wrath of the Sea Queen (71 page)

"
Y
ou're right. 
I
ha
ve been
sick
, and e
ach of those
explanations
seem
ed
valid
at the time
,
"
C
a
eli confirmed softly without offering additional details.

"
W
hatever this is, it
i
s
getting worse
.  Your skin
is still
hot
beneath my fingers
. 
It
i
s still running through you
r system
despite Salma's medicine
.  That much is obvious.  Salma says it's probably from prolonged exposure
or maybe a virus
;
but I think it's more than that
. 
Y
ou
ha
ve
been struggling with this
for weeks
,
though
not as
noticeabl
y
until
today
. 
I
ha
ve also seen you holding your side
in pain
several times
.  Y
ou
have a strange, white circle on your stomach that wasn't there this morning.
 
M
aybe you
do
have
the
flu
and
maybe you
a
re
injur
ed; maybe both
.  I don't know, and that's the problem.
 
I
have
watch
ed
you get worse by the
hour
. 
C
a
eli,
I
know you're hurting
, even now.  I can feel it through our link.
  I need you to tell me everything that I don't already know about your condition.
"  Vin laid out all of his concerns for her, adding the last
detail
as
verification
of his knowledge.

"You c
an feel my pain
?"

"Yes
,
when I focus on our link
I can.  A
nd it
i
s killing me not to be able to help you.
"

"I suppose that shouldn't surprise me.  I
felt
your anguish when I eavesdropped on your conversation with Ben a
nd Salma
on the ship
.  It seems like ever since the three of us
were exposed to
the Book of Elements our
natural
abilities have grown considerably."

"I agre
e, but you are
drifting
off
the subject.
"

"Sorry.
  I don't mean to worry you
, Vin
.
  That's the last thing I want to do.
"

"
I know.  So tell me
what's going on with you.
 
What did you mean earlier when I asked you if everything was ok and you s
aid
no? 
And
when I asked you if you were hurt, you said not anymore. 
Honey
,
help me
understand.  Were you
hurt during the crash
? 
Is
your gift caus
ing
you pain?  Is there something
else
going on
that I should know
?
"

"Yes,
on all accounts
. 
That white circle on my stomach is
the
result
of an injury from the crash.  I think it is all right now, but Salma is going to check it just to be safe."

"What caused it?"

"That's not important right now. 
I'll tell you about it later. 
To answer your other question, yes.  My gift is doing something to me, but I haven't figured out what yet.  I would like to sit down and talk
it out
with you because it is bothering me; but, this is not the place for that
conversation either
.
"

"Ok.  So, if you don't want to discuss either of those topics right now, then what else is there?"

"That's th
e
question
I want to answer. 
There is something concerning me that I need to tell you.
"

"
P
lease
,
tell me
."

"
Remember
when
I said that I did not feel right?  Well, I'm scared of the effect this
ill
ness is having on more than just my body.
"

"
Go on
."
  Vin
prompted gently when she paused overlong
.

"I have been trying to find the best way to
break the news
.  I did not plan on saying it like this, and I am not entirely certain
.
V
in, I think
I
…"

Before she could
explain further
, there was a startling knock on the window of the driver's door. 
C
a
eli
,
her
back to the door,
nearly jumped out of the seat at the unexpected sound. 
Vin looked over to see a
smiling
man holding an umbrella
in the
pouring
rain
.  He was dressed in a bright yellow shirt and
tan
pants.  He held up his wallet
beneath a flashlight
so that Vin could see his ID.  On one side was the man's driver's license.  That photo matched the picture on the photo ID issued by the car rental agency where Vin rented the van. 
He
had
made arrangements to have the van picked up at the arena a
half a
n hour after he rented it.

"
I'm sorry, C
a
eli.  They are here to pick up the van. 
I wanted to make sure that we were not delayed having to wait for them
.  Give me a minute.  L
et me
send him
away
…
"

"
No, Vin. 
You are right. 
Salma needs us to get
moving
.
"
  C
a
eli wiped away the
tears
welling in her eyes and tried to give him another reassuring smile.

"
Yes, we do need to get Salma moving, but that
i
s not my main concern. 
Your health is. 
I want to know
more
about your injury. 
I want to hear what you have to say. 
You know that whatever is
bothering you
,
if something is wrong,
I
'
m here for you.  You don't have to be worried about telling me
anything
.
"

"
I know
that
, Vin, and
you're
not the problem
at all
.
 
I
a
m not worried about telling you, but
what I am trying to say, though simple enough, overlaps with
the
issue
of
my gift. 
And that part is
too complicated to
rush through
.  I
really need to discuss this with you
; but
I think
it will have to wait
a while longer
.
"
C
a
eli le
aned over and kissed him
briefly
.

Vin
was forced
to accept that this was all the information he was going to get until
they could sit down for a length
ier
, uninterrupted
talk
. 
C
a
eli
definitely had something
on her mind
. 
T
hat
,
and whatever injury she had incurred during the crash
,
only
served to
heighten
Vin's
concern. 
All he had
gained
with this talk was confirm
ation
that C
a
eli was hurt and something else
was
wrong with her. 
What was so complicated? 
What was so bad that it brought tears to her eyes just to think about it?  Vin hated not being able to spend the time right
then
to hear her
out
.