wrath of the Sea Queen (40 page)

C
a
eli
understood that
she
needed
to move
.  She
managed to pull
a portion of
the rope t
h
rough a loop of
the cargo net
, easing some of the tension
on the line as she tied it to the net.  This also
permitted her enough
space
to free
her
wrist
. 
C
a
eli could see the purple ring around her wrist where the rope had deeply bruised her skin.  However, she was now free
to
continue her
climb without abandoning the pilot. 
This eased her mind, and C
a
eli
once more
began t
he slow
upward
climb
in spite of the
waves
threatening
to crash
through
her
barrier
.  The
mental drain caused by the
continual use of her gift exhaust
ed
her far beyond what
C
a
eli
would have believed possible
.  C
a
eli's lack of practice and understanding of her gift hampered her efforts and required every bit of her strength and concentration.
 

Vin could see from above that C
a
eli was spent.  If
not for the
white light
that
approach
ed
her earlier,
the situation might have taken a more drastic turn.  He had
already
planned to
drag
her and the entire net onto the deck
despite his waning strength.  He would not fail
C
a
eli
when she needed him most.  Therefore, he was thankful for the help that her guardian angel provided
.  For the moment, all Vin could do was continue to keep a
close
eye on h
is wife
while she
inch
ed
her way upward
.

C
a
eli closed her eyes after one final
survey of
the
enormous
waves tossing the ship about like a child's toy in a bathtub. 
In order to avert the impending disaster
,
C
a
eli
saw
no
other
choice but to att
empt
one
final
feat with her gift. 
She
wa
nted
to diminish th
e
size of the
waves.  Climbing a little further up the cargo net, C
a
eli stopped and wrapped her hand securely in the netting. 
Doing
the
unthinkable, C
a
eli
turned to face the water
with h
er waning barrier
as her last bit of strength began to fade
.

Before she started, C
a
eli
needed
to let someone know what she
intended
to do
.  She chose Salma
, knowing that
Vin would
only
try to talk her out of it
, and she did
n
o
t have
the time
to spare
or the energy
it would take
to
sway him
.  C
a
eli
needed
to act while she
still
could
,
compelled to
take this risk
. 
C
ompared to Vin,
Salma
would be
mo
re
likely to accept
C
a
eli
's decision and withhold her questions
.

"
Salma
, c
an you get everyone inside?
"

"
C
a
eli
?  What are you doing?
"
  Salma
responded immediately to
C
a
eli's voice
heard clearly
in her mind.

"
Salma
,
please
,
I don't have time to explain
it to you right now
.  This is incredibly tiring
.
"
  C
a
eli knew she would only have the stamina for one attempt.

"
C
a
eli, you know Vin is not going to
leave you out there
.  He
i
s chomping at the bit as it is.  It's all Ben can do to keep him from coming down after you.
"

"
I know.  I
wi
ll
talk
t
o Vin in a minute. 
I may need his help
. 
For now,
please
,
take care of the others.  If
anyone asks,
tell them
Vin
is helping me get untangled from the net. 
I
n case this doesn't work
out the way I want it to
,
I
woul
d like
you
to
get everyone below deck,
including
you and Ben.
"
  With that, C
a
eli
broke her connection to Salma. 
Salma rushed out on deck and knelt down beside Vin. 

After seeing
Ben pull up the last, redheaded refugee,
Vin
sat
with a puzzled
and worried
look on his face. 
C
a
eli was still down there, but Ben steadfastly blocked him eac
h time he tried to climb down.

"Ben, please.  Move aside."

"I can't do that, Vin.  You're in no shape to go down there.  If we have to, we'll send someone else after her."

Ordinarily, Ben would not have been a physical impediment for Vin
;
but because
of his weariness
, Vin could not put up enough resistance to
overcome the obstacle his friend presented
.  In
all
honesty, Vin knew that he was too tired to climb down the net safely. 

Ben sat heavily on the deck be
tween Vin and the net, waiting
. 
Most of t
he ship's crew
w
as already
below
deck
help
ing
get the new passengers settled.  Only one
guardsman
, Jeremy, remained to help them when they were ready
.  At the moment
,
Jeremy
stood st
aring out at the increasing
size of the swelling
waters like a deer caught in the headlights. 
Some of the
more
distant waves were enormous. 
Most people went their entire lives without seeing the ocean swell to such heights. 
Salma held Ben's hand and placed her other hand on Vin's arm. 
When
Vin turned
his watchful eye away from the cargo net
to look at
Salma th
rough
his
weariness
,
she
relayed C
a
eli's message.

"
Vin, C
a
eli
isn't coming up.
"

"What!?"  Vin started to jump up and move toward the net once again.  Again, Ben stopped him.

"Easy
, Vin
. 
C
a
eli
said she would
explain
it to you in a minute and
asked that we get everyone
else
below
deck as quickly as possible
.  Ben and I
can
take care of that. 
I know you won't leave her, but
you need to
g
ive her a few minutes
. 
And, of course
I don't have to say this, but
I am going to anyway.  P
lease be careful
enough for the both of you!
 
Don't do anything foolish, but g
et her on board safely.
"