wrath of the Sea Queen (82 page)

"
Vin, please come back
,
"
C
a
eli
silently
called to him.

There was no response.  Salma did not look up from her work.  Had neither of them heard her? 
How could that be?  Then C
a
eli understood. 
That must be what Rika meant. 
As she had done at the arena, s
omehow
,
Rika prevented her from calling out
to Vin
.  That did not bode well.
  C
a
eli gave herself over to the medicine, which was already starting to work.  She was asleep within minutes, though her body refused to cease its spasms and fitful tossing so that she might
actually
rest while she slept.

After an hour, the tests were well under way and C
a
eli had not
stirred
in the last twenty minutes.  Salma decided to slip out into the hall for a quick chat
.  She rolled the medical cart with her.

"Salma, how is she?"  Vin was immediately in front of her when she closed the door.

"I had to give her another dose of medicine, but she is finally sleeping
, if you can call it that
."

"Good, then I can go see her.  Did you learn anything?"  Vin was clearly anxious.

"Hold on, Vin.  I
only
came out to move this cart to our room
so that the noise
doesn't bother C
a
eli.  I have not learned anything helpful yet.  I don't think it would be wise for you
t
o see her
. 
I am going to
return and
sit with her
very shortly
."

"Why
can't I go in
?"  Vin was not pleased with Salma's response.

"
There are s
everal reasons.  F
oremost
, you cannot help yourself around her.  You will disturb her
…
"
Salma began.

"
I would not wake her.  I know she needs to rest."

"
L
et me finish, Vin.  You won't mean
any harm
, but you w
ill
hover a
nd try to make her more comfortable.
 
C
a
eli
will know you
a
re there
. 
She will try to talk to you. 
Right now, she needs every minute of rest that she can get. 
C
a
eli
, in addition to her pain,
is exhausted and severely dehydrated.  The best thing
s
we can do for her
are
let her be while she
sleeps
and build up her fluids when she wakes. 
I may even put her on an IV if Apela has the supplies here.  But, while she is resting, i
t would be best if you stayed out here."

"
Then
I will
just
peek in
and check on her.
  I won't
touch her.  I won't
make a sound
, and I will only
stay
a minute
."
  Vin moved toward the door, but Salma stepped over to intercept him.

"I'm sorry, Vin. 
I have to say no; n
ot right now.
  Although chemically induced, C
a
eli is
already
resting.
"

"Salma, I need to see her. 
I waited out here against my better judgment; but I can't endure it any longer. 
Please, move out from in front of the door."  Vin
's mild
irritat
ion reflected his deeper concern for
C
a
eli
.

Ben sensed Vin's mood and stepped over beside Salma.  He
stood
ready to defuse the situation if Vin decided to press the matter.  He had faced many
p
otentially volatile situations over the course of his years
on
the force.  Although Ben knew
without question
that Vin would never h
arm
Salma, he
did n
ot
know
what
measures
Vin would
take
to reach C
a
eli against Salma's wishes. 
Yet, w
hat never ceased to surprise Ben was the way Salma was able to handle
such
situation
s
herself
.  Apparently, her years working in the emergency room had given her a similar ability to smoothly maneuver emotionally
-
charged encounters.

"I understand that you
a
re frustrated, Vin. 
But, this is not about what you need.  It's about what
C
a
eli
needs.  Please trust
that I am doing what I believe is best for
her
.  I am not
making this request lightly.
 
You know that
I would not keep you from her without good cause. 
C
a
eli is
likely
to wake up several times
tonight
. 
If you are still
awake
,
I will call you in
to visit
with her
for a few minutes
during those times. 
For now, I think
it would be best if
you make yourself comfortable in the lounge. 
I will stay with
C
a
eli
in the meantime. 
I don't trust the way the med
icine is wearing off so quickly, and I want to be there to see with my gift exactly how this
trouble
is hitting her.  I promise that I will take
good
care of her," Salma assured Vin.

"I know you will
, Salma
.
 
I'm sorry. 
Don't worry about waking me.  If by some miracle I
do
fall asleep, I want to see C
a
eli when she wakes,
"
Vin relented.

"I can give you something to help you sleep if you like," Salma offered.  She
thought it very unlikely
that Vin would be able to sleep
while C
a
eli's condition
remained undiagnosed
.

"No
thanks
. 
I need to be alert when
C
a
eli
wakes up
.  I
wi
ll be in the lounge."
  Vin took a moment to place his hand on the door to
their
room and rest his head
against
the door frame.
 
Alt
hough
t
he tempt
ation
to disregard Salma's instructions
was strong
, Vin would not take even the slightest chance that his action might make C
a
eli worse.  Therefore, he complied.

"
Sleep well, C
a
eli.
 
I'm right outside if you need me.
" 

Of course, Vin had no idea that the reason his message did not reach C
a
eli was
caused by anything
other than
the fact that she was
sleep
ing
.

"
I
t's going to be a long night
, Ben
.  W
ould you be a dear and help me with this cart?"  Salma said quietly after Vin was out of earshot.

Apela and Max were in the lounge when
Vin slumped in and w
alked
over to stare out
of
a window
facing
the sea. 
Max
had
crept out of bed
to wait with his father
.  He was
eager
to know
about
his new friend
;
but all
Apela
would tell him was that C
a
eli was sick.  This bothered Max, so he offered to take her a glass of water to help her feel better. 
Vin
overhead the
offer
and
turned around,
suddenly remember
ing
C
a
eli
's request.