wrath of the Sea Queen (78 page)

"
What are you looking so self-satisfied about?  Did you learn
anything
new?
"
  Scott walked up behind her, but
did
not
s
ee the vehicle
turn
ing
the corner.

"
Yes.  As a matter of fact, I did.  I think your next opportunity just presented itself.  My brother is taking the younger man with him to volunteer at the levee tomorrow,
"
Lorrie reported, omitting Vin's name.  Scott did
n
o
t need to know that she was
already
acquainted with his intended targets.

"
Well, that's decent of them.  I do hope they
a
re careful.  Those levees can be very dangerous,
"
Scott added sarcastically. 

CHAPTER
19

Since the hospital was
too close to
the conference hotel, t
hey
decided to go
straight to
Apela's
hotel from the arena. 
Once the
re
, Apela made plans to meet Jeremy at the levee around nine o'clock the following morning
.  A
fter
helping
unload the luggage onto a wheeled cart, Jeremy drove off.  Everyone followed Apela into the hotel. 

The hotel itself was a two story, rectangular building.  One corner pointed directly toward the ocean, while the other sides had views with varying angles of shoreline visibility.  The ocean itself
splashed at the shore
only fifty yards away
from the hotel oasis
.  The oceanfront corner
of the building
contained a screened-in lounge with several sets of white and black wicker furniture, a treadmill and weight bench in one corner, a grill outside the door, and an overhead ceiling fan for balmy, summer nights.  A tropical fish pond ran along the edge of the lounge.  Thirty feet in front of the lounge, in the center of the main floor, sat the reception desk.  Overall, it was an informal and inviting
setting.

Vin carried C
a
eli
inside
as she slept, restless and in pain, though not as obvious with the drug masking m
any
of the outward signs. 
The pain
woke
C
a
eli several times during the
short
ride from the arena.  Apparently, the drug was not as effective as Salma thought it would be
or it was slower to take full effect than she
anticipated
.
  Either way, it was not sufficient to keep C
a
eli from
hurting
, which is what most concerned Vin
.
  Once they got settled, Salma intended to call the hospital and see if she could make arrangements to work with one of the doctors there to perform outpatient testing.  She preferred not to move
C
a
eli
again until she
gathered
more information.

Apela told them to use the rooms on either side of the lounge.  Both doors were unlocked, as the
cleaning lady should have cleaned them earlier in the
day
. 
During their ride,
Apela
offered S
alma
the use of some
medical
supplies
he had at the hotel, which was another part of the reasoning that
convinced them not to go straight to the hospital
.  R
ight
after he got
Max
in
to be
d
, Apela would help Salma locate what she needed
.

In the meantime,
Ben and Salma hauled the luggage cart inside.  Ben no longer needed to maintain the ruse of the wheelchair, now that there was no one around who needed to
believe he was out of commission
.  Ben offered to take care of the bags so that Salma could go and check on C
a
eli, but she said it would have to wait until Apela
was ready to
round up the
supplies
.

"
I
really
want
to get
C
a
eli
to a hospital.  Even if I use my gift to figure out what's wrong, I still need to be able
to
test her blood.  If my suspicions are true, and I pray for her sake they are not, I
wi
ll need more details than my gift alone can provide,
"
Salma explained.

Apela
had
returned and st
ood
unobtrusively at their open door.  Salma was startled when he spoke, not knowing if he overheard the mention of her gift.

"
I actually have some medical equipment here
, too; not just the
medicines
I mentioned
.  My sister keeps a lot of supplies in her lab.  We even have a full
y stocked
exam room.  We are
considered
the local clinic, since there is no other free facility in the area.  I can show you
where we keep everything
.  You are welcome to use whatever you need.
"

"
That would be great.  Thank you.  Are you set up to test blood
on site
?
"

"
Yes, we have a car
t with all those
supplies
on it,
"
Apela confirmed
, having helped Lorrie
with
many
such procedures
.

"
Can you roll the cart to their room?
"
  Salma was relieved that they would not have to move C
a
eli again so soon.

"
Sure.  I'll be right back.
"
  Apela disappeared in the direction of his own room again.

"
Ben, I'm going to need your help.  Vin isn't going to want to leave
C
a
eli’s
side.
"

"
Why should he?  I would not leave you under similar circumstances.
"
  The seriousness in Ben's voice left no question about his
feelings
on the matter.

"
I know, but I'm afraid he will distract me while I'm using my gift.  In fact, I know Vin well enough to be certain that he will. 
He won’t be able to help it. 
If I can get
Vin
to leave the room, can you keep him out until I call him back?
"
  Salma
intended
to try.

"
Salma, that's a mighty tall order.  Those two are
nearly inseparable
on good days, much less with her in such a state.  But, if you
can
manage to
get
Vin
out
of there
, I will do my best to keep him
out until you are ready
.
"

Thirty minutes
elapsed
before Salma
got her m
edical bag
unpacked
and gather
ed
everything
from Apela's supplies
that she
believed
would be necessary
.  Apela helped Salma roll the medical cart into the other room where Vin was sitting on the side of the bed.  C
a
eli was curled up in a ball beside him with her arms
still
encircling her waist and her eyes
squeezed shut
.  There was a small trashcan beside the bed and a wet washcloth on C
a
eli's forehead.  Apparently, she had been
sick to her stomach
again, though
there was
nothing left to expel.  She was feverish
and sweating. 
Vin was trying to cool her down
not only with the cold washcloth, but also
with
a cool, soothing breeze blowing through the room.

"
Vin, can you move to the other side?  I need to look at her,
"
Salma asked politely and softly.

Vin complied as Salma took up his former position on the bed. 
She gave a
quick glance at the specs of blood in
the
trash
ca
n,
the same
as
she
noted
at the arena
; it
made Salma want to move quickly through the diagnosis and get C
a
eli
in
to
treatment
.
  Coughing up blood was never a good sign.

"
Salma, she’s burning up.  Should
w
e try to cool her off in the tub?
"
  Vin
suggested
.

"
No.  Not yet anyway.  Let me find out what’s wrong first.
"