wrath of the Sea Queen (109 page)

Vin phoned Apela while they traveled, hoping to check on C
a
eli.  He wanted to be sure that someone
was
keep
ing
an eye on her.
  Apela told him that C
a
eli was sleeping when he check
ed on her five minutes earlier. 
S
atisfied
, Vin
turned
his
full attention
toward
Salma's
situation.  H
e
contemplated
the trouble Ben and Salma
faced
and c
onsider
ed
his options
to help
.  Using his gift was clearly the way to go, but
Vin
wasn't certain how he would explain the event to Maku. 
Instead, Vin
came up with
a
solution that
avoid
ed
the need for that explanation
.

"Maku, when we get there, I
woul
d like you to drop me off and then go back to the levee.  They really need your help, and I can handle this.  My friends have already called the sheriff.  I can
deal with
the situation
until he arrives."

"Are you sure?  I'm a pretty big fella.  My size can go a long way to enforcing order.  That's why I typically work security gigs," Maku offered.

"Tha
t's kind of you
, but no
, thank you
.  Your help will be more beneficial at the levee.  I can hold off a few drunks until the police can round them up."  Vin
finally
convinced Maku
.  W
hen they pulled
into
the lighthouse parking lot, Maku did not get out.  He drove off after watching Vin jump out and run toward
the lighthouse
.

Vin stopped at the edge of the parking lot. 
A
crowd of approximately seven or eight ruffians, most of them drunk, encircl
ed
the lighthouse door.  They were shouting for Salma to come out.  Some were throwing their empty beer bottles at the side of the building and others were banging on the door.

The wind began to pick up rapidly.  Men began to stumble as they tried to stay on their feet.  Within minutes, several had fallen and a few were pinned against the side of the lighthouse by the strong wind.  The shouting and the banging stopped.  Several of the men decided that it was no longer worth the hassle and tried to make a break for
it
.  Vin allowed the would-be assailants to reach their vehicles, but they weren't going any further.  The red truck and the black van were kept in place as if held by an unseen hand.

The sound of sirens drew nearer.  Vin glanced down the road behind him to see the sheriff's car speeding toward the lighthouse.  Inside, Ben surmised what was
taking place
in the parking lot.  He even ran up the stairs to look out the window, verifying Vin's arrival.  Vin clear
ed
a path
for
Ben and Salma
's
escape. 
A
s Ben unlocked the door and began to walk outside with Salma, two gunshots rang out from the side of the building nearest the parking lot. 

"Vin!!"

C
a
eli
bolted upright in bed as she
woke in a panic.  She ripped the IV line out of her arm
and
dressed in the first clothes
she could reach
, a
blue and
green t-shirt and a pair of denim shorts.  She felt no pain.  Her exhaustion fled.  C
a
eli knew
only
that Vin was in serious trouble, and she had to help him.  She rushed out
of
the sliding door and ran down the beach.  At the water's edge, C
a
eli threw herself into the water. 
She hardly noticed when t
he waves rushed in to hit her chest.  She did not see Max watching her from the lounge.

Opening herself immediately to her gift, C
a
eli urgently sought her connection to Vin.  She could not get hold of it. 

"
Now look what has happened.  More consequences in the string of events you set in motion.  Vin would not be hurt right now if you had accepted my offer.
"

"
Don't start with me
!
  I don't have time for your games, Rika.
"  C
a
eli lashed out
in
frustration only to hear Rika laughing as her presence faded away.

"
Salma!  We have to help Vin.  Please!
"  C
a
eli called desperately.

Ben instinctively moved in front of Salma and ush
er
ed
her
back
inside. 
The sudden silence in the air and the fear in C
a
eli's mental shout s
topped them in their tracks, causing them both to turn and look in the direction of
the parking lot
.
 
How could
C
a
eli
be
aware of
the
situation
?

"
Vin!
"
 
Salma
figured out
C
a
eli's terror
right away
.

She and Ben
watched
Vin fall
and land unceremoniously on the hard concrete of the parking lot
.  Ben wanted to rush to Vin's aid as
much as Salma did
, but could not take the chance that another shot might be aimed at
he or
Salma
if they stepped out into the open.

"
Ben, I have to get over there,
"
Salma insisted.

"
Not yet.  We don't know where those shots came from.
"

"
I do.
"

The voice behind them caused both Ben and Salma to jump.  In all the commotion, they
had
forgot
ten
about Dr. Jacobs. 

"
I saw the
shooter
as I was coming down the stairs.  He took off running when the sheriff
's car
turned onto the road.  Apparen
tly, he did
n
o
t
want to hang around
. 
I
ha
ve never seen anyone that drunk run so fast. 
It should be safe for you to go to your friend.
"

Ben looked over and
confirmed
that the sheriff had arrived with a few of his men.  They were al
ready rounding up the drunkards
causing all the trouble.  Dr. Jacobs walked calmly toward the parking lot
.  T
oo calmly
,
in Ben's opinion.  B
ut
,
he let that matter drop for the time being.  Salma looked up at him, and Ben nodded.  They ran over to Vin.

Salma knelt down beside him in a large puddle of water. 
S
he
could see blood on his arm
and the side of his head
.
The first bullet hit Vin in his right, upper arm.  It wasn't serious.  The second
appeared to have
grazed the left s
ide of Vin's head.  There was
blood seeping out of the wound, though the cut itself was not very
deep
. 
The
largest amount of
damage seemed to have been done by t
he force of the bullet
s
causing
Vin
to stumble backward and fall
, hitting his head on the pavement hard enough to knock him out
.

S
he
placed her hand on the side of Vin's head. 
Salma
could tell where the damage was located, but there was nothing that she could do to fix it.  She
pressed
her hand
firmly over the wound on Vin's head
to help slow the external bleeding
,
but the internal bleeding would be
seriously
detrimental if they didn't get Vin into surgery right away.

"Ben, call for an ambulance."

Ben dialed 911 and got an emergency dispatch underway.  Immediately after that, he phoned Apela.  Ben knew that Salma w
ould want to
go with Vin to the hospital, and he intended to go w
here
Salma
went
.  He was not about to leave her
side
after what
just
happened.  That meant
C
a
eli
would be on her own for a while, and she
already
knew
that Vin was hurt.  Ben wanted Apela to keep
C
a
eli
at the hotel.
  Knowing C
a
eli as well as he did, Ben
suspected
that she would try to reach Vin.