wrath of the Sea Queen (97 page)

"
The
S
ea
Q
ueen agreed to help the pretty lady
get a baby
.  She told the pretty lady about a secret place where the sea
brought
babies every time the moon was
a big circle in the sky
.  If the pretty lady took
the
Papa
there
at the right time
, then they would
get
a baby
, and they could be a Papa and a Mama
.
"

"
And did she take her man to the secret place?  Did she get her baby?
"

"
Yes.  She got a baby boy and was very happy,
"
Max smiled up at C
a
eli.

"
I like this story, Max.  It's a happy story.  What did the pretty lady end up paying for her baby?
"

Max
sat
quiet
ly
a minute before he answered.  C
a
eli could tell th
is
was the part of the story he
did
not want to tell, though she could not imagine why.  It was
only
a story.  Perhaps Apela was right.  Maybe Max believed t
he story too much.  Maybe it seemed
real to
him
.

"
The pretty lady had to become a
S
ea
G
oddess,
"
Max whispered, clearly not liking the idea. 

C
a
eli
began
to feel worse and decided she better get back before the pain in her stomach returned.  She did
n
o
t want
to get stuck out here or have
a
nyone unduly worrying about her.

"
Maybe we better go inside
before
Ben and Salma m
iss us.
"

She and Max stood up and turned to leave.  C
a
eli
noted
a tingling sensation in the water covering her feet as she walked, but it was not unpleasant.  She ignored it, at first. 

"
Max, what exactly does it mean to become a
S
ea…Vin!
"

C
a
eli's
unexpected
outburst startled Max.  He backed a few steps away from her, further into the cave
, and
stood
there
quietly watching.
 
C
a
eli
had reacted to
a sharp pain through her connection to Vin.  She
felt th
e pain of
his
injur
y
and, somehow, also knew he was in the
ocean
.  Vin struggl
ed
. 
C
a
eli
knelt down in the water, letting her legs and feet get wet
.  She
impulsively
submerg
ed
her hands as well
, and then
closed
her eyes
to help block out any distractions
. 
C
a
eli
searched for Vin's thoughts across their connection.  Finally, she located him as he supported another young man
,
the guardsman who
had
as
ked Vin to help at the levee. 
Something must have happened, because Vin was holding onto the guardsman on some sort of life preserver.  They were a good distance
from shore and struggling t
o make their way back. 

"No!  I will not lose him.  Hang on, Vin," C
a
eli said aloud. 

Already, the
harsh
current
had
nea
rly exhausted Vin, and he was an excellent
swimmer.  C
a
eli
knew this because s
he had been
a competitive
swim
mer
and
Vin a determined suitor.  He
swam laps with her and
chased her around the pool many times
, never tiring before earn
ing
her
approval
.
  Yet,
Vin's exhaustion
and
his injury
were not what
most
worried C
a
eli.  It was the other presence tug
ging on Vin that troubled her.

Th
at
presence
had
first bec
o
me aware of Vin when C
a
eli called up the wave to help her
release
the excess energy
on th
e ship.  At the time,
she
thought
Rika
was
merely curious about Vin because of C
a
eli's own attachment to him.  Now
,
C
a
eli wasn
'
t so sure.  Was Rika trying to help
or hinder
Vin?  After their last conversation, C
a
eli doubted
that Rika was
offering assistance
. 
C
a
eli's connection to the water
told
her that
Rika was
preventing
Vin
from
reaching the
shore
.  It was
merely
a feeling
, and she was still new to her ability with the water
, but it was
certain
enough to irritate C
a
eli.  Regardless of the reason, C
a
eli
was not about to allow Rika to
hinder Vin
's
efforts.

"
L
eave
him
alone!  I don't know what you
a
re up to, but this will not win you any
points with
me,
" C
a
eli attempted to address Rika, somehow knowing that the lady, wherever she was, would hear her.

C
a
eli immediately set about using her new skills to help her husband.  She shielded Vin and the young man from the rushing currents so
that
they would not have to struggle
to
maintain the
ir position.  Rika resisted C
a
eli's attempt to move Vin away from her
influence
;
but C
a
eli's determination
to save Vin was boundless, and she
soon fought
Rika
off. 
When it came to Vin, C
a
eli
would n
ever
give up. 
Once free
d
from Rika's hold, C
a
eli gently pushed the two men toward shore, making it look as though they were accomp
lishing the task on their own.

When she finally detected other people reaching out
to
take hold of
Vin and
Jeremy
, C
a
eli could have released her connection to Vin, but she did not.  She found comfort in that connection.  As C
a
eli picked up the thread of Vin's weary thoughts, she was startled to find that he
already h
eld
onto
the
ir
link and
help
ed
maintain their connection
.  He was
perusing her thoughts as well.
  C
a
eli wasn't certain if Vin had overheard her few words to Rika or not.

"
Thank you, C
a
eli.  I don't know how you
knew we were in trouble or how you
did that, but I
a
m really glad that you found us when you did,
"
Vin
was
well
aware
that
C
a
eli
was
the
only
reason they were able to reach the shore.

"
Thank Max.  He is the reason I'm out here.  Otherwise, I would not have known.
"