wrath of the Sea Queen (74 page)

"
Papa!  Papa, make it stop!
"
  Max was frantic.

Apela tried to sooth
e
his son, telling him it would be all right.  He rubbed Max's back as if this sort of thing might have happened before.  Max calmed down, but still kept his hands firmly in place over his ears.  Apela moved a few steps away from the others
,
toward
the Arena door
.

Ben and Vin both reached out to Salma when they heard her cry out.

"
What's wrong,
Love
?
"
  Ben asked with concern.

"
Salma, are you ok?
"
  Vin asked almost simultaneously.

It took Salma a moment to regain her composure, but she finally answer
ed
. 

"
I'm sorry.  It was unexpected and
so
intense. 
Vin, didn't you hear it?"

"No.
  Why would I?
"

"It was
a
scream of
great pain very close to us.  I
ha
ve never felt such a strong
sensation through my gift before, not
like that. 
S
he
is hurting very badly
,
"
Salma explained.

"
Who?
"
  Ben asked.

"
I think you should ask
Max
while I go and find her
,
"
Salma whispered.

"
I think
t
he
boy
might be sensitive to others, like I am.  Did you see the way he responded?  I think he
may have
heard
he
r
cry
. 
It
was agonizing, as if
she
w
ere
being ripped apart.  I could barely stand it, so I can understand why it
would terrify a
little
boy
.
"

"
I
noticed
how Max jumped up.  Apela certainly wasn't surprised by Max's behavior.  You are probably right, and it is probably not the first time the young pup has experienced it,
"
Ben's conclusion agreed with Salma
's thought
s
on the matter
.

"
She needs my help. 
I have to g
o
to
her." 
Then
, with one last puzzled look at Vin, Salma
turned and headed
along
the same hall that C
a
eli
had
wandered down
, intending to
find out where
she
had gone
.

"
If you don't mind, I'm going to sit near the door with Max.  He gets a bit shaken up sometimes.  The smell of the fresh ocean air
will
help calm him down.  I
wi
ll be
over
there
waiting
when
you
are ready to leave,
"
Apela
returned as Salma walk
ed
away.  He wanted to
explain
Max's behavior
before walking off
again
with Max held tenderly in his fatherly embrace.  He didn't mention anything about the
specific
reason
for
Max
's outburst
.
  Max still had both hands clamped over his ears.

Ben noticed a dark-haired woman
wearing medical scrubs
greet Apela by the door and talk with him briefly
in the
shadowy alcove.
 
Ben assumed
her to be
Apela’s sister
.  She only stayed a few minutes before returning to the triage station.  Ben also noticed that the manila envelope she
had been
carrying when she walked up to Apela was not in her
hand when she walked away.  He did
not see where she put it.  It was none of Ben's business, so he
filed the observation
a
way
as irrelevant
.

Salma was drawn toward the restroom in the hall.  The feeling was
very
strong
t
here.  She entered the restroom and was shocked
to discover
C
a
eli
curled up
in
a ball
on the floor
.

"
D
ear heaven!  C
a
eli
, w
hat happened?  Did you hurt yourself?  Let me have a look.  I know it hurts, but you have to let me see.  Come on,
Dear
, talk to me,
"
Salma tr
ied
to get through to her
.

Unfortunately
, C
a
eli was in so much pain at that moment that she was not able to do anything except endure it.  Salma gently rested her hand over C
a
eli's arms, which were still
clinched
across her midsection.  This
,
obviously
, is
where C
a
eli was feeling the pain.  Salma closed her eyes and tried to locate the source of the problem.  She was unable to discover anything due to the strength of C
a
eli's pain.  It
b
lock
ed
everything else from Salma's gift.

"
Water,
please
.
"
  C
a
eli managed to catch her breath
long enough to ask for
the
help
she wanted
.

Salma rushed to the sink and located a
paper cup
dispenser at the far end
of the counter
.  She filled one with water as quickly as the faucet's trickle would permit.  Salma
carefully helped C
a
eli up from lying on her side to a kneeling position. 
The task
was slow and unpleasant.  Every inch seemed to cause C
a
eli more pain, but she eventually
managed to get
her upright.  Then Salma
held
the cup
in front of C
a
eli's mouth so that she could drink.  After
C
a
eli
drank the entire cupful, Salma got her a second and then a third.  C
a
eli was on the fourth
cup
before she had enough to quench her immediate thirst.  C
a
eli
sat
up a little
further on her own
.

"
Thank you,
"
C
a
eli said through clenched teeth.

"
I heard you cry out
for Vin
.  Y
our pain was like a physical blow to my mind.  Tell me
more
about it.  Is
it
constant?
"
  Salma asked.  The professional tone took over in her voice once again.

"
Co
mes and goes;
almost constant
right
now
; w
orse each time.
"
  C
a
eli forced each phrase out.

"
Each time
;
C
a
eli, h
ow often has this happened
?
  How long has it been going on?
"
 
             

"
Several times
since the crash
,
"
C
a
eli a
nswered
succinctly.

Salma was surprised at the admission.  She knew C
a
eli
was
sick
and
her most recent
episode
in
the hotel room
had been
bad;
but
she
was astonished to discover
that
it had
be
en
this severe
for so long
.  She also wondered why Vin had
n
o
t heard C
a
eli
's call.  Apparently
,
C
a
eli was wondering the same thing
.