wrath of the Sea Queen (147 page)

"
Thank you, C
a
eli.  The flames are out.  You can stop now.  We're ok.
"

W
ater continued to pour down on them.  It did not let up.  C
a
eli heard Vin's voice, but it
was
growing
faint again
.  S
he was losing her focus.  The
numb
ing haze
was returning. 
Her pain was severe, and he
r
mind could no longer ignore it. 
She
lost sight of the
building
and could no longer
affect the
rain
clouds above it. 
Maybe it
was
her
injuries,
rather than Vin's
, that
had
made it difficult to reach
him
. 
C
a
eli
leaned back against the cave wall and closed her
eyes.  Vin was safe, and she
had
fought
her way free. 
Whatever
else
was tugging at the back of her mind was going to have to wait
. 
She laid her head over on a tall
stone beside her
and
let the calming darkness enshroud her
.

It took nearly an hour
to
complete the
evacuat
ion of
the building.  Everyone who
had been
trapped in the suite
with Salma, where the fire
caused the most
injuries
,
was taken to the
nearby
hospital
t
o be checked out before they were released.  Salma was given oxygen for
twenty
minutes and
was soon breathing
easier.  Vin's
head
wound was cleaned and bandaged. 
The cut was not too bad, but the doctor
voiced his
concern when he
learned
that it was the second head
injury
Vin
had
received
recently
. 
The doctor only agreed to release Vin after
Salma promised
to
monitor him
for twenty four hours
. 
Apela and Ben
escaped
without injur
y
.  Maku
sustained
a few
minor
burns, and Pete twisted his ankle.

T
he
four
spent
roughly
an hour and a half in the hospital before part
ing
ways with Maku and Pete
.  A
pela drove his three guests
back to the hotel.  It was mid
-
afternoon when they all came dragging into the lounge.  Ben sat down on one of the wicker sofas
, inviting Salma to
relax
with him. 
Salma
preferred to get a shower first.

"I feel like I'm
covered in soot. 
Please keep an eye on
Vin
while I'm gone."

"Don't worry about me, Salma
.
  I'm gonna crash right here for a few minutes.  I think I
ha
ve had enough excitement for one day," Vin returned
, barely able to hold his eyes open
.

As she walked toward their room, Salma
noticed
Ben rub
bing
h
is chin.  She
wondered what
was
puzzl
ing
h
im
.  I
t most likely
related to the
fire
. 
She was so preoccupied
with recent events
that she didn't even notice the hole in the
far
wall.

Vin
plopped
down across another sofa
in the lounge
, resting his arm over his eyes
. 
He still fe
l
t
a bit off kilter
. 
Before he allowed himself to sleep, Vin wanted to talk to Ben about
Salma's
situation
.
  He, too, noticed Ben rubbing his chin.

"What
puzzle
are you
piecing together
?"  Vin asked
wearily
.

"I'm trying to figure out
exactly
how many different threats we're up against.  Dr. Jacobs was
clearly
the first. 
Since he is no longer an issue, I expect
Salma
will no longer be troubled by the
government letters
.
  Scott could still be a problem, even without his uncle," Ben answered.

"I
find
Scott
to be
the more troubling
of the two
.  His past
association
with Antonius makes him more dangerous. 
H
e
i
s
partnered with Lorrie
for some reason
we've yet to discover
. 
And t
here is something unsettling about her," Vin shared his observation.

"Yes, she
ha
s definitely got her own agenda.  I don't
have any idea
what
it might be
.  The
protestor
s are a con
tinuous
issue.  I can't figure out who is pulling their strings.  I don't think they would
remain
this active without some
one stirring the embers."

"It
i
s certainly a lot to think about. 
I was hoping we might be able to talk it out, but
my head is pounding more than I expected.  I'm going to close my eyes
and rest until
C
a
eli
and Max come out of the kitchen.  When I spoke with her earlier, she said they were baking
. 
And
I don't want to talk about the full scope of this in front of either of them. 
Let's
pick this up
a little later
, when we can chat privately again
." 

"Of course
; g
et some rest
, Vin
."

Salma returned
fiftee
n minutes later
, still unaware of the chaos in her room,
and sat
down
next to Ben
.  His
brow
was
furrowed as he considered everything that
had
happened
over
the last few days.
  S
alma
inquired about Vin, and then laid her head on Ben's shoulder and fell asleep. 
The steady sound of the rain soothed her slumber. 
Ben promised to wake them both
within an hour or two
to make sure they weren't having any lingering problems from the
ir
injuries.

Apela did not see C
a
eli or Max, but Salma suggested they were probably
down
by the water.  C
a
eli loved the water, and Apela agreed that Max would probably be showing her all
of his
special places along the shore. 
When
he doubted they would be outside in th
e
rain
, Salma assured him that C
a
eli would not
have been concerned about getting wet
.  Wherever they were, Apela
was sure that Max would bring
C
a
eli
back in time for supper.  The boy did love to eat. 
Apela watched his guests settle in before moving off to attend his own needs
.  Within
t
hirty minutes
of returning
to the hotel
, the lounge was completely quiet.

When
Apela
re
appeared
an hour later, all three of his guests
were
sleeping
.  He decided to start dinner preparations, knowing
he was
going to have two
additional
guests. 
Apela
wanted to take the time to prepare
something es
pecial
ly comforting
after
the harrowing
morning
.  Not to mention,
Apela
was aware that
Pete
's medical condition required him to
take in
as much
additional
nutrition
as he could
and wanted to
accommodate
him
.