wrath of the Sea Queen (216 page)

C
a
eli
made an attempt to escape.  She ran through the cave, turn by turn, room by room, tunnel after endless tunnel.  No matter how far ahead of the man she got, he
repeatedly
managed to pop up in front of her. 
He seemed able to move through any natural substance. 
It did not take long for C
a
eli to become lost in the maze of caverns.  She was nearly at the end of her endurance when she stumbled out of
a
tunnel into a large cave that had a floor like a swimming pool.  Unfortunately, the man followed her out of the tunnel.  C
a
eli
was not able to
escape the clammy hands that continued to strike her
.

Before he could land the strike that would
bring a permanent end to her suffering
, the man suddenly looked around and then dashed away, vanishing into the distance.  C
a
eli had no idea why the man left
in such a rush
, but she was relieved that he was gone.  Nonetheless, C
a
eli was not sure if her respite had come soon enough to see her through the severity of her injuries.

"
Vin…,
" she
could not establish a
connection to him in her dire state.

C
a
eli
was
sure to
succumb to
the damage
and wished she could see Vin once more before that happened.
 
What she saw instead was
a bright
light
draw
ing
near
. 
It pushed back the d
arkness
already
partially
engulf
ing
her
.  C
a
eli was
greeting death
when
Urim came to her aid.

"
Be still, Sister.  It
i
s not your time.  I am not as
strong
as Raphael
in this
, but I can save you.
"

Urim placed his hands on C
a
eli, and a soft glow spread outward
,
enveloping her body
. 
T
he
warm
th of
the
energy flow
ed
through
her
and the darkness
slowly
rece
de
d
.  C
a
eli was
far from
complete
ly healed
, but Urim reversed
enough of
the damage that would have taken her life and
temporarily
hid
some of the dreadful
memory of
these terrible last hours
from her mind
.  It was all that
Urim
could do for her. 
D
irect interference with
the matter of free will between C
a
eli and
Rika
was forbidden.  However,
C
a
eli was Urim's charge
, and Rika was not
currently
present
.  His assignment trumped the restriction in this case.  Urim
left her sleeping on the cave floor, knowing that C
a
eli would
survive and
regain he
r
full
memory
of this event
when her mind was ready to handle it.

As she lay trembling beside Vin, C
a
eli now knew
everything t
hat happened during
her fight on Tuesday
.  She understood why she lost her baby.  In fact, knowing how near to death she had been, C
a
eli was surprised
,
and more grateful than ever, that she had not lost the second child as well.

But after that recollection, C
a
eli
was pulled down into sleep once more, and she
dream
ed again
. 
This
dream portrayed
a scene
C
a
eli
had not seen before
.  She st
ood
in the shallow water
on the beach outside the hotel,
and then
she was carried
off
to the island
once again
.  The man in black
was present, at first
. 
Rika
's presence
hovered
nearby.  This encounter was different. 
C
a
eli
attempted
to control the situation
this time
.  She stood her ground.  She challenged
Rika,
who mocked
her
and taunted her with demeaning remarks.  C
a
eli's resolve held firm as she ignored the jabs meant to distract her.  That's when
things became jumbled and
the white light dr
e
w near.  The sight of Michael drawing
a long dagger
and stepping toward her
was
seared in
to
C
a
eli
's mind
only moments
before she woke in fear for her life. 

C
a
eli la
y
still
in
the grip of that
terror
now
. 
Rika's
insidious
presence
had taken hold
within her and
C
a
eli
knew
that
she
had
fallen victim to Rika's manipulation.  She understood not only what Rika had done to Vin in the cave, but also what she had done to C
a
eli without her knowledge
.  Enjoying Vin's company
last night
had
truly exhausted her. 
It
left her
more
vulnerable
than
ever
before because she had completely let her guard down
in the security of Vin's embrace
.  It
opened the door
wide
for Rika
. 
C
a
eli
should have heeded
Salma
's
warn
ing
, but she did not want to at the time.  All she had wanted was Vin.

W
hile C
a
eli slept,
Rika
staked
a
solid
foothold
in
her
mind
and
now had
firm
control. 
C
a
eli could
not
send
Rika
away as she
did
before.  The sensation was horribly disturbing.  C
a
eli
realized that
she was in trouble and desperately sorted through the details of her dreams, frantically searching for the answer.  She did not know how long she laid there before Vin finally stirred.
  C
a
eli struggled against Rika to warn Vin
.

Vin woke to find C
a
eli pressed
tightly
against
hi
s side
.  He could tell that she was awake, lying quietly. 
For a moment, he thought she might be cold because he felt her trembling. 
Vin looked down at her, stroked her long hair, and smiled to himself.  He remember
ed
their pleasant evening and th
ought
about C
a
eli's pregnancy.  They were going to have a son. 
She was on the mend. 
Vin couldn't have been happier at that moment.

C
a
eli wrapped her arms tightly around Vin as she felt him move.  She tried to hold on, to tell him what was wrong.  She was afraid of losing him, afraid of losing herself. 
S
he could do nothing more.  Her fear
seemed to solidify
Rika
's
control.
  Rika would not permit
C
a
eli
to speak.