this manner.

"
The pilot managed to keep the plane intact when we hit the water.  We ha
ve
a leak, but it's under control for the moment.  One of the wings is partially torn off and will probably give way soon.  If that happens, then I doubt the plane will be able to stay afloat very long
afterward
.  Then we
wi
ll need a miracle.  Other than that, the survivors are mostly ok
,
"
Salma explained quickly using her down-to-business, professional voice.

"
What do you mean by mostly?
"
  Vin's voice
cut into the conversation
a
nd a
cool
draft
waft
ed
through the room.

During one of his frequent, worry-filled waking moments
, Vin noticed Ben's hesitant movements and watched him long enough to suspect
the cause of his friend's uneasiness
. 
When Ben unexpectedly
returned to his bunk
, Vin was certain. 
He silently got up and placed his hand on Ben's arm, careful not to disturb him
. 
Once he made contact with Ben, Vin
was
then able to overhear most of the conversation.  Vin heard the hesitation in Salma's voice when she made that last statement.  He also noted that Salma
did
not mention anything
at all
about C
a
eli. 

"
Vin
,
C
a
eli is…well, she's
all right. 
Al
ong with everything else
,
she is
slightly banged up
, and I think she
might
also
have the flu. 
I didn't realize that she was quite so run down, but
I
a
m not surprised
given that she has been sick and has not been sleeping well
.
"

"
Everything else?  What else
, Salma
?
"

"
S
h
e
has acquired an interesting new skill
.  I
t
i
s making her act a bit odd
, but
I
wi
ll let her tell you about that later.  Personally, I think that seeing one of the passengers
killed
may have rattled
her
nerves. 
Try not to worry. 
I'm sure she will
be fine
when this is over and she's had a chance to
get some proper
rest
.  How soon will you be here, Ben?
"
 

Vin removed his hand from Ben's arm to let him
finish
the re
mainder
of the conversation
in privacy
.  Salma's words did not
offer
the reassurance Vin
sought
. 
They worried him
even more.  Vin wanted to hear
C
a
eli
's
voice, to talk to her.  He knew that he could likely reach her through a connection similar to what Ben and Salma were sharing, but his caution outweighed his curiosity.  There must be a reason why C
a
eli
was absent from
the co
mmunication
. 
He did not like it, but Vin had to respect her choice, leaving C
a
eli to whatever else she was doing. 
Vin turned away to stand with his head
rest
ing
on his hands against his previously
occupied
b
unk
.  At a distance, one might have thought he was pray
ing
on a windy hilltop.

"
I'm not sure,
L
ove, but it can't be more than thirty minutes. 
H
ang on.  We'll be there.  I promise.  I love you, Salma.
"

"
I love you, too, Ben.
"

When he no longer felt Salma's presence in his mind, Ben jumped down from the bed
.  He
placed a firm hand on
V
in's back.

"
Don't fret,
L
ad.  We
're
going to reach them.  They are going to be all right.  Now, let's go find out where we are.
"

"
I'm sorry, Ben.  I couldn't help eavesdropping on your conversation, but I had to know,
"
Vin apologized.

"
Don't give it another thought.  If I
possessed such
ability, I probably would have done the same thing.
"
 
Ben
smiled warmly and headed for the doorway that would lead them to the upper deck.  Vin followed a few steps behind.