wrath of the Sea Queen (199 page)

"
Please, Vin. 
I'm trying. 
I promise that I will explain everything, but I need to understand
it
myself first.  If you listen carefully to Max's story, you
wi
ll understand, too.  You need to hear this in the proper order
otherwise you are going to react to the wrong piece of news, and it won't help me at all
.  Please, bear with me
on this
?
"

"
All right,
I will listen
.
"

"
A
nd one more thing
;
Max is
n
o
t going to want to do what I'm about to ask him.  When he declines, I need you to do something for me,
" C
a
eli leaned over and kissed Vin on the cheek, smiling at him to help reassure him that this was the right course.

"
Ben, Salma, bear with me on this, ok?
  It
i
s not going to sound like it, but it's important.  Max, I need to hear the end of your story.  You never did tell me the last part,
"
C
a
eli prompted him.

"
But
don’t you
remember, pretty C
a
eli?  Yo
u don't want to hear
that
.  You already heard the best parts.
"
 

C
a
eli leaned over and whispered to Vin.  He
raised a questioning eyebrow, but then
nodded
and
spoke to Max in a
conspiratorial v
oice.

"
Max, can I tell you a secret?
"

Max perked up.  He liked it when adults t
rusted
him
with
grown up
matters
.

"
Yes.
I can keep the biggest secrets, can't I pretty C
a
eli?
"

C
a
eli nodded and smiled at Max.

"
Max, I
have a
gift
.  Michael helped me learn about it
.
"

"You
k
now Uncle Michael?"  Max asked with
excitement
.  He
ha
d never met anyone
,
aside from his Papa
,
who knew Michael.

"Yes. 
Michael
is my friend, and he taught me something
neat
," Vin affirme
d, taking
special
note of Max's
proclaimed
kinship.

"Uncle Michael teaches me things, too.  He sa
ys
I'm smart," Max beamed.

"
He is
right.  You are very bright
.  That's why I want
to tell
you
my secret
.  Max,
I can
talk to
the wind
.
"

Vin picked up a large, decorative seashell from the table in front of him and used his gift to make it spin in the air. 
The
idea
for the demonstration
came from
his re
collection
of
Javeed
's story
.  Max watched in wide-eyed wonder and clapped his hands when Vin finished.

"
Do you know what this means, Max?  It means that Vin can change the end of the story.  But, he cannot change it if he does not know how it ends. 
So
Max, will you
please
tell us the ending?  I know it
'
s sad.  Vin and I are going to try to change it, but we need your hel
p.  I know you're a good helper,
"
C
a
eli encourag
ed
Max, hoping he would
provide
her w
ith the information she needed
.

"
Are you sure Mr. Vin can change it?
"
  Max finally asked her
after considering her proposal
.

C
a
eli paused for a moment.  She would not lie to Max, but she did not want to discourage him either.

"
I
honestly
don't know, Max. 
I hope so. 
Vin is going to try his best.  Wouldn't you like him to try?
"

Max got up and walked over to stand in front of Vin.  The boy stared at him for several minutes with his head cocked to the side.  Max
had
already prove
n
to Vin that he
carried
some fire inside. 
The boy was
protective and compassionate
by
nature
, and
he
had
claimed the
role of C
a
eli's tiny guardian
. 
As
Max's green eyes stared at him, Vin was momentarily reminded of another fier
ce
soul.
  Could that be why C
a
eli asked Vin to mention his name when talking to Max?

"
Mr. Vin, do you promise to try
to
change
the end of the story
?
"

"
I promise to try to make the story have a happier ending.
"
  Vin used the words C
a
eli
silently
whispered to him.

"
Ok.
"

Max climbed up to sit on Vin's lap this time and looked over at C
a
eli.  He continued to stare at the red spots on her robe until she casual
ly covered them with her arm. 
C
a
eli briefly
summarized
the story Max told her
regarding the
S
ea
Q
ueen
and the pretty lady.  She explained that Max left off at the part where the lady
was about to
become a
S
ea
G
oddess as payment for the help she received.

"
So what does that mean, Max?
  What is a
S
ea
G
oddess?
"
  Salma was intrigued by the correlation between the story and the title Max
attributed to
C
a
eli.

"
It means that whenever the pretty lady wants to, she can talk to the water, and it will help her.  And, of course, only pretty ladies can be
S
ea
G
oddesses.
"
  Max squirmed
uncomfortably at this point
.

"
W
hat else, Max?  What else d
oes
the pretty lady have to do?
"

"
She ha
s
to be borrowed by the
S
ea
Q
ueen
whenever
the
S
ea
Q
ueen
asks
.  The
S
ea
Q
ueen
c
annot
leave the water unless
s
he
rides inside a
Sea Goddess
.
  But the
S
ea
Q
ueen always ha
s
to go back to the water, and the pretty lady c
an
go home. 
The
S
ea
Q
ueen is
waiting for a pretty lady from her own family
to become a Sea Goddess
so
that she can ride all the time
without having to go back to the water
.
"

Everyone was confused by that, everyone except C
a
eli
and Vin
. 
C
a
eli
understood the tale perfectly
, and Vin was beginning to better understand C
a
eli’s struggle
.