wrath of the Sea Queen (41 page)

Vin nodded and leaned against the rail. 
He had not used his gift this
extensively
in a long time
, and it definitely took
a greater
toll
on this side of the barrier
. 
Ben
grasped Vin by the arm and briefly gave him a concerned but proudly confident stare as Vin might have expected from a father figure, had he ever known one.  Then Ben
stood and
hurried
away with Salma.  They helped
round up
the few
remaining
deckhands and Jeremy below.  Vin leaned over to see C
a
eli, but she
had
moved over on the net and
, other than a brief glimpse of her bright life jacket,
was out of his immediate
line of sight
.  What was she thinking?  Why was she staying
down
there?  Even if C
a
eli utilized
her new skills, anything she tried to do in th
is weather
c
ould likely get her killed.  The
extremely
rough
sea spawned
w
aves
reaching
astounding heights
.  That must be what Urim meant when he said
this
could be dangerous for her, especially without someone to teach her. 
Vin
was
again
tempted to climb down, but he waited to hear what she was
doing.
 
Without doubt,
C
a
eli
would need his strength, and it still might not
be enough for whatever she
was
plann
ing
.

"
Ah, C
a
eli
, m
y strength is nearly depleted, but what I have left is all yours
.
"

"
I'm sorry, Vin, but I have to try.  These waves are tossing the ship about dangerously.  The storm is getting worse
by the minute
.  I know it
m
ay
be
my imagination, but
I
feel like this storm has been following me. 
I feel responsible for
this
.  Nonetheless, even a
ship of this size cannot survive the storm
over
the horizon
. 
Can you
see it? 
Do you sense its power? 
Can you feel it
s anger
?  I can. 
After everything these people have been through, they don't need to go from one sinking vessel to another.
"
  C
a
eli
then
explained to Vin what she was going to
attempt
.

"
C
a
eli, at least climb up further so that I can reach you.  Let me hold your hand
.  Maybe I can
use my gift to
help you deal with the storm
,
"
Vin
replied
thr
ough their special connection, understanding that he
would not be
able to change her mind.

He
lay
down on his stomach, wrapped his legs and one arm around the rails, and then stretched his
other
hand down toward her.  As Vin leaned over the edge, he could see that C
a
eli moved a little higher on the net and
continued
climbing
slowly
upward.  To Vin, she looked almost as tired as he felt
, and he could clearly
tell
that she was sick on top of it all
. 
Noting
the way the water was deflected around her confirmed his theory
that
C
a
eli
had, indeed,
used
her
new
ly
discovered
gift
to help the situation on the plane.  That must be the behavior Salma described as odd. 

At last, C
a
eli stopped moving upward, but now Vin could
easily
reach her.  He held on tight.  Vin freely offered her all the strength and support he could give, but there was nothing else he could do
,
yet
. 
C
a
eli
looked up and smiled at him before turning to face the dark waters once again.

C
a
eli squeezed Vin's hand and then put all other thoughts from her mind.  She
concentrated on the
movement of the water.  She
listened to
the rolling of the waves be
neath
the
turbulent
surface.  She could feel the rise and fall of the currents like
the
breath
in her lungs
. 
The water called
to her. 
C
a
eli
focused on it
until she became a part of the currents, until they ebbed and flowed through her.  As she extended her senses outward,
C
a
eli
finally found what she sought.  She
e
xpect
ed
energy on
a l
arge scale, but the enormity of
the
ocean
's core
seemed immeasurable and insurmountable.
  C
a
eli
experienced
a moment of panic, but quickly suppressed it.

She
was hard pressed to f
igure out how to diminish the large waves
, let alone do it
before her stamina ran out
. 
C
a
eli
needed
a solution that would not
endanger the surrounding islands or upset the natural flow of the water.  She had absolutely no idea how she
c
ould accomplish such a feat. 

"
You are not nearly strong enough to accomplish this task alone.  Let me help you.
"

"
I think you
ha
ve done enough already.  If throwing a plane at me is your idea of help, then I don't need you.  Besides, I am not alone,
" C
a
eli replied
feeling the security of Vin's grip
.  She
reached out and began to channel the energy from the waves
into
her
self
, holding
that energy
within
as the water continued on
its way with diminish
ed
force
. 
It was a simple notion, but C
a
eli could find no
obvious
flaw in her logic. 
It should work
.

Her
impromp
t
u
solution
did not take into account the
accumulation of the
energy she pull
ed
from the waves.  C
a
eli
could not easily redirect th
at
much
energy.  The water was easy enough to move, but the energy that powered the water was
rapidly
building
up
inside
of
her
.  In order for her plan to succeed, C
a
eli
would have
to release th
at
energy. 
She could not contain it. 
But how? 
In the next instant, the answer dawned on C
a
eli as clear as Vin's blue eyes watching her from above.

For the next twenty minutes C
a
eli worked feverishly, channeling water and
now
energy.  She
was not alone.  That was he
r
answer.  She
squeezed Vin's hand several times and the
nearest
waves began to subside.  Each time
C
a
eli
did this, Vin
received
a
significant
influx of energy
.  It quickly
restor
ed
his stamina
and
strength.  At one point, Vin was almost overwhelmed by the energy coursing through him.  However,
unlike C
a
eli, Vin
was familiar with
and welcomed
the
sensation
of
the
elemental energy
flow
.