wrath of the Sea Queen (153 page)

Rika's
presence
returned and k
ept threatening to take control. 
As if waking from a dream,
C
a
eli
gained
the dawning
realiz
ation
that
this
insidious
intrusion is what she
had been
fighting
ever since her
first encounter
with Rika.  She
continued t
hat
battle now
.  When
ever
C
a
eli was tired or sick, her
vulnerability
allowed
Rika
to gain a greater foothold. 
Her exhaustion after the large waves and then t
he poison
ing were
the weakness
es
first
exploited
by Rika
to
gain a hold on C
a
eli
's mind
.  Each time
afterward that
C
a
eli was
weakened
,
Rika
fortifie
d her position
.  And now,
beaten and
submerged
in th
e water
of
Rika's
cave,
her
presence was
nearly
insurmountable.  Yet C
a
eli managed to hold her at bay. 
She would not give up. 
Vin was here.  He would help her if
only
she could reach him.

C
a
eli caught a glimpse of light approaching. 
She hoped it was
Urim.  Maybe he could help her as he had done
before
. 
Rika
's presence
, however, moved away and placed
it
self between C
a
eli and Urim.  Urim was not able to
get near C
a
eli
, though he did not leave.  From what C
a
eli could tell
,
Urim moved
closer to
Vin. 

At the thought of Vin,
Rika
refocused
her
attention on
C
a
eli
and again tried to
wrestle
control
from her
.  C
a
eli continued to resist
.

"
They cannot help you now.  I will keep you here until you surrender.  Why do you continue to fight me?
"

"
I don't believe your lies.  You cannot keep me here.
"

Ultimately, however, C
a
eli knew she would lose this
struggle
unless she
found
a way out
of the cave
.  Her opponent
had
vast resources.  C
a
eli had none.  Her adversary was well experienced, where C
a
eli barely understood how to use her gift.  Though she truly believed there was a solution to every problem, C
a
eli
could not see
this one.  All she could do
was fight and
pray
that an idea came to her before her
strength was spent
.

W
hen C
a
eli began to feel her thoughts grow hazy and her strength wa
ver
, she also
noticed how
the water around her beg
a
n to move
awkwardly
.  It was not the normal flow of the currents, but rather a forced movement.  To both sides, the water was being pushed away from where Vin stood, slowly revealing the cave floor. 
Rika turned her focus to
fight against Vin
,
but he was strong with his gift and confident in its use. 
Vin was angry and determined.  He
would not be denied.  He
used the wind to
push the water aside and h
o
ld it back as if blocked by an unseen dam.  Within minutes, the cave
floor
was
dry
for ten feet
all around him.
 

"
Come back to me, C
a
eli.
"

She heard Vin's voice
clearly
in her mind. 
C
a
eli
understood that
Vin
was gi
v
ing
her an opportunity to break free of the surrounding water.  She wanted to do
exactly
that; rush into the open and throw herself into his arms.

C
a
eli was about to roll herself
o
nto the
dry stone
when she
caught a brief glimpse of the face of the man in black and
experienced a wrenchin
g sensation inside her gut.  If not for the lack of salivating carnivores, she would swear that
her insides
were being
shred
ded
by a pack of wolves
. 
She
wrapped her arms protectively around her stomach, but
could not take the time to
address it right then
.  Her chance to escape would not last long.  If she did
n
o
t go now, she might not get away.  C
a
eli mustered her strength, ignored the pain, and threw herself forward.  She r
olled a few feet onto the floor, stopping
face down
near Vin's feet
.  She could not find
enough remaining
strength to get up.  C
a
eli was relieved to note that
Rika's
presence
could
no
t follow her out onto the
virtually
dry
stone. 
Rika could only talk to her now
.  She could not
take control. 
C
a
eli
had succeeded
, for the moment,
in
breaking away from
Rika.  She
was thankful for that
and for Vin
's help
, but
the
exhaustion and strong pain throughout her body barely
allowed her to find satisfaction in the outcome.

Vin, maintaining his focus on the air that h
e
ld back the water,
bent down
and helped her up, supporting her as she hobbled along
in obvious distress
.  He was
immensely
relieved that his gift helped
set
C
a
eli free.  Vin was incredibly proud of her
strength and
determination
; and
a strong desire to kiss her
s
welled within him
.  Yet
,
it also felt wrong
.  It jogged
the memory of his encounter
when the wave washed over him
on the ship. 
Vin
ignored the odd distraction knowing the threat remained. 
He
ushered
an injured
C
a
eli out of the cave
, practically carrying her as she clung to him for support
.  A dry path cleared for
them
as they moved toward the opening
.  Vin
let the water resettle to its original flow once they reached the safety of the beach. 
As soon as C
a
eli left the confines of the cave, her remaining strength gave out.

"I'm sorry, Vin," she said as she collapsed into his arms.

Vin
lifted her gently and
carried her up the beach.  He
needed to find out what
happened
, and not just with Rika.  He could not miss the physical injuries visible on her face, arms
,
and the exposed section of her stomach
. 
How did C
a
eli end up in that cave? 
Who did this to her? 
What was going on? 
It seemed that Ben was right after all, and C
a
eli's part in this ordeal was not yet finished
. 
With any luck,
C
a
eli
would
be able to tell him
about it this time
.  But first, he
needed
to get her
to the
safe
t
y
of
their room
and Salma's care
.